It was batters who mostly lead their teams to victories and some into the knock-outs. While Mumbai trailblazer Sarfaraz Khan continues to find the big runs, Baba Indrajith's consistency wasn't enough for Tamil Nadu to make even the top two in Group H.
With the ball difficult to grip, the pacers had a tough time but once the spinners started operating India started to peg things back a little.
The back to back Test series wins in Australia must rank as Ravi Shastri's greatest achievement as India's coach.
Virat Kohli went by his gut and experience and played all his five main bowlers just when India needed to keep the lid on Scotland.
Neither the batting has worked nor has the bowling clicked in the two matches played so far.
IPL 2021 had many moments that made the tournament more special and fans asking for more.
Be it a spinner or a pacer, du Plessis had a big score on his mind. With that intent, he hammered the ball all over the park.
Shakib's loopy delivery saw du Plessis take a stride out and play at it. The ball missed the inside edge of his bat and DK missed the ball completely, failing to collect it as he moved away and the ball went past him to fine leg.
Just when it looked like RCB were back in the game, Sunil Narine, who had done the job with the ball (4 for 21), came out to bat and wasted no time to get going and tilt the momentum back in KKR's favour.
Narine's figures of 4-21 helped KKR take an upper hand. Anything under 140 in the IPL is always good for the chasing team, and KKR eventually won with two balls to spare.
The total that once looked chaseable on a nice batting track only got more and more difficult to breach as MI eventually scored a consolation 42 run win.
Both batsmen batted fearlessly and played the balls on merit. They took minimal risks, yet their attacking batting was wonderful to watch.
Just when it looked like Maxwell was ready to up the ante and take on Rashid again, Padikkal's error of judgment cost the team big.
Chahal's figures of 3 for 29 spun the game in RCB's favour and was a reminder to the selectors about what India will be missing come the T20 World Cup later this month.
Just when it looked like Punjab were sneaking back into the game, Glenn Maxwell came to the party.
Punjab's bowlers didn't allow the KKR batters to come back into the contest, turning the innnngs and eventually the match in their favour.
Iyer, who has been a revelation this season, played some fluent drives en route his half-century.
Maxwell took on the bowling and clobbered Chris Morris for 22 big runs, smoking the bowler to all parts of the park with a six and then three consecutive fours to log 7,000 runs in the IPL.
Rajasthan's feeble middle-order was again exposed as runs came in a trickle in singles and twos.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances