Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
The Most Valuable Player Index table is telling another (worrying?) story: Performance from players in teams that are not going to make the top four is dropping somewhat alarmingly. The IPL is gruelling and cruel. It can do wonders to your career, but can also seriously hurt your international prospects if you get injured in a match that is essentially inconsequential. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after Game 63.
Capitals were the best team in the league and their 20-point finish at the group stage was an indication of their consistent performances which didn't dip due to the COVID-19 forced break. CSK, over the years, have been in final eight times and won on three occasions which speak volumes of the team's ability to lift their game just when it's required most.
Captain Kane Williamson, all-rounder Vijay Shankar and comeback man Wriddhiman Saha will look to score in the key match.
The Pandyas continue to be in the thick of things with Hardik Pandya (391) ahead, but Krunal Pandya (300) not too far behind. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list the 50 Most Valuable Players after the first 38 IPL 2022 games.
Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting says it will take a very good player to knock Rishabh Pant off the Indian team.
KKR will head to the game with the belief that the side can win from any situation, which they have demonstrated time and again.
When was the last time we saw an IPL top 50 table without the names of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, M S Dhoni, and with Rishabh Pant getting almost the last empty seat? ask Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji as they list the 50 Most Valuable Players after the first 29 IPL 2022 games.
Images from the T20 World Cup match between West Indies and Bangladesh, in Sharjah, on Friday.
The top five includes Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav; both reminding the Indian selectors that they can still be formidable magicians.
The West Indies wicket-keeper batsman said the visitors need to put up more consistent performances as a team in the remaining three games of the series.
Bowling in the dew was a big problem, admitted India spinner Kuldeep Yadav after the second ODI against the West Indies ended in a thrilling tie in Visakhapatnam.
England batter Liam Livingstone fetched a staggering Rs 11.50 crore deal from Punjab Kings, who also roped in West Indies fast bowler Odean Smith, for Rs 6 crore, on Sunday, Day 2 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2022 Player Auction, in Bengaluru.
Temperamentally poles apart, a cavalier Pant and a composed Ajinkya Rahane eventually wrested the initiative back with a burgeoning 146-run partnership to guide India to 308-4 at stumps.
India crushed West Indies by an innings and 272 runs inside three days of the first Test in Rajkot to go 1-0 up in the two-match series on Saturday.
The record-shattering Virat Kohli became the quickest to reach 10,000 ODI runs on his way to slamming yet another century as India notched a competitive 321 for six in the second match against the West Indies, in Visakhapatnam, on Wednesday.
'The game nicely drifted in the last 7 overs and one boundary off Umesh off the shoe and one in the end, a couple of inches from Rayudu from pulling it in... That's how the game goes. I've enjoyed being a part of it and West Indies certainly deserved a draw for the way they played'
India are favoured to extend their dominance while West Indies face insurmountable odds to draw parity, in the second One-day International, in Visakhapatnam, on Wednesday.
Archer, who has played his junior cricket in the Caribbean and qualified to play for England only in April, is a familiar figure for the West Indies camp and it knows what the 24-year-old is capable of.
Rajasthan will take inspiration from their two big wins in Sharjah, to turn things around against a dominant Delhi.
The power-packed Caribbean batting unit, who successfully chased down a target of 288 in Chennai on Sunday to win by eight wickets, were bundled out for 280 in the 44th over, while they unsuccessfully chased a massive 387 for 5.
Guyana Amazon Warriors crushed St. Lucia Zouks by seven wickets to jump to the second place in the points table.
India concluded the two-match US leg of the series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead after notching up a 22-run win in the second game on Sunday.
While Trinbago Knight Riders ended Guyana Amazon Warriors' 11-match winning streak beating them by four wickets in a match reduced to 17 overs, Barbados Tridents edged out St. Kitts & Nevis Patriot by six runs at the Brian Lara Academy here on Tuesday.
Dinesh Karthik anchored a tricky chase with a measured unbeaten 31 as India beat West Indies by five wickets in the first Twenty20 International to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
Pooran says the team is targeting the home series against India next month to restore pride.
West Indies' two-time World Cup winning captain Clive Lloyd believes India are the best balanced side at the 2019 World Cup.
Roston Chase closed in on his fourth test hundred as he forged a century partnership with skipper Jason Holder to help West Indies to 295 for seven on the opening day of the second and final test against India on Friday.
The hosts, who ended a 10-match losing streak in one-day internationals against England, made 289 for six with left-hander Shimron Hetmyer hitting a magnificent unbeaten 104 from 83 balls, including four sixes.
England wrapped up a comprehensive 232-run victory over West Indies in the third Test in St Lucia on Tuesday after home batsman Roston Chase made a century but got little help.
Mark Wood picked up his first five-wicket haul to bowl England into a commanding position on the second day of the third test against West Indies on Sunday.
James Anderson tore through West Indies' middle order in a devastating late spell, while Ben Stokes chimed in to claim tailender Kemar Roach for a duck with the final ball of the day at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
Rodrigues, Kaur, Mandhana and Sharma were also a part of the now-defunct Kia Super League (KSL) in 2019, the ECB's domestic T20 tournament that made way for the Women's Hundred.
Flavour of the season Rahul Tewatia didn't prove to be third time lucky in what turned out to be an incredible death overs performance by the Delhi Capitals pace attack in their 13-run victory against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore endured another disappointing IPL campaign, but their performance in the second half of Season-12 has given them something to be proud of, said skipper Virat Kohli, after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
The flamboyant Chris Gayle is unlikely to get a farewell Test match against India after being overlooked in the 13-strong West Indies squad for the two-Test series, starting August 22 at North Sound, in Antigua.
Hyderabad have a fragile middle-order but captain David Warner says Kane Williamson adds depth to the batting.
Images from Tuesday's IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals, in Abu Dhabi.
Delhi Capitals rode on Prithvi Shaw's fluent fifty and a disciplined bowling effort to inflict a 44-run defeat on Chennai Super Kings, in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Friday.
Gayle has been named in West Indies' 14-man squad for the three One-day International series (ODIs) against India.