Watch: As Mumbai Indians lose again under Hardik Pandya's captaincy, 'Rohit, Rohit' chants echo in Wankhede | Cricket News

Watch: As Mumbai Indians lose again under Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, ‘Rohit, Rohit’ chants echo in Wankhede | Cricket News

Hardik Pandya‘s captaincy was once again questioned after Mumbai Indians (MI) succumbed to their eighth defeat of IPL 2024, as the five-time champions failed to chase a below-par target of 170 on their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday.IPL 2024: Results | Points Table Frustratingly enduring one of their worst seasons, the MI fans at the Wankhede broke into loud chants of ‘Rohit, Rohit’ during the match, a video of which has gone viral on social media. KKR put up 169 on the board, thanks to a half-century by Venkatesh Iyer (70 off 52 balls) and an equally crucial 31-ball 42 by Manish Pandey, despite MI having the visitors on the ropes at 57/5 in just the seventh over.WATCH VIDEO Mitchell Starc, the most expensive player in IPL history, finally did justice to his price tag with match-winning figures of 4/33 as Mumbai folded up for 145 in 18.5 overs despite Suryakumar Yadav’s 35-ball 56. Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell took two wickets each.Former India pacer Irfan Pathan came down heavily on Hardik’s decisions as captain, especially when KKR had lost half their side inside the seventh over.“When you had KKR’s five wickets for just 57 runs, there was no need to give Naman Dhir three overs in a row. You should have got your main bowlers on, but you had your sixth bowler deliver three overs. That allowed Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey to put a partnership together….Where you could have bowled KKR out for 150, they went on to make 170, and that turned out to be the difference,” said Irfan. “In cricket, captaincy has a huge effect and it’s very important to manage, which did not happen. Mumbai Indians isn’t looking like a team that is playing as a unit, and this aspect needs to be looked at going forward for Mumbai Indians. Players need to respect the captain and also accept him appreciably, this is very important. That, I think, could not be seen on the field,” he added.

Read More
'Badi jaldi aaya...': Virat Kohli pulls Shubman Gill's leg as GT captain visits RCB dressing room before IPL 2024 clash

‘Badi jaldi aaya…’: Virat Kohli pulls Shubman Gill’s leg as GT captain visits RCB dressing room before IPL 2024 clash

In patchy form currently, Shubman Gill missed out on a spot in the 15-member Team India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Gujarat Titans captain was named in the reserves list, losing his spot in the 15-member squad to Rajasthan Royals’ Yashasvi Jaiswal. Virat Kohli makes fun of Shubman Gill. Gearing up for GT’s upcoming fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gill surprised India teammate Virat Kohli, as he appeared early for practice. In a viral video, shared by GT on X, Gill can be seen greeting Kohli and the RCB star jokes, “Badi jaldi aaya practice mei (You came so early for practice)!’ Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! Their camaraderie and friendship was perfectly visible in the video as Kohli donned the senior role and joked with Gill, who is his junior. Here is the video: In IPL 2024, Gill has managed 320 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 140.96. He is 15th in the Orange Cap race and is not expected to retain it this season. Last year, he won the Orange Cap with 890 runs in 17 matches as GT finished as runners-up. It was a season to remember for Gill as he also smacked three tons and four fifties. But this season, he has only registered two half-centuries and was dismissed for 16 off 19 balls in his side’s previous fixture, which was also against RCB. Kohli’s funny approach could also be an indication as to why Gill was ignored by the selectors for the 15-member roster. Since suffering a bout of dengue in the early stages of the ODI World Cup last year, the opener hasn’t been the same and his captaincy with GT also needs maturity. He was handed the role after Hardik Pandya rejoined Mumbai Indians in a shock transfer prior to the auction last year. Pandya was released by MI in 2022 and joined GT, and he was made captain. He led them to the title in their debut season, followed by a runners-up finish. So, pressure was plenty on Gill, when he took up the responsibility. But he will be disappointed with himself, as GT are currently eighth in the IPL 2024 points table with eight points in 10 games. With time running out, they will be looking to bounce back to winning ways and are currently in a two-match losing streak.

