Posts

MI were once again without regular captain Rohit Sharma, and Jofra Archer provided yet another early breakthrough by dismissing the in-form Quinton de Kock. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan then stitched together an impressive partnership before the English pacer plucked a stunner on the boundary to send the latter back to the hut. Saurabh Tiwary and Hardik Pandya halted a brief middle-order collapse, and MI experienced an incredible period of acceleration towards the end of their innings....

After MS Dhoni elected to field for the third consecutive game, Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw started rather circumspectly, and only really stepped on the pedal after the field restrictions were lifted. The young right-hander stroked his way to a brilliant 64, and after Piyush Chawla removed both the openers in the space of 2 overs, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant steadied the ship. Iyer couldn’t find the boundary regularly, and a good performance from the CSK bowlers at the death meant that DC were restricted to a par score of 175/3....

The match was a sort of a roller-coaster ride, with both teams looking completely out of the game at different points of time and coming back into it with some brilliant cricket. Marcus Stoinis starred for the Delhi Capitals with a cameo of 53 from 21 with the bat. He also picked up a couple of crucial wickets with the ball later. Mayank Agarwal took KXIP really close to victory from a seemingly impossible position but fell when the target was just one run away after making 89 runs from 60 balls....

All the teams have retained players who have either had a role to play in their last outing or have the potential to make a difference to the franchise in the upcoming season. However, a few of the retained players haven’t offered great returns to their respective IPL teams against their price tag, thereby raising questions concerning their retention this year. Follow Sportskeeda for more Cricket news. Here’s a look at one surprising retention made by each team ahead of the IPL auction:...

Playing their fifth game of the season, RR beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Despite losing his brother, a strong-willed Chetan Sakariya emerged as one of the stars of the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). Subsequently, he was picked by the Royals, and has been backed to play all their matches so far. Bowling mainly in the powerplays and the death overs, the 23-year-old has seven wickets to his name this season, at an average of 23....

CSK beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their top-of-the-table clash, and will be looking to make it five wins on the trot, to regain the top spot in the points table. Having lost their previous match against the Delhi Capitals in a thrilling super over, SRH will be eager to bounce back with a win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Wednesday (28th April). CSK are now second in the points table with a game in hand....

Ravindra Jadeja has scored 109 runs in five innings this season. The all-rounder has been dismissed only once so far and has scored at a strike-rate of 184.74. To top up his batting heroics, he’s also picked up five wickets with the ball. Moreover, the Jamnagar-born has accounted for eight catches so far this season which has impressed Suresh Raina. Suresh Raina thinks Ravindra Jadeja should play all three formats Suresh Raina termed Ravindra Jadeja a game-changer and noted that the latter could turn a game on its head....

The Punjab Kings’ campaign in IPL 2020 was derailed because of their shortcomings in the same two areas. While Glenn Maxwell and Jimmy Neesham came a cropper with the bat, Sheldon Cottrell and Chris Jordan proved to be letdowns in the bowling department. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pinpointed the lack of depth in the Punjab Kings batting department as their biggest weakness. While observing the Punjab Kings have a strong top four, the cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted the lack of experience in their Indian middle-order batting would necessitate the inclusion of Moises Henriques in their playing XI....

The two franchises have won a total of eight championships, and both currently hold a place in the top-4 of the IPL 2021 points table. Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings are in red-hot form heading into their fixture against the two-time defending champions. CSK are on a five-match winning streak in IPL 2021 as they recorded victories against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous outings....

Ravichandran Ashwin explained that his family is fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic and he needs to be with them for support. The 34-year-old left open the possibility of returning to the tournament at a later stage, provided the circumstances improve. India is currently grappling with a massive increase of Covid-19 infections, with new cases reaching the tune of 300,000 daily. Almost every city, including the ones hosting the IPL, are in the grip of the malady which has also prompted questions on the propriety of continuing the tournament....

Overs ago, Gaikwad had also witnessed his opening partner Faf du Plessis and Moeen Ali succumb to the tacky nature of the surface. Suresh Raina, too, had personified a cat on a hot tin roof and fell when his umpteenth attempt at an agricultural hoick spooned up towards backward point. Thus, saying that CSK were in turmoil at that juncture would’ve been an understatement in itself, let alone another damning indication of how recent tales against the Mumbai Indians have transpired....

A sluggish start saw the beginning of innings for the men in red as they registered a below-par score in the powerplay overs considering the nature of the pitch. It was some late blitz from the lower order that propelled them to a defendable 174 in their 20 overs. Chasing 175 on a flat track, Mumbai was always in the game despite a slow start by the openers. However, some power hitting from Krunal ensured that men in blue stayed alive in the tournament as they defeated Punjab by 6 wickets....

The IPL has been raising the bar with every passing year, getting more and more competitive and enthralling. It has not just remained a source of entertainment as was said to be in the initial years. The IPL has emerged as an important platform for youngsters who get an opportunity to get into the Indian team solely on the basis of the performance in the tournament. Over the decade, some of the teams have dominated in the league winning it more than once while there are others who have been struggling to even qualify for the playoffs over the years....

Do you think you have the tactical acumen to predict who will fare better in each IPL match? If you are looking for a way to put it to good use, all you need is to look at StarPick. With plenty of exciting features and a chance to win millions in prize money, here is how you can get started with StarPick. Select your StarPick team here. Four points separate the two sides - the visitors are on the second spot with 10 points while the hosts at fifth with six points....

It was a slow wicket and Punjab made the early inroads by dismissing Williamson, Dhawan and Saha inside six overs. Manish Pandey and Shakib Al-Hasan came together and stitched a fine partnership before the latter threw it away. Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey tried their best to push the score beyond 140 but some tight death bowling restricted the home side to 132 for 6 in 20 overs. High on confidence from their last game where SRH defended a paltry 118, they believed that they could do it again but the task was always going to be tough against a KXIP side whose batting has been simply incredible this season....

The more tantalising thing about this game is the fact that one of the tournament’s best batting sides (at least on paper) is going to take on its best bowling unit and in addition to those, there are going to be plenty of superb individual battles on show tonight. Here is a look at 5 of the biggest battles that will take place tonight. #5 Yusuf Pathan v Tim Southee In SRH’s previous game, their number 5, Yusuf Pathan, scored a brilliant unbeaten 27 off 12 balls (2 fours, 2 sixes) to ensure that they completed a tense chase against DD and hence, RCB should be wary of the threat he poses in the slog overs....

Let’s take a look at the 4 players featuring this year and analyse their skills. #4 Rashid Khan (Sunrisers Hyderabad) After picking up 17 wickets from 14 games at an outstanding economy rate of 6.62 for SRH in IPL 2017, Rashid Khan was bound to spark a bidding war at the IPL 2018 players auction. The Hyderabad franchise used their Right To Match card and retained his services at a whooping amount of INR 9 crores....

Punjab retained only nine players ahead of the auction and as expected, they were the busiest team in the auction. Their choices were good though, and it looks like they have assembled a strong squad this season. Though they will start underdogs, this Punjab team can certainly pose a threat to other teams, and is capable of winning the IPL 2019 title. Here are 5 reasons why: #5 Less pressure on them to win as they won’t start as favorites This is something which is common in most sporting fields....

Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw opened the batting for Delhi Capitals. Prithvi Shaw failed to make a mark as he fell cheaply for seven runs. Shreyas Iyer who looked good couldn’t capitalize as he was dismissed for 16 runs. Colin Ingram and Shikhar Dhawan rescued the team. Colin Ingram was aggressive while Dhawan continued to support him from the other end. Ingram was dismissed in the 13th over for 47 runs....

Chennai are coming to Vizag after losing the third time against Mumbai this season. MI have also become the first team to beat in IPL history to beat CSK in four consecutive matches. On the other hand, Delhi would be high on confidence after the victory against SRH in the Eliminator. This has been their best show in IPL history, and they were prevented from finishing on top of the points table only because of net run rate....