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NEW DELHI (AP) — The world's richest franchise cricket league is ongoing in India, a cricket- crazy country of 1.4 billion. The Indian Premier League features top players from around the world and attracts hundreds of millions of TV viewers. While the format leads to high-tempo action on the field, Twenty20 cricket has also sparked an evolution in off-field entertainment in cricket. Cheerleaders dancing on podiums, DJs sitting behind decks spinning tunes, and fancy dress themes are all part of the T20 game for crowds, bringing a colorful new twist for those at the stadium and broadcast viewers. This year, 65 international cricketers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and Afghanistan have joined India's high-profile players in the tournament. The tournament started March 23 and the final is set for June 3 at Ahmedabad. The championship decider will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium, the world's largest cricket venue with a seating capacity of 132,000. _______ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

The Edmonton Oilers get their shot at revenge in the Stanley Cup Final after claiming a 6-3 road victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday to close out the Western Conference finals. Connor McDavid collected one goal and one assist as the Oilers dispatched the Stars in five games in the best-of-seven series. Next up is a rematch of last year's finals against the Panthers, won by Florida in seven games. "They're a really good team and we're a really good team as well," Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said of the Panthers. "It's nice to get a shot at getting some revenge, but we're a long ways from that. We'll enjoy this and get ready." Game 1 will be Wednesday at Edmonton. Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark, Jeff Skinner, Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen also scored for the Oilers, who have won 12 of their past 14 playoff games and eliminated the Stars in the conference finals for the second consecutive year. Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner made 14 saves. In last year's Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton lost the first three games but pushed it to the limit before dropping the deciding game 2-1. Now the Oilers have their opportunity to not only win the Stanley Cup but claim the crown against the club that broke their hearts. "I think we're better for going through last year," McDavid said. "It's a great learning experience and really driven us all year. This run has felt very different than last year. It's felt very normal. ... "Games can be emotionally draining, but we're not drained. We've got as good a chance as they do." Jason Robertson scored twice and Roope Hintz tallied once for Dallas, which has lost out in the Stanley Cup chase in the third round three straight years. Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley each recorded two assists. Starting Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger was pulled after surrendering goals on the first two shots he faced. Casey DeSmith made 17 saves in relief. "We felt we had a solid group from top to bottom, and that's why this stings pretty bad," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "It (hurts). Three years in a row now you get that close and come up short. It's not a good feeling." Sensing their chance to close out the series, the Oilers staked an early 3-0 lead thanks to goals by Perry at 2:31, Janmark at 7:09 and then Skinner -- playing his first game since the playoff opener -- 58 seconds later for his first career playoff goal. On Perry's goal, McDavid collected his 100th career playoff assist in his 90th game, the second-fastest player to hit the century mark for postseason helpers, behind only Wayne Gretzky (70 games). Robertson scored for the third consecutive game at 11:40 of the opening frame and Hintz made it a one-goal game with a power-play tally at 12:27 of the second period to draw Dallas close. However, McDavid restored Edmonton's two-goal lead two minutes later with a breakaway tally. Robertson's second of the game 38 seconds into the third period again brought the Stars within one, but Kane responded at 3:21 of the final period. Kapanen's empty-net goal in the last minute rounded out the scoring. Dallas failed to record a shot on goal in the final 16:17 of the game, but a big story going forward will be the goalie change. "I didn't blame it all on Jake, but the reality is if you go back to last year's playoffs, he's lost six of seven games to Edmonton (before Thursday)," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "And we give up two goals on two shots in an elimination game. It was partly to spark our team and ... status quo had not been working." --Field Level Media

Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford had some words for home plate umpire Andy Fletcher on Thursday. In the sixth inning of the Mariners' 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals, Crawford was rung up on a called third strike from starting pitcher Mackenzie Gore with runners on the corners, no outs and Seattle down 2-0. The pitch was outside to the naked eye, but Fletcher still saw it as in the zone. Immediately after he was punched out, Crawford could be heard yelling "That's not a strike man!" at Fletcher, who responded by ejecting him. Crawford remained on the field to get his money's worth until Mariners manager Dan Wilson stepped in and pushed him back to the dugout. JP Crawford was ejected from the game after this strike three callpic.twitter.com/iHUwyilXYF — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX)May 30, 2025 Crawford was replaced atop the Mariners lineup by Leo Rivas, who took over at second while Dylan Moore moved to cover shortstop. MLB's Statcast cameras sided with Crawford, showing the pitch to be at least a ball outside. And here's a look at the pitch location, per Baseball Savant:pic.twitter.com/IFcmTZ3X7W — Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_)May 30, 2025 That result wound up being significant. Julio Rodriguez struck out on the next at-bat to give the Mariners their second out, then Cal Raleigh reached base on a hit-by-pitch. With the bases loaded and two outs, Randy Arozarena also struck out to keep Seattle scoreless for the inning.

