Indian Premier League season 17

IPL-17: PBKS vs CSK | Chennai Super Kings eye payback in second successive clash against Punjab Kings

Danijones6 months ago07 mins

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will look to set their house in order and get back to winning ways when they face an upbeat yet unpredictable Punjab Kings for the second time in a row in the IPL in Dharamsala on May 5. Just three days back, PBKS outclassed CSK by seven wickets at Chepauk, considered their fortress. The two losses in the last three games at home have put Chennai in a spot. They are placed fifth on the table with 10 points and the five-time champions will hope the change of venue would bring a change in fortune as well with just four games to go to seal their place in the knockout stage. CSK’s failure to push the pace in the middle overs against the spin duo of Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar saw them post a below-par score of 162-7. Their batting has become too dependent on skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and six-hitting machine Shivam Dube and the moment one of them fails, it puts the pressure on others who have not been consistent in bailing out the team. While Gaikwad hit his fifth 50-plus score of the season to hold it together, veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane once again failed to capitalise on the starts, while Ravindra Jadeja and Sameer Rizvi struggled against spin. CSK also has been hampered by the health and fitness concerns of their pacers, including Deepak Chahar, who limped off holding his hamstring after bowling just two balls and is likely to miss the reverse clash against PBKS. The absence of their frontline bowlers, Matheesha Pathirana (niggle) and Tushar Deshpande (flu), also didn’t help matters the other day. Add to that the dew factor which took the spinners out of the equation and PBKS romped home comfortably. While Richard Gleeson made his IPL debut in the last match, CSK might bring back Mukesh Choudhary. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, have seen a resurgence as they registered back-to-back wins to re-ignite their playoffs hopes. En route to their win over CSK, Punjab became the second team after Mumbai Indians to beat the defending champions five times in a row and they will fancy their chances. Punjab remains an unpredictable side as although it notched up wins over Gujarat in Ahmedabad, Chennai at Chepauk and also chased down a T20 record score against KKR, it has struggled at home against RR, SRH and Gujarat. With back-to-back wins, PBKS climbed to seventh spot with 8 points and will need to carry the momentum to salvage their slim hopes. Jonny Bairstow, who made a hundred against KKR, will be their go-to man, while Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh too have to raise their hands. PBKS’ bowling department has experienced names such as Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran and they need to be consistent. Rabada was brilliant the other day but others have gone for runs. If PBKS has to repeat their performance against CSK then the spinners — Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar — will have to deliver once again. Interestingly, the first IPL match in Dharmasala stadium was a clash between Chennai and Punjab in 2010. The venue offers a lot of runs and dew remains a factor, making it an enticing contest. Teams Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Aravelly Avanish, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, RS Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana and Sameer Rizvi. Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw. Match starts: 3.30 PM.

IPL-17: MI vs KKR | Venkatesh and Pandey’s partnership proves the difference as Knight Riders edge Mumbai Indians

