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McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won for the fourth time in six races this year as he beat team-mate Lando Norris in an action-packed Miami Grand Prix.

Both McLaren drivers fought intense battles with early leader Max Verstappen’s Red Bull as they moved up to the front of the field.

Piastri, who started fourth, drove a race of clinical excellence to pass both Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and then Verstappen to assume the lead, before managing his gap to his pursuers to the end.

Norris, who dropped back to sixth on the first lap after running wide while battling for the lead with Verstappen, was also decisive in making up for his earlier misfortune.

Norris ate into Piastri’s lead through the second half of the race but the Australian kept him at arm’s length.

Mercedes’ George Russell benefited from one of three virtual safety-car periods to vault ahead of Verstappen and take the final podium place, similarly keeping the Dutchman at bay over the closing laps.

And there was tension at Ferrari as the team first rejected and then accepted Lewis Hamilton’s request to be allowed past team-mate Charles Leclerc as they raced on divergent tyre strategies.

Hamilton was let past to try to challenge Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes ahead of him, but failed to catch the Italian, or pull significantly ahead of Leclerc.

The first stint of the race was packed with drama at the front. Verstappen ran deep into the first corner and Norris attempted to pass him at the next curve.

But Verstappen jinked towards him and Norris ran off track, losing places to Antonelli, Piastri, Russell and the Williams of Alex Albon.

Norris complained that Verstappen ran him off the track, but the stewards decided the move was legitimate and took no action.

That left both McLaren drivers needing to make up ground to try to wrest the race win from Verstappen, and they set about the quest with gusto and determination.

At the front, Piastri swept boldly past Antonelli through the final part of the Esses in the first sector of the lap, before setting off after Verstappen.

Piastri was on Verstappen’s tail by lap eight and began trying to work out how to pass the Red Bull.

Verstappen repeatedly defended to the inside, forcing Piastri to the outside, and the McLaren was never quite far enough alongside to claim the corner.

After several attempts, Piastri finally made it by on lap 14. Verstappen again defended to the inside into the last corner, and that allowed Piastri to get a run on him with the DRS overtaking aid.

Piastri tried the outside again into Turn One, and this time Verstappen went in too deep, ran wide, and Piastri cut back and nipped by on the exit of the corner.

Their battle had allowed Norris to close up to them, after wasting little time passing the drivers between him and the leaders.

Norris passed Verstappen by diving around the outside into Turn 11 on lap 17, but he ran off track in doing it, and had to give the place back.

But a lap later, he made the move with ease, Verstappen this time appearing not to bother defending after sensing the game was up.

Verstappen quickly dropped back from the McLarens, losing nine seconds in as many laps before his pit stop.

The world champion’s day became worse when the virtual safety car (VSC) was deployed during the pit-stop period.

Russell, who was the only driver in the top 10 to start on the hard tyres like Hamilton, had not yet stopped and that VSC allowed him to pit for fresh tyres and rejoin still ahead of Verstappen.

For a while, Verstappen closed in on Russell but he could get no closer than about 1.8 seconds before failing to make any further progress.

Norris also closed on Piastri at the front, but after halving his deficit to four seconds, the Australian upped his pace to show he had time in hand and led comfortably to the end.

It is the first time a McLaren driver has won three races in a row since Mika Hakkinen over the 1997-98 seasons.

Piastri’s win extends his championship lead over Norris to 16 points, with Verstappen the same margin behind in third place. (BBC)

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Prabhsimran Singh hit 91 from 48 balls as Punjab Kings beat Lucknow Super Giants by 37 runs to move second in the Indian Premier League.

The opener hit six fours and seven sixes, making a half-century for the third match in a row, as his side cruised to 236-5.

The 24-year-old put on partnerships of 48 with Josh Inglis (30), 78 with Shreyas Iyer (45) and 54 with Shashank Singh (33 not out), falling in Digvesh Singh Rathi’s penultimate over, caught in the covers by Nicholas Pooran.

Lucknow were never in the chase, with Arshdeep Singh (3-16) removing openers Mitchell Marsh (0) and Aiden Markram (13) in the space of four balls before returning to trap Pooran lbw for six.

Azmatullah Omarzai had both Rishabh Pant (18) and David Miller (11) caught by Shashank at point as Lucknow slipped to 74-5 at the halfway stage, way behind the required run-rate.

Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad dug in for almost seven overs, putting on 81 for the sixth wicket, until the latter was caught and bowled by Marco Jansen for 45.

Badoni was ultimately caught at short third by Arshdeep in Yuzvendra Chahal’s final over, finishing with a 40-ball 74, as Lucknow finished on 199-7.

Kings move up two places to second, one point behind leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while Lucknow remain in seventh with five wins and six defeats. (BBC)

 

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Berbice emerged champions of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Male Inter-County Under-19, 50-over competition, topping the table at the end of three rounds.

With two wins, a no-result and bonus points, Berbice finished with 11.4 points, ahead of the Select XI, who secured two wins and a defeat to take the runner-up spot with 11 points.

Demerara, with a mixed bag of one win, one defeat and a no-result, ended third on 8.2 points, with Essequibo bottom of the table with 1.8 points.

Four points were awarded for a win, two for a no-result and 0.2 for a wicket taken by a fast bowler or wrist spinner.

On the individual side, Parmeshwar Ram (103), Sachin Balgobin (77), Romario Ramdeholl (77), Matthew Pottaya (61) and Jonathan Mentore (55) were the top five leading run-scorers.

The top bowlers were Golcharran Chulai (10), Salim Khan (9), Romario Ramdeholl (7), Parmeshwar Ram (7), Neeran Bani (6), Matthew Pottaya (6), Nityanand Mathura (6) and Dave Mohabir (6).

Click here to view full details of the tournament

Parmeshwar Ram (left) and Golcharran Chulai were the leading runscorer and wicket-taker respectively. They receive their awards from Cricket Operations Manager of the Guyana Cricket Board, Anthony D’Andrade

ROUND ONE

At Police Ground: Berbice defeated the Select XI by 178 runs

SUMMARY: Berbice 210 all out from 48.3 overs (Matthew Pottaya 40, Ari Afrizal Kadir 23, Rampersaud Ramnauth 23, Damion Cecil 20; Parmeshwar Ram 5-37, Dave Mohabir 2-45) vs Select XI 36 all out from 16.4 overs (Jonathan Mentore 13; Salim Khan 4-15, Matthew Pottaya 3-4, Sanjay Algoo 2-1)

At the Imam Bacchus Ground: Demerara defeated Essequibo by 23 runs

SUMMARY: Demerara 96 all out from 24.3 overs (Romeo Deonarain 18, Sachin Balgobin 14, Shiloh Adams 14; Golcharran Chulai 5-18, Rajendra Ramballi 2-19) vs Essequibo 73 all out from 37.1 overs (Ronaldo Jeffrey 14, Navindra Sankar 11;  Neeran Bani 4-16, Jayden Dowlin 3-9)

ROUND TWO

At LBI Ground: Select XI defeated Demerara by 29 runs

SUMMARY: Select XI 206 all out from 49.2 overs (Parmeshwar Ram 67, Romario Ramdeholl 42, Jonathan Mentore 36; Nityanand Mathura 4-38, Neeran Bani 2-34, Udesh Seetaram 2-35) vs Demerara 177 all out from 36.3 overs (Sachin Balgobin 57, Vemol Lall 38; Romario Ramdeholl 5-34, Jonathan Mentore 2-1)

At the Police Ground: Berbice defeated Essequibo by four wickets

SUMMARY: Essequibo 113 all out from 26.4 overs (Ashton Simmons 21, Teddy Wong 19, Golcharran Chulai 16*; Salim Khan 4-30, Micah Amsterdam 3-18) vs Berbice 116-6 from 17.3 overs (Sanjay Algoo 34, Matthew Pottaya 21*; Golcharran Chulai 3-23)

ROUND THREE

At the LBI Ground: Select XI defeated Essequibo by 13 runs under DLS method

SUMMARY: Select XI 147-9 from 29 overs (Romario Ramdeholl 35, Parmeshwar Ram 32, Kishawn Silas 31; Navindra Sankar 4-18, Golcharran Chulai 2-16, Saif Samaroo 2-34) vs Essequibo 96-8 from 20 overs (Shazif Mohamed 29, Ronaldo Jeffrey 24; Dave Mohabir 3-16)

At the LBI Ground: No-result between Berbice and Demerara (30-over game)

 SUMMARY: Demerara 133 all out from 22.1 overs (Romeo Deonarain 28, Jonathan Van Lange 26, Shiloh Adams 24, Jayden Dowlin 20; Kumar Deopersaud 3-8, Matthew Pottaya 2-21, Afraz Budhoo 2-22) vs Berbice 67-5 from 15 overs (Ari Afrizal Kadir 19, Daniel Joseph 15*; Wavell Allen 3-29)

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Kolkata Knight Riders remain in contention for the Indian Premier League end of season play-offs after beating Rajasthan Royals by just one run.

