Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished fourth in the Indian Premier League (IPL), are hoping to grow the Indian core group of players, especially in the middle order, as they have found their batting was over-reliant on overseas players. 
 
Speaking to the media, RCB`s Director of Cricket Operations, Mike Hesson, said that they will first confirm the facts about the scale of the auction and then strategise. 
 
"The core group of players is good. What we do need is a little bit of tweaking, there`s no doubt about that. We talk about the middle order. (It) can`t always be fixed either by just overseas players and we have to look how we might have to do that rather than unnecessarily strengthen one part of the line-up and leave the other exposed," said Hesson, hinting that they will look to bring in Indian talent. 
 
"That is why we are trying to grow the Indian core group of players," he said. 
 
The New Zealander added that the development of Washington Sundar and Devdutt Padikkal is a part of the project. 
 
RCB have already held the initial discussion regarding the team`s development and they are first hoping to get clear information on the auction and when it will take place. 
 
"That [change in the squad] is certainly going to happen in the next week. We have already had initials discussions. We will let the dust settled a bit, we will get a little bit of ideas firstly, and then we need to find the facts whether it is a small auction or a big auction but the core group of players is good," the New Zealander said.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished fourth in the Indian Premier League (IPL), are hoping to grow the Indian core group of players, especially in the middle order, as they have found their batting was over-reliant on overseas players.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, who finished fourth in the Indian Premier League (IPL), are hoping to grow the Indian core group of players, especially in the middle order, as they have found their batting was over-reliant on overseas players. Speaking to the media, RCB`s Director of Cricket Operations, Mike Hesson, said that they will first confirm the facts about the scale of the auction and then strategise. "The core group of players is good. What we do need is a little bit of tweaking, there`s no doubt about that. We talk about the middle order. (It) can`t always be fixed either by just overseas players and we have to look how we might have to do that rather than unnecessarily strengthen one part of the line-up and leave the other exposed," said Hesson, hinting that they will look to bring in Indian talent. "That is why we are trying to grow the Indian core group of players," he said. The New Zealander added that the development of Washington Sundar and Devdutt Padikkal is a part of the project. RCB have already held the initial discussion regarding the team`s development and they are first hoping to get clear information on the auction and when it will take place. "That [change in the squad] is certainly going to happen in the next week. We have already had initials discussions. We will let the dust settled a bit, we will get a little bit of ideas firstly, and then we need to find the facts whether it is a small auction or a big auction but the core group of players is good," the New Zealander said.

Royal Challengers Bangalore look to tweak team, waiting for IPL 2021 auction

IPL auctions got underway in Kolkata on Thursday as Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab splurged in millions to buy foreign cricketers for the upcoming 2020 season.

Pat Cummins took the cake as former champions Kolkata Knight Riders lapped him up for a record 15.5 crore(approximately $2.2 million) even as Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers fought for the Australian.

Cummins has now become the most expensive foreign acquisition in IPL history.

Another Australian Glenn Maxwell was bought by Kings XI Punjab for 10.75 crore (approximately $ 1.5 million) and Royal Challengers picked up Australia opener Aaron Finch for 4.4 crore (approximately $620,000).

Aussie bowler Mitchell Marsh, 28, was brought by SRH for 2 crores and his teammate Josh Hazlewood was taken by CSK for 2 crores.

Shimron Hetmyer who is currently playing the ODI series against India and making a name for himself was taken by Delhi Capitals for a whopping 7.75 crores going way past the base price of 50 Lakh as Royals and Knight Riders fought for him which was followed by Delhi Capitals and Royals.

As far as Indian players are concerned, Rajasthan Royals bid for Mumbai's Yashasvi Jaiswal, 17, and got him for &nbsp;2.4 crore(approximately $3,38,000). The uncapped player is the youngest batsman to score a List A double century.

Varun Chakravarthy was another catch for Kolkata Knight Riders who fended off Royal Challengers to take the 28-year-old Tamil Nadu leg-spinner for 4 crores(approximately $563,000).

IPL auctions got underway in Kolkata on Thursday as Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab splurged in millions to buy foreign cricketers for the upcoming 2020 season.

IPL auctions got underway in Kolkata on Thursday as Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab splurged in millions to buy foreign cricketers for the upcoming 2020 season. Pat Cummins took the cake as former champions Kolkata Knight Riders lapped him up for a record 15.5 crore(approximately $2.2 million) even as Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers fought for the Australian. Cummins has now become the most expensive foreign acquisition in IPL history. Another Australian Glenn Maxwell was bought by Kings XI Punjab for 10.75 crore (approximately $ 1.5 million) and Royal Challengers picked up Australia opener Aaron Finch for 4.4 crore (approximately $620,000). Aussie bowler Mitchell Marsh, 28, was brought by SRH for 2 crores and his teammate Josh Hazlewood was taken by CSK for 2 crores. Shimron Hetmyer who is currently playing the ODI series against India and making a name for himself was taken by Delhi Capitals for a whopping 7.75 crores going way past the base price of 50 Lakh as Royals and Knight Riders fought for him which was followed by Delhi Capitals and Royals. As far as Indian players are concerned, Rajasthan Royals bid for Mumbai's Yashasvi Jaiswal, 17, and got him for 2.4 crore(approximately $3,38,000). The uncapped player is the youngest batsman to score a List A double century. Varun Chakravarthy was another catch for Kolkata Knight Riders who fended off Royal Challengers to take the 28-year-old Tamil Nadu leg-spinner for 4 crores(approximately $563,000).

IPL auction: Cummins, Maxwell, Hetmyer star in big splash

One of the most eagerly anticipated events of the Indian cricket calendar will take place on Thursday in Kolkata as 332 players undergo the hammer at the players' <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/ipl-2019-awards-from-most-runs-to-best-catch-heres-a-list-all-the-winners-218212">auction for IPL 2020</a>.

Nine hundred and ninety-seven cricketers from across the globe had registered for the auction and the list has been subsequently pruned based on the shortlist of players submitted by the eight franchises.

A total of 186 Indians and 146 overseas players will be up for grabs but only a maximum of 73 will be bought, of which only 29 can be non-Indians.

Kings XI Punjab has the maximum purse available - 42 points, seven crore rupees for a maximum of nine players. While defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings have the lowest kitty of around 13 and 14 crores respectively.

There are seven players with the maximum base price of 2 crores - all of them overseas, while only one Indian features in the next highest category of 1.5 crores which has ten names.

IPL 2020 will be the last season before teams undergo a comprehensive squad overhaul in next year's auction.

Australians will be in high demand and none more so than Glenn Maxwell - the world's number 2 ranked all-rounder in the format and pacer Pat Cummins. Aussie captain Aaron Finch opted out of the last IPL while fellow opening batsman Chris Lynn was released by Kolkata Knight Riders but should garner significant bids as should wicket-keeper Alex Carey.

West Indians are always in high demand, and some of the top performers from the ongoing series against India have seen the stocks rise among them are batsman Shimron Hetmeyer, pacers Sheldon Cottrell and Kesrick Williams and leg-spinner Hayden Walsh.

Eoin Morgan's white-ball form this year has been magnificent and the England captain should interest sides like Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals who are looking for experienced leaders in the middle order.

Jason Roy is an established opener, while Trom Bantom made big waves in this year's T-20 blast.

All-rounders Chris Woakes and Sam Curran should also fetch big bids. 
&nbsp;

One of the most eagerly anticipated events of the Indian cricket calendar will take place on Thursday in Kolkata as 332 players undergo the hammer at the players' auction for IPL 2020.

One of the most eagerly anticipated events of the Indian cricket calendar will take place on Thursday in Kolkata as 332 players undergo the hammer at the players' auction for IPL 2020. Nine hundred and ninety-seven cricketers from across the globe had registered for the auction and the list has been subsequently pruned based on the shortlist of players submitted by the eight franchises. A total of 186 Indians and 146 overseas players will be up for grabs but only a maximum of 73 will be bought, of which only 29 can be non-Indians. Kings XI Punjab has the maximum purse available - 42 points, seven crore rupees for a maximum of nine players. While defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings have the lowest kitty of around 13 and 14 crores respectively. There are seven players with the maximum base price of 2 crores - all of them overseas, while only one Indian features in the next highest category of 1.5 crores which has ten names. IPL 2020 will be the last season before teams undergo a comprehensive squad overhaul in next year's auction. Australians will be in high demand and none more so than Glenn Maxwell - the world's number 2 ranked all-rounder in the format and pacer Pat Cummins. Aussie captain Aaron Finch opted out of the last IPL while fellow opening batsman Chris Lynn was released by Kolkata Knight Riders but should garner significant bids as should wicket-keeper Alex Carey. West Indians are always in high demand, and some of the top performers from the ongoing series against India have seen the stocks rise among them are batsman Shimron Hetmeyer, pacers Sheldon Cottrell and Kesrick Williams and leg-spinner Hayden Walsh. Eoin Morgan's white-ball form this year has been magnificent and the England captain should interest sides like Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals who are looking for experienced leaders in the middle order. Jason Roy is an established opener, while Trom Bantom made big waves in this year's T-20 blast. All-rounders Chris Woakes and Sam Curran should also fetch big bids.

IPL auction set to take place in Kolkata

Wicketkeeper-batsman from West Indies Nicholas Pooran on Tuesday emerged as one of the biggest surprise purchase in the IPL 2019 auction.&nbsp;

The Trinidadian cricketer was bought by Preity Zinta co-owned Punjab at a whopping amount of Rs 4.2 crore.

However, the surprising fact about Pooran is that he has never played an IPL and would appear for the first time in the cash-rich tournament. &nbsp;

The 23-year-old cricketer first came into limelight when he stuck a 24-ball-54 for Trinidad and Tobago Steel against the Guyana Amazon Warriors.&nbsp;

He was also part of the Windies side that played Under-19 World Cup in the UAE. Pooran&nbsp;came into the crease when Windies were struggling at 70-8, and took his side to 208 by the end of the innings, by scoring a stunning 143.&nbsp;

Pooran, who made his T20 International debut in 2016 against Pakistan, appeared in six T20 Internationals and scored 105 runs at an average of 26.25.&nbsp;

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Nicholas Pooran now a part of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaddaSquad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaddaSquad</a>! 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KXIP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KXIP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IPLAuction</a> <a href="https://t.co/7rPSI7mwnv">pic.twitter.com/7rPSI7mwnv</a>
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) <a href="https://twitter.com/lionsdenkxip/status/1074983027132948480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Overall in T20s, he has scored 1272 runs in 79 matches at an average of 19.87.

Wicketkeeper-batsman from West Indies Nicholas Pooran on Tuesday emerged as one of the biggest surprise purchase in the IPL 2019 auction. The Trinidadian cricketer was bought by Preity Zinta co-owned Punjab at a whopping amount of Rs 4.

Wicketkeeper-batsman from West Indies Nicholas Pooran on Tuesday emerged as one of the biggest surprise purchase in the IPL 2019 auction. The Trinidadian cricketer was bought by Preity Zinta co-owned Punjab at a whopping amount of Rs 4.2 crore. However, the surprising fact about Pooran is that he has never played an IPL and would appear for the first time in the cash-rich tournament. The 23-year-old cricketer first came into limelight when he stuck a 24-ball-54 for Trinidad and Tobago Steel against the Guyana Amazon Warriors. He was also part of the Windies side that played Under-19 World Cup in the UAE. Pooran came into the crease when Windies were struggling at 70-8, and took his side to 208 by the end of the innings, by scoring a stunning 143. Pooran, who made his T20 International debut in 2016 against Pakistan, appeared in six T20 Internationals and scored 105 runs at an average of 26.25. Nicholas Pooran now a part of #SaddaSquad! 🙌#KXIP #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/7rPSI7mwnv — Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) December 18, 2018 × Overall in T20s, he has scored 1272 runs in 79 matches at an average of 19.87.

Nicholas Pooran: The Windies player who bagged Rs 4.2 crore at 2019 IPL auction

The Indian Premier League auction for the 2019 edition will be held in Jaipur on December 18, the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Monday.&nbsp;

A total of 70 slots are available with a maximum of 50 Indian players and 20 overseas players allowed to be picked.

Punjab have the maximum amount left in the purse having released 11 players from their pool.&nbsp; 
Defending champions Chennai, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, can buy just two players - having retained 23 players - and have Rs. 8.4 crores in their bank.&nbsp;

Apart from these two, Delhi, Rajasthan and Kolkata are also expected to be on a shopping spree.

Mumbai will look to fill just one overseas spot while Kolkata can buy the maximum number of overseas players - five.&nbsp;

Hyderabad have Rs 9.70 crores in their purse and have three Indian slots and two overseas slots to fill.

The Indian Premier League auction for the 2019 edition will be held in Jaipur on December 18, the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Monday. A total of 70 slots are available with a maximum of 50 Indian players and 20 overseas players allowed to be picked.

