A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop believes that the Indian Premier League has democratised cricket for many countries by providing players from smaller nations an opportunity to lock horns with the top cricketers from around the world.
Images from the first TwentyT20 International between India and the West Indies, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Following is the list of players who have been released by the different franchises ahead of the auction for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would strive for a handsome win over struggling Rajasthan Royals in their last round-robin game to stay ahead in the IPL play-offs race in Sharjah on Thursday.
Punjab, who are on eight points from 11 games, need to win the match to keep their play-offs hopes alive, while KKR (10 points from 11 games) also need a victory to boost their hopes.
'Did the Moneyball philosophy get redefined in the domain of the cash-rich IPL, which has become an integral part of the cricketing ecosystem?' asks Atanu Biswas.
After the 2-1 series win against West Indies, India opener KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli have significant progress in the latest ICC T20I player rankings.
The onus would be on their famed batting line-up of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell to start firing once again and put pressure on the KKR batsmen.
Rohit is confident that he would come good and has asked both critics and media to spare him the constant scrutiny.
Cricket West Indies interim chairman of selectors, Robert Haynes said the selection panel included Allen on the back of his performance at the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) last year and recently at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019.
Bairstow fell short of his century by three runs but that was not to be rued as, despite the brief stutter in the Hyderabad innings, he had set the stage well enough for the lower order to take the team past 200.
Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis scored centuries as Sri Lanka crushed the West Indies by 161 runs in the second One-Day International in Hambantota on Wednesday to clinch the series. Chasing 346 for victory, the West Indies were bowled out for 184 in 39.1 overs, wrist spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Lakshan Sandakan taking three wickets each.
The West Indies managed to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The Kerala youngster delighted once again with his magical batting at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey have been dropped from the side while pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested.
With nine defeats from 11 matches, the Sunrisers are languishing at the bottom, while KKR, in fourth place with 10 points from 12 matches, still have hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stage.
Kings XI Punjab are likely to continue with the captain and coach combine of K L Rahul and Anil Kumble for next year despite finishing sixth in the 2020 Indian Premier League.
On a roll post the IPL's resumption, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue their winning streak when they meet in a high-octane Indian Premier League encounter, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
India would be looking to sort out issues such as the opening blues, the middle-lower order conundrum and also the bowling strategies during the three-match T20 series against West Indies.
Check out the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League.
Virat Kohli reaffirmed his supreme status by finishing as the leading run-getter in 2019.
'The IPL was a big learning for me that whatever you do at this level, you should be confident about yourself.'
India are eyeing a 10th straight bilateral series win over the Caribbean side.
Will India get their bowling combination right after the debacle in Chennai when they take on a buoyant West Indies in the second ODI
Eyeing a maiden IPL title, the fancied Delhi Capitals will face another litmus test in the form of a Kolkata Knight Riders unit brimming with optimism when the two sides lock horns in the Qualifier 2 match in Sharjah on Wednesday.
Summary of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
It will be a test of Virat Kohli's tactical acumen against the ice-cool demeanour of Eoin Morgan when perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore clash with former champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL Eliminator in Sharjah on Monday.
A superb all-round showing from Marcus Stoinis with both bat and ball helped Delhi Capitals edge past Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over, in a thrilling IPL match.
Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, have done an excellent job in restricting the oppositions but KKR's top-order batting has hurt them the most.
Captain KL Rahul has been one of the few consistent performers in the formidable-looking Punjab batting unit and he once again led by example against MI
Afghanistan posted a competitive 156 for 8, courtesy Gurbaz's superb innings.
KKR have so far failed to come together as a unit and slipped to sixth in the table after starting the tournament on a high against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Morgan's astute captaincy in using his bowling resources was the highlight as KKR had bowled out MI for a modest 152.
Mumbai defeated Saurashtra by five wickets in the West Zone Vijay Hazare trophy tie on Sunday, on the back of Sushanth Marathe's 88 coupled with his 114-run partnership for second wicket with Iqbal Abdullah (55).
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's astute captaincy will be Chennai Super Kings' biggest weapon against a clinical Kolkata Knight Riders, whose troika of top-notch spinners promise to hold the aces in the high-octane Indian Premier League final in Dubai on Friday.
Virat Kohli was named in the Asia XI squad to take on a Faf du Plessis-led World XI in next month's Bangabandhu 100-year celebration three-match T20 International series in Dhaka.
In the first quarter-final of the day, Germany eked out a narrow 3-1 win over Spain via the shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 2-2 in regulation time. Later, Argentina beat the Netherlands 2-1.
In the last 13 months, India have played the West Indies in six T20 Internationals with the hosts coming up trumps every single time.
England batter Liam Livingstone fetched a staggering Rs 11.50 crore deal from Punjab Kings, who also roped in West Indies fast bowler Odean Smith, for Rs 6 crore, on Sunday, Day 2 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2022 Player Auction, in Bengaluru.
