Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said it will be a challenge to maintain the trend they had set in their last Indian Premier League outing by bowling out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a record lowest 49.
CSK, with their experience of winning important moments, will certainly make Capitals wary.
Whether it was promoting Sam Curran to the opener's slot or finishing pacer Deepak Chahar's quota upfront while using seven bowlers to dry up runs, every move produced desired result.
One of the finest fast bowlers in current times, Mohammed Amir would be pitted against the talismanic Virat Kohli in what could turn out to be a battle primarily between India's vaunted batting line-up and against Pakistan's potent bowling attack.
KKR have plenty of resources in bowling but Karthik, it seems, has not been able to manage them well
India have accumulated 122 points on the back of series wins over Australia and New Zealand and are placed behind England.
On Tuesday, Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha and Delhi Capitals veteran spinner Amit Mishra also tested positive for the dreaded virus as BCCI announced the postponement with immediate effect.
Sri Lankan batting once again promised a lot but delivered too little losing as many as seven wickets for 53 runs after they were cruising along at 185 for 3.
Full list of players released, retained and traded by all ten teams in the IPL.
A 'Shane Warne like drift' makes Kuldeep Yadav a more difficult bowler to face compared to Yuzvendra Chahal, believes former Australia opener Matthew Hayden.
Skipper Virat Kohli will usher in a new era in Indian cricket when he leads the side in the ODI series-opener against England in Pune on Sunday in place of the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who recently relinquished the captaincy in the limited over formats.
RCB will be strengthened further when the immensely-talented Devdutt Padikkal makes the team after his recovery from COVID-19.
Virat Kohli hit an unbeaten 154 to make short work of a seemingly steep target as India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the third one-day international in Mohali to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series on Sunday.
If RCB win their remaining two games, they will move to 20 points and have a chance of finishing in the top two.
Shivam Dube carried his rich recent form into domestic circuit cracking a rapid fifty but Shreyas Gopal's four-wicket haul ensured that Mumbai were bowled out for 251
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has instructed match referees to ensure that none of the India players -- current or discarded -- sport the India logo either on their helmet or on their gear in domestic matches.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's inability to rotate strike in the middle overs is cause for concern for some time now but India's bowling coach Bharath Arun says it's not that head coach Ravi Shastri is not speaking to the former skipper or other batsmen on how to improve.
'(Jasprit) Bumrah we know is a very good new ball bowler and I'm sure he'll mix it up and bowl some short stuff and some full stuff'
Rohit lauded the efforts of the bowlers for producing crucial breakthroughs.
Here's the complete list of which team bagged who, and for how much!
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers on the India and New Zealand teams and players.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes was baffled by India's run-chasing strategy during their World Cup game last year in which he found Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's approach 'mystifying' and saw 'no intent' from Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the run chase. It was the game at Birmingham, where India were comprehensively beaten by 31 runs after they failed to chase England's massive score of 337/7 last year.
Rediscovering himself in the twilight of his career, a rejuvenated Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to continue his regained form and guide India to a series-clinching win when the hosts take on New Zealand in the fourth One-Day International, in Ranchi, on Wednesday.
The player registration deadline closed on Thursday and the list comprises 207 international players including 21 capped Indians.
Mumbai Indians all-rounder Krunal Pandya feels the time his younger brother Hardik spent away from the game has helped him become a better cricketer.
Having already clinched the series, India would look to hand Zimbabwe a third successive whitewash while testing more youngsters when they take on the lacklustre hosts in the third and final One-day International in Harare, on Wednesday.
Captain Virat Kohli admitted that India were at least 30 runs short while lauding the application shown by New Zealand's batsmen, especially Tom Latham, in the first One-Day International at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Chahar started the rot for KKR early in their innings when he trapped opener Chris Lynn in front of the wickets as the Aussie missed a pull off a delivery that kept low. Lynn was sent back inside the first over for a duck. He came into the equation in the next over when he took a brilliant catch, running backwards, to dismiss Sunil Narine for just 6 off the bowling of Harbhajan Singh.
Any other result than India's resounding win looks highly unlikely, consdering the visitors' rampaging run in the preceding Test and ODI series, where they whitewashed the hosts 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.
The Indian selection committee has its task cut out when it zeroes in on the replacement for Ambati Rayudu's in India's ODI squad for the three-match series against England after the veteran right-hander failed the YoYo Test.
Pant had so far scored 222 runs in the IPL compared to a mere 93 by Karthik, but the latter's experience helped tilt the scale in his favour for the mega-event, starting in England from May 30.
Since Virat Kohli's ODI debut, India have successfully chased a total of 300-plus eight times, with Kohli scoring hundreds in six matches. This and many more interesting facts are recorded in the statistical highlights from the first of the 3-match ODI series played between India and England at Pune Sunday.
CSK will be brimming with confidence having defeated the Royals earlier in the season
While Ajinkya Rahane always scores good runs, he seldom scores them quickly enough. And he doesn't bowl, although he is a handy fielder. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji assess the India-West Indies ODI series.
Choosing between a third spinner and an extra batsman will be the topic of discussion when the three-member national selection panel decides on the Indian squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, starting June 1 in England.
While the two T20 matches will be a precursor to the ODI series, vice-captain Rohit Sharma is likely to be given a short break to rejuvenate and come back fresh for the ODIs.
Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Chris Lynn, on Monday, said Royal Challengers Bangalore would be the team to beat in the upcoming 10th edition of the Indian Premier League.
Chasing 294 for victory on a batting pitch, Hardik Pandya (78 off 72) and Manish Pandey (36 off 32) took India to the finish line after Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane had laid the platform for the victory with a 139-run opening stand.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Committee of Administrators (COA) on Tuesday doubled the annual retainership amount to Rs 2 crore for seven Grade A cricketers, including captain Virat Kohli and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