The Indian Premier League auction for the 2019 edition will be held in Jaipur on December 18, the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Monday. A total of 70 slots are available with a maximum of 50 Indian players and 20 overseas players allowed to be picked. Punjab have the maximum amount left in the purse having released 11 players from their pool. Defending champions Chennai, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, can buy just two players - having retained 23 players - and have Rs. 8.4 crores in their bank. Apart from these two, Delhi, Rajasthan and Kolkata are also expected to be on a shopping spree. Mumbai will look to fill just one overseas spot while Kolkata can buy the maximum number of overseas players - five. Hyderabad have Rs 9.70 crores in their purse and have three Indian slots and two overseas slots to fill.

IPL 2019 auction to be held on December 18

Kolkata defeated Rajasthan by 25 runs to enter the Qualifier II of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.&nbsp;

While chasing a decent target of 170 runs, Rajasthan fell apart despite the spectacular knocks of skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson and could manage only 144/4. 
&nbsp; 
Rahane fell four runs short to reach his half-century and was caught and bowled at 46, by Kuldeep Yadav.&nbsp;

His 41-ball inning included four boundaries and one huge six.&nbsp;

It was after Rahane's wicket that Samson took the reins in his hand and smashed a brilliant half-century.&nbsp;

But he too gave away his wicket after smashing four boundaries and two sixes.

With this defeat, Rajasthan has been eliminated from the IPL tournament while Kolkata will lock horns with Hyderabad, who were defeated by Chennai in Qualifier 1, on Tuesday.

The two teams will now meet on Friday to decide who faces MS Dhoni-led Chennai in the final on Sunday.

Earlier, Dinesh Karthik and Andrew Russell's superb partnership powered Kolkata to 169 runs in the eliminator of Indian Premier League &nbsp;2018.&nbsp;

While Karthik slammed 52 runs in 38 balls, Russell made 49 runs in 25 balls. Russell's unbeaten inning included three fours and five huge sixes.

Before that, Karthik and Shubman Gill too added 55 runs for the fifth wicket to recover the team after the top batting order fell cheaply.&nbsp;

Kolkata had their worst start of the season with K Gowtham (2/15 in three overs) and Jofra Archer (2/33) reducing them to 46/3 inside the powerplay.

From being 63 for 4 midway into the innings, Kolkata brilliantly stepped on the gas in the second-half, scoring 106 runs in the last 10 overs with Russell in charge of the proceedings.

Jaydev Unadkat, who leaked 33 runs from his two overs, was a big letdown from Rajasthan's perspective as the Ajinkya Rahane-led side could not choke the hosts despite a sound start.

Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl against Kolkata at Eden Gardens stadium on Wednesday.

After winning the toss, Rahane mentioned the characteristics of Eden's pitch which is a bit damp and the team which bats in the second innings has been successful in most of the occasions.

On the other hand, Kolkata's skipper Dinesh Karthik said there is no scope of errors in tonight's match.&nbsp;

Both the teams entered with the same squad and there was no change in the playing XI.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

While chasing a decent target of 170 runs Rajasthan fell apart

Kolkata defeated Rajasthan by 25 runs to enter the Qualifier II of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. While chasing a decent target of 170 runs, Rajasthan fell apart despite the spectacular knocks of skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson and could manage only 144/4. Rahane fell four runs short to reach his half-century and was caught and bowled at 46, by Kuldeep Yadav. His 41-ball inning included four boundaries and one huge six. It was after Rahane's wicket that Samson took the reins in his hand and smashed a brilliant half-century. But he too gave away his wicket after smashing four boundaries and two sixes. With this defeat, Rajasthan has been eliminated from the IPL tournament while Kolkata will lock horns with Hyderabad, who were defeated by Chennai in Qualifier 1, on Tuesday. The two teams will now meet on Friday to decide who faces MS Dhoni-led Chennai in the final on Sunday. Earlier, Dinesh Karthik and Andrew Russell's superb partnership powered Kolkata to 169 runs in the eliminator of Indian Premier League 2018. While Karthik slammed 52 runs in 38 balls, Russell made 49 runs in 25 balls. Russell's unbeaten inning included three fours and five huge sixes. Before that, Karthik and Shubman Gill too added 55 runs for the fifth wicket to recover the team after the top batting order fell cheaply. Kolkata had their worst start of the season with K Gowtham (2/15 in three overs) and Jofra Archer (2/33) reducing them to 46/3 inside the powerplay. From being 63 for 4 midway into the innings, Kolkata brilliantly stepped on the gas in the second-half, scoring 106 runs in the last 10 overs with Russell in charge of the proceedings. Jaydev Unadkat, who leaked 33 runs from his two overs, was a big letdown from Rajasthan's perspective as the Ajinkya Rahane-led side could not choke the hosts despite a sound start. Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl against Kolkata at Eden Gardens stadium on Wednesday. After winning the toss, Rahane mentioned the characteristics of Eden's pitch which is a bit damp and the team which bats in the second innings has been successful in most of the occasions. On the other hand, Kolkata's skipper Dinesh Karthik said there is no scope of errors in tonight's match. Both the teams entered with the same squad and there was no change in the playing XI.

IPL 2018: Rajasthan eliminated as Kolkata enter Qualifier 2 with 25-run win

Suresh Raina smashed 61 runs as Chennai eliminated Punjab from the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) with a five-wicket win.

The win sealed Rajasthan’s place in the play-offs.

When Punjab batsmen needed to play like a team, only Karun Nair showed some fight with his 26-ball-54, which was laced with three fours and five sixes.

Nair's half-century helped Punjab recover from a poor start and post 153 in 19.4 overs but they needed to win by at least 53 runs to qualify for the Play-offs.

It was South African paceman Ngidi who triggered a top-order collapse as he swung the ball both ways to confound the Punjab batsmen. He conceded only 10 runs in his four-over quota and scalped key players.

Chennai needed to win in 17.3 overs to snatch the top spot but they had to be content with a second-place finish behind Hyderabad as they could overhaul the target only in 19.1 overs.

Deepak Chahar (39 from 20) shared a crucial 56-run stand with Suresh Raina (68 not out) in Chennai's win.

Skipper MS Dhoni, who batted down the order, scored 16 off seven balls and finished the match in his signature style, with a six.

Chennai and Hyderabad will now clash in the Qualifier 1 on Tuesday while Rajasthan and Kolkata will lock horn in eliminator on Wednesday.

Earlier, David Miller and Karun Nair scored 24 runs and 54 runs respectively to help the team in setting up a target of 154 runs for Chennai at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Sunday.

The clash is important for Punjab as they need to mark a +53- run victory in order to qualify for the play-offs as their net run-rate reads a poor as compared to Rajasthan.

&nbsp;Chennai had won the toss and opted to bowl in the last league match of the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League at their ground.

Apart from Miller and Nair, batsman Manoj Tiwary also contributed with the bat and scored 35 crucial runs for the team.

A lot was expected from the openers, KL Rahul and Cris Gayle but both batsmen failed to perform in the do-or-die encounter.&nbsp;

Rahul scored just seven runs and Gayle did even open his account as pacer Lungi Ngidi sent both of them back to pavilion.

Aaron Finch too lost his wicket early after scoring just four runs.

Punjab could not even bat for full 20 overs and were bowled out in 19.4 overs.

Skipper MS Dhoni, who batted down the order, scored 16 off seven balls and finished the match in his signature style, with a six.

Suresh Raina smashed 61 runs as Chennai eliminated Punjab from the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) with a five-wicket win. The win sealed Rajasthan’s place in the play-offs. When Punjab batsmen needed to play like a team, only Karun Nair showed some fight with his 26-ball-54, which was laced with three fours and five sixes. Nair's half-century helped Punjab recover from a poor start and post 153 in 19.4 overs but they needed to win by at least 53 runs to qualify for the Play-offs. It was South African paceman Ngidi who triggered a top-order collapse as he swung the ball both ways to confound the Punjab batsmen. He conceded only 10 runs in his four-over quota and scalped key players. Chennai needed to win in 17.3 overs to snatch the top spot but they had to be content with a second-place finish behind Hyderabad as they could overhaul the target only in 19.1 overs. Deepak Chahar (39 from 20) shared a crucial 56-run stand with Suresh Raina (68 not out) in Chennai's win. Skipper MS Dhoni, who batted down the order, scored 16 off seven balls and finished the match in his signature style, with a six. Chennai and Hyderabad will now clash in the Qualifier 1 on Tuesday while Rajasthan and Kolkata will lock horn in eliminator on Wednesday. Earlier, David Miller and Karun Nair scored 24 runs and 54 runs respectively to help the team in setting up a target of 154 runs for Chennai at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Sunday. The clash is important for Punjab as they need to mark a +53- run victory in order to qualify for the play-offs as their net run-rate reads a poor as compared to Rajasthan. Chennai had won the toss and opted to bowl in the last league match of the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League at their ground. Apart from Miller and Nair, batsman Manoj Tiwary also contributed with the bat and scored 35 crucial runs for the team. A lot was expected from the openers, KL Rahul and Cris Gayle but both batsmen failed to perform in the do-or-die encounter. Rahul scored just seven runs and Gayle did even open his account as pacer Lungi Ngidi sent both of them back to pavilion. Aaron Finch too lost his wicket early after scoring just four runs. Punjab could not even bat for full 20 overs and were bowled out in 19.4 overs.

IPL 2018: Chennai’s 5-wicket win eliminates Punjab, sends Rajasthan into play-offs

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat against Mumbai during their clash at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Sunday.

Speaking after the toss, Iyer said,"Going to have a bat. No grass on the wicket, seems dry, so we will look to put a big score on the board. We have been batting first in the last few games as well so we are confident of putting up a good score."

"With regards to preparation and practice we have been spot-on and we will play this game like this is our last game and put everything into it. Liam Plunkett comes in place of Avesh Khan," he added.

Talking about their strategy for today, Rohit Sharma said," Nothing changes for us, we need to restrict them to as little as possible. We are aware of these conditions, so we just have to play good cricket for 40 overs now that we know that we are bowling first and we need to restrict them to as little as possible."

"Mitch McClenaghan has a shoulder niggle, so Mustafizur replaces him."

The defending champions will be on toes today to beat the hosts and book a berth in the play-off.&nbsp

The Rohit-Sharma led team is used to miracles, if seen in the previous editions, and this year also they would be expecting another fairytale entry into the top four teams.&nbsp

 0 && comm[ts].geo.indexOf($root.$GEO.country) == -1">Teams:

 0 && comm[ts].geo.indexOf($root.$GEO.country) == -1">Mumbai&nbsp(Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman

 0 && comm[ts].geo.indexOf($root.$GEO.country) == -1">Delhi&nbsp(Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Liam Plunkett, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult

The defending champions will be on toes today to beat the hosts and book a berth in the play-off.

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat against Mumbai during their clash at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Sunday. Speaking after the toss, Iyer said,"Going to have a bat. No grass on the wicket, seems dry, so we will look to put a big score on the board. We have been batting first in the last few games as well so we are confident of putting up a good score." "With regards to preparation and practice we have been spot-on and we will play this game like this is our last game and put everything into it. Liam Plunkett comes in place of Avesh Khan," he added. Talking about their strategy for today, Rohit Sharma said," Nothing changes for us, we need to restrict them to as little as possible. We are aware of these conditions, so we just have to play good cricket for 40 overs now that we know that we are bowling first and we need to restrict them to as little as possible." "Mitch McClenaghan has a shoulder niggle, so Mustafizur replaces him." The defending champions will be on toes today to beat the hosts and book a berth in the play-off. The Rohit-Sharma led team is used to miracles, if seen in the previous editions, and this year also they would be expecting another fairytale entry into the top four teams. Teams: Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman Delhi (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Liam Plunkett, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult

IPL 2018: Delhi win toss, opt to bat against defending champions Mumbai

Rahul Tripathi registered his first half-century of the season to help Rajasthan set 164 runs on the scoreboard during their clash against Bangalore at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday.

Tripathi made 80 runs off 58 balls which included five boundaries and three huge sixes.&nbsp;

The opener remained unbeaten and played till the last ball to set a more decent target for the opponents.

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane also contributed 33 runs before being LBW by Umesh Yadav.

Sanju Samson, who is considered one of the most consistent performers of the franchise, was sent back to the pavilion without opening his account.

Meanwhile, Heinrich Klaasen played a perfect cameo and made 32 runs off 21 balls.

Earlier, Rajasthan won the toss and opted to bat against the Virat Kohli-led side.&nbsp;

After winning the toss, Ajinkya Rahane mentioned that the pitch is dry and also the host Rajhasthan are very familiar with the wickets. On the exit of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, Ajinkya said that the team is missing them.

Virat Kohli also highlighted the fact that Jos And Ben are not in the Playing XI. Kolhi also mentioned that the team has done decently well in the previous three matches and also it is important to find the right balance in today's game.

