Lendl Simmons smashed a scintillating 61-ball 100 to guide Mumbai Indians to a morale-boosting seven-wicket win over table toppers Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali.
Karnataka rode on Rahul's 81 runs and an unbeaten 142 by Pandey.
Rajasthan Royals, who have won their last two games, will look for another victory against RCB and keep their hopes alive of making it to the IPL play-offs.
Royals are more affected than Sunrisers with the absence of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joffra Archer, who have left for England to join the World Cup camp.
Skipper Perveez Rasool led from the front with a scintillating century as Jammu and Kashmir fought back gallantly to leave their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match against strong contenders Punjab evenly poised in Vadodara.
Pace spearhead Trent Boult led the way with three wickets after David Warner's brisk half-century laid the foundation as Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded a 20-run win over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Monday.
It will interesting to see how the pitch behaves on Sunday.
England batter Liam Livingstone fetched a staggering Rs 11.50 crore deal from Punjab Kings, who also roped in West Indies fast bowler Odean Smith, for Rs 6 crore, on Sunday, Day 2 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2022 Player Auction, in Bengaluru.
Smith was handed a one-year ban along with his then deputy David Warner exactly a year ago for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Robin Uthappa smashed his way to a quickfire half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders notched up a comfortable six-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Tuesday.
Getting his team composition right will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's primary aim as Rising Pune Supergiants meet an out-of-sorts Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League cricket tournament encounter, in Mohali on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore pacers blew away the Mumbai Indians' top order before shining in the death overs to set up a much-needed 14-run win, which kept them alive in the Indian Premier League Play-offs race, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
Both KXIP and the Royals would look to build a winning momentum after starting the tournament as underdogs.
A big win on Saturday will not only will boost Delhi's morale after the 80-run hammering at the hands of CSK but it could also propel the side to the second position in the eight-team standings.
David Miller smashed a 34-ball 46 under pressure and Parvinder Awana scalped three wickets as Kings XI Punjab notched up a four-wicket victory over Barbados Trident in the Oppo Champions League twenty20 in Mohali.
KKR seek to revive their fortunes against a team they had beaten convincingly in the first leg.
Both teams have been more than disappointing thus far in the IPL and need a win to revive their respective campaigns.
Rajasthan's campaign started on a controversial note when Jos Buttler became the first cricketer in the IPL to be 'Mankaded', the practice of running out non-strikers, who back up early, by bowlers on their delivery stride.
Wriddhiman Saha smashed a 55-ball 93 before the Kings XI Punjab pacers bowled an excellent spell in the death overs to help the visitors edge past Mumbai Indians by seven runs in a thrilling finish, in the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in another must-win Indian Premier League encounter
Royals' new Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara is confident that the team's young Indian fast bowlers will rise to the challenge in this year's Indian Premier League.
A depleted Rajasthan Royals will have an onerous task of stopping the mighty CSK
Sunrisers Hyderabad's pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar said he was not worried about the onslaught launched by Manan Vohra of Kings XI Punjab in their Indian Premier League match in Hyderabad, on Monday, as he is 'used to it'.
However, Rajasthan would be a bit more desperate than Delhi as they are languishing at the second last position in the points table with just three wins from nine outings.
CSK will be brimming with confidence having defeated the Royals earlier in the season
Back to their winning ways after sucessive victories, a rejuvenated Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to continue their good run when they take on laggards Kings XI Punjab in an IPL T20 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Saturday.
After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
Back-to-back losses denting their confidence, defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to put their campaign back on track when they take on Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli is all set to give up his opening slot and will bat at No 3, a position he has made his own in the national team.
Despite Gaikward's brilliance, Maharashtra could not qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
South Africa's explosive batsman David Miller, who will lead the Kings XI Punjab in this edition of the IPL, feels that captaincy has not brought any added pressure on him. "Responsibility changes a bit as captain, but I am really looking forward to it," Miller said. "No pressure, to be honest. I see it as an opportunity. We have changed the squad a little bit this year, couple of new additions, but most of the squad stays the same. "I really believe we can win the competition this year. The fact that we haven't won it, doesn't add any more pressure. It's a great opportunity for the guys to step up," he added. The 26-year-old said he is looking forward to the captaincy challenge.
Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to consolidate their gains when they take on beleaguered Kings XI Punjab .
Fast running out of time, a struggling Rajasthan Royals will hope to complete the double against Mumbai Indians in a return-leg IPL fixture and revive their campaign in Jaipur Saturday.
Kings XI Punjab owner Ness Wadia said the spot-fixing scandal that rocked the Indian Premier League last year has made a dent on brand IPL.
Mumbai Indians lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma's return from injury will also be awaited, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Delhi Daredevils will be aiming to display more impact in their batting department as they face a formidable challenge from defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL encounter, in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Rising Pune Supergiant look to build on gains against Kings XI Punjab.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested for the first three One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka next month and batting mainstay Virat Kohli will lead the side in his absence.
Their pride bruised following disastrous campaigns, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants will look for a graceful exit from the ninth edition of the IPL when they square off against each other for one last time in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Supergiants are coming into the contest after a victory over Delhi Daredevils at the same venue, their home ground, while Punjab have lost their last two outings -- against RCB and table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab's fourth and last win this season had come at this very ground, when they had got the better of Mumbai Indians.
