While T20 is primarily a batsmen-dominated format, the bowlers have evolved over the years and left a mark with their clever innovations.
Despite resting several of their top players, Mumbai Indians managed to outclass Kolkata Knight Riders by nine runs in their last round league match to finish top of the standings in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
It was a day dominated by record-breaking performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yuzvendra Chahal as Rajasthan Royals pummelled Kolkata Knight Riders into submission.
Kolkata Knight Riders may not have been consistent so far in this year's Indian Premier League but chief coach Jacques Kallis believes it's a matter of playing two good games which can seal a play-off berth for them.
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
Kolkata Knight Riders may be having a good time in the ongoing IPL season, having registered six victories from nine matches, but head coach Jacques Kallis warned against complacency, saying the team had slipped out of contention from a similar position last season.
Joy knew no bounds for Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur when he was selected earlier this week for the Indian team's tour of the West Indies, although the celebrations at his home were low key due to a close relative's demise. "They (family members) were happy. But a couple of weeks ago, my uncle - my mom's brother - had passed away, so the celebrations weren't too high," said Thakur when asked about the reactions within his family at his home in neighbouring Palghar district. "We kept it easy. Obviously, my friends came home and we cut the cake," said the 25-year-old pacer who was in the forefront of the Mumbai bowling attack when they lifted the Ranji Trophy for the 41st time earlier this season. This is the first time that Thakur will be touring with the Indian squad and he said he will talk to senior players about the wicket conditions he will encounter in the West Indies, where India are to play a four-Test rubber in July-August.
Seamer R Vinay Kumar, on Thursday, threw his weight behind in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik who was a surprise choice to lead the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
IPL is staring at a possible cancellation due to the deadly outbreak, which has led to more than 16,000 deaths globally. India, which has reported over 400 cases and nine deaths so far, is in a lockdown till March 31 to contain the pandemic.
Rajneesh Gupta takes a look at each team's chances of making it to last four.
Rajasthan Royals' Robin Uthappa admitted that the batters in the side could have taken more time to adjust to the wicket of Dubai.
Images from Friday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Bengaluru.
Images from Thursday's Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, in Dubai.
Veteran left-arm spinner Murali Kartik retired from competitive cricket having played eight Tests and 37 ODIs for India between 1999 and 2007 taking 24 and 37 wickets respectively.
Apart from Shastri, the other big names who will give presentations to the three-member committee include former Australia all-rounder and Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody, along with ex-New Zealand and Kings XI Punjab coach Mike Hesson.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com picks five performances that took spectators' breaths away in week 9: Five wonderful knocks and one magical spell of bowling.
A look at the top performers in the IPL this year, who set the T20 tournament alight with outstanding performances this season.
Believe it or not, this is the first T20 World Cup won by India after the launch of the IPL in 2008 -- after 16 seasons of the T20 league.
Bolstered by the arrival of Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will hope for a better showing from its misfiring top order as they try to settle scores against second-placed Delhi Capitals in their return leg IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
MI will take on a stuttering Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night and despite the visiting team losing three out of their last four matches, Behrendorff refused to read much into their struggles.
Virat Kohli's team has finished on the losing side in RCB's first four games and going by their struggles so far, no one is giving them a chance to make it to the play-offs.
Unbeaten in all the three games they have played so far in the tournament, Gujarat Lions would look to continue with their impressive winning run when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Rajkot on Thursday. The Lions have been in red-hot form in their debut season with convincing wins in all the three games and they would seek to maintain a clean slate tomorrow at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The home side will also be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who did not play in the Lion's seven-wicket thrashing of defending champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai due to his wedding.
Looking to keep their winning run intact, table-toppers Rajasthan Royals face a stern SunRisers Hyderabad test in their fourth match of the Indian Premier League in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
If MI have their problems to sort out, having lost at the death in all three games so far, RCB too have their own shortcomings to address with only one win in three games under their belt.
Let's looks at 10 former India players, who missed the IPL but had they been active today, they could have forced the Ambanis and the Shah Rukh Khans to loosen their purse strings a tad more.
Two-time World Cup-winning former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had nothing left to achieve and his international retirement is "close of an era", said former BCCI president Narayanswami Srinivasan.
The BCCI has set a salary cap of Rs 90 crore for 10 IPL franchises, including the two new entrants, for the next season and allowed a maximum of four retentions for the eight established teams.
Chennai Super Kings will look to avenge their first leg loss against Rajasthan Royals.
Delhi Capitals assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has pointed out that IPL teams are replacing poor fielders with agile ones during games and hoped that the umpires will take notice of this unfair practice.
The IPL auctions are known to spring surprises with little known players hitting a jackpot to become millionaires. Here's a look at some buys that left most people surprised. Carlos Brathwaite (Rs 4.2 cr): Inarguably the biggest surprise buys of 2016 IPL auctions. The Caribbean all-rounder has shown his hitting talent during his heroics against Sri Lanka, lower down the order. But not many would have expected Delhi to roll out a whopping 4.2 crore, which is 14 times his base price Pawan Negi (Rs 8.5 cr) : The new million dollar man! After his selection for the World T20 squad, here came another good news for Pawan Negi. It was Delhi again, that snapped the all-rounder for a monstrous Rs 8.5 crore.
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will look to continue their winning momentum when they face a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Ashwin, a key member of the Indian team across all formats, will have to be 100 percent fit in time for the upcoming Champions Trophy starting June 1.
Smashing Warner. Amazing Stokes. Super Smith. Pure Amla...
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eager to break the sequence of reverses and get Rising Pune Supergiants' campaign back on track when they lock horns with in-form Kolkata Knight Riders.
In a world where age and form seem to be at odds with each other, these IPL veterans defied expectations wrote their own narratives and left us all marveling at their incredible staying power.
Featuring Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Ashish Nehra.
Kane Williamson has shown that classically elegant batsmen, too, could prosper big time in the slam-bang world of Indian Premier League cricket and former Australia batsman Dean Jones wants the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir, who have struggled in this year's IPL, to take cues from the New Zealand captain.
In fresh controversy to the already tainted Indian Premier League, a Rajasthan Royals player has claimed to have been approached by a Ranji player to fix Indian Premier League matches.
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