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 &nbsp;Kuldeep 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;

Rajasthan got a great start as openers Jos Buttler and Rahul Tripathi began attacking the Kolkata bowlers from the first ball.

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 Kuldeep 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: Kuldeep Yadav's four-wicket haul ends Rajasthan's inning for 142

Chris Gayle was promised that he would be retained but that call from Bangalore never came. He waited but there was no communication after that assurance.

He went unsold twice in the January IPL auction, before being purchased by Preity Zinta-owned Punjab.

In the eleventh edition, the 'Universal Boss' blasted two half-centuries and a hundred after being picked him at base price.

However, the West Indian legend has struggled since that week-long break. Gayle would have hoped to make a mark against Bangalore, however, that did not happen when he was dismissed cheaply by Umesh Yadav.

His dismissal triggered a collapse and Punjab succumbed for mere 88, the lowest total in the ongoing IPL.

Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel opened and blazed away to unbeaten 48 and 40 not respectively as Bangalore got home in 8.1 overs.

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As comprehensive a victory as it can get for the <a href="https://twitter.com/RCBTweets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RCBTweets</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KXIPvRCB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KXIPvRCB</a> <a href="https://t.co/dyCLvftjlY">pic.twitter.com/dyCLvftjlY</a>
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With Bangalore celebrating their fifth win in this year's edition, there was one smiling face in the Punjab camp - Gayle.

The smile was followed by a scene which won hearts. Gayle and Kohli, old friends and former teammates, got together for their famous celebration and there was a loud roar from the crowd.

It brought back memories of the two partying and celebrating, when in Bangalore.

The two shook hands in their own style and later Gayle congratulated by hugging Kohli.

The gesture showed that Kohli is a friend forever, it also displayed Gayle is a friend for life and the bromance would forever remain intact.

Gayle and Kohli have huge respect for each other. And that was what won hearts at the end of a bitterly disappointing night for King XI Punjab.

&nbsp

Gayle was promised that he would be retained but that call from Bangalore never came

Chris Gayle was promised that he would be retained but that call from Bangalore never came. He waited but there was no communication after that assurance. He went unsold twice in the January IPL auction, before being purchased by Preity Zinta-owned Punjab. In the eleventh edition, the 'Universal Boss' blasted two half-centuries and a hundred after being picked him at base price. However, the West Indian legend has struggled since that week-long break. Gayle would have hoped to make a mark against Bangalore, however, that did not happen when he was dismissed cheaply by Umesh Yadav. His dismissal triggered a collapse and Punjab succumbed for mere 88, the lowest total in the ongoing IPL. Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel opened and blazed away to unbeaten 48 and 40 not respectively as Bangalore got home in 8.1 overs. As comprehensive a victory as it can get for the @RCBTweets.#KXIPvRCB pic.twitter.com/dyCLvftjlY — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 14, 2018 × With Bangalore celebrating their fifth win in this year's edition, there was one smiling face in the Punjab camp - Gayle. The smile was followed by a scene which won hearts. Gayle and Kohli, old friends and former teammates, got together for their famous celebration and there was a loud roar from the crowd. It brought back memories of the two partying and celebrating, when in Bangalore. The two shook hands in their own style and later Gayle congratulated by hugging Kohli. The gesture showed that Kohli is a friend forever, it also displayed Gayle is a friend for life and the bromance would forever remain intact. Gayle and Kohli have huge respect for each other. And that was what won hearts at the end of a bitterly disappointing night for King XI Punjab.

Watch: Chris Gayle-Virat Kohli bromance on ground wins hearts

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

Rajasthan skipper Ajinkya Rahane was fined Rs 12 lakh for slow-over rate during their match against Mumbai in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday.&nbsp;

“Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their IPL match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on May 13,” an IPL release said today.

“As it was his team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Mr. Rahane was fined Rs 12 lakh,” the release added.

Rajasthan, yesterday, outclassed the defending champions Mumbai by seven wickets.&nbsp;

Opener Jos Buttler slammed an unbeaten 94 to take his team to the victory side.&nbsp;

It was Buttler's fifth half-century in this year's cash-rich tournament.&nbsp;

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane too contributed 37 runs before giving away his wicket to Hardik Pandya.

The IPL franchise will play their next match against Kolkata on Tuesday.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Rajasthan, yesterday, outclassed the defending champions Mumbai by seven wickets

Rajasthan skipper Ajinkya Rahane was fined Rs 12 lakh for slow-over rate during their match against Mumbai in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday. “Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their IPL match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on May 13,” an IPL release said today. “As it was his team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Mr. Rahane was fined Rs 12 lakh,” the release added. Rajasthan, yesterday, outclassed the defending champions Mumbai by seven wickets. Opener Jos Buttler slammed an unbeaten 94 to take his team to the victory side. It was Buttler's fifth half-century in this year's cash-rich tournament. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane too contributed 37 runs before giving away his wicket to Hardik Pandya. The IPL franchise will play their next match against Kolkata on Tuesday.

IPL 2018: Ajinkya Rahane fined Rs 12 lakh

After facing a defeat by Kolkata in their last match, Punjab will host Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Monday.&nbsp

R Ashwin-led team faced a setback when they fell 31 runs short while chasing a mammoth target of 246 runs set by Kolkata.

Despite losses, the franchise is in the top half of the league with 12 points while Bangalore are still languishing at the second last place in the table.&nbsp

Kohli-led side brought their campaign back on track after they defeated Delhi by five wickets with both AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli smashing a half-century each.

The two established a 118-run partnership to help the team recover from the early loses as both openers fell cheaply.

Both the teams are overly dependent on their batting with Kohli and De Villiers holding the fort for the Bangalore while Punjab outfit looks up to KL Rahul and Chris Gayle for a great score.&nbsp

Despite blowing 'hot and cold' throughout the season, skipper kohli is team's top scorer by a distance with 466 runs from 11 games.

De Villiers has made 358 runs so far and is just 108 runs behind his skipper.

For Punjab, Rahul has been in a different league with five half-centuries and a strike-rate of 162 plus and an average of nearly 60.&nbsp

Rahul will be desperate to get some support from Gayle, who has gone quiet after the initial carnage.&nbsp

However, it is the bowling which has let both the teams down on many occasions.

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For Punjab, the standout bowler has been Andrew Tye with 20 wickets at an economy rate of 8 per over while teenage mystery spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman has been exceptional with 14 wickets at an economy rate of 6.99 per over.

The problem area has been skipper R Ashwin's inability to get breakthroughs with only six scalps from 11 games at 8.13 runs per over.

In case of Bangalore, &nbsponly India internationals Yuzvendra Chahal (10 wickets from 11 games at an economy rate of 7.57) and Umesh Yadav (14 wickets from 11 games at an economy rate of 8.23) have played all the games.

The next specialist bowler who got to play more than five games is Mohammed Siraj (8 wickets from 8 games at an economy rate of 9.13).

With a high dependence on batting, Ashwin will hope to get his team back on track by defeating Bangalore. 
&nbsp

R Ashwin-led team faced a setback when they fell 31 runs short while chasing a mammoth target of 246 runs set by Kolkata.