Chasing 207, Rajasthan required 22 runs from Vaibhav Arora’s final over, and Shubham Dubey smashed two sixes and a four to leave them needing three from the final ball.

Dubey struck the last delivery to long-off, and Rinku Singh’s throw beat Jofra Archer’s attempt to return to the non-striker’s end for a two and resulting tie and super over.

The defending champions would have hoped for a less nervy finish, having had their opponents 71-5 in the eighth over.

The 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi was dismissed for a two-ball four before Moeen Ali removed Yashasvi Jaiswal (34) and then Kunal Rathore for a duck.

Rathore was the first of three batters to be dismissed without scoring, as Varun Chakravarthy bowled Dhruv Jurel and Wanindu Hasaranga within the space of three balls.

The visitors’ fortunes were turned by Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer, who put on a partnership of 92.

Parag struck eight sixes in his 45-ball innings, including six consecutive boundary clearances, the first five from Moeen’s 13th over.

The pairing was broken by Harshit Rana, who had Hetmyer top-edge to Sunil Narine for 29 then saw Parag hole out to Arora for a 45-ball 95.

Kolkata’s total of 206-4 was a team effort with Rahmanullah Gurbaz (35), Ajinkya Rahane (30), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44) all chipping in, before Andre Russell (57 off 25) and Singh (19 off 6) finished the innings strongly, setting a score that Rajasthan couldn’t quite chase down.

Kolkata move up one place to sixth, two points off Punjab Kings in the final play-off position but having played one game more.

Rajasthan remain in eighth with three wins and nine losses and are out of play-off contention. (BBC)

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat McLaren’s Lando Norris to pole position at the Miami Grand Prix.

Verstappen headed Norris, who won the sprint race earlier on Saturday, by 0.065 seconds.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, on pole for the sprint, grabbed third ahead of the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Mercedes’ George Russell was fifth ahead of the Williams of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, as Ferrari struggled, with Charles Leclerc eighth and Lewis Hamilton down in 12th.

Verstappen’s pole, in a car with an upgraded floor this weekend, was won with a blistering first sector of the lap.

The Red Bull’s speed in the fast sweepers there was too much for McLaren to claw back in the remainder of the lap.

“It’s been a great qualifying,” Verstappen said. “We improved the car a tiny amount, which helped me rotate it a bit better.

“Q1, Q2, Q3 improving every run. Trying to find the limit. I had a tiny moment into Turn One trying to find more time there but it’s very tricky here with the tyres. It’s qualifying, try to correct it and floor it out of the corner.”

It was a second piece of good news for the four-time champion this week, after the birth of his first child, a daughter called Lily.

Norris said: “Congrats to Max, especially being a dad now. I was hoping it would slow him down a bit but it clearly didn’t.

“Max did a Max lap again and I’m happy for him. The pace is there. I have been feeling good. It is what it is, I’m P2, Max on pole, ready to see what I can do into Turn One.”

Antonelli’s third place proved his pole in the sprint on Friday was not a flash in the pan, on a weekend where he is showing the spark of prodigious talent that convinced Mercedes to put the 18-year-old straight into their team in his debut season. He beat team-mate George Russell by 0.114secs.

It also made amends to some degree for a disappointing sprint result, where he lost the lead at the start and then was hit by Verstappen’s car in the pits and finished seventh. (BBC)

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Police in Regional Division Three made two narcotics-related arrests on Saturday, during separate operations along the East Bank of Essequibo, seizing a combined total of over 1.4 kilogrammes of suspected cannabis.

In the first incident, ranks conducting an operation at the Vergenoegen Access Road observed a 30-year-old man from Tuschen acting suspiciously. A search of his person revealed several Ziplock bags containing suspected cannabis, amounting to more than 38 grams.

The suspect was cautioned, arrested, and remains in custody as investigations continue.

