IMAGES from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday
Ahead of the play-offs we take a look at the top wicket-takers in the league stage.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has become a vital cog in the wheel for whichever team he plays, and the India and Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer says experience and superior fitness have made him an improved bowler.
Virat Kohli made handsome gains after he produced a dominant batting display (276 runs in five matches) in the Asia Cup T20 in the UAE, including a first international century in almost three years.
Gujarat Titans were uncharacteristically sloppy in the field, missing four chances -- including three catches and a stumping.
A memorable T20 debut performance in his bag, young India seamer Barinder Sran says receiving tips on the art of swing bowling from veteran Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped him. Sran (4/10) returned the best figures by an Indian debutant in T20 Internationals to help the visitors restrict Zimbabwe to a paltry 99 for nine and then register a 10-wicket victory in the second match in Harare on Monday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's hopes of playing in the Melbourne match increased after the pacer went through the nets session without any discomfort in Melbourne, on Tuesday.
Former India speedster Ajit Agarkar hailed the balance of India's bowling attack and said one of the positives for the team is that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah rarely has a bad day in office.
India and Pakistan are placed in Group 2 along with New Zealand and Afghanistan.
India medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is of the view that the onus is on his bowling to quickly get rid of the remaining English batsmen on Saturday, Day 3 of the second Test, at Lord's. He had figures of 4 for 46 as the hosts' scored 219 for 6 in their first innings by stumps in reply to India's 295.
India medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said that his team was focussed and confident of winning their must-win match against New Zealand in Auckland on Friday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), already qualified for the playoffs, will aim to secure a top-two league stage finish when they face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash in Lucknow.
Virat Kohli brought up his 42nd ODI ton in brilliant fashion while guiding India to victory over the West Indies, and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said the skipper was determined to end his 11-innings century drought.
Young India pacer Khaleel Ahmed is learning everyday on his maiden tour of Australia and getting the much needed help from senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar on how to bowl on the hard and bouncy tracks Down Under.
India may have lost Shikhar Dhawan to injury and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is ruled out of the next few games, but the team is so strong that despite the setbacks it will qualify for the World Cup semi-finals, reckons former skipper Sourav Ganguly.
The much-maligned Indian Premier League (IPL) got a dose of positive response when swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar credited the T20 League for improving him as a bowler at the death in limited overs cricket.
As India gears up to face Oman on Friday, September 19, at the Dubai international stadium, the focus returns to cricket.
Hardik recently led his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans to title win in their debut season
'Josh is such a key figure for us -- not just with his bowling, because we know it's world-class and what he does time and again -- but also as part of the bowling unit, that sort of calm head out there for everybody else to lean on.'
Former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR), who suffered a heart-wrenching 11-run defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday, are virtually eliminated from the playoff contention in IPL 2025.
The standout performers for DC with the ball were Kuldeep Yadav (2-17 in 4 overs) and Vipraj Nigam (2-18 in 4 overs).
'Like MS Dhoni, I try to detach myself from the result and focus on small things, which I also refer to as process. And this helps in getting the desired outcome'
Aiden Markram stroked a half-century to steer Sunrisers Hyderabad to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Chennai Super Kings.
So upset was Nehra with Titans' slide that he didn't celebrate Gill's maiden IPL century. While the players and coaching staff gave Gill a standing ovation, Nehra stayed put in his seat.
You need a big upping of the ante when it comes to the fielding if you have to beat big sides in big competitions.'
India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Thursday said he will never compromise on swing, which is his big strength, at the cost of extra pace.
RCB were in red-hot form before the league's 10-day pause due to the India-Pakistan military conflict, winning four matches on the trot. But the break appears to have disrupted their momentum.
India's out-of-favour seniors Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag have been omitted from the Board of Control for Cricket in India's contracted players' list for 2013-14. The retiring Sachin Tendulkar, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin are the five players in Grade 'A', and will pocket Rs 1 crore for the 2013-14 season.
Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was rewarded with the elite grade A plus retainership.
Shreyas Iyer's inspiring leadership faces its toughest test yet when Punjab Kings host an equally upbeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League in Mullanpur on Thursday.
It has been learnt that the Indian team management wants tracks that are hard and bouncy without any major grass covering for all three home Tests -- something they will be getting in South Africa.
Images from the second One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo, on Tuesday.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming and Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid have praised the composure of young batsmen Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the IPL.
With the emergence of their battery of fast bowlers, India have turned the tide at Lord's with two of their victories coming from their last three Tests -- in 2014 and 2021.
The unexpected 10-day break has left both the RCB and the KKR with different goals to achieve and common challenges to hurdle over.
IMAGES of the T20 World Cup warm up match played between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane on Monday
The Australian captain Aaron Finch struggled across all three formats during the India series, specially while trying to navigate Bhuvneshwar's inswinging deliveries.
'It is a different matter as to what happens in Test selection. Workload management in IPL would be keeping red-ball cricket in mind'.
Yadav is the best-placed Indian with 805 points in the batting list headed by Pakistan's Babar Azam.
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant conceded his side was literally doing catchup all through the match after Sunrisers Hyderabad made a huge 'power play' statement, smashing 125 runs to set an IPL record in Delhi on Saturday.
