Gautam Gambhir has not been included in the squad of Delhi for the match&nbsp;against Kolkata on Friday, April 27 at Feroz Shah Kotla.

A few days back, Gambhir had stepped down as Delhi's captain and in his absence, Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team.

So far Gambhir has scored just 85 runs in all six matches he played with a strike rate of 96.59 which is lowest among all other captains of IPL 2018.

Currently, MS Dhoni's strike rate is best of all, which is above 151 and his outstanding batting is reflected in Chennai's overall performance as well.

In a recent media interaction, when Gambhir had announced&nbsp;that he quit the captaincy, chief of Delhi franchise, Hemant Dua, had indicated that Gambhir will be guiding the players.

So, does that mean that Gautam Gambhir has been dropped from the team following his poor performance in IPL 2018?

Gautam Gambhir has not been included in the squad of Delhi for the match against Kolkata

Gautam Gambhir has not been included in the squad of Delhi for the match against Kolkata on Friday, April 27 at Feroz Shah Kotla. A few days back, Gambhir had stepped down as Delhi's captain and in his absence, Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team. So far Gambhir has scored just 85 runs in all six matches he played with a strike rate of 96.59 which is lowest among all other captains of IPL 2018. Currently, MS Dhoni's strike rate is best of all, which is above 151 and his outstanding batting is reflected in Chennai's overall performance as well. In a recent media interaction, when Gambhir had announced that he quit the captaincy, chief of Delhi franchise, Hemant Dua, had indicated that Gambhir will be guiding the players. So, does that mean that Gautam Gambhir has been dropped from the team following his poor performance in IPL 2018?

IPL: After stepping down as Delhi captain, Gambhir dropped?

Dinesh Karthik won the toss and has opted to bowl at Feroz Shah Kotla against Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi.

Karthik has kept the playing XI almost similar to the previous clash, there is only one change in the squad, Mitchell Johnson is back at Tom Curran's place.

It was assumed that Andre Russell might not play as he had stretched his right hamstring in the last clash but contrary to that, he is fit and healthy available for tonight.

Recently, former Delhi skipper, Gautam Gambhir had stepped down as the captain and in his absence, Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team.

Delhi is currently placed at the bottom of the points table and skipper Shreyas Iyer admitted that the team is slightly under pressure.

Delhi need to win seven out eight remaining matches to qualify further but "it's tough, not impossible," said recently appointed skipper, Shreyas Iyer.

Delhi have entered into today's clash after making two changes.

Surprisingly, Gautam Gambhir is not playing and also Dan Christian, Vijay Shankar and Colin Munro are in at their places.

Playing XI:

Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Colin Munro, Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult

Kolkata: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Mitchell Johnson, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav

Gautam Gambhir not included in playing XI of Delhi

Dinesh Karthik won the toss and has opted to bowl at Feroz Shah Kotla against Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi. Karthik has kept the playing XI almost similar to the previous clash, there is only one change in the squad, Mitchell Johnson is back at Tom Curran's place. It was assumed that Andre Russell might not play as he had stretched his right hamstring in the last clash but contrary to that, he is fit and healthy available for tonight. Recently, former Delhi skipper, Gautam Gambhir had stepped down as the captain and in his absence, Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team. Delhi is currently placed at the bottom of the points table and skipper Shreyas Iyer admitted that the team is slightly under pressure. Delhi need to win seven out eight remaining matches to qualify further but "it's tough, not impossible," said recently appointed skipper, Shreyas Iyer. Delhi have entered into today's clash after making two changes. Surprisingly, Gautam Gambhir is not playing and also Dan Christian, Vijay Shankar and Colin Munro are in at their places. Playing XI: Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Colin Munro, Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult Kolkata: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Mitchell Johnson, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav

IPL 2018: Dinesh Karthik opts to bowl against Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi

For me, there have been two very significant events in the IPL-2018 during this week. First, after a continuous poor show of Delhi's, skipper Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the captaincy of Delhi and moreover, he decided to forgo his fee for the season.

Second, after a dismal show in first few games for Punjab, Yuvraj Singh ultimately lost place in the playing eleven.

Both of these events are significant in a sense that they indicate that curtain is coming down on the career of two of the most prolific T-20 and ODI batsmen the country has produced over the past two decades. Time takes its toll it is inevitable and same thing is happening with these two. Yuvraj made his international debut 18 years back and Gambhir around 15 years back.

These two gave Indian Cricket and it's fan precious reasons to rejoice. Everyone talks about the Dhoni’s shrewd captaincy, Joginder’s last over in T-20 final in 2007 and Dhoni’s valiant 91 and that memorable six over long on to seal the 2011 World Cup for India.

But make no mistake, Yuvraj and Gambhir played the all-important pivotal role in both 2007 & 2011.

In 2007, Yuvraj was like a hurricane. His six 6s in a single over of Stuart Broad is now an epic, once in a lifetime kind of phenomenon. Yuvraj ultimately stole the show from mighty Australians in the semi-final.

His knock of 70 off just 38 runs was decisive and made all the difference. Gambhir on other hand played a key role very subtly in 2007 T-20 World Cup.

He scored two half-centuries at the group stage and then in the final he was the highest scorer for India with a knock of 75 runs. How important that knock was, can be judged by the fact that second highest knock during the innings was 30.

In 2011 World Cup final, Gambhir was again the highest scorer with a knock of 97. As Sehwag and Tendulkar failed at the top of the order, it was Gambhir who anchored one end gave Dhoni a perfect platform to finish the match.

Yuvraj on other hand was brilliant right from the start in 2011 World Cup. He dominated the proceedings both with bat and ball and was adjourned as the player of the tournament.

It is heartbreaking to see the downfall of these two superstars. Apart from above, Yuvraj has been one the most destructive and alluring batsman, India has produced. He was the prominent member of U-19 World Cup winning Indian team in 1999 and scored a whirlwind 84 against Australia in 2000 during his ODI debut.

For Yuvraj, downfall started soon after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. In fact, it was after the final of T-20 World Cup in 2014, it became apparent that Yuvraj would never be the same player again. His 11 off 21 balls virtually costed India match.

In his generation, Gambhir has been one of the finest players against spin bowling. Unlike Yuvraj, Gambhir had a reasonable Test career as well. Though Gambhir's stint for India came to end by 2013 (he made a comeback though in 2016)

It is said that nothing lasts forever. It is now pretty apparent that it is almost end of the road for Yuvraj and Gambhir. It was bound to happen but for fans like me, it is bit disappointing, after these two gave us many reasons for happiness and pride.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

It is said that nothing lasts forever and it is now pretty apparent that it is almost end of the road for Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir

For me, there have been two very significant events in the IPL-2018 during this week. First, after a continuous poor show of Delhi's, skipper Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the captaincy of Delhi and moreover, he decided to forgo his fee for the season. Second, after a dismal show in first few games for Punjab, Yuvraj Singh ultimately lost place in the playing eleven. Both of these events are significant in a sense that they indicate that curtain is coming down on the career of two of the most prolific T-20 and ODI batsmen the country has produced over the past two decades. Time takes its toll it is inevitable and same thing is happening with these two. Yuvraj made his international debut 18 years back and Gambhir around 15 years back. These two gave Indian Cricket and it's fan precious reasons to rejoice. Everyone talks about the Dhoni’s shrewd captaincy, Joginder’s last over in T-20 final in 2007 and Dhoni’s valiant 91 and that memorable six over long on to seal the 2011 World Cup for India. But make no mistake, Yuvraj and Gambhir played the all-important pivotal role in both 2007 & 2011. In 2007, Yuvraj was like a hurricane. His six 6s in a single over of Stuart Broad is now an epic, once in a lifetime kind of phenomenon. Yuvraj ultimately stole the show from mighty Australians in the semi-final. His knock of 70 off just 38 runs was decisive and made all the difference. Gambhir on other hand played a key role very subtly in 2007 T-20 World Cup. He scored two half-centuries at the group stage and then in the final he was the highest scorer for India with a knock of 75 runs. How important that knock was, can be judged by the fact that second highest knock during the innings was 30. In 2011 World Cup final, Gambhir was again the highest scorer with a knock of 97. As Sehwag and Tendulkar failed at the top of the order, it was Gambhir who anchored one end gave Dhoni a perfect platform to finish the match. Yuvraj on other hand was brilliant right from the start in 2011 World Cup. He dominated the proceedings both with bat and ball and was adjourned as the player of the tournament. It is heartbreaking to see the downfall of these two superstars. Apart from above, Yuvraj has been one the most destructive and alluring batsman, India has produced. He was the prominent member of U-19 World Cup winning Indian team in 1999 and scored a whirlwind 84 against Australia in 2000 during his ODI debut. For Yuvraj, downfall started soon after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. In fact, it was after the final of T-20 World Cup in 2014, it became apparent that Yuvraj would never be the same player again. His 11 off 21 balls virtually costed India match. In his generation, Gambhir has been one of the finest players against spin bowling. Unlike Yuvraj, Gambhir had a reasonable Test career as well. Though Gambhir's stint for India came to end by 2013 (he made a comeback though in 2016) It is said that nothing lasts forever. It is now pretty apparent that it is almost end of the road for Yuvraj and Gambhir. It was bound to happen but for fans like me, it is bit disappointing, after these two gave us many reasons for happiness and pride. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Yuvraj & Gambhir – End of road for two greats of the game

Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi host Kolkata on Friday at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Delhi is currently placed at the bottom of&nbsp;points table and recently got a major blow when Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday stepped down as the captain and in his absence, Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team.

Under the guidance of new captain, team Delhi is looking forward to reviving the current&nbsp;form.&nbsp;

Kolkata is currently placed at number four and will look to earn two crucial points to stretch the lead from Rajasthan.

On one hand, Delhi eye to salvage&nbsp;their pride but on the other Kolkata will be happy as their opponents are going through such a poor state.

The only change for Kolkata would be Andre Russell because he stretched his right hamstring while fielding in the last clash against Punjab. Other than that, the squad is fit and healthy.

For Delhi, under-19 stars have managed to fix their spots but Shreyas Iyer might rehash the squad to make a fresh start in the ongoing tournament. Also, Shahbaz Nadeem is expected to come back as Amit Mishra was effective in the last match.

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Playing XI (TBC)

Kolkata: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav

Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Gautam Gambhir, Shreyas Iyer (c), Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rahul Tewatia, Daniel Christian, Shahbaz Nadeem, Liam Plunkett, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult.

Delhi is currently placed at the bottom of the points table and recently got a major blow when Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday stepped down as the captain and in his absence, Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team

Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi host Kolkata on Friday at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Delhi is currently placed at the bottom of points table and recently got a major blow when Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday stepped down as the captain and in his absence, Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team. Under the guidance of new captain, team Delhi is looking forward to reviving the current form. Kolkata is currently placed at number four and will look to earn two crucial points to stretch the lead from Rajasthan. On one hand, Delhi eye to salvage their pride but on the other Kolkata will be happy as their opponents are going through such a poor state. The only change for Kolkata would be Andre Russell because he stretched his right hamstring while fielding in the last clash against Punjab. Other than that, the squad is fit and healthy. For Delhi, under-19 stars have managed to fix their spots but Shreyas Iyer might rehash the squad to make a fresh start in the ongoing tournament. Also, Shahbaz Nadeem is expected to come back as Amit Mishra was effective in the last match. × Playing XI (TBC) Kolkata: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Gautam Gambhir, Shreyas Iyer (c), Glenn Maxwell, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rahul Tewatia, Daniel Christian, Shahbaz Nadeem, Liam Plunkett, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Delhi vs Kolkata

Hyderabad defeated Punjab in a neck-to-neck encounter and defended a low score at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.

Earlier, Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl and it appeared that Ashwin had taken the advantage by making the decision of bowling first as Punjab restricted Hyderabad at a very low score.

Batting first Hyderabad set a 133-run target for Punjab but the bowlers, especially Rashid Khan was outstanding as he took three crucial wickets.

Rashid Khan and Shakib Al Hasan shared five wickets between them and shattered the massive batting strength of Punjab.

The orange army is now placed at number two on the points table of and has gained confidence now.

The credit for today's game must go to the bowling department and as the batting of Hyderabad failed miserably.

The star batsmen could not perform. Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket after scoring 11 runs and another opener Kane Williamson went back to pavilion after scoring a duck.

Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha scored just six runs. The middle order batsmen salvaged the Hyderabad batting and pushed the run rate.

Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan scored 54, 28 and 21 runs respectively and made crucial contributions to the team.

The score suggested that Punjab will easily win the match but bowlers turned the result and displayed an outstanding show to snatch the victory from Punjab's side.

