The Punjab captain Ashwin won the toss and elected to bowl first. RCB lost the wicket of Virat Kohli early in the innings. But on the other end, Parthiv Patel showed his aggressive version as he smashed 43 runs in 24 balls, and got out to Murugan Ashwin. The home team lost the in-form Moeen Ali too early as he got bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin. At one stage, RCB were struggling at 81/4....
However, McCullum did not rule out the possibility of Andre Russell batting higher up the order if the situation demands it. He believes in the horses for courses approach to win games. Russell had opened up last year about the frustration of batting lower down and getting very few deliveries to face. KKR’s mentor David Hussey had also suggested last month that he could bat as high as no.3 during this season, but the head coach has different plans....
In an interview with Times of India, Finch lauded Virat Kohli’s captaincy and his aggressive nature on the field. The Australian captain added that there was no strict hierarchy in the RCB camp, with everyone being allowed the opportunity to give specific suggestions that could help the team. I can play whatever role is required by RCB: Aaron Finch Aaron Finch, who made his RCB debut against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2020 on Monday, spoke about his flexible relationship with opening partner Devdutt Padikkal....
He made this observation while previewing the clash between the two teams in a video shared on his YouTube channel. Aakash Chopra started by saying that the Delhi Capitals should bring Axar Patel back to their playing XI, and expressed hope that Prithvi Shaw will be able to deliver the goods at the top of the order. The renowned commentator stated that the rest of the Delhi Capitals top order in Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant will have to come to the party as well....
After Steve Smith won the toss and opted to field first, Jofra Archer got RR off to a flying start by dismissing Nitish Rana for a duck off the second ball of the innings. But Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi didn’t let the pressure get to them, and instead took the attack to the RR bowlers. The duo put on 72 runs off just 49 deliveries for the second wicket to put KKR in the driver’s seat....
During a candid conversation with former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, Ishan Kishan revealed that, as a team, Mumbai Indians focused more on the Chepauk wicket which hurt them badly. Speaking on Chopra’s YouTube channel, Ishan Kishan said: Mumbai Indians lost three of their first five matches in Chennai before winning two out of two in Delhi to bounce back in IPL 2021. The Rohit Sharma-led side will hope to continue their strong run of form when the tournament resumes....
Both teams have momentum on their sides. The Royal Challengers Bangalore are the only unbeaten team in IPL 2021, while the Chennai Super Kings are on a 3-match winning streak. Wankhede Stadium has produced high-scoring matches in IPL 2021. However, the last game played at this venue was a low-scoring one. The Kolkata Knight Riders managed only 133 runs in their 20 overs, and the Rajasthan Royals chased down the target in 18....
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Deep Dasgupta acknowledged that Manish Pandey’s strike rate has been unimpressive. However, he added that the 31-year-old’s acumen and experience of playing in the middle-order is imperative for SRH at this stage of IPL 2021 Manish Pandey scored two gutsy half-centuries at the start of the tournament but failed to convert both knocks into victories for his team. Pandey’s strike rate hovered around the 110 mark and he palpably failed to force the pace at will....
The clip is a montage of Shakib Al Hasan’s stint in the nets, but focuses more on the variety of shots he unfurls over the course of the session. The caption suggests he is getting back to his devastating best as KKR prepare for their IPL 2021 opener against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday (April 11). Shakib Al Hasan’s returns to the KKR fold for IPL 2021 After spending his initial years with KKR, Shakib was lapped up by Hyderabad in 2018 and was released two seasons later....
Mumbai and Chennai have hosted IPL 2021 matches so far and the action will move to Ahmedabad and Delhi this week. While most players have tried their best to entertain fans at home in these testing times, some have decided to pull out and return home. Before IPL 2021 began, the likes of Josh Philippe, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood had already withdrawn from the event. The following list features the players who pulled out of IPL 2021 after the competition commenced....
However, both sides have made some improvements on the bowling front. RCB, in particular, have managed to strike the right balance, with their pace attack comprising Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, and Kyle Jamieson. The quicks have done well for the side and will hope to continue in the same vein. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh have impressed for Punjab, while Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith have been a tad patchy....
“I will bat at a different position than where I batted for India. IPL is about dealing with tricky situations, handling pressure. Everybody is here to do his best and I am no different,” said Karthik. In case you didn’t know… Karthik was bought for 7.4cr by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the upcoming IPL season. The team was previously captained by Gambhir, who took them to the playoffs thrice (2011, 2016 and 2017) and also lifted the trophy twice (2012 and 2014)....
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. While the Kings XI are expected to make one change to their playing XI, here’s how the Hyderabad-based franchise might line up tonight....
Although it is true there should be a balance of excellent batsman and great bowlers in their rosters if they want to have a shot at the championship. But, as a cricket fan, I prefer explosive and aggressive batsmen raining boundaries in the game. To put it in simple words, we can say that we enjoy high scoring games more than anything because it is more entertaining than a slow paced 120-130 score game....
Here I present three unexpected things that could happen this season: #3 Rohit Sharma to hold an undesirable record While the Mumbai Indians have something to smile about after defeating the defending champions CSK, Rohit Sharma has remained incapable of raising his form, not just in this edition of the IPL but since 2017. Since the beginning of IPL 2017, Rohit Sharma has averaged around just 24 runs, not being able to cross the 350-run mark in a single edition ever since....
Although a few players disappointed with inconsistent performances, most of the players justified the amount spent on them by the franchise. Defending champions, Chennai Super Kings had a great ride in the tournament so far and expecting a long run in the competition. Although some of the teams failed to deliver the best, we have seen a few players who performed extremely well for their side. # Yuzvendra Chahal - Royal Challengers Bangalore Although Royal Challengers Bangalore had a disastrous start in the IPL 2019, Yuzvendra Chahal performed extremely well for his side....
The fact that IPL has not lost its sheen in spite of heading into its 12th edition is a testament to the fact that it has brought out new stars in every aspect of the game over the years. A lot of talent has been unearthed to the world of cricket in the past just through the IPL and this year will be no different. The stars and rookies around the world will feature in what is the most important and lucrative domestic T20 tournament in the entire globe....
Virat Kohli has to be the most luckless captain with the toss. He seems to lose it almost every match, which as a side note, makes his record as an international captain look even more glorious. But this being the IPL, losing the toss on a pitch such as this is like the death knell sounding 30 minutes before the match has even started. MS Dhoni had no hesitation in chasing....
Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the toss and invited the home team to bat first. His bowlers justified the decision as they didn’t allow the Capitals to get off to a good start. DC Captain Shreyas Iyer tried his best to hold the innings together but the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals The hosts’ captain missed a trick by sending all-rounder Rahul Tewatia ahead of an experienced batsman like Colin Ingram....
In their previous match, against Mumbai Indians, Punjab opted to field first and allowed Mumbai to post 176 runs on the board. In reply, Punjab’s top three batsmen did the bulk of the scoring to chase the total down with eight balls to spare. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul have given the hosts some good starts so far in the tournament, and the middle order has then capitalized. Ravichandran Ashwin has led his team tremendously well in this campaign, and many believe Punjab have the potential to go all the way to the playoffs....
