Arsenal’s unfortunate pattern has begun to take shape again, and this time it comes with silverware on the line. Mikel Arteta’s side lost 2–0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, with Nico O’Reilly scoring twice in four minutes of the second half to decide the game.

For a team leading the Premier League, in the Champions League quarter-finals against Sporting CP, and still in the FA Cup, this was an obvious result. Instead, their quadruple hopes are dashed, and questions about handling big games are back.

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The first half was controlled but flat. Arsenal had more possession but did little with it. The city stood tight and waited for errors.

Just after the hour mark the game turned, and quickly.

Kepa’s scary night at Wembley

Arteta stuck with Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had played every round of the competition. The decision did not work.

Kepa looked uncertain early in the second half when he ran in and fouled Jeremy Doku, earning him a yellow card.

In the 60th minute he made an even bigger mistake. A routine cross slipped through his hands and fell to Nico O’Reilly, who gave City the lead.

After four minutes the score was 2-0. Matthias Nunes delivered a cross and O’Reilly scored again with a clean header.

Arsenal pushed forward but lacked quality in the final third. He hit the bar late on but couldn’t do enough to trouble City.

Kepa’s errors changed the game and Arsenal never recovered.

Nico O’Reilly extends Dream Week

Nico O’Reilly made the difference.

The 21-year-old scored both goals in quick succession to book a place in the final. His first reaction came by reacting to Kepa’s mistake. The second was a well-timed header from Nunes’ cross.

It’s been a strong week for the youngster after joining the England squad and celebrating his birthday.

For Guardiola, this is his fifth League Cup title, the most by any manager in the competition.

City won their first trophy of the season.

Arsenal remain in the race for the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup titles. But this result ruins their chances of winning it all and the focus turns to how they perform in the deciding games.

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There was a festive atmosphere at the MA Chidambaram Stadium ahead of Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 home game in the city. On Sunday, the five-time champions hosted a special event for their fans, bringing together their former players – the OGs – under one roof. It was a day that brought back memories when players like Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Muttiah Muralitharan, Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, S Badrinath and Suresh Raina once again donned the yellow jersey and walked on the iconic Chepauk.

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As expected, MS Dhoni stole the show. The 44-year-old took to the field on Sunday afternoon with a thunderous background score, much to the delight of fans who had bought tickets for the special event, which will be followed by a concert by Academy Award winner AR Rahman.

A fan was seen crying as he saw Dhoni walk onto the field to begin the fun-filled training session. Titled ‘Roar 26’, CSK hosted the special evening to honor its former cricketers as well as the World Cup winners from the current team.

While the loudest cheer was reserved for Dhoni, Suresh Raina, one of CSK’s greatest players, was welcomed with a huge roar by the crowd. Sanju Samson, who will join the CSK squad in IPL 2026 after his departure from Rajasthan Royals, also got a warm welcome.

Dhoni appeared to be enjoying while getting wickets to some of his former teammates. He saw Michael Hussey dancing on the track and sending captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s part-time off-spin into the stands.

When Samson came back and hit a six off Muttiah Muralitharan, Dhoni was also behind the stumps.

As usual, Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo were engaged in a light banter on the field. When Dhoni had a chance to stump Bravo, who was dancing on the track and missed a big shot, he decided not to do so. Later in the evening, Bravo entertained the Chepauk crowd by singing a song before walking up to Dhoni and sharing a warm embrace with his former captain.

Dhoni honored Samson

Dhoni then honored India’s T20 World Cup heroes – Shivam Dubey and Sanju Samson with special mementos. Dhoni also honored Ayush Mhatre, who led India’s Under-19 team to win the World Cup earlier this year.

Dhoni later attended the felicitation ceremony along with CSK OGs and the current team of players and thanked the fans who came in large numbers. He was also seen hitting tennis balls into the stands, ensuring that supporters went home with special memories.

This was the first time CSK hosted a ticketed event for fans at the start of the IPL season. The franchise ensured the presence of many former superstars. Despite their commitments with other IPL teams, Bravo (KKR mentor), Hayden and Parthiv (Gujarat Titans coach) attended the event in Chennai.

All eyes were on Dhoni amid speculations that the event, featuring many CSK greats, could signal the beginning of his final season as a player. However, there were no signs of a farewell as the 44-year-old donned the gloves and enjoyed his time on the field.

While Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to lead CSK, it remains to be seen how involved Dhoni will be this season. There is a school of thought that he may limit himself to playing as an impact player. However, if indications from the training sessions are anything to go by, Dhoni may take over the wicketkeeping duties ahead of Samson.

