The common theme in those defeats was how the seemingly powerful batting and bowling units of KKR and RR failed to fire.
If Punjab goes for a flat deck, there is no guarantee that the bowling unit can defend anything in the 220 range, especially when KKR have the likes of Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer in their ranks.
Champions Kolkata Knight Riders look like the most complete squad heading into IPL 2025.
For the home side, it has been a season of mixed returns so far. After early defeats to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians, KKR roared back to form in their last outing -- a commanding win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Shreyas Iyer had led KKR to their first IPL title in a decade last year. However, on Saturday, he returns as captain of a rejuvenated Punjab Kings chasing a play-off spot.
Reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders will hope that their strife-ridden batting unit will tighten its act against in-form table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Kolkata on Monday.
India batter Ishan Kishan on Wednesday returned to the Jharkhand Ranji team as its captain, following his controversial pullout last season
Narine stars as KKR keep playoff hopes alive with 14-run win over DC
Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad find themselves in troubled waters, having lost two of their last three games
Having got off to a start so typical of themselves in the Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians will hope for a quick turnaround when they take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai on Monday.
Riding high on their new-found confidence, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be hoping to finally get it right at home and keep their play-off hopes alive when they take on a struggling Rajasthan Royals in their IPL match in Kolkata on Sunday.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will seek home comfort in their bid to return to winning ways when they face a depleted Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League match in Kolkata on Sunday.
Punjab's Abhishek Sharma hammered a 96-ball 170 against Saurashtra, while Jharkhand's Utkarsh Singh's 91 fired his team to a big win against Odisha
Ruturaj Gaikwad's whirlwind 148 not out powered Maharashtra to a nine-wicket win over Services
Skipper Ayush Badoni played the most defining knock of his short but eventful first-class career as his maiden double hundred not only gave Delhi three points against Jharkhand but more importantly kept them in contention for a possible quarter-final berth in the Ranji Trophy on Saturday.
Mumbai Indians retains 18 players; releases Duminy, Cummins, Rahman
Arshdeep Singh came up with a disciplined bowling show for 3/19 on 3 overs.
The KKR attack prowled together and ensured that Rajasthan could barely set a par total.
For DC, the onus will be on Prithvi Shaw and veteran Australian David Warner to provide a solid start.
Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to snap their four-match losing streak and finish in the top two when they meet table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in an important IPL match in Guwahati on Sunday.
As captain, Gautam Gambhir won KKR its two titles. Now, as team mentor, can he inspire KKR to achieve glory?
In red-hot form, two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to seal an IPL playoff berth for the first time in three years when they take on the struggling Mumbai Indians in their final home match of the season, in Kolkata on Saturday.
Jharkhand's batters dominated the Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal match against Nagaland to register the fourth-highest team total in the tournament's history at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
A resurgent Delhi Capitals will look to exploit Kolkata Knight Riders' bowling vulnerabilities and ascend to top-four in the table during their Indian Premier League match in Kolkata on Monday.
All about IPL 2025 which kicks off on March 22, Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals' star-studded batting will face the serious challenge of decoding Sunil Narine's mystery at Eden Gardens when they take on two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in a top-of-the-table IPL clash in Kolkata on Tuesday.
LSG are sitting in second place with 14 point thanks to a stupendous show by Rahul
It was learnt that once Kishan conveyed his decision, Tripura selector Jayanta Dey wanted Wriddhiman Saha and he was also contacted.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will expect a lot more from their top-order as they aim to get their campaign back on track against a power-packed Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL match in Chennai on Monday.
Shubman Gill's return to form will provide a big boost to Gujarat Titans as they square off against table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in their must-win IPL game in Ahmedabad on Monday.
KKR had bought Shreyas Iyer for Rs 15.25 crore
Hardik Pandya has quit Gujarat Titans to rejoin his former team Mumbai Indians, following a trade between the two franchises.
The match was over as a contest after Jharkhand scored a mammoth 880 in their first innings - the tournament's fourth highest score on an Eden Gardens belter against a Nagaland attack in which five out of seven bowlers were hit for a not-so-pleasing "hundred".
The batting as a whole has not clicked for Sunrisers and it is no surprise they find themselves in a desperate situation in the second half of the tournament.
The KKR think-tank might not be unduly worried as their campaign is still at a nascent stage, but they would like to see the first-choice pacer and spinner finding their range at the earliest.
KKR's most successful leader Gautam Gambhir is back in his second innings as a mentor. His partnership with head coach Chandrakant Pandit, a shrewd tactician in domestic circuit, will be the key to their revival.
With a dominant 24 runs victory over Mumbai Indians propelling second-placed KKR to 14 points and a step closer to qualification for the play-offs, the pressure is on KL Rahul's LSG to find a way past the threat that Shreyas Iyer's side poses.
KKR will look to iron out their flaws and get the better of a misfiring Mumbai Indians during their IPL match on Friday.
High-flying Kolkata Knight Riders and an unpredictable Sunrisers Hyderabad, teams that have built their IPL 2024 campaign on power-hitting, will look to outmuscle each other in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday.
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