There is no change for Bangalore team, on the other hand, Ben Laughlin, Heinrich Klaasen and Shreyas Gopal have been included in the playing XI of Rajasthan.

Playing XI:

Rajasthan: Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin

Bangalore: Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal&nbsp;

Tripathi made 80 runs off 58 balls which included five boundaries and three huge sixes.

Rahul Tripathi registered his first half-century of the season to help Rajasthan set 164 runs on the scoreboard during their clash against Bangalore at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday. Tripathi made 80 runs off 58 balls which included five boundaries and three huge sixes. The opener remained unbeaten and played till the last ball to set a more decent target for the opponents. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane also contributed 33 runs before being LBW by Umesh Yadav. Sanju Samson, who is considered one of the most consistent performers of the franchise, was sent back to the pavilion without opening his account. Meanwhile, Heinrich Klaasen played a perfect cameo and made 32 runs off 21 balls. Earlier, Rajasthan won the toss and opted to bat against the Virat Kohli-led side. After winning the toss, Ajinkya Rahane mentioned that the pitch is dry and also the host Rajhasthan are very familiar with the wickets. On the exit of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, Ajinkya said that the team is missing them. Virat Kohli also highlighted the fact that Jos And Ben are not in the Playing XI. Kolhi also mentioned that the team has done decently well in the previous three matches and also it is important to find the right balance in today's game. There is no change for Bangalore team, on the other hand, Ben Laughlin, Heinrich Klaasen and Shreyas Gopal have been included in the playing XI of Rajasthan. Playing XI: Rajasthan: Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin Bangalore: Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

IPL 2018: Rahul Tripathi's half-century helps Rajasthan set 165 runs target

Bangalore defeated table-toppers Hyderabad by 14 runs in a must-win match to stay alive in the Indian Premier League at M. Chinnaswamy stadium.&nbsp

Hyderabad skipper Williamson along with Manish Pandey forged a crucial partnership to take Hyderabad on the verge of another nail-biting win.

However, it was the hosts who clinched the issue to keep their playoff dream alive.

While Williamson smashed 81 runs off just 42 balls, Pandey made 62 in 38 balls.

Chasing the massive 219-run target, Hyderabad openers Shikhar Dhawan (18) and Alex Hales (37) took their side to a quick start, accumulating 47 runs in the first five overs.

However, the decent start was short-lived as Yuzvendra Chahal drew the first blood for the hosts in the sixth over when Dhawan came down the track but chipped back to the bowler.

With addition of another 17 runs in Hyderabad`s scorecard, AB de Villiers took a stunning catch at deep midwicket to pack back Hales off a Moeen Ali delivery.

Skipper Williamson and Pandey then took the command, taking their side to touch the three-figure mark in 11.3 overs.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad captain slammed his half-century off 28 balls, helping his side inch closer to the target.

The duo went on to forge a crucial 135-run partnership for the third wicket, lifting the visitors to 199 runs in 19.1 overs.

With 19 needed off the final over, Mohammed Siraj jolted Hyderabad dismissing the visiting skipper to bring back Bangalore in the game.

Earlier, Colin de Grandhomme's 17-ball 40 powered Bangalore to mammoth 218 runs against table-toppers Hyderabad.

After Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli departed cheaply, AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali established a 107 runs partnership to help Bangalore recover from the losses.

De Villiers smashed 69 runs off 37 balls while Ali made 65 off 34 balls before giving away their wicket in one over to Rashid Khan.

For Hyderabad, Basil Thampi registered the most expensive bowling figures in IPL history. He gave away 70 runs in four overs and took zero wickets.&nbsp

Earlier, Kane Williamson ton the toss and opted to bowl against Bangalore as the two teams clash at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

Talking after the toss, Williamson said," "We are gonna bowl. Hard to know how the surface will play, so we'll try and make use of it first with the ball in hand. Hopefully we can restrict them."

"We have one change: Basil Thampi comes in for Bhuvneshwar. Great opportunity for Basil tonight. Hopefully we can adapt to conditions," he added. &nbsp

Bangalore, on the other hand, registered two big wins over Delhi and Punjab to save their chances of survival in Indian Premier League (IPL). &nbsp&nbsp

The 10 wicket victory over R Ashwin side brought the Virat Kohli’s team out of nowhere into the play-off contention.&nbsp

Talking about their strategy for today, Kohli said,"We wanted to bowl but SRH are not a bad side to bat first against, who bank on their bowling. Would be nice to test their batting with a score on board. We can play with freedom."&nbsp

"We will try to do well in whatever we are doing first. It's my 163rd IPL game, so not my first (when Morrison asked if he was nervous about where RCB were). We have been through these times before, so the key is to enjoy," he added.

"There's no reason to think too much now because we have two (consecutive) wins. Another day in life, so just enjoy. We have won two games, so we are playing with the same side. We'll try and replicate the same tonight," the Bangalore skipper concluded.&nbsp

While Williamson smashed 81 runs off just 42 balls, Pandey made 62 in 38 balls

Bangalore defeated table-toppers Hyderabad by 14 runs in a must-win match to stay alive in the Indian Premier League at M. Chinnaswamy stadium. Hyderabad skipper Williamson along with Manish Pandey forged a crucial partnership to take Hyderabad on the verge of another nail-biting win. However, it was the hosts who clinched the issue to keep their playoff dream alive. While Williamson smashed 81 runs off just 42 balls, Pandey made 62 in 38 balls. Chasing the massive 219-run target, Hyderabad openers Shikhar Dhawan (18) and Alex Hales (37) took their side to a quick start, accumulating 47 runs in the first five overs. However, the decent start was short-lived as Yuzvendra Chahal drew the first blood for the hosts in the sixth over when Dhawan came down the track but chipped back to the bowler. With addition of another 17 runs in Hyderabad`s scorecard, AB de Villiers took a stunning catch at deep midwicket to pack back Hales off a Moeen Ali delivery. Skipper Williamson and Pandey then took the command, taking their side to touch the three-figure mark in 11.3 overs. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad captain slammed his half-century off 28 balls, helping his side inch closer to the target. The duo went on to forge a crucial 135-run partnership for the third wicket, lifting the visitors to 199 runs in 19.1 overs. With 19 needed off the final over, Mohammed Siraj jolted Hyderabad dismissing the visiting skipper to bring back Bangalore in the game. Earlier, Colin de Grandhomme's 17-ball 40 powered Bangalore to mammoth 218 runs against table-toppers Hyderabad. After Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli departed cheaply, AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali established a 107 runs partnership to help Bangalore recover from the losses. De Villiers smashed 69 runs off 37 balls while Ali made 65 off 34 balls before giving away their wicket in one over to Rashid Khan. For Hyderabad, Basil Thampi registered the most expensive bowling figures in IPL history. He gave away 70 runs in four overs and took zero wickets. Earlier, Kane Williamson ton the toss and opted to bowl against Bangalore as the two teams clash at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. Talking after the toss, Williamson said," "We are gonna bowl. Hard to know how the surface will play, so we'll try and make use of it first with the ball in hand. Hopefully we can restrict them." "We have one change: Basil Thampi comes in for Bhuvneshwar. Great opportunity for Basil tonight. Hopefully we can adapt to conditions," he added. Bangalore, on the other hand, registered two big wins over Delhi and Punjab to save their chances of survival in Indian Premier League (IPL). The 10 wicket victory over R Ashwin side brought the Virat Kohli’s team out of nowhere into the play-off contention. Talking about their strategy for today, Kohli said,"We wanted to bowl but SRH are not a bad side to bat first against, who bank on their bowling. Would be nice to test their batting with a score on board. We can play with freedom." "We will try to do well in whatever we are doing first. It's my 163rd IPL game, so not my first (when Morrison asked if he was nervous about where RCB were). We have been through these times before, so the key is to enjoy," he added. "There's no reason to think too much now because we have two (consecutive) wins. Another day in life, so just enjoy. We have won two games, so we are playing with the same side. We'll try and replicate the same tonight," the Bangalore skipper concluded.

Bangalore beat Hyderabad by 14 runs to stay alive in IPL 2018

Kane Williamson ton the toss and opted to bowl against Bangalore as the two teams clash at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

Talking after the toss, Williamson said," "We are gonna bowl. Hard to know how the surface will play, so we'll try and make use of it first with the ball in hand. Hopefully we can restrict them."

"We have one change: Basil Thampi comes in for Bhuvneshwar. Great opportunity for Basil tonight. Hopefully we can adapt to conditions," he added. &nbsp

Bangalore, on the other hand, registered two big wins over Delhi and Punjab to save their chances of survival in Indian Premier League (IPL). &nbsp&nbsp

The 10 wicket victory over R Ashwin side brought the Virat Kohli’s team out of nowhere into the play-off contention.&nbsp

Talking about their strategy for today, Kohli said,"We wanted to bowl but SRH are not a bad side to bat first against, who bank on their bowling. Would be nice to test their batting with a score on board. We can play with freedom."&nbsp

"We will try to do well in whatever we are doing first. It's my 163rd IPL game, so not my first (when Morrison asked if he was nervous about where RCB were). We have been through these times before, so the key is to enjoy," he added.

"There's no reason to think too much now because we have two (consecutive) wins. Another day in life, so just enjoy. We have won two games, so we are playing with the same side. We'll try and replicate the same tonight," the Bangalore skipper concluded.&nbsp

Kohli has to defeat table-toppers Hyderabad to save Bangalore in IPL 2018.&nbsp

Team

Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Parthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Hyderabad (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Shreevats Goswami(w), Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi 
&nbsp

Kohli has to defeat table-toppers Hyderabad to save Bangalore in IPL 2018.

Kane Williamson ton the toss and opted to bowl against Bangalore as the two teams clash at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. Talking after the toss, Williamson said," "We are gonna bowl. Hard to know how the surface will play, so we'll try and make use of it first with the ball in hand. Hopefully we can restrict them." "We have one change: Basil Thampi comes in for Bhuvneshwar. Great opportunity for Basil tonight. Hopefully we can adapt to conditions," he added. Bangalore, on the other hand, registered two big wins over Delhi and Punjab to save their chances of survival in Indian Premier League (IPL). The 10 wicket victory over R Ashwin side brought the Virat Kohli’s team out of nowhere into the play-off contention. Talking about their strategy for today, Kohli said,"We wanted to bowl but SRH are not a bad side to bat first against, who bank on their bowling. Would be nice to test their batting with a score on board. We can play with freedom." "We will try to do well in whatever we are doing first. It's my 163rd IPL game, so not my first (when Morrison asked if he was nervous about where RCB were). We have been through these times before, so the key is to enjoy," he added. "There's no reason to think too much now because we have two (consecutive) wins. Another day in life, so just enjoy. We have won two games, so we are playing with the same side. We'll try and replicate the same tonight," the Bangalore skipper concluded. Kohli has to defeat table-toppers Hyderabad to save Bangalore in IPL 2018. Team Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli(c), Parthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Hyderabad (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Alex Hales, Kane Williamson(c), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Shakib Al Hasan, Shreevats Goswami(w), Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi

IPl 2018: Hyderabad won toss, opt to bowl first against Bangalore

Rishab Pant is one player who has impressed everyone with his impeccable batting in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Though Delhi is out of contention for play-offs, Pant has proved his batting prowess by scoring 582 runs in 12 games played so far. &nbsp &nbsp

But as the tournament is still underway, Delhi will play its 13th game against Chennai &nbsp

The 'Yellow Brigade' have already qualified for the play-offs with eight wins from 12 games, while Delhi have missed the bus for knockouts after losing nine matches this season.

With very little riding on the Friday clash, players from both the teams were seen hanging out with each other.

Delhi's wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant was also seen hanging out with Chennai skipper MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina.

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi1DkHwnp4s/" 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">When you have seniors like these ✌️?@mahi7781 @sureshraina3 ??</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/rishabpant/" style=" color:#c9c8cd font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px font-style:normal font-weight:normal line-height:17px" target="_blank"> Rishabh Pant</a> (@rishabpant) on <time datetime="2018-05-16T06:54:32+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif font-size:14px line-height:17px">May 15, 2018 at 11:54pm PDT</time>
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"When you have senior like these @mahi7781 @sureshraina3," Pant captioned the image.&nbsp

The highlight of Pant's campaign has been the 128 not out against Hyderabad.&nbsp

He now also holds the record for highest scoring Indian in the history of IPL.

Dhoni is also enjoying his time out in the middle this IPL.&nbsp

The former Indian cricket team captain is having his best season in the league with 413 runs from 12 matches so far.&nbsp

He's scoring the runs at an average of 103.25 and a strike rate of 162.59. 
&nbsp

Delhi is out of contention for play-offs in IPL 2018.

