Royal Challengers Bengaluru's fairytale resurgent run will be up against the might of five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the weather gods when the two sides clash in an epic do-or-die match to decide the fourth and final team for the IPL play-offs, in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The selectors had announced the squad for the first two matches but Thakur has been ruled out of the five-ODI series after sustaining a right adductor tendon injury.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary revealed his preference for Mohammad Shami over all-rounder Shardul Thakur in playing XI against Bangladesh in the ongoing World Cup.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma was well aware of Shardul Thakur's range of shots as he wanted Lasith Malinga to bowl a slower delivery which turned out to be a masterstroke at the end of a thrilling IPL final.
Here are clicks from an evening celebrating Mumbai's memorable triumph...
Matheesha Pathirana stood out with his searing pace in a match dominated by the batters.
KS Bharat has been named as his replacement.
RCB's openers gave the hosts the perfect start, before the middle order delivered once again to take the hosts to a defendable total. Cameos from Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell added the final flourish.
It is not just MS Dhoni's captaincy, or his players' relaxed outlook that makes Chennai Super Kings so dominant in the IPL, for bowling coach Dwayne Bravo also attributes the consistent run to the lack of outside interference.
The BCCI has also named one inter-squad for a three-day match slated for December 20 to 22.
Since recovering from a bout of dengue that forced him to miss India's first two World Cup fixtures Shubman Gill scored 26, 53 and 16. With 1,325 runs in ODIs to his credit this year, he looked good in all those innings but was unable to make it count.
Sakshi Singh Dhoni attended her first match of IPL 2024 along with daughter Ziva as they cheered for the Chennai Super Kings.
India suffered another injury blow ahead of the third and final Test against New Zealand, starting in Kolkata on Saturday, after pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was ruled out with injury.
Iyer struggled to display confidence and solidity, especially against the rising deliveries from the throwdown specialists positioned 18 yards away.
Mustafizur-less CSK face unpredictable Sunrisers Hyderabad
CSK are coming into the game with back-to-back wins, LSG have endured a mini-slump with two successive defeats.
The standout performers with the bat on Wednesday...
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for the first Test against South Africa?
Security personnel deployed outside the Transport Bhavan, metres away from the Parliament complex, did not allow anyone to go beyond the barricades they had put up before checking their identity cards and entry passes.
The last time the two teams faced off in Lucknow last week, KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock put up a record opening partnership
India skipper Rohit Sharma said he is not ready to lose faith in Prasidh Krishna's ability to withstand the rigours of five-day cricket despite his lacklustre debut in the opening Test against South Africa.
Matheesha Pathirana returned to Sri Lanka to recover from a hamstring injury.
Shardul Thakur's much-awaited Test debut turned into a nightmare as the India speedster was forced to leave the field due to a groin strain after bowling only 10 deliveries on the first day of the second Test against West Indies in Hyderabad on Friday.
Look who turned up to watch the CSK-MI game on Sunday night.
Deepak Chahar has replaced Pandya in the squad, Ravindra Jadeja will come in for Axar, while Siddharth Kaul will be flown in as reinforcement for Shardul, the BCCI confirmed on Thursday.
A day after their Test careers met with a dead end, veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane on Friday soldiered on for Saurashtra and Mumbai respectively with contrasting results in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru.
Prasidh Krishna's performance hints at bare bench strength
'I'm sure there's some niggles. He just has that ability to ignore what it is and do what needs to be done. We're more concerned about his injuries. When I say we, I mean the public (which) is more concerned about his injuries than he is.'
Thakur, who was the first player to enter the throwdown nets, was hit on the left shoulder while facing throwdowns from batting coach Vikram Rathour.
Dhoni returns to the hallowed turf of Wankhede for the first time as non-captain of CSK, potentially in his last IPL season. It will also be his first appearance just as a player for any team since November 2005.
India head coach Rahul Dravid was delighted to see the players identify themselves with Rohit Sharma's leadership principles.
Stationed at mid off, Du Plessis 'flew' with his right hand stretched out to pluck it out of the air. The 39 year old timed his jump to perfection as he was 2.3 metres off the ground when he grabbed the ball.
Tough to look beyond Shreyas in WC playing XI, Gill will be main player for India, says Azharuddin
Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian claimed two wickets each to put Mumbai on course for victory against Tamil Nadu.
The talent is in plenty in this squad and if this machine runs smoothly, a sixth IPL trophy will be at touching distance for Thala and Co.
K L Rahul enjoyed the breathtaking views of the ocean at Cape Point with team-mates Shreyas Iyer and Shradul Thakur.
'India need to prepare a good fast bowling unit in 2024'
Shardul Thakur hit a local ground at Boisar in Maharashtra's Palghar district along with some domestic players.
INS Jalashwa deployed off Mumbai coast, along with INS Magar, diverted for Maldives on Monday night, he said.
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