Posts

Their think tank has been the best when it comes to the auction table, their acquisitions over the past few auctions, be it Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, David Warner have all turned them into a team capable of competing for the title on a regular basis. Last season their talismanic opener David Warner missed the season due to a ban imposed on him by the Australian Cricket Board. Critics and fans didn’t give SRH much chance of making it to playoffs, and this is where the players stepped up, quashing all the doubts raised about them and led by the charismatic Kane Williamson qualified for the playoffs as table toppers before finishing as the runners-up for the tournament....

What makes teams like CSK different in terms of the results they achieve and their consistency year after year is shrewd thinking and a set strategy to amalgamate all the things mentioned above. And in the opening encounter of IPL 2019, they have made it fairly obvious what their go-to strategy this year is - taking the game back by a decade. This year’s IPL has witnessed what could be possibly termed one of the most boring IPL openers ever....

Shikhar Dhawan’s counter-attacking style of play helps his fellow Indian opener, Rohit Sharma, to take his time and settle down. He believes he will have to play the same way for the Delhi Capitals. He is also of the opinion that there must be a fine balance between aggression and caution as the batting team should not lose too many wickets in an attempt to score quick runs. Shikhar Dhawan told Hindustan Times:...

Smith took over the Royals’ captaincy back from Ajinkya Rahane last year but couldn’t lead them till the end of the season because of national commitments. However, this time the 31-year-old will be available for the full tournament and Maxwell thinks Smith will lead by example. Smith had not played the ODI series against England because he had suffered from a head injury but he is now fit to play in RR’s IPL 2020 opener....

After being put in to bat by Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav made merry against some wayward KKR bowling. Although the 2-time IPL champions pulled back the run rate towards the end of the innings, MI finished with a daunting total of 195/5. The KKR chase never really got going, with only Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana getting any notable starts. Pat Cummins, who conceded 49 runs in his 3 overs with the ball, redeemed himself slightly with the bat as he hit Jasprit Bumrah for 4 sixes in an over....

After being put in to bat by KKR captain Dinesh Karthik, MI lost Quinton de Kock early before Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav stitched together a wonderful 90-run partnership. The latter succumbed to a run out, and Saurabh Tiwary played a couple of gorgeous strokes in a 21-run cameo. The MI captain walked back to the hut in the 18th over, and Hardik Pandya was bizarrely dismissed hit wicket after striking a couple of lusty blows....

After releasing the players, Kings XI Punjab, with a purse value of INR 42.70 crore, are left with the deepest pockets. Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals follow suit with a balance of INR 35.65 crore and INR 28.89 crore while Kolkata Knight Riders, with INR 11 crore, have the least sum remaining. Here’s the complete list of players retained and released by all teams after the trade window:...

There were questions raised about how low AB de Villiers was batting for RCB, given the fact that most teams have tried to ensure their best batsmen must face as many deliveries as possible. But the Proteas star has taken to the No.5 position as a fish takes to the water and has already played three match-defining innings so far in the tournament. Twitter reacts to AB de Villiers’ blistering 75* RCB fans were thrilled to see AB de Villiers play yet another potential match-winning knock to bail his team out of trouble....

The Kolkata Knight Riders finished fifth in IPL 2020, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot. They were hit hard by injuries and poor form of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. KKR will hope that the duo will be back to their best in the upcoming edition of the league. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra made a few predictions regarding the Kolkata Knight Riders for the IPL 2021 season....

IPL 2021 will resume on Sunday with a clash between the two rivals in Dubai. Discussing what makes MI vs CSK contests so enthralling, Butt pointed out that both are high-quality sides with a number of match-winners. Butt added that both MI and CSK are tactically brilliant and hence, when two such great teams clash, whoever is better on the day wins. Giving the example of the previous match between the two teams, he stated:...

Over the years, every franchise has built its own city base with loyal fans thronging into the stadium match after match irrespective of how their favorite players perform. You cannot say the same for the Kings XI Punjab though as the franchise has struggled to find their identity as a whole, mainly because of lackluster performances they’ve displayed over the course of the past ten years. They started well in 2008 where they made it into the top four and then another brilliant one in 2014, where they entered the finals for the very first time under George Bailey’s leadership, with the likes of Miller, Maxwell, and Saha all coming to the fore....

The hosts are in a perilous position in the tournament right now, sitting dead last on the points table. It is vital for them to win against KXIP today to keep their hopes alive with respect to making it to the playoffs this year. To beat a strong side led by an able leader in Ravichandran Ashwin, it is imperative that the Royals field the right team at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur....

Both the teams had a good auction, but both lost their captains, who were retained prior to the auction. Only time will tell which team will be capable enough to reach the playoff. As of now, both teams are capable and have an interesting mix of players. D’Arcy Short vs Rashid Khan Short and Rashid played important roles in their teams, helping reach the finals. Short was the top run scorer in last BBL with 504 runs and was the player of the tournament, but couldn’t take his team past the Strikers in the finals....

While Mumbai Indians went ahead with the expected names of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, Chennai Super Kings followed suit by opting to retain MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja. Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, retained only two of their players - David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and so did Kolkata Knight Riders, who made Andre Russell and Sunil Narine their two retentions. Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab have decided to go ahead with a near-clean slate into the auctions and have retained one player each - Steve Smith and Axar Patel respectively....

Throughout the IPL season we were reminded that cricket is a game of numbers, with the record books being rewritten several times. So without further ado, here are 11 all-time records that were broken during the course of the season. #11 Highest opening partnership - Jonny Bairstow and David Warner (185 runs) The pair of Jonny Bairstow and David Warner scored a combined total of 1137 runs for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season....

Chennai Super Kings has been one of the most celebrated teams of the IPL, with a huge fan base spread all across the country. Last year, returning to IPL after a ban of 2 years, CSK showed no rust and eventually lifted the trophy for the 3rd time. This year, barring Mark Wood, CSK have retained all their players from last season. MS Dhoni will continue to lead the side whereas Stephen Fleming, their coach, will direct it....

English all-rounder Sam Curran was brilliant for Punjab as he took the first hat-trick of the 12th edition of the IPL. He finished the match with figures of 4/11 in 2.2 overs; he also scored a quickfire 20 runs while opening the batting for the team and was deservingly adjudged Man of the Match. Here are 4 other players who were brilliant on the night for Punjab based franchise and helped the team to snatch the victory from Delhi Capitals....

An eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad brought a third title for Chennai last year and they have assembled a star-studded squad in an attempt to retain their crown. The IPL will act as a Cricket World Cup warm-up for some of the leading stars over the coming seven weeks, while there are returns for some controversial figures. Ahead of match one, we run through everything you need to know about IPL 12....

Previous encounters CSK have a win percentage of 70% against Delhi, with their head-to-head being 14-6 in 20 matches. This season they have managed to get the better of DC both times, with Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer saying after the most recent match that ’the loss was a good reality check.' Form The Capitals are coming into this bout in red-hot form, having won two back-to-back matches, while the Super Kings have been less than super, having lost two....

Delhi and Chennai are not far behind with two matches away from attaining glory. In a way, Basil Thampi ensured that justice had been done when Delhi Capitals prevailed over Sunrisers, Hyderabad in a close encounter in the eliminator. Otherwise, SRH with a mere 12 points in the league stages would have reached the final stages of the tournament and Delhi Capitals would have been left high and dry with 18 points....