After facing a defeat by Kolkata in their last match, Punjab will host Virat Kohli-led Bangalore at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Monday. R Ashwin-led team faced a setback when they fell 31 runs short while chasing a mammoth target of 246 runs set by Kolkata. Despite losses, the franchise is in the top half of the league with 12 points while Bangalore are still languishing at the second last place in the table. Kohli-led side brought their campaign back on track after they defeated Delhi by five wickets with both AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli smashing a half-century each. The two established a 118-run partnership to help the team recover from the early loses as both openers fell cheaply. Both the teams are overly dependent on their batting with Kohli and De Villiers holding the fort for the Bangalore while Punjab outfit looks up to KL Rahul and Chris Gayle for a great score. Despite blowing 'hot and cold' throughout the season, skipper kohli is team's top scorer by a distance with 466 runs from 11 games. De Villiers has made 358 runs so far and is just 108 runs behind his skipper. For Punjab, Rahul has been in a different league with five half-centuries and a strike-rate of 162 plus and an average of nearly 60. Rahul will be desperate to get some support from Gayle, who has gone quiet after the initial carnage. However, it is the bowling which has let both the teams down on many occasions. × For Punjab, the standout bowler has been Andrew Tye with 20 wickets at an economy rate of 8 per over while teenage mystery spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman has been exceptional with 14 wickets at an economy rate of 6.99 per over. The problem area has been skipper R Ashwin's inability to get breakthroughs with only six scalps from 11 games at 8.13 runs per over. In case of Bangalore, &nbsponly India internationals Yuzvendra Chahal (10 wickets from 11 games at an economy rate of 7.57) and Umesh Yadav (14 wickets from 11 games at an economy rate of 8.23) have played all the games. The next specialist bowler who got to play more than five games is Mohammed Siraj (8 wickets from 8 games at an economy rate of 9.13). With a high dependence on batting, Ashwin will hope to get his team back on track by defeating Bangalore.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Punjab vs Bangalore

Jos Buttler once again stood up for his team, as they faced Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

Buttler slammed an unbeaten 94&nbspto help Rajasthan defeat Mumbai by seven wickets.

His inning included nine boundaries and five sixes and came in just 53 balls.&nbsp

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane too contributed 37 runs while chasing a cheap target of 169 runs set by Mumbai.&nbspHe lost his wicket to Hardik Pandya.

Earlier, Evin Lewis smashed a 42-ball 60 before Hardik Pandya produced a quick-fire 36 to steer Mumbai to a fighting 168 for six against Rajasthan at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.&nbsp

Lewis batted smartly as he opened his arms only after building his innings steadily after being dropped at individual score of five.

Lewis added 87 runs with fellow opener Suryakumar Yadav, who made 38 runs off 31 balls.&nbsp

Yadav was also dropped on nine. Meanwhile, Lewis hit four sixes and as many fours in his innings.

West Indies' paceman Jofra Archer produced an excellent bowling performance to put the hosts under pressure.&nbsp

He conceded only 16 runs from his four overs and dismissed Lewis and Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma for zero in successive balls.

The hosts were struggling badly at one stage, failing to capitalise a good start, but Pandya came up with his blistering knock just in time to propel them.&nbsp

He hit three fours and two sixes in his 21-ball knock.&nbsp

Earlier, 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):&nbspSuryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal&nbspPandya, 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

His inning included nine boundaries and five sixes and came in just 53 balls.

Jos Buttler once again stood up for his team, as they faced Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Buttler slammed an unbeaten 94&nbspto help Rajasthan defeat Mumbai by seven wickets. His inning included nine boundaries and five sixes and came in just 53 balls. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane too contributed 37 runs while chasing a cheap target of 169 runs set by Mumbai.&nbspHe lost his wicket to Hardik Pandya. Earlier, Evin Lewis smashed a 42-ball 60 before Hardik Pandya produced a quick-fire 36 to steer Mumbai to a fighting 168 for six against Rajasthan at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Lewis batted smartly as he opened his arms only after building his innings steadily after being dropped at individual score of five. Lewis added 87 runs with fellow opener Suryakumar Yadav, who made 38 runs off 31 balls. Yadav was also dropped on nine. Meanwhile, Lewis hit four sixes and as many fours in his innings. West Indies' paceman Jofra Archer produced an excellent bowling performance to put the hosts under pressure. He conceded only 16 runs from his four overs and dismissed Lewis and Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma for zero in successive balls. The hosts were struggling badly at one stage, failing to capitalise a good start, but Pandya came up with his blistering knock just in time to propel them. He hit three fours and two sixes in his 21-ball knock. Earlier, 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):&nbspSuryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal&nbspPandya, 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: Buttler's 94* fires Rajasthan to crucial win against Mumbai

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

Evin Lewis smashed a 42-ball 60 before Hardik Pandya produced a quick-fire 36 to steer Mumbai to a fighting 168 for six against Rajasthan at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.&nbsp

Lewis batted smartly as he opened his arms only after building his innings steadily after being dropped at individual score of five.

Lewis added 87 runs with fellow opener Suryakumar Yadav, who made 38 runs off 31 balls.&nbsp

Yadav was also dropped on nine. Meanwhile, Lewis hit four sixes and as many fours in his innings.

West Indies' paceman Jofra Archer produced an excellent bowling performance to put the hosts under pressure.&nbsp

He conceded only 16 runs from his four overs and dismissed Lewis and Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma for zero in successive balls.

The hosts were struggling badly at one stage, failing to capitalise a good start, but Pandya came up with his blistering knock just in time to propel them.&nbsp

He hit three fours and two sixes in his 21-ball knock.&nbsp

Earlier, 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):&nbspSuryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal&nbspPandya, 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

Evin Lewis smashed 60 runs in just 42 balls

Evin Lewis smashed a 42-ball 60 before Hardik Pandya produced a quick-fire 36 to steer Mumbai to a fighting 168 for six against Rajasthan at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Lewis batted smartly as he opened his arms only after building his innings steadily after being dropped at individual score of five. Lewis added 87 runs with fellow opener Suryakumar Yadav, who made 38 runs off 31 balls. Yadav was also dropped on nine. Meanwhile, Lewis hit four sixes and as many fours in his innings. West Indies' paceman Jofra Archer produced an excellent bowling performance to put the hosts under pressure. He conceded only 16 runs from his four overs and dismissed Lewis and Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma for zero in successive balls. The hosts were struggling badly at one stage, failing to capitalise a good start, but Pandya came up with his blistering knock just in time to propel them. He hit three fours and two sixes in his 21-ball knock. Earlier, 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):&nbspSuryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal&nbspPandya, 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: Lewis, Pandya lift Mumbai to 168 runs against Rajasthan

After MS Dhoni, it was the turn of current India skipper Virat Kohli to get the same sort of reverence from a fan, who breached the security at the Feroz Shah Kotla during the IPL 2018 match between Delhi and Bangalore.&nbsp

Kohli smashed a brilliant 40-ball 70 to defeat Delhi but that didn't deter the Kotla crowd from getting behind their hometown hero.

There was massive support for Kohli, despite him playing for the opposition side.&nbsp

And while Kohli was going great guns, a fan ran on to the field and fell at Kohli's feet before being whisked away by the security.&nbsp

The enthusiastic fan even managed to sneak in a selfie with the Indian batting star.

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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BisFZAvH-OV/" 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">Didn't I tell you? He doesn't has Fans, He has Devotees. ?❤ And also when the security took him away Vee was like Be careful Be careful! How sweet! ❤ And still ppl call him egoistic and Selfish! Those ppl can rather die instead of speaking Shit about such a genuine personality. ?❤ . . . @virat.kohli #vee #virat #kohli #viratkohli #kohlivirat #anushkasharma #anushka #nushkie #couplegoals #cutest #babe #virushka #virushkaforever #virushkalove #virushkawedding #viratians #proudviratian #extremelyvirat #viratians #love #loveu #runmachine #cheeku Video credits:- @sureshraina.addicts</a>

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Bangalore, needing a win to stay in contention for the playoffs, were given two early jolts in the chase with Moeen Ali (1) and Parthiv Patel (6) falling in the 2nd and 3rd over respectively.

