Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will seek home comfort in their bid to return to winning ways when they face a depleted Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League match in Kolkata on Sunday.
Australia might experiment in the group stage to find their best XI. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa will play a crucial role while left-arm spinner Ashton Agar is also expected to be in the mix.
Jos Buttler anchored the run chase to help the home side clinch the three-match series in Southampton on Sunday.
Shreyas Iyer had led KKR to their first IPL title in a decade last year. However, on Saturday, he returns as captain of a rejuvenated Punjab Kings chasing a play-off spot.
Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer was the brain behind making K L Rahul the 'Impact Player'.
Short of players, a nine-man Australia needed as many as four support staff members on the field, including chief selector and head coach, in their T20 World Cup warm-up against Namibia but that did not change the expected outcome of the game.
Punjab Kings batting coach Wasim Jaffer has backed his team's bowlers to make a strong comeback after the heavy defeat to Lucknow Super Giants, adding that it "was one of those days when everything clicked for the opposition".
Australia's Test regulars will skip the three-match series against Pakistan in November as they prepare for the blockbuster clash against India.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead Ahmedabad and batsman KL Rahul will captain Lucknow when the franchises make their debuts in the IPL this year.
Johnson sidelined for Aus tour of UK
Joining the raging debate around Impact Players in the IPL, Lucknow Super Giants consultant Adam Voges said he prefers something like the 'Power Surge' rule in the Australian Big Bash League where the batting team gets to decide a two-over phase of fielding restrictions.
Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has been omitted from Australia's annual list of 20 elite, contracted players in 2020 after falling out of favour with selectors midway through last year's Ashes. The 33-year-old lefthander has not played for the Test side since being dropped after the third match against England in Leeds last August.
Sunil Narine has proved to be unstoppable, blazing his way to 461 runs in 11 games at a strike rate of 183, with a century and three fifties.
With MI's batting finally clicking, LSG bowlers have task cut out
Rajasthan Royals face a tough challenge against a marauding Punjab Kings batting lineup, led by in-form Shreyas Iyer.
The pitch at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium was nothing like we've witnessed at other venues this season of the IPL. It was a two-paced pitch and batting wasn't the easiest.
Ravi Bishnoi stole the show on Sunday night.
Just as Nicholas Pooran looked like taking LSG to a win, CSK Impact Player Tushar Deshpande had him holing out to Ben Stokes in the deep.
Afghanistan's opener, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, rose a career-high 12th spot -- Gurbaz is the leading run-getter in the ongoing T20 World Cup, with 156 runs from two innings under his belt.
Yashasvi Jaiswal manifested his abundant talent while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan displayed their grace and power with sparkling fifties as India posted a massive 235 for four against Australia in the second T20I here on Sunday.
In the high-scoring contest, a few bowlers delivered notable performances, with R Sai Kishore and Vijaykumar Vyshak making a decisive impact.
Both teams have struggled in the ODI format recently. World champions Australia lost to Sri Lanka (0-2) and Pakistan (1-2) in their last two series, while England, now coached by Brendon McCullum in all formats, haven't won an ODI series since their disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will expect more runs from their batters and discipline in 'death' overs bowling when they take on high-flying Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL match in Bengaluru on Monday.
'I just want to say how impressed everyone, especially I am, with how Kuldeep Sen handled his first #IPL2022 game; how he bowled, how he thinks. He bowled the hardest over under pressure and did an excellent job for us.'
'Probably, a couple of more ODIs would have been more beneficial for both the teams, not just us. It would have been more ideal and logical'
Warner will be examined by the Australian medical staff after batting in the nets before a final call is made on his availability for the series.
Lucknow Super Giants stump Rajasthan Royals with their witty reply.
Naveen or Jitesh? Whose catch gets your vote?
Dhruv Jurel's 3 catches in the deep versus K L Rahul's 2 catches behind the stumps?
Captain Rohit Sharma's return will certainly give solidity to the top order in the second ODI against Australia.
Hardik Pandya rose two places to become the first Indian to occupy the No 1 spot in the ICC's T20I all-rounders' rankings.
'That's a standard we want to keep going with for the rest of tournament.'
Australia speedster Spencer Johnson claimed a maiden five-wicket haul in international cricket as the hosts edged out Pakistan by 13 runs in the second Twenty20 International on Saturday
Scenes from the IPL match between the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
Uncapped Inglis joins Australia stars in T20 World Cup squad.
'That was proper (batting) from those two, it set the tone for how we want to play our cricket, take the game on.'
KL Rahul, LSG's captain, admitted that the defeat hurt their morale but the three or four days break allowed the team to rejuvenate.
'But the way the home team should get support, everyone needs to know this is our home team that is playing in Lucknow and what can we do to help them win? 'Everyone's contribution is important. We will find a way anyway to win matches.'
Following his three-wicket haul in India's five-wicket win over Australia, Mohammed Shami said he enjoyed bowling with Mohammed Siraj.
'We knew that the game was on, Stoinis and KL had a wonderful partnership. Stoinis kept us in the game and I knew this was a nice wicket. We could chase even over 50 in the last four, it was about cashing in.'
