Notwithstanding Rising Pune Supergiants' poor run in IPL-9, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman considers the debutante side as a formidable unit and said his team will have to put its best foot forward when they clash with them in their IPL match on Tuesday. "It goes without saying that (RPS Captain M S Dhoni) Dhoni will be looking forward to use Ashwin against Warner and Shikhar. I believe that Pune has got a very formidable batting line up," Laxman said in a pre-match press conference at Hyderabad. "Lot of people talk about Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Faf Duplessis being similar. They are all extrordinary T20 players. We cannot at all be complecent or we cannot at all underestimate the batting strength of Pune. We are very mindful," he added. The former Test batsman, however, exuded confidence that SRH can take on any opposition if it sticks to its plans and executes them well. "But, I believe that if we concentrate on our plans and try to execute our plans, then we can do well against any opposition. It's more about concentrating and playing to our strength, while strategizing for each and every opposition batsman or bowler," he said. Noting that the MS Dhoni-led Pune team would look to bounce back strongly, Laxman said no team can be ruled out as it is still the early part of the long IPL tournament.
Not Out! is a brilliant analysis of the IPL that explains why it alternates between thrill and scandal, says Dhruv Munjal.
With an eye on the final spot, two-time champions Chennai Super Kings face high-flying Mumbai Indians in their first qualifier in the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Off the field, sportspersons hone biz skills
Cricket legend Ajit Wadekar reflects on cricket's journey.
Nidhi Dubey and Swati Mahadik will join the Indian Army as officers just as their deceased soldier husbands did before them.
New players from India and abroad have caught the attention of brand managers.
India's rivalry with Australia dates back to 1947-48 when Lala Amarnath's team travelled to take on the hosts, who were captained by batting great Don Bradman. The visitors were beaten 4-0 in the five-match series. A statistical analysis of the Test record between the two teams.
Relishing the challenge of squaring off against new Indian captain Virat Kohli in the fourth and final cricket Test in Sydney, Australian skipper Steve Smith described his rival number as an "emotional character".
With momentum on their side, Dhoni and Co need to justify the favorites' tag and go the distance.
Uncertainty over the possibility of Board of Control for Cricket in India's president-in-exile Narayanaswami Srinivasan making a comeback and the survival of the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League deepened on Thursday as Supreme Court threw suggestions whether those named in the Mudgal Committee could be kept out of the BCCI elections and whether the CSK franchise could be scrapped.
One mega success and the industry would be knocking on his door, camps be damned.
'Sunny Gavaskar is very mischievous, Harsha Bhogle is like a schoolboy," sports broadcaster Alan Wilkins tells Rediff.com/Norma Godinho in an exclusive interview.
'Whoever, I guess, masters the mind games the best will be the one who ends up with the best career record'
'Last year, someone told us you must remove 's' otherwise you won't perform well and we didn't perform well.' 'Obviously, that's not the reason for not performing well, but it didn't hurt us to remove the 's'.'
'I had to convince myself that I was steely enough to operate on a cold-blooded killer.' 'For all my medical experience, this was something I had never done!' 'If something happened to Charles, I knew my fate was sealed for me.' 'I would be called Doctor Death until I breathed my last.' 'Success was my only hope of escaping that fate.' A fascinating excerpt from heart surgeon Dr Raamesh Koirala's Charles Sobhraj, Inside The Heart Of The Bikini Killer.
So 52 games have already been played in the Indian Premier League this season. Here are the Most Valuable players and some random observations by Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle.
'When I signed this film, I had no confidence that I could pull off such a role. Akshay tells me that I need to have more confidence in myself. After so many films coming to me, that were rubbish, I am shocked that people were actually making good films.' Ileana D'Cruz opens up about Rustom, and Akshay Kumar.
Taxpayers might face several issues while filing returns this year.
As Cheteshwar Pujara plays a landmark Test against Sri Lanka, Rajneesh Gupta salutes the batsman's career thus far in numbers...
'The BJP currently occupies the centre stage of Indian politics, much the way the Congress did in the 1970s. That may be comforting to the party, but it could also be the road to perdition of easy self-congratulation and sycophancy.'
Moeen Ali, the England all-rounder, with a batting strike-rate of 82.1 and an economy rate of 4.2, was tops.
'There is only one thing common between Dhoni and me: We take our work seriously, not ourselves.'
'My type exists in heaps -- millions really -- cheering, cussing and calculating from the comforts of our living room as if the television screen can magically convey our woe or wisdom to the player.' 'Except without our frantic cheering, irrational logic and infectious gusto, the sport would have half its appeal.' Sukanya Verma on what it is like to be the Indian Cricket Fan.
Meet the man behind MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.
Should he bat at No 4? Or should he play the finisher's role at No 6?
India have won the Asia Cup six times, Sri Lanka five, and Pakistan have won it just twice. As the 14th edition of Asia's own trophy gets underway on Saturday, Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers on the 13 editions so far.
'Disney is presenting Black Panther as Manoj Muntashir's film.' 'Such a big studio, a billion dollar film is being released as Manoj Muntashir's film.' 'It is in the same space of Baahubali, which I wrote.' 'The film has got a kingdom, kings, treachery... things which are very much up my alley.'
Indians thrive in ordinariness -- from academia and science to business and military power. Sports is just an apt metaphor, says Shekhar Gupta.
'We are caring and sweet to each other.' 'We do have our tiffs, arguments on everything; neither of us agrees to be wrong.'
In the end it came in as a quiet announcement on the social network. But MS Dhoni had made the decision. He knew it was the right time.
How will young batsmen brought up on T20 learn to build an innings? What about the technique to patiently negotiate hostile seam bowling conditions or the skill to play on difficult dusty turners? What about leaving the swinging ball outside off stump?
This is the first time India will play a bilateral series on Australian soil.
Virat's 248 runs in the second Test, the highest by an Indian captain against England. Ashwin, only the second Indian bowler to take 50 wickets in consecutive years. Rajneesh Gupta looks at the numbers from the Vizag Test.
Half-centuries from Quinton de Kock and J P Duminy hit half-centuries before South Africa survived a late assault from Mahendra Singh Dhoni to edge past favourites India by four runs in the ICC World T20 warm-up match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Starring Mankad, Bedi, Siva, Azhar and Sachin.
'The BCCI is -- and always has been, across successive dispensations -- allergic to criticism.' 'It has used the 'control' it enshrines in its name to destroy anyone who has dared to point fingers at its functioning,' says Prem Panicker, the distinguished cricket writer.
The 8th Champions Trophy begins in England this week. Rajneesh Gupta captures the tournament in all its statistical glory like only he can.
With a strike rate of 115, Shikhar Dhawan is the MVP from the India-West Indies series according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
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