<img alt="Virat fan12_0.jpg" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="430" src="http://images.wionews.com/iniline-images/Virat%20fan12_0.jpg" width="770" />

Kohli and AB de Villiers rose to the occasion when their team needed them the most while chasing a target of 182 runs.

The two took matters into their hands and shared a scintillating 118-run stand off just 64 balls to put the team in the driver's seat in the chase.

Bangalore reached the target without much fuss with five wickets in hand and an over to spare.

The much-needed win tonight was Bangalore's fourth in 11 games, keeping them in contention for a playoff spot.&nbsp

The loss for the hosts meant their campaign got worse as they registered their ninth defeat in 12 matches.

The enthusiastic fan even managed to sneak in a selfie with the Indian batting star.

After MS Dhoni, it was the turn of current India skipper Virat Kohli to get the same sort of reverence from a fan, who breached the security at the Feroz Shah Kotla during the IPL 2018 match between Delhi and Bangalore. Kohli smashed a brilliant 40-ball 70 to defeat Delhi but that didn't deter the Kotla crowd from getting behind their hometown hero. There was massive support for Kohli, despite him playing for the opposition side. And while Kohli was going great guns, a fan ran on to the field and fell at Kohli's feet before being whisked away by the security. The enthusiastic fan even managed to sneak in a selfie with the Indian batting star. Didn't I tell you? He doesn't has Fans, He has Devotees. ?❤ And also when the security took him away Vee was like Be careful Be careful! How sweet! ❤ And still ppl call him egoistic and Selfish! Those ppl can rather die instead of speaking Shit about such a genuine personality. ?❤ . . . @virat.kohli #vee #virat #kohli #viratkohli #kohlivirat #anushkasharma #anushka #nushkie #couplegoals #cutest #babe #virushka #virushkaforever #virushkalove #virushkawedding #viratians #proudviratian #extremelyvirat #viratians #love #loveu #runmachine #cheeku Video credits:- @sureshraina.addicts A post shared by ?Virat Kohli? (@extremely._.virat) on May 12, 2018 at 12:18pm PDT × Bangalore, needing a win to stay in contention for the playoffs, were given two early jolts in the chase with Moeen Ali (1) and Parthiv Patel (6) falling in the 2nd and 3rd over respectively. Kohli and AB de Villiers rose to the occasion when their team needed them the most while chasing a target of 182 runs. The two took matters into their hands and shared a scintillating 118-run stand off just 64 balls to put the team in the driver's seat in the chase. Bangalore reached the target without much fuss with five wickets in hand and an over to spare. The much-needed win tonight was Bangalore's fourth in 11 games, keeping them in contention for a playoff spot. The loss for the hosts meant their campaign got worse as they registered their ninth defeat in 12 matches.

Watch: Virat Kohli's fan breaches security to take selfie with him

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

AB de Villiers and skipper Virat Kohli together helped Bangalore register their fourth victory in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Kohli played a spectacular knock to help the team recover from the early losses.&nbsp

He made 70 runs in just 40 balls which included seven fours and three sixes.

Supported by AB de Villiers at the other end, the two established 100-run partnership.

While Kohli lost his wicket, de Villiers continued his attack and single-handedly took the team to victory side.&nbsp

De Villiers, who remained unbeaten, made 72 runs in just 37 balls. he slammed four boundaries and six huge sixes.&nbsp

Bangalore had a poor start after they lost openers, Parthiv Patel and Moeen Ali, cheaply, while chasing a target of 182 runs set by Delhi on Saturday. &nbsp

For Delhi, Rishabh Pant continued his destructive form with a 34-ball 61 runs.&nbsp

Abhishek Sharma, who hammered an unbeaten 46 off 19 balls, was one of three IPL debutants for Delhi today along-side Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and South African pacer Junior Dala.

Virat Kohli had won the toss and invited the hosts to bat, playing first, Delhi put up a decent target of 182 runs.

Openers Prithvi Shaw and Jason Roy did not perform and failed to give the necessary start to the team after they lost their wickets to spinner Yuzvendra Chahal after scoring 2 and 12 runs respectively.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer too smashed 32 runs in 35 balls.&nbsp

Pant raced to his fourth fifty of the season off 27 balls and was poised for another big inning.&nbsp

The other set batsman, Iyer, too departed soon after Pant's fall, hurting the innings momentum to leave Delhi at 120 four in 15.1 overs. 
&nbsp

Kohli played a spectacular knock to help the team recover from the early losses.

AB de Villiers and skipper Virat Kohli together helped Bangalore register their fourth victory in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Kohli played a spectacular knock to help the team recover from the early losses. He made 70 runs in just 40 balls which included seven fours and three sixes. Supported by AB de Villiers at the other end, the two established 100-run partnership. While Kohli lost his wicket, de Villiers continued his attack and single-handedly took the team to victory side. De Villiers, who remained unbeaten, made 72 runs in just 37 balls. he slammed four boundaries and six huge sixes. Bangalore had a poor start after they lost openers, Parthiv Patel and Moeen Ali, cheaply, while chasing a target of 182 runs set by Delhi on Saturday. For Delhi, Rishabh Pant continued his destructive form with a 34-ball 61 runs. Abhishek Sharma, who hammered an unbeaten 46 off 19 balls, was one of three IPL debutants for Delhi today along-side Nepal leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and South African pacer Junior Dala. Virat Kohli had won the toss and invited the hosts to bat, playing first, Delhi put up a decent target of 182 runs. Openers Prithvi Shaw and Jason Roy did not perform and failed to give the necessary start to the team after they lost their wickets to spinner Yuzvendra Chahal after scoring 2 and 12 runs respectively. Skipper Shreyas Iyer too smashed 32 runs in 35 balls. Pant raced to his fourth fifty of the season off 27 balls and was poised for another big inning. The other set batsman, Iyer, too departed soon after Pant's fall, hurting the innings momentum to leave Delhi at 120 four in 15.1 overs.

IPL 2018: Kohli, de Villiers star in much-needed win for Bangalore

Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi team has set a 182-run target for Bangalore at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Saturday.

Earlier, Virat Kohli had won the toss and invited the hosts to bat, playing first, Delhi put up a decent target of 182 runs.

Although the openers Prithvi Shaw and Jason Roy did not perform and failed to give the necessary start to the team and lost their wickets to spinner Yuzvendra Chahal after scoring 2 and 12 runs.

The middle batting order played brilliantly, especially Rishabh Pant (61), Abhishek Sharma (46) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (32).

Debutant&nbspAbhishek Sharma played a splendid inning in the death overs to push Delhi's run rate. He played with a strike rate of 242.11 and scored 46 runs off just 19 balls.

All eyes are on other debutants&nbspJunior Dala and Nepal's spinner Sandeep Lamichhane.

Fall of wickets:

4-1 (Prithvi Shaw, 0.6), 16-2 (Jason Roy, 2.4), 109-3 (Rishabh Pant, 12.6), 120-4 (Shreyas Iyer, 15.1)

Debutant Abhishek Sharma played a splendid inning in the death overs to push Delhi's run rate. He played with a strike rate of 242.11 and scored 46 runs off just 19 balls

Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi team has set a 182-run target for Bangalore at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Saturday. Earlier, Virat Kohli had won the toss and invited the hosts to bat, playing first, Delhi put up a decent target of 182 runs. Although the openers Prithvi Shaw and Jason Roy did not perform and failed to give the necessary start to the team and lost their wickets to spinner Yuzvendra Chahal after scoring 2 and 12 runs. The middle batting order played brilliantly, especially Rishabh Pant (61), Abhishek Sharma (46) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (32). Debutant&nbspAbhishek Sharma played a splendid inning in the death overs to push Delhi's run rate. He played with a strike rate of 242.11 and scored 46 runs off just 19 balls. All eyes are on other debutants&nbspJunior Dala and Nepal's spinner Sandeep Lamichhane. Fall of wickets: 4-1 (Prithvi Shaw, 0.6), 16-2 (Jason Roy, 2.4), 109-3 (Rishabh Pant, 12.6), 120-4 (Shreyas Iyer, 15.1)

IPL 2018: Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi set 182-run target for Bangalore

Virat Kohli has won the toss and opted to field at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium against Delhi on Saturday.

