Harish Kotian/Rediff.com picks five performances that took spectators' breaths away in week 9: Five wonderful knocks and one magical spell of bowling.
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner feels the key to winning matches in Twenty20 cricket, especially in the Indian Premier League, is one good partnership at the top.
A glamour-filled opening ceremony, featuring Bollywood personalities and all-girl English pop band TBC, performed for the Season 9 of the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Friday.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com picks his IPL Dream Team of Season 9. Check it out!
After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
The 2016 Indian Premier League season brings with it an opportunity for both the old and new.
With me, Yuvraj and Dhoni in the middle-order, we have the required experience, says Indian batsman Suresh Raina
Images from the IPL match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday
A supremely confident Delhi Daredevils return to their den and have a struggling and injury-ravaged Rising Pune Supergiants in their firing line up next in the Indian Premier League, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Back-to-back losses denting their confidence, defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to put their campaign back on track when they take on Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Even Bollywood superstar and co-owner Shah Rukh Khan's presence could not inspire Kolkata Knight Riders, who were outclassed by Royal Challengers Bangalore by nine wickets, in the Indian Premier League match, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Rediff.com has this and a whole lot more exciting action from the week gone by, encapsulated in this photo feature.
After retiring from international cricket, former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson will be making a sort of a comeback on the big stage when he represents Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League. Johnson's only competitive game of cricket since retiring from the international arena last November was a club game in Perth five weeks ago. But the left-armer hasn't lost any of the speed or skill that made him one of the fiercest fast bowlers in the world according to Kings XI captain David Miller. "The fire is definitely there and the pace is up there as well," Miller said. "I don't see why he's not going to do well.
Dynamic West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo's smash-hit rap 'Champion dance' during the opening ceremony and the use of LED light stumps are the two major attractions of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League, said tournament chairman Rajeev Shukla. Bravo, who will be playing for the new team Gujarat Lions, is expected to perform the 'Champion Dance' that has now become a rage among the cricket fans of India and IPL is trying to cash in on its popularity. "Dwayne Bravo is performing on Champion Dance during the opening ceremony of IPL-9 in Mumbai. His performance will be the special attraction and there might be a few more West Indies cricketers, who will perform alongside Bravo," IPL chairman Shukla told PTI on Wednesday. Shukla also informed that the LED stumps, which lights up and has been in use since 2014 across ICC's 20 and 50 over World Cups, will be used for the first time in the cash-rich league.
South Africa's explosive batsman David Miller, who will lead the Kings XI Punjab in this edition of the IPL, feels that captaincy has not brought any added pressure on him. "Responsibility changes a bit as captain, but I am really looking forward to it," Miller said. "No pressure, to be honest. I see it as an opportunity. We have changed the squad a little bit this year, couple of new additions, but most of the squad stays the same. "I really believe we can win the competition this year. The fact that we haven't won it, doesn't add any more pressure. It's a great opportunity for the guys to step up," he added. The 26-year-old said he is looking forward to the captaincy challenge.
Dinesh Karthik acknowledged that he has an onerous task of replacing a very successful Gautam Gambhir but asserted that he has it in him to steer Kolkata Knight Riders to at least the IPL Play-offs and get the best out of his side.
Seamer R Vinay Kumar, on Thursday, threw his weight behind in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik who was a surprise choice to lead the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
Captain Rohit Sharma continued to lead by example as a thoroughly professional Mumbai Indians outclassed Pune Supergiants by eight wickets in an Indian Premier League encounter.
Australia's two-time World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting feels that young Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah is ready to play Test cricket as he possesses all the necessary skills to do well in the longest format of the game.
India fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat claimed a Rs 11.5 crore deal with the usually thrifty Rajasthan Royals even as South African pace ace Dale Steyn went unsold on the second day of the Indian Premier players' auction in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Ashwin, a key member of the Indian team across all formats, will have to be 100 percent fit in time for the upcoming Champions Trophy starting June 1.
However, Hyderabad had clearly done their homework as Rashid grabbed the top wicket-taker's 'purple cap' on Sunday after his 3-19 set up a comprehensive win over Gujarat Lions.
Not in a mood to blame the surface for his spinners inability to make a mark in the ongoing Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir has said a quality tweaker doesn't need any assistance to perform.
His own knock was crucial in Mumbai Indians chasing down a stiff 171-run target, but skipper Rohit Sharma chose to credit all-rounder Krunal Pandya for the Indian Premier League victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, saying the youngster is proving to be a game-changer in every match.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will stand in the way of two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders' bid to make it to the play-offs in a mouthwatering Indian Premier League encounter.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com comes up with a pretty strong playing eleven from the long list of big names warming the benches this IPL season.
'Pluralism is a fundamental fact of Indian life,' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) tells members of the US Congress. 'Indians created a secular/plural State because that is what the majority believes in and not the other way round.'
Mumbai Indians thump Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs in an IPL match in New Delhi on Saturday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim to stop a rampaging Rising Pune Supergiant when both teams meet in the Indian Premier League, on Saturday, in a bid to cement their place in the play-offs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli is expecting an intensely-fought IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad since he and rival skipper David Warner are fierce competitors on the field.
Rediff.com brings you these and other exciting news from the week gone by in this photo feature...
The players auctions for this year's IPL is scheduled for this weekend. Rajneesh Gupta looks at the players retained and released by the teams for IPL 2017.
The Gujarat police on Tuesday detained Sardar Patel Group head Lalji Patel in connection with violence during "jail bharo" agitation of Patidar community held last month.
The SCA Stadium has seen largely empty stands on the first three days of the opening match of a five-Test series between India and England and local organisers blame it on the cash crunch.
Two fully-grown Asiatic lionesses were killed under a running train in eastern Gir, Gujarat on Wednesday.
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.
Impressed with Kuldeep Yadav's performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar offered "honest advice" to India's selectors to keep an eye on the young left-arm spinner.
Defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians have been hit hard by the Bombay High Court decision to shift all their home games out of the Wankhede Stadium, but the side were focused only on the game, according to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel.
A late bloomer, Tye has gone on to become an integral part of Australia's T20 set-up after making his international debut in January, 2016, at the age of 29.
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.
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