South Africa will look to fix their chasing troubles before the semifinals while Afghanistan will back themselves to beat another top team
With a dominant 24 runs victory over Mumbai Indians propelling second-placed KKR to 14 points and a step closer to qualification for the play-offs, the pressure is on KL Rahul's LSG to find a way past the threat that Shreyas Iyer's side poses.
KKR will look to iron out their flaws and get the better of a misfiring Mumbai Indians during their IPL match on Friday.
Having found some light at the end of the tunnel, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be keen to expose the chinks in Kings XI Punjab's armoury during their must-win IPL encounter in Indore on Monday.
West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who is a popular name among T20 leagues around the world, was not picked along Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga.
Pakistan has dominated the ODI format over the last year. In 2022, they whitewashed West Indies and Netherlands 3-0 at home and away respectively. They followed this up with a 2-1 series win over New Zealand at home in January 2023.
The 19-year-old wonder spinner has gained 54 points to finish with 813 points, 80 more than second-placed Shadab Khan of Pakistan.
Rohit is tied at the eighth spot with England's Alex Hales. Both batsmen have 664 points.
Down but not out. That's what pacer Liam Plunkett tried to convey while summing up the mood in the Delhi Daredevils camp after suffering yet another loss in the Indian Premier League.
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.
Without belittling the poised run of the Proteas, Afghanistan have been the revelation of this ICC showpiece.
Rohit, who will also captain the side, will be expected to carry on with his ultra aggressive approach in the powerplay like he showed in the ODI World Cup.
Kohli and Sharma were sitting pretty with 857 and 825 points respectively in the batting list
Ashwin and opener KL Rahul played pivotal roles as Kings XI produced a superb all-round performance to script a comfortable 12-run win over Rajasthan Royals in a second leg IPL clash to bring their campaign back on track on Tuesday.
High-flying Kolkata Knight Riders and an unpredictable Sunrisers Hyderabad, teams that have built their IPL 2024 campaign on power-hitting, will look to outmuscle each other in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Following is the list of players who have been released by the different franchises ahead of the auction for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Kohli (886 points) and Rohit (868 points) have gained two and three ratings points, respectively to occupy the top two positions in the batting rankings.
With five consecutive defeats, bottom-placed RCB have the daunting task of winning their remaining seven games to keep their play-off prospects alive.
Skipper Sanju Samson will look for support from his batsmen as Rajasthan Royals aim to return to winning ways against laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Monday and keep their play-offs hopes alive.
IMAGES from the Asia Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan played in Lahore on Sunday
No other spinner headed into the World Cup with a burden of expectation heavier than the one on Rashid Khan's shoulders. But seven matches into the tournament and the poster boy of Afghan cricket is buckling under the weight.
A couple of losses for hosts England has only brightened the 1992 winners' prospects of a semi-final berth.
Cricket Australia gave the day-night match against Afghanistan the green light on Thursday when it announced its summer schedule headlined by a marquee series against India.
Tactician par excellence Gautam Gambhir couldn't have envisaged a battle of brains with a more different kind of adversary than the smiling yet ruthless Pat Cummins as Kolkata Knight Riders face a spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad in a mega IPL final in Chennai on Sunday.
Bolstered by Shreyas Iyer's return, Delhi Capitals will look to maintain the form they showed in the first half of the season as they resume their IPL campaign against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
'You have to be focussed 100 percent, that is the quality of the IPL.' 'If your preparation is not up to the mark, you will face a lot of problems.'
Eager to keep their semi-final hopes alive, a desperate Bangladesh will have their work cut out when they take on a spirited Afghanistan in a do-or-die World Cup encounter in Southampton on Monday. England's defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka on Friday breathed air into Bangladesh's hopes of securing a semi-final berth and the 'Tigers' will be keen on making the most of the situation starting with a win over the bottom-placed Afghanistan.
KKR pacer Mitchell Starc's underwhelming performance is the worst among the specialist bowlers in IPL 2024.
Jos Buttler made a scathing assessment of the HPCA Stadium outfield, terming it as 'poor'
Afghanistan dismissed England for 215 to create one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
With 871 rating points, Virat Kohli is at the top followed by Rohit (855) and Pakistan's Babar Azam (829).
Afghanistan have come very close to a maiden win at this World Cup but skipper Gulbadin Naib has told the batsmen it is their responsibility if the team is to break that duck.
Down and out, the two bottom-placed teams know that this will be their best chance to post their first win in the ongoing 50-over showpiece.
Pakistan will aim to maintain their remarkable consistency against a spirited Namibia and seal a semi-final spot in the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
India, who suffered a 10-wicket thrashing to Pakistan in their opening match, face a virtual quarter final game against New Zealand, on Sunday, October 31.
The team's remarkable rise has been cricket's biggest fairytale story in recent times but Afghanistan risk isolation following the country's takeover by the Taliban in August.
Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson picked up three wickets each as New Zealand trounced Afghanistan by 149 runs.
Images from Day 1 of the one-off Test, between India and Afghanistan, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