Danijones6 months ago06 mins

Dominate the middle overs and win the match. That seems to be the flavour of the Indian Premier League this season. The same was on display at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday as the Kolkata Knight Riders clinched a convincing win despite having its back to the wall early on in the game. As a result, in a game influenced heavily by bowling units with all 20 wickets falling on the night, it was the 83-run association between Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey (Impact Player) in the middle overs of the first innings that turned out to be the difference between Knight Riders and host Mumbai Indians. Had it not been for the duo’s partnership, Knight Riders – reeling at 57 for five – would have struggled to put on the 169 runs it did before being bowled out in the last over. Suryakumar Yadav then tried his best to take a cue from Venkatesh but thanks to KKR’s spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine controlling the middle overs, Suryakumar perished even before MI got close to the finish line. As a result, KKR emerged as a clear second in the standings while MI’s campaign is all but over after its eighth loss of the season. Venkatesh carried on from his sterling hundred at the same venue last season to notch up his fourth fifty-plus score in five outings against MI. He found an ally in veteran Pandey who kept the scoreboard flowing. In the nine-over period from the seventh till the 15th over, KKR added 75 runs for the loss of Rinku Singh, who top-edged back to Piyush Chawla off the first ball after the PowerPlay. MI lost three wickets while adding 73 runs in the same period. The additional wickets proved to be the difference. Once Suryakumar’s skier off Andre Russell was pouched by Phil Salt, the game was all but over. Just like Nuwan Thushara in the PowerPlay and Jasprit Bumrah at the death in the first essay, Mitchell Starc targeted the stumps to finish the game off in a hurry. SCOREBOARD KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS Phil Salt c Tilak b Thushara 5 (3b, 1×4), Sunil Narine b Hardik 8 (8b, 1×6), Angkrish Raghuvanshi c Suryakumar b Thushara 13 (6b, 2×6), Shreyas Iyer c David b Thushara 6 (4b, 1×4), Venkatesh Iyer b Bumrah 70 (52b, 6×4, 3×6), Rinku Singh c & b Chawla 9 (8b, 2×4), Manish Pandey (Impact Player in place of Raghuvanshi) c sub (Brevis) b Hardik 42 (31b, 2×4, 2×6), Andre Russell (run out) 7 (2b, 1×6), Ramandeep Singh c Coetzee b Bumrah 2 (4b), Mitchell Starc b Bumrah 0 (2b), Vaibhav Arora (not out) 0; Extras (lb-1, nb-1, w-5): 7; Total (in 19.5 overs): 169. FALL OF WICKETS 1-7 (Salt, 0.4 overs), 2-22 (Raghuvanshi, 2.2), 3-28 (Shreyas, 2.6), 4-43 (Narine, 4.2), 5-57 (Rinku, 6.1), 6-140 (Pandey, 16.2), 7-153 (Russell, 16.6), 8-155 (Ramandeep, 17.4), 9-155 (Starc, 17.6). MUMBAI INDIANS BOWLING Thushara 4-0-42-3, Bumrah 3.5-0-18-3, Coetzee 2-0-24-0, Hardik 4-0-44-2, Dhir 3-0-25-0, Chawla 3-0-15-1. MUMBAI INDIANS Ishan Kishan b Starc 13 (7b, 1×4, 1×6), Rohit Sharma (Impact Player in place of Thushara) c Pandey b Narine 11 (12b, 1×6), Naman Dhir b Varun 11 (11b, 2×4), Suryakumar Yadav c Salt b Russell 56 (35b, 6×4, 2×6), Tilak Varma c Narine b Varun 4 (6b), Nehal Wadhera b Narine 6 (11b, 1×4), Hardik Pandya c Pandey b Russell 1 (3b), Tim David c Shreyas b Starc 24 (20b, 1×4, 1×6), Gerald Coetzee b Starc 8 (7b, 1×6), Piyush Chawla c Narine b Starc 0 (1b), Jasprit Bumrah (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-3, nb-1, w-6): 10; Total (in 18.5 overs): 145. FALL OF WICKETS 1-16 (Kishan, 1.4), 2-38 (Dhir, 4.1), 3-46 (Rohit, 5.5), 4-61 (Tilak, 8.4), 5-70 (Wadhera, 10.5), 6-71 (Hardik, 11.2), 7-120 (Suryakumar, 15.3), 8-144 (David, 18.2), 9-144 (Chawla, 18.3). KNIGHT RIDERS BOWLING Arora 3-0-35-0, Starc 3.5-0-33-4, Varun 4-0-22-2, Narine 4-0-22-2, Russell 4-0-30-2. Toss: Mumbai Indians. PoM: Venkatesh. KKR won by 24 runs. MI 119 for six MI was 119/6 in 15 overs with Suryakumar (56) and David (9) batting. Kishan (13), Rohit (11), Dhir (11), Tilak (4), Wadhera (6), and Hardik (1) were dismissed

IPL-17: RCB vs GT | Royal Challengers will strive to keep their momentum going as they host Gill’s Gujarat Titans