Fall of wickets:

55-1 (Lokesh Rahul, 7.5), 57-2 (Chris Gayle, 8.2), 77-3 (Mayank Agarwal, 12.1), 82-4 (Karun Nair, 13.4), 88-5 (Aaron Finch, 14.2), 92-6 (Manoj Tiwary, 15.3), 96-7 (Andrew Tye, 15.5), 99-8 (Barinder Sra, 16.5), 101-9 (Ravichandran Ashwin, 17.2), 119-10 (Ankit Rajpoot, 19.2)

&nbsp;

Batting first Hyderabad set a 133-run target for Punjab but the bowlers, especially Rashid Khan was outstanding as he took three crucial wickets

Hyderabad defeated Punjab in a neck-to-neck encounter and defended a low score at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday. Earlier, Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl and it appeared that Ashwin had taken the advantage by making the decision of bowling first as Punjab restricted Hyderabad at a very low score. Batting first Hyderabad set a 133-run target for Punjab but the bowlers, especially Rashid Khan was outstanding as he took three crucial wickets. Rashid Khan and Shakib Al Hasan shared five wickets between them and shattered the massive batting strength of Punjab. The orange army is now placed at number two on the points table of and has gained confidence now. The credit for today's game must go to the bowling department and as the batting of Hyderabad failed miserably. The star batsmen could not perform. Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket after scoring 11 runs and another opener Kane Williamson went back to pavilion after scoring a duck. Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha scored just six runs. The middle order batsmen salvaged the Hyderabad batting and pushed the run rate. Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan scored 54, 28 and 21 runs respectively and made crucial contributions to the team. The score suggested that Punjab will easily win the match but bowlers turned the result and displayed an outstanding show to snatch the victory from Punjab's side. Fall of wickets: 55-1 (Lokesh Rahul, 7.5), 57-2 (Chris Gayle, 8.2), 77-3 (Mayank Agarwal, 12.1), 82-4 (Karun Nair, 13.4), 88-5 (Aaron Finch, 14.2), 92-6 (Manoj Tiwary, 15.3), 96-7 (Andrew Tye, 15.5), 99-8 (Barinder Sra, 16.5), 101-9 (Ravichandran Ashwin, 17.2), 119-10 (Ankit Rajpoot, 19.2)

IPL 2018: Rashid Khan shines as Hyderabad outplay Punjab to defend 132 runs

Virat Kohli has been fined Rs 12 lakh for maintaining slow over-rate in Bangalore's clash against Chennai at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.

The Bangalore skipper has also received an official reprimand for slow over-rate throughout his side's innings in the clash.&nbsp;

The match was won by Chennai by five wickets.

As it was Kohli's first offence this season, the Indian captain has been fined Rs12 lakh for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences.

"As it was his team`s first offence of the season under the IPL`s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Kohli was fined Rs 12 lakh," an IPL release said.

Kohli smashed just 18 runs in Bangalore's defeat as Chennai chased down the target of 206 runs with the help of MS Dhoni's unbeaten 34-ball 70 and Ambati Rayudu's 53-ball 83.

Chennai are currently standing at the top spot with 10 points, having clinched five victories out of six matches they have played so far.

Meanwhile, Bangalore slumped to their fourth loss and are at the sixth position, with just four points in their account, and having won just two matches so far.

The match was won by Chennai by five wickets.

Virat Kohli has been fined Rs 12 lakh for maintaining slow over-rate in Bangalore's clash against Chennai at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday. The Bangalore skipper has also received an official reprimand for slow over-rate throughout his side's innings in the clash. The match was won by Chennai by five wickets. As it was Kohli's first offence this season, the Indian captain has been fined Rs12 lakh for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences. "As it was his team`s first offence of the season under the IPL`s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Kohli was fined Rs 12 lakh," an IPL release said. Kohli smashed just 18 runs in Bangalore's defeat as Chennai chased down the target of 206 runs with the help of MS Dhoni's unbeaten 34-ball 70 and Ambati Rayudu's 53-ball 83. Chennai are currently standing at the top spot with 10 points, having clinched five victories out of six matches they have played so far. Meanwhile, Bangalore slumped to their fourth loss and are at the sixth position, with just four points in their account, and having won just two matches so far.

IPL 2018: Virat Kohli fined Rs 12 lakh for slow over-rate against Chennai

Punjab will be up against Hyderabad for the second time in this year's IPL. Their first encounter was won by the Kings by 15 runs.

Both the teams will try all the cards under their sleeves to emerge out victorious in today's game.&nbsp;

Let us take a look at the players expected to perform in today's big clash.&nbsp;

1. Chris Gayle: 'The Universal Boss' Chris Gayle scored a century in his last game against Hyderabad. He scored an unbeaten 104 runs off just 63 balls. He surely has an upper hand in this game as he has quite a good experience of Hyderabad's bowling attack. This energy on the ground and his record in IPL make him a player to watch out for in today's game.&nbsp;

2. Kane Williamson: The Hyderabad Skipper, indeed is the backbone of his franchise. Always, playing his captain part well, Williamson has managed to keep his team at the third position in the league table. He scored a half-century in the last game with Punjab and today is the day when he can beat Punjab and become the second best team of this IPL season. &nbsp;

3. Manish Pandey: A name that will forever be remembered as the first Indian player to score a century in the world’s most lucrative league. He scored an unbeaten 57 runs off 42 balls in the last game against Punjab. Seeing the form of Punjab's bowlers throughout this season, he will surely get his turn to score another big score.&nbsp;

4. KL Rahul: He is among the top run scorers in IPL so far. But still, he has a long way to go to achieve the purple cap. Today is the day when this opening batsman can score well to make his team win. In six games Rahul has scored 236 runs with 60 being his highest.&nbsp;

5. Rashid Khan: The Afghanistan tweaker, playing for the Hyderabad franchise perhaps has claimed to the best cricketing teenager of his times. Though, in his previous match with Punjab, he was brutally smashed by Chris Gayle. Gayle smashed three sixes and one four in Rashid's one over. So, today this bowler's main aim will be to depart Gayle as soon as possible.&nbsp;

This game will be all about achieving the second position in the IPL 2018 Leauge Table and making their way easier to take the trophy home.&nbsp;

Punjab will be up against Hyderabad for the second time in this year's IPL. Their first encounter was won by the Kings by 15 runs.

Punjab will be up against Hyderabad for the second time in this year's IPL. Their first encounter was won by the Kings by 15 runs. Both the teams will try all the cards under their sleeves to emerge out victorious in today's game. Let us take a look at the players expected to perform in today's big clash. 1. Chris Gayle: 'The Universal Boss' Chris Gayle scored a century in his last game against Hyderabad. He scored an unbeaten 104 runs off just 63 balls. He surely has an upper hand in this game as he has quite a good experience of Hyderabad's bowling attack. This energy on the ground and his record in IPL make him a player to watch out for in today's game. 2. Kane Williamson: The Hyderabad Skipper, indeed is the backbone of his franchise. Always, playing his captain part well, Williamson has managed to keep his team at the third position in the league table. He scored a half-century in the last game with Punjab and today is the day when he can beat Punjab and become the second best team of this IPL season. 3. Manish Pandey: A name that will forever be remembered as the first Indian player to score a century in the world’s most lucrative league. He scored an unbeaten 57 runs off 42 balls in the last game against Punjab. Seeing the form of Punjab's bowlers throughout this season, he will surely get his turn to score another big score. 4. KL Rahul: He is among the top run scorers in IPL so far. But still, he has a long way to go to achieve the purple cap. Today is the day when this opening batsman can score well to make his team win. In six games Rahul has scored 236 runs with 60 being his highest. 5. Rashid Khan: The Afghanistan tweaker, playing for the Hyderabad franchise perhaps has claimed to the best cricketing teenager of his times. Though, in his previous match with Punjab, he was brutally smashed by Chris Gayle. Gayle smashed three sixes and one four in Rashid's one over. So, today this bowler's main aim will be to depart Gayle as soon as possible. This game will be all about achieving the second position in the IPL 2018 Leauge Table and making their way easier to take the trophy home.

IPL 2018: 5 Players to watch out for in Punjab vs Hyderabad clash

Struck by the crisis emanating from Gautam Gambhir's resignation as captain, a beleaguered Delhi face a herculean task to revive their IPL campaign when they clash with Kolkata tomorrow under young skipper Shreyas Iyer.&nbsp

Gambhir leaving captaincy midway into the tournament does not guarantee resurrection of the side but the left-hander's decision has given the team management a chance to infuse new life into the franchise with new ideas.

Gambhir's rough patch, along with poor form of other batsmen, has resulted in over-reliance on young Rishabh Pant. The team has lost five of its six matches and is languishing at the bottom of the points table.

Gambhir the batsman would still be critical if a turnaround has to happen for the franchise but it remains to be seen if he remains in the playing XI.

The hosts are now in an unenvious position where they need to win seven of the remaining eight matches to be in Play-offs contention.&nbsp

The 23-year-old Iyer is faced with the enormous task of turning it around for the team as a leader.

The young batsman showed that he has the heart for a fight when he took it upon himself to steer the side against Punjab.

He almost pulled it off but fell short by one big shot. However, it was a performance which indicated that he is not averse to taking responsibility, which is the need of the hour.&nbsp

Delhi have not been particularly lucky on the fitness front either with Jason Roy (side strain) and Chris Morris (back problem) recovering.

The only game Delhi have won so far was shaped by Roy's unbeaten whirlwind knock of 91 on debut.&nbsp

A big player not to have clicked for them is Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.&nbsp

Maxwell has scores of 17, 13, 47, 4 and 12 so far and it is absolutely imperative for the Daredevils that he regains his form.

On the other hand, Kolkata&nbspare also struggling a bit with their bowling. But what has worked reasonably well for them is their batting. Their willow-wielders have been contributing consistently, twice taking the side past the 200-mark but bowlers have struggled to defend even big totals.&nbsp

Kolkata have won three matches and lost as many to sit fourth in the table.

The last time the two sides clashed, it was Kolkata which dominated by putting 200 runs on the board to win by a comprehensive 71-run margin.

It's a spin-heavy attack with Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla doing the bulk of the job.

The slow conditions at the Feroze Shah Kotla are likely to suit this combination while the young Shivam Mavi and England's Tom Curran would spearheading the pace attack.

Australian quick Mitchell Johnson has got only two games so far.

Andre Russell has done a fine all-round job for them and the West Indian continues to be a vital cog for them. His brute power would be of immense use on Kotla pitch where the ball may not come on to the bat easily. The conditions will testing for Kolkata batsmen.&nbsp 
&nbsp

Gambir resigned as Delhi skipper yesterday

Struck by the crisis emanating from Gautam Gambhir's resignation as captain, a beleaguered Delhi face a herculean task to revive their IPL campaign when they clash with Kolkata tomorrow under young skipper Shreyas Iyer. Gambhir leaving captaincy midway into the tournament does not guarantee resurrection of the side but the left-hander's decision has given the team management a chance to infuse new life into the franchise with new ideas. Gambhir's rough patch, along with poor form of other batsmen, has resulted in over-reliance on young Rishabh Pant. The team has lost five of its six matches and is languishing at the bottom of the points table. Gambhir the batsman would still be critical if a turnaround has to happen for the franchise but it remains to be seen if he remains in the playing XI. The hosts are now in an unenvious position where they need to win seven of the remaining eight matches to be in Play-offs contention. The 23-year-old Iyer is faced with the enormous task of turning it around for the team as a leader. The young batsman showed that he has the heart for a fight when he took it upon himself to steer the side against Punjab. He almost pulled it off but fell short by one big shot. However, it was a performance which indicated that he is not averse to taking responsibility, which is the need of the hour. Delhi have not been particularly lucky on the fitness front either with Jason Roy (side strain) and Chris Morris (back problem) recovering. The only game Delhi have won so far was shaped by Roy's unbeaten whirlwind knock of 91 on debut. A big player not to have clicked for them is Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. Maxwell has scores of 17, 13, 47, 4 and 12 so far and it is absolutely imperative for the Daredevils that he regains his form. On the other hand, Kolkata&nbspare also struggling a bit with their bowling. But what has worked reasonably well for them is their batting. Their willow-wielders have been contributing consistently, twice taking the side past the 200-mark but bowlers have struggled to defend even big totals. Kolkata have won three matches and lost as many to sit fourth in the table. The last time the two sides clashed, it was Kolkata which dominated by putting 200 runs on the board to win by a comprehensive 71-run margin. It's a spin-heavy attack with Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla doing the bulk of the job. The slow conditions at the Feroze Shah Kotla are likely to suit this combination while the young Shivam Mavi and England's Tom Curran would spearheading the pace attack. Australian quick Mitchell Johnson has got only two games so far. Andre Russell has done a fine all-round job for them and the West Indian continues to be a vital cog for them. His brute power would be of immense use on Kotla pitch where the ball may not come on to the bat easily. The conditions will testing for Kolkata batsmen.

IPL 2018: Delhi seek revival of fortune under new captain Iyer

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a skipper's knock to help Chennai chase the mammoth target of 205 set by Bangalore.

The Chennai skipper again finished off in style as he slammed a six of third last ball to achieve the target.

Ambati Rayudu also slammed a 53-ball 82 to give his team a great start. He played remarkable strokes to deplete Bangalore's bolwing attack. &nbsp

Chennai had a poor start as they lost Shane Watson and Suresh Raina too early.&nbsp

Earlier, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock powred Bangalore to 205 &nbspagainst Chennai at the at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

Both De Villiers and de Kock went berserk after Virat Kohli's wicket and slammed half-centuries each.

While De Villiers smashed 68 off just 30balls, de Kock destroyed Chennai's bowling attack by making 53 off 37 balls.

However, the two lost their wickets in quick successions. &nbsp

Skipper Kohli brought a change in his batting position and opened with de Kock but failed to give that start after he gave simple catch to Ravindra Jadeja of Thakur.

Mandeep Singh too stood up for the team and slammed 17-ball 32 to help them set a decent total.

MS Dhoni on Wednesday won the toss and opted to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

It will be the first time when Kohli will come face to face with Dhoni in this year's cash-rich tournament.

Talking about his decision to bowl, Dhoni said,"We will bowl first. It (the pitch) looks good from the top, but when you rub the fingers over it, it's slightly wet. Sometimes it affects, sometimes it doesn't. It's a tough ground to defend. We have got equal amount of support (smiles). "

"It's rare, when you come to Bangalore, you don't get this kind of support. It's good, generally it's a good crowd in Bangalore irrespective of which team is playing. It is one of the best stadiums to play in because of the crowd," he added.

When asked if he feels there is any kind of rivalry with Virat, Dhoni said,"I never felt it was about a personal rivalry (on playing against Virat). It's a sport that we are supposed to play in the right spirit."

When asked Virat about the strategy he has for today's game, Virat said,"good to see the mix of yellow and red in the same stadium. Looking forward to a good game of cricket. We just need to focus on one game at a time. CSK have played some good cricket."

"Two teams play well and stay at the top and four others are fighting for two spots. We are in the group of four. We need to keep playing the kind of cricket we played in the last game. We have two changes as well," the Bangalore skipper added.&nbsp

If seen the squad of the two teams, then for Chennai Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan and Imran Tahir, while Pawan Negi replaced Manan Vohra and Colin de Grandhomme is playing in place of Chris Woakes.

Teams: 
Bangalore (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Chennai (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

Dhoni slammed a six of third last ball to achieve the target

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a skipper's knock to help Chennai chase the mammoth target of 205 set by Bangalore. The Chennai skipper again finished off in style as he slammed a six of third last ball to achieve the target. Ambati Rayudu also slammed a 53-ball 82 to give his team a great start. He played remarkable strokes to deplete Bangalore's bolwing attack. Chennai had a poor start as they lost Shane Watson and Suresh Raina too early. Earlier, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock powred Bangalore to 205 &nbspagainst Chennai at the at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. Both De Villiers and de Kock went berserk after Virat Kohli's wicket and slammed half-centuries each. While De Villiers smashed 68 off just 30balls, de Kock destroyed Chennai's bowling attack by making 53 off 37 balls. However, the two lost their wickets in quick successions. Skipper Kohli brought a change in his batting position and opened with de Kock but failed to give that start after he gave simple catch to Ravindra Jadeja of Thakur. Mandeep Singh too stood up for the team and slammed 17-ball 32 to help them set a decent total. MS Dhoni on Wednesday won the toss and opted to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. It will be the first time when Kohli will come face to face with Dhoni in this year's cash-rich tournament. Talking about his decision to bowl, Dhoni said,"We will bowl first. It (the pitch) looks good from the top, but when you rub the fingers over it, it's slightly wet. Sometimes it affects, sometimes it doesn't. It's a tough ground to defend. We have got equal amount of support (smiles). " "It's rare, when you come to Bangalore, you don't get this kind of support. It's good, generally it's a good crowd in Bangalore irrespective of which team is playing. It is one of the best stadiums to play in because of the crowd," he added. When asked if he feels there is any kind of rivalry with Virat, Dhoni said,"I never felt it was about a personal rivalry (on playing against Virat). It's a sport that we are supposed to play in the right spirit." When asked Virat about the strategy he has for today's game, Virat said,"good to see the mix of yellow and red in the same stadium. Looking forward to a good game of cricket. We just need to focus on one game at a time. CSK have played some good cricket." "Two teams play well and stay at the top and four others are fighting for two spots. We are in the group of four. We need to keep playing the kind of cricket we played in the last game. We have two changes as well," the Bangalore skipper added. If seen the squad of the two teams, then for Chennai Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan and Imran Tahir, while Pawan Negi replaced Manan Vohra and Colin de Grandhomme is playing in place of Chris Woakes. Teams: Bangalore (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Chennai (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

IPL 2018: MS Dhoni leads Chennai to thrilling win against Bangalore

Hyderabad set 133-run target for Punjab at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against Hyderabad on Thursday. Earlier, Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl. Ashwin took the advantage of the pitch by making the decision of bowling first.

The batting department of Hyderabad failed as the star batsmen could not perform. Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket after scoring 11 runs and another opener Kane Williamson went back to pavilion after scoring a duck.

Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha scored just six runs. The middle order batsmen salvaged the Hyderabad batting and pushed the run rate.

Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan scored 54, 28 and 21 runs respectively and made crucial contributions to the team.

Fall of wickets:

1-1 (Kane Williamson, 0.4), 16-2 (Shikhar Dhawan, 2.2), 27-3 (Wriddhiman Saha, 4.5), 79-4 (Shakib Al Hasan, 13.4), 128-5 (Manish Pandey, 19.4), 132-6 (Mohammad Nabi, 19.6)

The batting department of Hyderabad failed as the star batsmen did not perform

Hyderabad set 133-run target for Punjab at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against Hyderabad on Thursday. Earlier, Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl. Ashwin took the advantage of the pitch by making the decision of bowling first. The batting department of Hyderabad failed as the star batsmen could not perform. Shikhar Dhawan lost his wicket after scoring 11 runs and another opener Kane Williamson went back to pavilion after scoring a duck. Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha scored just six runs. The middle order batsmen salvaged the Hyderabad batting and pushed the run rate. Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan scored 54, 28 and 21 runs respectively and made crucial contributions to the team. Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Kane Williamson, 0.4), 16-2 (Shikhar Dhawan, 2.2), 27-3 (Wriddhiman Saha, 4.5), 79-4 (Shakib Al Hasan, 13.4), 128-5 (Manish Pandey, 19.4), 132-6 (Mohammad Nabi, 19.6)

IPL 2018: Hyderabad set 133-run target for Punjab

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played an outstanding inning to help Chennai chase a high-scoring match against Bangalore at Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday.

He scored 70 runs off just 34 balls with a strike rate of 205.88 and in his signature style, he finished the innings by hitting a sixer to mark the victory.

After winning the crucial encounter, Dhoni&nbsp;engaged himself with some "daddy's duties." In a recent video that he shared on Instagram, he was found blow drying daughter Ziva's hair.&nbsp;

"Game over, had a nice sleep now back to Daddy’s duties," says Chennai skipper Dhoni as the caption of the video. Fans and followers have flooded the comments section with "AWWs" and "OMGs"

Watch the adorable video here:

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<div style=" background:#F8F8F8 line-height:0 margin-top:40px padding:62.43055555555556% 0 text-align:center width:100%">
<div style=" background:url(data:image/pngbase64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) display:block height:44px margin:0 auto -44px position:relative top:-22px width:44px">&nbsp;</div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BiB3dqknOPG/" style=" color:#000 font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px font-style:normal font-weight:normal line-height:17px text-decoration:none word-wrap:break-word" target="_blank">Game over, had a nice sleep now back to Daddy’s duties</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px line-height:17px margin-bottom:0 margin-top:8px overflow:hidden padding:8px 0 7px text-align:center text-overflow:ellipsis white-space:nowrap">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mahi7781/" style=" color:#c9c8cd font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px font-style:normal font-weight:normal line-height:17px" target="_blank"> M S Dhoni</a> (@mahi7781) on <time datetime="2018-04-26T09:54:23+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px line-height:17px">Apr 26, 2018 at 2:54am PDT</time>
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Chennai team is currently placed atop of the points table and preparing for the next clash which is against Mumbai on Saturday, April 28.

"Game over, had a nice sleep now back to Daddy’s duties," says Chennai skipper MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played an outstanding inning to help Chennai chase a high-scoring match against Bangalore at Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday. He scored 70 runs off just 34 balls with a strike rate of 205.88 and in his signature style, he finished the innings by hitting a sixer to mark the victory. After winning the crucial encounter, Dhoni engaged himself with some "daddy's duties." In a recent video that he shared on Instagram, he was found blow drying daughter Ziva's hair. "Game over, had a nice sleep now back to Daddy’s duties," says Chennai skipper Dhoni as the caption of the video. Fans and followers have flooded the comments section with "AWWs" and "OMGs" Watch the adorable video here: Game over, had a nice sleep now back to Daddy’s duties A post shared by M S Dhoni (@mahi7781) on Apr 26, 2018 at 2:54am PDT × Chennai team is currently placed atop of the points table and preparing for the next clash which is against Mumbai on Saturday, April 28.

Watch: After defeating Bangalore, MS Dhoni 'back to Daddy’s duties'

Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl first at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against Hyderabad on Thursday.

The pitch is appearing to be batting friendly and Hyderabad need to put up a giant score in order to win the clash.

Kane Williamson mentioned about Chris Gayle's performance and said that he is a "dangerous player". Williamson has not any changes in the squad.

On the other hand, Ashwin has taken advantage of the pitch by making the decision of bowling first.

For Punjab, 'hit machine' Gayle is back as he missed the last game due to a sore back and also Manoj Tiwari is in the playing XI.

Playing XI:

Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma

Punjab: Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl first at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium against Hyderabad on Thursday. The pitch is appearing to be batting friendly and Hyderabad need to put up a giant score in order to win the clash. Kane Williamson mentioned about Chris Gayle's performance and said that he is a "dangerous player". Williamson has not any changes in the squad. On the other hand, Ashwin has taken advantage of the pitch by making the decision of bowling first. For Punjab, 'hit machine' Gayle is back as he missed the last game due to a sore back and also Manoj Tiwari is in the playing XI. Playing XI: Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma Punjab: Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

IPL 2018: Ashwin opts to bowl against Hyderabad

Gautam Gambhir recently relinquished Delhi's captaincy after the team failed to make any mark in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).

Gambhir, who brought two titles for Kolkata, failed to spread similar magic for Delhi as his team lost five out of six matches played.

But, this is not the first time any team's captain has left his position in between the tournament.&nbsp;

Let us have a look at all the captains who did the same since IPL's inception. &nbsp;

2008: When Sachin Tendulkar suffered an injury, the responsibility was put on the veteran Harbhajan Singh to lead Mumbai. He held the captaincy for next 3 matches but unfortunately, got involved in the infamous slapgate scandal. He was found guilty of assaulting Punjab bowler Sreesanth at Mohali. He got temporarily suspended and then Mumbai found their third skipper in Shaun Pollock.&nbsp;

2009: Bangalore Franchise replaced Dravid with the English star Kevin Peterson. but that did not change the fate of Bangalore as Peterson did not perform well and also he left in the mid-way to attend to his national duties. then RCB chose Anil Kumble as their leader. &nbsp;

2012: As soon as Daniel Vettori realised that his form is not up to the mark, he passed on the captaincy to young Virat Kohli. Muttiah Muralitharan replaced him as the lead spinner for Bangalore. In that season, Kohli captained for 10 matches in which he won six. Th record brought a relief in franchise's management that Kohli is capable to lead the team. &nbsp;

2012: Just like Vettori, Kumar Sangakkara also stepped down from the captaincy of Deccan Chargers and decided to rest as he was going through a tough time with his bat. It was then, Australian cricketer, Cameron White was announced as the new skipper. Though, that did not come out well as Chargers finished the season at the bottom of the league table.&nbsp;

2013: Suffering from a personal slump in his form, Ricky Ponting decided to step down from the playing XI and make way for Rohit Sharma, who became the new skipper of Mumbai. Fortunately, that was the turning point for Mumbai as they won their first-ever title under Rohit Sharma's leadership.&nbsp;

2014: Though Shikhar Dhawan had a good run with the Hyderabad franchise, still they decided to replace him with West Indies skipper Darren Sammy.&nbsp;

2015: After Rahul Dravid's retirement, Shane Watson was handed over the responsibility of Rajasthan. In 2015, He missed starting games due to injury and Steve Smith became the stand-in skipper for the time being. Seeing Smith, handling his responsibility quite well, Watson decided to hand over the role permanently to his fellow team-mate and gave himself rest to focus more on his personal game.

Gambhir, who brought two titles for Kolkata, failed to spread similar magic for Delhi as his team lost five out of six matches played.

Gautam Gambhir recently relinquished Delhi's captaincy after the team failed to make any mark in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). Gambhir, who brought two titles for Kolkata, failed to spread similar magic for Delhi as his team lost five out of six matches played. But, this is not the first time any team's captain has left his position in between the tournament. Let us have a look at all the captains who did the same since IPL's inception. 2008: When Sachin Tendulkar suffered an injury, the responsibility was put on the veteran Harbhajan Singh to lead Mumbai. He held the captaincy for next 3 matches but unfortunately, got involved in the infamous slapgate scandal. He was found guilty of assaulting Punjab bowler Sreesanth at Mohali. He got temporarily suspended and then Mumbai found their third skipper in Shaun Pollock. 2009: Bangalore Franchise replaced Dravid with the English star Kevin Peterson. but that did not change the fate of Bangalore as Peterson did not perform well and also he left in the mid-way to attend to his national duties. then RCB chose Anil Kumble as their leader. 2012: As soon as Daniel Vettori realised that his form is not up to the mark, he passed on the captaincy to young Virat Kohli. Muttiah Muralitharan replaced him as the lead spinner for Bangalore. In that season, Kohli captained for 10 matches in which he won six. Th record brought a relief in franchise's management that Kohli is capable to lead the team. 2012: Just like Vettori, Kumar Sangakkara also stepped down from the captaincy of Deccan Chargers and decided to rest as he was going through a tough time with his bat. It was then, Australian cricketer, Cameron White was announced as the new skipper. Though, that did not come out well as Chargers finished the season at the bottom of the league table. 2013: Suffering from a personal slump in his form, Ricky Ponting decided to step down from the playing XI and make way for Rohit Sharma, who became the new skipper of Mumbai. Fortunately, that was the turning point for Mumbai as they won their first-ever title under Rohit Sharma's leadership. 2014: Though Shikhar Dhawan had a good run with the Hyderabad franchise, still they decided to replace him with West Indies skipper Darren Sammy. 2015: After Rahul Dravid's retirement, Shane Watson was handed over the responsibility of Rajasthan. In 2015, He missed starting games due to injury and Steve Smith became the stand-in skipper for the time being. Seeing Smith, handling his responsibility quite well, Watson decided to hand over the role permanently to his fellow team-mate and gave himself rest to focus more on his personal game.

