The talented Shreyas Iyer will be auditioning for the vacant number four slot when India take on West Indies in Sunday's second ODI of the three-match series.
RCB suffered four consecutive defeats to finish the league stage at the fourth spot, SRH registered a hat-trick of wins to edge past Virat Kohli's men in the standings.
While SRH can't afford to slip up even one bit with five games remaining, RR would be hoping to continue the winning momentum and hope that their foreign recruits continue in good nick like they did in the match against CSK.
Time is fast running out for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, a team which desperately needs its batting to click when it takes on SunRisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Tuesday in a battle to keep its IPL hopes alive.
India would be looking to sort out issues such as the opening blues, the middle-lower order conundrum and also the bowling strategies during the three-match T20 series against West Indies.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings, in Dubai, on Friday.
'(We) knew the chase wasn't going to be easy. Hopefully we can learn from these mistakes'
Eight teams have formed some of the best combinations from a pool of 64 top cricketers in the players' draft for T10League -- the limited ten-over format cricket -- that will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Peaking at the right time and with all their boxes ticked, Sunrisers Hyderabad are certain to hold sway over a dishevelled Delhi Capitals in a virtual semi-final in the second Indian Premier League qualifier, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
The World Cup disappointment will continue to linger but Kohli will fancy his team's chances in the series, notwithstanding the return of the swashbuckling Chris Gayle.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to shrug off the disappointment of two back-to-back defeats and get back to winning ways when they taken on Sunrisers Hyderabad as they aim to seal their place in the play-offs, in the IPL match, in Sharjah, on Saturday.
India maintained their status as the only unbeaten side left in this tournament.
Delhi Capitals have made the perfect start to IPL, with two morale-boosting victories, while SunRisers Hyderabad are the only side yet to register a win in the tournament, having lost both their games.
India will be hoping to put up an improved bowling show with their front line pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah back in action for the third ODI
One shudders to think what could happen if India lose both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early with such a brittle middle order to follow?
India will look to ensure a smooth passage into the semi-finals with yet another victory.
After winning the 2nd T20I with ease, the Windies go into the decider with confidence and the tie will certainly not be a cakewalk for the hosts, who will look to seal their second T20I series this season.
In the last 13 months, India have played the West Indies in six T20 Internationals with the hosts coming up trumps every single time.
IPL 2021 had many moments that made the tournament more special and fans asking for more.
India, without captain Virat Kohli and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni, won't have it easy against T20 World champions West Indies, who are bolstered by the arrival of star players Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.
Rain is expected to play role in 5th ODI in Thiruvananthapuram even as the wicket-keeper batsmen will look to complete 10,000 ODI runs.
Images from the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, in Chennai, on Friday.
Pooran was last seen in action for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the IPL, scoring 353 runs from 14 matches.
Besides KL Rahul, another individual who would like to answer his critics with solid performances is Pant.
Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with a blistering century as India routed West Indies by 71 runs to seal the three-match T20I series 2-0 with one game to spare, in the second T20 International in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Images from the 1st T20I match played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday
India will look to find the 'perfect' balance in their playing eleven when they take on a resurgent West Indies in the fourth One-day International in Mumbai on Monday. The decision to play with five specialist bowlers in Saturday's third ODI in Pune did not work for India and they ended up as the losing side for the first time in the home series against the West Indies.
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.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Test cricket returned to Pakistan for the first time in ten years with the Sri Lankan team playing two matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi, with the hosts winning the second match to clinch the series 1-0 after the rain-curtailed first game ended in a draw.
Who was the most valuable player of the India-West Indies ODI series?
Images from the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Ahmedabad, on Monday.
Shikhar Dhawan smashed a career-best 92 to guide India to a thrilling six-wicket win over the West Indies in the third and final T20 International, thus completing a 3-0 clean sweep, in Chennai, on Sunday.
"This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies," he added.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.