Dhoni’s performance with the bat in IPL 2025 was not good and he scored 196 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 135.17. It was a tough campaign for the team as Dhoni took over the captaincy after Ruturaj was injured midway through the season, leading to CSK finishing at the bottom of the points table for the first time in IPL history.

However, Dhoni is training hard for IPL 2026 starting from March 28. After starting his preparations in Ranchi in early February, he joined the CSK camp in Chennai in the first week of March and has been training intensively since then.

CSK will start their campaign on Monday, March 30 against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. They will play their first home match on Friday, April 3 against Punjab Kings.

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Ishaan Kishan and Zeeshan Ansari (X)

Stand-in Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Ishan Kishan Teammates found themselves at the center of a fiery moment on the field during a practice game on Saturday Zeeshan Ansari Gave him an animated farewell after getting him out.This incident came to light in the eighth over of the second innings. Kishan, who was looking in great touch early on, attacked the 26-year-old leg spinner and hit two sixes and two fours in the first four balls. However, the final decision was Ansari’s. He deceived the wicketkeeper-batsman with a full ball, leading to a mistimed shot which was caught safely at deep square leg.This was followed by an aggressive reaction from the bowler, who signaled Kishan to go back to the pavilion. However, the SRH captain decided to take it as a game and responded with a smile, reducing the tension.The moment comes as Kishan has been handed leadership responsibilities for the initial phase Indian Premier League 2026 season. The franchise named him interim captain Abhishek Sharma As his deputy, serving as regular captain pat cummins His recovery from a lower back stress injury continues.Cummins’ injury had already ruled him out of a significant portion of the recent Ashes in Australia and he was also sidelined during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Confirming the leadership change, SRH said that Cummins will miss a few matches, but did not clarify the exact duration of his absence.Kishan stepped into the role on the back of his stellar performance in the T20 World Cup, where he played a key role in India’s title-winning campaign. The left-handed batsman finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer with 317 runs in nine matches at an average of 193 and 35.22, which included three half-centuries.His performances have taken him to No. 2 in the ICC rankings for T20I batsmen, a chart currently topped by his SRH teammate Abhishek Sharma. Earlier in the domestic season, Kishan had led Jharkhand to their first title in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, underscoring his growing credentials as a leader.

Former Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten said he was not surprised to hear the news of the team being fined for its poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2026. Pakistan exited the tournament during the Super 8 stage, having managed just one win over a full member nation and losing to India once again.

According to a report by The Express TribuneEach player on the team may face a fine of PKR 5 million (approximately Rs 16 lakh) for not meeting the performance standards. The move was believed to be inspired by Mohsin Naqvi, indicating a tough stance by the Pakistan Cricket Board in dealing with poor results. Insiders suggest that the leadership has become increasingly frustrated after disappointing performances in major ICC tournaments.

Kirsten recently talked about her time spent with the Pakistan team And the toxic culture with the cricket system in the country and he gave his opinion on the matter. Speaking to BBC, the former Pakistan coach said that he was saddened to hear the news as he believes that the players are giving their all for the team.

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Kirsten said, “I’m not particularly surprised (by the news of Pakistani players being fined). To me, it’s just sad. I mean, those players are giving their all and I know them well. You know them all. So I have an emotional attachment to a lot of them. I saw them in Colombo and it was great to reconnect with them. And they’re good people. They want to do well for their country. So when you When you look at it, it never looks good.”

‘Pak players are dedicated to sports’

Kirsten spoke openly about his relationship with the Pakistan players and said that they were completely professional and he enjoyed his tenure with them.

“At the end of the day, I enjoy working with cricket players. And if you have cricket players, whether they’re from England, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, they’re cricket players, they’re professionals. We speak the same language. We connect on the same things, and we’re professionals in that area. And you know, I enjoyed the Pakistan players, I did. I thought they were dedicated to the game,” Kirsten said.

The exit from the T20 World Cup 2026 was the third consecutive time that Pakistan failed to make the last four of an ICC competition.

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Hardik Pandya (Image Credit: BCCI/IPL)

Despite remaining with a strong core over the years, Mumbai Indians Have failed to win the Indian Premier League title since 2020. To end this drought in 2026, they will need their superstar players who put the team above individual ambitions and provide positive feedback. hardik pandyaLeadership style of.MI’s leadership group is quite experienced Rohit SharmaHardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah are all capable of turning matches in pressure situations. With most of their top players in form, the five-time champions would like to end their title drought this season.

