Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have failed to live up to expectations in the IPL so far and are placed sixth and seventh respectively on the points table in the eight-team competition.
When AB de Villiers is in full flow, no target is beyond him. Rajasthan Royals discovered it the hard way when de Villiers came up with an incredible exhibition of strokeplay in the death overs to take Royal Challengers Bangalore to a seven-wicket victory from a difficult position.
Jaydev Unadkat was the most expensive purchase to continue his good run at the auction.
Sixteen-year old Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb Zadran has some 'mystery element' about him which prompted the King XI Punjab to bid a whopping Rs 4 crore for him, said co-owner Preity Zinta.
A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Prolific batsman Sheldon Jackson, who played a pivotal role in Saurashtra's maiden Ranji Trophy triumph in the season gone by, will compete for Puducherry in the domestic circuit this season, a decision which the cricketer said was "not easy".
Bharat Arun is focussed on his next goal -- preparing the talented back-up pacers keeping an eye on the 2019 World Cup in England.
Thanks to Taylor's 102 and Latham's 108 (both retired out) on a flat Brabourne Stadium track, New Zealand notched up a mammoth 343 for nine in the allotted 50 overs.
Three consecutive defeats have more or less sealed their fate and for things to turn around for the Royals, every aspect of their game needs to improve and click for them.
The Royals are aware of the challenges facing them at the Sawai Mansingh Stadum, a few days after Sunrisers Hyderabad got the better of Kings XI Punjab to grab the second position in the standings.
The R Ashwin-led Kings XI slipped to the fifth spot after suffering back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. Overall, the hosts have registered four wins from eight matches this season.
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
Bolstered by the arrival of Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will hope for a better showing from its misfiring top order as they try to settle scores against second-placed Delhi Capitals in their return leg IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Rajasthan Royals, struggling at the penultimate spot on the points table after two wins and four straight defeats, need something special against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sunday's IPL match in Dubai.
Rajasthan will take inspiration from their two big wins in Sharjah, to turn things around against a dominant Delhi.
Saurashtra left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been recalled, while India also have three first-timers in Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.
Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare hit unbeaten half-centuries to put Mumbai in a commanding position against Madhya Pradesh on day three of the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Cuttack, on Monday.
Images from Wednesday's IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, in Dubai.
Domestic stalwart Ashok Malhotra, who is also the president of Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA), said that four months of Ranji Trophy in a bio-bubble was never going to be a sustainable idea.
The basic tenet of the Lodha panel's constitutional reforms for Indian cricket has fallen flat after most of state units are being controlled by family members of disqualified office-bearers, says former MCA president Abhay Apte.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's Most Valuable Players up to Game 21.
Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai decided against enforcing the follow-on after taking a huge lead of 297 runs over Rest of India on Day 3 of the five-day Irani Cup match at the Brabourne stadium, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
India fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat claimed a Rs 11.5 crore deal with the usually thrifty Rajasthan Royals even as South African pace ace Dale Steyn went unsold on the second day of the Indian Premier players' auction in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 11.
While SRH can't afford to slip up even one bit with five games remaining, RR would be hoping to continue the winning momentum and hope that their foreign recruits continue in good nick like they did in the match against CSK.
Rajasthan Royals outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to end their home campaign on a winning note and keep their play-off hopes alive, in the Indian Premier League.
Middle-order batsman Baba Indrajith struck a gutsy unbeaten 120 as India Red finished at 291 for 9 against India Blue at stumps on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy encounter, in Lucknow, on Wednesday.
Rajasthan Royals's Barbados-born English cricketer made the difference with the ball in Sunday's crucial game against Mumbai Indians with a splendid spell of two for 16 in four overs.
Flavour of the season Rahul Tewatia didn't prove to be third time lucky in what turned out to be an incredible death overs performance by the Delhi Capitals pace attack in their 13-run victory against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Their 68 run partnership guided the Kings XI home.
Rising Pune Supergiant beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 27 runs in an IPL encounter.
India's largest integrated casino resort in Daman, spread over 10 acres with 60,000 square feet gaming space, is likely to become operational from early next year.
Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Saturday.
Uttar Pradesh comfortably beat Delhi by 46 runs to reach Hazare semi-final.
Saurashtra head coach Karsan Ghavri says the use of limited DRS hasn't served its purpose in the Ranji Trophy final. The DRS was the talking point once again on Day 4 after Saurashtra skipper and lead pacer Jaydev Unadkat was at the receiving end on two occasions.
Both KXIP and the Royals would look to build a winning momentum after starting the tournament as underdogs.
Heavyweight Cheteshwar Pujara was down with fever as Bengal gained the upperhand against a scratchy Saurashtra on an attritional opening day's play in the Ranji Trophy final, in Rajkot, on Monday. Avi Barot and Vishvaraj Jadeja struck gritty half-centuries before Bengal pacer Akash Deep struck late in the final session to leave Saurashtra at 206 for five at stumps on Day 1.
Rising Pune Supergiant, who have gone from strength to strength, will look to seal their place in the Play-offs with a win over inconsistent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League in New Delhi, on Friday.
Flamboyant Australian Glenn Maxwell is expected to be a favourite, despite his under-whelming record, along with England's spin bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali, while Kerala's batting sensation Mohammed Azharuddeen could be in hot demand during a condensed IPL players' auction, to be held in Chennai, on Thursday.
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