The West Indies spinner, who arrived in India for the tournament last week, rushed home following the demise of his father.
Kings XI Punjab spinner Axar Patel believes the IPL is a great opportunity for Indian youngsters.
Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan showered flying kisses to fans off the pitch as his team Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) battled it out against Kings XI Punjab(KXIP) at the Eden Gardens.
His wait to lift an IPL crown finally over, Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Yuvraj Singh said he will place the trophy right on top in his cabinet along with the World Cup victories. The 34-year-old from Punjab, who has been part of two World Cup-winning squads, had to wait for nine years to lay his hands on an IPL trophy and he described it an amazing feeling to finally win the championship. "It is an amazing feeling to win an IPL Trophy. I have won the World Cups but never won an IPL trophy. I have been playing this tournament for eight years now but never won it. That moment has finally come," Yuvraj told iplt20.com website. Yuvraj, who scored 38 in the final against RCB, said: "I had never tasted the sweetness of an IPL trophy and this is something really amazing. At the moment this trophy will go right on top in my cabinet. This one will go along with my World Cup victories." Yuvraj was left nursing an injury that he sustained in April during India's league match against Australia in the World T20 and was out of action for the early games of IPL.
David Warner played a captain's knock, smashing an unbeaten 90 runs off 59 balls to power the Sunrisers Hyderabad to a 7-wicket convincing victory against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Monday. Chasing a modest 143-run target, the Sunrisers chased the target with 15 balls to spare in Hyderabad. The Sunrisers have recorded their first points in the points table of IPL 9, while MI have now lost three out of their last four games.
Former captain Rahul Dravid on Wednesday made it clear that any decision on taking up coach's role with the senior Indian team will depend on whether he has the time and 'bandwidth' for the high-profile job.
India's batting superstar and RCB captain was full of praise for AB de Villiers, who guided his team to a fighting victory over Gujarat Lions and advance into the final of IPL 9. Appreciating AB's whirlwind knock of 79 not out from 47 balls, Kohli said that the Proteas batsman was the 'best in the world'. Kohli, who was dismissed for a duck in the qualifier against Gujarat, has been in the form of his life, scoring as many as four hundreds in the ongoing IPL season. "Unbelievable, can't believe I'm the winning captain," Kohli said after the match.
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) said Kings XI Punjab are not willing to play in Dharamsala as they have not received any positive response from the state government. HPCA public relations officer Sanjay Sharma said that after waiting for HP government's reply for the last nine days, Kings XI Punjab wrote a letter yesterday to Rajeev Shukla and said they want their three matches to be played in Mohali now and not Dharamsala. Sharma said, "The government did not give any security assurance in 2014, as a result the matches went to Cuttack. Kings XI made Cuttack their home ground. And in 2015 they had to choose Pune as their home ground. Now when Pune has its own team, Kings XI faced problem with the ground and had opted for Nagpur as their second ground. Due to water scarcity, matches were shifted outside Maharashtra and they approached us.
Ahead of their must-win encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Raipur on Friday, Delhi Daredevils assistant coach Praveen Amre emphasised that the team needs to improve their batting.
Sunrisers Hyderabad wicket keeper-batsman Naman Ojha has said a batsman who makes some 20 runs after consuming an equal number of balls should play through the innings.
Virat Kohli has managed to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record in the Indian Premier League record as captain.
Rising Pune Supergiants, who have been struggling in the Indian Premier League, on Sunday suffered another major blow as Australia captain Steven Smith was ruled out of the remainder of the league.
Mumbai Indians have called up West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor to replace the injured Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga for the remainder of the IPL 2016.
Kanpur's Green Park stadium is likely to host just one match in the ongoing Indian Premier League due to pressing logistics issues.
Senior cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, who has been associated with Indian cricket since the mid-80s and who has been part of the IPL commentary team since the first season in 2008, has been removed from the panel by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Bhogle was told about the termination of his contract just a week back, according to a report in The Indian Express. The decision came as a complete surprise for the 54-year-old as he had conducted the draft auction for this season, featured in the cash-rich league's promotional videos and even his flight tickets booked by the production house.
Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Yuvraj Singh has been ruled out of action for the first two weeks of Indian Premier League.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said ideally the Indian Premier League matches should be shifted elsewhere, where there is no water crisis.
Veteran India seamer Ashish Nehra underwent a surgery to treat a 'high-grade tendon injury' he had suffered on his right knee during an Indian Premier League match earlier this month.
Delhi Daredevils batsman Rishabh Pant, who made his maiden IPL half century against Gujarat Lions in his first match as an opener, said he just looked to play his natural game.
West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard lavished praise on Delhi Daredevils mentor Rahul Dravid stating that he has done "magnificent job with the youngsters throughout India".
