India suffered a shock 28-run defeat against Afghanistan but still qualified for the semi-finals of the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup tournament for the under-23 cricket teams, in Singapore, on Thursday.
First, Axar smashed his way to an unbeaten 38 off 17 balls as Kings XI Punjab managed 138 for 7 and then grabbed 3/11 in in 3 overs with RCB skittled out for 119 in 19 overs.
K L Rahul, the kingpin of the KXIP batting, is second (MVPI: 601), followed by Sunrisers Captain Kane Williamson (543). Jos Buttler, after his match-winning batting for Rajasthan Royals on Friday night, is just 4 'runs' behind at 539, and M S Dhoni is fifth with 538 'runs'.
Hashim Amla's superb 103 enabled Punjab put up a competitive 198 for 4 in 20 overs but Buttler made a mockery of the target with Mumbai Indians knocking off the runs in only 15.3 overs.
Te MVP of IPL 11, after Week 4, is young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
However, if anyone has unfinished business over a decade of IPL, it is India captain Virat Kohli. He made his intent amply clear earlier this week.
Virender Sehwag's wretched run in domestic cricket continued as the veteran opener failed to open his account but Delhi did manage to comfortably beat Punjab by four wickets to notch up their maiden win in the North Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Spinner Akshar Patel did the star turn for India as they fought their way back from a tough situation to set up a title clash with Pakistan after a 46-run victory over United Arab Emirates in the semi-finals of the ACC Under-23 Emerging Teams Cup, in Singapore, on Friday.
Skipper Surya Kumar Yadav contributed with bat and ball as the Indian under-23 team beat Nepal by 84 runs in a Group 'A' match of the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore on Tuesday.
Kings XI skipper George Bailey said his team deserved to beat Mumbai Indians by a bigger margin for the way his bowlers delivered earlier in Sunday's match at the Wankhede stadium.
Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a solid batting performance to beat Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets and virtually secure their place in the play-offs of the ongoing Indian Premier League.
A round-up of Ranji matches played across India on Thursday.
Gautam Gambhir scored the 43rd and final first-class century of his career as Delhi ensured at least three points by virtue of first innings lead against Andhra on the third day of their Group B encounter in the Ranji Trophy.
Manish Pandey continued his good form in the limited-overs' format, scoring an unbeaten 99 as defending champions Karnataka beat Mumbai by four wickets to enter the semi-finals of the National One-Day Championship, for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, in Vadodara, on Friday.
India's bench strength will be tested when a second string team takes on Zimbabwe.
Manu Shankar/Rediff.com reports on Monday's selection committee meeting in Delhi.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players in IPL 10, after Wednesday's Eliminator game.
Opener Chris Gayle bludgeoned his way to an astonishing 57-ball 117 as Royal Challengers Bangalore hammered Kings XI Punjab by 138 runs in the Indian Premier League match in Bangalore, on Wednesday.
Ashok Menaria produced an all-round show as India 'A' scored a convincing six-wicket victory over New Zealand 'A' in the second one-dayer between the countries to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
Five chefs from Mumbai share their special recipes.
Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Pune on Wednesday. It was Delhi's first win in 12 matches and their first against Punjab after four straight defeats.
Medium pacer Sandeep Warrier picked up three wickets, while opener Unmukt Chand struck a patient half-century as India's Under-23 team got the better of arch-rivals Pakistan by three wickets in a limited overs Group 'A' match of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore.
Harbhajan Singh slammed an entertaining half-century but could not prevent Mumbai Indians from going down to Kings XI Punjab by 18 runs in the Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Former champions Mumbai Indians take on last year's runners-up Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium in a a game that promises plenty of action while offering a chance for both teams to get into winning ways after losses in their lung-openers.
Rajasthan Royals would be keen to adapt quickly to their new 'home ground' when they lock horns with last season's runner-up Kings XI Punjab in their campaign opener in the Indian Premier League in Pune.
Parthiv Patel shone with a breezy 58-ball 81 and powered Mumbai Indians to a 25-run win over Kings XI Punjab whose campaign turned from bad to worse in the Indian Premier League.
Kings XI Punjab head coach Sanjay Bangar believes out-of-favour opener Virender Sehwag is capable of making a national comeback despite being out of the Indian team for nearly two years now.
Gautam Gambhir lived a charmed life but the famous grit was displayed in abundance on way to an unbeaten 92, his final knock in competitive cricket guiding Delhi to 190 for one.
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.
Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Ferozshah Kotla.
Dwyane Bravo recorded his best IPL figures with a four-wicket haul before Aaron Finch smashed 74 runs off 47 balls as Gujarat Lions thumped hosts Kings XI Punjab by five wickets to make a winning entry into the Indian Premier League match in Mohali.
India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid strongly believes that the recent decision by the BCCI working committee to put a cap on players getting only one shot at Colts World Cup will prevent age fudging by players. Ravindra Jadeja ('06 & '08), Vijay Zol ('12 and '14), Sandeep Sharma ('10 and '12), Sarfaraz Khan ('14 and '16), Ricky Bhui ('14 and '16) and Avesh Khan ('14 and '16) are some players in recent times who have played in two U-19 global meets. "Being allowed to play only one U-19 World Cup will mean people are less motivated to alter the age. Honestly, U-19 cricket should be more about exposure and less about results.
IPL Season 10 saw the likes of Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Rashid Khan grab the spotlight. Let us check out what they did.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after game 47 of IPL 10.
Punjab rode on some brilliant batting by India discard Yuvraj Singh to thrash Haryana by 120 runs in the Group B Ranji Trophy match in Patiala on Wednesday. The man-of-the-match made it count for the Mandeep Singh-led side by scoring 59 in the first innings and a brilliant 130 in the second. A summary of the action in matches across the country.
Young Karun Nair completed a hat-trick of first-class centuries in his debut season as Karnataka seized control of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against hosts Punjab, taking an 81-run first innings lead on the third day, in Mohali, on Monday. In reply to Punjab's first innings total of 270, the visitors ended the third day's play on 351 for 5, with Nair unbeaten on a career best score of 107 in company of comeback man Amit Verma, who struck an unbeaten 65.
Kolkata Knight Riders are back in familiar home conditions but can ill-afford to take Kings XI Punjab lightly, who are showing signs of improvement under a newly-appointed skipper, when the two teams clash in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Glenn Maxwell played a scintillating cameo hitting an unbeaten 32 off 14 balls under pressure to power Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiants.
Some teams have completely overhauled their squads. Others retained their core at the IPL Players Auction.