Danijones6 months ago04 mins

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be meeting Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru to notch a mandatory win to keep the dream of reaching playoffs flickering. | Photo Credit: ANI Having notched up wins in its last two fixtures, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has kept its IPL playoff hopes alive. RCB will strive to keep the momentum going with a good result against Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru on May 4. RCB holds sway, having gotten past the same opponent last week at Ahmedabad. The victory was set up by a brilliant unbeaten 41-ball 100 from Will Jacks, with Virat Kohli (70 n.o.) playing the supporting role. Unlike many other sides, RCB has not been able to take full advantage of home conditions. Faf du Plessis and his men have managed only one positive result in four games held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here. Jacks believes that RCB is now well poised to do well at home, given that their batters have found form. “We do not want to focus on our losing record here. Because of the playing conditions, it is hard to have home advantage. The pitches are good and the boundaries are small. If a batter gets going, it is hard to stop. Now that our batters are in form, we can hopefully finish our home games strongly,” Jacks said. The city welcomed a long-awaited spell of rain on Friday, even if it mildly disrupted the training schedule of the teams. The skies cleared up later, allowing players to get a hit under lights. Much like RCB, GT is teetering on the edge of elimination. With eight points from 10 matches, the visitor needs to get on a winning streak to push for a playoff spot. GT must address its bowling woes, having conceded 200-plus scores in its last two outings. Teams (from): Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan. Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier, BR Sharath. Match starts at 7.30 PM.

IPL-17: DC vs MI | In a thrilling encounter, Mumbai Indians fall short by 10 runs against Delhi Capitals

Danijones6 months ago05 mins

Delhi Capitals batsman Jake Fraser Mcgurk plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Mumbai Indians in New Delhi on April 27, 2024. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Chasing a target of 258, Mumbai Indians fell short by 10 runs during the Indian Premier League 2024 against Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on April 27. Mumbai Indians lost Rohit Sharma (8) early with the score at 35. Ishan Kishan (20) also fell with MI score at 45 in 4.1 overs. All the hopes fell on the shoulders of Suryakumar Yadav (26 off 13 balls) who thrashed three boundaries and 2 sixes. But with the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai Indians relied on its captain Hardik Pandya. Pandya (46) scored some scintillating shots and took his team to 136 in 12.3 overs. Nehal Wadhera (4) fell early and Mumbai Indains were in some sort of trouble. But Tim David (37) and Tilak Verma (63) played brilliantly and they nearly took Mumbai Indians home but fell short by 10 runs. Mohammad Nabi and Piyush Chawla played some useful knocks towards the end of the innings. Rasikh Salam bowled brilliantly and took 3 for 34 Khaleel Ahmed (2 for 45) and Mukesh Kumar (3 for 59 ) were among the wicket-takers though expensive. Earlier, after sent into bat, Delhi Capitals went on a run-spree scoring a dauting score of 257 in 20 overs. Jake Fraser-McGurk (84 off just 27 balls) and Abishek Porel (36) started on a brisk note to put on 114 runs in just 7.3 overs. McGurk was particularly severe right from the first ball of the innings and scored at will despatching the bowlers to all around the Arun Jaitley stadium. He hit 11 fours and 6 sixes in his innings. Porel played second fiddle to McGurk. With the quick wickets of McGurk and Porel at 127 in 9.4 overs, it was Shai Hope (41 off 17 balls) and captain Rishabh Pant (29) scored briskly and added 53 runs in just 4 overs. Shai Hope innings consisted of five sixes. With the loss of Rishabh Pant and Shai Hope, Tristan Stubbs (48) and Axar Patel (11) took Delhi Capitals innings past the 250-mark. Jasprit Bumrah (1 for 35), Luke Wood (1 for 68), Mohammed Nabi (1 for 20) and Piyush Chawla (1 for 36) were the wicket takers for Mumbai Indians. Earlier, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to field against Delhi Capitals. MI made one change to its playing XI, bringing in Luke Wood for Gerald Coetzee. The Delhi side made a couple of changes, bringing in Kumar Kushagra and Lizaad Williams for Prithvi Shaw and Anrich Nortje. While DC is ranked sixth on the points table, MI is placed ninth. Playing XI Delhi Capitals: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Kumar Kushagra, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (wk & c), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Lizaad Williams, Mukesh Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Mohammad Nabi, Piyush Chawla, Luke Wood, Jasprit Bumrah and Nuwan Thushara.

