Well-rested and rejuvenated Mumbai Indians would seek to turn the tables on travel-weary Rajasthan Royals.
Both teams will hope to banish some unwanted baggage that has dogged them for years.
67 players, including 23 overseas, were sold and Rs 86.8 crore spent on them by the eight franchises in Bangalore on Monday.
With strong hosts expected to challenge, a highly-fancied South Africa face their demons.
Kumar Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 113 and then returned to break the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in One-day internationals as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 34 runs in the seventh and final match in Wellington on Thursday.
Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson fell agonisingly short of centuries but New Zealand's imposing total ensured they beat Sri Lanka by 120 runs in the sixth One-day international on Sunday to take an unassailable 4-1 lead in their seven-match series.
West Indies thrashed New Zealand by 203 runs in the fifth and final one-day international at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Wednesday to draw the series 2-2.
Bangladesh completed a 3-0 sweep over New Zealand after a stunning four-wicket victory in the third ODI in Fatullah on Sunday. Shamsur Rahman's 96 took the home side to 309-6, steaming past New Zealand's 307 with four balls and four wickets to spare at the packed Khan Shaheb Osman Ali stadium, just outside Dhaka.
Delhi Daredevils defeated Mumbai Indians by 10 runs in their IPL match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
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 New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming feels India's upcoming tour of Australia next month will determine how the defending champions' campaign pans out in the World Cup next year.
Mumbai Indians need to rethink their strategy; Narine boost for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Colin Munro and Corey Anderson blasted quickfire half-centuries to power New Zealand to a convincing victory against Sri Lanka in the warm-up match of the ICC World Twenty20, at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Thursday.
After what at one stage earlier this month looked like a vast game of musical chairs, reigning champions India ended up topping the world rankings when the five-month countdown to the 2015 World Cup started on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma and Lendl Simmons hit half-centuries as Mumbai Indians demolished Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs to win their second Indian Premier League title, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Powered by a swashbuckling 133 off just 59 balls by AB de Villiers and a classy 82 from skipper Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore trounced Mumbai Indians by 39 runs in the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
With Delhi Daredevils on a nine-match losing streak at home, Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond said the visitors will look to exploit on the opposition's shortcomings in Thursday's IPL match in Delhi.
Factbox on the cricket World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland.
Hardik Pandya staged a late assault to help Mumbai Indians pull off a thrilling four-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders for their first win in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliott put on a world record 267-run partnership as New Zealand recovered from 93-5 to thump Sri Lanka by 108 runs in the fifth One-Day International in Dunedin on Friday.
Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with a sparkling 84 not out as an inspired Mumbai Indians cruised to a six-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders to open their account in the ninth season of Indian Premier League in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Opener Jason Roy hit a quickfire half-century while leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed three wickets to lift England to a convincing six-wicket victory against England in the ICC World T20 warm-up match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
From the bottom of the table to champions in the course of four weeks. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com looks back at Mumbai Indians's astonishing turnaround in IPL 8.
Mumbai Indians produced a clinical performance to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 18 runs in a high-scoring affair and register their maiden win in this year's Indian Premier League in Bengaluru.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their title defence against a formidable Mumbai Indians side in the opening match of the eighth edition of Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji analyse IPL performances in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
The West Indies tasted success for the first time on their New Zealand tour on Thursday when they scraped home by two wickets in the first One-Day International in Auckland. After dismissing New Zealand for a modest 156 in 42.1 overs, the West Indies made hard work the target for the loss of eight wickets in 27.3 overs.
Mumbai Indians have a 10-5 record against KKR. Can they maintain the advantage?
Delhi Daredevils all-rounder Chris Morris has 12 wickets, at a better-than-par economy rate of 6.6 (the par economy rate is 8 runs conceded per over), and scored 74 runs at a staggering strike rate of almost 240 (the par strike rate is 133 runs in 100 balls).
Captain Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu played crucial knocks after Harbhajan Singh's impressive showing with the ball as Mumbai Indians notched up a thrilling five-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in their rain-affected Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson believes India, with several match winners in their squad and the advantage of playing in home conditions, are definitely one the favourites at the World T20.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan believes the Lahore Lions' successful participation in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 will open the Indian Premier League doors for the country's players.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player standings after the 30th game in IPL 10.
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
Rajneesh Gupta brings you the drama and the magic behind all the 12 IPL finals so far.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
'The challenge is that we start the next game well and are able to play 40 overs of good cricket. So far, we have been able to play 30 overs of good cricket and that's not enough.'
Penpix of the New Zealand squad that will play the cricket World Cup final against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
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