Grace and strength will be on one side while poise and killer instinct on the other when a revamped Kolkata Knight Riders take on champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, on Wednesday.
Nine international cricketers, including Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Brett Lee, have opted to play for their IPL frachisees instead of their home teams in the Champions League Twenty20 scheduled next month.
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.
Kieron Pollard's wicket at a crucial juncture proved to be the difference as South Africa barely managed to secure a semifinal berth in the Champions Trophy despite their Group 'B' match against the West Indies ending in a tie under the Duckworth/Lewis method in Cardiff on Friday.
IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to be without their star performer Sunil Narine in the upcoming Champions League as the Trinidad & Tobago Sports Minister wants the spinner to be included in the national team along with Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo.
A win over Sunrisers Hyderabad is imperative for Mumbai Indians to keep their chances alive of making it to the play-offs.
West Indies batting legend Brian Lara considers hosts India the favourites in the World Twenty20 Championship but insists that the West Indians can also pose a threat if they select their best players for the March 8 to April 3 event.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai, on Monday.
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.
Explosive West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard expressed confidence that Mumbai Indians can make it to the play-offs in the Indian Premier League by winning their next two home games at the Wankhede Stadium.
Despite the win against KXIP, RCB remain at the bottom of the points table and remain to win all their remaining league games to have any hopes of progressing in the tournament.
'Let's deal with the fifteen guys that we have here at this moment in time, which is more important, and see if we can rally around these guys and see if we can defend our title.'
# Kieron Pollard's superb unbeaten 57 was his second highest innings in the IPL, next only to the 64 against Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on April 11, 2012. His first half-century against Chennai Super Kings was his third in the IPL.
However, Mumbai will take heart from the fact that they defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings, their first loss in four games, in the last match.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has said that Mumbai players Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu's scintillating 122-run partnership had taken the game out of the hands of his side in their Indian Premier League match.
Mumbai Indians will wait until Wednesday before deciding whether all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, can take the field against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL match at the Wankhede stadium.
Twenty20 world champions West Indies enjoyed a second easy win over Zimbabwe with a 41-run victory in Antigua on Sunday.
# Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard have shared a 96-run stand for the fourth wicket -- the highest partnership for any wicket by any pair in the IPL 2012.
Kings XI retains Chris Gayle. Steve Smith returns to the IPL. Delhi Daredevils sacks 10 players!
Workload management of pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be the focus when Mumbai Indians take on a renamed Delhi Capitals in their first match of the 12th Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Sunday.
Opener Shane Watson top-scored with 76 as Australia continued to dominate West Indies during a convincing five-wicket victory in the fourth One-Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Just what do actors *do* the whole day? We find out.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is seriously contemplating reviewing the West Indies players' participation in the cash-rich Indian Premier League as the ongoing series ended abruptly today due to visiting team's payment dispute with their own cricket board.
Mumbai Indians' pace ace Trent Boult was adjudged 'Man of the Final' and 'Power Player of the Season'.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dwayne Bravo "got us more than what we expected" after his team was reeling at 24 for four at one stage of its IPL match against Mumbai Indians in Dubai.
60 runs came off the last 5 overs and that's where the game tilted in the favour of the defending champions.
Dashing all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been named the captain of the Mumbai Indians after shoulder injury and fractured finger forced regular captain Rohit Sharma to pull-out of the upcoming Champions League T20, starting from Saturday.
As many as 12 Indian cricketers, including the likes of Munaf Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, are expected to feature in the first edition of the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) scheduled to commence from July 19.
Mumbai Indians rode on Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard's swashbuckling knocks and their unbroken 122-run sixth-wicket partnership to stage a dramatic fightback and beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Bangalore.
Mumbai Indians' hopes of starting Indian Premier League's season 10 well got a boost with information received that West Indies T20 specialists, Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons, would reach in time for their lung-opener against Rising Pune Giant on April 6.
Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard lit up the second semi-final with scintillating power-hitting as West Indies crushed Australia by 74 runs on Friday to reach their first World Twenty20 final.
Statistical highlights of the Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will not just have to address Sachin Tendulkar's unsatiated hunger for runs and Kieron Pollard's blistering powerplay, but will also have to be wary of Lasith Malinga's seering yorkers when they take on Mumbai Indians in the IPL match in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue in similar vein when they lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in
Their campaign back on track after drubbing Bangladesh in their previous game, Australia cannot afford slip-up against an unpredictable West Indies in their final Super 12 match as they look to seal a semi-final spot in the T20 World Cup on Saturday.
The unmatched legacy and hegemony created by the galacticos of Mumbai Indians will be thoroughly challenged by a young Mumbaikar Shreyas Iyer, who will lead a passionate-but-unpredictable Delhi Capitals in a cracker of an Indian Premier League final, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
Cricket West Indies interim chairman of selectors, Robert Haynes said the selection panel included Allen on the back of his performance at the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) last year and recently at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019.
England's leading pacer Jofra Archer, who was bought by Mumbai Indians for a whopping Rs 8 crore despite his unavailability for this year's IPL, said the team's "close-knit, family-oriented" structure makes him feel "safe" as a new entrant.
This edition of the tournament will also witness a qualifying event in Hyderabad from September 19 to 21 followed by the main event from September 23 to October 9.
Kieron Pollard struck 56 from 70 deliveries to propel the West Indies to a 24-run win over New Zealand in the fourth one-day international, which clinched the five-match series 3-1.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances