Thousands braved the December chill and waited past midnight to give a rousing welcome to Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi as he arrived in Kolkata for his whirlwind three-day, four-city GOAT India Tour 2025. The Barcelona legend's 2.26 am touchdown in the early hours of Saturday sent the city into a frenzy. Gate 4 of the international arrivals turned into a roaring sea of chants, flags and flashing phones, with fans sprinting between gates for even a fleeting glimpse of their favourite sports star. VIDEO | West Bengal: Argentine footballer Lionel Messi arrived at Kolkata Airport accompanied by Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul. (Source: Third Party) #LionelMessi (Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7 ) pic.twitter.com/nNVfGvfpnX — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 12, 2025 Children perched on shoulders and drums rolled as Messi was whisked out through the VIP gate under massive security. #WATCH | West Bengal | Star footballer Lio...
The Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry hailed India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues for batting India into the ICC Women's ODI World Cup final, saying their composure under pressure earned applause even from the Australian dressing room. India pulled off the highest successful run chase in women's ODIs to book a place in Sunday's title clash with South Africa, ending Australia's reign as champions. “It's really easy to stand here in retrospect and throw ideas into the wind,” Perry said when asked if Australia could have done anything differently. “But at the end of the day, all of us in our dressing room would applaud Harman and Jemi for the way that they played, the way that they went about that chase after probably losing two early wickets in the power play. They just made us pay. All credit goes to them as opposed to anything that we did or didn't do.” Australia's experienced all-rounder also made it clear that her team would not dwell on...