Players who 'dethroned themselves' from captaincy in IPL

A charged-up Hyderabad will have revenge on their minds when they face an in-form Punjab in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.

In their previous encounter, Punjab defeated Hyderabad by 15 runs after Chris Gayle smashed a ton in Mohali.&nbsp;

Hyderabad, on the other hand, defended a modest 118 against Mumbai on Tuesday to bring their campaign back on track after suffering back-to-back defeats.

Despite missing the services of injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunrisers showed their bowling prowess.&nbsp;

Pacer Siddarth Kaul and leg-spinner Rashid Khan helped the home team dismiss the two-time champions for 87 on a slow wicket at the Wankhede Stadium to record a 31-run victory.

Skipper Kane Williamson, is indeed the backbone of the franchise, &nbsp;and is leading from the front with 259 runs. Even Kaul is standing out with nine wickets in the tournament so far.

The West Indian T20 exponent Gayle has looked in ominous form this season with a hundred and two fifties.

However, Gayle had missed the last match against Delhi Daredevils as he was a bit sore and Punjab would hope the opener makes it to the playing XI today.&nbsp;

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His opening partner KL Rahul too has looked in good touch scoring 236 runs including two half-centuries.&nbsp;

Punjab will be again banking on the dangerous duo to give them another flying start while Hyderabad will be focused on dismissing them cheaply.

In Bhuvneshwar's absence, Siddarth and Basil Thampi will have to take the responsibility early on and the spin trio of Rashid, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi will hold the key in the middle overs. 
&nbsp;

In their previous encounter, Punjab defeated Hyderabad by 15 runs after Chris Gayle smashed a ton in Mohali.

A charged-up Hyderabad will have revenge on their minds when they face an in-form Punjab in the Indian Premier League on Thursday. In their previous encounter, Punjab defeated Hyderabad by 15 runs after Chris Gayle smashed a ton in Mohali. Hyderabad, on the other hand, defended a modest 118 against Mumbai on Tuesday to bring their campaign back on track after suffering back-to-back defeats. Despite missing the services of injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunrisers showed their bowling prowess. Pacer Siddarth Kaul and leg-spinner Rashid Khan helped the home team dismiss the two-time champions for 87 on a slow wicket at the Wankhede Stadium to record a 31-run victory. Skipper Kane Williamson, is indeed the backbone of the franchise, and is leading from the front with 259 runs. Even Kaul is standing out with nine wickets in the tournament so far. The West Indian T20 exponent Gayle has looked in ominous form this season with a hundred and two fifties. However, Gayle had missed the last match against Delhi Daredevils as he was a bit sore and Punjab would hope the opener makes it to the playing XI today. × His opening partner KL Rahul too has looked in good touch scoring 236 runs including two half-centuries. Punjab will be again banking on the dangerous duo to give them another flying start while Hyderabad will be focused on dismissing them cheaply. In Bhuvneshwar's absence, Siddarth and Basil Thampi will have to take the responsibility early on and the spin trio of Rashid, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Nabi will hold the key in the middle overs.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Punjab vs Hyderabad

AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock powred Bangalore to 205 &nbsp;against Chennai at the at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

Both De Villiers and de Kock went berserk after Virat Kohli's wicket and slammed half-century&nbsp;each.

While De Villiers smashed 68 off just 30balls, de Kock destroyed Chennai's bowling attack by making 53 off 37 balls.

However, the two lost their wickets in quick successions. &nbsp;

Skipper Kohli brought a change in his batting position and opened with de Kock but failed to give that start after he gave simple catch to Ravindra Jadeja of Thakur.

Mandeep Singh too stood up for the team and slammed 17-ball 32 to help them set a decent total.

MS Dhoni on Wednesday won the toss and opted to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

It will be the first time when Kohli will come face to face with Dhoni in this year's cash-rich tournament.

Talking about his decision to bowl, Dhoni said,"We will bowl first. It (the pitch) looks good from the top, but when you rub the fingers over it, it's slightly wet. Sometimes it affects, sometimes it doesn't. It's a tough ground to defend. We have got equal amount of support (smiles). "

"It's rare, when you come to Bangalore, you don't get this kind of support. It's good, generally it's a good crowd in Bangalore irrespective of which team is playing. It is one of the best stadiums to play in because of the crowd," he added.

When asked if he feels there is any kind of rivalry with Virat, Dhoni said,"I never felt it was about a personal rivalry (on playing against Virat). It's a sport that we are supposed to play in the right spirit."

When asked Virat about the strategy he has for today's game, Virat said,"good to see the mix of yellow and red in the same stadium. Looking forward to a good game of cricket. We just need to focus on one game at a time. CSK have played some good cricket."

"Two teams play well and stay at the top and four others are fighting for two spots. We are in the group of four. We need to keep playing the kind of cricket we played in the last game. We have two changes as well," the Bangalore skipper added.&nbsp;

If seen the squad of the two teams, then for Chennai Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan and Imran Tahir, while Pawan Negi replaced Manan Vohra and Colin de Grandhomme is playing in place of Chris Woakes.

Teams: 
Bangalore (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Chennai (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

Both De Villiers and de Kock went berserk after Virat Kohli's wicket.

AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock powred Bangalore to 205 against Chennai at the at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. Both De Villiers and de Kock went berserk after Virat Kohli's wicket and slammed half-century each. While De Villiers smashed 68 off just 30balls, de Kock destroyed Chennai's bowling attack by making 53 off 37 balls. However, the two lost their wickets in quick successions. Skipper Kohli brought a change in his batting position and opened with de Kock but failed to give that start after he gave simple catch to Ravindra Jadeja of Thakur. Mandeep Singh too stood up for the team and slammed 17-ball 32 to help them set a decent total. MS Dhoni on Wednesday won the toss and opted to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. It will be the first time when Kohli will come face to face with Dhoni in this year's cash-rich tournament. Talking about his decision to bowl, Dhoni said,"We will bowl first. It (the pitch) looks good from the top, but when you rub the fingers over it, it's slightly wet. Sometimes it affects, sometimes it doesn't. It's a tough ground to defend. We have got equal amount of support (smiles). " "It's rare, when you come to Bangalore, you don't get this kind of support. It's good, generally it's a good crowd in Bangalore irrespective of which team is playing. It is one of the best stadiums to play in because of the crowd," he added. When asked if he feels there is any kind of rivalry with Virat, Dhoni said,"I never felt it was about a personal rivalry (on playing against Virat). It's a sport that we are supposed to play in the right spirit." When asked Virat about the strategy he has for today's game, Virat said,"good to see the mix of yellow and red in the same stadium. Looking forward to a good game of cricket. We just need to focus on one game at a time. CSK have played some good cricket." "Two teams play well and stay at the top and four others are fighting for two spots. We are in the group of four. We need to keep playing the kind of cricket we played in the last game. We have two changes as well," the Bangalore skipper added. If seen the squad of the two teams, then for Chennai Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan and Imran Tahir, while Pawan Negi replaced Manan Vohra and Colin de Grandhomme is playing in place of Chris Woakes. Teams: Bangalore (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Chennai (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

IPL 2018: De Villiers, de Kock's century stand help Bangalore post 205 runs

MS Dhoni on Wednesday won the toss and opted to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

It will be the first time when Kohli will come face to face with Dhoni in this year's cash-rich tournament.

Talking about his decision to bowl, Dhoni said,"We will bowl first. It (the pitch) looks good from the top, but when you rub the fingers over it, it's slightly wet. Sometimes it affects, sometimes it doesn't. It's a tough ground to defend. We have got equal amount of support (smiles). "

"It's rare, when you come to Bangalore, you don't get this kind of support. It's good, generally it's a good crowd in Bangalore irrespective of which team is playing. It is one of the best stadiums to play in because of the crowd," he added.

When asked if he feels there is any kind of rivalry with Virat, Dhoni said,"I never felt it was about a personal rivalry (on playing against Virat). It's a sport that we are supposed to play in the right spirit."

When asked Virat about the strategy he has for today's game, Virat said,"good to see the mix of yellow and red in the same stadium. Looking forward to a good game of cricket. We just need to focus on one game at a time. CSK have played some good cricket."

"Two teams play well and stay at the top and four others are fighting for two spots. We are in the group of four. We need to keep playing the kind of cricket we played in the last game. We have two changes as well," the Bangalore skipper added.&nbsp

If seen the squad of the two teams, then for Chennai Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan and Imran Tahir, while Pawan Negi replaced Manan Vohra and Colin de Grandhomme is playing in place of Chris Woakes.

Teams: 
Bangalore (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Chennai (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

It will be the first time when Kohli will come face to face with Dhoni in this year's cash-rich tournament.

MS Dhoni on Wednesday won the toss and opted to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. It will be the first time when Kohli will come face to face with Dhoni in this year's cash-rich tournament. Talking about his decision to bowl, Dhoni said,"We will bowl first. It (the pitch) looks good from the top, but when you rub the fingers over it, it's slightly wet. Sometimes it affects, sometimes it doesn't. It's a tough ground to defend. We have got equal amount of support (smiles). " "It's rare, when you come to Bangalore, you don't get this kind of support. It's good, generally it's a good crowd in Bangalore irrespective of which team is playing. It is one of the best stadiums to play in because of the crowd," he added. When asked if he feels there is any kind of rivalry with Virat, Dhoni said,"I never felt it was about a personal rivalry (on playing against Virat). It's a sport that we are supposed to play in the right spirit." When asked Virat about the strategy he has for today's game, Virat said,"good to see the mix of yellow and red in the same stadium. Looking forward to a good game of cricket. We just need to focus on one game at a time. CSK have played some good cricket." "Two teams play well and stay at the top and four others are fighting for two spots. We are in the group of four. We need to keep playing the kind of cricket we played in the last game. We have two changes as well," the Bangalore skipper added. If seen the squad of the two teams, then for Chennai Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan and Imran Tahir, while Pawan Negi replaced Manan Vohra and Colin de Grandhomme is playing in place of Chris Woakes. Teams: Bangalore (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Chennai (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

IPL 2018: MS Dhoni wins toss, opts to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Bangalore

Defending champions Mumbai failed to chase the lowest score set by any team in IPL 2018, and lost to Hyderabad by 31 runs at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. &nbsp;

Mumbai lose 5 in chase of 119, out of six games played in this year's cash-rich tournament.&nbsp;

Apart from Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya no other player reached the two digit mark.&nbsp;

Their batting line failed to score any runs and the credit goes to Hyderabad's bowlers.

Siddarth Kaul bagged three wickets while Rashid Khan and Basil Thampi took two wickets each.

Kane Williamson-led side was bowled for just 118 runs, setting the lowest target for any franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Hyderabad had a poor start as they lost opener Shikhar Dhawan and Saha too early. for just five runs. He was bowled by McClenaghan.

In the same over, the Mumbai pacer managed to send wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha back to the pavilion on a duck. So far, Saha did not had a good campaign in the cash-rich tournament.&nbsp;

Skipper Williamson, who was the backbone of the franchise in last all matches, failed to stand up for the team this team. &nbsp;

He gave away his wicket to Hardik Pandya after making 29 runs off 21 balls.&nbsp;

However, he is the highest scorer for the franchise.

As usual, the downline again failed to perform, resulting in a poor score on the board. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Yusuf Pathan tried to save Hyderabad from drowning but was also sent back by Mustafizur.&nbsp;

He became the second highest scorer for the team by making 29 runs off 33 balls. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Earlier, Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday won the toss and opted to field against Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai, which lost four out of five games played, will be looking to outplay Kane Williamson-side in order to get their campaign back on track.

Talking about his team and strategy for today, the Mumbai batsman said, "We are gonna bowl first. It is a good pitch and it is hard ground to defend. Not gonna change a lot through the course of 40 overs. It's been a little disappointing in those terms (losing close games). We played good cricket and it is just the finishing touch we are lacking."

"We played five games so far and we need to understand as a team where we went wrong. It is a fresh game and we want to treat every game as a new game and start afresh because it is important to keep our head straight and work towards the victory. We are unchanged," he added.

Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost two consecutive matches. The team had given a good start to their campaign in this year's IPL as they won three matches in a row to be at the top of the points table.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the last match against Chennai due to injury, is making a return. The franchise is highly dependent on openers as the middle-batting order has not performed so far.

Talking about their strategy for today, Williamson said, "We would have liked to bowl as well. It does look like a good surface and whatever we are gonna do, we should do well. We are going with 3 spinners and 3 seamers."