For the second consecutive year, hockey fans will be treated to Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday to win Game 5, and the Western Conference Final, to advance to the Cup. It was a quick start for Connor McDavid and company as Edmonton scored two goals on their first two shots of the game. With the Stars fans on hand at the American Airlines Center stunned, Dallas coach Pete DeBoer pulled goalie Jake Oettinger, who was replaced by Casey DeSmith. Oilers forward Jeff Skinner would tally the team's third goal minutes later. But as the Stars had showed throughout the playoffs, they had no quit. Jason Robertson stopped the bleeding and got Dallas on the board as they took a 3-1 deficit into the first intermission. After a Roope Hintz goal to bring the Stars back to just a one-goal game, it was McDavid that came through and flashed why he is the most dangerous player in the game. The 28-year-old, three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner gathered a redirection from Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner and blazed down center ice to beat DeSmith to extend the lead. Despite Robertson scoring his second goal of the game, the Oilers proved to be too much, adding two more goals to down the Stars in the conference finals for the second straight year and coast to another Cup final against the Panthers. The Oilers celebrated in front of the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, which McDavid went against all usual hockey norms and touched the trophy. The Oilers didn't touch the trophy last year before losing to the Panthers in seven games. McDavid shook off any superstitions one might have. "It's pretty obvious I think," McDavid told reporters. "Don't touch it last year, you don't win. Touch it this year, hopefully we win." McDavid said after the game he was proud of his team's will all series long. "It was a long night. We hung in there," McDavid told the ESPN broadcast. "I thought we played well all five games. Honestly, everybody stepped up. Everybody made contributions. Fun group to be apart of for sure." The Oilers will face aPanthers teamthat is coming off a dominant stretch in this year's playoffs, eliminating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games on Wednesday to secure their third consecutive trip to the Cup. The reigning champions Panthers defeated the Oilers in a hard fought seven-game series last year. McDavid called Florida a "heck of a team." "Obviously, it's their third finals. They're a special group," McDavid said. "We're a special group. It's going to be fun. Couldn't ask for a better opportunity to go up against a team that beat us last year. Really excited about it." The Panthers will look to be the NHL's first team to repeat as Cup champions since their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, did so in 2020 and 2021. It is the second Cup Final rematch over the past 40 years and 11th in NHL history. Edmonton are now four games away from not only winning the franchise's fifth Cup and first since 1990, but they can become the first Canadian team to lift it since the Montreal Canadiens did in 1993. Game 1 is at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

TheDallas Starsgot off to a bad start whilebeing eliminated Thursday nightby theEdmonton Oilers. A careless penalty. A power-play goal in which Corey Perry was left alone in front. Another defensive breakdown on the Oilers' second goal by Mattias Janmark at 7:09. Stars coach Peter DeBoer called a timeout, then did something shocking: He pulled star goaltender Jake Oettinger and inserted backup Casey DeSmith. DeBoer explained his reasoning afterward, saying he didn't fully blame Oettinger for the goals but at the same time, he cited the "reality" of the situation. "If you go back to last year's playoffs, he's lost six of seven games to Edmonton and we gave up two goals on two shots in an elimination game," DeBoer said. "It was partly to spark our team and wake them up and partly knowing that status quo had not been working. That's a pretty big sample size." Jake Oettinger's night is DONE 5 mins into Game 5 😳He gets pulled after allowing 2 goals on the Oilers' first 2 shots 😬pic.twitter.com/gSSyXUZsZJ — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_)May 30, 2025 DeSmith gave up a quick goal to Jeff Skinner and though the Stars pulled close on a couple of occasions. they fell 6-3. "We didn't roll over," DeBoer said. Oettinger was one of three U.S. goalies at the 4 Nations Face-Off who could also be thenetminders for the 2026 Olympics. Top goalie Connor Hellebuyck hadsome tough games on the roadfor the Winnipeg Jets in the playoffs. Oettinger had a 3.93 goals-against average and .853 save percentage in the conference final. Boston's Jeremy Swayman missed the playoffs but helped theUSA win a rare gold medalat the world championships. The Stars have now lost three consecutive trips to the Western Conference final. "Our group needs to go – you know, coaches, players – and reflect in the summer on what we can do when we get to this point against the best teams," DeBoer said. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Stars' Jake Oettinger pulled; coach Peter DeBoer explains why