Sports Highlights

The following are the top/expected stories at 2100 hours: EXPECTED STORIES: *Report of the Indian Premier League match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Sharjah. STORIES ON THE WIRE: SPO-CRI-IPL-KKR-PREVIEW Battle of Batsmen: It's Shubman, Russell vs Rohit, Hardik as KKR take on MI Abu Dhabi, Sep 22 (PTI) Grace and strength will be on one side while poise and killer instinct on the other when a revamped Kolkata Knight Riders take on Mumbai Indians, who have once again faltered in the beginning of the IPL, on Wednesday.

SPO-CRI-IPL-WARNER Keep playing your natural game: SRH skipper Warner backs young Indian batsmen Dubai, Sep 22 (PTI) Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner has backed young Indian batsmen Priyam Garg and Abhishek Sharma to "keep playing their natural game" after their disappointing outing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore here. SPO-CRI-IPL-PADIKKAL I was very nervous, says Padikkal Dubai, Sep 22 (PTI) Considered a future India star, Devdutt Padikkal made an impressive IPL debut with a scintillating fifty but the young Kerala batsman says he was nervous when his place in the playing XI was confirmed to him.

SPO-OPEN-2NDLD IND Ankita progresses to second round, Ramkumar bows out of French Open qualifiers Paris, Sep 22 (PTI) India's Ankita Raina progressed to the second round of the French Open qualifiers with a hard-fought win over Jovana Jovic on Tuesday but Ramkumar Ramanathan's bid to qualify for his maiden Grand Slam singles main draw fell flat. SPO-HOCK-LD RESIGNATION Indian men's hockey team analytical coach Chris Ciriello resigns By Saumojyoti S Choudhury New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) The Indian men's hockey team was dealt another big blow ahead of Tokyo Olympics when analytical coach Chris Ciriello quit from his position due to health issues, days after David John tendered his resignation from High Performance Director's post.

SPO-CRI-IPL-RCB-COMMENTS Game changer Chahal showed he can get purchase on any surface: Kohli Dubai, Sep 22 (PTI) Crediting Yuzvendra Chahal's three-wicket burst for his side's 10-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL-opener, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said the wrist spinner proved that he can get purchase on any wicket. SPO-CRI-IPL-MARSH Marsh may be ruled out of entire IPL due to ankle injury: Sources Dubai, Sep 22 (PTI) Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is likely to be ruled out of the remainder of the IPL as the ankle injury he suffered during the game against RCB has turned out to be "serious", team sources said on Tuesday.

SPO-CRI-IPL-LD DEVILLIERS I surprised myself to be honest: De Villiers Dubai, Sep 22 (PTI) South African batsman AB de Villiers says he pleasantly surprised himself by striking form in his very first IPL game after being out of action for nearly eight months. SPO-ARCHERY-DAS Tokyo Olympics will be my best, says archer Atanu Das New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) Indian archer Atanu Das has vowed to dish out his best performance at next year's Tokyo Games, saying he is much better prepared, having worked on various aspects of his game after an ordinary outing at the Rio Olympics.

SPO-RACE-MAINI Kush Maini claims second win of the year at British F3 C'ship Leicestershire (UK), Sep 22 (PTI) Hitech GP's championship leader Kush Maini claimed his second win of the year in race three of the British F3 Championship at Donington Park. SPO-CRI-IPL-MORGAN Fire and Ice: 'Captain Morgan' aims to complement big hitter Andre Russell Abu Dhabi, Sep 22 (PTI) Eoin Morgan could well be the 'ice' to Andre Russell's 'fire' as England's World Cup winning captain gets ready to complement the pyrotechnics of the big-hitting Jamaican when Kolkata Knight Riders take the field in this edition of Indian Premier League. SPO-CRI-IPL-KKR-COMMENTS Hope Shubman will exceed all expectations: Karthik Abu Dhabi, Sep 22 (PTI) Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik is optimistic that talented India batsman Shubman Gill will exceed all expectations in the current IPL edition. SPO-CRI-IPL-BOULT Boult backs Bumrah to bounce back strongly against KKR Abu Dhabi, Sep 22 (PTI) Left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult has backed Jasprit Bumrah to bounce back strongly in Mumbai Indians' next IPL game against Kolkata Knight Riders here on Wednesday, after the India pace spearhead had a rare off day in the tournament opener.