Images from Sunday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah.
Endorsed by Virender Sehwag after seeing his array of strokeplay, Punjab Kings' Jitesh Sharma is the new talk of the town. 'I have worked hard on this (on his range of strokes). Playing straight is my strength. It is down to preparation again. I also try to learn a new shot every year or learn something new.'
On a balmy Monday night, Mahipal Lomror gave Royal Challengers Bengaluru two tantalising options - an 'Impact Player' who can yank the match away from the opposition and a potential successor to Dinesh Karthik, their designated finisher who is playing his last IPL season.
"Our team's score of 148 was not sufficient. Because of grass on the pitch we decided to bat first after winning the toss with a hope that the ball will come straight to the bat and we would be able to make a big score," RBC's Stuart Binny, who scored an unbeaten 18, told reporters on Monday.
Still non-committal about Zaheer Khan's first appearance for Delhi Daredevils, Yuvraj Singh hinted at the left-arm pacer's inclusion in the playing eleven during the team's last home encounter against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in New Delhi, on Friday.
Kings XI Punjab have never won the IPL and Kumble has come on board to end the title drought.
KL Rahul and Co would like forget the unsavoury incident and focus on the task ahead.
As the new season approaches, whispers of retirement surround some of the league's most beloved veterans.
KXIP have struggled so far, losing four of their five games, with death bowling proving to be their biggest concern.
'The last two-three-four years I have been playing really nice cricket, feeling positive and I have been scoring nice personally, back at home, overseas, and so on, unfortunately the last four-five years, I haven't really played as much IPL cricket as I would have liked to.'
The irony of being the lone Indian head coach in an Indian Premier League franchise is not lost on Anil Kumble who firmly believes that the piece of statistic is not a "true reflection" of country's coaching resources.
During the current Ranji Trophy season, a star son has been launched. But for 25-year-old Agni Dev Chopra, he never had the luxury of a re-take that his film-maker father Vidhu Vinod Chopra has had throughout his illustrious career.
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
Opener Mayank Agarwal said Kings XI Punjab's dressing room remains a positive space despite two narrow defeats in their first three IPL games and it won't be long before things fall in place for his team.
Mumbai Indians will start as favourites when they take on laggards Kings XI Punjab.
Here is a complete list of players, who failed to attract any bid in the IPL 2022
Rajneesh Gupta previews Game 55 in IPL 12: Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings.
Adani Sportsline shelled out a massive Rs 1289 crore for the Ahmedabad team, which emerged the most expensive franchise.
Former champions Mumbai Indians take on last year's runners-up Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium in a a game that promises plenty of action while offering a chance for both teams to get into winning ways after losses in their lung-openers.
Harbhajan Singh slammed an entertaining half-century but could not prevent Mumbai Indians from going down to Kings XI Punjab by 18 runs in the Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday.
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
Suryakumar Yadav hammered his maiden IPL ton and took the sheen away from Rashid Khan's dazzling all-round performance with MI picking up a win over GT.
Rohit Sharma will be looking to get his act together as batter and skipper when his star-studded Mumbai Indians take on an astute Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in what could be safely billed as a Saturday night IPL blockbuster.
On the occasion of Sachin Tendulkar's 50th birthday Harbhajan Singh opens his 'memory bank' on his close friend of over 20 years.
Rajasthan Royals head coach Paddy Upton feels the inability to pick the right combination is the reason for his side's below-par performance this season.
Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin defended the decision to play only two spinners in the game against Chennai Super Kings, on a spin-friendly track, in Chennai, on Saturday.
Will this (Rohit, KL Rahul and Kohli), be India's top three going into the T20 World Cup?
Bollywood didn't have a good IPL season.
Following is the statistical highlights of the Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.
After scores of 14 and 1, Virat Kohli is due for a big one and will be hoping to spend more time in the middle when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Mumbai Indians in the IPL in Dubai.
Rohit Sharma's buoyant India will look to continue its winning run and extend domination over the West Indies when they clash in the second T20 International in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, on Monday.
Opportunities in the IPL have been few and far between for Sandeep Lamichhane and Nepal's teenage spinner says he has to "prove" himself every time he gets a chance.
Harbhajan Singh would never even have imagined in his wildest dreams that the angry slap he planted on S Sreesanth's face would make him poorer by more than two and a half crore of rupees!
Meanwhile, commentator Danny Morrison, who wore a red turban and a fake beard ahead of the match has come under a lot of flak for his act.
A look at the major names who were not retained by the IPL franchises.
Australian big-hitter Glenn Maxwell has attributed his inconsistent run in the IPL over eight seasons to frequent changes in his role, something that is very clear to him when playing for his country.
Debutants Pune Warriors are likely to keep their winning combination intact when they go into their second home clash against another new franchise, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will seek to consolidate their position among the top four, while bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab will and end a four-match losing streak when the two sides lock horns in Wednesday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin insists that he is not losing sleep over making a limited-overs comeback for India and his immediate focus is on the 'big responsibility' of captaining Kings XI Punjab in the upcoming 11th season of the Indian Premier League.
Laxmi Negi picks her All Stars XI after the IPL 2020 league games.
