Former West Indies skipper Carl Hooper has said it's a shame that the top players from the Caribbeans are not interested in playing for the country.
Playing only his fourth IPL game, the 17-year-old from Assam showed great resolve and maturity to script Rajasthan Royals's majestic turnaround at Eden Gardens.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
Ahead of the play-offs we take a look at the top wicket-takers in the league stage.
Power outage at Eden, Rana blames his dismissal on it
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir was a picture of positivity after winning the opening match of the Indian Premier League season 7against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday. Gambhir said his team will end up "winning most times" if it puts up a big score.
'KKR's form over the past two weeks is not going to be relevant tomorrow. They have got a lot of experience in that team. There are lot of players who know how to win play-offs. So, we make sure that we focus on us and play with the same mindset we have been playing so far'
Rajneesh Gupta previews Game 6 in IPL 12: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab.
Even as the teams get ready for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Michael Hussey has predicted that spin will not play much of a part in the mega-tournament, and only "mystery spinners like Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine have a chance of succeeding.
While KKR suffered their heaviest defeat of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game, Pune looked to have found their mojo in the business end of the tournament having registered consecutive wins in their last two matches.
Swashbuckling opener David Warner butchered the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers with a whirlwind century to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing 48-run victory, in their Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 161, KKR were nine for one in the second over, but Uthappa (59 from 33 balls) and Gambhir put together a 108-run partnership off just 66 balls to lay the foundation for the win at the Eden Gardens.
The Karnataka right-hander smashed an entertaining 87 off just 47 balls balls and was ably supported by skipper Gautam Gambhir, who made 62 off 46 deliveries, as two-time champions KRR thrashed Pune by seven wickets.
Ishan Kishan changed the script completely with swashbuckling stroke-play in the middle overs to steer Mumbai past Kolkata in Wednesday's IPL match in Kolkata.
West Indies have left out all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from their 15-man squad for the World Cup in February and March.
With 10 points from 11 games, it is a must-win encounter for Dinesh Karthik and his men if they want to keep their play-off chances alive.
Dhoni has turned back the clock with his last three innings, two of them half centuries, adding to the fine run of imposing all-rounder Shane Watson.
Te MVP of IPL 11, after Week 4, is young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
West Indies T20 skipper Darren Sammy has excluded from the list of central contract for the 2015-16 international cricket season.
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell said it "wasn't good" on compatriot Marlon Samuels' part to address a press conference with his padded legs on the table after their World T20 triumph early this month. "A lot of people ask me if he (Samuels) is from Jamaica. He is from Jamaica but he is a different Jamaican. He is a confident fellow. He has won the World T20 twice, as you know after winning the World T20. He played a tremendous knock against Sri Lanka in 2012 and he had done it again in the final against England this year," Russell said. "I heard that when he went inside the post match press conference, he did put his foot up. I don't know how to explain that but it wasn't good," he said when asked about Marlon Samuel's act after World T20.
Former Sri Lanka spin sensation Muttiah Muralitharan discusses the BCCI's clampdown on suspect bowling actions and his role as bowling coach and mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad with Harish Kotian/Rediff.com
Robin Uthappa and Sunil Narine played lead roles as Kolkata Knight Riders booked a berth in the play-offs of the Indian Premier League after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Dinesh Karthik said in-form Andre Russell batted with a 'lot of maturity'
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present the best performing players in IPL-11 in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
Captain Virat Kohli described fast bowler Navdeep Saini as a raw talent who has a bright future after he made an impressive India debut in the four-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first T20 International, in Lauderhill, USA, on Saturday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2020's Paisa Vasool Players.
Rajasthan Royals batsman Owais Shah says the Kolkata Knight Riders possess some world class spinners in their ranks and their performance in helpful conditions made the difference in their IPL match on Friday.
Ravindra Jadeja continues to jointly head the bowlers' list, while Virat Kohli is the highest-ranked Indian batsman at fourth in the latest ICC ODI rankings.
Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Chris Woakes is confident that their side will win the remaining matches to finish among top-two.
'So we are missing players. Evin Lewis just decided to push back on a central contract. He is good enough to play Test cricket. So the shorter versions of the game curtail our progress. Having said that, it would be unfair to blame the players for making the choice (of playing IPL). We all want to be financially secure at the end of the day'
The fact that some of the records in the ongoing IPL are held by KKR players reflects the red-hot form of the team.
On a high after back-to-back wins, Kolkata Knight Riders will start favourites against the struggling Pune Warriors India when the two bottom-half teams clash in Ranchi's in an IPL match on Wednesday.
Superb performances by Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine gave the West Indies a comfortable six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tri-series, also involving India, at Kingston, Jamaica, on Friday. Check out some statistical highlights from the Sabina Park match.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings to a five-wicket win against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday. Folllowing are the statistical highlights from that Indian Premier League match played in Chennai.
The Kolkata Knight Riders eliminate the Rajasthan Royals by 25 runs in a see-saw contest.
Karthik regained his batting form with an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, helping KKR recover from 49 for 3 to a challenging 176
The West Indies players have taken the T20 tournament by storm, the likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine proving their worth, and the young Kevon Cooper is making a big impact for Rajasthan Royals.
India will seek to reaffirm their supremacy in the shorter version of the game as they go into a five-match ODI series against an under-strength West Indies in Kochi with the prime focus of preparing for the upcoming cricket World Cup.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be missing their key all-rounder Andre Russell but skipper Gautam Gambhir wants his team to treat the Jamaican's absence as an 'opportunity in bold letters' during the upcoming Indian Premier League.
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