CSK, LSG seek improvement in top-order batting after opening losses
Perennial under-achievers Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab will look to recover from opening losses and put their campaign back on track.
Chris Morris, the most expensive buy in IPL history, showed why all the franchises were so desperate for his services with a match-turning performance with the bat to lift Rajasthan Royals to victory over Delhi Capitals.
Back to their winning ways after sucessive victories, a rejuvenated Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to continue their good run when they take on laggards Kings XI Punjab in an IPL T20 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Saturday.
Neither DC nor LSG look like outfits that give you the vibe of a champion side
Pace spearhead Trent Boult led the way with three wickets after David Warner's brisk half-century laid the foundation as Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded a 20-run win over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Monday.
In impressive form throughout the season, Lucknow Super Giants will look to bounce back from the reverse they suffered in their previous match and beat Rajasthan Royals in the IPL fixture at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday and confirm a berth in the play-offs.
Rahane (207 batting) and Jaiswal (228) toyed with the North East bowling line-up
Gujarat Titans will need their batters to fire when they take on high-flying Lucknow Super Giants as both teams look to seal IPL play-offs berth at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Tuesday.
Punjab Kings would be keen to put brakes on Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul's rollicking batting form during their IPL 2022 match on Friday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore pacers blew away the Mumbai Indians' top order before shining in the death overs to set up a much-needed 14-run win, which kept them alive in the Indian Premier League Play-offs race, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
If their performance is any indication, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals could make for a blockbuster Indian Premier League contest on Sunday evening, an iconic venue adding to its charm.
Robin Uthappa smashed his way to a quickfire half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders notched up a comfortable six-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Tuesday.
Getting his team composition right will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's primary aim as Rising Pune Supergiants meet an out-of-sorts Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League cricket tournament encounter, in Mohali on Sunday.
Dinesh Karthik hit a quickfire half-century as Tamil Nadu overcame a jittery start to down Baroda by 38 runs.
KKR will head to the game with the belief that the side can win from any situation, which they have demonstrated time and again.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
Talented batter Yash Dhull hit a superb 193 decorated with 28 fours and two sixes to power North Zone to 433/3 in their first innings at stumps on day three of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final against East Zone.
Virat Kohli's return to form and a rather dramatic entry into the IPL play-offs will make Royal Challengers Bangalore a more confident unit when they meet a top-heavy Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2022 Eliminator match in Kolkata on Wednesday.
KKR are placed at the sixth spot with 12 points and they will not only have to win but do it with a big margin
To match or even surpass the Royals, KKR have the biggest stars in Andre Russell to go along with reigning World Cup winning English skipper Eoin Morgan
Delhi Capitals will expect more from their batters after an underwhelming display in their previous outing, while Lucknow Super Giants are eager to shrug off overdependence on skipper KL Rahul when the teams clash in the IPL match in Mumbai on Sunday.
The left-hander smashed a 113-ball 151 (8x4, 10x6) to power Madhya Pradesh to victory.
Virtually out of the play-off race and struggling on multiple fronts, a horribly out-of-sorts Mumbai Indians will need a special team effort to arrest their slide when they take on Lucknow Super Giants in a return-leg IPL fixture in Mumbai on Sunday.
On the other hand, the Royals have managed to win only one of their three fixtures. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in their previous match to slip down to the sixth spot. Sanju Samson and his men will be eyeing a second win.
RR will have to get their combination right as only four foreigners can make the playing XI.
Wriddhiman Saha smashed a 55-ball 93 before the Kings XI Punjab pacers bowled an excellent spell in the death overs to help the visitors edge past Mumbai Indians by seven runs in a thrilling finish, in the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
This was Mumbai's second successive win after they had beaten Delhi in the lung-opener.
Hosts Punjab frittered away the advantage of solid opening stand as they were all out for 270 as Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar ran through the middle-order with a five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Mohali.
David Warner played another blazing knock smashing 31-ball 59 runs to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing victory against struggling Kings XI Punjab at the Hyderabad Stadium on Saturday. Chasing a modest 144-run target, the Sunrisers' skipper attacked from the start scoring seven boundaries and three sixes in his match-winning knock which gave Hyderabad it's third win in a row. Shikhar Dhawan played a supporting role scoring a patient 45 runs off 44 balls. For Kings XI Punjab, it was their fourth defeat in five matches. Earlier, the Sunrisers dished out another superlative bowling effort to restrict Kings XI to 143 for six. Electing to bowl first after winning the toss, the SRH bowlers, including the promising Mustafizur Rahman, Moises Henriques and others picked up wickets at regular intervals and also did not allow Punjab to score big runs. Moises Henriques scalped two wickets, while Bangladesh pacer Rahman deserves a special mention as he claimed two wickets, including a wicket in a maiden over, giving away just nine runs off his four overs.
The best-case scenario for RR would be Kings XI Punjab losing their last match and Sunrisers Hyderabad winning no more than one in their last two outings.
It has been a dramatic turnaround for the KL Rahul-led side after a string a losses earlier in the tournament.
Saurashtra's middle-order batter Sheldon Jackson followed in senior teammate Cheteshwar Pujara's footsteps, completing his century on day two of their Ranji Trophy Group A tie against Rajasthan to guide the defending champions to a 300-plus total in Jaipur on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals, who have won their last two games, will look for another victory against RCB and keep their hopes alive of making it to the IPL play-offs.
Royals are more affected than Sunrisers with the absence of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joffra Archer, who have left for England to join the World Cup camp.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have failed to live up to expectations in the IPL so far and are placed sixth and seventh respectively on the points table in the eight-team competition.
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.
Kings XI Punjab owner Ness Wadia said the spot-fixing scandal that rocked the Indian Premier League last year has made a dent on brand IPL.
It will interesting to see how the pitch behaves on Sunday.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.