Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form will remain in focus when the struggling Rising Pune Supergiant square off against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune, on Saturday.
With a new captain in place, Rising Pune Supergiants would look to make amends for a poor last season but have a tough opening battle at hand against two-time former champions Mumbai Indians.
After making impressive debuts in their respective openers, Rising Pune Supergiants and GujaratLions will test each others' strengths when the two new entrants clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in Rajkot on Thursday. The two teams feature a lot of faces from the suspended Chennai Super Kings and at least six players, who played in the same side till last year, will now be in opposite camps. Close friends and CSK teammates Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will now be devising strategies as rival captains. Both have admitted that playing in a jersey other than 'yellow' has been very "emotional" but have promised to give their all for their new teams. The Dhoni-led Pune Supergiants were very convincing and dominant when they handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket drubbing. They did not even require their middle order, packed with Dhoni himself and players such as Steven Smith, to come out with the top-order delivering it for them comfortably.
With the batting firepower in Australia's ranks, they cannot be ruled out as contenders to grasp it at the sixth attempt.
Hardik Pandya's late cameo and half-century from opener Shikhar Dhawan helped India outclass Australia by six wickets in a high-scoring thriller in the second T20 International to seal the T20 series 2-0, in Sydney, on Sunday.
Following his consistent performances, Pandya is expected to carry the weight of expectations like other star players of the team
India captain Virat Kohli said his team will look to address its recent batting collapse and come back stronger in the last two games of the five-match ODI series.
Delhi Daredevils, looking to get back to winning ways after two straight defeats, face a stern test against formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in Thursday's IPL match, in Hyderabad.
It will be a battle for survival for struggling Rising Pune Supergiants when they lock horns with formidable title-contenders Sunrisers Hyderabad in Tuesday's Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
Dhoni has to ponder over both the batting and bowling departments of his team.
The Australians, led by Steve Smith, arrived in Chennai from Bangladesh after drawing a two-Test series and the match tomorrow would give them opportunity to at least switch to the One-day format.
Wicket-taking is going to play a crucial role in deciding this World Cup.
Kings XI Punjab will be aiming to continue their late surge against Rising Pune Supergiant in a 'winner takes it all' Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Sunday.
Sanju Samson hit the first century in this season's Indian Premier League to help Delhi Daredevils demolish Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs in Pune on Tuesday.
A 3-0 lead in the five-match series will be a perfect parting gift for Ranchi's favourite son, who, in all likelihood, will be seen wearing the India Blues for the last time at his home ground.
Virat Kohli and Steven Smith will be eager to stem the rot when Royal Challengers Bangalore square off with Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League encounter.
India are 0-1 down after an inexplicably poor batting performance led to a three-wicket loss in the lung-opener in Visakhapatnam
'I cannot believe that D'Arcy Short has been left out of the side. I don't know what he's done wrong. He can bowl and his batting at the top is dynamic. He's in terrific form, and he and Finch make an awesome partnership at the top'
Punjab Kings, who had paid Rs 10.75 crore for Maxwell in the previous auction, had released the 32-year-old following the 2020 edition in which he made 108 runs in 13 games at 15.42.
Captain Virat Kohli smashed his second century of the season in a magnificent batting display to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore to a thrilling seven-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiants in an IPL match.
Having struggled in the past one year after suspensions of Steve Smith and David Warner, Australia finally seemed to have picked their pieces and playing exactly like a five-time champions ought to.
Images from Thursday's World Cup match between Australia and the West Indies, at Nottingham.
Stopping a resurgent Australia would not be easy but a confident India would look to end the series on a high when they compete in the fifth and final ODI match, in Nagpur, on Sunday.
'I know that if I can bowl 2-3 dot balls, he will step out and try to play an aggressive shot. However, in order to beat the batsman, the line and length has to be perfect' 'The combination is good. Before the match, we discuss what the wicket will be like. We also discuss what ball to bowl to which batsmen. We always have plans'
Australia skipper Steve Smith has described Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the best death bowlers around. His assessment came after Australia suffered a five-wicket defeat to India in the third One-Day International between the teams in Indore on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eager to break the sequence of reverses and get Rising Pune Supergiants' campaign back on track when they lock horns with in-form Kolkata Knight Riders.
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed feels the categorisation of Test and limited overs spinners is the need of the hour. According to Mushtaq, skill-wise, Lyon and Ashwin are on par with greats like Saqlain Mushtaq and Muttiah Muralitharan but not best suited for the one-day game.
Season 9 of the IPL has seen many youngsters punch above their weight. Some of them make Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com's Young Guns XI.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah found his mojo as India got back to winning ways with a morale-lifting 13-run triumph over Australia in the third and final ODI in Canberra on Wednesday, salvaging some of the lost pride in a 1-2 series defeat.
The fifth and final ODI against Australia will be one last chance for Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to do something special and stake their claim for a place in the World Cup team
Ashton Turner took an experienced Indian attack to the cleaners with some unbelievable hitting, helping Australia chase down a record breaking target of 359 runs and level the five-match series.
Australia knocked Pakistan out of the ICC World Twenty20 with a convincing 21-run victory, setting up a virtual quarter-final against hosts India to be played in Mohali on Sunday.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com picks five performances that took spectators' breaths away in week 9: Five wonderful knocks and one magical spell of bowling.
IMAGES from the 3rd ODI between India and Australia played in Bengaluru on Sunday
It will not be the first time that the competition has had to be held outside India.
Captain Virat Kohli hit an unbeaten half-century, while Krunal Pandya picked up a career-best four-wicket haul to guide India to a series-levelling victory in the third and final T20 International against Australia.
Rajneesh Gupta presents us all the numbers that matter in T20 World Cup 2021.
Images from the 4th ODI played between India and Australia in Bengaluru on Thursday
IMAGES from the 1st ODI played between India and Australia in Hyderabad on Saturday
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