IPL-17: PBKS vs GT | After the Sai Kishore show, Tewatia takes Titans home

Danijones7 months ago05 mins

Gujarat Titans bowler Sai Kishore celebrates after taking a wicket during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on April 21, 2024. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy In the battle of shaky top orders, Rahul Tewatia’s rearguard action took Gujarat Titans over the line by three wickets against Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday. Though a 143-run target was just what the under-fire Titans batting line-up would have wished for, poor shot selection helped Punjab claw back and give the Shubman Gill-led side a scare. At the 16-over mark, the visitor still needed 38 runs to win with the last recognised batting pair, Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, at the crease. The former survived a close lbw shout in the following over, attempting a perilous reverse-sweep off Harpreet Brar. He backed himself and reprised the shot two deliveries later, fetching a boundary on this occasion. That opened the floodgates as 27 runs came off the next nine balls, with Kagiso Rabada’s over, 18th of the innings, going for 20 runs. Though Harshal Patel gave the crowd some cheer with two wickets in the 19th over with a yorker and a full toss, it wasn’t enough for Punjab to avoid its fourth consecutive defeat at home. Earlier, it was a familiar script for Punjab as Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma stood at the burning deck, with their team floundering at 86 for five. Unfortunately for the host, there was no redemption this time as both batters were back in the dugout in a span of three overs, deceived in flight by left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore. With the innings tottering at 99 for seven, it fell upon Impact Player Harpreet Singh Bhatia and No. 9 Harpreet Brar to drag the host to 142. After electing to bat, Punjab’s top order flattered to deceive as Sam Curran and Prabhsimran Singh put on the team’s second 50-run opening partnership of the season but were soon watching the proceedings from the sidelines. Prabhsimran, Rilee Rossouw, Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma succumbed to a rush of blood to the head, leaving their side in early trouble. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan picked seven wickets between them, transcending seamer-friendly conditions and bamboozling the host in its den. Scoreboard PUNJAB KINGS: Sam Curran lbw b Rashid 20 (19b, 2×4), Prabhsimran Singh c Saha b Mohit 35 (21b, 3×4, 3×6), Rilee Rossouw lbw b Noor 9 (7b, 2×4), Jitesh Sharma b Sai Kishore 13 (12b, 1×6), Liam Livingstone c Tewatia b Noor 6 (9b, 1×4), Shashank Singh c & b Sai Kishore 8 (12b), Ashutosh Sharma c Mohit b Sai Kishore 3 (8b), Harpreet Bhatia (Impact Player in place of Prabhsimran) run out 14 (19b), Harpreet Brar c Shahrukh b Sai Kishore 29 (12b, 4×4, 1×6), Harshal Patel c Shahrukh b Mohit 0 (1b), Kagiso Rabada (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (lb-1, nb-1, w-2): 4; Total (in 20 overs): 142. FALL OF WICKETS: 1-52 (Prabhsimran, 5.3 overs), 2-63 (Rossouw, 6.6), 3-67 (Curran, 7.5), 4-78 (Livingstone, 10.2), 5-86 (Jitesh, 11.4), 6-92 (Ashutosh, 13.5), 7-99 (Shashank, 15.2), 8-139 (Harpreet Brar, 18.6), 9-140 (Harshal, 19.2). GUJARAT TITANS BOWLING: Omarzai 2-0-13-0, Warrier 1-0-21-0, Mohit 4-0-32-2, Rashid 4-0-15-1, Noor 4-0-20-2, Sai Kishore 4-0-33-4, Shahrukh 1-0-7-0.

IPL-17: MI vs CSK | Mumbai Indians win toss; elect to bowl against Chennai Super Kings

Danijones7 months ago02 mins

Chennai Super Kings player M.S. Dhoni is seen during a practice session in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League 2024, in Mumbai on April 14. This match remains to be one of the most greatest rivalries in the history of Indian Premier League. MI vs CSK Live Score, IPL 2024 After winning the toss, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya cited dew factor could be a deciding first. The playing XI for Mumbai remains unchanged. 🚨 Toss News 🚨@mipaltan have elected to bowl against @ChennaiIPL at Wankhede Stadium. Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/2wfiVhdNSY#TATAIPL | #MIvCSKpic.twitter.com/Yk7Yuy00do — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 14, 2024 Chennai Super Kings Ruturaj Gaikwad also said he would have bowled first. He added “We are coming back from a win and expects to continue that momentum”. Chennai Super Kings brought in Matheesha Pathirana in place of Mahesh Theekshana. Squads Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman. Subs: Pathirana, Sindhi, Santner, Moeen, Rasheed Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Mohammad Nabi, Romario Shepherd, Shreyas Gopal, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal. Subs: Suryakumar Yadav, Brewis, Dhir, Wadhera, Harvik