"Obviously number of injuries with Bhuvi and Stanlake missing out with injuries. Shikhar is back in the side. Nabi and Thampi are in too. Exciting times for us as some of the guys have got the opportunity for the first time this season. Looking forward to an exciting contest," the Hyderabad skipper added.

The franchise suffered a huge blow as star pacer Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a fractured finger.&nbsp;

Mumbai lose five out of six games played in this year's cash-rich tournament.

Defending champions Mumbai failed to chase the lowest score set by any team in IPL 2018, and lost to Hyderabad by 31 runs at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. Mumbai lose 5 in chase of 119, out of six games played in this year's cash-rich tournament. Apart from Suryakumar Yadav and Krunal Pandya no other player reached the two digit mark. Their batting line failed to score any runs and the credit goes to Hyderabad's bowlers. Siddarth Kaul bagged three wickets while Rashid Khan and Basil Thampi took two wickets each. Kane Williamson-led side was bowled for just 118 runs, setting the lowest target for any franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Hyderabad had a poor start as they lost opener Shikhar Dhawan and Saha too early. for just five runs. He was bowled by McClenaghan. In the same over, the Mumbai pacer managed to send wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha back to the pavilion on a duck. So far, Saha did not had a good campaign in the cash-rich tournament. Skipper Williamson, who was the backbone of the franchise in last all matches, failed to stand up for the team this team. He gave away his wicket to Hardik Pandya after making 29 runs off 21 balls. However, he is the highest scorer for the franchise. As usual, the downline again failed to perform, resulting in a poor score on the board. Yusuf Pathan tried to save Hyderabad from drowning but was also sent back by Mustafizur. He became the second highest scorer for the team by making 29 runs off 33 balls. Earlier, Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday won the toss and opted to field against Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai, which lost four out of five games played, will be looking to outplay Kane Williamson-side in order to get their campaign back on track. Talking about his team and strategy for today, the Mumbai batsman said, "We are gonna bowl first. It is a good pitch and it is hard ground to defend. Not gonna change a lot through the course of 40 overs. It's been a little disappointing in those terms (losing close games). We played good cricket and it is just the finishing touch we are lacking." "We played five games so far and we need to understand as a team where we went wrong. It is a fresh game and we want to treat every game as a new game and start afresh because it is important to keep our head straight and work towards the victory. We are unchanged," he added. Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost two consecutive matches. The team had given a good start to their campaign in this year's IPL as they won three matches in a row to be at the top of the points table. Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the last match against Chennai due to injury, is making a return. The franchise is highly dependent on openers as the middle-batting order has not performed so far. Talking about their strategy for today, Williamson said, "We would have liked to bowl as well. It does look like a good surface and whatever we are gonna do, we should do well. We are going with 3 spinners and 3 seamers." "Obviously number of injuries with Bhuvi and Stanlake missing out with injuries. Shikhar is back in the side. Nabi and Thampi are in too. Exciting times for us as some of the guys have got the opportunity for the first time this season. Looking forward to an exciting contest," the Hyderabad skipper added. The franchise suffered a huge blow as star pacer Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a fractured finger.

IPL 2018: Hyderabad trounce Mumbai at Wankhede

Every time I see Sourav Ganguly I ponder that whether Ganguly ever called up Vinod Kambli to show his gratitude. After all, if Kambli did not have that typical streak of self-destruction, the fate of both Kambli and Ganguly would have been different.

Vinod Kambli was the brightest star of Indian middle order after his back to back Test double centuries in 1993. He started taking his success for granted and by 1995, his life was on a different track altogether.

More than his batting he was paying attention to style quotient, to his hairstyle and kind of beard he would sport. His non-seriousness was palpable on the ground. By the time World Cup 1996 was over, his crankiness was way beyond the acceptable zone.

Kambli was dropped from the side which toured England in the summer of 1996. Another elegant southpaw Ganguly (along with Rahul Dravid) grabbed the opportunity with both hands and Kambli never played for India.

Few years further back in 1984-85, another "style bhai" Sandeep Patil played a sheer reckless shot in Delhi Test against England at the time when India was struggling to save Test.

Patil was dropped as punishment and he was replaced by Azharuddin. Azhar grabbed the opportunity and scored three centuries back to back. Sandeep Patil never played for India.

On Tuesday's night, when I saw Mumbai catapulting against a total of 118 of Sunrisers Hyderabad, I was not only feeling very sorry for the team but also for the talented young player like Hardik Pandya. Chasing a total of 118, Mumbai was bundled out for just 87.

Hardik Pandya, playing down the order scored just 3 runs facing 19 balls. When Pandya was returning back to the pavilion, I was sensing and fearing that Pandya may end up as another Patil or Kambli, a premature end of a promising player. After the match, Mumbai's coach Mahela Jayawardene minced no words and censured Pandya in particular for the poor show.

Just a few months back, Hardik Pandya was a new poster boy of Indian Cricket. Many believe that he would be for India what Ben Stokes is for England. In my opinion, His swashbuckling knock at Cape Town is one of best knocks by an Indian number seven overseas in recent Test series with South Africa.

But then at Cape Town, he blew the credentials he earned by his callous attitude. His casual running at the Centurion was deplorable and moreover, the smugness with which strolled back to the pavilion after throwing his wicket was beyond limits actually.

At Pandya's age, steep success may come with a desire to become the super stud and ultra-cool on the field. One tends to become swagger. It has even happened to people like Sachin Tendulkar. 1998 was the whirlwind year for Tendulkar. He scored nine ODI centuries in a single calendar year.

He singles handily decimated Australia in home Test series. In January 1999, India played the first Test of a Test series against Pakistan at Chennai. Tendulkar came to bat with a mindset to dominate bowling right from the word go and Saqlain sent him back without scoring. Tendulkar learned his lesson. He scored a magnificent century in the second innings. He did a timely course correction.

A few years back I read an interview of Sandeep Patil. Patil, in fact, was admitting and repenting that in Delhi he blundered and agreed that he was not taking his game seriously and paid the hefty price.

Pandya needs to take a cue from the past and control and his aggression and attitude. Nothing wrong with your desire with showmanship but your duties come first and Pandya needs to understand this.

Changing hairstyle every week will not give you sustained success, but toiling at the net and your desire to improve continually will deliver it for sure. Complacency can be career limiting. Mahela Jayawardene has also clearly told that Hardik Pandya need to work harder and evolve to become a consistent cricketer.

He is a talented cricketer and if he can reorganise his energy, he is a serious long-term prospect for the side. Or else there is no dearth of talent to replace him.

An Azharuddin or a Ganguly is always there to grab the opportunity.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Hardik Pandya needs to take a cue from the past and control and his aggression and attitude

Every time I see Sourav Ganguly I ponder that whether Ganguly ever called up Vinod Kambli to show his gratitude. After all, if Kambli did not have that typical streak of self-destruction, the fate of both Kambli and Ganguly would have been different. Vinod Kambli was the brightest star of Indian middle order after his back to back Test double centuries in 1993. He started taking his success for granted and by 1995, his life was on a different track altogether. More than his batting he was paying attention to style quotient, to his hairstyle and kind of beard he would sport. His non-seriousness was palpable on the ground. By the time World Cup 1996 was over, his crankiness was way beyond the acceptable zone. Kambli was dropped from the side which toured England in the summer of 1996. Another elegant southpaw Ganguly (along with Rahul Dravid) grabbed the opportunity with both hands and Kambli never played for India. Few years further back in 1984-85, another "style bhai" Sandeep Patil played a sheer reckless shot in Delhi Test against England at the time when India was struggling to save Test. Patil was dropped as punishment and he was replaced by Azharuddin. Azhar grabbed the opportunity and scored three centuries back to back. Sandeep Patil never played for India. On Tuesday's night, when I saw Mumbai catapulting against a total of 118 of Sunrisers Hyderabad, I was not only feeling very sorry for the team but also for the talented young player like Hardik Pandya. Chasing a total of 118, Mumbai was bundled out for just 87. Hardik Pandya, playing down the order scored just 3 runs facing 19 balls. When Pandya was returning back to the pavilion, I was sensing and fearing that Pandya may end up as another Patil or Kambli, a premature end of a promising player. After the match, Mumbai's coach Mahela Jayawardene minced no words and censured Pandya in particular for the poor show. Just a few months back, Hardik Pandya was a new poster boy of Indian Cricket. Many believe that he would be for India what Ben Stokes is for England. In my opinion, His swashbuckling knock at Cape Town is one of best knocks by an Indian number seven overseas in recent Test series with South Africa. But then at Cape Town, he blew the credentials he earned by his callous attitude. His casual running at the Centurion was deplorable and moreover, the smugness with which strolled back to the pavilion after throwing his wicket was beyond limits actually. At Pandya's age, steep success may come with a desire to become the super stud and ultra-cool on the field. One tends to become swagger. It has even happened to people like Sachin Tendulkar. 1998 was the whirlwind year for Tendulkar. He scored nine ODI centuries in a single calendar year. He singles handily decimated Australia in home Test series. In January 1999, India played the first Test of a Test series against Pakistan at Chennai. Tendulkar came to bat with a mindset to dominate bowling right from the word go and Saqlain sent him back without scoring. Tendulkar learned his lesson. He scored a magnificent century in the second innings. He did a timely course correction. A few years back I read an interview of Sandeep Patil. Patil, in fact, was admitting and repenting that in Delhi he blundered and agreed that he was not taking his game seriously and paid the hefty price. Pandya needs to take a cue from the past and control and his aggression and attitude. Nothing wrong with your desire with showmanship but your duties come first and Pandya needs to understand this. Changing hairstyle every week will not give you sustained success, but toiling at the net and your desire to improve continually will deliver it for sure. Complacency can be career limiting. Mahela Jayawardene has also clearly told that Hardik Pandya need to work harder and evolve to become a consistent cricketer. He is a talented cricketer and if he can reorganise his energy, he is a serious long-term prospect for the side. Or else there is no dearth of talent to replace him. An Azharuddin or a Ganguly is always there to grab the opportunity. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Hardik Pandya needs to take cue from history

MS Dhoni-led Chennai take on Virat Kohli-led Bangalore on Wednesday, April 25 at Chinnaswamy stadium in an intriguing and extremely interesting clash between two old rivals.

Both the teams are coming off from a victory in their previous encounters and will be looking forward to winning tonight's match to earn two crucial points.

The Chennai-Bangalore is very celebrated since IPL's inception and they have played seven matches at Chinnaswamy stadium out of which both the teams have won 3-3 matches each and one was washed out.

Due to Cauvery&nbsp;protest, the home ground of Chennai has been shifted to Pune so, fans from Chennai from are rushing to the nearby stadiums to watch the matches of Chennai. Tonight at Chinnaswamy, a full house is expected but supporter of both the teams will be huge in number.

Earlier in the ongoing tournament, Bangalore team struggled but somehow has gained confidence after their win against Delhi in the last game.

Tonight's match is also very special for Virat Kohli as he will be leading in his 100th match in the T20 format. He is the third Indian after MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir to reach this feat.

Chennai is placed at position 2 with 8 points and the current squad of Chennai is shining bright, hence any change is not required.

Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis can give a required start for the team. Also, the middle order is quite settled in the presence of Suresh Raina, Ambayati Rayudu and Dhoni.

On the other hand, even Bangalore team have star batsmen like Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

As Chinnaswamy stadium is known for its batsmen friendliness pitch, hence, a high scoring match is expected tonight, which means more responsibility is on bowlers.

Whichever team is playing first, any total below 150 would be less as Chinnaswamy is high scoring pitch and both the teams have a massive batting line.

So today, a team with better bowling and fielding have higher chances of winning.

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Playing XI: (TBC)

Chennai: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur

Bangalore: Quinton de Kock, Manan Vohra, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Corey Anderson, Mandeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Both the teams are coming off from a victory in their previous encounters and will be looking forward to winning tonight's match to earn two crucial points

MS Dhoni-led Chennai take on Virat Kohli-led Bangalore on Wednesday, April 25 at Chinnaswamy stadium in an intriguing and extremely interesting clash between two old rivals. Both the teams are coming off from a victory in their previous encounters and will be looking forward to winning tonight's match to earn two crucial points. The Chennai-Bangalore is very celebrated since IPL's inception and they have played seven matches at Chinnaswamy stadium out of which both the teams have won 3-3 matches each and one was washed out. Due to Cauvery protest, the home ground of Chennai has been shifted to Pune so, fans from Chennai from are rushing to the nearby stadiums to watch the matches of Chennai. Tonight at Chinnaswamy, a full house is expected but supporter of both the teams will be huge in number. Earlier in the ongoing tournament, Bangalore team struggled but somehow has gained confidence after their win against Delhi in the last game. Tonight's match is also very special for Virat Kohli as he will be leading in his 100th match in the T20 format. He is the third Indian after MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir to reach this feat. Chennai is placed at position 2 with 8 points and the current squad of Chennai is shining bright, hence any change is not required. Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis can give a required start for the team. Also, the middle order is quite settled in the presence of Suresh Raina, Ambayati Rayudu and Dhoni. On the other hand, even Bangalore team have star batsmen like Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. As Chinnaswamy stadium is known for its batsmen friendliness pitch, hence, a high scoring match is expected tonight, which means more responsibility is on bowlers. Whichever team is playing first, any total below 150 would be less as Chinnaswamy is high scoring pitch and both the teams have a massive batting line. So today, a team with better bowling and fielding have higher chances of winning. × Playing XI: (TBC) Chennai: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur Bangalore: Quinton de Kock, Manan Vohra, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Corey Anderson, Mandeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

IPL 2018: Match preview of Chennai and Bangalore

Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday stepped down as the captain of Delhi, after the team poor's performance in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). &nbsp;

The decision was announced at a press conference today.&nbsp;

While talking to the media persons, Gambhir said the decision to step down was his own as 'he couldn't handle the pressure'.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"It was my decision. I haven't contributed enough to the team. I had to take the responsibility being the leader of the ship. I feel it was the right time," Gambhir said.&nbsp;

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Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DD?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DD</a> fans we would like to share <a href="https://twitter.com/GautamGambhir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GautamGambhir</a> has chosen to step down as a captain for <a href="https://twitter.com/DelhiDaredevils?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DelhiDaredevils</a> a decision taken by him only. We as a franchise salute this courageous call of his, a first in India cricket! A true <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dilliwala?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dilliwala</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Legendary?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Legendary</a>
— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) <a href="https://twitter.com/DelhiDaredevils/status/989093545549197312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team. It was Gambhir who nominated his name for the captain's post.

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Dear DD fans continuing on our last tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/GautamGambhir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GautamGambhir</a> nominated <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShreyasIyer?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ShreyasIyer</a> as the next <a href="https://twitter.com/DelhiDaredevils?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DelhiDaredevils</a> captain! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VIVOIPL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VIVOIPL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DilDilli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DilDilli</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DilliDhadkega?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DilliDhadkega</a>
— Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) <a href="https://twitter.com/DelhiDaredevils/status/989094080398479360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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"I want to thank the management & my coaches for appointing me as the captain of the team. It is a great honor for me,"&nbsp; said Iyer on being appointed as the new captain of Delhi.&nbsp;

Delhi, which currently stands at the bottom of the points table, lost five out of six matches played so far.&nbsp;

In their last clash against Punjab at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi lost the match by four runs. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The team will next face Kolkata at their home ground on April 27.&nbsp;

Delhi lost five out of six matches played

Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday stepped down as the captain of Delhi, after the team poor's performance in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). The decision was announced at a press conference today. While talking to the media persons, Gambhir said the decision to step down was his own as 'he couldn't handle the pressure'. "It was my decision. I haven't contributed enough to the team. I had to take the responsibility being the leader of the ship. I feel it was the right time," Gambhir said. Dear #DD fans we would like to share @GautamGambhir has chosen to step down as a captain for @DelhiDaredevils a decision taken by him only. We as a franchise salute this courageous call of his, a first in India cricket! A true #dilliwala #Legendary — Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) April 25, 2018 × Shreyas Iyer has been given the responsibility to lead the team. It was Gambhir who nominated his name for the captain's post. Dear DD fans continuing on our last tweet @GautamGambhir nominated #ShreyasIyer as the next @DelhiDaredevils captain! #VIVOIPL #DilDilli #DilliDhadkega — Delhi Daredevils (@DelhiDaredevils) April 25, 2018 × "I want to thank the management & my coaches for appointing me as the captain of the team. It is a great honor for me," said Iyer on being appointed as the new captain of Delhi. Delhi, which currently stands at the bottom of the points table, lost five out of six matches played so far. In their last clash against Punjab at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi lost the match by four runs. The team will next face Kolkata at their home ground on April 27.

IPL 2018: Gautam Gambhir steps down as Delhi captain, says 'couldn't handle the pressure'

Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of Indian Premier League 2018 due to a finger injury that he sustained while fielding in the last clash against Chennai on April 22, Sunday.

Australian pacer Stanlake was purchased by Hyderabad franchise for an amount of 50 lakhs. So far in the tournament, he has been magnificent and has contributed well to the team. He took five wickets in the matches he played for Hyderabad.

"Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the eleventh"edition of the ongoing IPL," a media release from the Sunrisers Hyderabad said.

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Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2018 owing to a fractured finger. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OrangeArmy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OrangeArmy</a> wishes him a speedy recovery.
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) <a href="https://twitter.com/SunRisers/status/988780785871208449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Indian and Australian orthopedic specialists have advised Stanlake against playing the remaining tournament owing to an injury.

"Billy sustained a displaced fracture on the fifth finger of his right hand whilst fielding. Surgical reduction and fixation was required to restore the function to that finger," the release said.

The statement also mentioned that Billy Stanlake has flown back to Australia.

Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of Indian Premier League 2018 due to a finger injury that he sustained while fielding in the last clash against Chennai on April 22

Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of Indian Premier League 2018 due to a finger injury that he sustained while fielding in the last clash against Chennai on April 22, Sunday. Australian pacer Stanlake was purchased by Hyderabad franchise for an amount of 50 lakhs. So far in the tournament, he has been magnificent and has contributed well to the team. He took five wickets in the matches he played for Hyderabad. "Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the eleventh"edition of the ongoing IPL," a media release from the Sunrisers Hyderabad said. Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2018 owing to a fractured finger. The #OrangeArmy wishes him a speedy recovery. — SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 24, 2018 × Indian and Australian orthopedic specialists have advised Stanlake against playing the remaining tournament owing to an injury. "Billy sustained a displaced fracture on the fifth finger of his right hand whilst fielding. Surgical reduction and fixation was required to restore the function to that finger," the release said. The statement also mentioned that Billy Stanlake has flown back to Australia.

Billy Stanlake ruled out of IPL 2018 due to a fractured finger

Kane Williamson-led side was bowled for just 118 runs, setting the lowest target for any franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Hyderabad had a poor start as they lost opener Shikhar Dhawan for just five runs. He was bowled by McClenaghan.

In the same over, the Mumbai pacer managed to send wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha back to the pavilion on a duck. So far, Saha did not had a good campaign in the cash-rich tournament.&nbsp

Skipper Williamson, who was the backbone of the franchise in last all matches, failed to stand up for the team this time. &nbsp

He gave away his wicket to Hardik Pandya after making 29 runs off 21 balls.&nbsp

However, he is the highest scorer for the franchise.

As usual, the downline again failed to perform, resulting in a poor score on the board. &nbsp&nbsp

Yusuf Pathan tried to save Hyderabad from drowning but was also sent back by Mustafizur.&nbsp

He became the second highest scorer for the team by making 29 runs off 33 balls. &nbsp&nbsp

Earlier, Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday won the toss and opted to field against Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai, which lost four out of five games played, will be looking to outplay Kane Williamson-side in order to get their campaign back on track.

Talking about his team and strategy for today, the Mumbai batsman said, "We are gonna bowl first. It is a good pitch and it is hard ground to defend. Not gonna change a lot through the course of 40 overs. It's been a little disappointing in those terms (losing close games). We played good cricket and it is just the finishing touch we are lacking."

"We played five games so far and we need to understand as a team where we went wrong. It is a fresh game and we want to treat every game as a new game and start afresh because it is important to keep our head straight and work towards the victory. We are unchanged," he added.

Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost two consecutive matches. The team had given a good start to their campaign in this year's IPL as they won three matches in a row to be at the top of the points table.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the last match against Chennai due to injury, is making a return. The franchise is highly dependent on openers as the middle-batting order has not performed so far.

Talking about their strategy for today, Williamson said, "We would have liked to bowl as well. It does look like a good surface and whatever we are gonna do, we should do well. We are going with 3 spinners and 3 seamers."

"Obviously number of injuries with Bhuvi and Stanlake missing out with injuries. Shikhar is back in the side. Nabi and Thampi are in too. Exciting times for us as some of the guys have got the opportunity for the first time this season. Looking forward to an exciting contest," the Hyderabad skipper added.

The franchise suffered a huge blow as star pacer Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a fractured finger.&nbsp

Skipper Williamson, who was the backbone of the franchise in last all matches, failed to stand up for the team this time.

Kane Williamson-led side was bowled for just 118 runs, setting the lowest target for any franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Hyderabad had a poor start as they lost opener Shikhar Dhawan for just five runs. He was bowled by McClenaghan. In the same over, the Mumbai pacer managed to send wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha back to the pavilion on a duck. So far, Saha did not had a good campaign in the cash-rich tournament. Skipper Williamson, who was the backbone of the franchise in last all matches, failed to stand up for the team this time. He gave away his wicket to Hardik Pandya after making 29 runs off 21 balls. However, he is the highest scorer for the franchise. As usual, the downline again failed to perform, resulting in a poor score on the board. Yusuf Pathan tried to save Hyderabad from drowning but was also sent back by Mustafizur. He became the second highest scorer for the team by making 29 runs off 33 balls. Earlier, Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday won the toss and opted to field against Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai, which lost four out of five games played, will be looking to outplay Kane Williamson-side in order to get their campaign back on track. Talking about his team and strategy for today, the Mumbai batsman said, "We are gonna bowl first. It is a good pitch and it is hard ground to defend. Not gonna change a lot through the course of 40 overs. It's been a little disappointing in those terms (losing close games). We played good cricket and it is just the finishing touch we are lacking." "We played five games so far and we need to understand as a team where we went wrong. It is a fresh game and we want to treat every game as a new game and start afresh because it is important to keep our head straight and work towards the victory. We are unchanged," he added. Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost two consecutive matches. The team had given a good start to their campaign in this year's IPL as they won three matches in a row to be at the top of the points table. Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the last match against Chennai due to injury, is making a return. The franchise is highly dependent on openers as the middle-batting order has not performed so far. Talking about their strategy for today, Williamson said, "We would have liked to bowl as well. It does look like a good surface and whatever we are gonna do, we should do well. We are going with 3 spinners and 3 seamers." "Obviously number of injuries with Bhuvi and Stanlake missing out with injuries. Shikhar is back in the side. Nabi and Thampi are in too. Exciting times for us as some of the guys have got the opportunity for the first time this season. Looking forward to an exciting contest," the Hyderabad skipper added. The franchise suffered a huge blow as star pacer Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a fractured finger.

Hyderabad 118-all out, set lowest target of IPL 2018

Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday won the toss and opted to field against Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai, which lost four out of five games played, will be looking to outplay Kane Williamson-side in order to get their campaign back on track.

Talking about his team and strategy for today, the Mumbai batsman said, "We are gonna bowl first. It is a good pitch and it is hard ground to defend. Not gonna change a lot through the course of 40 overs. It's been a little disappointing in those terms (losing close games). We played good cricket and it is just the finishing touch we are lacking."

"We played five games so far and we need to understand as a team where we went wrong. It is a fresh game and we want to treat every game as a new game and start afresh because it is important to keep our head straight and work towards the victory. We are unchanged," he added.

Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost two consecutive matches. The team had given a good start to their campaign in this year's IPL as they won three matches in a row to be at the top of the points table.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the last match against Chennai due to injury, is making a return. The franchise is highly dependent on openers as the middle-batting order has not performed so far.

Talking about their strategy for today, Williamson said, "We would have liked to bowl as well. It does look like a good surface and whatever we are gonna do, we should do well. We are going with 3 spinners and 3 seamers."

"Obviously number of injuries with Bhuvi and Stanlake missing out with injuries. Shikhar is back in the side. Nabi and Thampi are in too. Exciting times for us as some of the guys have got the opportunity for the first time this season. Looking forward to an exciting contest," the Hyderabad skipper added.

The franchise suffered a huge blow as star pacer Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a fractured finger.&nbsp;

Teams:

Hyderabad (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul

Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman

&nbsp;

Mumbai lost four out of five games they have played

Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday won the toss and opted to field against Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai, which lost four out of five games played, will be looking to outplay Kane Williamson-side in order to get their campaign back on track. Talking about his team and strategy for today, the Mumbai batsman said, "We are gonna bowl first. It is a good pitch and it is hard ground to defend. Not gonna change a lot through the course of 40 overs. It's been a little disappointing in those terms (losing close games). We played good cricket and it is just the finishing touch we are lacking." "We played five games so far and we need to understand as a team where we went wrong. It is a fresh game and we want to treat every game as a new game and start afresh because it is important to keep our head straight and work towards the victory. We are unchanged," he added. Hyderabad, on the other hand, lost two consecutive matches. The team had given a good start to their campaign in this year's IPL as they won three matches in a row to be at the top of the points table. Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the last match against Chennai due to injury, is making a return. The franchise is highly dependent on openers as the middle-batting order has not performed so far. Talking about their strategy for today, Williamson said, "We would have liked to bowl as well. It does look like a good surface and whatever we are gonna do, we should do well. We are going with 3 spinners and 3 seamers." "Obviously number of injuries with Bhuvi and Stanlake missing out with injuries. Shikhar is back in the side. Nabi and Thampi are in too. Exciting times for us as some of the guys have got the opportunity for the first time this season. Looking forward to an exciting contest," the Hyderabad skipper added. The franchise suffered a huge blow as star pacer Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a fractured finger. Teams: Hyderabad (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman

IPL 2018: Mumbai win toss, opt to field

Chris Gayle, popularly known for his power hittings has never failed to entertain his fans with his dance moves.

Before the Indian Premier League started, Gayle was grooving to&nbsp;pulsating Punjabi beats.

Recently, Haryanvi heart-throb singer Sapna Choudhary shared a video on her Instagram account with a caption, "Look what I found on Internet. @chrisgayle333 You are such a good Dancer."