Read More
'Mumbai Indians ki kahani khatam': What went wrong for five-time IPL champions | Cricket News

‘Mumbai Indians ki kahani khatam’: What went wrong for five-time IPL champions | Cricket News

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians are all but out of the race to IPL 2024 playoffs. Going through one of their worst seasons in IPL history, Hardik Pandya & Co. faced their eighth defeat in 11 matches, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders by 24 runs on their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, on Friday.IPL STANDINGS: Points Table | Orange Cap | Purple Cap The defeat, which was MI’s first against KKR at the Wankhede in 12 years, once again brought Hardik ‘s captaincy in focus. “This was such a good team on paper but was not managed well. The questions that were being raised about Hardik Pandya’s captaincy were absolutely correct,” said former India pacer Irfan Pathan, analysing the game in a video on social media. KKR put up 169 on the board, thanks to a half-century by Venkatesh Iyer (70 off 52 balls) and an equally crucial 31-ball 42 by Manish Pandey, despite MI having the visitors on the ropes at 57/5 in just the seventh over.WATCH VIDEO “When you had KKR’s five wickets for just 57 runs, there was no need to give Naman Dhir three overs in a row. You should have got your main bowlers on, but you had your sixth bowler deliver three overs. That allowed Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey to put a partnership together….Where you could have bowled KKR out for 150, they went on to make 170, and that turned out to be the difference,” added Pathan, raising questions on captain Hardik’s decisions on the field. Mitchell Starc, the most expensive player in IPL history, finally did justice to his price tag with match-winning figures of 4/33 as Mumbai folded up for 145 in 18.5 overs despite Suryakumar Yadav’s 35-ball 56. Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell took two wickets each. “KKR now looks like a ‘khatarnak’ (dangerous) team after Mitchell Starc’s return to form. They had just one weak link in fast bowling, which was Mitchell Starc’s bowling. The way he bowled to Tim David must be appreciated,” analysed Irfan.The win took KKR to No. 2 on the points table with seven wins in 10 matches. Coming back to MI captaincy, which had changed hands from Rohit Sharma to Hardik before the start of this season, Irfan said MI is not playing as a unit under Hardik’s captaincy. “In cricket, captaincy has a huge effect and it’s very important to manage, which did not happen. Mumbai Indians isn’t looking like a team that is playing as a unit, and this aspect needs to be looked at going forward for Mumbai Indians. Players need to respect the captain and also accept him appreciably, this is very important. That, I think, could not be seen on the field,” the former cricketer cum commentator said. “Whatever the reason is, they have to think about it and improve.”

Read More
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, IPL 2024 match 52 – India TV

Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, IPL 2024 match 52 – India TV

Image Source : BCCI/IPL RCB players against SRH in the IPL 2024 on April 25, 2024 RCB vs GT Pitch Report: Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be seeking their third successive win for the first time in the IPL 2024 when they take on inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the 52nd match of the season at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. Faf du Plessis chased down a 201-run target with nine wickets and 24 balls remaining against Gujarat Titans in their last game to avoid an early elimination from the playoff race. Both teams are now set to face off each other in the reverse fixture with two very crucial points up for the grabs. With six losses in ten games, Shubman Gill’s Gujarat slipped to eighth position in the points table and now face a tough job to make playoffs for the third consecutive season. Gujarat still remain in contention to secure playoff qualification but need to produce their best performance at M Chinnaswamy’s tricky surface for a playoff boost. M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Pitch Report Bengaluru’s M Chinnawamsy Stadium offers a balanced surface in T20 cricket. Fans witnessed a run-fest in the last game played at this venue with Sunrisers Hyderabad posting a record-breaking total of 287 and then RCB replaying with 262. But teams are playing here after a gap of 18 days and fans can expect a fresh surface and another high-scoring game. M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru T20 numbers T20I Matches: 18 Matches won batting first: 7 Matches won bowling first: 9 Average first innings score: 141 Average second innings score: 136 Highest total scored: 212/4 by India vs Afghanistan Highest score chased: 194/3 by Australia vs India Lowest total recorded: 99/10 by South Africa Women vs New Zealand Women Lowest total defended: 114/7 by Sri Lanka Women vs South Africa Women RCB vs GT probable playing XIs: Royal Challengers Bengaluru predicted playing XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal. Gujarat Titans predicted playing XI: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma.

Read More
IPL 2024, MI vs KKR: Hardik Pandya not ready to ‘leave the battlefield’ after crushing loss

IPL 2024, MI vs KKR: Hardik Pandya not ready to ‘leave the battlefield’ after crushing loss

