Rajasthan Royals' star-studded batting will face the serious challenge of decoding Sunil Narine's mystery at Eden Gardens when they take on two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in a top-of-the-table IPL clash in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Batters are mauling bowlers this IPL like never before, as the impact player rule effectively gives every team 12 players. Where is it taking the game?
An incredible innings of 95 not out from Jos Buttler kept Rajasthan Royals's play-off hopes alive as they edged past Chennai Super Kings by four wickets.
IMAGES from the semi-final match between India and England played at the Providence Stadium, in Guyana on Thursday.
'The awareness that we're bringing in more elite cricket to the USA is something that's been a strategic priority for us.'
Buttler blasted a 50-ball century, his eighth in one-dayer, in Saturday's second ODI against Pakistan, prompting former England captain Nasser Hussain to rank the 28-year-old among the all-time greats in this format.
England captain Jos Buttler has inched up to seventh position, Jonny Bairstow is up eight places to 36th while Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman has advanced from 57th to 51st.
A resurgent Mumbai Indians will need to address their bowling woes as they look to exact revenge on table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in their reverse fixture of the Indian Premier League in Jaipur on Monday.
That merging of skills and temperament has made him a much more desirable player than in the past.
From Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma sharing the limelight with their raw talent, to SRH's Travis Head smashing some brutal boundaries to notch up big runs and totals for his franchise, this season has had some real power hitters on show.
South Africa and India have advanced as the two other teams unbeaten in the group stage though both had their struggles in the United States leg of the tournament.
Hashim Amla's superb 103 enabled Punjab put up a competitive 198 for 4 in 20 overs but Buttler made a mockery of the target with Mumbai Indians knocking off the runs in only 15.3 overs.
High-flying Rajasthan Royals will look to continue their winning momentum and consolidate their position at the top when they take on a resurgent Lucknow Super Giants, who would be gunning for revenge at home in an IPL match in Lucknow on Saturday.
Jos Buttler has pretty much accepted their 50-overs World Cup title defence is over
India's approach with the bat now is drastically different to what it was in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final and both teams will start Thursday's contest on an even keel, said England head coach Matthew Mott on Wednesday.
Shane Warne has come down heavily on Ravichandran Ashwin for 'Mankading' Jos Buttler
'But in the last few years that skill is definitely better than it was eight years ago when I started. And then as I said, the leadership, it helps me feel at home.'
The lack of tension fuelled the '#WorstIPLFinal' trend on social media.
A minor hip injury kept Ben Stokes out of the World Cup opening match which England lost by nine wickets against New Zealand.
Skipper Rishabh Pant will look to overcome his rustiness as Delhi Capitals aim for an improved batting display in their bid for a first win of the IPL season when they take on Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Thursday.
The England wicketkeeper-batsman stroked an unbeaten 94 for the Royals to add to his last four scores of 67, 51, 82 and 95 not out, matching retired Indian great Virender Sehwag's record of five successive IPL half-centuries set in 2012
The Bengaluru outfit will hope for a reversal at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, a venue that carries similar traits as RCB's home -- Chinnaswamy Stadium -- in terms of a smooth pitch and a blistering outfield adding value to the batters' shots.
The focus will be on K L Rahul's form and fitness when he returns after a quadriceps injury lay-off to lead Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2024 opener against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Sunday.
'It's gonna be completely different there. Add the natural elements as well...'
Opener Dawid Malan hit a superb century before Moeen Ali grabbed four wickets as England beat New Zealand by 100 runs in the fourth One-Day International on Friday for a 3-1 series victory.
Chahal or Rashid? Whose guile captivated you?
However, the 26-year-old's comparison with Gilchrist can wait.
The dry Wankhede Stadium pitch on which Indian spinners claimed all the 10 wickets in England first innings in the fourth cricket Test, was still good enough to bat on after two days of play, said England's Joss Buttler.
Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has been called up to England's squad for the fifth one-day international with New Zealand on Saturday after Jos Buttler split the webbing on his left hand in practice.
Hetmeyer or Powell? Whose catch stunned you?
'T20 is a hard format. We are excited for what is to come.'
Fraser-McGurk, Stubbs or Samson? Pick your best batters
A washout in England-Namibia game in the same group will see Scotland go through.
England ended their five-match losing streak and climb off the bottom of the standings to seventh place on four points.
Mumbai Indians have once again made a familiar disappointing start to their IPL campaign as they lost their first two matches.
New Zealand steam roll England in third T20I
Bangladesh would like to exploit those chinks in England's armour
Virat Kohli feels that opposition bowlers want him to go hammer and tongs every time he comes out to bat, but he prefers adapting to match conditions without any predetermined strategy as he did in his unbeaten century against Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match on Saturday.
'The impact player rule has skewed the game heavily in favour of the batters.' 'The second factor is that all venues have BCCI-appointed curators as opposed to local curators.' 'This has essentially taken the home advantage out of the equation.'
'I'm trying to do what I am doing well. Some days it comes good and some days it doesn't, (but) I'm not thinking much.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances