Gujarat, Bengaluru and Punjab advance to IPL playoffs

NEW DELHI (AP) — Sai Sudharsan hit 108 not out off 61 balls as Gujarat Titans thrashed Delhi Capitals by 10 wickets on Sunday and sealed its spot in the Indian Premier League playoffs.

Sudharsan shared a double-century unbeaten opening stand with skipper Shubman Gill – the third equal highest by runs in the IPL – as the Titans reached 205-0 in 19 overs.

Gill scored 93 not out off 53 deliveries.

Their stand canceled out Lokesh Rahul’s 65-ball 112 not out — his fifth IPL century – in Delhi’s 199-3 in 20 overs. It was Delhi's fifth loss in seven games.

Gujarat climbed to the top of the IPL points table with 18 points from 12 games. Its victory over fifth-placed Delhi also meant that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (second, 17 points) and Punjab Kings (third, 17 points) also advanced to the playoffs.

Delhi has 13 points and is a point behind fourth-placed Mumbai Indians, who occupy the fourth and final playoff spot, with two regular season matches remaining. Lucknow Super Giants is currently seventh with 10 points from only 11 games.

Punjab beat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs earlier Sunday to secure its playoff spot.

Rahul scored his fifth IPL century overall as Delhi rode on a blistering knock to present a challenging score.

He hit 14 fours and four sixes, and put on a vital 90 off 52 balls with Abhishek Porel (30). Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs also had cameos – but there wasn’t a second major contribution alongside Rahul, who reached 100 off 60 balls.

In reply, Gujarat relied on its in-form openers to confirm a spot in the knockouts. The duo dominated Delhi’s bowling, hitting 11 sixes and 15 fours altogether.

Gill scored 50 off 33 balls, including four sixes, and then added another three.

Sudharsan hit 12 fours and four sixes. Three of those sixes came after he scored 50 off 30 balls and helped him gallop to a second IPL century.

Nehal Wadhera scored 70 off 37 balls to lead Punjab Kings to a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals.

Wadhera smashed five sixes and five fours in his second half-century of the season in Punjab’s 219-5 in 20 overs. Shashank Singh’s 59 not out off 30 balls also helped the Kings cross the 200-mark.

Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar then took 3-22 in four overs as Rajasthan’s chase lost momentum despite half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaisal and Dhruv Jurel. The Royals were restricted to 209-7 for a 10th loss this season.

Wadhera took charge of the innings after Punjab was down to 34-3 in 3.1 overs, rebuilding it with a 67-run partnership off 44 balls with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who scored 30 off 25 balls.

Wadhera reached 50 off 25 balls, and then added 58 off 33 with Shashank Singh which set up the base for a 200-plus score.

Singh hit five fours and three sixes, while also finding an able partner in Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 21 not out off nine balls. The duo added 60 runs off the last four overs.

In reply, Rajasthan made a quick-fire start. Jaiswal took 22 runs off the first over, and added 76 off 29 balls with his teenage opening partner Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The latter scored 40 off 15 balls, with four sixes, before he was caught off Brar in the fifth over. Jaiswal carried on despite the breakthrough, scoring 50 off 25 balls, before he holed out too – again off Brar in the ninth over.

Rajasthan started losing steam afterward with Sanju Samson (20) and Riyan Parag (13) unable to keep up the momentum.

Jurel scored 53 off 31 balls – his second half-century of the season – to keep the chase going, but Marco Jansen and Omarzai combined for four wickets to help Punjab gain valuable points.

The IPL’s much-anticipated restart had been delayed for another day on Saturday after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru-Kolkata Knight Riders game was washed out.

The IPL was suspended for a week to Friday due to the military showdown between India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Super League resumed on Saturday.

The IPL final, originally scheduled for May 25, was moved to June 3.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Gujarat Titans' Sai Sudharsan, left, is congratulated by captain Shubman Gill after scoring a century during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Punjab Kings' Harpreet Brar celebrates the wicket of Rajasthan Royals' Riyan Parag during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Punjab Kings' Nehal Wadhera plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in Jaipur, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul celebrates after scoring a century during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Gujarat Titans' Sai Sudharsan celebrates after scoring a century during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is ticking toward the edge of its all-time high on Friday as Wall Street drifts toward the finish of a quiet week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and is just 0.2% below its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher. The Russell 2000 index of small stocks edged back 0.2% from its record set the day before.

Netflix offered some splash and fell 2.1% after the streaming company said it would buy Warner Bros. following its split from Discovery Global. Netflix will pay $72 billion in cash and stock for the company behind HBO Max, “Casablanca” and “Harry Potter,” and Warner Bros. Discovery rose 2.6%.

Ulta Beauty jumped 11% after the retailer reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Kecia Steelman said its customers are broadly feeling pressure, but Ulta saw growth across its categories, particularly in e-commerce. It raised its forecast for revenue over the full year.

Another encouraging signal for the crucial holiday shopping season came from Victoria’s Secret & Co. It reported a smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it likewise raised its forecast for sales over the full year. Its stock jumped 14.4%.

They worked against a 3.9% drop for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts forecast, though its profit topped expectations.

The U.S. stock market broadly has been much quieter this week. It’s a respite following earlier weeks of sharp and scary swings driven by worries that too many dollars may be flowing into artificial-intelligence technology, along with concerns about what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates.

After some back and forth, the widespread expectation among traders is that the Fed will cut its main interest rate next week in hopes of shoring up the slowing U.S. job market. If it does, that would be the third cut of the year.

Investors love lower interest rates because they boost prices for investments and can juice the economy. The downside is that they can worsen inflation, which is stubbornly remaining above the Fed’s 2% target.

The S&P 500 has run back toward its all-time high, which was set in late October, in large part because of expectations for a coming cut to interest rates. That leaves the question of what Fed officials will do next year on rates, with traders waiting for any clues that may come out of next week’s Fed meeting.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady amid the wait. The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.11%, where it was late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, edged up to 3.54% from 3.52%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

Germany’s DAX returned 0.9%, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% for two of the world’s bigger gains.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1% after data showed household spending in Japan fell 3.0% in October from a year earlier. It was the sharpest drop since January 2024. Japanese markets have been shaky recently after the Bank of Japan hinted that hikes to interest rates may be coming.

AP Writer Teresa Cerojano contributed.

Options trader Joseph D'Arrigo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)