Hardik Pandya reflected on MI’s loss against KKR at the Wankhede Stadium on May 3, Friday. Hardik admitted that the team could not stitch any partnerships and kept on losing wickets, which resulted in their loss. KKR ended their 12-year jinx at the iconic venue with a terrific win by 24 runs. With the victory, Kolkata also consolidated their second position in the points table with 7 wins in 10 games. Meanwhile, MI slumped to their 8th loss of the season from 11 matches. While speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Hardik talked about MI’s defeat and what went wrong in the game. Amid MI’s poor run in the tournament, Hardik said that it would take time to answer the questions being posed to the team. However, he was happy with the way the MI bowlers bowled. “Obviously, we couldn’t form partnerships and kept losing wickets. There are a lot of questions that will take time to answer. But for now, not much to say. Bowlers did a fantastic job on this track,” Hardik said. IPL 2024, MI vs KKR: Match Report ‘Challenges make you better’ MI opted to bowl first and cashed in on the advantage by leaving KKR tottering at 57 for 5. N Thushara picked up 3 wickets and ran through KKR’s top-order. However, Venkatesh Iyer, with his 70-run knock, along with Manish Pandey led Kolkata’s recovery as they managed to put 169 runs on the board. IPL 2024 Full Coverage | IPL 2024 Points Table and Standings | 2024 IPL Full Schedule Hardik mentioned that the wicket got better in the 2nd innings, but the lack of partnerships led to their downfall in the chase. Hardik held his head high and remained determined to keep fighting, despite the tough challenges. “The wicket got better if I’m not wrong. Dew came in the second innings. Will go through the game and see what we can do better. You keep fighting, that is what I tell to myself, never leave the battlefield. Tough days come but good also come here. It’s challenging, but challenges make you better,” Hardik added. KKR bowlers were all over the MI batters as the hosts found themselves reduced to 71 for 6. Suryakumar Yadav played a counter-attacking innings of 56 runs from 35 balls. However, that did not prove to be enough as Mitchell Starc picked up 4 wickets for 33 runs to blow away MI’s lower order. Published By: Diya Kakkar Published On: May 4, 2024

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

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

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

Read More
IPL-17: SRH vs RR | I wasn't thinking much, was just focussed on the process: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

IPL-17: SRH vs RR | I wasn’t thinking much, was just focussed on the process: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar celebrates the last-ball wicket of Rajasthan Royals’ Rovman Powell during the IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad on May 2, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP Experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said he wasn’t thinking much and just focussed on bowling two good deliveries after scripting Sunrisers Hyderabad’s sensational one-run win with a last-ball wicket in an IPL thriller here on Thursday. Defending 12 in the final over, Bhuvneshwar trapped Rovman Powell in front of the wicket in the last ball to stop Rajasthan Royal’s run chase at 200 for 7 and pull off a heist in the end. Sunrisers had scored 201 for 3 in their 20 overs, riding on fifties from Travis Head and Nitish Reddy. “I wasn’t thinking much about the result in the last over. There was no discussion in the last over, was just focussed on the process. Was thinking just about bowling two good balls, anything could have happened,” Bhuvneshwar, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his 3 for 41, said at the post-match presentation. “The ball swung so much, can’t really pinpoint, really enjoyed it. Luckily got wickets today. When the season started thought process was different, but it changed when the batters played in such a way,” he added. SRH captain Pat Cummins was a happy man after his team managed to snap a two-game losing streak. “It was an amazing game. That’s T20 cricket. Anything can happen, Bhuvi executed that last ball. You try to take some wickets in the middle. Natarajan is a good yorker bowler, fortunately we got some wickets,” said the Australian pacer , who bowled a superb 19th over conceding just 7 runs. “We played some games here, thought 200 could have been chased down. He (Nitish Reddy) sums up the conditions pretty well, he’s amazing, great in the field, gives some overs with the ball as well,” Cummins added. Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson said that even while it seemed his side was cruising to victory he was not certain they would get over the line given the unpredictable nature of the league. “We have played some really close games this season, won a couple of them and lost this one. Credit to the SRH bowlers for the way they fought back,” he said. “The margin of errors is very less in the IPL. The game is never done till it is done. It was tough to bat against the new ball and when it got old, it became easier. He was full of praise for the young duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag who resurrected the Royals’ innings after Jos Buttler and Samson got out for ducks in the first over. “Credit to both youngsters (Jaiswal and Parag), myself and Jos (Buttler) got out in the powerplay, they played well and got us to that position,” Samson Said.

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

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

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.

Read More
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans Today Match Prediction & Live Odds - IPL 2024

Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans Today Match Prediction & Live Odds – IPL 2024

