His knock -- 67 off 45 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes -- was a cocktail of composure and controlled aggression. It was also his 10th IPL half-century, a milestone that arrived just when the spotlight had begun to shift off him.
'...I had to be disciplined, just stick to the basics'
India's young T20 stars, led by opener Abhishek Sharma's blistering 79 off 34 balls, helped India crush England by seven wickets in the first T20I in Kolkata.
Questions will remain as to why he ended his Test career at the age of 36, despite being one of the fittest cricketers, and why he didn't wait to cross the 10,000-run mark, observes veteran cricket correspondent K R Nayar.
Yashasvi Jaiswal on Wednesday joined the Mumbai camp after confirming his availability for the next round of Ranji Trophy
Lucknow Super Giants are no longer just contenders, they could be IPL 2025's ultimate disruptors.
Be it as a source of fire, secret or endgame, everything is seen through the prism of sex and good looks in The Royals, observes Sukanya Verma.
After a much-needed two-day respite, Team India returned to the training grounds with renewed vigour, setting their sights on a pivotal showdown against New Zealand on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians outlasted Gujarat Titans by 20 runs in a high-scoring IPL Eliminator despite a classy effort from Sai Sudharsan.
'A stage that seems big -- but it's (the) one that's familiar -- so we banked on him being comfortable with his surroundings and he certainly looked all that. It was an impressive debut.'
'Nothing will be wasted during this tournament, we will look back at other tournaments that have not gone our way and some of the work we have done at the back end of the tournaments that set us up for wins the following year.'
The standout performers for DC with the ball were Kuldeep Yadav (2-17 in 4 overs) and Vipraj Nigam (2-18 in 4 overs).
"If you think of Orange Cap...": GT opener Sai Sudharsan on winning matches for team
Having succeeded Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's Test captain, "King Kohli" overhauled India's approach to turn the team into a ruthless juggernaut that did not rely anymore on designer dustbowls to win Test matches.
India Masters set the tone with a commanding batting display, spearheaded by blistering half-centuries from Ambati Rayudu (63) and Saurabh Tiwary (60), before stand-in skipper Yuvraj Singh's late-order fireworks propelled them to an imposing 253 for 3 after winning the toss
'If one can be brutally honest, he is part of this set-up more because of his reputation.'
While the IPL 2025 mega auction is expected to reward several young talents with huge pay cheques, a few seasoned stars could also steal the show.
On a pitch that was difficult to score big runs, Punjab scored a par total of 147 for 8. Rajasthan scripted a late win thanks to Shimron Hetmyer's 10-ball 27.
Head has dominated the batting chart with 409 runs in the first three Tests with two hundreds and a fifty, and former Australia captain Chappell believes his simplicity and aggression are behind his success as a Test batter.
Kuldeep Yadav offered valuable insights into his evolving bowling technique following his recovery from a knee injury sustained during the 2021 IPL, which sidelined him for several months.
The lack of tension fuelled the '#WorstIPLFinal' trend on social media.
If the game of cricket remains tilted heavily in the favour of batters, not many youngsters would be lining up to start bowling in a couple of years, fears spin great Anil Kumble, who advocated the need to keep biggest possible boundaries at IPL venues and use of more pronounced seam to restore the balance between bat and ball.
RCB handed CSK a 50-run thrashing -- their biggest defeat at home in the IPL.
Pakistan beat South Africa by six wickets in Wednesday's high-scoring contest in Karachi but not before tempers flared in the first innings when the tourists were batting.
Shane Watson's 48-ball century was overshadowed by an equally aggressive 44-ball undefeated 94 from Lendl Simmons that helped West Indies Masters outclass Australia Masters by seven wickets in the second match of the inaugural International Masters League (IML) in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
Gujarat Titans will aim to tighten their grip on the top spot and move closer to securing a play-off berth when they take on a faltering Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Monday.
'I can't express my feelings right now. It's unbelievable. Can't imagine scoring back-to-back hundreds, that too in SA. Right now, I can't express my feelings.'
Tilak Varma's "mature" unbeaten 72 was the difference between India and England in the second T20I here, reckoned visitors's pace bowling all-rounder Brydon Carse.
England tested him like no other place - from exposing his raw edges in 2014 to witnessing his peak in 2018, and finally revealing his human side in 2021.
As the ball was about to drop down in no man's land, Starc sprinted to his left from long-off and slid to complete a fine two-handed catch.
Runs came in all directions at the Wankhede on Sunday.
Prabhsimran Singh - Punjab Kings' pint-sized powerhouse whose explosive batting, sharp game sense, and newfound maturity have made him the breakout Indian star of the tournament.
Clarke also believes that T20 cricket hasn't changed too much that CSK won't be able to cope up and team needs to be given respect for their five trophies.
Dhas (116, 101 balls) and Saharan (100, 107 balls), who added 215 off 202 balls, lifted India from a tricky 62/3 to a formidable 297/5 after they opted to bat first.
Virat Kohli etched his name in history once again during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday.
'There is always a temptation for the captain and the coach to decide whether to play him or me.'
Virat Kohli has the skill to score runs at a much better strike-rate like any young T20 star but RCB's team composition is such that he needs to adopt a risk-free approach.
He amassed 395 runs in IPL 2024 and this breakout season earned him a lucrative Rs 11 crore (Rs 110 million) contract, making him one of three players RCB retained alongside Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal.
Kohli was at his aggressive best in the just-concluded second Test against Sri Lanka as he smashed a strokeful 213 off 267 balls to help India amass a huge first innings total.
Ajinkya Rahane, who was appointed KKR captain and led Mumbai into the Ranji Trophy semi-finals and scored 467 runs, said he would carry the confidence from domestic cricket into the upcoming edition of the IPL.
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