Rishab Pant is one player who has impressed everyone with his impeccable batting in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Though Delhi is out of contention for play-offs, Pant has proved his batting prowess by scoring 582 runs in 12 games played so far. But as the tournament is still underway, Delhi will play its 13th game against Chennai The 'Yellow Brigade' have already qualified for the play-offs with eight wins from 12 games, while Delhi have missed the bus for knockouts after losing nine matches this season. With very little riding on the Friday clash, players from both the teams were seen hanging out with each other. Delhi's wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant was also seen hanging out with Chennai skipper MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. When you have seniors like these ✌️?@mahi7781 @sureshraina3 ?? A post shared by Rishabh Pant (@rishabpant) on May 15, 2018 at 11:54pm PDT × "When you have senior like these @mahi7781 @sureshraina3," Pant captioned the image. The highlight of Pant's campaign has been the 128 not out against Hyderabad. He now also holds the record for highest scoring Indian in the history of IPL. Dhoni is also enjoying his time out in the middle this IPL. The former Indian cricket team captain is having his best season in the league with 413 runs from 12 matches so far. He's scoring the runs at an average of 103.25 and a strike rate of 162.59.

IPL 2018: Rishab Pant parties with Dhoni, Raina ahead of Delhi vs Chennai clash

Bangalore registered two big wins over Delhi and Punjab to save their chances of survival in Indian Premier League (IPL).&nbsp

The 10 wicket victory over R Ashwin side brought the Virat Kohli’s team out of nowhere into the play-off contention.&nbsp

But the road is not that easy as they will gear up with table toppers Hyderabad who are perhaps enjoying their best season yet.&nbsp

Bangalore will hope that confidence pushes them towards another big win and increase their chances of finishing in the top four spot.&nbsp

The team haven’t had the best of seasons in the IPL, winning just 5 matches. But they are still hanging by the thread and require wins in both their last 2 games depending on other results.

The team is overly dependent on skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.&nbsp

Opener Parthiv Patel also played a superb knock in their last match against Punjab, but his inconsistency remains a big problem.&nbsp

It's important for him to provide a decent start to his team in order to further strengthen their chances. &nbsp

Hyderabad, on the other hand, is dependent quite a lot on opener Shikhar Dhawan (369 runs) and skipper Kane Williamson (544 runs) for inspiration.

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Williamson has been a top leader since David Warner was ruled out of the IPL due to his role in the ball tampering incident.

The New Zealand captain would look to consolidate the team's top spot and ensure a top-two finish at the end of the league stage.

Their bowlers have been incredibly consistent across all phases of the 20 overs but have bagged most of their wickets in the period between the seventh and the 15th over.&nbsp

So overall, as Hyderabad has already booked its spot in the play-offs, they have little to worry about. &nbsp

The 10 wicket victory over R Ashwin side brought the Virat Kohli’s team out of nowhere into the play-off contention.

Bangalore registered two big wins over Delhi and Punjab to save their chances of survival in Indian Premier League (IPL). The 10 wicket victory over R Ashwin side brought the Virat Kohli’s team out of nowhere into the play-off contention. But the road is not that easy as they will gear up with table toppers Hyderabad who are perhaps enjoying their best season yet. Bangalore will hope that confidence pushes them towards another big win and increase their chances of finishing in the top four spot. The team haven’t had the best of seasons in the IPL, winning just 5 matches. But they are still hanging by the thread and require wins in both their last 2 games depending on other results. The team is overly dependent on skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Opener Parthiv Patel also played a superb knock in their last match against Punjab, but his inconsistency remains a big problem. It's important for him to provide a decent start to his team in order to further strengthen their chances. Hyderabad, on the other hand, is dependent quite a lot on opener Shikhar Dhawan (369 runs) and skipper Kane Williamson (544 runs) for inspiration. × Williamson has been a top leader since David Warner was ruled out of the IPL due to his role in the ball tampering incident. The New Zealand captain would look to consolidate the team's top spot and ensure a top-two finish at the end of the league stage. Their bowlers have been incredibly consistent across all phases of the 20 overs but have bagged most of their wickets in the period between the seventh and the 15th over. So overall, as Hyderabad has already booked its spot in the play-offs, they have little to worry about.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Hyderabad vs Bangalore

Kieron Pollard smashed a half-century to save Mumbai from drowning as the team ended their innings for 186 for 8, against Punjab at Wankhede stadium, on Wednesday.

The Trinidadian cricketer smashed five boundaries and three sixes to reach 50 in just 23 balls.

Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis opened for Mumbai and the team lost its first wicket for 37 runs.

After Lewis departed, Yadav continued his attack along with Ishan Kishan.&nbsp

However, Kishan too lost his wicket after making just 20 runs.

Skipper Rohit Sharma again failed to fill up the gap and went back to the pavilion after making just six runs.&nbsp

Krunal Pandya, who failed to contribute in last match, made 32 runs in 23 balls before giving away his wicket to Marcus Stoinis.

Earlier, R Ashwin won the toss and opted to bowl against Mumbai in a must-win match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.&nbsp

Meanwhile, Mumbai will be desperate for a win also to keep their play-off hopes alive as they are almost on the edge of elimination.&nbsp

Talking after the toss, Ashwin said, "We are bowling first. Looks like there's dew here, we would like to bowl first and chase the total down. I expected some dip, that's what has happened, "

"We have lost three matches on the bounce, hopefully, we will stop that rot. Two changes for us - Yuvraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary are back, they replace Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair. Mujeeb is still not fit, hopefully, he will be back for the next match," he added.

Speaking about their strategy for today, Rohit Sharma said, "We were bowling first as well. Dew is a factor, but we are not worried about it, we need to play some good cricket."

"I have been in this position over the last few years and I know how to handle the situation. The team has handled it better than me, I think we have done well considering how we played in the first half of the tournament," he added.

"We are not thinking about the Delhi match at the moment. Just one change for us, Kieron Pollard replaces JP Duminy," he concluded.

Teams: 
Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah

Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot

The Trinidadian cricketer smashed five boundaries and three sixes to reach 50 in just 23 balls.

Kieron Pollard smashed a half-century to save Mumbai from drowning as the team ended their innings for 186 for 8, against Punjab at Wankhede stadium, on Wednesday. The Trinidadian cricketer smashed five boundaries and three sixes to reach 50 in just 23 balls. Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis opened for Mumbai and the team lost its first wicket for 37 runs. After Lewis departed, Yadav continued his attack along with Ishan Kishan. However, Kishan too lost his wicket after making just 20 runs. Skipper Rohit Sharma again failed to fill up the gap and went back to the pavilion after making just six runs. Krunal Pandya, who failed to contribute in last match, made 32 runs in 23 balls before giving away his wicket to Marcus Stoinis. Earlier, R Ashwin won the toss and opted to bowl against Mumbai in a must-win match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mumbai will be desperate for a win also to keep their play-off hopes alive as they are almost on the edge of elimination. Talking after the toss, Ashwin said, "We are bowling first. Looks like there's dew here, we would like to bowl first and chase the total down. I expected some dip, that's what has happened, " "We have lost three matches on the bounce, hopefully, we will stop that rot. Two changes for us - Yuvraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary are back, they replace Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair. Mujeeb is still not fit, hopefully, he will be back for the next match," he added. Speaking about their strategy for today, Rohit Sharma said, "We were bowling first as well. Dew is a factor, but we are not worried about it, we need to play some good cricket." "I have been in this position over the last few years and I know how to handle the situation. The team has handled it better than me, I think we have done well considering how we played in the first half of the tournament," he added. "We are not thinking about the Delhi match at the moment. Just one change for us, Kieron Pollard replaces JP Duminy," he concluded. Teams: Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot

IPL 2018: Pollard's fifty powers Mumbai to 186

R Ashwin won the toss and opted to bowl against Mumbai in a must-win match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Mumbai will be desperate for a win also to keep their play-off hopes alive as they are almost on the edge of elimination.&nbsp;

Talking after the toss, Ashwin said, "We are bowling first. Looks like there's dew here, we would like to bowl first and chase the total down. I expected some dip, that's what has happened, "

"We have lost three matches on the bounce, hopefully, we will stop that rot. Two changes for us - Yuvraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary are back, they replace Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair. Mujeeb is still not fit, hopefully, he will be back for the next match," he added.

Speaking about their strategy for today, Rohit Sharma said, "We were bowling first as well. Dew is a factor, but we are not worried about it, we need to play some good cricket."

"I have been in this position over the last few years and I know how to handle the situation. The team has handled it better than me, I think we have done well considering how we played in the first half of the tournament," he added.

"We are not thinking about the Delhi match at the moment. Just one change for us, Kieron Pollard replaces JP Duminy," he concluded.

With 10 points, the three-time champions are placed at the sixth spot in the IPL points table.

Teams:

Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah

Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Mumbai will be desperate for a win also to keep their play-off hopes alive

R Ashwin won the toss and opted to bowl against Mumbai in a must-win match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mumbai will be desperate for a win also to keep their play-off hopes alive as they are almost on the edge of elimination. Talking after the toss, Ashwin said, "We are bowling first. Looks like there's dew here, we would like to bowl first and chase the total down. I expected some dip, that's what has happened, " "We have lost three matches on the bounce, hopefully, we will stop that rot. Two changes for us - Yuvraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary are back, they replace Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair. Mujeeb is still not fit, hopefully, he will be back for the next match," he added. Speaking about their strategy for today, Rohit Sharma said, "We were bowling first as well. Dew is a factor, but we are not worried about it, we need to play some good cricket." "I have been in this position over the last few years and I know how to handle the situation. The team has handled it better than me, I think we have done well considering how we played in the first half of the tournament," he added. "We are not thinking about the Delhi match at the moment. Just one change for us, Kieron Pollard replaces JP Duminy," he concluded. With 10 points, the three-time champions are placed at the sixth spot in the IPL points table. Teams: Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot

IPL 2018: Punjab win toss, opt to bowl against Mumbai

Rajasthan locked horns with Dinesh Karthik-led side yesterday at Eden Gardens and lost by six wickets to be placed at number four in the IPL league table.

Upset with the loss, skipper Ajinkya Rahane slammed the batting line-up and said they failed to make it because of their batting.

"We lost because of our batting, even in the tournament we did not bat that well. Except Jos Buttler... his consistency was good to see. So many things the boys can learn from him. We thought 175-180 was a par score on this wicket," Rahane said.

Openers Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler gave Rajasthan a magnificent start but the downline failed to capitalise the start and succumbed to Kolkata's bowling attack.

"The thing is, start which we got with Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler that was magnificient... but I feel after that we did not get any partnership. It's not about any individual," Rahane said.&nbsp;

"We lost because we did not apply ourselves in the middle and we needed to get a partnership going, especially when you get a start like that you have to back yourself. (You need) to apply your mind even in T20 cricket," he added.

However, Rahane still believes his team can make it to the play-offs.

"We have to believe in ourselves. It's not about hoping but believing in your ability. Anything can happen in cricket, we all know that. It's a funny game. We have to learn from our mistake, we have just one league game left, if we can learn from this game and stay positive... we were too positive with our batting tonight but that's the way it goes."

Rahane was sent back to the pavilion after being clean-bowled by Kuldeep Yadav for just 11 runs.

Yadav bowled a fantastic spell and took four wickets to end Rajasthan's inning for mere 142 runs. 
&nbsp;

Upset with the loss, skipper Ajinkya Rahane slammed the batting line-up

Rajasthan locked horns with Dinesh Karthik-led side yesterday at Eden Gardens and lost by six wickets to be placed at number four in the IPL league table. Upset with the loss, skipper Ajinkya Rahane slammed the batting line-up and said they failed to make it because of their batting. "We lost because of our batting, even in the tournament we did not bat that well. Except Jos Buttler... his consistency was good to see. So many things the boys can learn from him. We thought 175-180 was a par score on this wicket," Rahane said. Openers Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler gave Rajasthan a magnificent start but the downline failed to capitalise the start and succumbed to Kolkata's bowling attack. "The thing is, start which we got with Rahul Tripathi and Jos Buttler that was magnificient... but I feel after that we did not get any partnership. It's not about any individual," Rahane said. "We lost because we did not apply ourselves in the middle and we needed to get a partnership going, especially when you get a start like that you have to back yourself. (You need) to apply your mind even in T20 cricket," he added. However, Rahane still believes his team can make it to the play-offs. "We have to believe in ourselves. It's not about hoping but believing in your ability. Anything can happen in cricket, we all know that. It's a funny game. We have to learn from our mistake, we have just one league game left, if we can learn from this game and stay positive... we were too positive with our batting tonight but that's the way it goes." Rahane was sent back to the pavilion after being clean-bowled by Kuldeep Yadav for just 11 runs. Yadav bowled a fantastic spell and took four wickets to end Rajasthan's inning for mere 142 runs.

IPL 2018: 'We lost because of our batting,' says Rajasthan skipper Rahane

Kolkata defeated Rajasthan by six wickets to save their chances of making it to the play-offs in the ongoing Indian premier league (IPL).