Get to Know Who will win Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, IPL 2024 Match and toss Prediction with Head to Head stats, Playing 11, CBTFJSK Tips, Live score Win Probability & winning percentage. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 : May 04, 2024𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 : 19:30 IST / 14:00 GMT𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄 : M Chinnaswamy Stadium – Bengaluru, India𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 : IPL 2024 Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans Betting Tips Virat Kohli made 70 not out from 44 balls in the last game and the right-handed opener is our tip for RCB’s highest run scorer against Gujarat Titans. With the ball, Swapnil Singh has picked up three wickets over the last two games and the left-arm spinner is a strong choice for RCB’s top wicket taker in this match.Only Ruturaj Gaikwad and Virat Kohli have scored more runs in this year’s IPL than Sai Sudharsan and the left-hander is well worth backing as Gujarat Titans’ highest run scorer in this game. Sai Kishore has impressed with the ball this season and the left-arm slow bowler is our pick for Gujarat Titans’ top wicket taker against RCB.With an average of 71.43 from ten innings in the tournament, we recommend selecting Virat Kohli to hit over 31.5 runs in this match. Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website. Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans T20 Match Prediction & Betting Tips, IPL 2024 Match 52 of the 2024 Indian Premier League sees Royal Challengers Bengaluru host Gujarat Titans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday evening. This is a re-match from Match 45 which RCB easily won by 9 wickets and they come into this game two points behind the Titans. Read on as we preview this fixture which gets underway at 19:30 in Bengaluru on 4th May. RCB have given themselves a chance of climbing the table and potentially even taking a playoff place with wins over Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans in their last two matches. However, they can afford no slip ups and we expect them to be full of confidence ahead of this clash. Gujarat Titans were so strong and consistent in their two previous IPL campaigns that it is very strange to see them struggling in eighth place so far in this IPL. After back to back defeats and against a resurgent RCB, this is likely to be a very tough match in Bengaluru. Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans  Match Toss PredictionJust over 53% of IPL matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium have been won by the team fielding first and with humidity levels set to rise across the game, we predict that both sides will choose to bowl first if they win the toss. Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans Pitch ReportThis pitch produced scores of 287/3 and 262/7 in the last IPL game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium so we expect to see another high scoring contest in this match. Pace bowlers may well struggle to keep the runs down but they should also be able to hurry up some of the weaker batters. A par score will be 250+. Bengaluru Weather ReportThere is very little chance of any rain in Bengaluru during this match on Saturday evening. The temperature is forecast to be over 30 degrees with humidity levels climbing up to over 50%. Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, Indian Premier League 2024

Read More
IPL 2024: SRH vs RR | My role is to carry on till 13th-14th over so that Klaasen gets license to play freely: Nitish Reddy

IPL 2024: SRH vs RR | My role is to carry on till 13th-14th over so that Klaasen gets license to play freely: Nitish Reddy

Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Nitish Reddy plays a shot during the IPL 2024 T20 cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, in Hyderabad, Thursday, May 2, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI Entrusted with the task of shepherding Sunrisers Hyderabad’s middle-order, young Nitish Reddy has been doing the job with aplomb at a time when he is seen by many as a future India all-rounder, thanks to his ability to bowl lively medium pace. Opting to bat in the IPL game against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals here on Thursday, Reddy (76 not out) and Travis Head (58) produced explosive fifties, while Heinrich Klassen made an unbeaten 19-ball 42 to power SRH to 201 for three. Experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar then did the star turn with a sensational final over as SRH pulled off a heist, stunning RR by just one run in a last-ball thriller to keep their playoff hopes alive. Nitish, 20, stated that his role was to rebuild the innings after quick wickets. “From the last two matches, we are losing quick wickets and I have to go. My role is to carry on till the 13th and 14th over so that Klaasen gets a license to bang. There is no point in Klaasen and Samad coming early, but not getting to score freely,” said Nitish at the post-match press conference. The all-rounder hailed Bhuvneshwar after the veteran pacer bowled a brilliant final over to help Hyderabad seal a dramatic win. Nitish said he was hopeful that Bhuvneshwar would be able to defend 13 runs in the last over. “I was looking at who was going to bowl. When I saw Bhuvneshwar was going to bowl, I got the confidence that he was going to pull it off.” “During his prime, he had done it so many times. I did not think we were going to win, I thought either we’d lose or tie. But that last-ball wicket, I felt so happy,” Nitish said. During his explosive knock, Nitish smashed RR’s in-form Yuzvendra Chahal for two fours and two sixes in the 13th over. Nitish said that he backed himself to attack the seasoned leg-spinner. Reddy also said the victory against RR, following losses to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings, is important. “Beating RR will boost our confidence, they are at the top of the points table,” he concluded. Not in my best form: Parag Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag returned to the top five in the Orange Cape race after striking his fourth fifty of the season. The 22-year-old Parag slammed 77 off 49 balls but could not help his side chase down the target set by SRH. Despite his breakout season with the franchise, Parag said he was not in his best form since he could not finish the game. “I got a lot of areas to improve. I am not in my best form, I would have finished the game otherwise. “I got a lot of areas to perfect. I try to learn from my mistakes and not repeat them. Is it my best innings? No. I would say that if I get a hundred,” Parag told reporters. The Assam player said the loss was “dramatic”, adding that his team made a few errors. “It is never good to end on the losing side. We did a lot of things right. We will focus on them more rather than dwelling on our mistakes. We are at a good position in the points table. Just one bad game I guess. “We made a few errors in two-three overs and it cost us the game. That is how T20 is, IPL is,” he said.

Read More