It will be a crucial couple of weeks for Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey, who are back in the mix after being sidelined from India's 50-over World Cup plans.
Steve Smith celebrated his return at the helm with a captain's innings that powered Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket victory over a formidable Mumbai Indians.
The celebrated duo of head coach Ricky Ponting and mentor Sourav Ganguly has managed to instill belief in the team members and that is visible on the field. The team now seems to believe that it can win the title after a long spell as the perennial underachiever of the competition.
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.
It was the third win for Mumbai Indians in five games while Hyderabad suffered their second loss in five matches.
KXIP are riding a roller-coaster ride, having to endure a controversy involving their captain Ravichandran Ashwin who 'Mankaded' Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler in their first match, an act which was legal but criticised by some as against the 'Spirit of Cricket'.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2020's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Match 25.
The variety in Sunrisers Hyderabad's bowling attack will pose a few tricky questions for Mumbai Indians
India would be aiming to ensure that a plucky Bangladesh don't run away with the momentum when the two sides clash in the second T20 International, which is facing a cyclonic threat, in Rajkot, on Thursday.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Should India try out Shreyas Iyer or Manish Pandey at No 4? Who should be the two spinners in the playing XI? Should India include young pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini?
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on Saturday.
Hosts Karnataka amassed three points on the basis of their crucial first-innings lead as their Elite Ranji Trophy Group A game against Mumbai ended in a tame draw in Belagavi.
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.
Hosts Kolkata Knight Riders run the risk of slipping away when they face resurgent defending champions and 'nemesis' Mumbai Indians in an IPL clash, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
It will be an uphill task for the defending champs given their opponents' form and formidable line-up.
Dhoni would be the centre of discussion amid speculation that the Jharkhand player is contemplating retirement even though he hasn't spoken about it till now.
A fragile middle-order with over-the-hill players like Jadhav and Karthik has been the current team's biggest weakness and the World Cup semi-final result was a disaster waiting to happen.
Sanju Samson replaced Virat Kohli for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, while Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front with two half-centuries in the initial phase and when he failed to contribute, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey have stepped up to do the bulk of scoring.
Rising Pune Supergiant look to build on gains against Kings XI Punjab.
Mumbai Indians have won three out of the four IPL finals they have been part of, including the two against CSK in 2013 and 2015.
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Mumbai.
Rajneesh Gupta throws up all the numbers of how both teams have fared in Twenty20 Internationals.
Mumbai Indians will fancy beating a floundering Kings XI Punjab when both sides face-off in a must-win match
Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim to stop a rampaging Rising Pune Supergiant when both teams meet in the Indian Premier League, on Saturday, in a bid to cement their place in the play-offs.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will be aiming to sort their 'opening woes' in both departments of the game when they take on a rejuvenated Kings XI Punjab in a must-win Indian Premier League encounter, in Indore, on, Friday.
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will fight for survival when they lock horns in the Indian Premier League in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Riding on Samson's record-breaking unbeaten 212 off just 129 balls, Kerala posted a mammoth 377/3 on the board and restricted Goa to 153/3 after play was called off due to inclement weather.
If MI have their problems to sort out, having lost at the death in all three games so far, RCB too have their own shortcomings to address with only one win in three games under their belt.
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.
Daredevils can be the banana peel and Mumbai Indians will be wary after Chennai Super Kings slipped in their penultimate game. The last time the two teams faced off, the Daredevils won by seven wickets in a last-over thriller.
Having notched three straight victories after a string of losses, Mumbai Indians are looking to defeat Rajasthan Royals and inch closer to a play-offs berth when the two sides face each other in an Indian Premier League encounter in Mumbai on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians's road to redemption in the Indian Premier League faces another tricky test on Sunday when they host formidable Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai.
A win over Sunrisers Hyderabad is imperative for Mumbai Indians to keep their chances alive of making it to the play-offs.
Kings XI Punjab will be aiming to continue their late surge against Rising Pune Supergiant in a 'winner takes it all' Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Sunday.
Royal Challengers BangalorStruggling RCB face inconsistent Supergiant in must-win game will be striving to keep their IPL hopes alive when they meet an equally inconsistent Rising Pune Supergiant in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Saturday.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday
Youngsters including Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, teen sensation Prithvi Shaw will be keen to make a mark and impress the national selectors during Tuesday's One-Day warm-up against New Zealand in Mumbai.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players in the IPL at the end of Match 59.
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