Noor Ahmad excelled on his Chennai Super Kings debut before Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad stuck sublime half-centuries to set up a four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians.
India take on Bangladesh in the first of the three-match T20I series in Gwalior, on Sunday.
With Mahendra Singh Dhoni being the same player and no one to "bell the cat", CSK are in unusual mess with a mis-firing top-order where the skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has had to give up his opening slot.
The 31-year-old didn't find a place in the squad against England because of Reddy's recent exploits.
Bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur will also be aiming to continue his dream run for Mumbai so far.
Mumbai Indians cantered to a nine wicket win with 26 balls to spare to pile on the misery of Chennai Super Kings, who slumped to their sixth defeat in eight outings in IPL 2025.
The contest between laggards Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals holds no significance in the context of the IPL 2025 play-offs.
Bhai returns to the big screen after 18 months.
Images from the fourth T20 International between India and England in Pune on Friday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 54.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2025 after Game 68.
Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umar Nazir Mir, a fan of Rohit Sharma, said he couldn't celebrate dismissing the India captain in the Ranji Trophy clash against Mumbai, despite it being a "prized wicket". Nazir picked up 4/41 on the opening day, dismissing Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube and Hardik Tamore, using the moisture on a fresh wicket to great effect.
Despite Dhoni's brief fireworks, his inability to deliver a decisive finish raised critical questions about CSK's batting strategy.
Here are how the bowlers fared on a wicket that was gripping and not easy for batters.
A dominant India hammered England by 150 runs to claim the five-match series 4-1.
Shubman Gill flops as Karnataka bundle out Punjab for 55 to gain command on Day 1
Chennai Super Kings might feel more 'at home' against an equally clueless Rajasthan Royals on a slow turner expected to be on offer in their next IPL game in Guwahati.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir said he has not seen a 'better T20 hundred' than Abhishek Sharma's 54-ball 135 in the fifth T20I against England.
The standout performers for DC with the ball were Kuldeep Yadav (2-17 in 4 overs) and Vipraj Nigam (2-18 in 4 overs).
Put into bat, Abhishek's onslaught propelled India to their highest powerplay score of 95 studded with 16 boundaries.
'He's got a lot of time ahead of him'
But they seemed to learn nothing from their past mistakes.
Rohit Sharma's fiery knock was cut short by Yudhvir Singh, as he was caught at midwicket for a fluent 28 runs off 35 balls.
Skipper Ayush Badoni played the most defining knock of his short but eventful first-class career as his maiden double hundred not only gave Delhi three points against Jharkhand but more importantly kept them in contention for a possible quarter-final berth in the Ranji Trophy on Saturday.
'Nothing will be wasted during this tournament, we will look back at other tournaments that have not gone our way and some of the work we have done at the back end of the tournaments that set us up for wins the following year.'
India have found their batting template for the T20 World Cup, skipper Rohit Sharma said after the team beat Bangladesh
'The stakes are too high and it would have been a complete embarrassment had Bumrah broken down in a match.'
Dube was hit on the helmet by a Jamie Overton bouncer and seamer Rana replaced him despite it not being a like-for-like replacement as concussion substitute rules mandate.
Roundup of matches across various venues in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25
Yashasvi Jaiswal on Wednesday joined the Mumbai camp after confirming his availability for the next round of Ranji Trophy
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday
India's Head Coach Gautam Gambhir has seen both ends of the spectrum with high of Champions Trophy and low of six Test losses and he'll have tough choices to make once the new two-year cycle comes around with the new season.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Chennai Super Kings and SunRisers Hyderabad in Chennai, on Friday.
RCB handed CSK a 50-run thrashing -- their biggest defeat at home in the IPL.
India's Abhishek Sharma has surged to the second spot in the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batters after a stunning 135-run innings in the fifth and final T20I against England.
'It would have been 2-2 coming to the Wankhede (Stadium for final T20I). It would have been way more on the game. But it didn't happen.'
Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy with a back injury.
India's Champions Trophy squad has raised eyebrows with a number of bold selections, including a spin-heavy attack and the exclusion of experienced pacer Mohammed Siraj.
All about IPL 2025 which kicks off on March 22, Saturday.
Suryakumar Yadav has been named the captain for this T20I series, bringing his leadership and experience to the relatively young squad. Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma will serve as the wicketkeepers, while key players such as Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Washington Sundar are included to strengthen the batting and bowling departments.
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