The common theme in those defeats was how the seemingly powerful batting and bowling units of KKR and RR failed to fire.
The Royals batting looks decent but there is the issue of consistency and lack of depth that could be telling as the tournament wears on.
In a league defined by change, Sanju Samson's steadfast presence offers a sense of stability and a genuine chance for the Royals to finally reclaim their long-awaited title
Lockie Ferguson became the sixth New Zealander to take a T20 hat-trick as the visitors edged Sri Lanka by four wickets in a low scoring match in Dambulla.
Punjab Kings will look to renew their bid for a play-off berth with another commanding performance in Jaipur on Sunday against Rajasthan Royals, who have failed to rise above mediocrity despite possessing the resources this season.
With just two wins from seven games, the Royals, languishing at eighth on the table, come into the contest on the back of a gut-wrenching Super Over defeat to Delhi Capitals.
'RCB will make decision regarding captaincy after mega auction'
Delhi Capitals looked like a well-oiled machine with four wins in a row before a stunning batting meltdown against Mumbai Indians halted their momentum.
Images from the IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur on Saturday
Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Dushan Hemantha back in Sri Lanka squad
The all-star team announced by the ICC features four players from Sri Lanka, three each from Pakistan and Afghanistan and one from the West Indies.
Sri Lanka, who won the T20 World Cup in 2014, have two warm-up games in Melbourne before they begin their World Cup campaign with a qualifying match against Namibia on October 16.
'If you look at their squad, with Cameron Green coming in, they have their biggest headache sorted. The middle muddle is sorted. They will have to sort out their bowling.'
Hogg suggested that Green might have been a more suitable fit for another IPL franchise.
Australia's World Cup heroes Travis Head, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have all kept their respective base prices in the highest bracket of Rs 2 crore.
'I'm a Sanju Samson fan, been that way for years now, (but) he's wasting good form by shot selection'
IMAGES from the Asia Cup Super 4s match played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai on Friday.
'I think cricket smarts is something that has plagued us. We have spoken time and time again especially from a batting perspective what we need to do as individuals and we have not done well'
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.
Sri Lanka knocked Afghanistan out of the semi-final race at the T20 World Cup
He may no longer be RCB's captain, but Virat Kohli is always in the thick of action on the field and off it.
Former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR), who suffered a heart-wrenching 11-run defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday, are virtually eliminated from the playoff contention in IPL 2025.
Following the release of Harshal Patel from the RCB squad for the upcoming season of the IPL, the 33-year-old pacer said he has nothing but gratitude for the franchise.
Jasprit Bumrah is firmly perched at the top of the bowlers' list.
Hardik Pandya is touted as a possible captaincy option for Mumbai Indians in the future.
Afghanistan's opener, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, rose a career-high 12th spot -- Gurbaz is the leading run-getter in the ongoing T20 World Cup, with 156 runs from two innings under his belt.
Theekshana could be the latest addition to the injury list after straining his right hamstring while fielding during the Super 4 clash against Pakistan on Thursday.
His knock -- 67 off 45 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes -- was a cocktail of composure and controlled aggression. It was also his 10th IPL half-century, a milestone that arrived just when the spotlight had begun to shift off him.
Sri Lanka thrashed the Netherlands by a whopping 83 runs in an inconsequential final group D league game of the T20 World Cup.
There could be some eye-popping deals for players, who would have struggled otherwise to attract attention in the mega auction.
'Vaibhav just came to our trials and we were really happy with what he saw.'
Hardik Pandya rose two places to become the first Indian to occupy the No 1 spot in the ICC's T20I all-rounders' rankings.
India head coach Rahul Dravid on Sunday hinted that injuries to the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel could cost his team going into the ODI World Cup and makes the task of managing players "trickier".
IMAGES from the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday
In his first series as full-time T20I captain, Suryakumar won the 'Player of The Series' award after two brilliant knocks in the first two games
Australian all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh have been withdrawn from the Hundred by Cricket Australia on Tuesday.
Both Jaiswal and du Plessis, the leading run-getters in IPL 2023 so far, are in scintillating form. While du Plessis is leading the scoring charts with 576 runs from 11 innings, including six half centuries and a best of 84, Jaiswal is a close second with 575 runs from 12 matches, which includes four fifties and a 124-run knock.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
After a win like that, the morale of any team would be high but Delhi will need to find a way to bat well against the star studded RCB.
Table-toppers Rajasthan Royals need more from their fragile middle-order as they look to return to winning ways against an inconsistent but dangerous Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sunday's IPL match in Bengaluru.