Skipper Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten on 41 as Kolkata moved to third place with 14 points in their kitty.

Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine opened for the franchise and gave them the required start.

Narine smashed 21 runs in just 7 balls which included two boundaries and two sixes.&nbsp

However, it is Ben Stokes who had put a full stop to his inning today.

Chris Lynn continued the attack and made 45 runs before being dismissed by Stokes.

It was then that Karthik played a skipper's knock and took his team to victory side. &nbsp

Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav bowled a fantastic spell and took four wickets to end Rajasthan's inning for mere 142 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Put into bat, Rajasthan got a great start as openers Jos Buttler and Rahul Tripathi began attacking the Kolkata bowlers from the first ball.&nbsp

They together established a partnership of 63 runs before Rahul Tripathi lost his wicket to Russell after making 27 runs.&nbsp

In-form Buttler continued his attack but also lost his wicket soon to &nbspKuldeep Yadav after contributing 39 runs in just 22 balls.

His inning included five boundaries and two huge sixes.

However, it was the downline which failed to capitalise the start as skipper Ajinklya Rahane was clean bowled by Yadav on 11 runs.

Yadav struck again and dismissed Ben Stokes and Stuart Binny for 11 and 1 respectively.

Apart from Yadav, Andre Russell and Prasidh Krishna took two wickets each.&nbsp

Shivam Mavi and Sunil Narine managed to take one wicket apiece.

Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and opted to field against Ajinkya Rahane-led side.&nbsp

Karthik believed that his team has performed well while chasing the targets in previous clashes, so taking advantage of the toss would benefit the Knights.

On the other hand, Anjinkya Rahane said that he is happy to bat first in the do-or-die match.

For Rajasthan, Ish Sodhi, Anureet Singh and Rahul Tripathi have included in the squad.

For Kolkata, Shuvam Mavi is fit and healthy but Piyush Chawla is out over some health issues. 
&nbsp

Skipper Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten on 41 as Kolkata moved to third place with 14 points in their kitty

Kolkata defeated Rajasthan by six wickets to save their chances of making it to the play-offs in the ongoing Indian premier league (IPL). Skipper Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten on 41 as Kolkata moved to third place with 14 points in their kitty. Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine opened for the franchise and gave them the required start. Narine smashed 21 runs in just 7 balls which included two boundaries and two sixes. However, it is Ben Stokes who had put a full stop to his inning today. Chris Lynn continued the attack and made 45 runs before being dismissed by Stokes. It was then that Karthik played a skipper's knock and took his team to victory side. Earlier, Kuldeep Yadav bowled a fantastic spell and took four wickets to end Rajasthan's inning for mere 142 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Put into bat, Rajasthan got a great start as openers Jos Buttler and Rahul Tripathi began attacking the Kolkata bowlers from the first ball. They together established a partnership of 63 runs before Rahul Tripathi lost his wicket to Russell after making 27 runs. In-form Buttler continued his attack but also lost his wicket soon to &nbspKuldeep Yadav after contributing 39 runs in just 22 balls. His inning included five boundaries and two huge sixes. However, it was the downline which failed to capitalise the start as skipper Ajinklya Rahane was clean bowled by Yadav on 11 runs. Yadav struck again and dismissed Ben Stokes and Stuart Binny for 11 and 1 respectively. Apart from Yadav, Andre Russell and Prasidh Krishna took two wickets each. Shivam Mavi and Sunil Narine managed to take one wicket apiece. Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and opted to field against Ajinkya Rahane-led side. Karthik believed that his team has performed well while chasing the targets in previous clashes, so taking advantage of the toss would benefit the Knights. On the other hand, Anjinkya Rahane said that he is happy to bat first in the do-or-die match. For Rajasthan, Ish Sodhi, Anureet Singh and Rahul Tripathi have included in the squad. For Kolkata, Shuvam Mavi is fit and healthy but Piyush Chawla is out over some health issues.

IPL 2018: Kolkata cruise to six-wicket win against Rajasthan

Virat Kohli opened with wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel and easily took Bangalore to victory side in just 8.1 overs.

Without giving away any wicket, the two achieved the target of 89 runs, with Kohli making unbeaten 48 runs in 28 balls and Patel contributing 22-ball-40. &nbsp &nbsp

The half-century stand between Parthiv and Kohli came in the fifth over.

Kohli smashed a boundary to register their fifth win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

After failing in batting department, Punjab bowlers were also depleted by Bangalore as they failed to take any wickets. 
&nbsp 
Earlier, Bangalore bowled their best of IPL 2018 today to all-out Punjab for a paltry 88 runs at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.

Umesh Yadav bowled a fantastic spell to dismisses three crucial players of Punjab including both openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul.

He later dismissed Andrew Tye to take his wicket count to three.

In the fours over bowled, Yadav gave away only 23 runs to put his economy rate at 5.75

Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali took one wicket apiece.&nbsp

Skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl against &nbspPunjab, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, on Monday.&nbsp

Speaking after the toss, Kohli said, "No brainer. We will have a bowl first. It is a very difficult ground to defend here. They are also one mystery bowler short and that gives us an advantage to start off anyway. "

"The wicket is pretty hard and there is a nice grass covering, it will be a very tough ground to defend on. Look in every team it would be very tough for all six batsmen to perform in every game, there would be two or three stand out performances throughout the tournament."

In the last match against Delhi, Kohli and AB de Villiers established a 118-run partnership to help Bangalore register their fourth win in this year's IPL.

"Me and AB have tried to take that responsibility but there have been contributions from others as well. KL and Gayle have played well for them. Those guys also get to face the most number of balls as well, so we have to take that into consideration as well. We are playing with the same team. We are going to go out there play fearless cricket," Kohli said.

"Nobody gave us a chance a week back and after the win in the last game, we have some momentum. We will try and not look too ahead of ourselves," he concluded.

When asked Ashwin about Punjab's strategy today, he said, "Obviously, it is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. So, we would have bowled first. But then we chose to bowl first in the last game and our fate was very different. I mean the T20 format is very unforgiving. Having said that, this ground is very small as well. There are no excuses."

"Hopefully, whatever experience we have garnered from the last three games, we will put into use. Unfortunately, we have lost Mujeeb from the last game, who got injured and Marcus Stoinis comes in," he added.

Teams:

Punjab (Playing XI):&nbspLokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohit Sharma

Bangalore (Playing XI):&nbspParthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

This is Bangalore's fifth win in the ongoing IPL.

Virat Kohli opened with wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel and easily took Bangalore to victory side in just 8.1 overs. Without giving away any wicket, the two achieved the target of 89 runs, with Kohli making unbeaten 48 runs in 28 balls and Patel contributing 22-ball-40. The half-century stand between Parthiv and Kohli came in the fifth over. Kohli smashed a boundary to register their fifth win in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). After failing in batting department, Punjab bowlers were also depleted by Bangalore as they failed to take any wickets. Earlier, Bangalore bowled their best of IPL 2018 today to all-out Punjab for a paltry 88 runs at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. Umesh Yadav bowled a fantastic spell to dismisses three crucial players of Punjab including both openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. He later dismissed Andrew Tye to take his wicket count to three. In the fours over bowled, Yadav gave away only 23 runs to put his economy rate at 5.75 Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali took one wicket apiece. Skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl against &nbspPunjab, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, on Monday. Speaking after the toss, Kohli said, "No brainer. We will have a bowl first. It is a very difficult ground to defend here. They are also one mystery bowler short and that gives us an advantage to start off anyway. " "The wicket is pretty hard and there is a nice grass covering, it will be a very tough ground to defend on. Look in every team it would be very tough for all six batsmen to perform in every game, there would be two or three stand out performances throughout the tournament." In the last match against Delhi, Kohli and AB de Villiers established a 118-run partnership to help Bangalore register their fourth win in this year's IPL. "Me and AB have tried to take that responsibility but there have been contributions from others as well. KL and Gayle have played well for them. Those guys also get to face the most number of balls as well, so we have to take that into consideration as well. We are playing with the same team. We are going to go out there play fearless cricket," Kohli said. "Nobody gave us a chance a week back and after the win in the last game, we have some momentum. We will try and not look too ahead of ourselves," he concluded. When asked Ashwin about Punjab's strategy today, he said, "Obviously, it is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. So, we would have bowled first. But then we chose to bowl first in the last game and our fate was very different. I mean the T20 format is very unforgiving. Having said that, this ground is very small as well. There are no excuses." "Hopefully, whatever experience we have garnered from the last three games, we will put into use. Unfortunately, we have lost Mujeeb from the last game, who got injured and Marcus Stoinis comes in," he added. Teams: Punjab (Playing XI):&nbspLokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohit Sharma Bangalore (Playing XI):&nbspParthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

IPL 2018: Virat Kohli-led Bangalore beat Punjab by 10 wickets

Bangalore bowled their best of IPL 2018 today to all-out Punjab for a paltry 88 runs at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.

Umesh Yadav bowled a fantastic spell to dismiss&nbspthree crucial players of Punjab including both openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul.

He later dismissed Andrew Tye to take his wicket count to three.

In the fours over bowled, Yadav gave away only 23 runs to put his economy rate at 5.75

Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali took one wicket apiece.&nbsp

Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl against &nbspPunjab, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, on Monday.&nbsp

Speaking after the toss, Kohli said, "No brainer. We will have a bowl first. It is a very difficult ground to defend here. They are also one mystery bowler short and that gives us an advantage to start off anyway. "

"The wicket is pretty hard and there is a nice grass covering, it will be a very tough ground to defend on. Look in every team it would be very tough for all six batsmen to perform in every game, there would be two or three stand out performances throughout the tournament."

In the last match against Delhi, Kohli and AB de Villiers established a 118-run partnership to help Bangalore register their fourth win in this year's IPL.

"Me and AB have tried to take that responsibility but there have been contributions from others as well. KL and Gayle have played well for them. Those guys also get to face the most number of balls as well, so we have to take that into consideration as well. We are playing with the same team. We are going to go out there play fearless cricket," Kohli said.

"Nobody gave us a chance a week back and after the win in the last game, we have some momentum. We will try and not look too ahead of ourselves," he concluded.

When asked Ashwin about Punjab's strategy today, he said, "Obviously, it is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. So, we would have bowled first. But then we chose to bowl first in the last game and our fate was very different. I mean the T20 format is very unforgiving. Having said that, this ground is very small as well. There are no excuses."

"Hopefully, whatever experience we have garnered from the last three games, we will put into use. Unfortunately, we have lost Mujeeb from the last game, who got injured and Marcus Stoinis comes in," he added.

With high dependency on batting, Ashwin will hope to get his team back on track by defeating Bangalore.

Teams:

Punjab (Playing XI):&nbspLokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohit Sharma

Bangalore (Playing XI):&nbspParthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Umesh Yadav bowled a fantastic spell to dismiss three crucial players of Punjab

Bangalore bowled their best of IPL 2018 today to all-out Punjab for a paltry 88 runs at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. Umesh Yadav bowled a fantastic spell to dismiss&nbspthree crucial players of Punjab including both openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. He later dismissed Andrew Tye to take his wicket count to three. In the fours over bowled, Yadav gave away only 23 runs to put his economy rate at 5.75 Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali took one wicket apiece. Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl against &nbspPunjab, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, on Monday. Speaking after the toss, Kohli said, "No brainer. We will have a bowl first. It is a very difficult ground to defend here. They are also one mystery bowler short and that gives us an advantage to start off anyway. " "The wicket is pretty hard and there is a nice grass covering, it will be a very tough ground to defend on. Look in every team it would be very tough for all six batsmen to perform in every game, there would be two or three stand out performances throughout the tournament." In the last match against Delhi, Kohli and AB de Villiers established a 118-run partnership to help Bangalore register their fourth win in this year's IPL. "Me and AB have tried to take that responsibility but there have been contributions from others as well. KL and Gayle have played well for them. Those guys also get to face the most number of balls as well, so we have to take that into consideration as well. We are playing with the same team. We are going to go out there play fearless cricket," Kohli said. "Nobody gave us a chance a week back and after the win in the last game, we have some momentum. We will try and not look too ahead of ourselves," he concluded. When asked Ashwin about Punjab's strategy today, he said, "Obviously, it is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. So, we would have bowled first. But then we chose to bowl first in the last game and our fate was very different. I mean the T20 format is very unforgiving. Having said that, this ground is very small as well. There are no excuses." "Hopefully, whatever experience we have garnered from the last three games, we will put into use. Unfortunately, we have lost Mujeeb from the last game, who got injured and Marcus Stoinis comes in," he added. With high dependency on batting, Ashwin will hope to get his team back on track by defeating Bangalore. Teams: Punjab (Playing XI):&nbspLokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohit Sharma Bangalore (Playing XI):&nbspParthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

IPL 2018: Bangalore bowl out Punjab for paltry 88

Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl against &nbspPunjab, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, on Monday.&nbsp

Speaking after the toss, Kohli said, "No brainer. We will have a bowl first. It is a very difficult ground to defend here. They are also one mystery bowler short and that gives us an advantage to start off anyway. "

"The wicket is pretty hard and there is a nice grass covering, it will be a very tough ground to defend on. Look in every team it would be very tough for all six batsmen to perform in every game, there would be two or three stand out performances throughout the tournament."

In the last match against Delhi, Kohli and AB de Villiers established a 118-run partnership to help Bangalore register their fourth win in this year's IPL.

"Me and AB have tried to take that responsibility but there have been contributions from others as well. KL and Gayle have played well for them. Those guys also get to face the most number of balls as well, so we have to take that into consideration as well. We are playing with the same team. We are going to go out there play fearless cricket," Kohli said.

"Nobody gave us a chance a week back and after the win in the last game, we have some momentum. We will try and not look too ahead of ourselves," he concluded.

When asked Ashwin about Punjab's strategy today, he said, "Obviously, it is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. So, we would have bowled first. But then we chose to bowl first in the last game and our fate was very different. I mean the T20 format is very unforgiving. Having said that, this ground is very small as well. There are no excuses."

"Hopefully, whatever experience we have garnered from the last three games, we will put into use. Unfortunately, we have lost Mujeeb from the last game, who got injured and Marcus Stoinis comes in," he added.

With high dependency on batting, Ashwin will hope to get his team back on track by defeating Bangalore.

Teams:

Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohit Sharma

Bangalore (Playing XI): Parthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

With high dependency on batting, Ashwin will hope to get his team back on track by defeating Bangalore.

Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl against &nbspPunjab, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, on Monday. Speaking after the toss, Kohli said, "No brainer. We will have a bowl first. It is a very difficult ground to defend here. They are also one mystery bowler short and that gives us an advantage to start off anyway. " "The wicket is pretty hard and there is a nice grass covering, it will be a very tough ground to defend on. Look in every team it would be very tough for all six batsmen to perform in every game, there would be two or three stand out performances throughout the tournament." In the last match against Delhi, Kohli and AB de Villiers established a 118-run partnership to help Bangalore register their fourth win in this year's IPL. "Me and AB have tried to take that responsibility but there have been contributions from others as well. KL and Gayle have played well for them. Those guys also get to face the most number of balls as well, so we have to take that into consideration as well. We are playing with the same team. We are going to go out there play fearless cricket," Kohli said. "Nobody gave us a chance a week back and after the win in the last game, we have some momentum. We will try and not look too ahead of ourselves," he concluded. When asked Ashwin about Punjab's strategy today, he said, "Obviously, it is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. So, we would have bowled first. But then we chose to bowl first in the last game and our fate was very different. I mean the T20 format is very unforgiving. Having said that, this ground is very small as well. There are no excuses." "Hopefully, whatever experience we have garnered from the last three games, we will put into use. Unfortunately, we have lost Mujeeb from the last game, who got injured and Marcus Stoinis comes in," he added. With high dependency on batting, Ashwin will hope to get his team back on track by defeating Bangalore. Teams: Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohit Sharma Bangalore (Playing XI): Parthiv Patel(w), Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

IPL 2018: Virat Kohli wins toss, opts to bowl against Punjab

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl against Rohit Sharma-led side at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday.

Both the teams have struggled initially in the tournament but now have stormed back to book a berth in the play-offs.

After winning three straight games, Mumbai is riding high on confidence but even Rajasthan's performance has improved seeing their previous few clashes.

The way Jos Buttler played in the previous match, an unbeaten 95-run knock, helped to team to keep themselves alive in the tournament.&nbsp;

Speaking after winning the toss, Ajinkya said, "We'll bowl first. Looks a very good wicket. High scoring ground and dew comes later here. We have to play good cricket for 40 overs."

"First 6 overs will be crucial. We have D'Arcy Short in for Ish Sodhi, who's not well. Shreyas Gopal and Dhawal Kulkarni come in," he&nbsp; 
added.

When asked Rohit about his strategy for today, he said, "Rohit: "Not really worried about dew. Last 6 overs, you have to expect some dew but it's our home ground, we have played here. We played a few games here where we have bowled second."

"There's no secret to winning games. We have performed collectively as a unit. Someone has put his hand up and taken up the responsibility. Same team for us," he added.

Teams

Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal&nbsp;Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah

Rajasthan (Playing XI): Jos Buttler(w), D Arcy Short, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

Both the teams struggled initially in the tournament but now have stormed back to book a berth in the play-offs.

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl against Rohit Sharma-led side at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday. Both the teams have struggled initially in the tournament but now have stormed back to book a berth in the play-offs. After winning three straight games, Mumbai is riding high on confidence but even Rajasthan's performance has improved seeing their previous few clashes. The way Jos Buttler played in the previous match, an unbeaten 95-run knock, helped to team to keep themselves alive in the tournament. Speaking after winning the toss, Ajinkya said, "We'll bowl first. Looks a very good wicket. High scoring ground and dew comes later here. We have to play good cricket for 40 overs." "First 6 overs will be crucial. We have D'Arcy Short in for Ish Sodhi, who's not well. Shreyas Gopal and Dhawal Kulkarni come in," he added. When asked Rohit about his strategy for today, he said, "Rohit: "Not really worried about dew. Last 6 overs, you have to expect some dew but it's our home ground, we have played here. We played a few games here where we have bowled second." "There's no secret to winning games. We have performed collectively as a unit. Someone has put his hand up and taken up the responsibility. Same team for us," he added. Teams Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah Rajasthan (Playing XI): Jos Buttler(w), D Arcy Short, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

IPL 2018: Rajasthan opt to bowl against resurgent Mumbai

Despite getting a superb start by openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, Punjab failed to capitalise the start and fell 31 runs short while chasing a mammoth target of 245 runs at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday.

KL Rahul rose to the occasion and slammed 66 runs in just 29 balls which included two boundaries and seven sixes. &nbsp;

Run machine Gayle also contributed 21 runs before being dismissed off Russell.

But it was the downline which failed to continue the momentum as Karun Nair and Mayank Aggarwal was dismissed very cheaply.&nbsp;

While Mayank failed open his account, Nair was sent back to the pavilion after making just three runs.&nbsp;

Skipper Ravichandran Ashwin played a perfect cameo to lift Punjab from crises.&nbsp;

He slammed four boundaries and three huge sixes to reach 45 in just 22 balls.&nbsp;

Aaron Finch also made 34 runs but failed to stay on the crease for long.&nbsp;

Put into bat, Kolkata had set mammoth 245 runs on board against Punjab, to save their chances of qualifying for the play-offs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn opened for Kolkata and were in attack position from the very first bowl.

Narine took the wheels in his hand after Lynn departed after contributing just 27 runs.

He played a blistering knock of 75 runs in 36 balls which included nine boundaries and four sixes, before being sent back to the pavilion.

Skipper Dinesh Karthik also slammed a half-century in just 23. His inning included five fours and three sixes.

The downline was in terrific form as every batsman contributed today.

Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell too made 24 and 31 runs respectively, in 17 and 14 balls.

For Punjab, Axar Patel was the most expensive bowler as he gave 52 runs in four overs bowled and did not take any wicket.

Earlier, &nbsp;Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday won the toss and opted to field against Kolkata.&nbsp;

Both the sides came off a defeat and seemed desperate to bring their campaign back on winning ways.

Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them.&nbsp;

Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing.

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Talking about their strategy for today, Ashwin said, "We'll bowl first. It's a small ground and difficult to defend, so we'll try to chase it down. It's a day game and it's dried up a bit. Previous games were sticky but this one is expected to stay the same."

"We are sticking to our old combination. We have brought Agarwal in for Nath, Sran for Tiwary and Finch for Stoinis," he added.

When asked about their strategy, skipper Dinesh Karthik said, "One team has to bat first. We'll try to make the most of the opportunity. Just one change for us, Searles comes in for Curran."

"We are sticking to the same team as I am someone who believes to stick to one team and believe in the boys. So we are sticking to the same XI with just one change."

While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points.

Teams:

Punjab (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul(w), Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Javon Searles, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

KL Rahul rose to the occasion and slammed 66 runs in just 29 balls

Despite getting a superb start by openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, Punjab failed to capitalise the start and fell 31 runs short while chasing a mammoth target of 245 runs at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday. KL Rahul rose to the occasion and slammed 66 runs in just 29 balls which included two boundaries and seven sixes. Run machine Gayle also contributed 21 runs before being dismissed off Russell. But it was the downline which failed to continue the momentum as Karun Nair and Mayank Aggarwal was dismissed very cheaply. While Mayank failed open his account, Nair was sent back to the pavilion after making just three runs. Skipper Ravichandran Ashwin played a perfect cameo to lift Punjab from crises. He slammed four boundaries and three huge sixes to reach 45 in just 22 balls. Aaron Finch also made 34 runs but failed to stay on the crease for long. Put into bat, Kolkata had set mammoth 245 runs on board against Punjab, to save their chances of qualifying for the play-offs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn opened for Kolkata and were in attack position from the very first bowl. Narine took the wheels in his hand after Lynn departed after contributing just 27 runs. He played a blistering knock of 75 runs in 36 balls which included nine boundaries and four sixes, before being sent back to the pavilion. Skipper Dinesh Karthik also slammed a half-century in just 23. His inning included five fours and three sixes. The downline was in terrific form as every batsman contributed today. Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell too made 24 and 31 runs respectively, in 17 and 14 balls. For Punjab, Axar Patel was the most expensive bowler as he gave 52 runs in four overs bowled and did not take any wicket. Earlier, Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday won the toss and opted to field against Kolkata. Both the sides came off a defeat and seemed desperate to bring their campaign back on winning ways. Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them. Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing. × Talking about their strategy for today, Ashwin said, "We'll bowl first. It's a small ground and difficult to defend, so we'll try to chase it down. It's a day game and it's dried up a bit. Previous games were sticky but this one is expected to stay the same." "We are sticking to our old combination. We have brought Agarwal in for Nath, Sran for Tiwary and Finch for Stoinis," he added. When asked about their strategy, skipper Dinesh Karthik said, "One team has to bat first. We'll try to make the most of the opportunity. Just one change for us, Searles comes in for Curran." "We are sticking to the same team as I am someone who believes to stick to one team and believe in the boys. So we are sticking to the same XI with just one change." While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points. Teams: Punjab (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul(w), Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Javon Searles, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

IPL 2018: Punjab lose by 31 runs while chasing Kolkata's 246

Chennai and Hyderabad are all set to lock horns for the second time in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).&nbsp;

Hyderabad stand at top of the IPL table with 18 points, while Chennai is placed at the 2nd position with 14 points. &nbsp;

MS Dhoni-led side will face the Kane Williamson and team at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Chennai's temporarily home ground.&nbsp;

So, let us take a look at the players expected to perform in today's big clash.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
1. Suresh Raina - Though his performance has not been outstanding in the season so far, he certainly did some wonders in the last game when he smashed 52 runs off 35 balls which included six boundaries and one six. Also in his previous game against Hyderabad, he scored an unbeaten 43-ball-54 &nbsp;with five boundaries and two sixes. Definitely, a confident batsman to step out on the field against Hyderabad.&nbsp;

2. Kane Williamson - The backbone of Hyderabad is one of the most successful skippers in the ongoing league so far. With his team being the table-toppers, he definitely fulfilled his duties as a captain. When required he has stood up for his team as a batsman too. In 11 matches he has scored 493 runs which include six half-centuries. Even in his previous game against Delhi, Hyderabad skipper slammed 53-ball-83 and ensured victory for his side.&nbsp;

3. Shikhar Dhawan - Dhawan played an impeccable inning in his previous game as he smashed an unbeaten 92 runs off 50 balls, which included nine boundaries and four sixes. He shed his poor form with an unforgettable inning. He is expected to play an opener's knock to help his side consolidate their position.&nbsp;

4. Ambati Rayudu - An adequate batsman for Chennai knows how to play his innings and help his team set a required target or win the game. Altogether, he scored 435 runs in 11 games so far. His experience and ability to deplete any bowling attack makes him a player to watch out for in today's game.&nbsp;

5. Shakib al Hasan - The Hyderabad all-rounder played a decent inning in his previous games. The only bowler to take two crucial wickets, one of Prithvi Shaw and another of Jason Roy, in their last encounter against Delhi. He is expected to perform the same today when Chennai faces Hyderabad.