Shikhar Dhawan's slump in form is primarily due to his slow footwork, says former batting icon Sunil Gavaskar, adding the Delhi left-hander's tendency to get out cheaply in consecutive matches is why his failures get highlighted.
Assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak believes the present Gujarat Lions line-up is much more balanced as compared to last year as the Suresh Raina-led team looks for a good showing in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League starting next week.
Australia's George Bailey felt like he was "hit on the face with a truck" when a Nathan Coulter-Nile bouncer knocked his helmet off in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji analyse the players' performance inRediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar dismissed reports that claimed he was abused by franchise co-owner Preity Zinta following the team's one-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Mohali, on Monday, May 9.
With Delhi Daredevils surprising one and all with their consistent show in IPL-9, West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite said they now have a 'fun dressing room' and it is helping them play well this year.
Gautam Gambhir has said Kolkata Knight Riders' trust with its players once they get picked in auction or from other means is one of the main reasons for the franchises good run in Indian Premier League (IPL) in which it has won titles in 2012 and 2014.
Gujarat Lions, who enjoyed three consecutive victories in the tournament before the match, could post only 135 runs, losing eight wickets, after being invited to bat first by the opposition, who chased down the target without losing any wicket.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has asserted that his side would bounce back from the defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign opener and pick up steam as the tournament progresses as they know how to "win the trophy and games".
After being repeatedly ignored by England, controversial cricketer Kevin Pietersen is now looking towards his 'country of birth'- South Africa, to make a return to international cricket. The former England captain admitted he is eyeing a return with South Africa, a country where he was born and raised. The 35-year old however also pointed out that there's more than a year to go before such a possibility can even arise. Pietersen, who will be 37-year-old by the time he becomes eligible to play for South Africa, said he is in a great frame of mind and trains hard to remain fit. "The eligibility for South Africa is still (over) a year away. So we will have to wait and see, but it is definitely still an option," he said. "I am in a great frame of mind now. I enjoy myself and don't take life too seriously.
Harbhajan Singh has admitted he cannot explain the reason why Mumbai Indians start on a losing streak before turning things around as they did last season by losing the first five and then storming to the title.
He was included as a replacement for Murali Vijay, who was ruled out of the tournament with injury.
In their bid to cash in on the popularity of IPL among Indian diaspora, Indian Test captain Virat Kohli could be pitted against limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in exhibition matches for their respective franchises in the United States. According to highly placed sources in the BCCI, three franchises namely Mumbai Indians, RCB and Rising Pune Supergiants have expressed their desire to play some exhibition matches in the US where there is a sizeable Indian and South Asian population. "The matter is expected to be discussed at the IPL Governing Council in Bengaluru before start of the final match on Sunday. The venue is tentatively Houston," a senior BCCI official told PTI on Saturday. "However the dates need to be chalked out. Earlier, it was being discussed it would happen in the window available between India's tour of Zimbabwe and West Indies. But it could now be held in September also. All three teams are expected to play against each other. Obviously, major attractions will be Kohli and Dhoni," the official said.
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram is also in the awe of India's run machine Virat Kohli. The Sultan of Swing, who has taken more than 400 wickets in Tests and ODIs, said that he would have been worried to bowl at Kohli. "Belief, his ability and on top of that his technique. We haven't seen him play the reverse shot or the lap shot, he always plays proper cricketing shots with the full face of the bat. "That's why he has been very consistent and as a bowler if I had to bowl at him, I will be worried. It's like in ODI cricket when Sachin Tendulkar opened the innings, it was very difficult to bowl at him because Sachin as a batsman and Kohli as a batsman will hardly give you a chance to get them out," Akram said.
Gujarat Lions' all-rounder Dwayne Bravo said his team has lacked in adapting to different conditions which has led to the current downward spiral.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look to assert their supremacy, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on mind when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator in New Delhi on Wednesday. Both Sunrisers and KKR finished their league engagements on 16 points each but the Gautam Gambhir-led side ended fourth behind Sunrisers due to inferior net run rate. But going into the do-or-die game, KKR have psychological advantage over the Sunrisers having beaten them on both the occasions during the league stage. KKR thrashed Sunrisres by eight wickets in their first meeting this season and came out victorious by 22 runs in a must-win match last Sunday to qualify for the play-offs.
Gautam Gambhir said it was a big gamble to push Suryakumar Yadav up the order but he is happy it paid off.
Delhi Daredevils defeated defending champions Mumbai Indians by 10 runs to register their third straight win in the IPL and senior batsman JP Duminy credited the Zaheer Khan-led bowling attack for playing a major role in the win.
Seeking to shrug off the defeat in their IPL campaign opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to put their best foot forward in their match against Kolkata Knight Riders, coach Tom Moody said.
The Bombay High Court has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) if it could shift IPL matches out of Pune and Mumbai, and also asked it to reply by Wednesday.
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