In the video, Chris Gayle was found dancing on one of the most famous songs,&nbsp;Teri Aakhya Ka Yo Kajal... of Haryanvi singer Sapna.

Watch the video:

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh5zhwgj8pW/" style=" color:#000 font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px font-style:normal font-weight:normal line-height:17px text-decoration:none word-wrap:break-word" target="_blank">Look what I found on Internet. @chrisgayle333 You are such a good Dancer.</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px line-height:17px margin-bottom:0 margin-top:8px overflow:hidden padding:8px 0 7px text-align:center text-overflow:ellipsis white-space:nowrap">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/itssapnachoudhary/" style=" color:#c9c8cd font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px font-style:normal font-weight:normal line-height:17px" target="_blank"> Sapna Choudhary</a> (@itssapnachoudhary) on <time datetime="2018-04-23T06:41:27+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px line-height:17px">Apr 22, 2018 at 11:41pm PDT</time>
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However, a recent video revealed that Chris Gayle was actually dancing on the item song, "Laila Main Laila" of Bollywood's famous movie, Raees.

Watch the latest video here:

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<div style=" background:url(data:image/pngbase64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC) display:block height:44px margin:0 auto -44px position:relative top:-22px width:44px">&nbsp;</div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWkJpu6hnnx/" style=" color:#000 font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px font-style:normal font-weight:normal line-height:17px text-decoration:none word-wrap:break-word" target="_blank">(#CEO Chris Ever Okay) I'll give the winner USD 5000 who do the #ChrisGayleDanceChallenge ?? the best ?. Ladies, the challenge goes for you too...There's the video so make sure you're spot on as I am lol. #HaveFun I'll post the top 5 on my page and the viewers choose the winner. Remember to use the HASHTAG! Will announce the winner on the 24th ??</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px line-height:17px margin-bottom:0 margin-top:8px overflow:hidden padding:8px 0 7px text-align:center text-overflow:ellipsis white-space:nowrap">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chrisgayle333/" style=" color:#c9c8cd font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px font-style:normal font-weight:normal line-height:17px" target="_blank"> KingGayle ?</a> (@chrisgayle333) on <time datetime="2017-07-15T11:03:55+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px line-height:17px">Jul 15, 2017 at 4:03am PDT</time>
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The iconic song, "Laila Main Laila"&nbsp;is from the movie Qurbani which was released in 1980. The original song featured&nbsp;actress Zeenat Aman.

In a recent Shahrukh Kahn starrer movie Raees, a new version of the same song was released featuring Sunny Leone.

Chris Gayle, popularly known for his power hittings has never failed to entertain his fans with his dance moves

Chris Gayle, popularly known for his power hittings has never failed to entertain his fans with his dance moves. Before the Indian Premier League started, Gayle was grooving to pulsating Punjabi beats. Recently, Haryanvi heart-throb singer Sapna Choudhary shared a video on her Instagram account with a caption, "Look what I found on Internet. @chrisgayle333 You are such a good Dancer." In the video, Chris Gayle was found dancing on one of the most famous songs, Teri Aakhya Ka Yo Kajal... of Haryanvi singer Sapna. Watch the video: Look what I found on Internet. @chrisgayle333 You are such a good Dancer. A post shared by Sapna Choudhary (@itssapnachoudhary) on Apr 22, 2018 at 11:41pm PDT × However, a recent video revealed that Chris Gayle was actually dancing on the item song, "Laila Main Laila" of Bollywood's famous movie, Raees. Watch the latest video here: (#CEO Chris Ever Okay) I'll give the winner USD 5000 who do the #ChrisGayleDanceChallenge ?? the best ?. Ladies, the challenge goes for you too...There's the video so make sure you're spot on as I am lol. #HaveFun I'll post the top 5 on my page and the viewers choose the winner. Remember to use the HASHTAG! Will announce the winner on the 24th ?? A post shared by KingGayle ? (@chrisgayle333) on Jul 15, 2017 at 4:03am PDT × The iconic song, "Laila Main Laila" is from the movie Qurbani which was released in 1980. The original song featured actress Zeenat Aman. In a recent Shahrukh Kahn starrer movie Raees, a new version of the same song was released featuring Sunny Leone.

Watch to know if Chris Gayle danced on Sapna Choudhary's or Sunny Leone's song

Ashwin-led Punjab beat Delhi by four runs in a nail-biting encounter on Monday at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Earlier, Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to bowl in front of Delhi audience as it was the first game Delhi is playing at its home ground.

Gautam Gambhir had made five changes for today's match but it went in vain as the batting order of Delhi team failed miserably.

Apart from Shreyas Iyer, no other players contributed to the team. Shreyas kept hopes for Delhi fans till the last but end up losing his wicket on the last ball of the innings.

Scoreboard:

Delhi:

Prithvi Shaw b Rajpoot 22 
Gautam Gambhir c Finch b A Tye 4 
Glenn Maxwell c A Tye b Rajpoot 12 
Shreyas Iyer c Finch b Muheeb 57 
Rishabh Pant b Mujeeb 4&nbsp; 
Daniel Christian run out 6 
Rahul Tewatia c Rahul b Tye 24 
Liam Plunkett c Karun b Sran 0 
Amit Mishra not out 1

 
Extras: (LB-2, WD-7) 9

 
Total (For 8 wickets in 20 overs) 139

 
Fall of Wickets: 1-25, 2-41, 3-42, 4-61, 5-76, 6-123, 7-124, 8-139

 
Bowling: Ankit Rajpoot 4-0-23-2, Barinder Sran 4-0-45-1, Andrew Tye 4-0-25-2, R Ashwin 4-0-19-0, Mujeeb ur Rehman 4-0-25-2.

Earlier Delhi stated the game well, the bowlers especially, Liam Plunket and U-19 champ Avesh Khan thrashed the top batting order as Punjab put up a modest 143-run target.

In the absence of Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch opened the innings with KL Rahul but could not give a required start to the team.

KL Rahul, who has been tremendous so far, scored 23 runs off 15 balls but Aaron Finch failed to fill Gayles space as under-19 star pacer Avesh Khan took his wicket in the second over itself.

Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh and David Miller scored 21, 34, 14 and 26 runs respectively.

Playing the first game of IPL 2018, Liam Plunkett produced his best bowling figures, he took three wickets by giving 17 runs in his 4-over spell. Also, Avesh Khan contributed well with some splendid deliveries and took two crucial wickets as well.

The batting order of Delhi team failed miserably

Ashwin-led Punjab beat Delhi by four runs in a nail-biting encounter on Monday at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Earlier, Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to bowl in front of Delhi audience as it was the first game Delhi is playing at its home ground. Gautam Gambhir had made five changes for today's match but it went in vain as the batting order of Delhi team failed miserably. Apart from Shreyas Iyer, no other players contributed to the team. Shreyas kept hopes for Delhi fans till the last but end up losing his wicket on the last ball of the innings. Scoreboard: Delhi: Prithvi Shaw b Rajpoot 22 Gautam Gambhir c Finch b A Tye 4 Glenn Maxwell c A Tye b Rajpoot 12 Shreyas Iyer c Finch b Muheeb 57 Rishabh Pant b Mujeeb 4 Daniel Christian run out 6 Rahul Tewatia c Rahul b Tye 24 Liam Plunkett c Karun b Sran 0 Amit Mishra not out 1 Extras: (LB-2, WD-7) 9 Total (For 8 wickets in 20 overs) 139 Fall of Wickets: 1-25, 2-41, 3-42, 4-61, 5-76, 6-123, 7-124, 8-139 Bowling: Ankit Rajpoot 4-0-23-2, Barinder Sran 4-0-45-1, Andrew Tye 4-0-25-2, R Ashwin 4-0-19-0, Mujeeb ur Rehman 4-0-25-2. Earlier Delhi stated the game well, the bowlers especially, Liam Plunket and U-19 champ Avesh Khan thrashed the top batting order as Punjab put up a modest 143-run target. In the absence of Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch opened the innings with KL Rahul but could not give a required start to the team. KL Rahul, who has been tremendous so far, scored 23 runs off 15 balls but Aaron Finch failed to fill Gayles space as under-19 star pacer Avesh Khan took his wicket in the second over itself. Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh and David Miller scored 21, 34, 14 and 26 runs respectively. Playing the first game of IPL 2018, Liam Plunkett produced his best bowling figures, he took three wickets by giving 17 runs in his 4-over spell. Also, Avesh Khan contributed well with some splendid deliveries and took two crucial wickets as well.

IPL 2018: Ashwin-led Punjab outplay Delhi to reach top of points table

Defending champions Mumbai will be up against Hyderabad for the second time in this year's IPL. Their first encounter was won by one wicket.&nbsp;

Both the teams will try all the cards under their sleeves to emerge out as victorious in this match for sure.

So let us take a look at the top players to watch out for in today's game.&nbsp;

1. Suryakumar Yadav: He has been Mumbai's most successful and consistent batsman ever since the beginning of the season. Yadav, who played for Kolkata in 2017, has displayed a totally different game than what he had last year. Having compiled 196 runs from five innings with an impressive strike rate of 140, he is definitely among the players to watch out for in today's game.

2. Rohit Sharma: The Mumbai skipper, who shelved his poor form with a thundering 52-ball 94, will be all set to spread some magic on the ground for his franchise. Given his track record and capabilities, fans are expecting a quality performance from him in this match. Rohit, who has not done justice to his playing abilities so far in IPL, would also be very determined to deliver the same.

3. Kane Williamson: The Hyderabad skipper has been in red-hot form for the franchise. Or to say is more directly, he is the backbone of the batting line-up of Hyderabad. Having amassed a total of 230 runs with an average of 57.50, Williamson has scored three consecutive fifties in his last three outings.

4. Rashid Khan: The Afghanistan tweaker is yet to repeat what he had done for his franchise in 2017. He made his debut in the IPL last year and got 17 wickets from 14 matches at an average of 21.05. But his bowling figures in this season so far are nowhere near to his previous season's performance. Khan has four wickets from five matches averaging at 42.75, almost double compared to the last season.

5. Krunal Pandya: The Mumbai batsman has performed decently in IPL so far. But it will be important for him to perform at his home ground. Krunal is one of those batsmen who can single-handedly snatch the match from the opponent's jaws. Hence, his calibre makes him the player to watch out for in today's clash against Hyderabad.&nbsp;

The two teams will face each other for the second time in IPL 2018

Defending champions Mumbai will be up against Hyderabad for the second time in this year's IPL. Their first encounter was won by one wicket. Both the teams will try all the cards under their sleeves to emerge out as victorious in this match for sure. So let us take a look at the top players to watch out for in today's game. 1. Suryakumar Yadav: He has been Mumbai's most successful and consistent batsman ever since the beginning of the season. Yadav, who played for Kolkata in 2017, has displayed a totally different game than what he had last year. Having compiled 196 runs from five innings with an impressive strike rate of 140, he is definitely among the players to watch out for in today's game. 2. Rohit Sharma: The Mumbai skipper, who shelved his poor form with a thundering 52-ball 94, will be all set to spread some magic on the ground for his franchise. Given his track record and capabilities, fans are expecting a quality performance from him in this match. Rohit, who has not done justice to his playing abilities so far in IPL, would also be very determined to deliver the same. 3. Kane Williamson: The Hyderabad skipper has been in red-hot form for the franchise. Or to say is more directly, he is the backbone of the batting line-up of Hyderabad. Having amassed a total of 230 runs with an average of 57.50, Williamson has scored three consecutive fifties in his last three outings. 4. Rashid Khan: The Afghanistan tweaker is yet to repeat what he had done for his franchise in 2017. He made his debut in the IPL last year and got 17 wickets from 14 matches at an average of 21.05. But his bowling figures in this season so far are nowhere near to his previous season's performance. Khan has four wickets from five matches averaging at 42.75, almost double compared to the last season. 5. Krunal Pandya: The Mumbai batsman has performed decently in IPL so far. But it will be important for him to perform at his home ground. Krunal is one of those batsmen who can single-handedly snatch the match from the opponent's jaws. Hence, his calibre makes him the player to watch out for in today's clash against Hyderabad.

IPL 2018: Players to watch out for in Mumbai vs Hyderabad clash

Sachin Tendulkar turned 45 today and wishes poured in from every corner of the world to wish the legendary Indian cricketer.

However, Cricket Australia (CA) pushed out a tongue-in-cheek tweet which left Tendulkar's fans fuming.

The Australian Cricket board&nbsp;wished former Australian fast bowler Damien Fleming and ignored Sachin.&nbsp;

CA's official Twitter handle also attached a video of the swing bowler taking a wicket with the batsman being none other than Sachin Tendulkar.

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Some <a href="https://twitter.com/bowlologist?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bowlologist</a> gold from the man himself - happy birthday, Damien Fleming! <a href="https://t.co/YcoYA8GNOD">pic.twitter.com/YcoYA8GNOD</a>
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) <a href="https://twitter.com/CricketAus/status/988614485123387392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Within minutes fans questioned CA's decision to put out the tweet on Tendulkar's birthday and said it was disrespectful to the batting legend.&nbsp;

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No matter how many bans, Australians will never change...? 
 
