IMAGES from the IPL 2022 opening game between CSK vs KKR in Mumbai, on Saturday
Dinesh Karthik said in-form Andre Russell batted with a 'lot of maturity'
Uncapped Evin Lewis has been named to replace the injured Lendl Simmons in the West Indies squad for the World Twenty20 in India. The experienced Simmons was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. "The 24-year-old left-handed batsman will join the team ahead of the start of the global event," the West Indies Cricket Board said in a statement. Lewis has represented Trinidad & Tobago in the Caribbean T20 and the Champions League and impressed chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd, who led West Indies to two 50-over World Cup triumphs. "Evin Lewis a young and exciting batsman who we believe he will fit into the team set-up very well. He has the ability to perform at this level of the game," Lloyd said. "His selection is in keeping with our policy to give exposure to young, talented players we believe will help to carry West Indies cricket forward," he added. All-rounder Kieron Pollard was ruled out of the World Twenty20 due to a knee injury, spinner Sunil Narine is still working to fix his illegal bowling and all-rounder Darren Bravo has opted to focus on the longer formats of the game.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look to assert their supremacy, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on mind when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator in New Delhi on Wednesday. Both Sunrisers and KKR finished their league engagements on 16 points each but the Gautam Gambhir-led side ended fourth behind Sunrisers due to inferior net run rate. But going into the do-or-die game, KKR have psychological advantage over the Sunrisers having beaten them on both the occasions during the league stage. KKR thrashed Sunrisres by eight wickets in their first meeting this season and came out victorious by 22 runs in a must-win match last Sunday to qualify for the play-offs.
Curtly Ambrose, the West Indies pace legend and the team's bowling consultant, backed it to win the ICC World Twenty20 2016. The squad, he said, had numerous match-winners suited for the format. The West Indies is currently ranked No. 3 in the ICC rankings for T20s and won the ICC World T20 2012 in Sri Lanka. It is placed in Group 1 for the 2016 editionalong with Sri Lanka, England, South Africa and the top team from Group B. "Look at the team that we have, half of the team are in demand across the world for different T20 leagues," Ambrose was quoted as saying by the Antigua Observer. "So you may find one guy here, maybe two in this league and two in another league, but we have all at once so we have a great chance of winning this T20 tournament, just look at our squad." Ambrose, who picked up 630 international wickets, called on the West Indies' senior players to raise their games and guide the juniors. The West Indies will be without Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine but has enough experience and firepower in Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy.
His two half-centuries this IPL season may have come in his favoured opening slot but Shubman Gill has defended Kolkata Knight Riders' debatable decision to use him as a floater.
Virat Kohli was on Monday rewarded for his stupendous performance in India's clean sweep against Australia in the T20 internationals as he replaced Aaron Finch as the top-ranked batsman in the International Cricket Council list for the shortest format.
Rookie batsman Rahul Tripathi played a breathtaking knock of 93 to single-handedly power Rising Pune Supergiant to a four-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir came up with a solid 69 as Kolkata Knight Riders coasted to an eight-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League match at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday.
Chandrakant Pandit is ready to mould himself within permissible limits when he dons the hat of Kolkata Knight Riders' head coach in IPL 2023.
IPL-11 was a smashing success. Superstars like Kane Williamson, M S Dhoni, Rashid Khan shone. New stars like Rishabh Pant, Andrew Tye were born. Rediff.com/Harish Kotian draws up his dream team.
West Indies batting legend Brian Lara travel to India with the Trinidad and Tobago team for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament, commencing on September 17, in Mohali. Although not a formal part of the team management, Lara, during his visit to India, will play a dual role of T&T tourism ambassador and mentor for the Red Force.
Kolkata Knight Riders will have to break the agonising sequence of debacles when they clash with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL eliminator, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli is the highest-ranked Indian batsman at joint-sixth, but there is no Indian presence in the top-10 of the bowlers' list in the latest ICC Twenty20 Rankings, issued on Wednesday. Suresh Raina, at No 8, is the second Indian batsman in the top-10, with Yuvraj Singh next best at a distant 16th.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be missing their key all-rounder Andre Russell but skipper Gautam Gambhir wants his team to treat the Jamaican's absence as an 'opportunity in bold letters' during the upcoming Indian Premier League.
