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)

HILVERSUM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 20, 2026--

NEP Group, the leading media services provider for live sports and entertainment worldwide, today announced the launch of EU-01, its newest outside broadcast unit and another major step in its strategy to build new units around a common technical framework designed to operate across European markets. The approach gives customers a consistent production experience, with familiar tools, workflows and production environments wherever their events take them across the region.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260820481592/en/

Built on a common IP-based technical architecture, EU-01 takes a hybrid approach, bringing together software-defined capabilities and traditional hardware-based solutions engineered to work seamlessly together. This gives NEP greater flexibility to deploy production capacity across European markets while preserving a familiar operating environment for customers and production teams.

NEP Platform, the industry’s largest ecosystem of trusted software applications for live media production, is a key enabler of this standardised approach, helping teams deploy and configure software-defined capabilities faster and respond more efficiently to the evolving needs of live production.

Designed to UEFA technical specifications, EU-01 is capable of supporting the highest levels of international production while remaining flexible enough to move between sports, entertainment and other live productions. The unit will begin supporting ESPN's coverage of the Eredivisie in the Netherlands and will be showcased during the IBC Show 2026, where customers and partners will have the opportunity to tour EU-01 in person.

“Our customers want the confidence that wherever they’re producing across Europe, they’ll have access to the tools, workflows and production environments they know and trust,” said Lise Heidal, President of NEP Europe.

“That’s what we’re building toward with a more standardised fleet. EU-01 brings that strategy to life, giving our teams the consistency and agility to respond quickly to customer needs while delivering a seamless production experience wherever their events take them.”

A Standardised Approach Across Europe

NEP Europe’s standardised approach enables production teams to move more easily between markets while maintaining familiar tools and workflows. It also gives NEP greater flexibility to deploy production capacity across countries as customer needs change, helping maximise the scale and utilisation of its European fleet.

The approach builds on NEP’s launch earlier this year of EU-03, which is also equipped with NEP Platform and TFC and supports hybrid production by combining traditional broadcast hardware with software-defined capabilities.

Software-Defined Production with NEP Platform

Integrated into EU-01, NEP Platform orchestrates trusted software applications through a single, secure interface, simplifying configuration and enabling faster deployment of production-ready capabilities. At launch, EU-01 utilises Lawo HOME, Manifold and Bridge Technologies’ VB440 through NEP Platform, demonstrating how software-defined capabilities can operate alongside traditional broadcast hardware.

The same approach is already deployed in NEP facilities supporting major productions worldwide. NEP Platform is also available to customers for deployment within their own facilities, backed by NEP’s global engineering expertise and operational experience.

Software Orchestration Meets Broadcast Control

EU-01 also incorporates NEP’s TFC broadcast control system, complementing NEP Platform with the monitoring and operational control required for live production. Together, NEP Platform and TFC bring software orchestration and broadcast control into a unified environment, giving production teams greater visibility, efficiency and flexibility.

Built on a UHD HDR SMPTE ST 2110 architecture, EU-01 features 14 production workspaces across two control rooms and supports 24 cameras, with expansion capability to 48 when required. Additional capabilities include six EVS replay positions, support for up to 192 video inputs and outputs, a Riedel intercom solution and a Dolby Atmos-ready audio room.

NEP Europe’s EU-01 will be on display at the IBC Show in Amsterdam, 11-14 September. To participate in a walkthrough or to learn how NEP Platform and TFC can modernise and simplify media operations, connect with an NEP expert today.

About NEP

Celebrating 40 years of innovation, NEP is the world’s most trusted media services partner for content creators of live sports and entertainment. With a global network of experts, cutting-edge technology, and an expansive portfolio of customer-driven, innovative solutions, we empower our customers to tell their stories in breakthrough ways.

Headquartered in the United States and operating in 25 countries, our teams have supported thousands of major productions and events on every continent with innovation, excellence and reliability. See how we bring content to life at nepgroup.com.

NEP Europe’s standardised fleet approach enables production teams to move more easily between markets while maintaining familiar tools and workflows.

NEP's EU-01 is capable of supporting the highest levels of international production while remaining flexible enough to move between sports, entertainment and other live productions.