Pant admitted to feeling immense pressure as his name neared the top of the bidding list. He particularly dreaded being picked by the Punjab Kings, who possessed a massive purse.
Hardik Pandya walked out with the scoreboard reading 99 for 4, and a daunting 222 to chase. The Wankhede was subdued, the Mumbai Indians innings gasping after SKY's stuttering knock. What followed was a spell of breathtaking power-hitting that nearly flipped the game -- and left the crowd in awe.
Former West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has come out in support of Virat Kohli, who has been struggling for runs in recent times, saying the Indian batter is still the "best player in the world". Gayle said that Kohli's current form is just a "patch" and that the Indian captain will "pick himself up" and come back stronger.
'Many would end their successful international careers with a 1/4 of what he's achieved.'
'We missed out on Ravichandran Ashwin, but we have a strong pace attack.'
The Gujarat Giants will be hoping to improve their bowling and fielding after a disappointing defeat in their Women's Premier League season opener. They will face the UP Warriorz, led by Deepti Sharma, who will be looking to capitalize on their strong spin bowling attack. The match will be a crucial one for both teams as they seek to make their mark in the tournament.
'We're excited about the game, and obviously, if you can win, it builds a lot of momentum going into the semifinal.'
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Bought back by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs 23.75 crore at the IPL mega auction in Jeddah on Sunday, Venkatesh Iyer said he would be "more than happy" to take on the captaincy challenge and step into Shreyas Iyer's shoes.
The two-day IPL mega auction will take place in Jeddah on Sunday and Monday. Mayank, who represented Sunrisers Hyderabad last season, was released by the franchise ahead of the auction.
Rishabh Pant was considered one of the hottest captaincy prospects in the league.
LSG Team Mentor Zaheer Khan has flown to Australia to discuss with Rishabh Pant about taking over the captaincy for IPL 2025.
Du Plessis backed Kohli, his one-time teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore, to come back stronger from the struggles, and said retirement is a "very personal" choice.
The 16-year-old is assured of finishing his rookie season as winner of the Royal Challenge Indian Golf Tour's Order of Merit.
'Virat plans to move to London with his children and wife, Anushka Sharma.'
Virat Kohli's former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate AB de Villiers has advised the struggling Indian batter to "reset" his mind
Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Indian Premier League team at the forefront of creating environmental awareness, on Wednesday marked another step in its ongoing Green Initiative by unveiling a special jersey.
Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a 5 foot high sculpture of Virat Kohli using around four tons of sand.
High on confidence after convincing victories in their previous games, both Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore will seek the winning momentum when they face off in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Check out the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League.
'We know Dinesh Karthik will be here this year which is fantastic and it's great for the tournament.'
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be looking to take the confidence from their Monday night's nerve-wracking one-run victory when they clash with Mumbai Indians.
Despite a stellar start to his career, Varun Aaron's journey was marred by inconsistent form and frequent injuries, with his last appearance for India dating back to 2015.
Yash Dayal has been added to India's reserve pacers' list after Khaleel Ahmed had to be sent back home due to an unspecified niggle.
Manav Das beat Aditya Singh in a play-off to win the Royal Challenge South title at the par-70
The Indian Premier League 2024 schedule.
Virat Kohli, struggling for form, will be playing in Delhi's last league game against Railways at the Kotla from January 30.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will seek to consolidate their position among the top four, while bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab will and end a four-match losing streak when the two sides lock horns in Wednesday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
RCB have bolstered their bowling attack with the acquisition of Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood for Rs 12.50 crore
Virat Kohli walked around the ground in a black jacket with a hoodie before heading into the indoor facility at the National Cricket Academy.
Zaheer Khan is set to leave Mumbai Indians to take up the role of mentor at Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Royal Challengers Bangalore and much more.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to outgun title-contenders, Gujarat Lions in a must-win Indian Premier League clash.
Perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore endured another disappointing IPL campaign, but their performance in the second half of Season-12 has given them something to be proud of, said skipper Virat Kohli, after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
Virat Kohli's presence was enough to inspire and overwhelm his teammates and opponents alike in one of the most keenly followed matches in the history of Ranji Trophy.
'One Test doesn't change anything about his life.'
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday.
A round-up of Monday's action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.
The Madhya Pradesh all-rounder was bought by KKR for a massive bid of Rs 23.75 crore.
Their winning momentum punctured after a loss to Rising Pune Supergiants, Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to get back to their winning ways when they take on a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore in an Indian Premier League Twenty20 match, in Hyderabad, on Saturday.
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