For Bangalore team, wonder kid of Indian Premier League has been added at the place of Manan Vohra.

On the other hand, Delhi's skipper Shreyas Iyer said that team will enjoy the rest of the tournament without feeling any pressure.

For team Delhi, Nepal's spinner Sandeep Lamichhane is making his IPL debut and also Junior Dala and Abhishek Sharma are back in the squad.&nbsp

Playing XI:

Bangalore: Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Junior Dala, Trent Boult

For team Delhi, Nepal's spinner Sandeep Lamichhane is making his IPL debut

Virat Kohli has won the toss and opted to field at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium against Delhi on Saturday. For Bangalore team, wonder kid of Indian Premier League has been added at the place of Manan Vohra. On the other hand, Delhi's skipper Shreyas Iyer said that team will enjoy the rest of the tournament without feeling any pressure. For team Delhi, Nepal's spinner Sandeep Lamichhane is making his IPL debut and also Junior Dala and Abhishek Sharma are back in the squad. Playing XI: Bangalore: Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Vijay Shankar, Harshal Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sandeep Lamichhane, Junior Dala, Trent Boult

IPL 2018: Virat Kohli opts to bowl against Delhi

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

Virat Kohli-led Bangalore will take on the already-eliminated Delhi team at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Saturday.

On one side, Bangalore can't afford to suffer the loss in tonight's game but Delhi have got nothing to lose and they can definitely spoil Virat's plans.

Bangalore have won just three wins from 10 games, have to win their remaining four games to have any chance of making the play-offs and given their ordinary run so far in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League,&nbsp;Bangalore doesn't evoke much hope&nbsp;even playing against a team which has already been eliminated.

Although, team Delhi is not in the play-off race but still they have improved their performance in the previous few games. In Delhi's previous encounter against Hyderabad, Rishabh Pant played a splendid inning and scored unbeaten 128 runs with a 200+ strike rate, he is also the orange cap holder at the moment.

Skipper Virat Kohli is the team's leading run-scorer with 396 runs at 49.50 but the team has failed miserably as they were unable to chase down a&nbsp;modest total of 147 runs.

The Bangalore&nbsp;have done alright with the ball and they would be hoping to maintain that at the high-scoring Kotla.

Pacers Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj have impressed in the different occasions.

It will be interesting to see how both teams will set the&nbsp;playing XI and there are chances that Shreyas Iyer might include Nepal's spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and South African pacer Junior Dala.

On the other hand, Virat Kolhi's side is quite balanced they just need to focus on collaborative efforts and teamwork.

Playing XI (TBC):

Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Trent Boult, Shahbaz Nadeem

Bangalore: Quinton de Kock/Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj.

Bangalore have won just three wins from 10 games, have to win their remaining four games to have any chance of making the play-offs given their ordinary run so far in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League, Bangalore doesn't evoke much hope

Virat Kohli-led Bangalore will take on the already-eliminated Delhi team at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Saturday. On one side, Bangalore can't afford to suffer the loss in tonight's game but Delhi have got nothing to lose and they can definitely spoil Virat's plans. Bangalore have won just three wins from 10 games, have to win their remaining four games to have any chance of making the play-offs and given their ordinary run so far in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League, Bangalore doesn't evoke much hope even playing against a team which has already been eliminated. Although, team Delhi is not in the play-off race but still they have improved their performance in the previous few games. In Delhi's previous encounter against Hyderabad, Rishabh Pant played a splendid inning and scored unbeaten 128 runs with a 200+ strike rate, he is also the orange cap holder at the moment. Skipper Virat Kohli is the team's leading run-scorer with 396 runs at 49.50 but the team has failed miserably as they were unable to chase down a modest total of 147 runs. The Bangalore have done alright with the ball and they would be hoping to maintain that at the high-scoring Kotla. Pacers Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj have impressed in the different occasions. It will be interesting to see how both teams will set the playing XI and there are chances that Shreyas Iyer might include Nepal's spinner Sandeep Lamichhane and South African pacer Junior Dala. On the other hand, Virat Kolhi's side is quite balanced they just need to focus on collaborative efforts and teamwork. Playing XI (TBC): Delhi: Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Vijay Shankar, Liam Plunkett, Amit Mishra, Harshal Patel, Trent Boult, Shahbaz Nadeem Bangalore: Quinton de Kock/Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Delhi vs Bangalore

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

Jos Buttler's unbeaten 95-run knock helped Rajasthan to win a do-or-die clash against in-form Chennai team. Rajasthan's victory has made the fight&nbspfor the fourth spot more difficult, even the third spot is not going to be easy.

Earlier, MS Dhoni-led Chennai had set a 177-run target which Rajasthan chased down, all thanks to star batsman Jos Buttler. After defeating Chennai by six wickets, Ajinkya Rahane's hope of surviving in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League&nbsphas been rejuvenated.

Apart from Jos Buttler, none of the other players made the&nbspnecessary contributions. On one side, Buttler was playing a responsible innings and on the other, batsmen kept losing their wickets. For his splendid performance, Buttler was awarded Man of the Match award.

Sawai Mansingh Stadium of Jaipur was coloured pink as the home team was had entered the fields with another very important cause, which is cancer awareness.

The franchise today revealed a unique jersey ahead of the clash to boost statewide cancer out campaign launched by Rajasthan.

Rajasthan have donned a special jersey which has been created with a blend of three colors- pink, teal and burgundy. The three colours symbolise the most profound and common types of cancer- pink for breast cancer, burgundy for oral cancer and teal for cervical cancer.

Earlier, Chennai won the toss and opted to bat and playing first, the opener Shane Watson scored 39 runs and gave the required start for the team but another opener Ambati Rayudu, who is currently is in a massive form could not perform today and lost his wicket to Rajasthan's pacer Jofra Archer after scoring just 12 runs.

Suresh Raina scored 52 runs and helped the team in pushing the run rate. Playing at 148.57 strike rate, he hit few beautiful shots and his innings included six 4s and one 6s.

MS Dhoni and Sam Billings helped in continuing the momentum and scored 33 and 27 runs respectively for the team to put up a decent target.

Rajasthan struggled in taking wickets and also the pitch was not supporting the pacers.

Jofra Archer took two wickets and Ish Sodhi out bowled Suresh Raina.

Jos Buttler's unbeaten 95-run knock helped Rajasthan to win a do or die clash against in-form Chennai team

Jos Buttler's unbeaten 95-run knock helped Rajasthan to win a do-or-die clash against in-form Chennai team. Rajasthan's victory has made the fight&nbspfor the fourth spot more difficult, even the third spot is not going to be easy. Earlier, MS Dhoni-led Chennai had set a 177-run target which Rajasthan chased down, all thanks to star batsman Jos Buttler. After defeating Chennai by six wickets, Ajinkya Rahane's hope of surviving in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League&nbsphas been rejuvenated. Apart from Jos Buttler, none of the other players made the&nbspnecessary contributions. On one side, Buttler was playing a responsible innings and on the other, batsmen kept losing their wickets. For his splendid performance, Buttler was awarded Man of the Match award. Sawai Mansingh Stadium of Jaipur was coloured pink as the home team was had entered the fields with another very important cause, which is cancer awareness. The franchise today revealed a unique jersey ahead of the clash to boost statewide cancer out campaign launched by Rajasthan. Rajasthan have donned a special jersey which has been created with a blend of three colors- pink, teal and burgundy. The three colours symbolise the most profound and common types of cancer- pink for breast cancer, burgundy for oral cancer and teal for cervical cancer. Earlier, Chennai won the toss and opted to bat and playing first, the opener Shane Watson scored 39 runs and gave the required start for the team but another opener Ambati Rayudu, who is currently is in a massive form could not perform today and lost his wicket to Rajasthan's pacer Jofra Archer after scoring just 12 runs. Suresh Raina scored 52 runs and helped the team in pushing the run rate. Playing at 148.57 strike rate, he hit few beautiful shots and his innings included six 4s and one 6s. MS Dhoni and Sam Billings helped in continuing the momentum and scored 33 and 27 runs respectively for the team to put up a decent target. Rajasthan struggled in taking wickets and also the pitch was not supporting the pacers. Jofra Archer took two wickets and Ish Sodhi out bowled Suresh Raina.

Jos Buttler shines as Rajasthan beat Chennai by 4 wickets

MS Dhoni-led Chennai set a 177-run target for Rajasthan team at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur after choosing to bat first.

The opener Shane Watson scored 39 runs and gave the required start for the team but another opener Ambati Rayudu, who is currently is in a massive form could not perform today and lost his wicket to Rajasthan's pacer Jofra Archer after scoring just 12 runs.

Suresh Raina scored 52 runs and helped the team in pushing the run rate. Playing at 148.57 strike rate, he hit few beautiful shots and his innings included six 4s and one 6s.

MS Dhoni and Sam Billings helped in continuing the momentum and scored 33 and 27 runs respectively for the team to put up a decent target.

Rajasthan struggled in taking wickets and also the pitch was not supporting the pacers.

Jofra Archer took two wickets and Ish Sodhi out bowled Suresh Raina.

Fall of wickets:

19-1 (Ambati Rayudu, 2.1), 105-2 (Shane Watson, 11.3), 119-3 (Suresh Raina, 12.6), 174-4 (Sam Billings, 19.4)

MS Dhoni-led Chennai set a 177-run target for Rajasthan team at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

MS Dhoni-led Chennai set a 177-run target for Rajasthan team at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur after choosing to bat first. The opener Shane Watson scored 39 runs and gave the required start for the team but another opener Ambati Rayudu, who is currently is in a massive form could not perform today and lost his wicket to Rajasthan's pacer Jofra Archer after scoring just 12 runs. Suresh Raina scored 52 runs and helped the team in pushing the run rate. Playing at 148.57 strike rate, he hit few beautiful shots and his innings included six 4s and one 6s. MS Dhoni and Sam Billings helped in continuing the momentum and scored 33 and 27 runs respectively for the team to put up a decent target. Rajasthan struggled in taking wickets and also the pitch was not supporting the pacers. Jofra Archer took two wickets and Ish Sodhi out bowled Suresh Raina. Fall of wickets: 19-1 (Ambati Rayudu, 2.1), 105-2 (Shane Watson, 11.3), 119-3 (Suresh Raina, 12.6), 174-4 (Sam Billings, 19.4)

IPL 2018: MS Dhoni-led Chennai set 177-run target for Rajasthan

Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan team is currently placed at number six in the points table of Indian Premier League 2018 and are taking all possible chances to move further in the tournament.

The 43rd match of IPL 2018 is very special for the Rajasthan&nbsp;team as apart from booking a berth in the play-offs, team Rajasthan has&nbsp;entered the fields with&nbsp;another very important cause, which is cancer awareness.

The entire team of Rajasthan including the ground staff and management is wearing the pink jerseys to promote the #CancerOut campaign.

The franchise today revealed a unique jersey ahead of the clash to boost statewide cancer out campaign launched by Rajasthan.

Rajasthan have donned a special jersey which has been created with a blend of three colors- pink, teal and burgundy. The three colours symbolise the most profound and common types of cancer- pink for breast cancer, burgundy for oral cancer and teal for cervical cancer.

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Sodhi Stream has a message for all of you. 
Let's get <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CancerOut?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CancerOut</a> together tonight! ? 
 
Get yourself screened now. 
Missed call to 1800 420 8888 (toll free for Rajasthan) or visit <a href="https://t.co/bp1O2Z5YFi">https://t.co/bp1O2Z5YFi</a> now!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RRvCSK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RRvCSK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JazbaJeetKa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JazbaJeetKa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HallaBol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HallaBol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VIVOIPL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VIVOIPL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tatatrusts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tatatrusts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ish_sodhi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ish_sodhi</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZVzDTY134v">pic.twitter.com/ZVzDTY134v</a>
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) <a href="https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals/status/994937556318937088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Special jersey for our battle with <a href="https://twitter.com/ChennaiIPL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChennaiIPL</a> against Cancer! ⚡️ 
 
What's our new jersey all about? 
PINK - Breast Cancer 
BURGUNDY - Oral Cancer 
TEAL - Cervical Cancer 
 
Let's show our support and get <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CancerOut?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CancerOut</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JazbaJeetKa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JazbaJeetKa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HallaBol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HallaBol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VIVOIPL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VIVOIPL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yellove?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Yellove</a> <a href="https://t.co/TbPM0benlo">pic.twitter.com/TbPM0benlo</a>
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) <a href="https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals/status/994125671948419078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Rajasthan have donned a special jersey which has been created with a blend of three colors- pink, teal and burgundy. The three colours symbolise the most profound and common types of cancer- pink for breast cancer, burgundy for oral cancer and teal for cervical cancer

Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan team is currently placed at number six in the points table of Indian Premier League 2018 and are taking all possible chances to move further in the tournament. The 43rd match of IPL 2018 is very special for the Rajasthan team as apart from booking a berth in the play-offs, team Rajasthan has entered the fields with another very important cause, which is cancer awareness. The entire team of Rajasthan including the ground staff and management is wearing the pink jerseys to promote the #CancerOut campaign. The franchise today revealed a unique jersey ahead of the clash to boost statewide cancer out campaign launched by Rajasthan. Rajasthan have donned a special jersey which has been created with a blend of three colors- pink, teal and burgundy. The three colours symbolise the most profound and common types of cancer- pink for breast cancer, burgundy for oral cancer and teal for cervical cancer. Sodhi Stream has a message for all of you. Let's get #CancerOut together tonight! ? Get yourself screened now. Missed call to 1800 420 8888 (toll free for Rajasthan) or visit https://t.co/bp1O2Z5YFi now!#RRvCSK #JazbaJeetKa #HallaBol #VIVOIPL @tatatrusts @ish_sodhi pic.twitter.com/ZVzDTY134v — Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 11, 2018 × Special jersey for our battle with @ChennaiIPL against Cancer! ⚡️ What's our new jersey all about? PINK - Breast Cancer BURGUNDY - Oral Cancer TEAL - Cervical Cancer Let's show our support and get #CancerOut!#JazbaJeetKa #HallaBol #VIVOIPL #Yellove pic.twitter.com/TbPM0benlo — Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 9, 2018 ×

IPL 2018: Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan turns pink to boot cancer out

Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan team will face Chennai at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Friday.

Apart from booking a play-off berth, Rajasthan team will enter the fields with&nbsp;another important&nbsp;objective tonight. The entire Rajasthan team will wear the pink jersey to promote cancer awareness.

Team Rajasthan has gained some confidence as they won their previous encounter against Punjab but still, there are some concerns with the batting department.

On the other hand, MS Dhoni-led Chennai are riding high on confidence and they are just one win away from solidifying their place in the play-off of the IPL 2018.