A testimony to KKR's problems has been the fact that 20 players have played in 12 games. There has not been a single game, where the playing XI has been retained, making the outfit look completely unsettled.
Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Pat Cummins says it's time to make amends for the team's opening match reversal when he leaked 49 runs from his four overs as KKR suffered a record 20th loss to Mumbai Indians.
For a team that looked at ease all along, it was their first defeat in the UAE leg -- and three from 11 matches this season -- as Delhi struggled to get going against KKR bowlers who made full use of the slow surface after opting to bowl.
Photos from the ongoing IPL 2022 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals
Rediff.com takes a look at how the players, who were bought at the Players' Auction earlier this year, fared in IPL 8.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan has hailed his bowlers as 'superstars' of the team, saying their outstanding performance in the first two games of the second leg of IPL in the UAE has allowed the openers to play with freedom.
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.
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
Morgan's astute captaincy in using his bowling resources was the highlight as KKR had bowled out MI for a modest 152.
Former Sri Lanka spin sensation Muttiah Muralitharan discusses the BCCI's clampdown on suspect bowling actions and his role as bowling coach and mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad with Harish Kotian/Rediff.com
Desperate to not miss a single game, a big-hitting star has requested BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, on behalf of the players from both countries, to lessen the quarantine period to three days.
Shubman Gill has the repertoire of strokes and can any position but given a choice, the young turk would prefer to open regularly in the shortest format of the game.
Supremely confident on home turf, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue their forward march when they face an inconsistent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata on Thursday.
Karthik regained his batting form with an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, helping KKR recover from 49 for 3 to a challenging 176
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is seriously contemplating reviewing the West Indies players' participation in the cash-rich Indian Premier League as the ongoing series ended abruptly today due to visiting team's payment dispute with their own cricket board.
Surprised at the call up, Kolkata Knight Riders' South African recruit Johan Botha, who was brought in as replacement for injured Aussie Chris Lynn, said he's fresh after a three-week break and ready for the rigours of IPL-8.
Still recovering from a hamstring injury, swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle was on Wednesday left out of the West Indies' 15-member squad for the One-Day International series against India next month.
Babar Azam hit his maiden century while spinner Mohammad Nawaz grabbed four wickets as Pakistan thrashed the West Indies by 111 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the first day-night international on Friday. Azam's rapid-fire 139-ball 120 helped Pakistan post a challenging 284-9 in a match reduced to 49 overs a side due to a 70-minute floodlight failure at Sharjah Stadium in the UAE. West Indies -- set 287 to win -- never got close and folded at 175 in 38.4 overs.
Having managed to field a strong side in the last minute amid a contract row with their Board (WICB), West Indies captain Darren Sammy today said their aim is to bring back the World Twenty20 title to restore the faith among the Caribbean fans. "As of now we are in the World Twenty20 and that's what our focus is on. It's just cricket. At the end we are professionals, but this event means a lot to us as a group. The next World Twenty20 is in 2020 and a few of our guys won't be part of that event so this one is very important for us," Sammy said. "Everyone's focus is on winning. A win here will mean a lot to us and people at home, especially in the current situation of our cricket. It's not just about the men team but the women team as well. "The message is cricket. Once you step out on the cricket field you should not be worried about contracts and other stuff. It's about making your country proud," the skipper of the 2012 World T20 champion side in Sri Lanka told reporters in Kolkata. Presently ranked world no 2 in Twenty20 rankings, West Indies cricket was in serious crisis involving players' contracts in the run up to the upcoming event and a second string side was expected to be named had the row been not resolved at the last minut
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
The players of which country had the best IPL 2023? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji find out.
Young off-spinner Arjun Nair, the Canberra-born son of Indian immigrants, has been included in the New South Wales (NSW) squad for their upcoming Sheffield Shield match against South Australia.
Kolkata Knight Riders may be having a good time in the ongoing IPL season, having registered six victories from nine matches, but head coach Jacques Kallis warned against complacency, saying the team had slipped out of contention from a similar position last season.
A miffed Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir slammed his team after a stunning batting collapse which resulted in their 10-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad.
Captain Virat Kohli described fast bowler Navdeep Saini as a raw talent who has a bright future after he made an impressive India debut in the four-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first T20 International, in Lauderhill, USA, on Saturday.