IPL-17: KKR vs LSG | Kolkata Knight Riders opt to bowl against Lucknow Super Giants

Danijones7 months ago01 mins

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer with his Lucknow Super Giants counterpart K.L. Rahul during the toss of the Indian Premier League 2024, in Kolkata on April 14, 2024 | Photo Credit: PTI Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and opted to bowl against Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL match in Kolkata on April 14. Harshit Rana came in for Rinku Singh in KKR’s playing XI, while LSG handed his maiden IPL cap to West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph and brought back Deepak Hooda and Mohsin Khan. Teams: Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c & wk), Quinton de Kock, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Shamar Joseph, Mohsin Khan. Kolkata Knight Riders: Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana.

IPL-17: RCB vs SRH | Headaches a plenty for Royal Challengers as it hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad

Danijones7 months ago04 mins

Royal Challengers Bengaluru players celebrate a wicket during an IPL match. Their bowlers will be under as the team faces Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru on April 15. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis has nowhere to turn. His bowlers concede runs aplenty, and his batters have failed to get going. When RCB takes on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 15, only an exceptional individual performance can save the home team from a fifth straight loss. RCB’s primary concern is the bowling unit, which in the opinion of du Plessis, lacks potent weapons. It is down to the batters to get a massive total and keep the side in the hunt, du Plessis said after a crushing loss against Mumbai Indians. If only it was that simple. The RCB batters share as much blame as the bowlers, as Virat Kohli & Co. have failed to get the team to the 200-run mark so far this season. Kohli has been scoring runs by the heap, but this has not helped the team cause. Dinesh Karthik has provided some cheer with his late hits, and RCB may be tempted to promote the 38-year-old up the order. RCB will find it hard to contain the explosive SRH batters. South African Heinrich Klaasen and opener Abhishek Sharma, second and third respectively on the list of players with the most number of sixes for the tournament, illustrate SRH’s aggressive intent. SRH will be encouraged by the confidence shown by uncapped Nitish Kumar Reddy, who smashed a 37-ball 64 against Punjab Kings to give the unit a second straight win. Teams (from): Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Travis Head, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh, Jhathavedh Subramanyan. Match starts at 7.30 PM.

IPL-17: PBKS vs RR | Avesh, Maharaj lead way as Rajasthan Royals restrict Punjab Kings

Danijones7 months ago05 mins

Rajasthan Royals players celebrate a wicket during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on April 13, 2024. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar Rajasthan Royals bowlers under Avesh Khan and Keshav Maharaj exploited a sticky pitch to the hilt to restrict Punjab Kings to an underwhelming 147 for eight in their IPL match in Mullanpur on April 13. Pacer Avesh (2/34) and left-arm spinner Maharaj (2/23) did not allow any breathing space to Kings’ batters after Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson opted to field first. Ashutosh Sharma (31, 16b), Jitesh Sharma (29, 24b) and Liam Livingstone (21, 14b) tried to force the pace but Punjab needed more than those pretty little cameos. But the Kings had a rather quick start to their innings with 26 runs coming in the first three overs as Atharva Taide, who came in for injured skipper Shikhar Dhawan, hammered a couple of fours off pacer Kuldeep Sen. However, the brakes were soon applied as Taide’s mistimed pull off pacer Avesh Khan ended in the hands of Sen inside the circle. Thereafter the Punjab batters struggled to muster any sort of momentum on a pitch that gripped a bit, especially for left-arm spinner Maharaj and leg-spinner Chahal. However, a slice of credit should also go to veteran pacer Trent Boult who conceded just 15 runs in his three power play overs, a stage when the pitch was still fine for batting. The last three power play overs could only fetch 10 runs for Kings as they ended that passage with a modest 38 for one. In the next five overs, the hosts struggled to hit even one boundary as they laboured to 53 for four in 10 overs, losing Jonny Bairstow, stand-in-skipper Sam Curran and Prabhsimran Singh, all consumed by the combination of a slow deck and accurate spinners. Curran’s dismissal was the most telltale example of that. The left-hander failed to impart power or timing to his pull off Maharaj as the ball got even slower after pitching. Dhruv Jurel latched on to a tumbling catch while running in from deep mid-wicket. Their biggest hope on the day could have been the range-hitting ability of in-form Shahshank Singh but a feeble pull off Sen could not progress beyond Jurel at mid-wicket. With the cream of top-order back in the hut without any significant contribution, the PBKS required some hefty hand from Livingstone and Jitesh to get to even a par score. Sharma showed some intent too, clobbering Chahal for a gorgeously timed six over extra over, and later sent Sen for a six to the straight fence before getting out to Avesh. Livingstone, who creamed Sen for a six and four off successive balls through mid-wicket, and Ashutosh, who smoked Avesh for two sixes in the 19th over, helped PBKS add 61 runs in the last five overs, but their effort came a wee bit late.