When the playing&nbsp;XI is concerned, Ajinkya Rahane will look&nbsp;to make some changes in the playing XI. Stuart Binny has not performed much and he might get replaced with Rahul Tripathi on the other hand, Dhawal Kulkarni suits better than Anureet Singh for today's game.

On the other hand, for Chennai, any change is not required until and unless an injury occurs.

Playing XI (TBC):

Rajasthan: Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Stuart Binny/Rahul Tripathi, K Gowtham, Ish Sodhi, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Anureet Singh/Dhawal Kulkarni

Chennai: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Dhruv Shorey, MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, David Willey, Harbhahan Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur

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&nbsp;

The entire Rajasthan team will wear pink jersey to promote cancer awareness in the clash against Chennai

Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan team will face Chennai at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Friday. Apart from booking a play-off berth, Rajasthan team will enter the fields with another important objective tonight. The entire Rajasthan team will wear the pink jersey to promote cancer awareness. Team Rajasthan has gained some confidence as they won their previous encounter against Punjab but still, there are some concerns with the batting department. On the other hand, MS Dhoni-led Chennai are riding high on confidence and they are just one win away from solidifying their place in the play-off of the IPL 2018. When the playing XI is concerned, Ajinkya Rahane will look to make some changes in the playing XI. Stuart Binny has not performed much and he might get replaced with Rahul Tripathi on the other hand, Dhawal Kulkarni suits better than Anureet Singh for today's game. On the other hand, for Chennai, any change is not required until and unless an injury occurs. Playing XI (TBC): Rajasthan: Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Stuart Binny/Rahul Tripathi, K Gowtham, Ish Sodhi, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Anureet Singh/Dhawal Kulkarni Chennai: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Dhruv Shorey, MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, David Willey, Harbhahan Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur ×

IPL 2018: Match preview of Rajasthan vs Chennai

MS Dhoni won the toss and has opted to bat first against Rajasthan at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Friday.

Although, the pitch report suggests it will be suitable for the spinners as there is not any grass on the pitch but plenty of cracks.

Chennai team has made a couple of changes, Karn Sharma and Sam Billings are back in the playing XI at the place of Dhruv Shorey and Lungi Ngidi.

On the other hand, team Rajasthan is wearing the pink jersey to support cancer patients.

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Special jersey for our battle with <a href="https://twitter.com/ChennaiIPL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChennaiIPL</a> against Cancer! ⚡️ 
 
What's our new jersey all about? 
PINK - Breast Cancer 
BURGUNDY - Oral Cancer 
TEAL - Cervical Cancer 
 
Let's show our support and get <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CancerOut?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CancerOut</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JazbaJeetKa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JazbaJeetKa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HallaBol?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HallaBol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VIVOIPL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VIVOIPL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yellove?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Yellove</a> <a href="https://t.co/TbPM0benlo">pic.twitter.com/TbPM0benlo</a>
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) <a href="https://twitter.com/rajasthanroyals/status/994125671948419078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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For Rajasthan, Ankit Sharma makes his debut by replacing Prashant Chopra.

Playing XI:

Rajasthan: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Jos Buttler(w), Prashant Chopra, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Ankit Sharma, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi

Chennai: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur

For Rajasthan, Ankit Sharma makes his debut by replacing Prashant Chopra

MS Dhoni won the toss and has opted to bat first against Rajasthan at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Friday. Although, the pitch report suggests it will be suitable for the spinners as there is not any grass on the pitch but plenty of cracks. Chennai team has made a couple of changes, Karn Sharma and Sam Billings are back in the playing XI at the place of Dhruv Shorey and Lungi Ngidi. On the other hand, team Rajasthan is wearing the pink jersey to support cancer patients. Special jersey for our battle with @ChennaiIPL against Cancer! ⚡️ What's our new jersey all about? PINK - Breast Cancer BURGUNDY - Oral Cancer TEAL - Cervical Cancer Let's show our support and get #CancerOut!#JazbaJeetKa #HallaBol #VIVOIPL #Yellove pic.twitter.com/TbPM0benlo — Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 9, 2018 × For Rajasthan, Ankit Sharma makes his debut by replacing Prashant Chopra. Playing XI: Rajasthan: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Jos Buttler(w), Prashant Chopra, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Ankit Sharma, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi Chennai: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur

IPL 2018: MS Dhoni opts to bat against Rajasthan

I would rate 42nd match of this year Indian Premier League, played between Hyderabad and Delhi at Firozshah Kotla Delhi on 10th May 2018 as one of the most special encounters this season.

The match was packed with two surprises. First, young Rishabh Pant played a knock which can be a career-defining knock for him. His 128 out of a team total of 191 and that too coming at number four, speaks about the calibre of this young led who once considered as the heir apparent of MS Dhoni.

But the second surprise was the slickness with which Hyderabad chased down this total. It was even better than Hyderabad’s own high standard, which they had set so far in this tournament. Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson were easy going right from the beginning of their mammoth partnership and finish things in style.

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<h5>Kane Williamson has transformed the team Hyderabad with his passionate leadership is the biggest highlight of IPL 2018</h5>
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How Kane Williamson has transformed the team Hyderabad with his passionate leadership is the biggest highlight of IPL 2018. Hyderabad have been the top performing team so far in the tournament in spite of no larger than life superstar in the line-up.

It is worthwhile to mention here that Hyderabad received a huge setback before the commencement of the tournament as their skipper and swashbuckling batsman David Warner was dropped out due to ball tempering controversy. Kane Williamson, however, picked the responsibility entrusted to him in the last minutes with all the sincerity and turned around things.

Whenever Hyderabad come on the field, I go back to the inaugural edition of IPL in 2008. In 2008, Shane Warne led the bunch of young (Rajasthan) and relatively inexperienced side in a magical way and turned them in the champion. In 2008, Rajasthan were the team with least fanfare with no superstar in the lineup.

It was one among the cheapest teams in the inaugural auction. While Rajasthan under Shane Warne finished to the victory, the high profile teams like Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata bit the dust. All these teams were high profile and they were studded with big names.

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<h5>Kane Williamson and his 'Orange Army' is on the same template as that of Shane Warne and Rajasthan in 2008</h5>
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Kane Williamson and his 'Orange Army' is on the same template as that of Shane Warne and Rajasthan in 2008.

Williamson himself is in outstanding batting form. He is proving that why is regarded as the one the most prolific batsmen of his generation. He is getting good support from Shikhar Dhawan and Yusuf Pathan down the order in among the runs as well.

Williamson is marshalling his troop to the perfection and so far he has been able to extract best out of his teammates. Notwithstanding hammering by Rishabh Pant, Bhuvi is leading the bowling with the support of likes if Siddharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma.

But the X-factor in this team is because of the presence of young Afghanistani spinner, Rashid Khan. He has troubled best of batsmen in the tournament so far. His well-disguised googly has been destructive.

The team is fighting as a group and the way Hyderabad have defended few low scoring matches very well manifests the spirit of the team

I once heard great Australian Cricket coach John Buchanan. Buchanan said that “In the Cricket, plans and strategy are important but the more important thing is that whether you have put your basics right or not. You may plan big but lack of basics would fail you”.

Williamson and his boys seem to be working on these lines only. Other star-studded teams (read Bangalore & Delhi) of IPL-2018 can take a cue out of it.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

42nd match of this year Indian Premier League, played between Hyderabad and Delhi at Firozshah Kotla Delhi on 10th May 2018 as one of the most special encounters this season

I would rate 42nd match of this year Indian Premier League, played between Hyderabad and Delhi at Firozshah Kotla Delhi on 10th May 2018 as one of the most special encounters this season. The match was packed with two surprises. First, young Rishabh Pant played a knock which can be a career-defining knock for him. His 128 out of a team total of 191 and that too coming at number four, speaks about the calibre of this young led who once considered as the heir apparent of MS Dhoni. But the second surprise was the slickness with which Hyderabad chased down this total. It was even better than Hyderabad’s own high standard, which they had set so far in this tournament. Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson were easy going right from the beginning of their mammoth partnership and finish things in style. Kane Williamson has transformed the team Hyderabad with his passionate leadership is the biggest highlight of IPL 2018 × How Kane Williamson has transformed the team Hyderabad with his passionate leadership is the biggest highlight of IPL 2018. Hyderabad have been the top performing team so far in the tournament in spite of no larger than life superstar in the line-up. It is worthwhile to mention here that Hyderabad received a huge setback before the commencement of the tournament as their skipper and swashbuckling batsman David Warner was dropped out due to ball tempering controversy. Kane Williamson, however, picked the responsibility entrusted to him in the last minutes with all the sincerity and turned around things. Whenever Hyderabad come on the field, I go back to the inaugural edition of IPL in 2008. In 2008, Shane Warne led the bunch of young (Rajasthan) and relatively inexperienced side in a magical way and turned them in the champion. In 2008, Rajasthan were the team with least fanfare with no superstar in the lineup. It was one among the cheapest teams in the inaugural auction. While Rajasthan under Shane Warne finished to the victory, the high profile teams like Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata bit the dust. All these teams were high profile and they were studded with big names. Kane Williamson and his 'Orange Army' is on the same template as that of Shane Warne and Rajasthan in 2008 × Kane Williamson and his 'Orange Army' is on the same template as that of Shane Warne and Rajasthan in 2008. Williamson himself is in outstanding batting form. He is proving that why is regarded as the one the most prolific batsmen of his generation. He is getting good support from Shikhar Dhawan and Yusuf Pathan down the order in among the runs as well. Williamson is marshalling his troop to the perfection and so far he has been able to extract best out of his teammates. Notwithstanding hammering by Rishabh Pant, Bhuvi is leading the bowling with the support of likes if Siddharth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma. But the X-factor in this team is because of the presence of young Afghanistani spinner, Rashid Khan. He has troubled best of batsmen in the tournament so far. His well-disguised googly has been destructive. The team is fighting as a group and the way Hyderabad have defended few low scoring matches very well manifests the spirit of the team I once heard great Australian Cricket coach John Buchanan. Buchanan said that “In the Cricket, plans and strategy are important but the more important thing is that whether you have put your basics right or not. You may plan big but lack of basics would fail you”. Williamson and his boys seem to be working on these lines only. Other star-studded teams (read Bangalore & Delhi) of IPL-2018 can take a cue out of it. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: IPL 2018 - How Hyderabad under Kane Williamson is blossoming

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

Kolkata collapsed for just 108 runs while chasing a mammoth target of 211 set by Mumbai on Thursday.&nbsp;

A couple of run-outs and a few poor shots&nbsp;got Kolkata into deep trouble.

Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana became the top scorers by contributing 21 runs each.

The rest of the team gave away their wickets after playing a few poor shots.&nbsp;

For Mumbai, Pandya brothers clinched four wickets together with each bowler taking two wickets.&nbsp;

Ishan Kishan played an unbelievable knock fo 21 ball 62 runs to help his team set a mammoth target in order to keep their play-off hopes alive.&nbsp;

His innings included five boundaries and six sixes.

Openers Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis gave their team a decent start with the two establishing a partnership of 46 runs before Lewis gave away his wicket to Piyush Chawla.

Chawal struck again from his team to dismiss Yadav at 36 runs.&nbsp;

Skipper Rohit Sharma also contributed 36 runs off 31 balls before giving away his wicket to Prasidh Krishna.

For Kolkata, Piyush Chawl took three crucial wickets in his four overs bowled.&nbsp;

Earlier, Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik on Wednesday won the toss and opted to field against Mumbai.

In their previous encounter, Mumbai won the last game by 13 runs.

Mumbai were on the verge of falling by the wayside after a series of defeat before they managed to pull through in the previous two games.

"We would have bowled first as well. But we are batting now, the last time we played against these guys in Mumbai we posted a decent total. Nothing changes for us and we'll try to do the same against them tonight," Rohit said.

"I think we are playing with the same squad as it's important to back the guys. We have been playing some good cricket of late and hope to come up with a good performance again," he added.

Against Punjab, it was a Rohit and Krunal Pandya blitz that kept them alive in the play-off competition. A challenging 181/4 coupled with well-directed short balls during Kolkata's chase helped Mumbai stay afloat.&nbsp;

Kolkata, on the other hand, were not at full strength against Mumbai in their away game, with young pacer Shivam Mavi's injured finger joining the team's long list of injuries this season.&nbsp;

Talking about their strategy for today, Karthik said, "We are gonna bowl first. It's a good wicket to bat on. Will remain the same. We thought we'll make use of it second time."

"That was a team of the past (about the record against MI). We are starting fresh and we have new set of boys. We are two good teams and we expect a good match. We have two changes, Shubman Gill is injured and Rinku Singh comes in. Tom Curran is in for Mitchell Johnson," he added.

Teams:

Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Tom Curran, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy, Ishan Kishan(w), Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah 
&nbsp;

A couple of run-outs and a few poor shots got Kolkata into deep trouble

Kolkata collapsed for just 108 runs while chasing a mammoth target of 211 set by Mumbai on Thursday. A couple of run-outs and a few poor shots got Kolkata into deep trouble. Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana became the top scorers by contributing 21 runs each. The rest of the team gave away their wickets after playing a few poor shots. For Mumbai, Pandya brothers clinched four wickets together with each bowler taking two wickets. Ishan Kishan played an unbelievable knock fo 21 ball 62 runs to help his team set a mammoth target in order to keep their play-off hopes alive. His innings included five boundaries and six sixes. Openers Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis gave their team a decent start with the two establishing a partnership of 46 runs before Lewis gave away his wicket to Piyush Chawla. Chawal struck again from his team to dismiss Yadav at 36 runs. Skipper Rohit Sharma also contributed 36 runs off 31 balls before giving away his wicket to Prasidh Krishna. For Kolkata, Piyush Chawl took three crucial wickets in his four overs bowled. Earlier, Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik on Wednesday won the toss and opted to field against Mumbai. In their previous encounter, Mumbai won the last game by 13 runs. Mumbai were on the verge of falling by the wayside after a series of defeat before they managed to pull through in the previous two games. "We would have bowled first as well. But we are batting now, the last time we played against these guys in Mumbai we posted a decent total. Nothing changes for us and we'll try to do the same against them tonight," Rohit said. "I think we are playing with the same squad as it's important to back the guys. We have been playing some good cricket of late and hope to come up with a good performance again," he added. Against Punjab, it was a Rohit and Krunal Pandya blitz that kept them alive in the play-off competition. A challenging 181/4 coupled with well-directed short balls during Kolkata's chase helped Mumbai stay afloat. Kolkata, on the other hand, were not at full strength against Mumbai in their away game, with young pacer Shivam Mavi's injured finger joining the team's long list of injuries this season. Talking about their strategy for today, Karthik said, "We are gonna bowl first. It's a good wicket to bat on. Will remain the same. We thought we'll make use of it second time." "That was a team of the past (about the record against MI). We are starting fresh and we have new set of boys. We are two good teams and we expect a good match. We have two changes, Shubman Gill is injured and Rinku Singh comes in. Tom Curran is in for Mitchell Johnson," he added. Teams: Kolkata (Playing XI): Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(w/c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Tom Curran, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav Mumbai (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Rohit Sharma(c), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jean-Paul Duminy, Ishan Kishan(w), Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah

IPL 2018: Mumbai bowl out Kolkata for 108, win by 102 runs

After being defeated by Mumbai at Wankhede, Kolkata hosts Rohit Sharma-led side at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. &nbsp;

Mumbai were on the verge of falling by the wayside after a series of defeat before they managed to pull through in the previous two games.

