Suresh Raina feels that Chennai Super Kings' stupendous success as the most consistent team in the eight editions of Indian Premier League tournament should be attributed to their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership skills.
Captain is confident of RCB going the distance this season
Delhi's performance at home is woeful, but having registered a win after two consecutive losses at the Kotla, the Shreyas Iyer-led outfit is high on confidence.
CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed the game against SRH due to a stiff back but is likely to be back for Sunday's match against Virat Kohli-led RCB.
RCB to ring in changes against KKR in search of first win
Boosted by their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia Down Under, a confident India would seek to continue their winning momentum when they take on a depleted and new-look Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals, in Pune, on Tuesday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore grabbed an impressive second spot in the IPL Play-offs with a six-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils as Virat Kohli continued with his superlative batting show by hitting a responsible 54-run knock, in Raipur on Sunday. The second position will provide RCB with two chances to qualify for the final.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to shrug off the disappointment of two back-to-back defeats and get back to winning ways when they taken on Sunrisers Hyderabad as they aim to seal their place in the play-offs, in the IPL match, in Sharjah, on Saturday.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, in Dubai.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also appointed Harsh Mahajan, Rajender Rana, Pawan Kajal and Vinay Kumar as the new working presidents of the Himachal Pradesh PCC.
Rediff.com takes a look at the youngsters who impressed during the course of the eighth edition of the cash-rich Twenty20 extravaganza.
Led by aggressive Australian opener David Warner, Sunrisers would be relying mostly on foreigners to deliver the goods, given the scarcity of local stars in their ranks.
RCB, led by their captain Virat Kohli, has always been a team full of stars but has not played to its potential. After reaching the final in 2016, it has had three forgettable seasons.
India maintained their all-win record by producing yet another resounding performance to thrash minnows United Arab Emirates by nine wickets in a lop-sided inconsequential round robin league match of the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Mirpur on Thursday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings after the league phase in IPL 10.
First, Axar smashed his way to an unbeaten 38 off 17 balls as Kings XI Punjab managed 138 for 7 and then grabbed 3/11 in in 3 overs with RCB skittled out for 119 in 19 overs.
Chasing 135 to win, Gujarat lost both openers - Ishan Kishan (16) and Brendon McCullum (3) -- to be reduced to 23-2 but Finch blasted 5 fours and 6 sixes in his scintillating 34-ball 72-run innings as the visitors romped home with 6.1 overs to spare.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said they will have to dish out a "big performance" against Bangladesh in the summit clash of the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament if they desire to lift the trophy on Sunday.
Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Saturday.
Embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have left themselves with little margin for error after a string of reverses, will face a test of character when they clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
RCB have been inconsistent in their first six games in IPL-12, with both their bowling and batting faltering on many occasions.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings will renew their intense rivalry after two years when they face-off in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils, desperate for a victory under their belt, will try to outdo each other in Saturday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
It will be a big statement if Virat Kohli's young side could start off with a bang at Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 'spritual home', a task which will be easier said than done.
Krunal Pandya on Saturday became the costliest uncapped buy in IPL history, going for a whopping Rs 8.8 crore to Mumbai Indians as rookie players, both Indian and overseas, turned overnight millionaires in the auction in Bengaluru.
Here are some Images from match 27 of the Indian Premier League...
The all-round ability of the current Indian cricket team excites former captain Rahul Dravid, who feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are a certainty for at least the semifinals of the World Twenty20 Championships. Dravid, who was here for the Laureus Sport for Good programme 'Magic Bus' in his capacity as a member of its World Sports Academy, said India looks to be the most "formidable" team of the tournament, the main draw of which gets underway from March 15. "I think India would make the top four, but after that, it's just a question of who has a better day in the semifinal and final... There's a good crop of players coming through. I think it's going to be an exciting 24 months for the Indian team. "I think the good thing about this Indian team and this T20 World Cup is they have good depth, they have good all-round depth at the moment," Dravid said. "Players like Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi, it just shows that they have got sort of batting right down to No. 8, 9. They have got six or seven bowlers to call upon in Indian conditions that they can use.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Back in the top half of the league table after a convincing win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils will look to build on the winning momentum when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
A supremely confident Delhi Daredevils return to their den and have a struggling and injury-ravaged Rising Pune Supergiants in their firing line up next in the Indian Premier League, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
The shocking loss to Kings XI Punjab in their last match, notwithstanding, table-toppers Gujarat Lions will have to get their act together quickly if they wish to end their home campaign on a winning note against a formidable Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match, in Rajkot on Tuesday.
A steadily improving Delhi Daredevils look all set to challenge the might of title contenders Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams clash for the second time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match, in New Delhi on Saturday.
There will be a strong focus on buying uncapped Indian players with eight franchises gearing up to pick a maximum of 76 out of the 350 plus, who will go under the hammer at the auction for the 10th Indian Premier League.
'Dhoni has got his own ways of captaining the Indian team. He might not give out details or might not explain, but in his mind he knows very well how to captain the side, which players to pick and the right combination for a particular condition.'
Chennai Super Kings will look to avenge their first leg loss against Rajasthan Royals.
Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 24 runs in their Indian Premier League match at Chepauk.
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will fight for survival when they lock horns in the Indian Premier League in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
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.
Kolkata Knight Riders would look to usher in a fresh era under new captain Dinesh Karthik with a victory when they open their Indian Premier League campaign against heavyweights Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Inspired by skipper David Warner's whirlwind fifty, Sunrisers Hyderabad outplayed Chennai Super Kings by 22 runs to notch up a much-needed win and hand the table-toppers their second consecutive defeat in the IPL match on Saturday.
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