Young Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Sarfaraz Khan on Tuesday revealed he has been advised to play as per the match situation by captain Virat Kohli in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
It will not be an easy task for a struggling Punjab side to stand up to the challenge thrown by a RCB team
Captain KL Rahul has been one of the few consistent performers in the formidable-looking Punjab batting unit and he once again led by example against MI
As coach Ricky Ponting pointed out, he would expect a better "on his feet" thinking from the young captain.
The two sides experienced contrasting fortunes in their respective tournament opener.
The 19-year-old, picked 3 wickets and scored 23 runs on debut to help his team Aakash Tigers beat Triumphs Knights by 5 wickets.
Sarfaraz Khan and Sanju Samson hit excellent half-centuries and Deepak Hooda took five wickets as defending champion India defeated two-time former winner and traditional rivals Pakistan by 40 runs on day two of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Dubai.
A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
The 14-year-old gave evidence of his rich potential by scoring 546 for Rizvi Springfield in the first round of the Mumbai School Sports Association's Harris Shield Elite Division match against St. Francis D'Assisi, Borivali, at the Baronet CC pitch, Azad Maidan, in Mumbai.
Sam Curran claimed a hat-trick as Kings Xi Punjab pulled off a miraculous 14-run victory against Delhi Capitals.
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'.
For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.
Having already assured a quarter-final berth, Indian team will be aiming to top their pool when they square off against a spirited Nepal in the final group league encounter of the ICC U-19 World Cup, on Monday. Rahul Dravid's boys have steamrolled their earlier opponents beating Ireland by 79 runs and New Zealand by a whopping 120-run margin. With Nepal also having qualified for the quarterfinals, tomorrow's match will decide which team will top Group D. The group champion will face either Namibia or Bangladesh in the quarter-final after defending champions South Africa crashed out on Sunday. On paper, an India versus Nepal cricketing contest should have been declared as a mismatch but the teenagers from the Himalayan nation have been the 'surprise package' of the tournament so far, defeating New Zealand and Ireland with minimum fuss.
The focus will be firmly on India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw when Mumbai take on Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game, beginning in Mumbai on Friday. Both Rahane and Shaw failed with the bat in the last Ranji Trophy game against Railways which the domestic giants lost by 10 wickets inside two and half days.
A round-up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal matches played on Tuesday
A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday
A summary of the first day's proceedings in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Young Armaan Jaffer scored a mammoth 473 for Rizvi Springfield in the Harris Shield final against IES VN Sule Guruji at the Matunga Gymkhana.
KXIP's chances of a top four finish took a serious hit after Rajasthan Royals handed them a seven-wicket loss,
India put up a spirited bowling performance, before Mumbai youngster, Sarfaraz Khan struck an unbeaten half-century to steer the team to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh and clinch the U-19 tri-series one-day cricket tournament in Kolkata on Sunday.
KXIP got its campaign back on track with three consecutive wins -- over mighty Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore and the KL Rahul-led side would be hoping to carry the winning momentum forward to break into top four.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav became the first Indian bowler to register a hat-trick in the ICC Under-19 World Cup before the defending champions struggled to a five-wicket victory over minnows Scotland while chasing a paltry target of 88.
A win for Mumbai Indians will virtually seal them a spot in the play-offs while a loss for KXIP could send them out of contention.
Kings XI run into a RCB squad which has grown in confidence by leaps and bounds since their last meeting.
KL Rahul and Co would like forget the unsavoury incident and focus on the task ahead.
Shrugging off their disappointing loss against Pakistan in the last game, India U-19 boys held their nerves as they eked out a three-wicket win against Sri Lanka with five balls to spare as they set up summit clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Dubai.
Following in the footsteps of elder brother Sarfaraz Khan, who was a big hit during the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League earlier this year, Mumbai youngster Musheer will also have the opportunity to hone his skills in England next month.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals, in Jaipur.
A desperate Sunrisers Hyderabad would seek inspiration from skipper David Warner to arrest any further slide when they take on Punjab Kings in an IPL match, in Chennai, on Wednesday.
After elder brother Sarfaraz Khan hogged the limelight about two years ago by surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's score of 326 not out in the Harris Shield tournament at the age of 12, it was the turn of his younger brother Musheer Khan to get his share of attention.
'The control over shots he has... never seen before for a young talent like him.'
It has been a dramatic turnaround for the KL Rahul-led side after a string a losses earlier in the tournament.
India will witness its first major cricket tournament in the country since the COVID-19 disruption when the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy begins the much-delayed domestic season from Sunday, presenting a platform for the hopefuls to impress before the Indian Premier League players' auction.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers came good when it mattered most as Royal Challengers Bangalore finally ended their losing run, with an emphatic 8 wicket win against Kings XI Punjab.
The nail-biting win over defending champions Mumbai Indians was certainly a morale-lifter but the inconsistent Kings XI Punjab have another tough battle at hand when they take on table toppers Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
Their bowling attacks struggling to find form, Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad will look towards their power-hitters to do the job when the two erratic teams go head to head in an IPL match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
CSK have better resources but they must utilise them to the hilt. Teams:
Coming off heartbreaking losses, the Indian Premier League game between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab will be a test of character for both sides as they look to get back to winning ways, in Abu Dhabi, on Thursday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday.
'I'm very disappointed with our fielding, it is not up to the mark or standard expected'
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