A glamour-filled opening ceremony, featuring Bollywood personalities and all-girl English pop band TBC, performed for the Season 9 of the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Friday.
After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
The 2016 Indian Premier League season brings with it an opportunity for both the old and new.
The Australia vice-captain struggled in the four-Test series in India preceding the IPL but has been at his attacking best in the Twenty20 tournament, where he has registered back-to-back 600-plus run seasons.
With me, Yuvraj and Dhoni in the middle-order, we have the required experience, says Indian batsman Suresh Raina
Ashwin, a key member of the Indian team across all formats, will have to be 100 percent fit in time for the upcoming Champions Trophy starting June 1.
Even Bollywood superstar and co-owner Shah Rukh Khan's presence could not inspire Kolkata Knight Riders, who were outclassed by Royal Challengers Bangalore by nine wickets, in the Indian Premier League match, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Rediff.com has this and a whole lot more exciting action from the week gone by, encapsulated in this photo feature.
A late bloomer, Tye has gone on to become an integral part of Australia's T20 set-up after making his international debut in January, 2016, at the age of 29.
After retiring from international cricket, former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson will be making a sort of a comeback on the big stage when he represents Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League. Johnson's only competitive game of cricket since retiring from the international arena last November was a club game in Perth five weeks ago. But the left-armer hasn't lost any of the speed or skill that made him one of the fiercest fast bowlers in the world according to Kings XI captain David Miller. "The fire is definitely there and the pace is up there as well," Miller said. "I don't see why he's not going to do well.
Dynamic West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo's smash-hit rap 'Champion dance' during the opening ceremony and the use of LED light stumps are the two major attractions of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League, said tournament chairman Rajeev Shukla. Bravo, who will be playing for the new team Gujarat Lions, is expected to perform the 'Champion Dance' that has now become a rage among the cricket fans of India and IPL is trying to cash in on its popularity. "Dwayne Bravo is performing on Champion Dance during the opening ceremony of IPL-9 in Mumbai. His performance will be the special attraction and there might be a few more West Indies cricketers, who will perform alongside Bravo," IPL chairman Shukla told PTI on Wednesday. Shukla also informed that the LED stumps, which lights up and has been in use since 2014 across ICC's 20 and 50 over World Cups, will be used for the first time in the cash-rich league.
South Africa's explosive batsman David Miller, who will lead the Kings XI Punjab in this edition of the IPL, feels that captaincy has not brought any added pressure on him. "Responsibility changes a bit as captain, but I am really looking forward to it," Miller said. "No pressure, to be honest. I see it as an opportunity. We have changed the squad a little bit this year, couple of new additions, but most of the squad stays the same. "I really believe we can win the competition this year. The fact that we haven't won it, doesn't add any more pressure. It's a great opportunity for the guys to step up," he added. The 26-year-old said he is looking forward to the captaincy challenge.
Captain Rohit Sharma continued to lead by example as a thoroughly professional Mumbai Indians outclassed Pune Supergiants by eight wickets in an Indian Premier League encounter.
Mumbai Indians thump Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs in an IPL match in New Delhi on Saturday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim to stop a rampaging Rising Pune Supergiant when both teams meet in the Indian Premier League, on Saturday, in a bid to cement their place in the play-offs.
Mumbai Indians will be fretting over their team combination as they take on a marauding Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Samajwadi Party, which has decided not to enter the fray in Amethi and Rae Bareli, on Tuesday disapproved the Bharatiya Janata Party fielding "outsiders" from the Nehru-Gandhi pocket borough, saying such a practice was against democracy.
McCullum has brought a lot of excitement to the game and now as part of the newly formed Gujarat Lions outfit, he looks forward to helping the Suresh Raina-led team make their mark in the Indian Premier League.
Not in a mood to blame the surface for his spinners inability to make a mark in the ongoing Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir has said a quality tweaker doesn't need any assistance to perform.
The players auctions for this year's IPL is scheduled for this weekend. Rajneesh Gupta looks at the players retained and released by the teams for IPL 2017.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com picks five performances that took spectators' breaths away in week 9: Five wonderful knocks and one magical spell of bowling.
His own knock was crucial in Mumbai Indians chasing down a stiff 171-run target, but skipper Rohit Sharma chose to credit all-rounder Krunal Pandya for the Indian Premier League victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, saying the youngster is proving to be a game-changer in every match.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will stand in the way of two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders' bid to make it to the play-offs in a mouthwatering Indian Premier League encounter.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com comes up with a pretty strong playing eleven from the long list of big names warming the benches this IPL season.
The SCA Stadium has seen largely empty stands on the first three days of the opening match of a five-Test series between India and England and local organisers blame it on the cash crunch.
Kings XI Punjab will be aiming to continue their late surge against Rising Pune Supergiant in a 'winner takes it all' Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli is expecting an intensely-fought IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad since he and rival skipper David Warner are fierce competitors on the field.
With Virat Kohli set to eclipse the 1,000 runs' barrier, Rajneesh Gupta presents the top scorers in a series/tournament and the run-machine's performance in IPL-9.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after Game 51 in IPL 10.
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will start favourites when they take on the struggling-for-survival Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Mohali, on Thursday.
Rediff.com brings you these and other exciting news from the week gone by in this photo feature...
'The Chinese outdid them in the price game and turned the competitive dynamics at the lower end of the handset market from price to value.'
Impressed with Kuldeep Yadav's performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar offered "honest advice" to India's selectors to keep an eye on the young left-arm spinner.
Australia's two-time World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting feels that young Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah is ready to play Test cricket as he possesses all the necessary skills to do well in the longest format of the game.
Defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians have been hit hard by the Bombay High Court decision to shift all their home games out of the Wankhede Stadium, but the side were focused only on the game, according to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel.
India are poised for their third T20 International series triumph in five years but would be wary of a strong fightback from the usually plucky New Zealand when the two sides clash in the second game of the three-match series in Rajkot.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would be eager to avenge their twin defeats in the league stage when they face old foes Mumbai Indians in the IPL Qualifer 2 in Bengaluru, on Friday.
Rising Pune Supergiant thrashed Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets to storm into the play-offs of the Indian Premier League, in Pune, on Sunday.
Sitting atop the points table, Kolkata Knight Riders would look to consolidate their position when they clash with an equally confident Delhi Daredevils in what promises to be a thrilling IPL encounter, in New Delhi, on Monday.
Out-of-favour India all-rounder Suresh Raina knows his worth in the Indian Premier League and credited Chennai Super Kings for transforming him into a 'real cricketer'.
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