IPL-17: MI vs CSK | Dhoni in spotlight as Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians resume rivalry in new era

Danijones7 months ago07 mins

The legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be in the spotlight in what could be his final game at the iconic Wankhede Stadium when defending champions Chennai Super Kings take on Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai on April 14, 2024. Dhoni returns to the hallowed turf of Wankhede for the first time ever as a non-captain of the CSK, potentially in his last IPL season. It will also be his first appearance as just a player for any team since November 2005. Even at 42, Dhoni’s glove-work remains impeccable and so does his assessment of the game like always. But CSK will hope that his tactical acumen also helps them improve a dismal away record this season, having suffered two defeats on the road. CSK would also hope their recent record against MI — four wins in last five matches including their seven-wicket win in Mumbai last season — holds them in good stead. Two of IPL’s most successful teams with five titles each, both sides are witnessing a tectonic shift of leadership change with Hardik Pandya taking over the mantle from Rohit Sharma at MI and Ruturaj Gaikwad succeeding Dhoni at CSK, but there is nothing that suggests their intense rivalry would expect any such shift. If anything, CSK’s bowlers could be put to sword by the rampaging MI batters who have gone hammer and tongs at the flat pitches here, scoring in excess of 230 against Delhi Capitals and chasing down nearly 200 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru with more than four overs to spare. Pandya’s MI have found their footing after a jittery start. Their batters have done well in the last two outings and Suryakumar Yadav’s 17-ball fifty against RCB provides an ominous sign to CSK bowlers, who have shown mastery on slow, turning pitches at the Chepauk but remain untested on flat, batting-friendly surfaces. Ishan Kishan (161 runs) and Rohit’s opening stand would thus be crucial in the scheme of things but CSK would also have a lot of assurance with their own batting. Skipper Gaikwad may not be a marauder with the bat but he can be the silent enforcer in the CSK line-up, which has the exuberance of Rachin Ravindra at the top, sturdiness of Daryl Mitchell in the middle and explosiveness of Shivam Dube (176 runs), Ravindra Jadeja and Dhoni in the death overs. CSK would also be aware that seeing off the dexterous Jasprit Bumrah (10 wickets) and going after the rest of the MI bowling would be the key, since the others have given away runs at alarming rate while struggling with their line and lengths on placid surfaces. Despite Bumrah’s five-wicket haul, MI leaked runs at a high rate to allow RCB get closer to the 200-run mark here a few nights ago. A lot will be riding on Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande for CSK, who both return to their home ground, but Mustafizur Rahman (9 wickets) and the wily Jadeja would be the ones to watch out for given their recent exploits. On their part, teams say “we want to get as many runs as possible” but by the look of it, scores around 220-230 while batting first could be the best way possible to ensure an upperhand at this venue. Teams (from): Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Jasprit Bumrah, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Tim David, Shreyas Gopal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Kwena Maphaka, Mohammad Nabi, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Shivalik Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Arjun Tendulkar, Nuwan Thushara, Tilak Varma, Harvik Desai, Nehal Wadhera, Luke Wood. Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (wk), Aravelly Avanish (wk), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, RS Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nishant Sindhu, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Shardul Thakur, Maheesh Theekshana, Sameer Rizvi. Match starts 7:30PM IST.