The teams are ready to battle it out and with no established name figuring in India's bowling department
Kolkata Knight Riders would look to usher in a fresh era under new captain Dinesh Karthik with a victory when they open their Indian Premier League campaign against heavyweights Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
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.
Opener Prithvi Shaw smashed six fours in the first over in a stunning batting display on his way to a blistering 82 as Delhi Capitals crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets in the IPL, in Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
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
An unassailable lead has opened up the window for experimentation but there will be no letup in India's intensity when they face a heartbroken New Zealand team in the fourth T20 International, in Wellington, on Friday. Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are waiting for opportunities, with the former expected to get a look-in. Pant's call-up would depend on which batsman is left out, and whether KL Rahul will continue to keep wickets.
On the other hand, the Royals have managed to win only one of their three fixtures. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in their previous match to slip down to the sixth spot. Sanju Samson and his men will be eyeing a second win.
The focus will be firmly on India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw when Mumbai take on Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game, beginning in Mumbai on Friday. Both Rahane and Shaw failed with the bat in the last Ranji Trophy game against Railways which the domestic giants lost by 10 wickets inside two and half days.
The Kiwis will have greater concern over their lack of finishing after squandering two last over winning positions in two consecutive games, and the series along with.
Images from Thursday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, in Mumbai.
Ahead of Thursday's Indian Premier League player auction, Royal Challengers Banglore captain Virat Kohli assured the fans that they will cover all bases and pick a strong team for the next edition of IPL. Ahead of this year's IPL auction, RCB had released 12 players from their squad, while retaining 13.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar looks set for a long injury lay-off after it emerged that the pacer had been carrying sportsman's hernia all along which the doctors failed to notice, according to media reports. He is now scheduled to undergo surgery for sports hernia -- which he has been carrying for over a period of three months -- after which he will have to undergo a two-month recovery period.
IMAGES from Sunday's IPL match played between Delhi and Bangalore in New Delhi
A round-up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
Hosts Kolkata Knight Riders run the risk of slipping away when they face resurgent defending champions and 'nemesis' Mumbai Indians in an IPL clash, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore have won only three games out of 10 in IPL-12 so far.
India 'A' bowlers fought back with a flurry of wickets in the final session to reduce the West Indies 'A' to 243 for five, on Day 1 of the second unofficial Test.
The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League will commence, on Saturday, April 7 and will end on 27th May
Australia have been in good form in the five-day format and having won a one-day tournament in India last year will be confident and will be looking to do an encore as they face India in the first of the three-match ODI tournament in Mumbai on Tuesday.
India won the twin T20 Internationals in Auckland by margins of six and seven wickets respectively to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
With Jasprit Bumrah "ready and roaring" after an injury scare, Mumbai Indians will fancy their chances against an erratic Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two star-studded teams square off in the IPL, in Bengaluru, on Thursday. The big sub-plot of the contest will be the world's best ODI batsman -- Virat Kohli -- taking guard against the world's best ODI bowler -- Bumrah -- in a format notorious for its unpredictability.
Opener Shubman Gill, who is part of the Indian squad for the South Africa Tests, perished for a three-ball duck in the second innings.
A roundup of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day matches played on Friday.
A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
Punjab pummelled Delhi by 10 wickets for their maiden win of the season on Friday while handing the hosts their first Ranji Trophy loss at home in five years.
The odds will be stacked heavily in favour of India when the title contenders, with an eye on securing a knockout berth, meet minnows Papua New Guinea in the ICC U-19 World Cup, in Mount Maunganui, on Tuesday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Tamil Nadu registered an eight-wicket win in their last Super League match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
Kings XI run into a RCB squad which has grown in confidence by leaps and bounds since their last meeting.
Three-time champion Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals would look to build on their first wins and gain momentum when they clash in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Monday.
A roundup of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day matches played on Saturday.
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.
Some of their bowling and fielding frailties exposed in the series-opener, India will aim for quick course correction when they take on a resurgent New Zealand in a must-win second ODI, in Auckland, on Saturday. India find themselves in a familiar situation after the loss in Hamilton. But the visitors have come from behind against the West Indies and Australia to win their last two ODI series and Virat Kohli's men will aim to do the same against the Kiwis.
To match or even surpass the Royals, KKR have the biggest stars in Andre Russell to go along with reigning World Cup winning English skipper Eoin Morgan
Images from Monday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Dubai.
The incident occurred at Sindupur village under Bihar police station area. The victim has been shifted to a government hospital in Lucknow and is in a critical condition.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify India's most valuable players in ODI games this season.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list India's Most Valuable ODI Players this season.