Chennai have to get pumped up for tonight as Hyderabad have not seen defeat in last six games played.&nbsp;

Hyderabad stand at top of the IPL table with 18 points

Chennai and Hyderabad are all set to lock horns for the second time in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). Hyderabad stand at top of the IPL table with 18 points, while Chennai is placed at the 2nd position with 14 points. MS Dhoni-led side will face the Kane Williamson and team at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Chennai's temporarily home ground. So, let us take a look at the players expected to perform in today's big clash. 1. Suresh Raina - Though his performance has not been outstanding in the season so far, he certainly did some wonders in the last game when he smashed 52 runs off 35 balls which included six boundaries and one six. Also in his previous game against Hyderabad, he scored an unbeaten 43-ball-54 with five boundaries and two sixes. Definitely, a confident batsman to step out on the field against Hyderabad. 2. Kane Williamson - The backbone of Hyderabad is one of the most successful skippers in the ongoing league so far. With his team being the table-toppers, he definitely fulfilled his duties as a captain. When required he has stood up for his team as a batsman too. In 11 matches he has scored 493 runs which include six half-centuries. Even in his previous game against Delhi, Hyderabad skipper slammed 53-ball-83 and ensured victory for his side. 3. Shikhar Dhawan - Dhawan played an impeccable inning in his previous game as he smashed an unbeaten 92 runs off 50 balls, which included nine boundaries and four sixes. He shed his poor form with an unforgettable inning. He is expected to play an opener's knock to help his side consolidate their position. 4. Ambati Rayudu - An adequate batsman for Chennai knows how to play his innings and help his team set a required target or win the game. Altogether, he scored 435 runs in 11 games so far. His experience and ability to deplete any bowling attack makes him a player to watch out for in today's game. 5. Shakib al Hasan - The Hyderabad all-rounder played a decent inning in his previous games. The only bowler to take two crucial wickets, one of Prithvi Shaw and another of Jason Roy, in their last encounter against Delhi. He is expected to perform the same today when Chennai faces Hyderabad. Chennai have to get pumped up for tonight as Hyderabad have not seen defeat in last six games played.

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

After suffering a setback from Rajasthan in their last match, Chennai will host table-toppers Hyderabad at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, on Saturday

The Yellow Brigade was defeated by five wickets when they faced Rajasthan at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

After beginning the eleventh season in cracking fashion, they have lost three games out of their last five and more often than not, it's the bowling that has let them down.&nbsp

&nbspA combined batting effort by Suresh Raina, skipper M.S. Dhoni and opener Shane Watson helped Chennai post a fighting total of 176 against Rajasthan.&nbsp

So far, batsmen are the major reason behind Chennai's success as they have been in top form this season, however, death-over bowling still remains a concern for the franchise.

Most of the batsmen - Ambati Rayudu, Australian Shane Watson, West Indian Dwayne Bravo and Suresh Raina, have contributed whenever the team needed.

Rayudu has batted well both as an opener and at number four, amassing 435 runs from 11 innings.

With 393 runs from 10 innings, Dhoni has also shown glimpses of the past.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who struggled in the first half of the league, emerged with a match-winning figure of 3/18 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The pace attack will once again rely on Lungi Ngidi, David Willey and Shardul Thakur.

Hyderabad, on the other hand, have already sealed a playoff berth and will be eyeing another win to consolidate their position.&nbsp

The Kane Williamson-led side is currently in red-hot form. In their last encounter, Hyderabad hammered Delhi by nine wickets while chasing a massive total of 188 runs.

The orange army is capable of putting huge totals as well as defending low scores.

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Overall, its Hyderabad's bowling unit led by the overseas spin twins - Afghan Rashid Khan and Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan - who have been instrumental till now.

The spinners have been well supported by the pace department led by fit-again Bhuvneshwar Kumar and young Siddharth Kaul.

Their batting mainly centres around the skipper -- Williamson -- who has repeatedly dug them out of troubled waters, scoring six half-centuries so far in this season.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled for runs earlier, got back his touch against Delhi, smashing a 50-ball unbeaten 92, laced with nine fours and four sixes.

However, Alex Hales and Manish Pandey need to shoulder the responsibility in case Williamson fails to deliver.

Overall, it will be another edge of the seat match for fans when the top two teams of the cash-rich league square-off in a crucial tie.

The Yellow Brigade was defeated by five wickets when they faced Rajasthan in their last match

After suffering a setback from Rajasthan in their last match, Chennai will host table-toppers Hyderabad at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, on Saturday The Yellow Brigade was defeated by five wickets when they faced Rajasthan at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. After beginning the eleventh season in cracking fashion, they have lost three games out of their last five and more often than not, it's the bowling that has let them down. &nbspA combined batting effort by Suresh Raina, skipper M.S. Dhoni and opener Shane Watson helped Chennai post a fighting total of 176 against Rajasthan. So far, batsmen are the major reason behind Chennai's success as they have been in top form this season, however, death-over bowling still remains a concern for the franchise. Most of the batsmen - Ambati Rayudu, Australian Shane Watson, West Indian Dwayne Bravo and Suresh Raina, have contributed whenever the team needed. Rayudu has batted well both as an opener and at number four, amassing 435 runs from 11 innings. With 393 runs from 10 innings, Dhoni has also shown glimpses of the past. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who struggled in the first half of the league, emerged with a match-winning figure of 3/18 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The pace attack will once again rely on Lungi Ngidi, David Willey and Shardul Thakur. Hyderabad, on the other hand, have already sealed a playoff berth and will be eyeing another win to consolidate their position. The Kane Williamson-led side is currently in red-hot form. In their last encounter, Hyderabad hammered Delhi by nine wickets while chasing a massive total of 188 runs. The orange army is capable of putting huge totals as well as defending low scores. × Overall, its Hyderabad's bowling unit led by the overseas spin twins - Afghan Rashid Khan and Bangladeshi Shakib Al Hasan - who have been instrumental till now. The spinners have been well supported by the pace department led by fit-again Bhuvneshwar Kumar and young Siddharth Kaul. Their batting mainly centres around the skipper -- Williamson -- who has repeatedly dug them out of troubled waters, scoring six half-centuries so far in this season. Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled for runs earlier, got back his touch against Delhi, smashing a 50-ball unbeaten 92, laced with nine fours and four sixes. However, Alex Hales and Manish Pandey need to shoulder the responsibility in case Williamson fails to deliver. Overall, it will be another edge of the seat match for fans when the top two teams of the cash-rich league square-off in a crucial tie.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Chennai vs Hyderabad

Put into bat, Kolkata had set mammoth 245 runs on board against Punjab, to save their chances of qualifying for the play-offs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn opened for Kolkata and were in attacking position from the very first ball.

Narine took the wheels in his hand after Lynn departed after contributing just 27 runs.

He played a blistering knock of 75 runs in 36 balls which included nine boundaries and four sixes, before being sent back to the pavilion.

Skipper Dinesh Karthik also slammed a half-century in just 23. His inning included five fours and three sixes.

The downline was in terrific form as every batsman contributed today.

Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell too made 24 and 31 runs respectively, in 17 and 14 balls.

For Punjab, Axar Patel was the most expensive bowler as he gave 52 runs in four overs bowled and did not take any wicket.

Earlier, &nbsp;Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday won the toss and opted to field against Kolkata at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday.

Both the sides are coming off a defeat and will be desperate to bring their campaign back on winning ways.

Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them.&nbsp;

Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing.

Talking about their strategy for today, Ashwin said, "We'll bowl first. It's a small ground and difficult to defend, so we'll try to chase it down. It's a day game and it's dried up a bit. Previous games were sticky but this one is expected to stay the same."

"We are sticking to our old combination. We have brought Agarwal in for Nath, Sran for Tiwary and Finch for Stoinis," he added.

When asked about their strategy, skipper Dinesh Karthik said, "One team has to bat first. We'll try to make the most of the opportunity. Just one change for us, Searles comes in for Curran."

"We are sticking to the same team as I am someone who believes to stick to one team and believe in the boys. So we are sticking to the same XI with just one change."

While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points.

Teams:

Punjab (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul(w), Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Javon Searles, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav 
&nbsp;

Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn opened for Kolkata

Put into bat, Kolkata had set mammoth 245 runs on board against Punjab, to save their chances of qualifying for the play-offs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn opened for Kolkata and were in attacking position from the very first ball. Narine took the wheels in his hand after Lynn departed after contributing just 27 runs. He played a blistering knock of 75 runs in 36 balls which included nine boundaries and four sixes, before being sent back to the pavilion. Skipper Dinesh Karthik also slammed a half-century in just 23. His inning included five fours and three sixes. The downline was in terrific form as every batsman contributed today. Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell too made 24 and 31 runs respectively, in 17 and 14 balls. For Punjab, Axar Patel was the most expensive bowler as he gave 52 runs in four overs bowled and did not take any wicket. Earlier, Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday won the toss and opted to field against Kolkata at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday. Both the sides are coming off a defeat and will be desperate to bring their campaign back on winning ways. Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them. Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing. Talking about their strategy for today, Ashwin said, "We'll bowl first. It's a small ground and difficult to defend, so we'll try to chase it down. It's a day game and it's dried up a bit. Previous games were sticky but this one is expected to stay the same." "We are sticking to our old combination. We have brought Agarwal in for Nath, Sran for Tiwary and Finch for Stoinis," he added. When asked about their strategy, skipper Dinesh Karthik said, "One team has to bat first. We'll try to make the most of the opportunity. Just one change for us, Searles comes in for Curran." "We are sticking to the same team as I am someone who believes to stick to one team and believe in the boys. So we are sticking to the same XI with just one change." While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points. Teams: Punjab (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul(w), Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Javon Searles, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

IPL 2018: Narine, Karthik guide Kolkata to massive 245

Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday won the toss and opted yo filed against Kolkata at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday.

Both the sides are coming off a defeat and will be desperate to bring their campaign back on winning ways.

Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them.&nbsp;

Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing.

Talking about their strategy for today, Ashwin said, "We'll bowl first. It's a small ground and difficult to defend, so we'll try to chase it down. It's a day game and it's dried up a bit. Previous games were sticky but this one is expected to stay the same."

"We are sticking to our old combination. We have brought Agarwal in for Nath, Sran for Tiwary and Finch for Stoinis," he added.

When asked about their strategy, skipper Dinesh Karthik said, "One team has to bat first. We'll try to make the most of the opportunity. Just one change for us, Searles comes in for Curran."

"We are sticking to the same team as I am someone who believes to stick to one team and believe in the boys. So we are sticking to the same XI with just one change."

While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points.

Teams:

Punjab (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul(w), Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Javon Searles, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter

Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday won the toss and opted yo filed against Kolkata at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday. Both the sides are coming off a defeat and will be desperate to bring their campaign back on winning ways. Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them. Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing. Talking about their strategy for today, Ashwin said, "We'll bowl first. It's a small ground and difficult to defend, so we'll try to chase it down. It's a day game and it's dried up a bit. Previous games were sticky but this one is expected to stay the same." "We are sticking to our old combination. We have brought Agarwal in for Nath, Sran for Tiwary and Finch for Stoinis," he added. When asked about their strategy, skipper Dinesh Karthik said, "One team has to bat first. We'll try to make the most of the opportunity. Just one change for us, Searles comes in for Curran." "We are sticking to the same team as I am someone who believes to stick to one team and believe in the boys. So we are sticking to the same XI with just one change." While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points. Teams: Punjab (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul(w), Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Andre Russell, Javon Searles, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

IPL 2018: R Ashwin wins toss, opts to bowl against Kolkata

Punjab will aim to strengthen their position in the top three of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table when they take on Kolkata at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday.

Both the sides are coming off a defeat and will be desperate to return to winning ways.&nbsp

While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points.

Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them.&nbsp

Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing.

Punjab's batting mostly relies on openers Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul as the duo have accumulated 471 and 311 runs respectively.&nbsp

In the match against Rajasthan, when all of the Punjab batters failed to fire, Rahul rose to the occasion smashing an unbeaten 95 off 70 balls.

Veteran Yuvraj Singh, Aaron Finch and Mayank Agarwal are yet to make their presence felt in the middle-order for the franchise.

The trio's poor form will be a major cause of concern for the team management and it is high time for them to come out with their best.&nbsp

In the bowling department, skipper Ravichandran Ashwin and medium-pacer Mohit Sharma add depth to the line-up.

Also, pacers Barinder Sran and Andrew Tye, and Afghan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman shoulder the bulk of the responsibility.&nbsp

While Australian Tye has 16 wickets from eight games, pacer Ankit Rajpoot and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have eight and 14 wickets each.

On the other hand, Kolkata will need to put behind their humiliating loss to Mumbai and come together as a unit if they want to seal a play-off berth.&nbsp

For the men-in-purple, openers Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine have failed to perform consistently.&nbsp

Skipper Dinesh Karthik has been the only consistent batsman with the willow, amassing 321 runs from 11 matches.

Vice-captain Robin Uthappa will have to come up with an extraordinary show to help his side inch forward along with the misfiring middle order.&nbsp

Overall, Punjab has a slightly better chance in today's game over Kolkata. 
&nbsp

Both the sides are coming off a defeat and will be desperate to return to winning ways.