Against Punjab, it was a Rohit and Krunal Pandya blitz that kept them alive in the play-off competition. A challenging 181/4 coupled with well-directed short balls during Kolkata's chase helped Mumbai stay afloat.&nbsp;

Given the role of an opening batsman, Suryakumar Yadav has been a revelation for the franchise, scoring as many as four half-centuries in 10 matches.&nbsp;

The 27-year-old former Kolkata player is Mumbai's highest run-getter amassing 399 at 39.90.

One concern for Rohit would be their middle order which continued to struggle against Kolkata and had it not been for Hardik's splendid knock at the end, they would not have managed to post 181 despite getting off to an explosive start.

Kolkata, on the other hand, were not at full strength against Mumbai in their away game, with young pacer Shivam Mavi's injured finger joining the team's long list of injuries this season.

Led by West Indian spinner Sunil Narine, Kolkata's spin battery will again be the key with Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla expected to choke the opposition.

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Karthik has been very consistent with the bat and he would want his other batsmen to stand up and be counted.

Nitish Rana has been in fine touch for the purple brigade from the outset while Andre Russell has played a few devastating knocks.

Young Shubman Gill, who was sent in to open the batting along with Lynn against Rohit-led side, could again get the opportunity.

In the head-to-head count, Mumbai lead Kolkata by a long long way at 17-5 in 22 meetings so far.&nbsp;

Both teams need a win today in order to keep their chances alive in this year's Indian Premier League.&nbsp;

Mumbai were on the verge of falling by the wayside after a series of defeat

After being defeated by Mumbai at Wankhede, Kolkata hosts Rohit Sharma-led side at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Mumbai were on the verge of falling by the wayside after a series of defeat before they managed to pull through in the previous two games. Against Punjab, it was a Rohit and Krunal Pandya blitz that kept them alive in the play-off competition. A challenging 181/4 coupled with well-directed short balls during Kolkata's chase helped Mumbai stay afloat. Given the role of an opening batsman, Suryakumar Yadav has been a revelation for the franchise, scoring as many as four half-centuries in 10 matches. The 27-year-old former Kolkata player is Mumbai's highest run-getter amassing 399 at 39.90. One concern for Rohit would be their middle order which continued to struggle against Kolkata and had it not been for Hardik's splendid knock at the end, they would not have managed to post 181 despite getting off to an explosive start. Kolkata, on the other hand, were not at full strength against Mumbai in their away game, with young pacer Shivam Mavi's injured finger joining the team's long list of injuries this season. Led by West Indian spinner Sunil Narine, Kolkata's spin battery will again be the key with Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla expected to choke the opposition. × Karthik has been very consistent with the bat and he would want his other batsmen to stand up and be counted. Nitish Rana has been in fine touch for the purple brigade from the outset while Andre Russell has played a few devastating knocks. Young Shubman Gill, who was sent in to open the batting along with Lynn against Rohit-led side, could again get the opportunity. In the head-to-head count, Mumbai lead Kolkata by a long long way at 17-5 in 22 meetings so far. Both teams need a win today in order to keep their chances alive in this year's Indian Premier League.

IPL 2018: Match preview of Kolkata vs Mumbai

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bat at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Tuesday against Punjab.

After winning the toss, Ajinkya praised his bowling side and said that it will be interesting to put runs on the board and then defend it.

He mentioned about the changes he has made for the game as there are three major replacements, Mahipal Lomror, Stuart Binny and Ish Sodhi have been included in the playing XI.

Punjab's skipper highlighted the wicket condition and said that there won't be a lot of bounce on the pitch and also the chase is not going to be easy.&nbsp

There are two changes for Punjab team, Akshdeep Nath and Mohit Sharma have included in the place of Mayank Agarwal and Ankit Rajpoot.

Playing XI:

Rajasthan: Jos Buttler(w), Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Mahipal Lomror, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi, Anureet Singh

Punjab: Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Akshdeep Nath, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bat at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bat at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Tuesday against Punjab. After winning the toss, Ajinkya praised his bowling side and said that it will be interesting to put runs on the board and then defend it. He mentioned about the changes he has made for the game as there are three major replacements, Mahipal Lomror, Stuart Binny and Ish Sodhi have been included in the playing XI. Punjab's skipper highlighted the wicket condition and said that there won't be a lot of bounce on the pitch and also the chase is not going to be easy. There are two changes for Punjab team, Akshdeep Nath and Mohit Sharma have included in the place of Mayank Agarwal and Ankit Rajpoot. Playing XI: Rajasthan: Jos Buttler(w), Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Mahipal Lomror, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jaydev Unadkat, Ish Sodhi, Anureet Singh Punjab: Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Akshdeep Nath, Karun Nair, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

IPL 2018: Ajinkya Rahane opts to bat against Punjab

Bottom-placed Rajasthan take on Punjab at their home ground Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Tuesday.

On Sunday, May 6, both the team met and Rahane-led Rajasthan faced a tragic defeat by 6 wickets.

The skippers, Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane are not much experienced but both of them have a different set of ideas when it comes to leadership.

One hand, under the guidance of Ravichandran Ashwin team Punjab has become one of the top contenders for IPL 2018 trophy and Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan have failed in all the departments.

Team Punjab is just one win away from the solidifying their place in the play-offs and if Rajasthan team manages to win tonight's clash than it will spark a fight for survival in the ongoing tournament.

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Punjab is riding high on confidence with openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul and the team will be able to dominate the struggling side Rajasthan, unless, Ajinkya Rahane plans and replicate something extraordinary against Punjab.

For Rajasthan, any combination has not worked out well, the team has struggled in all the departments. D'Arcy Short has not been able to perform and Ajinkya might replace him with Heinrich Klassen. Although, any change at this moment is very risky. On the other hand, Punjab's playing XI is massive currently.

Playing XI (TBC):

Rajasthan: Jos Buttler, Ajinkya Rahane, D'Arcy Short, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat

Punjab: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Marcus Stoinis, Manoj Tiwary, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot

Punjab defeated Rajasthan by six wickets in their previous encounter which was on Sunday, May 6

Bottom-placed Rajasthan take on Punjab at their home ground Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Tuesday. On Sunday, May 6, both the team met and Rahane-led Rajasthan faced a tragic defeat by 6 wickets. The skippers, Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane are not much experienced but both of them have a different set of ideas when it comes to leadership. One hand, under the guidance of Ravichandran Ashwin team Punjab has become one of the top contenders for IPL 2018 trophy and Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan have failed in all the departments. Team Punjab is just one win away from the solidifying their place in the play-offs and if Rajasthan team manages to win tonight's clash than it will spark a fight for survival in the ongoing tournament. × Punjab is riding high on confidence with openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul and the team will be able to dominate the struggling side Rajasthan, unless, Ajinkya Rahane plans and replicate something extraordinary against Punjab. For Rajasthan, any combination has not worked out well, the team has struggled in all the departments. D'Arcy Short has not been able to perform and Ajinkya might replace him with Heinrich Klassen. Although, any change at this moment is very risky. On the other hand, Punjab's playing XI is massive currently. Playing XI (TBC): Rajasthan: Jos Buttler, Ajinkya Rahane, D'Arcy Short, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat Punjab: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Marcus Stoinis, Manoj Tiwary, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Andrew Tye, Ankit Rajpoot

IPL 2018: Match preview - Bottom-placed Rajasthan host confident Punjab

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