Under the shimmering floodlights and in front of a roaring partisan crowd, Virat Kohli unleashed his latest masterclass, blasting a 42-ball 70 to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a sensational 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Rizvi, Nair power DC to six-wicket win over Punjab Kings
Sai Sudharsan smashed an unbeaten century and captain Shubman Gill stroked a quickfire 93 as Gujarat Titans thrashed Delhi Capitals by an emphatic 10-wicket margin.
Axar, who has led his state side Gujarat in 23 matches across formats, said he isn't one to lean heavily on analytics or prescribed captaincy templates.
Virat Kohli remains the biggest draw as he returns to his 'home ground' at the back of five half-centuries in nine games. Four of them have come away from the Chinnaswamy Stadium and despite being in the opposition camp, the Delhi crowd will be hoping the Indian superstar extends his prolific run in the tournament.
Joburg Super Kings beat MI Cape Town by six runs via the Duckworth Lewis and Stern method in a rain-affected SA20 clash in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Virat and Krunal inspired Bengaluru to the top of the table by stitching up an impeccable 119-run stand to safely guide the Royal Challengers through the turbulent phase.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season is set to begin on March 22 with a clash between defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This venue will also host the final match of the season on May 25. Dharamsala and Guwahati will host a couple of IPL matches this year, with Dharamsala serving as the second home venue for Punjab Kings and Guwahati hosting Rajasthan Royals matches in addition to their regular home venue, Jaipur.
Krunal Pandya recorded his first fifty in IPL since 2016, helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru pull off a six-wicket win over Delhi Capitals.
Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar have emerged as the leading candidates for the role of RCB captain for IPL 2025.
Newly-appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar on Thursday said he would want to pick talisman Virat Kohli's brains to learn the nuances of leadership and stressed on the importance of "standing with players" in all circumstances.
This is Kevin Pietersen's first coaching assignment in the IPL, where he featured as a player from 2009 to 2016.
The Capitals sit pretty at the top with 10 points from six games, while the Titans trail close behind with eight from as many outings.
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis was a key member of the Dhoni-led four-time IPL champions since 2012.
Faf du Plessis said that it is 'very important' to have a positive attitude and he is putting a lot of energy into it.
Preity Zinta, co-owner of the Punjab Kings IPL franchise and the Saint Lucia Kings CPL team, was ecstatic as her team finally won their first-ever Caribbean Premier League championship.
'There is nothing like an Olympian Virat and Olympian Rohit winning the gold medal for the country.'
Du Plessis will sit out the final match of the series starting in Johannesburg on Friday
'but in my mind, it was just about going out there and giving myself a few balls and just getting used to the speed of the game again and the atmosphere.'
DC's brilliant fielding turned the game in their favour, proving once again that catches win matches.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has confirmed that Proteas captain, Faf du Plessis, has appealed the decision of the ICC Match Referee which found him guilty of a breach of Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct. Faf was charged with ball tampering last week after footage emerged from the Hobart Test of him applying saliva to the ball with a mint in his mouth. "Faf has decided to appeal the match referee's decision after he and his legal team had studied the written reasons provided by the match referee." commented CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat.
In the 82 matches he has donned the red and blue of the Capitals, Patel scored 967 runs and picked up 62 wickets, at an impressive economy of 7.09.
Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani opened up on how his franchise scouted young uncapped all-rounder Vipraj Nigam, who bowled exceptionally well in the team's 25 runs victory over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League match in Chennai on Saturday.
Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad expressed his concerns with his team's struggles in the Powerplay.
K L Rahul has turned the wheels in a manner only a batter blessed with skill-set as his can.
The major difference between the two sides was the Super Kings' start with du Plessis and Devon Conway (20 off 25 balls) compiling a solid 54-run stand for the first wicket to set up the run chase.
An out of sorts Rohit Sharma will strive to keep himself relevant going forward in the Indian Premier League when he is challenged by Delhi Capitals' effective troika of spinners in Mumbai Indians' next match in Delhi on Sunday.
A rejuvenated Pretoria Capitals registered a six-wicket bonus point victory over Joburg Super Kings to keep their play-off hopes alive, in the SA20.
He is the first Indian to achieve the feat of scoring a century in all three formats in international cricket at a single venue.
'Unfortunately, we tend to crack under pressure and lose close matches as we have seen in recent games.'
Joburg Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals secured two points each as the match between the two sides was abandoned due to heavy rain
'Rinku supported Zeeshan a lot during UP T20 league. A leg-spinner needs a lot of confidence from his captain. He was brought into bowl at crucial junctures and that helped him catch attention of scouts.'
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has confirmed that AB de Villiers is in talks with Cricket South Africa (CSA) to play the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Fresh from their morale-boosting win over LSG, and bolstered by the return of India wicketkeeper-batter K L Rahul, Delhi Capitals will look to build on the momentum when they take on formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
While the IPL 2025 mega auction is expected to reward several young talents with huge pay cheques, a few seasoned stars could also steal the show.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals in Bengaluru on Thursday.
In 16 matches (15 innings) against CSK, he has amassed 630 runs at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 142.85, including six fifties.
The Delhi Capitals have made significant strides in their pursuit of IPL glory, assembling a formidable squad for the 2025 season.
J P Duminy, who joined the Proteas side as their batting coach in March last year, left his role with immediate effect following a mutual agreement, said the country's cricket governing body (CSA).
Joe Root delivered a T20 masterclass to steer the Royals to an equally thrilling eight-wicket victory over Pretoria Capitals at Centurion.
