A resurgent Mumbai Indians will need to address their bowling woes as they look to exact revenge on table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in their reverse fixture of the Indian Premier League in Jaipur on Monday.
From Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma sharing the limelight with their raw talent, to SRH's Travis Head smashing some brutal boundaries to notch up big runs and totals for his franchise, this season has had some real power hitters on show.
That merging of skills and temperament has made him a much more desirable player than in the past.
South Africa and India have advanced as the two other teams unbeaten in the group stage though both had their struggles in the United States leg of the tournament.
India's approach with the bat now is drastically different to what it was in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final and both teams will start Thursday's contest on an even keel, said England head coach Matthew Mott on Wednesday.
Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler will continue as England's vice-captain during the World Cup, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
High-flying Rajasthan Royals will look to continue their winning momentum and consolidate their position at the top when they take on a resurgent Lucknow Super Giants, who would be gunning for revenge at home in an IPL match in Lucknow on Saturday.
An incredible innings of 95 not out from Jos Buttler kept Rajasthan Royals's play-off hopes alive as they edged past Chennai Super Kings by four wickets.
'But in the last few years that skill is definitely better than it was eight years ago when I started. And then as I said, the leadership, it helps me feel at home.'
The lack of tension fuelled the '#WorstIPLFinal' trend on social media.
Buttler blasted a 50-ball century, his eighth in one-dayer, in Saturday's second ODI against Pakistan, prompting former England captain Nasser Hussain to rank the 28-year-old among the all-time greats in this format.
Jos Buttler has pretty much accepted their 50-overs World Cup title defence is over
Skipper Rishabh Pant will look to overcome his rustiness as Delhi Capitals aim for an improved batting display in their bid for a first win of the IPL season when they take on Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Thursday.
A minor hip injury kept Ben Stokes out of the World Cup opening match which England lost by nine wickets against New Zealand.
The Bengaluru outfit will hope for a reversal at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, a venue that carries similar traits as RCB's home -- Chinnaswamy Stadium -- in terms of a smooth pitch and a blistering outfield adding value to the batters' shots.
The focus will be on K L Rahul's form and fitness when he returns after a quadriceps injury lay-off to lead Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2024 opener against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Sunday.
Hashim Amla's superb 103 enabled Punjab put up a competitive 198 for 4 in 20 overs but Buttler made a mockery of the target with Mumbai Indians knocking off the runs in only 15.3 overs.
'It's gonna be completely different there. Add the natural elements as well...'
Shane Warne has come down heavily on Ravichandran Ashwin for 'Mankading' Jos Buttler
However, the 26-year-old's comparison with Gilchrist can wait.
Chahal or Rashid? Whose guile captivated you?
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.
The England wicketkeeper-batsman stroked an unbeaten 94 for the Royals to add to his last four scores of 67, 51, 82 and 95 not out, matching retired Indian great Virender Sehwag's record of five successive IPL half-centuries set in 2012
'T20 is a hard format. We are excited for what is to come.'
A washout in England-Namibia game in the same group will see Scotland go through.
Hetmeyer or Powell? Whose catch stunned you?
Fraser-McGurk, Stubbs or Samson? Pick your best batters
Mumbai Indians have once again made a familiar disappointing start to their IPL campaign as they lost their first two matches.
England ended their five-match losing streak and climb off the bottom of the standings to seventh place on four points.
Virat Kohli feels that opposition bowlers want him to go hammer and tongs every time he comes out to bat, but he prefers adapting to match conditions without any predetermined strategy as he did in his unbeaten century against Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match on Saturday.
Sometimes the MVPI table throws up intriguing situations: Four out of the top five in the table are left-handed batters. Do left-handers truly enjoy an advantage in the IPL? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2024 after the league stage.
The dry Wankhede Stadium pitch on which Indian spinners claimed all the 10 wickets in England first innings in the fourth cricket Test, was still good enough to bat on after two days of play, said England's Joss Buttler.
'The impact player rule has skewed the game heavily in favour of the batters.' 'The second factor is that all venues have BCCI-appointed curators as opposed to local curators.' 'This has essentially taken the home advantage out of the equation.'
'I'm trying to do what I am doing well. Some days it comes good and some days it doesn't, (but) I'm not thinking much.'
New Zealand steam roll England in third T20I
Bangladesh would like to exploit those chinks in England's armour
Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has been called up to England's squad for the fifth one-day international with New Zealand on Saturday after Jos Buttler split the webbing on his left hand in practice.
Tim Paine wants Mitchell Marsh and Co. to 'manipulate' their final group game against Scotland to ensure that England are knocked out of the T20 World Cup.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 54.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances