Even as they struggle to find the winning formula, laggards Kings XI Punjab will still fancy their chances when they host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Mohali on Monday.
It will be a battle of survival for the two national captains as Virat Kohli's struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore square off against a fledgling Pune Supergiants led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an IPL encounter for the bottom-rung teams in Bengaluru on Saturday. With five defeats in seven games, RCB are currently placed at a lowly seventh spot in the table with four points while Pune are just a notch above in sixth spot courtesy their third win against Delhi Daredevils, on Thursday. It has been a tough journey for the two superstars of Indian cricket as their franchises have dished one disappointing performance after another. RCB with perhaps the most intimidating batting line-ups has had to taste defeat because of a pedestrian bowling attack that has failed to defend 180 plus scores in most of the matches.
A B de Villiers believes Royal Challengers Bangalore Captain Virat Kohli sets the right example by leading from the front.
They can't leave their hotel rooms, but they are already working out!
''I truly did not understand what 'behind the scene' meant. It could be that he (Umran) had a fight with the management or maybe there was an argument...'
Royal Challengers head coach Simon Katich was all praise for the South African after he single-handedly won the IPL game against Rajasthan Royals for them, in Dubai on Saturday.
'All the venues are high-scoring venues. So what you need is pace.' 'You really want someone to come there and control the flow of runs in the death overs, whether you are setting a target or setting a target.' 'It is going to be the fast bowlers because at how many venues have you seen spinners bowling the death overs?'
'Only those who were part of the 6 straight losses for RCB would know the importance of this.'
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the fourth week of IPL 2020.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the fifth week of IPL 2020.
Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the play-off when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL clash in Mohali on Sunday. Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an all-round performance on Sunday. What has made this game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, which has struggled through the tournament, has suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way. The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam on Friday night.
West Indies' batsman Chris Gayle said he hopes for Kohli to win the elusive title for RCB.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the sixth week of IPL 2020.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the third week of IPL 2020.
Rahul broke a couple of records en route the match-winning century.
Their confidence restored after a bumpy start, a transformed Delhi Daredevils will look to stretch Kings XI Punjab to the limit when they face off in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Mumbai Indians would look to bounce back when they take on a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Season 9 of the IPL has seen many youngsters punch above their weight. Some of them make Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com's Young Guns XI.
They are out of contention for a play-off berth but that won't stop them from spoiling another team's party, Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar said sending an alarm bell to Kolkata Knight Riders camp on the eve of their Indian Premier League encounter.
Four defeats in six games notwithstanding, Royals Challengers Bangalore batsman KL Rahul expressed confidence of his team bouncing back in the ongoing Indian Premier League, saying that it just needed to sort out a few grey areas in its bowling attack.
Chris Morris slammed 25 from just eight balls to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to a healthy 171 for six.
Archer said he is focussed on "feeling good" at the moment.
'I don't think he (Karthik) will be under pressure. First and foremost thing will be to give guidance to this group. He has got a lot of experienced players around him, particularly in overseas group, and there's the likes of Piyush Chawala, Vinay Kumar and Robin Uthappa.'
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel are likely to be the frontline pacers, but for the third pacer's slot it will be interesting to see if India pick Umran Malik, who troubled quite a few batters in IPL 2022 with his raw pace, or young Arshdeep Singh, who impressed with his consistent performances for Punjab Kings.
Royal Challengers Bangalore director P A Murali revealed the strategy behind not retaining Yuvraj Singh, saying it was to ensure that the purse of other teams are exhausted and help them get better cricketers for IPL 8.
It will be interesting to see who among the three -- Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda and Dinesh Karthik -- are picked for the two slots in the middle order.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us all the numbers from the first week of IPL 2020.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers of IPL 2020.
The Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Ahmedabad on Monday has been rescheduled after two KKR members test positive for COVID-19.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the second week of IPL 2020.
The 30-year-old leg-spinner said watching Yuzvendra Chahal and Sundar bowl during RCB's thumping 82-run win over KKR a few days before helped him find the right length at the same small Sharjah ground.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers continued their sparkling show with the bat to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a commanding nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders and keep their play-off hopes alive in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore may have faltered against Sunrisers Hyderabad after notching up a win in their first game, but captain Virat Kohli expects a complete turnaround once Adam Milne and Mitchell Starc recover from their respective injuries.
5 instances when teams didn't cross the 70 run mark in 13 seasons.
RCB's Devdutt Padikkal now has fifty-plus scores in all his major debut matches -- first-class, List-A, T20, and IPL.
Bharat was drafted into the Test XI after the flamboyant Rishabh Pant was unavailable after being injured in a horrific road mishap late last year.
Their pride bruised following disastrous campaigns, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants will look for a graceful exit from the ninth edition of the IPL when they square off against each other for one last time in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Supergiants are coming into the contest after a victory over Delhi Daredevils at the same venue, their home ground, while Punjab have lost their last two outings -- against RCB and table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab's fourth and last win this season had come at this very ground, when they had got the better of Mumbai Indians.
"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.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the 52 games in IPL-12.
Royal Challengers finally snapped their six-match losing streak with a eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab, in Mohali, on Saturday.
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