Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted at number seven against , promoting the likes of Sam Curran, Jadhav and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of himself but the ploy backfired badly
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will open their campaign against Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 11th edition of IPL on Sunday.
Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
New Zealand, who beat England by 12 runs in their previous match, advanced to the February 21 final on net run rate. They had only needed to score 175 to have the superior run rate.
Chris Morris, the most expensive buy in IPL history, showed why all the franchises were so desperate for his services with a match-turning performance with the bat to lift Rajasthan Royals to victory over Delhi Capitals.
The exact reason for Starc's release is not yet known but it is believed that it could be because of the uncertainty around his availability for the 2019 season.
The player registration deadline closed on Thursday and the list comprises 207 international players including 21 capped Indians.
The West Indies laid down a significant marker ahead of the ODI series as they comfortably beat England by 21 runs in their sole Twenty20 fixture at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.
England will need to defeat Namibia in their last league match and hope that Scotland lose to Australia.
The West Indies will need the likes of Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran to fire to make a good start and win at least three group matches to qualify for the semi-finals.
England will be looking to bounce back from a rain-affected opening match and solidify their T20 World Cup campaign
Left shaken by a bunch of world-class operators, the Indian team's white-ball stars will be aiming to put up an improved batting effort in the second T20 International against England in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Taylor, who missed the third game in Wellington with a quadriceps injury, was limping badly after he appeared to suffer a similar strain but still combined with Tom Latham (71) for 187 runs as New Zealand scored 339 for five in 49.3 overs to chase down England's 335 for nine.
The best-case scenario for RR would be Kings XI Punjab losing their last match and Sunrisers Hyderabad winning no more than one in their last two outings.
Sri Lanka will have to produce something special to halt England's juggernaut at Sharjah.
Prasidh Krishna registered the best-ever figures by an Indian bowler on debut, while Shardul Thakur continued his recent good form with the ball to rally India to 66-run victory in the first ODI against England, in Pune, on Tuesday.
NZ face WI in virtual knockout, rain threatens to derail England again
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting was awestruck by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's cool demeanour under pressure, describing the legendary Chennai Super Kings skipper as one of the greatest finishers of the game.
For skipper Virat Kohli, the primary aim will be to get an idea of his core group of players going into the ICC T20 World Cup in October.
Assured of a play-off berth, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to quickly recover from their loss in the previous game and finish the league phase on a high when they take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals in their final IPL round-robin game in Dubai on Friday.
England leg spinner Mason Crane will make his debut in the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia this week after all-rounder Chris Woakes was ruled out of the match by injury, captain Joe Root said on Wednesday.
At one stage, Rahul Tewatia was struggling on 17 from 23 balls, before he smashed his way to a remarkable 53 from 30 balls to help Rajasthan Royals make IPL history.
Opener Dawid Malan hit a superb century before Moeen Ali grabbed four wickets as England beat New Zealand by 100 runs in the fourth One-Day International on Friday for a 3-1 series victory.
An in-form Delhi Capitals will fancy their chances of securing a play-off berth when they face Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in Sharjah on Tuesday.
Rajasthan Royals will take a lot of confidence after snatching a two-run victory from the jaws of defeat against Punjab Kings.
'Should the ECB Board receive formal confirmation that Ben Stokes has either been charged or that he will face no charges, they would convene within 48 hours to make a decision on his availability for the team at that stage'
Royals core comprises of three Englishmen -- Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer and their Australian skipper Steve Smith.
Jonny Bairstow was initially included in the selection but the England and Wales Cricket Board later said he had been ruled out of the rest of the summer and the T20 World Cup after suffering a lower limb injury in a freak accident while playing golf in Leeds on Friday.
England needed seven from their final seven balls with five wickets remaining, but collapsed in the face of Ngidi's off-cutters
Rain threatens high-voltage India-England semi-final clash
England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet against Jos Buttler's men successfully defending their World Cup title in a few weeks time.
Australia made a good start before a dramatic collapse saw them slip from 144 for two in the run chase to be 207 all-out.
This year's IPL was action-packed and Redifff.com reloads some of the memorable moments, in pictures, from this year's competition.
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.
Up against Delhi Capitals, RCB will need to address their middle-order woes, to return to winning ways, in what could be touted as a battle of equals.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Archer, who has played his junior cricket in the Caribbean and qualified to play for England only in April, is a familiar figure for the West Indies camp and it knows what the 24-year-old is capable of.
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.