On Sachin's Birthday you are posting a video how Damien Fleming bowled him. Couldn't you find another batsman instead of Sachin? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HappyBirthdaySachin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HappyBirthdaySachin</a>
— शशांक (@iShhhshank) <a href="https://twitter.com/iShhhshank/status/988615325099941888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Have u lost your mind??? <a href="https://twitter.com/CricketAus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CricketAus</a> Shame on you..
— harshbelvalkar (@harshbelvalkar) <a href="https://twitter.com/harshbelvalkar/status/988669772832243712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Also sachin smashed Australian strong bowling attack back in 1998 ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HappyBirthdaySachin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HappyBirthdaySachin</a> <a href="https://t.co/XZzwmNSzSF">https://t.co/XZzwmNSzSF</a>
— HBD தலைவா ??? (@freakoffl) <a href="https://twitter.com/freakoffl/status/988627075438333953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Shame on Australia cricket...if u cant respect other player .... Australia cricket is the cheapest cricketer in world n people....like u r very cheap....there r no fault of smith n warner....u gave them tranning of that thats why the did that....
— Nikhil rakhonde (@Nikhilrakhonde1) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nikhilrakhonde1/status/988667728826281984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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For the record, Fleming dismissed Tendulkar seven times in combined Test and ODIs.

Sachin Tendulkar turned 45 today and wishes poured in from every corner of the world to wish the legendary Indian cricketer. However, Cricket Australia (CA) pushed out a tongue-in-cheek tweet which left Tendulkar's fans fuming. The Australian Cricket board wished former Australian fast bowler Damien Fleming and ignored Sachin. CA's official Twitter handle also attached a video of the swing bowler taking a wicket with the batsman being none other than Sachin Tendulkar. Some @bowlologist gold from the man himself - happy birthday, Damien Fleming! pic.twitter.com/YcoYA8GNOD — cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) April 24, 2018 × Within minutes fans questioned CA's decision to put out the tweet on Tendulkar's birthday and said it was disrespectful to the batting legend. No matter how many bans, Australians will never change...? On Sachin's Birthday you are posting a video how Damien Fleming bowled him. Couldn't you find another batsman instead of Sachin? #HappyBirthdaySachin — शशांक (@iShhhshank) April 24, 2018 × Have u lost your mind??? @CricketAus Shame on you.. — harshbelvalkar (@harshbelvalkar) April 24, 2018 × Also sachin smashed Australian strong bowling attack back in 1998 ?#HappyBirthdaySachin https://t.co/XZzwmNSzSF — HBD தலைவா ??? (@freakoffl) April 24, 2018 × Shame on Australia cricket...if u cant respect other player .... Australia cricket is the cheapest cricketer in world n people....like u r very cheap....there r no fault of smith n warner....u gave them tranning of that thats why the did that.... — Nikhil rakhonde (@Nikhilrakhonde1) April 24, 2018 × For the record, Fleming dismissed Tendulkar seven times in combined Test and ODIs.

Cricket Australia posts cheeky tweet on Sachin Tendulkar's birthday, fans hit back

Pacers Liam Plunket and U-19 champ Avesh Khan thrashed the top batting order of Punjab, as Ashwin-led Punjab put up a modest 144-run target for Delhi on Monday at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.

Earlier, Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to bowl in front of Delhi audience as it is the first game that Delhi is playing at its home ground.

In the absence of Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch opened the innings with KL Rahul but could not give a required start to the team.

Chris Gayle has been ruled out for today's match due&nbsp;to some health issues.

KL Rahul, who has been tremendous so far in the ongoing tournament, scored just 23 runs off 15 balls, Aaron Finch failed to fill Gayle's space as under-19 star pacer Avesh Khan took his wicket in the second over.

Middle batting order helped to push the run rate forward and set a decent score. Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh and David Miller scored 21, 34, 14 and 26 runs respectively.

Gautam Gambhir had made five changes for the game, Chris Morris, and Jason Roy are injured so they were replaced by Dan Christian and Liam Plunkett.&nbsp;

Playing the first game of IPL 2018, Liam Plunkett produced his best bowling figures, he took three wickets by giving 17 runs in his 4-over spell.

Also, Avesh Khan contributed well with some splendid deliveries and took two crucial wickets as well.

Fall Of Wickets:

6-1 (Aaron Finch, 1.3), 42-2 (Lokesh Rahul, 4.3), 60-3 (Mayank Agarwal, 7.3), 85-4 (Yuvraj Singh, 12.4), 116-5 (Karun Nair, 16.1), 127-6 (David Miller, 17.3), 140-7 (Ravichandran Ashwin, 19.1), 143-8 (Andrew Tye, 19.6)

Ashwin-led Delhi set 144-run target for Gautam-led Delhi

Pacers Liam Plunket and U-19 champ Avesh Khan thrashed the top batting order of Punjab, as Ashwin-led Punjab put up a modest 144-run target for Delhi on Monday at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Earlier, Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to bowl in front of Delhi audience as it is the first game that Delhi is playing at its home ground. In the absence of Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch opened the innings with KL Rahul but could not give a required start to the team. Chris Gayle has been ruled out for today's match due to some health issues. KL Rahul, who has been tremendous so far in the ongoing tournament, scored just 23 runs off 15 balls, Aaron Finch failed to fill Gayle's space as under-19 star pacer Avesh Khan took his wicket in the second over. Middle batting order helped to push the run rate forward and set a decent score. Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh and David Miller scored 21, 34, 14 and 26 runs respectively. Gautam Gambhir had made five changes for the game, Chris Morris, and Jason Roy are injured so they were replaced by Dan Christian and Liam Plunkett. Playing the first game of IPL 2018, Liam Plunkett produced his best bowling figures, he took three wickets by giving 17 runs in his 4-over spell. Also, Avesh Khan contributed well with some splendid deliveries and took two crucial wickets as well. Fall Of Wickets: 6-1 (Aaron Finch, 1.3), 42-2 (Lokesh Rahul, 4.3), 60-3 (Mayank Agarwal, 7.3), 85-4 (Yuvraj Singh, 12.4), 116-5 (Karun Nair, 16.1), 127-6 (David Miller, 17.3), 140-7 (Ravichandran Ashwin, 19.1), 143-8 (Andrew Tye, 19.6)

IPL 2018: Gayle-less Punjab set 144-run target for Delhi

By: Mukesh Bansal&nbsp

Delhi's campaign in the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) has not been great as they lost 4 out of the 5 games they have played.&nbsp

They are currently ranked at the bottom of the table with 2 points.&nbsp

All the five games Delhi played were not home matches. But today they will start their home leg which may turn the things in their favour.&nbsp

There has been a lot of worries for Delhi, the main is the form of their skipper Gautam Gambhir who so far has a nominal average of 20.25. He has failed to provide consistency to the batting line up.

The devastating Glenn Maxwell also failed to score big for his franchise.&nbsp

Even their bowling department looks flattened despite having bowlers like Mohammad Shami, Trent Boult and Chris Morris.

They failed to restrict opposition's batting attack both in Power-play and death overs. Shahbaz Nadeem too seemed to have lost his zeal with which he made his name in the previous season. 
&nbsp 
Only positive they carry is the form of young Rishabh pant who single-handedly has provided some stability to the side, along with him the Englishmen Jason Roy.

Roy displayed his form when he made a brilliant 91 against Mumbai at Wankhede. Hope his form continues.

They have already been defeated by Punjab at Mohali at the start of their campaign and now the Punjab team looks more threatening with solid opening combo of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle.&nbsp

Their bowling attack is also strong with Ashwin himself leading the department along with mysterious Mujeeb, Mohit and Sarn.&nbsp

They are currently ranked at the bottom of the table with 2 points.

By: Mukesh Bansal Delhi's campaign in the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) has not been great as they lost 4 out of the 5 games they have played. They are currently ranked at the bottom of the table with 2 points. All the five games Delhi played were not home matches. But today they will start their home leg which may turn the things in their favour. There has been a lot of worries for Delhi, the main is the form of their skipper Gautam Gambhir who so far has a nominal average of 20.25. He has failed to provide consistency to the batting line up. The devastating Glenn Maxwell also failed to score big for his franchise. Even their bowling department looks flattened despite having bowlers like Mohammad Shami, Trent Boult and Chris Morris. They failed to restrict opposition's batting attack both in Power-play and death overs. Shahbaz Nadeem too seemed to have lost his zeal with which he made his name in the previous season. Only positive they carry is the form of young Rishabh pant who single-handedly has provided some stability to the side, along with him the Englishmen Jason Roy. Roy displayed his form when he made a brilliant 91 against Mumbai at Wankhede. Hope his form continues. They have already been defeated by Punjab at Mohali at the start of their campaign and now the Punjab team looks more threatening with solid opening combo of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle. Their bowling attack is also strong with Ashwin himself leading the department along with mysterious Mujeeb, Mohit and Sarn.

Blog: Delhi's home leg may change their fortune in IPL 2018

Flamboyant Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh, who played his last One Day International (ODI) for the country in June 2017, has said that he will take a call on his career after the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.

"I am going to look to play till 2019, whatever cricket I get to play. I will take a call when that year is over," Singh told ANI.

The 36-year-old all-rounder added that he has been playing for the country for nearly two decades and will have to retire someday.

"Everybody has to take a decision after a while. I have been playing international cricket since 2000, it has been almost 17-18 years on and off. So, I will definitely take a call after 2019," he added.

Singh also spoke about his Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), adding that their immediate goal is to qualify for the semi-finals.

"We are looking ahead to first qualify in the last four and I think we have got a great team this year. We have got a very powerful batting attack, smart bowling attack, and hopefully we look to qualify and then see if we can win the finals," he said.

The batsman was all praises for his teammate and star batsman Chris Gayle, who recently scored a century against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 19. He also added that their main competition this season is Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

"Oh, I am loving it. Chris has always been a friend off the field. He has been a great batsman, probably one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world and performing like a boss on the field. I am really happy for him and the way he is batting," he said.

"T20 cricket is unpredictable. Anybody can win on any day. But Chennai has always been a very consistent team and KKR has been playing really well. I think these are two really good teams in the IPL," he concluded.

KXIP currently rank second on the points table with four victories and one loss.&nbsp;

'I have been playing international cricket since 2000, it has been almost 17-18 years on and off. So, I will definitely take a call after 2019,' said Yuvraj

Flamboyant Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh, who played his last One Day International (ODI) for the country in June 2017, has said that he will take a call on his career after the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. "I am going to look to play till 2019, whatever cricket I get to play. I will take a call when that year is over," Singh told ANI. The 36-year-old all-rounder added that he has been playing for the country for nearly two decades and will have to retire someday. "Everybody has to take a decision after a while. I have been playing international cricket since 2000, it has been almost 17-18 years on and off. So, I will definitely take a call after 2019," he added. Singh also spoke about his Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), adding that their immediate goal is to qualify for the semi-finals. "We are looking ahead to first qualify in the last four and I think we have got a great team this year. We have got a very powerful batting attack, smart bowling attack, and hopefully we look to qualify and then see if we can win the finals," he said. The batsman was all praises for his teammate and star batsman Chris Gayle, who recently scored a century against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 19. He also added that their main competition this season is Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). "Oh, I am loving it. Chris has always been a friend off the field. He has been a great batsman, probably one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world and performing like a boss on the field. I am really happy for him and the way he is batting," he said. "T20 cricket is unpredictable. Anybody can win on any day. But Chennai has always been a very consistent team and KKR has been playing really well. I think these are two really good teams in the IPL," he concluded. KXIP currently rank second on the points table with four victories and one loss.

Yuvraj Singh to retire after 2019 World Cup? 

Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to bowl first against Punjab at Feroz Shah Kotla on Monday.

Delhi and Punjab will be facing each other for the second time in this year's IPL and Gautam Gambhir will be in no mood to let R Ashwin-led side to win the second game against them. Their previous encounter was won by Punjab by 6 wickets.&nbsp;

For Punjab, Aaron Finch will open the batting as Chris Gayle is out and&nbsp;David Miller is in the playing XI at the place of Gayle.

Gautam Gambhir has made five changes for the game, Chris Morris, and Jason Roy are injured so they have been replaced by Dan Christian and Liam Plunkett.&nbsp;

Also, Amit Mishra is in the squad and two under-19 stars Avesh Khan and Prithvi Shaw got a&nbsp;place in the playing XI. Nadeem, Harshal and Shankar are out for today's game.

Playing XI:

Punjab: Lokesh Rahul(w), Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Delhi: Gautam Gambhir(c), Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult

Gautam Gambhir has made five changes for the game, Dan Christian, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan and Prithvi Shaw are in the squad

Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to bowl first against Punjab at Feroz Shah Kotla on Monday. Delhi and Punjab will be facing each other for the second time in this year's IPL and Gautam Gambhir will be in no mood to let R Ashwin-led side to win the second game against them. Their previous encounter was won by Punjab by 6 wickets. For Punjab, Aaron Finch will open the batting as Chris Gayle is out and David Miller is in the playing XI at the place of Gayle. Gautam Gambhir has made five changes for the game, Chris Morris, and Jason Roy are injured so they have been replaced by Dan Christian and Liam Plunkett. Also, Amit Mishra is in the squad and two under-19 stars Avesh Khan and Prithvi Shaw got a place in the playing XI. Nadeem, Harshal and Shankar are out for today's game. Playing XI: Punjab: Lokesh Rahul(w), Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot, Mujeeb Ur Rahman Delhi: Gautam Gambhir(c), Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Rahul Tewatia, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult

IPL 2018: Gautam Gambhir opts to bowl against Punjab

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