Mumbai Indians became the first team to qualify for the final of the Indian Premier League with a comfortable 25-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede stadium.
Gautam Gambhir was on Saturday handed a suspended four-match ban from first-class cricket for his ugly confrontation with Delhi Ranji coach KP Bhaskar earlier this year, a punishment he said will abide by.
A scrappy India will have to lift their game by several notches against an improving Australia when the two fierce rivals clash in a virtual quarter-final cricket match of the ICC World Twenty20, in Mohali, on Sunday.
'If you have a partnership then you can build on. I think it was the partnership which was important' 'If the margin of defeat was less it would have been better'
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Royal Challengers Bangalore and much more.
Buoyed by an overwhelming victory in the previous game, a resilient India would look to continue the momentum and seal off their second successive T20 series win when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 International, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. India shrugged off their embarrassing defeat in opening T20 match in Pune with a commanding show in Ranchi, where they outclassed the island nation by 69 runs to level the series. The Indian batsmen had struggled to cope with the 'green' track in Pune but adjusted well on a slow strip at Ranchi, where they did not put a foot wrong. The bowlers, too, were in complete control, never letting the Sri Lankan batsmen dominate. Moreover, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy was impressive and all his experiments, be it reshuffling of the batting order or bowling tactics, paid off. India not only mastered the conditions but also executed their plans to perfection.
He was on the Marquee List. His base price was a meagre Rs 50,000. Yet batting sensation Martin Guptill failed to find a buyer at the IPL auction.
First, Axar smashed his way to an unbeaten 38 off 17 balls as Kings XI Punjab managed 138 for 7 and then grabbed 3/11 in in 3 overs with RCB skittled out for 119 in 19 overs.
Chasing 135 to win, Gujarat lost both openers - Ishan Kishan (16) and Brendon McCullum (3) -- to be reduced to 23-2 but Finch blasted 5 fours and 6 sixes in his scintillating 34-ball 72-run innings as the visitors romped home with 6.1 overs to spare.
Senior pros Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir failed with the bat as Jammu and Kashmir powered by their skipper Parvez Rasool shocked Delhi by two wickets in the opening match of the North Zone leg of the National One-Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The brand value of Indian Premier League will not get affected by the recent ball tampering scandal that rocked the cricketing world, feels Royal Challengers Bangalore wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.
'I was a nobody two months ago. Now people want to see me play for India.' 'Isn't it a giant leap?'
India maintained their all-win record by producing yet another resounding performance to thrash minnows United Arab Emirates by nine wickets in a lop-sided inconsequential round robin league match of the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Mirpur on Thursday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to pull out all stops to prevent the Mumbai Indians juggernaut.
Expect a battle of wits when Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings lock horns in Wednesday's Indian Premier League match in Bangalore.
Before the selectors meet to finalise the squad, you can take on their role and pick 15 players you feel can deliver the World T20 Cup to India.
However, if anyone has unfinished business over a decade of IPL, it is India captain Virat Kohli. He made his intent amply clear earlier this week.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes became the most expensive overseas purchase -- bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping Rs 14.50 crore even as some unheralded Indian domestic players trumped seasoned names to land lucrative deals at the Indian Premier League players' auction.
Royal Challengers Bangalore grabbed an impressive second spot in the IPL Play-offs with a six-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils as Virat Kohli continued with his superlative batting show by hitting a responsible 54-run knock, in Raipur on Sunday. The second position will provide RCB with two chances to qualify for the final.
Chasing 162 for a win, Delhi got out to rash shots to eventually fold up at 151 in the last over.
The indomitable Chennai Super Kings will have the advantage of familiarity with the conditions but the unbeaten Kolkata Knight Riders would still be a tough nut to crack when they clash in the Oppo Champions League T20 final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
'I'm very confident our young batting side will go a long way in this tournament. I'm very happy with the way we have prepared this season. We will come good, definitely. Scores will come, I've full faith in our batters'
Rahul Dravid says he has never judged players on the price they commanded at IPL auctions, as it is not always a true reflection of their abilities and skill sets.
The superb build-up run has made India the clear favourites for an unprecedented second World Twenty20 title but the in-form hosts will have to guard against complacency when they take on a spirited New Zealand in their campaign-opener in Nagpur on Tuesday.
It will be a battle of tactics as a formidable Chennai Super Kings, led by the wily Mahendra Singh Dhoni, square off against a confident Royal Challengers Bangalore under an aggressive Virat Kohli in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League, in Ranchi on Friday.
Brendon McCullum struck a quickfire fifty before Ravindra Jadeja produced a brilliant spell of 4-11 as Chennai Super avenged its defeat over Rajasthan Royals with a 12-run win to virtually secure its place in the play-offs of the Indian Premier League in Chennai on Sunday.
Notwithstanding Ravindra Jadeja's poor showing in the ongoing Indian Premier League, Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming has backed the all-rounder, saying he believes in giving chances to players rather than chopping and changing a winning combination.
Kolkata Knight Riders would look to quickly redeem themselves when they face the same opponents in the return leg.
India's limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, along with his teammates Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin, among others, will be up for grabs for the two new IPL teams in the draft to be held in Mumbai.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players in IPL 10, after Wednesday's Eliminator game.
Delhi Daredevils defeated Mumbai Indians by 10 runs in their IPL match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Riding high after an emphatic victory against Kings XI Punjab, a rejuvenated Delhi Daredevils will aim at posing a serious challenge to a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two teams square off in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The second World Twenty20 semi-final is likely to hinge on who emerges on top in the battle between the big-hitting West Indian batsmen and India's wily spinners when the former champions clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
India will look for another colossal victory and inch closer to the semi-finals when they square off against an embattled Bangladesh.
'The impact Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, Mayank Markande, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar had on the IPL not only won hearts, but also the approval of the selectors,' says Ayaz Memon.
Delhi Daredevils, one of the worst-performing franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League, have turned to former India captain and ex-Rajasthan Royals mentor Rahul Dravid to take their charge of their team in the upcoming ninth season of Twenty20 extravaganza, starting next month.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after game 47 of IPL 10.
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.
Inspired by skipper David Warner's whirlwind fifty, Sunrisers Hyderabad outplayed Chennai Super Kings by 22 runs to notch up a much-needed win and hand the table-toppers their second consecutive defeat in the IPL match on Saturday.