With a new captain in place, Rising Pune Supergiants would look to make amends for a poor last season but have a tough opening battle at hand against two-time former champions Mumbai Indians.
From Captain Cool losing his, well, cool to Rabada's super over, and Malinga's unbelievable bowling for the cup, IPL 2019 was not short of magical moments. Here are a few.
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
New Zealand pulled off a nail-biting one-wicket victory in a low-scoring Group A thriller against Sri Lanka, who very nearly defended a score of 138, in the ICC Champions Trophy in Cardiff.
Quality bowling of the opposition is what separates the two pairs, feels former Australian captain Ian Chappell.
Sri Lanka are resigned to life without paceman Lasith Malinga in Test matches and do not expect him to make a dramatic return in the series against Australia, captain Mahela Jayawardene said on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians inched closer to earning a play-off berth as they rode on a disciplined bowling performance to eke out a five-wicket win over Pune Warriors in a Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Saturday.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga has joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad after missing the first two games and is likely to be fit for the team's clash against Delhi Daredevils on April 9.
Rabada was pretty confident that bowling yorkers was the best option.
Pune Warriors's batting ace Yuvraj Singh has a unique bowling record, with two hat-tricks, in the IPL, the feat only matched by Sunrisers Hyderabad leg-spinner Amit Mishra. Mumbai Indians pacer Lasith Malinga holds the record for most wickets in the IPL, a tally of 83 wickets in 56 matches, with Mishra second on 74 wickets from 59 matches.
Sri Lanka's cricket selectors opted to rest Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga for one-off Twenty20 international, in Pallekele on October 30, against touring New Zealand. Both are currently playing in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa. Off-spinner Ajantha Mendis, meanwhile, was overlooked as he is nursing a side strain he suffered during the World Twenty20.
Sri Lanka's top-order batsmen put up a solid display and were ably aided by their bowlers to help their side thump England by 219 runs for the touring side's worst one-day international loss by runs.
Under pressure after four consecutive defeats, Mumbai Indians came out with a 'positive' display to register their first win.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma and coach Ricky Ponting discuss the team's chances in IPL Season 9. Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com listens in.
For sheer quirkiness, few sport events can beat the cricket festival on the frozen lake at the Swiss resort of St Moritz.
The off-spinner dismissed Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews with the final ball of his eighth over and returned to send back Nuwan Kulasekara and Tharindu Kaushal with the first two deliveries of his next to achieve the milestone in the first quarter-final of the World Cup.
The Mumbai Indians team for the Champions League T20, which kicks-off in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, September 10.
Lasith Malinga's five-wicket haul and Dinesh Karthik's whirlwind 74 went in vain as Chennai Super Kings eked out a narrow six-run win over Mumbai Indians in an inconsequential Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Johannesburg on Saturday night.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League-12 final played between Mumbai and Chennai in Hyderabad on Sunday
Former India captain Rahul Dravid says the islanders may not be front-runners to win the World Cup this time around, but the fact that they are a very close-knit unit gives them the edge.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami is a doubtful starter for his side's ICC World Twenty20 opener against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday after injuring his toe during a practice session. Sami, who was hit on the toe by a local bowler during their first practice session on Sunday, failed to recover from the injury and missed Pakistan's warm-up match against defending champions Sri Lanka. "There's still no word on his fitness and we're not sure whether he would be available for the first match," Pakistan team's media manager told reporters.
Opener David Warner thumped a maiden Twenty20 international century as Australia kicked off their home summer with a ruthless 134-run thrashing of Sri Lanka, at Adelaide Oval, on Sunday.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the just concluded IPL-12.
Lasith Malinga blew away the England top-order by dismissing three batsmen in a single over as Sri Lanka defeated the defending champions by 19 runs in their last Super Eight match to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 along with the West Indies in Pallekele.
Lasith Malinga took five wickets to help Sri Lanka knock Twenty20 World Cup holders England out of the tournament with a 19-run Super Eights victory on Monday that put the hosts safely into the semi-finals.
Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews has made no bones about the fact that the team has let the country down with their recent performances which resulted in their ouster from the ICC World T20. For the record, Sri Lanka has won only against UAE and Afghanistan in their last 10 T20 Internationals failing to beat any Test playing nation. "I think it has been a disappointing few months for Sri Lankan cricket. We have let down the fans, let down the whole country. We haven't played good cricket at all," Mathews said at the post-match media conference late last night after England beat Sri Lanka by 10 runs to progress to the semi-finals and knock the Islanders out of the tournament. "All we can do is stick to a combination, not try and change the team too much. We should try and pick about 20 players and re-evaluate them, say after 6 months. Give them opportunity to settle down and then try and see what they have come up with, in terms of performances. Then we can take a call as quick decisions won't solve this matter. We need to be patient," said Mathews.
Ajantha Mendis' figures of six for eight are the best in the history of the Twenty20 Internationals, eclipsing his own figures of 6 for 16 against Australia at Pallekele on August 8, 2011.
Sri Lankan cricket and the island's once-powerful side arrive at the World Cup struggling for form under a newly appointed captain who has played a single One-day international since 2015.
The International Cricket Council has chosen Sri Lanka's star pacer Lasith Malinga as the official Event Ambassador for the World Twenty20 Championships to be held in the island nation from September 18 to October 7.
The 36-year-old Fernando, who last played for Sri Lanka way back in 2012, was included in place of T20 captain Lasith Malinga, who is recuperating from an injury.
Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga feels that his side will have a distinct advantage over other countries during next month's Twenty20 World Cup as most of the island nation's players have prepared well by competing in the Sri Lanka Premier League.
It will not be the first time that the competition has had to be held outside India.
Sri Lanka have included seam bowler Lasith Malinga in their T20 and one day international squads for the home series against Pakistan starting next month.
Images from the sixth One-Day International of the CB Tri-series between Sri Lanka and Australia in Sydney, on Friday.
Statistical highlights of the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers in Mumbai.
Mumbai Indians have arguably the best death-overs exponents in Jaspreet Bumrah and Lasith Malinga, while boasting an explosive all-rounder in Hardik Pandya.
Sri Lanka - who shocked England so spectacularly in Leeds last week - must now beat West Indies and India in their final two games if they are to stand any chance of making the final four.
Former champions Sri Lanka are all but out of the tournament after the Islanders produced a dismal batting show to manage a modest 203, a target which the Proteas overhauled with 76 balls in hand.
Veteran Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga says he will assess his future in international cricket after the current limited overs series against India, saying he will call it quits the moment his performance drops.
Chasing 279 for victory, Sri Lanka overcame Woakes's triple strikes to reach 140-5 in 29 overs when heavy rain stopped play and England won the match under the scoring method governing such rain-marred matches.
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