Bolstered by Shreyas Iyer's return, Delhi Capitals will look to maintain the form they showed in the first half of the season as they resume their IPL campaign against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Mayank Agarwal could likely to make his ODI debut as the first of the three-match ODI series kicks off in Chennai on Sunday. But all eyes will be trained on under-fire Pant who will have to work to prove his worth in the squad.
Besides KL Rahul, another individual who would like to answer his critics with solid performances is Pant.
Both the high-profile openers, Kohli and Faf du Plessis, are big match players and will be itching to make an impact after low returns in the previous game.
It was a day dominated by record-breaking performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yuzvendra Chahal as Rajasthan Royals pummelled Kolkata Knight Riders into submission.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list Rediff.com's 50 Most Valuable Players ahead of Sunday's IPL 2022 final between the Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals.
Delhi promoted all-rounder Lalit Yadav and Pant said the team management is trying to groom him.
Guilty of making too many changes at the top, Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to find a winning combination against Rajasthan Royals and snap their five-match losing streak in the IPL, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Monday.
Images from the IPL 2023 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday
Pooran was last seen in action for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the IPL, scoring 353 runs from 14 matches.
Dinesh Karthik anchored a tricky chase with a measured unbeaten 31 as India beat West Indies by five wickets in the first Twenty20 International to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
The experienced Shikhar Dhawan had got a measure of the wicket and if he had stayed at the wicket for a few more overs, it would have given licence to the likes of Rishabh Pant to chance their arm and hit a few boundaries to bring the asking rate under control.
West Indies spinner Fabian Allen on Wednesday moved into the top 10 of the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings after featuring in his team's fine showing in the ongoing five-match series against Australia.
Even though West Indies stars such as Chris Gayle and Andre Russell were not part of that series, Jason Holder's team still must be smarting from those three consecutive losses last month.
India skipper Ishan Kishan blamed poor fielding for his team's defeat in the final of the Under-19 World Cup against the West Indies.
Kohli appeared to enhance his formidable reputation of anchoring successful chases but his dismissal in the 47th over injected fresh drama into the contest.
Fast-medium bowler David Willey rattled through the West Indies' top order, taking 4-7 off three overs as England dismissed the home team for a paltry 71 in 13 overs at Basseterre in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
India are favoured to extend their dominance while West Indies face insurmountable odds to draw parity, in the second One-day International, in Visakhapatnam, on Wednesday.
IMAGES of the IPL 2023 match played between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede in Mumbai on Sunday
James Anderson tore through West Indies' middle order in a devastating late spell, while Ben Stokes chimed in to claim tailender Kemar Roach for a duck with the final ball of the day at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.
Trent Boult was Mumbai Indians's hero with the ball in the IPL final against his former team Delhi Capitals, with a match-winning spell of 3-30.
The 29-year-old spinner claimed the first five-wicket haul in IPL 2020, when he registered career-best figures of 5-20 in four overs to power KKR to a huge 59-run victory against Delhi Capitals.
'When you come into the Indian team, by then you had already learned professionalism and know how to correct your mistakes. The IPL is of big help'
With 762 points, Kohli is behind England's David Malan
Ishant Sharma attributed his good showing on Day 2 of the first Test against the West Indies to his pace bowling partner Jasprit Bumrah's advice of trying cross-seam stuff.
How the IPL teams have shaped up after the auction.
Despite chasing a huge 323, skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma made the first ODI a lop-sided contest. The Indians cruised to the target in 42.1 overs for a 1-0 lead.
Virat Kohli is the "benchmark" and that is why all West Indies players should work as hard as the Indian captain to achieve their goals, believes their assistant coach Roddy Estwick.
Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith said they let Delhi Capitals off the hook by conceding an extra 15-20 runs which proved quite crucial in the final analysis, in their Indian Premier League match, in Sharjah, on Friday.
Perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore endured another disappointing IPL campaign, but their performance in the second half of Season-12 has given them something to be proud of, said skipper Virat Kohli, after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
Images from the IPL 2022 match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
Delhi Capitals hardly broke a sweat in the run chase, cantering to victory in 17.4 overs, their sixth win in eight matches.
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.
Ravindra Jadeja finally scored his maiden century after almost a decade in international cricket and the Indian all-rounder says being calm in the nervous 90s helped him reach the 'special' milestone.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Dubai, on Friday.
Smarting from opening game losses, a good batting display will be high on the agenda for South Africa and defending champions West Indies when the two teams lock horns in a Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Tuesday.
Having shown exceptional consistency in both red and white-ball cricket for Team India, Pant will now look to recreate the same magic for his franchise.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup Super 12 match played between England and West Indies in Dubai on Saturday.
Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a career-best 68 as Rajasthan Royals inched closer to the play-offs after outclassing Punjab Kings by six wickets, in the IPL 2022 match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
KKR are heading into the contest after an embarrassing batting performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore.