Tanmay Agarwal’s 52-ball hundred was the highlight of Diamonds’ 209/6 effort against Warangal Warriors. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

CRICKET

Tanmay ton powers Karimnagar Diamonds to win

HYDERABAD: Karimnagar Diamonds arrived for its TG20 clash against Warangal Warriors desperate to avoid a third successive defeat. It did just that, surviving a late scare to clinch a thrilling two-run victory, powered by skipper Tanmay Agarwal’s scintillating century.

Diamonds began shakily as Mudassar Hussain removed Satwik Reddy in the opening over. Tanmay responded in style, taking charge in a 100-run stand with Hrishikesh Simha. While Simha played the supporting role with 24, Tanmay dominated the partnership with 74 runs, racing to a 27-ball half-century.

Murugan Abhishek ended the stand by dismissing Simha, but Tanmay kept the pressure on, adding 56 runs in just 26 balls with Chandan Sahani. He brought up a superb hundred off 52 deliveries before his dismissal stalled the charge. Diamonds failed to hit a boundary in the final two overs and finished with 209 for six.

Warangal launched the chase aggressively through Aman Rao and Harshit Choudhary before Harish Thakur dismissed the former in the third over. The scoring barely slowed as Rishiket Sisodia tore into the attack, helping Warriors chip 60 runs off the target in the PowerPlay, before reaching a 23-ball fifty with three consecutive sixes.

Satish turned the tide by deceiving Harshit, sparking a flurry of wickets. But Bhavesh Seth refused to let the contest slip away. Needing 23 off the final over, he smashed three sixes to drag the game to the brink. His late heroics, however, fell just short as Diamonds held their nerve to seal the contest.

The scores: Karimnagar Diamonds 209/6 in 20 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 133) bt Warangal Warriors 207/6 in 20 overs (Rishiket Sisodia 65, Bhavesh Seth 53).

-Anirudh Velamuri

GOLF

Talwar inches towards top-10 finish in France

Indian golfer Saptak Talwar had three birdies and as many bogeys in his even par third round of 70 as he stayed in the running for a top-10 finish at the Blot Play9 here.

Talwar, leader on the DP World PGTI Tour rankings this season, is now Tied-12th with one more round to go.

While the topper on the DP World PGTI Tour gets a berth into the DP World Tour the following season, the top-15 from Hotel Planner also get a berth into the main Tour, which means Talwar has two pathways.

He is inside the top-20 in Hotel Planner rankings called Road to Mallorca.

Talwar has been dividing his time between the PGTI and Hotel Planner Tour. His earlier rounds were 68-67 on the Par-70 course and he is now 5-under for 54 holes.

John Gough will take a solo lead into the final round after carding a four under par round of 66 on day three in France.

The Englishman went bogey-free to reach 12 under par with home favourite Maxence Giboudot and Spain’s Joseba Torres two strokes back on ten under par.

Starting the third round in a share of the lead, Gough failed to make a gain on his first eight holes, those behind him making the most of the moving day to push ahead.

Gough is yet to secure his maiden HotelPlanner Tour victory but has enjoyed decent outings at Blot Play9 in the past, including a fourth-placed finish at last year’s edition in Brittany, where he carded a final round of 63 to earn his joint highest finish of the season.

-PTI

Diksha four behind the leader as Indian trio makes cut at Czech Ladies

Former champion Diksha Dagar remained India’s leading hope at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open after staying within striking distance of the leaders despite slipping slightly in the second round with a card of one-under 69.

Her compatriots Pranavi Urs and Vani Kapoor also ensured a strong Indian presence going into Sunday’s final round at Royal Beroun Golf Club.

Diksha, who won this event in 2019 and has been enjoying an impressive run of form on the Ladies European Tour, carded a one-under 69 to add to her opening 66.

At nine-under-par after 36 holes, she is tied-11th, four shots behind the leaders, and well placed to make another push on the final day.

The left-hander, who finished tied third at last week’s Dutch Ladies Open, mixed four birdies with a lone bogey during another steady display.

Having opened the tournament with eight birdies, Diksha once again showed her consistency on a course where low scores have been the norm throughout the week.

India also had encouraging performances from Pranavi Urs (67) and Vani Kapoor (70), both of whom comfortably made the cut.

Three others Avani Prashanth (75-68), Ridhima Dilawari (73-70) and Hitaashee Bakshi (71-81) missed the cut which fell at 5-under.

At the top of the leaderboard, Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson and England’s Charlotte Heath shared the lead at 13-under-par after producing another round of excellent scoring in scorching conditions.

Pranavi, who also recorded a top-five finish at last week’s Dutch Ladies Open, signed for a one-under 71 after her opening 67.

At six-under overall, she was tied for 37th and remained well within reach of a strong finish on the final day.

Vani, enjoying only her second cut of the season on the Ladies European Tour, also stood tied for 37th following rounds of 68 and 70.

Among those tied with Diksha in 11th place were overnight leader Lydia Hall, Spain’s Marta Martin and Czech favourite Jana Melichova, ensuring the battle for the title remains wide open.

-PTI

Bhatia T-3 going into final round at Travelers Championship

Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia remained firmly in contention for another PGA Tour title after holding on to a share of third place at the 2026 Travelers Championship here.

Viktor Hovland snatched a dramatic one-shot lead over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler heading into the final round at TPC River Highlands.

Bhatia, who lit up the course with a second-round 62, carded a steady three-under 67 on Saturday to move to 15-under 195 after 54 holes.

Although he slipped five shots behind overnight leader Hovland, the 23-year-old remains well placed in a tournament known for low final-round scores and dramatic finishes.

The left-hander is tied for third alongside Patrick Cantlay and will hope to mount one final charge in search of his fourth PGA Tour title and second victory of the season after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year.

While Bhatia quietly stayed in contention, the spotlight belonged to Hovland (65-61-64) at 20-under and Scheffler (64-60-67) at 19-under, who battled throughout the day in a high-quality duel before fortunes changed dramatically at the final hole.

Another Indian-origin player, Aaron Rai (65-68-67) at 10-under was T-22, Sahith Theegala (74-67-67) at 2-under was T-62 and was having a quiet week and well down the leaderboard.

-PTI

Published on Jun 28, 2026