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)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Emmanuel Macron is set to attend a biennial meeting of French-speaking territories beginning on Saturday in Cambodia, where the French president contending with public unrest at home will face international political challenges as a conflict in Africa hangs over the proceedings.

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, or OIF, is holding the three-day meeting through Monday in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Macron is expected to engage in bilateral discussions and join the summit meeting of the loose confederation of 90 member states and governments comprising 53 full members, five associate members and 32 observers — all French-speaking places.

Cambodia will take over the summit's chairmanship from Macron, who served as chair in 2024 when France was the host nation.

Before departing for Malaysia on Monday, Macron is to visit the famed Angkor World Heritage Site near the city of Siem Reap, where he and King Norodom Sihamoni will mark the completion of a French-supported restoration of the West Mebon temple.

Macron's trip comes at a time of widespread domestic protests, with more than 600,000 people taking to the streets earlier this month to demand higher wages and support the country’s student protest movement. The protests have seen thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries and schools set on fire.

The summit's sticky diplomacy will be on display on Monday when Macron and other leaders will decide who will serve for the next four years as secretary-general — the group’s leader and chief executive.

The choices initially included candidates from two bitterly feuding African members, Rwanda's Louise Mushikiwabo, who is seeking reelection to a third four-year term, and the Democratic Republic of Congo's Juliana Lumumba, the 71-year-old daughter of the country’s martyred independence hero, Patrice Lumumba.

On Saturday, Congo announced it was withdrawing Lumumba's candidacy and throwing its weight behind that of Romanian former Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, to allow “consensus around a unifying candidacy.”

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the team of Mushikiwabo, OIF's incumbent secretary general.

Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, along the border with Rwanda. Rwanda’s government consistently denies backing armed groups in Congo.

Congo has threatened to leave the OIF if Mushikiwabo is reelected. With a population exceeding 110 million people — over 40 million more than France — Congo is the most populous nation where French is the official language, and its withdrawal would mark a significant blow to the organization.

France is influential in the decision as the largest contributor to the OIF 2026 budget of €71.7 million ($79 million).

The challenge comes on the heels of the withdrawals of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the OIF announced in March 2025, following their membership suspensions over military coups.

Mali said the suspensions infringed on sovereignty, but the withdrawals also came in the context of Francophone African countries shedding French political, military and cultural influence that they regarded as overbearing.

The summit's slogan, “Reinvest in Peace for Shared Prosperity and Lasting Stability,” is seen as a reflection of Cambodia’s recovery from years of war and unrest in the last quarter of the 20th century.

About 20 government leaders, including Canada’s Mark Carney, Vietnam’s To Lam, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Félix Tshisekedi, are expected to attend the summit and likely will meet with Cambodia's king, as well as Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Most of the summit’s agenda is not disputed — documents will be approved on the political commitment to peaceful coexistence, social, cultural and economic cooperation, crisis resolution and peace-building, as well as the protection of cultural heritage and the promotion of cultural diversity.

Host Cambodia, which has an opportunity to showcase tourism potential and business opportunities, is holding side events highlighting commercial partnerships, cultural exchanges, science and technology.

Local political activists see the meeting as an occasion to press for more democratic freedoms in a de facto one-party state. U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews issued a statement pleading with summit delegates to uphold OIF values and pressure the Cambodian government for the release of detained rights activists.

“No one should be detained for defending human rights, reporting on matters of public concern, or voicing critical opinions,” he said.

Cambodia has a claim to helping the birth of the OIF, as its late king and mercurial independence leader, Norodom Sihanouk, was one of four founders in 1970 of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation. Sihanouk was overthrown and his immediate successors did not join, as Cambodia subsequently endured civil war and the brutal rule of the communist Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. Cambodia joined OIF as an observer in 1991 and became a full member in 1993.

Peck reported from Bangkok.

Tourists visit Village de la Francophonie, or Francophonie Village, set up to mark the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

People eat at Village de la Francophonie, or Francophonie Village, set up to mark the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Tourists visit Village de la Francophonie, or Francophonie Village, set yp to mark the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Tourists visit Village de la Francophonie, or Francophonie Village, set up to mark the 20th Francophonie Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media during the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Dublin, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)