Punjab will aim to strengthen their position in the top three of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table when they take on Kolkata at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Saturday. Both the sides are coming off a defeat and will be desperate to return to winning ways. While Punjab acquires third place with 12 points, Kolkata are placed fifth in the league table with 10 points. Kolkata were hammered by Mumbai in their last encounter as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered a thumping 102-run victory over them. Punjab too, suffered a narrow 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in their last outing. Punjab's batting mostly relies on openers Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul as the duo have accumulated 471 and 311 runs respectively. In the match against Rajasthan, when all of the Punjab batters failed to fire, Rahul rose to the occasion smashing an unbeaten 95 off 70 balls. Veteran Yuvraj Singh, Aaron Finch and Mayank Agarwal are yet to make their presence felt in the middle-order for the franchise. The trio's poor form will be a major cause of concern for the team management and it is high time for them to come out with their best. In the bowling department, skipper Ravichandran Ashwin and medium-pacer Mohit Sharma add depth to the line-up. Also, pacers Barinder Sran and Andrew Tye, and Afghan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman shoulder the bulk of the responsibility. While Australian Tye has 16 wickets from eight games, pacer Ankit Rajpoot and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have eight and 14 wickets each. On the other hand, Kolkata will need to put behind their humiliating loss to Mumbai and come together as a unit if they want to seal a play-off berth. For the men-in-purple, openers Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine have failed to perform consistently. Skipper Dinesh Karthik has been the only consistent batsman with the willow, amassing 321 runs from 11 matches. Vice-captain Robin Uthappa will have to come up with an extraordinary show to help his side inch forward along with the misfiring middle order. Overall, Punjab has a slightly better chance in today's game over Kolkata.

IPL 2018: Match Preview of Punjab vs Kolkata

Opener Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Kane Williamson shared an unbeaten 176-run stand to overshadow a breathtaking hundred from Rishbah Pant.&nbsp;

Hyderabad sailed into the Indian Premier League play-offs with a commanding nine-wicket victory over Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Thursday. 
&nbsp; 
Delhi's 187 for five was a challenging target but Dhawan's 92 not out off 50 balls and captain's 83 not out off 53 ensured Hyderabad home in 18.5 overs.&nbsp;

With just six points from 11 games, Delhi are now certain to make another early exit from the tournament.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad led the table with 18 points from 11 games.

Earlier, Pant slammed his maiden IPL hundred, an epic 128 not out off just 63 balls which was not enough to for Delhi to defeat &nbsp;Hyderabad.

Pant helped Delhi overcome a poor start to reach an imposing total.&nbsp;

Pant was unstoppable in his unbeaten knock as he depleted with arguably the best bowling attack in the competition, single-handedly giving a fighting chance to a struggling Delhi.&nbsp;

His century came at the perfect time when the top three batsmen failed to contribute much. His long innings included 15 boundaries and seven long sixes.

For Hyderabad, Shakib Al Hasan was the only bowler who managed to take two wickets.&nbsp;

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had to settle for one while three players got run-out.

Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat against Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday.

Struggling at the bottom of the points table, the hosts made three changes to their playing XI by including Shahbaz Nadeem, Jason Roy and Harshal Patel in place of Avesh Khan, Daniel Christian and Naman Ojha.

On the other hand, the tourists replaced injured wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha with Shreevats Goswami.

Teams:

Hyderabad:&nbsp;Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (Captain), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami (WK), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.

Daredevils:&nbsp;Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Rishabh Pant (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Liam Plunkett, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Trent Boult.

&nbsp;

Pant remained unbeaten and scored 128 runs in just 63 balls

Opener Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Kane Williamson shared an unbeaten 176-run stand to overshadow a breathtaking hundred from Rishbah Pant. Hyderabad sailed into the Indian Premier League play-offs with a commanding nine-wicket victory over Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Thursday. Delhi's 187 for five was a challenging target but Dhawan's 92 not out off 50 balls and captain's 83 not out off 53 ensured Hyderabad home in 18.5 overs. With just six points from 11 games, Delhi are now certain to make another early exit from the tournament. Meanwhile, Hyderabad led the table with 18 points from 11 games. Earlier, Pant slammed his maiden IPL hundred, an epic 128 not out off just 63 balls which was not enough to for Delhi to defeat Hyderabad. Pant helped Delhi overcome a poor start to reach an imposing total. Pant was unstoppable in his unbeaten knock as he depleted with arguably the best bowling attack in the competition, single-handedly giving a fighting chance to a struggling Delhi. His century came at the perfect time when the top three batsmen failed to contribute much. His long innings included 15 boundaries and seven long sixes. For Hyderabad, Shakib Al Hasan was the only bowler who managed to take two wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had to settle for one while three players got run-out. Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat against Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday. Struggling at the bottom of the points table, the hosts made three changes to their playing XI by including Shahbaz Nadeem, Jason Roy and Harshal Patel in place of Avesh Khan, Daniel Christian and Naman Ojha. On the other hand, the tourists replaced injured wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha with Shreevats Goswami. Teams: Hyderabad: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (Captain), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami (WK), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma. Daredevils: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Rishabh Pant (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Liam Plunkett, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Trent Boult.

IPL 2018: Dhawan, Williamson take Hyderabad to play-offs, beat Delhi by 9 wickets

Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat against Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday.

Struggling at the bottom of the points table, the hosts made three changes to their playing XI by including Shahbaz Nadeem, Jason Roy and Harshal Patel in place of Avesh Khan, Daniel Christian and Naman Ojha.

On the other hand, the tourists replaced injured wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha with Shreevats Goswami.

Teams:

Hyderabad: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (Captain), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami (WK), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.

Daredevils: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Rishabh Pant (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Liam Plunkett, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Trent Boult.

The tourists replaced injured wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha with Shreevats Goswami.

Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat against Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday. Struggling at the bottom of the points table, the hosts made three changes to their playing XI by including Shahbaz Nadeem, Jason Roy and Harshal Patel in place of Avesh Khan, Daniel Christian and Naman Ojha. On the other hand, the tourists replaced injured wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha with Shreevats Goswami. Teams: Hyderabad: Alex Hales, Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson (Captain), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami (WK), Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma. Daredevils: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Rishabh Pant (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Liam Plunkett, Harshal Patel, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Trent Boult.

IPL 2018: Delhi opt to bat against Hyderabad

Delhi will return to its home ground Feroz Shah Kotla and will host table-toppers Hyderabad today. Their last encounter was won by the Kane-Williamson side by seven wickets.

Kotla has proved to be lucky for the home team of late - Shreyas Iyer has won both times he’s led the team out at this venue following Gautam Gambhir’s sudden resignation from the captaincy.

As Delhi stands last in the league table, its important for the franchise to beat Hyderabad to keep their chances of qualifying for the play-off alive.

For Delhi, Prithvi Shaw and skipper Shyeras Iyer are in red-hot form. The two smashed 65 and 45 runs respectively in their last match against Hyderabad.

In-form Rishab pant failed to contribute in his last match but is expected to play a superb knock today

It is the bowling department which has to play a different game today to restrict the opponents.&nbsp;

Hyderabad, on the other hand, are enjoying their game by sitting on top of the IPL table.&nbsp;

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Skipper Kane Williamson had hit a half-century in his last match against Bangalore. The batsman is capable of single-handedly taking the match away from Delhi.&nbsp;

The bowling department has always been their strong base and are expected to perform above par today also.&nbsp;

So overall, Delhi will fight to keep their playoff chances alive while Hyderabad will enter the ground to consolidate their position.&nbsp;

Delhi will return to its home ground Feroz Shah Kotla and will host table-toppers Hyderabad today. Their last encounter was won by the Kane-Williamson side by seven wickets. Kotla has proved to be lucky for the home team of late - Shreyas Iyer has won both times he’s led the team out at this venue following Gautam Gambhir’s sudden resignation from the captaincy. As Delhi stands last in the league table, its important for the franchise to beat Hyderabad to keep their chances of qualifying for the play-off alive. For Delhi, Prithvi Shaw and skipper Shyeras Iyer are in red-hot form. The two smashed 65 and 45 runs respectively in their last match against Hyderabad. In-form Rishab pant failed to contribute in his last match but is expected to play a superb knock today It is the bowling department which has to play a different game today to restrict the opponents. Hyderabad, on the other hand, are enjoying their game by sitting on top of the IPL table. × Skipper Kane Williamson had hit a half-century in his last match against Bangalore. The batsman is capable of single-handedly taking the match away from Delhi. The bowling department has always been their strong base and are expected to perform above par today also. So overall, Delhi will fight to keep their playoff chances alive while Hyderabad will enter the ground to consolidate their position.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Delhi vs Hyderabad

Delhi and Hyderabad are all set to lock horns for the second time in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).&nbsp

While Hyderabad stand at top of the IPL table, Delhi is bottom placed after facing seven defeats out of 10 games played so far.&nbsp&nbsp

As Delhi returns to its home ground Feroz Shah Kotla, it becomes important for the franchise to beat Hyderabad to keep their chances of qualifying for the play-off alive.&nbsp

So, let us take a look at the players expected to perform in today's big clash.&nbsp

1. Kane Williamson - The backbone of Hyderabad is one of the most successful skippers in the ongoing league so far. With his team being the table-toppers, he definitely fulfilled his duties as a captain. When required he has stood up for his team as a batsman too. In 10 matches he has scored 410 runs which include five half-centuries. Even in his previous game against Bangalore, Hyderabad skipper slammed 39-ball-56 and ensured victory for his side.&nbsp

2. Prithvi Shaw - The Delhi opener smashed 65 runs off just 36 balls which included six boundaries and three sixes. The young sensation has so far scored 205 runs in five matches played with 65 being his highest score. He is capable of hitting big strokes and can be a dependent player when needed.&nbsp

3. Shakib Al Hasan - The Hyderabad all-rounder played a decent inning in his previous game. He scored 35 runs off 32 balls. Also, the only bowler to take two crucial wickets, one of Parthiv Patel and another of Virat Kohli, in their previous game against Bangalore. He is expected to perform the same today when Delhi faces Hyderabad.

4. Shreyas Iyer - The Delhi skipper tried his best to revive Delhi in this tournament after taking the captaincy, but failed to qualify for the top four. Being a very efficient batsman, Iyer scored 351 runs in 10 matches so far and is placed at the 8th position for the 'Orange Cap'. In his previous match against Hyderabad, he scored 36-ball-44 which included three boundaries and two sixes. The skipper is all set for tonight to remove Delhi from the last position.&nbsp

5. Rishabh Pant - An adequate batsman from Delhi knows how to play his innings and help his team set a required target or win the game. Altogether, he scored 393 runs in 10 games so far. His experience and ability to deplete any bowling attack makes him a player to watch out for in today's game.&nbsp

Delhi returns to its home ground Feroz Shah Kotla

Delhi and Hyderabad are all set to lock horns for the second time in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). While Hyderabad stand at top of the IPL table, Delhi is bottom placed after facing seven defeats out of 10 games played so far. As Delhi returns to its home ground Feroz Shah Kotla, it becomes important for the franchise to beat Hyderabad to keep their chances of qualifying for the play-off alive. So, let us take a look at the players expected to perform in today's big clash. 1. Kane Williamson - The backbone of Hyderabad is one of the most successful skippers in the ongoing league so far. With his team being the table-toppers, he definitely fulfilled his duties as a captain. When required he has stood up for his team as a batsman too. In 10 matches he has scored 410 runs which include five half-centuries. Even in his previous game against Bangalore, Hyderabad skipper slammed 39-ball-56 and ensured victory for his side. 2. Prithvi Shaw - The Delhi opener smashed 65 runs off just 36 balls which included six boundaries and three sixes. The young sensation has so far scored 205 runs in five matches played with 65 being his highest score. He is capable of hitting big strokes and can be a dependent player when needed. 3. Shakib Al Hasan - The Hyderabad all-rounder played a decent inning in his previous game. He scored 35 runs off 32 balls. Also, the only bowler to take two crucial wickets, one of Parthiv Patel and another of Virat Kohli, in their previous game against Bangalore. He is expected to perform the same today when Delhi faces Hyderabad. 4. Shreyas Iyer - The Delhi skipper tried his best to revive Delhi in this tournament after taking the captaincy, but failed to qualify for the top four. Being a very efficient batsman, Iyer scored 351 runs in 10 matches so far and is placed at the 8th position for the 'Orange Cap'. In his previous match against Hyderabad, he scored 36-ball-44 which included three boundaries and two sixes. The skipper is all set for tonight to remove Delhi from the last position. 5. Rishabh Pant - An adequate batsman from Delhi knows how to play his innings and help his team set a required target or win the game. Altogether, he scored 393 runs in 10 games so far. His experience and ability to deplete any bowling attack makes him a player to watch out for in today's game.

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

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