Mumbai Indians would look to bounce back when they take on a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore.
'Cricket may be stressful and very difficult, but when it's your passion, you learn to love it.'
Young Sanju Samson hit a quickfire half-century to help Rajasthan Royals register a convincing seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the Champions League T20 in Jaipur, on Saturday.
In-form Naman Ojha struck his third successive century while No.10 batsman Umesh Yadav smashed a quickfire 90 to give India 'A' the upperhand against Australia 'A' on Day 3 of the second unofficial Test match.
India A struggled as they reached 145 for six in reply to South Africa A's first innings total of 341 at stumps on the second day of the second 'Test' in Pretoria, on Sunday.
Quinton de Kock continued his preparation for the upcoming 72-day tour of India in brilliant fashion, smashing a hundred that put South Africa 'A' in control against India 'A' on the second day of the first unofficial Test in Wayanad, Kerala, on Wednesday.
India's preparations for the cricket World Cup suffered a jolt as Australia thrashed the defending champions by 106 runs with Glenn Maxwell and David Warner striking blistering centuries in their first warm-up game in Adelaide.
It was his knock of 116 that guided India to an imposing 294 for eight and paved the way for an easy 58-run victory in the second ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare, on Friday.
Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the play-off when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL clash in Mohali on Sunday. Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an all-round performance on Sunday. What has made this game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, which has struggled through the tournament, has suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way. The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam on Friday night.
'With India's bowling so poor, there will be extra pressure on the batsmen to score more runs. The Indian team, which nonchalantly scores 300/350 runs in ODIs at home, has had problems making even 200/250 runs in Australia.'
So overwhelming was India's domination in the series, that Zimbabwe's most valuable player, Elton Chigumbura, is only seventh in the combined list with a MVPI of just 175, according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
'We won the last World Cup and the Champions Trophy on the all-round performance -- so the Jajedas, Binnys, Ashwins could play a role in India defending the title' 'Stuart Binny could come in very handy in those surfaces with the seam bowling, as a lower order batsman also or as a floater' 'Yuvraj must be motivated to try and make a comeback'
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com lists seven memorable moments from the week gone by in IPL 9.
The Mumbai Indians seem to script a similar story from the last two Indian Premier League editions, when they had recovered from poor starts. After a sluggish start in IPL 9, the defending champions have finally seemed to find their form by defeating heavyweights Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium. Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front by scoring a match-winning 62 runs but another major positive that MI can take from Wednesday's game is that they finally look to find their settled playing XI. Skipper Rohit reflects on MI's second victory out of five games and also reveals his future plans in the tournament. Congratulations on the successful run-chase. This must be a very satisfying win against a good team? Yes, it is a very satisfying victory, especially to beat a team like that. We just wanted to focus on our strengths and we did pretty much well. We bowled really well, we fielded really well and we batted well too. This was a perfect example of how we can perform as a team. As a captain it is sheer joy to see the batsmen step-up and perform well. I am really happy to see this.
After his phenomenal bowling performance, -- 13 wickets at an economy rate of 5.1 -- which proved vital in Bangladesh's first ever ODI series win over India, it is not a surprise that Mustafizur Rahman is the most valuable player (MVP) of the three-match series.
Check out the statistical highlights of the second ODI between India and Bangladesh in Mirpur on Sunday.
'The challenge is that we start the next game well and are able to play 40 overs of good cricket. So far, we have been able to play 30 overs of good cricket and that's not enough.'
So far among the Indian batsmen, only one player had more first-class hundreds before the age of 18 -- batting legend Sachin Tendulkar who had seven three figure scores.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to pull out all stops to prevent the Mumbai Indians juggernaut.
Kedar Jadhav's maiden Twenty20 International fifty proved decisive as India scored a nail-biting three-run victory over Zimbabwe in the final match and won the series 2-1 in Harare, on Wednesday. The Maharashtra batsman smashed 58 off 42 balls before Axar Patel came up with a late cameo, scoring 20 off 11 balls, as India posted a competitive 138 for 6.
The Indian top-order failed to convert good starts but Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane struck morale-boosting fifties ahead of the Test series as the visiting team's two-day practice match against New Zealand XI ended in a tame draw in Whangarei on Monday.
KL Rahul became the first Indian to hit a century on his ODI debut as India crushed Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the first One-Day International in Harare, on Saturday.
Openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum shared a breathtaking 109-run stand off 44 balls as Chennai Super Kings outplayed Mumbai Indians by six wickets to maintain their unbeaten run in the IPL.
Former champions Mumbai Indians take on last year's runners-up Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium in a a game that promises plenty of action while offering a chance for both teams to get into winning ways after losses in their lung-openers.
Even after sealing a quarter-final berth captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is averse to changes in the team for their next World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Auckland on Saturday.
Needing 392 runs to avoid the follow-on, after the South Africans posted a mammoth 542 in their first innings, the hosts were shot out for a meagre 204 in 66.3 overs in their first essay, conceding a huge lead of 338 runs.
It was India's players all the way, with batting sensation Virat Kohli emerging the most valuable, ahead of senior spinner Amit Mishra. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji graphically depict the top players from the recently concluded India-New Zealand ODI series.
Mumbai Indians need to rethink their strategy; Narine boost for Kolkata Knight Riders.
A brilliant partnership between James Taylor and Jos Buttler helped England beat India by three wickets at the WACA on Friday and enter the tri-series final, where they will meet Australia.
While Rohit Sharma's absence because of a hamstring injury has affected the batting order, Shikhar Dhawan's poor run is a major reason for India's poor showing on the ongoing tour of Australia.
'He has been RCB's leader since 2013 and RCB's best performance under him has been runners up in 2016.' 'In 2013 and 2014, RCB didn't reach the Playoffs stage.' 'In 2015 it reached that stage.' 'In 2017, RCB didn't go beyond the league stage.' 'Sometimes, a change at the top leads to a change in a team's fortunes,' says Sudhir Bisht.
As far as Bangladesh were concerned, there was nothing worth mentioning except for a fifty each from captain Mushfiqur Rahim (59) and Shakib Al Hasan (52), the latter emerging as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) on account of his all-round showing in the series as he also claimed six wickets with his left-arm spin.
The third ODI between India and Bangladesh was called off after heavy showers rendered the ground unfit for play in Mirpur on Thursday.
Splendid bowling by Stuart Binny and Mohit Sharma helped India beat Bangladesh by 47 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method, in a rain-curtailed second One-day International, and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
Trailing 1-2 in the series, India have some concerns with most batsmen not showing enough flexibility at different batting positions.
Kieron Pollard and Jos Buttler's late assault helped Mumbai Indians keep their hopes alive with a convincing six-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
Ashish Nehra produced a sensational spell of pace bowling after Shikhar Dhawan shone with the bat with a scintillating unbeaten 82 as Sunrisers Hyderabad spanked Mumbai Indians by 85 runs in a lopsided IPL match in Visakhapatnam.
Pushed to the bottom of the table following their fifth defeat in six outings, former champions Mumbai Indians will look to keep their chances alive when they face a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad in a crucial Indian Premier League game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Misfiring Mumbai Indians, struggling to get their team combination right, will take on the formidable batting might of Royal Challengers Bangalore in a potentially explosive Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. On Wednesday.
Openers Lendl Simmons and Mike Hussey struck commanding fifties to hand Mumbai Indians a resounding 9-wicket win over Sri Lankan outfit Southern Express and keep their team in the hunt for the main draw of the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 in Raipur.
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