Later in the day, at the Vreed-en-Hoop Junction, police intercepted a motorbus during a separate operation. A 31-year-old woman from the Vergenoegen Squatting Area was found with a gift bag and haversack in her possession.

Upon inspection, officers discovered three large Ziplock bags filled with leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be cannabis, totalling approximately 1,360 grams. She too was cautioned and taken into custody.

Investigations into both incidents are ongoing.

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A dominant spin bowling performance and a composed run chase saw Guyana notch their second consecutive win in the Women’s T20 Blaze, as they defeated the Windward Islands by seven wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-shortened encounter at Arnos Vale on Saturday.

Reduced to 13 overs per side due to weather interruptions, the match proved another low-scoring affair. But Guyana’s spin trio—Nyia Latchman (4-8), Ashmini Munisar (2-10), and Sheneta Grimmond (2-16)—left the Windward Islands in tatters at 61-9, laying the foundation for a comfortable chase.

Sent in to bat, the Windward Islands never found their rhythm, as they were stifled by tight lines, and  only managed just two boundaries in the entire innings. Nerissa Crafton (14) and Japhina Joseph (17) struck one each, while captain Zaida James (13) was the only other player to reach double figures.

With no meaningful partnerships to anchor the innings, wickets fell at regular intervals, and the spin trio feasted on a lineup short on answers.

In reply, Guyana suffered an early hiccup when Munisar was run out for one with the score at eight, but Realeanna Grimmond, with a 29-ball 30, and Shabika Gajnabi’s unbeaten 26 off 31 balls, stitched together a crucial 54-run second-wicket stand that all but ended Windward Islands’ hopes of a comeback.

Grimmond, who cleared the ropes once during her knock, fell in the 12th over alongside captain Shemaine Campbelle (two), both victims of Niesha Cherry (2-14). But Gajnabi held her nerve to guide Guyana across the line.

With this result, Guyana continue to assert themselves in the tournament, while the Windward Islands are left searching for answers after another underwhelming batting display. (SportsMax) 

FULL SCORECARD: https://matchcentre.windiescricket.com/match/fccc4089-6fa3-486e-8ebe-192cc9b48c0e

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Lando Norris beat McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to win a chaotic wet-dry Miami Grand Prix sprint race with help from the safety car.

Piastri led from lap one after passing pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes at the first corner of the race but the safety car cost the Australian the race win.

The championship leader pitted one lap before Norris as the track dried out but the safety car was sent out while Norris was pitting for his slick tyres.

That slows the cars on track and gave Norris enough time to rejoin in the lead.

The safety car was caused by a crash between Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull at Turn Two but that was not the only drama in the race.

Max Verstappen finished fourth on the road behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who benefited from an early pit stop for dry-weather slick tyres, but was penalised 10 seconds for an unsafe release from his pit stop, which caused him to collide with Antonelli.

Verstappen, whose front wing was damaged in the collision, was demoted to 17th and last by the penalty.

The incident was a major blow to Antonelli’s hopes of a good result. It prevented him making his pit stop and he had to rejoin the track and do another lap before pitting again. Antonelli ended up finishing out of the points in ninth.

The race started on a wet track, after a 28-minute delay because of the poor conditions. (BBC) 

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru went one step closer to securing a play-off spot with a nervy win over Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.

Indian Premier League leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerve to clinch a two-run win over the Chennai Super Kings.

It all came down to the last ball of the match, bottom-place CSK needing four from Yash Dayal’s final delivery, with the RCB man coming up trumps in the end, though there were plenty of hiccups along the way.

Sent in to bat by MS Dhoni, RCB got their innings off to a flier courtesy of Jacob Bethell (55 off 33) – playing just his second IPL game – and Virat Kohli (62 off 33), who together powered RCB to a 97-run first wicket stand.

The pair departed in quick succession, and a middle-order wobble followed as Devdutt Padikkal (17), Jitesh Sharma (seven), and Rajat Patidar (11) failed to capitalise. But Romario Shepherd came to the rescue in spectacular fashion.

Shepherd unleashed carnage in the final overs, smashing 33 off Khaleel Ahmed in the 19th and following that up with 21 off Matheesha Pathirana in the 20th. He finished on a jaw-dropping 53 off just 14 balls, powering RCB to a formidable 213.

CSK’s chase stuttered early with Shaik Rasheed (14) and Sam Curran (five) falling inside the powerplay. But 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre took charge, playing a sensational knock of 94 off 48 balls in only his debut season.

He and Ravindra Jadeja (77 off 45) put together a massive 114-run partnership that had CSK cruising toward the target, helped by some costly fielding errors from RCB — Patidar, Kohli, and Lungi Ngidi all spilling chances.

But Ngidi redeemed himself in the 16th over, dismissing Mhatre on the boundary and removing Dewald Brevis with the very next ball, turning the tide back in RCB’s favour.

With 15 needed off the final over and Jadeja and Dhoni at the crease, memories of last season’s clash hung in the air. Dayal struck early, trapping Dhoni lbw off his third ball, but drama returned instantly as a waist-high no-ball was dispatched for six by Shivam Dube.

Dayal held his nerve in the end, closing the game out with three well-executed slow wide yorkers, sealing a two-run win off the very last ball.

Data debrief: Mhatre announces himself on the big stage

Mhatre, at just 17 years and 291 days, became the third-youngest player to score a half-century in IPL history — behind only Riyan Parag (17y 175d) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (14y 32d).

He made an early statement, smashing Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 26 runs in the fourth over, including five fours and a six.

Mhatre finished with a match-high nine boundaries and five sixes at a strike rate of 195.83 in an innings of real authority and promise.

It is only unfortunate that his brilliant knock went in vain, largely due to another impactful innings from Shepherd, who reached his fifty off just 14 deliveries – the fastest in this year’s IPL and joint-fourth fastest overall.

Shepherd struck four fours and six sixes at a mind-boggling strike rate of 378.57. (SportsMax)

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On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, President Dr. Irfaan Ali issued a call to action for journalists and media professionals to prioritise truth and responsibility over the mere pursuit of reach, especially in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI).

Speaking to media operatives and members of government and of the diplomatic community at State House, the President highlighted the critical role of journalism in democratic societies and warned against the dangers of sensationalism and misinformation.

“Even with AI, there is still a need for telling the truth and doing facts-driven news,” President Ali stated.

“Don’t sacrifice responsibility for reach.”

Dr. Ali acknowledged the rapidly evolving landscape of media, pointing out that AI now allows anyone with access to a digital platform to generate and disseminate information at unprecedented speed and scale. While this has democratised content creation, he cautioned that it has also blurred the lines of credibility and accountability.

“We are living in a reset world,” he said. “The traditional definitions of media no longer hold. Anyone can now report, comment, or influence public discourse—but with that comes the burden of responsibility.”

He described the current media environment as one where speed, influence, and reach often take precedence over ethics and accuracy. This, he warned, poses a serious threat not only to professional journalism but to the integrity of public information itself.

“The ethics of the question are put on the back burner,” he said. “Influence and speed have become the key metrics, and that is dangerous.”

Addressing the rise of AI tools in content production, the President noted that while such technology offers vast potential, it also introduces the risk of misinformation on a massive scale.

“AI doesn’t require professionalism to define the message. It can create influence without intellect. And when that happens, the truth becomes optional.”

To mitigate this, Dr. Ali called for urgent national and regional collaboration to craft policies and regulations around AI use in media, warning that the unchecked spread of AI-generated content could have destabilising effects.

“If we don’t ensure that AI is regulated—especially in the press and information dissemination space—it becomes a ticking time bomb,” he said. “Information can destabilise a society in seconds, leaving no time to respond.”

While reaffirming his government’s commitment to press freedom, the President stressed that this freedom must come with an equal measure of accountability—from both those who produce news and those who consume it.

“Freedom must walk with responsibility,” he affirmed. “It’s not only the media who must be fair and truthful, but also the public who must engage critically and responsibly with information.”

Dr. Ali also touched on the future of media associations, encouraging them to expand their remit to include newer, non-traditional voices in the information space—especially those active on social media—so that standards and accountability are upheld across the board.

“The definition of who constitutes the media is evolving,” he said. “Associations must be inclusive of all content creators, because everyone who shares information must be held to some standard.”

Reflecting on Guyana’s own constitutional guarantees, he pointed out that press freedom was enshrined in the Constitution before the advent of digital media and AI. This, he said, necessitates a modern review of legal and ethical frameworks.

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