Thousands of fans from both countries have crisscrossed the globe to watch their team in action and trust rival captains Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam to tell you this is another 'match' for them, but all the 22 players and reserves know that this is 'The Match'.
Jonny Bairstow hit an unbeaten half-century to help Sunrisers Hyderabad end their losing run and register their first win in IPL 2021.
Mumbai Indians will be looking for an ideal playing eleven to end their five-match losing streak when they take on Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL match in Mumbai on Saturday.
Ahead of Saturday's event, here's a lowdown of ready references for the auction.
He ended his spell with four wickets for 13 runs, bowling an incredible 18 dot balls, his best-ever IPL figures.
Kohli's poor show, however, hasn't affected the team much as it is playing extremely well in the white-ball games.
Defending champions India got a wake-up call as they lost to their Sri Lankan counterparts by five wickets in a warm-up game ahead of their ICC U-19 World Cup scheduled to begin on Friday.
KXIP had finished the IPL 2020 season at the sixth spot under the leadership of KL Rahul. Punjab is yet to win the IPL title and the side has made it to the finals in 2014. But they suffered a loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
'Yes, there has been little struggle for three years, I did not get a chance from Delhi, because of which I enhanced my game, have tried new shots, learnt new shots and that has helped me in T20s.'
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12 match between South Africa and India, in Perth, on Sunday.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has surpassed India's Virat Kohli in becoming the world No.1 T20I batter for the longest period of time after he maintained his top spot in the latest ICC T20 batting rankings.
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
Man-of-the-match Shubman Gill, who top-scored with an unbeaten 63 off 49 balls, was pleased with his performance but said he faced a bit of back issues during his knock.
A sixth win in nine games takes IPL debutants LSG closer to a play-off berth, while the task gets tougher for Punjab with just four wins from nine games.
Gautam Gambhir is a politician by choice but a cricketer at heart whose brain never stops ticking when it comes to conceptualising, planning and execution.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup match played between India and Bangladesh in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Images from Sunday's second IPL match, between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, in Mumbai.
Defending champions India are on the brink of elimination after they suffered a six-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in their Super Four match of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Tuesday.
Shreyas Iyer might have been the third biggest buy at the IPL auction but to fit into India's T20 combination, he would need to showcase all-round skills as that's what the team is looking for in the middle-order slot, captain Rohit Sharma said.
Suryakumar Yadav gave an exhibition of his incredible hitting skills with a superb 76 as India cantered to a seven-wicket win against the West Indies in the third T20 International on Tuesday.
Rahul and Pant, both match-winners in their own rights even with the bat, will like to seize the initiative in these early rounds.
India captain Rohit Sharma says it was a one-off experiment to ask Rishabh Pant open the innings and not a permanent solution as his team is trying new combinations to sort out the batting order before the 2023 World Cup.
Saurashtra left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been recalled, while India also have three first-timers in Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.
Hardik Pandya revealed that he didn't want to risk sending out Ruturaj Gaikwad to open the innings in the first T20
Chennai Super Kings have so far failed to display the stuff that won them the IPL last season, and new skipper Ravindra Jadeja must seek improvement on multiple fronts against Punjab Kings when they meet at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma urged his players to be innovative and challenge themselves
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
Images from Saturday's Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Dubai.
The finisher's job is only gaining significance in the power-packed modern game
Check out the Rajasthan Royals squad for the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League.
The big-hitting Rajasthan Royals batsman Deepak Hooda credits his IPL success to mentor Rahul Dravid, and teammate Steven Smith. Rediff.coms Harish Kotian caught up with the youngster to figure out his success mantra.
At the end of it all, Dravid's one-year report card doesn't paint a rosy picture and a meticulous planner like him will sit back and think hard about the tough calls he might need to take before the ODI World Cup in a year's time.
The Asia Cup defeats had not dampened the squad's spirits, said Rohit.
Rohit Sharma will lead a second string Indian team, comprising leading performers in domestic (Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and IPL) tournaments, for the Twenty20 tri-series in Sri Lanka, starting March 6. S hikhar Dhawan will be his deputy in the side that has as many as six changes.
Punjab Kings' batsmen came up with a shocking performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on Monday as they suffered a five-wicket thrashing with 3.2 overs to spare, in Ahmedabad, on Monday.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants in Mumbai on Sunday.
The Rohit Sharma-led, Indian team, on Sunday, departed for the Nidahas T20 Trophy to be played in Sri Lanka from Tuesday.
But once Surya (33 off 27) was dismissed by Bishnoi in the 17th over -- MI at 105-2 -- they could just not lift the tempo.
Images from the IPL 2022 Playoff Eliminator match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants
Iran's Fazel Atrachali, on Tuesday, became the first player in the history of Pro Kabaddi League to enter the 1 crore club after he was fetched by U Mumba, in the auctions, in Mumbai.
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