Royals started off brilliantly, scoring 59 runs off the first four overs before a batting collapse meant that they ended up with just 143 runs on the board after being put into bat. The hosts chased down the target comfortably to make it 7 wins out of thirteen matches, to go to the third spot in the IPL 2018 points table. Here are the 5 major talking points from tonight’s match....
Ahead of the match, both the teams are sweating it out hard as the arch-rivals will look to get the better of each other in the tournament opener. Both the teams are strong enough and the team management will have a lot of headaches in picking the perfect playing XI. Let us take a look at how Mumbai Indians will line up for the 2018 IPL. Opening batsmen Opening the batting for Mumbai Indians will be West Indian batsman Evin Lewis and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan....
The feeling of being in close proximity to our favorite players, the excitement of being surrounded by thousands of fellow Cricket lovers and the joy being able to witness enthralling cricketing action right in front of our eyes is what makes the stadium experience a thousand times more attractive than watching the matches on the television. With the IPL just a few days away, let’s take a look at the Top 5 stadiums of the tournament....
Evin Lewis out – Jofra Archer in (if RR bowl first) (Uncapped) Krunal Pandya out – Siddarth Kaul in Uncapped player preference order: Siddarth Kaul (if SRH bowl first)/Rahul Tripathi (if SRH bowl second), Krishnappa Gowtham, Basil Thampi, Shreyas Gopal Captain – Jofra Archer (if RR bowl first)/Rashid Khan (if SRH bowl first) Differential – Manish Pandey Multiplier used – No Guru’s team ahead of RR vs SRH: S Dhawan, K Williamson, R Uthappa, A Rayudu, S Yadav, S Watson, M Markande, S Kaul, B Kumar, R Khan, J Archer/E Lewis...
#1 Rishabh Pant (IPL: Matches- 14, Runs- 401) Rishabh Pant was one of the favourites to take the reserve wicket-keeper spot and in the words of chief selector MSK Prasad, “narrowly missed out” on the World Cup squad. In place of him, Dinesh Karthik (253 runs in 14 matches) was selected. The explanation for this was given that DK was more experienced, which would inevitably be true given that he is 12 years older to Pant....
But the IPL 2019 is a very crucial one for the World Cup aspirants. With Team India still searching for the best middle order combination, the chances of anyone knocking through the doors are bright. In such a case, we may see some surprising names in the World Cup squad if they have a superb IPL 2019. Not only batsmen but also some bowlers can make a surprise entry into the team....
Chennai Super Kings are flying high after winning two games back-to-back in this edition of the IPL. With match winners like Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, and Dwayne Bravo in their ranks, MS Dhoni is well on course to lead his troops to another IPL glory. The reigning champions outplayed Delhi Capitals in their previous encounter to register a 6-wicket comfortable win. Dwayne Bravo picked three crucial wickets while Shane Watson scored quickfire 44(26) in the second innings to take CSK over the line....
The El Clasico of the IPL is probably the best rivalry for a grand IPL final. The rivalry between both the teams is always top notch as CSK and MI are the most successful teams of the IPL. Both the teams will try their best to win the IPL trophy for the fourth time. Mumbai Indians have the most balanced squad in this IPL and are favourites to lift the IPL trophy for the fourth time....
DC lost in-form Prithvi Shaw off the opening ball in their run-chase; Shaw was removed by Kings XI captain Ravichandran Ashwin. But Shikhar Dhawan (30) and captain Shreyas Iyer (28) tallied 61 runs for the 2nd wicket before Iyer was cleaned up by Hardus Viljoen. DC were on course for another triumph as Rishabh Pant and Colin Ingram stitched together a 62-run stand for the 4th wicket. But following the dismissals of Pant and Ingram, KXIP stormed back into the game as DC kept squandering wickets....
From Royal Challengers Bangalore’s capitulation to some excellent spin bowling by Chennai Super Kings in the first game to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Rashid Khan coolly hitting a six to win the game against Rajasthan Royals, this week has seen the best fusion of cricket and entertainment. There have been some good matches and some captivating drama, courtesy Ravichandran Ashwin and umpire S Ravi. Here is a brief recap of everything that happened in the first week of IPL 2019: the cricket, as well as the controversies....
With both teams looking for nothing but a win, here are a few tips to help you choose your Fantasy teams for this much-awaited clash. Squads to choose from Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni(C), Suresh Raina, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Kedhar Jadhav, Dhruv Shorey, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sam Billings, David Willey, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Karn Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, Monu Kumar, KM Asif, Murali Vijay, Chaitanya Bishnoi, N Jagadeesan....
KKR lead the head-to-head record between the two teams, having won 14 of the 23 games played, while RCB have won the remaining nine. RCB are desperately in need of a win to stay alive in the tournament, having lost to Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals already. The entire team is low on confidence and will be looking up to captain Virat Kohli to lead them to their maiden win this season....
In this segment, let us take a look at one Indian player each team should buy in the Auction. #8 Chennai Super Kings - Mohit Sharma Buying Indian players are certainly gonna help the teams like Chennai Super Kings who really don’t have any slot for overseas players, with a lot of talent in the young and the released players, teams would have a secret eye on them. In the 2015 period, when a lot of youngsters got a chance to represent their country because of IPL, the pick of them was Mohit Sharma....
The middle order is the crux based on which a team can go from being a decent side to an excellent one. Even if you have the best opening batsmen in the world, you still need good middle order batsmen to continue the starts to their logical finish. It is for this reason that middle order batsmen are valued all over the world and rated highly. The same is true with the IPL too....
Even in the auction, they have always targeted the big fish in the list. Mumbai have gone on to buy them despite incurring huge amounts of money. Kieron Pollard in 2010, Davy Jacobs in 2011, Richard Levi in 2012, Glenn Maxwell in 2013, Corey Anderson in 2014, and Jos Buttler in 2016 are such examples. A major highlight in the journey of MI is their talent scout teams. It is a selection crew that goes to the nook and corner of India to find the next breakout star....
Some teams like Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, etc have now made a habit of performing well every year but some teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab have been dealing with problems every IPL. This year again, we saw RCB crumble as they lost their first 6 games. The Virat Kohli led side is full of superstars and still, they just don’t seem to get it right....
Many world-class batsmen play in this 2 month-long tournament and as such, there has always been a lot of competition to win the Orange Cap. The Orange Cap is given to the top run-scorer of the season and 9 different batsmen have won this award. Only 2 players in the form of David Warner and Chris Gayle have managed to win it twice. Surprisingly, only 3 Indian batsmen have won the Orange Cap in 11 seasons....
Warner, who just completed his ban, has been playing amazingly and so is his new opening partner, Bairstow. Australia and England have been arch rivals since the inception of cricket. Both the big nations respect each other but have more rivalry in their heart and soul. Every series they play with each other is of significant importance for them, but the Ashes is still the cream of the crop....
Taking this into consideration, the franchise owners opted to start afresh and rechristened the team to ‘Delhi Capitals’. They also shelled out money at the auction and made some good buys worth the money they paid for them. They have a really strong team which can actually pose a threat and maybe they can achieve what they couldn’t all this time. Let’s take a look at the best playing XI they can have if they want to achieve their objectives....
The list of released players includes Saurabh Tiwary, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohsin Khan, MD Nidheesh, Sharad Lumba, Tajinder Singh Dhillon, JP Duminy, Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman and Akila Dananjaya. Post retention, their current squad looks like follows. Batsmen: Rohit Sharma (C), Suryakumar Yadav,Ishan Kishan, Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, Quinton de Kock and Evin Lewis. Allrounders: Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Ben Cutting. Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande, Rahul Chahar, Anukul Roy, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne and Jason Behrendorff....
