A high-stakes match between cross-city rivals Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chennai on Friday will usher in IPL 2024, but, beyond the grandeur around it, the two protagonists will have to find early answers to some deep questions as they attempt to enter a rarefied territory.
'Today is the day I say goodbye to the game that has given me everything.'
The teams which don't make long-term promises that are difficult to fulfil but focus on immediate process and know the roles of players required for slots.
Images from the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Chennai on Sunday.
CSK skipper M S Dhoni turned to Ahmed despite the impressive Anshul Kamboj (3-0-25-0) having one over remaining, but the left-arm quick wilted under Romario Shepherd's assault.
While CSK dropped as many as five catches, a couple of them sitters, Punjab were not too far behind as they floored four chances.
Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni said he will decide on his IPL future after working hard for 6-8 months and assessing whether his body can cope with the demands of the game.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said they deserve to finish at the bottom of the table but promised to come back with "strong ideas".
During every IPL match, the Chennai Super Kings legend is swarmed by opponents and coaches eager for a moment with him.
Lucknow Super Giants leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi is not quite sure why he didn't get to bowl in the death overs against Chennai Super Kings.
Dhoni was spotted wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with Morse code.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings clash against Gujarat Titans in a repeat of last season's final in the IPL 2024 match in Chennai on Tuesday.
Dhoni took on Sri Lankan pace sensation Matheesha Pathirana and sent the ball flying with a vintage finish.
Rajasthan Royals' Nitish Rana played a blistering knock against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2025 clash in Guwahati on Sunday.
For Finch, it echoed one of the several moments where his former side just didn't click.
Chennai Super Kings created history as they became the first player to use the Impact Player card as Tushar Deshpande replaced Ambati Rayudu in the playing XI.
Jadeja was keen to reconnect with longtime teammate and bowling partner, Ravichandran Ashwin.
Kohli's innings, laced with five boundaries and five towering sixes, wasn't just about fireworks-it was historic.
All the 10 teams are involved in a lot of back and forth with their overseas recruits over their arrival plans in India a day after the IPL announced the revised schedule following necessary security clearances from the government.
The legendary skipper plays his 200th match for CSK on Wednesday, and to mark the milestone, Dhoni was presented with a memento by frannchise owner N Srinivasan.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni warmly hugged Virat Kohli before they shared a brief yet heartfelt conversation.
Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul was chuffed to get most of his decisions right as he guided his team to a convincing eight-wicket victory over defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the IPL game in Lucknow on Friday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2025 after Game 68.
Led by their talisman Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the players acknowledged the Whistle Podu army and greeted thousands of fans who had stayed back despite CSK losing the game.
Pant returned to competitive cricket in this IPL after recovering from a life-threatening road mishap in December 2022, and this was his first fifty in three games this season.
New Zealand batting great Kane Williamson praised Nitish Rana's match-winning 36-ball 81 against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
Ravindra Jadeja said that there is no hierarchy in the CSK set-up and he has never felt that there is any bias for any particular player.
Prem Panicker and Faisal Shariff discuss Rohit Sharma's captaincy and his impact as a batsman and explore potential successors for Team India on a special episode of the Sports And Pastime podcast.
Romario Shepherd's breathtaking knock didn't just revive RCB's fortunes in the match, it may well have reignited his IPL career.
Devon Conway injured his left thumb during the T20I series against Australia.
It is not just MS Dhoni's captaincy, or his players' relaxed outlook that makes Chennai Super Kings so dominant in the IPL, for bowling coach Dwayne Bravo also attributes the consistent run to the lack of outside interference.
'...I thrive whenever there is a big total on the board and you need to take the charge and momentum for the team for the rest of the batters to come and go full throttle.'
'12.06.23 She got promoted from my school crush to MY FIANCE!'
Mahendra Singh Dhoni recalls a rare moment when he lost his cool and stormed into the field to confront the umpires during an IPL match in 2019.
Rajasthan Royals face tough challenge against in-form Chennai Super Kings
Prem Panicker and Faisal Shariff discuss RCB's dream run this IPL season and discuss Vaibhav Suryavanshi's future on the latest episode of the Sports And Pastime podcast.
The Chennai-born cricketer has 185 wickets in 217 matches at an average of 29.92, conceding runs at an economy of 7.18.
'These (State T20 Leagues) are really good because you get an opportunity to play and these guys play with the Kookaburra ball, they (get to) play in those special situations.'
Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill did not forget to mention that they were 15 runs short while batting, as the net run-rate did not witness a quantum leap despite their 35-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Friday.
CSK revealed that Stokes missed the match against Mumbai owing to a minor toe injury on Saturday.
