<p>Minutes ahead of the start of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 opener, the two teams, Mumbai and Chennai, have been dealt with a huge blow.</p>

<p>Yellow Brigade's Faf du Plessis and blue jersey's Pat Cummins will miss the first match due to injury and exertion respectively.</p>

<p>“Faf won’t play&nbsptomorrow. He’s nursing a couple of injuries he’s had throughout the summer. We think that its in his and our best interest to give him a&nbsplittle bit of time to get that right. His finger as well. So, as I say, its&nbsplittle beaten from that series which was tough for them,” Fleming said.</p>

<p>While Plessis was expected to be Chennai's dependent player in the opener, Cummins was Mumbai's card to restrict opponents to a low score.</p>

<p>Plessis will miss today's match due to an injured finger sustained after a blow from Pat Cummins during the recently concluded Wanderers Test.&nbsp</p>

<p>While Cummins is still recovering after all his Ashes and South African exertions.</p>

<p>Two big names are missing from either team, but there's no shortage of talent that will be on show.<br />
&nbsp</p>


Plessis will miss the first match due to injury

Minutes ahead of the start of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 opener, the two teams, Mumbai and Chennai, have been dealt with a huge blow. Yellow Brigade's Faf du Plessis and blue jersey's Pat Cummins will miss the first match due to injury and exertion respectively. “Faf won’t play&nbsptomorrow. He’s nursing a couple of injuries he’s had throughout the summer. We think that its in his and our best interest to give him a&nbsplittle bit of time to get that right. His finger as well. So, as I say, its&nbsplittle beaten from that series which was tough for them,” Fleming said. While Plessis was expected to be Chennai's dependent player in the opener, Cummins was Mumbai's card to restrict opponents to a low score. Plessis will miss today's match due to an injured finger sustained after a blow from Pat Cummins during the recently concluded Wanderers Test. While Cummins is still recovering after all his Ashes and South African exertions. Two big names are missing from either team, but there's no shortage of talent that will be on show.

IPL 2018: Chennai's du Plessis and Mumbai's Cummins to miss opener

<p>With the T20I series already in their pocket, the Indian cricket team is eyeing a complete whitewash against Sri Lanka in the third and final match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>With zero pressure on them, India might consider giving a T20I debut to Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar or Baroda all-rounder Deepak Hooda.&nbsp;</p>

<p>So far, the wrist-spinner duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have managed well to keep the visitors silent on the batting front.</p>

<p>Sri Lanka will not be enjoying the services of Angelo Mathews after he was ruled out of the final match due to a hamstring injury.</p>

<p>Young KL Rahul has also grabbed his opportunity at the top of the other with back-to-back half-centuries in the previous two matches.</p>

<p>Stand-in-skipper Rohit Sharma has played exceptionally well in the series, having hit the fastest T20I century, 118, in Indore.</p>

<p>The 3rd T20I match will be India&#39;s last game of the year before embarking on the tour of South Africa.</p>


The wrist-spinner duo of Chahal and Kuldeep have managed well to keep the visitors silent on the batting front.

With the T20I series already in their pocket, the Indian cricket team is eyeing a complete whitewash against Sri Lanka in the third and final match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. With zero pressure on them, India might consider giving a T20I debut to Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar or Baroda all-rounder Deepak Hooda. So far, the wrist-spinner duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have managed well to keep the visitors silent on the batting front. Sri Lanka will not be enjoying the services of Angelo Mathews after he was ruled out of the final match due to a hamstring injury. Young KL Rahul has also grabbed his opportunity at the top of the other with back-to-back half-centuries in the previous two matches. Stand-in-skipper Rohit Sharma has played exceptionally well in the series, having hit the fastest T20I century, 118, in Indore. The 3rd T20I match will be India's last game of the year before embarking on the tour of South Africa.

3rd T20I: With series in pocket, India eye whitewash against Sri Lanka

<p>Indian captain Virat Kohli hit&nbsp;the 31st ODI century of his career in his landmark 200th ODI match in 50-over international against New Zealand at Mumbai&#39;s Wankhede Stadium.</p>

<p>Beating the record of Australian player Ricky Ponting, Kohli now ranks second on the list.</p>

<p>Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 49 ODI centuries.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Virat Kohli hits the 31st ODI century of his career <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvNZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvNZ</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/922061260774039552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="cs">With ODI century No. 31, Virat Kohli moves past Ricky Ponting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvNZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvNZ</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/922062165720174594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Virat Kohli, who&nbsp;is leading his team against New Zealand in the&nbsp;match, is&nbsp;the 13th player from the country to complete his double century appearances in ODIs.</p>

<p>Overall, he is the 72nd player to appear 200 times in a 50-over match.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvNZ?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvNZ</a>: Skipper Virat Kohli playing his 200th One Day International match in Mumbai. <a href="https://t.co/PV7iLGOTvl">pic.twitter.com/PV7iLGOTvl</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/922003423859376129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Virat Kohli beat the record set by Australian player Ricky Ponting in his milestone 200th ODI

Indian captain Virat Kohli hit the 31st ODI century of his career in his landmark 200th ODI match in 50-over international against New Zealand at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Beating the record of Australian player Ricky Ponting, Kohli now ranks second on the list. Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 49 ODI centuries. Virat Kohli hits the 31st ODI century of his career #INDvNZ — ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2017 × With ODI century No. 31, Virat Kohli moves past Ricky Ponting #INDvNZ — ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2017 × Virat Kohli, who is leading his team against New Zealand in the match, is the 13th player from the country to complete his double century appearances in ODIs. Overall, he is the 72nd player to appear 200 times in a 50-over match. #INDvNZ: Skipper Virat Kohli playing his 200th One Day International match in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/PV7iLGOTvl — ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2017 ×

After Sachin, Virat Kohli now holds record for maximum ODI centuries