With a lethal batting lineup, multiple all-rounders, a world-class fast bowler in Bumrah and a crafty T20 spinner in Mitchell Santner, MI have a combination that most teams would envy. Being one of the most successful franchises in IPL history, they know the winning formula. They just need to find it again.Less than a month ago, Pandya produced another strong all-round performance in India’s victory in the 2026 T20 World Cup, earning praise for his bowling contribution, which R Ashwin recently highlighted as underappreciated. As a senior player, Hardik played a key role in India winning the trophy under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav.When MI begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29, Pandya will expect the same level of commitment from his Indian teammates – Suryakumar, Rohit, Bumrah and Tilak Verma.Add the overseas strength of Will Jacques, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton and New Zealand white-ball captain Santner and MI, on paper, appears to be one of the strongest franchise teams in world cricket.

Yet, this star-studded outfit – the IPL version of the Galacticos – has been struggling to put together a champion team since Pandya returns as captain in 2024. His first season as MI captain was disastrous, with the team managing only four wins from 14 matches.The situation became worse when the crowd booed him as he replaced sentimental favorite Rohit as captain. Then, there were reports of unrest in the dressing room. However, the management kept faith in Pandya and retained him for IPL 2025. The results improved as MI reached the playoffs, before a sensational innings from Shreyas Iyer saw them bow out in Qualifier 2 against Punjab Kings.IPL 2026 could be a decisive test for Pandya’s leadership. Suryakumar Yadav’s stature has increased after leading India to the T20 World Cup title and he will also fulfill his captaincy ambitions in the IPL. Rohit is also one of the most respected leaders in world cricket. If MI struggle early, calls for a leadership rethink could intensify. The best approach for Pandya and head coach Mahela Jayawardene would be a collaborative leadership model that actively involves senior players in decision-making. This kind of consultative approach will keep the dressing room united and focused on trophies rather than individual egos.This season can also be important for Rohit. Now looking lean and fit, the 38-year-old looks motivated for a strong campaign. Rohit, who was used as an ‘impact sub’ at times last season, could play a bigger role on the field this year, allowing him to contribute more to tactical decisions. The Mumbaikar remains MI’s emotional heartbeat, although a prolonged dip in form could raise uncomfortable questions for the team.MI has tremendous depth in its batting. Rohit is likely to open with Quinton de Kock or Ryan Rickelton, followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak and Hardik along with power-hitters Sherfane Rutherford and Jack Taylor in a strong middle order. Pandya’s own batting position will be important – ideally, he should not bat below No. 6 to maximize his impact in the death overs.A lot will also depend on Jasprit Bumrah, whose match-winning spells powered India’s T20 World Cup campaign. Instead of saving Pandya only for the death overs, it would be wise to use him as a strike bowler throughout the innings, like Suryakumar did for India.Apart from Bumrah and Santner, MI’s bowling could be vulnerable on the flat Wankhede pitch, especially against a big-hitting lineup.Ultimately, Pandya’s biggest challenge is to ensure that MI operates as a happy, united team rather than a bunch of superstars with bruised egos. It will be important to control emotions and maintain harmony in the dressing room. If Mumbai Indians get it right, Hardik may find himself smiling on the podium after the IPL final on May 31.mi swotBe it a power-packed batting unit, skilled all-rounders or a bowling lineup with depth and potential, Mumbai Indians have most of the bases in place to go deep into IPL 2026…Strength : Mumbai Indians’ biggest strength is their batting with three of India’s 2026 T20 World Cup winners – Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Verma – bringing consistency and firepower. Foreign stars like Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford and Mitchell Santner add depth, while Jasprit Bumrah remains the team’s biggest USP, capable of changing the game at any level. A strong pool of all-rounders provides MI with flexibility and balance in different situations.weakness: The lack of a reliable Indian opener with Rohit Sharma and an experienced Indian wicketkeeper could force MI to play both Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock using the overseas slots. With the retirement of Piyush Chawla, Santner has become the frontline spinner, further limiting combination and tactical flexibility.opportunity: Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar pose a formidable threat with the new ball, while all-rounders like Hardik, Santner, Jacques and Shardul Thakur provide balance. Hardik and Naman Dheer add finishing power, giving MI the ability to dominate at crucial stages of the game. If their bowling unit clicks, and does so collectively, MI can dominate in the powerplay and death overs.Threat: Aging stars like Rohit, De Kock, Boult and Santner raise concerns over fielding and consistency. Over-dependence on senior players and too many options can create confusion in selection resulting in problems with role clarity. -Gaurav Gupta