Internationalcricketupdates

KL Rahul was one of the biggest absentees in the T20 World Cup squad that was named by the BCCI on Tuesday. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter was not even named in the reserves list for the marquee event. Despite being an IPL captain and the first wicketkeeper-batter in IPL 2024 to complete 400 runs, Rahul was ignored. After the decision, Rahul found a voice of support from a popular Bollywood actor, Riteish Deshmukh. He wrote on X: "KL Rahul should have been there in the #T20WorldCup squad." KL Rahul should have been there in the #T20WorldCup squad. — Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) April 30, 2024 Rahul's team LSG beat MI on Tuesday. Marcus Stoinis once again rescued a win as Lucknow Super Giants emerged triumphant with a four-wicket win against Mumbai Indians at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. LSG struggled in the opening and suffered a middle order collapse, but Stoinis played an influential knock, which ensured ...

Marcus Stoinis made a composed fifty to complement the splendid effort of the bowlers as Lucknow Super Giants strengthened their chances of a play-off berth with a nervy four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the IPL on Tuesday. Mumbai Indians' top-order came a cropper as they stuttered to a below-par 144 for seven, riding on contributions from Nehal Wadhera (46), Ishan Kishan (32) and Tim David (35 not out). In reply, Stoinis scored a 45-ball 62, studded with seven hits to the fence and two maximums but once he was gone LSG survived some anxious moments before getting home with four balls to spare. With their sixth win in 10 games, LSG climbed to the third spot in the IPL standings. MI, on the other hand, slumped to their seventh loss in 10 games. LSG made a watchful start to their chase after Nuwan Thushara struck with his fourth ball to remove impact sub Arshin Kulkarni for a duck on his IPL debut. Stoinis cracked two back-to-back boundaries off Gerald Coetzee, who ended up con...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru net bowler Mukesh Kumar found himself in the spotlight after a video posted by the franchise went viral on social media. The fast bowler's action was remarkably close to that of Indian cricket team star Jasprit Bumrah and fans were left stunned by the similarity between the two cricketers. Mahesh Kumar, who was part of  Gujarat Titans back in 2022, was seen bowling at the nets and he was able to replicate Bumrah's action perfectly. Fans were left excited by the bowler's action and many hoped for a bright future for Mukesh Kumar. RCB have struggled to win matches in IPL 2024 till now but with victories in their last two games, the Faf Du Plessis -led side has kept playoff dreams alive. Virat Kohli has been their top performer with the bat and he provided perfect support to Will Jacks who clinch the match against Gujarat Titans on Sunday with a sensational century. Mahesh Kumar - Net Bowler for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2024. #IPL2...

Kolkata Knight Riders maintained their good show in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 by beating Delhi Capitals to consolidate the second spot in the IPL points table. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy worked his magic to claim three important wickets before Phil Salt 's scintillating half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders secured a convincing seven-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in the IPL on Monday. Chakravarthy (3/16) shone in the middle overs following Vaibhav Arora 's fine start (2/29) that limited Delhi to a modest 153/9 after Rishabh Pant opted to bat. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy worked his magic to claim three important wickets before Phil Salt's scintillating half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders secured a convincing seven-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in the IPL here on Monday. There was a point in the match, when Sunil Gavaskar was fuming over a decision by KKR player Vaibhav Arora. It happened on the final delivery of the 18th over. he was convinced that Kuldeep ...

Former Australian cricket team star Tom Moody was not impressed by Ravindra Jadeja 's batting for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL 2024 and he said that although the all-rounder is a top spin option, he is not 'good enough' to bat at No. 7 for India in the T20 World Cup 2024. Jadeja is being considered as one of the sure-shot picks for the World Cup squad but the decision taken by CSK to promote him up the order has not worked out for them till now. He has scored 157 runs in 9 matches till now and his strike rate of 131.93 has not helped his case. “I'd be taking Jadeja purely because I'm looking for the best left-arm spinning option. He's the best left-arm spinner in the country. In my eleven, he's not batting at No.7. I don't think he's good enough to bat seven in a World Cup side. He's proven that with his strike rate. You need an impact-type player batting at seven,” he told Star Sports. Former India star Irfan Pathan , who was a part...

Kolkata Knight Riders took a massive step towards booking their spot in the IPL 2024 playoffs with a seven-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals on Monday. Phil Salt played a blinder to make short work of the run chase after brilliant bowling performances from Varun Chakaravarthy and Vaibhav Arora . The win means that KKR have 12 points from 9 matches with a Net Run Rate of 1.096 - the best in the competition till now. They are second in the IPL 2024 points table and on the other hand, Delhi Capitals are sixth with 10 points from 11 matches with a NRR of -0.442. Kolkata Knight Riders notched up a comfortable seven-wicket win over Delhi Capitals. Opting to bat first, Delhi Capitals were stopped at 153/9 by KKR's disciplined bowlers. The home team completed the chase of 154 with 21 balls to spare. While batting, KKR raced to 79 for no loss in the power play with Phil Salt (68 off 33 balls) taking the DC bowling attack to the cleaners. Earlier, Delhi Capitals scored 67 runs in t...

Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson did not find a place but veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was included as former Australia cricketer Tom Moody picked India's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. Moody went with Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as his wicket-keeping options as Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson missed out. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal were picked as the specialist openers with Virat Kohli being an option. That ultimately led to Gill, who enjoyed a good run of form with Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024, missing out on a surprising pick for the IPL-winning coach. In the bowling department, Moody picked Ravindra Jadeja as the all-rounder option with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal being the specialist choices. Chahal has been phenomenal in the IPL 2024 till now and recently, he became the first bowler ever to complete 200 wickets in the competition. Meanwhile, Gill remains optimistic of his chances when it comes to making the squad for the T2...

Chennai Super Kings bounced back in the IPL 2024 playoffs race by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 78 runs in their IPL 2024 match on Sunday. It was their first win after two consecutive losses in the competition and it took them to the third spot from sixth in the IPL 2024 points table. Veteran wicket-keeper batter MS Dhoni 's wife Sakshi Dhoni was in attendance at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and her Instagram story during the game has gone viral. "Please finish the game fast today @chennaiipl baby is on the way...contractions have begun Request from - to be Bua," she wrote. Coming to the match, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a brilliant 98 and fast bowler Tushar Deshpande took a four-wicket haul to guide CSK to a comprehensive victory. With the win, CSK put themselves back in the top 4, boosting their playoffs chances while SRH suffered their second successive defeat of the campaign. "Feeling pretty good. Tough to play in such wet conditions, and to be able to...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru keep their IPL 2024 playoff dreams alive with a massive nine-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans while Chennai Super Kings moved up to third in the points table with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. RCB rode brilliant knocks from Virat Kohli and Will Jacks to register their second victory on the trot. They remain at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table even after the win but they can still qualify for the playoffs if they win all of their remaining matches. On the other hand, CSK moved up to the third spot with 10 points from 9 matches while Sunrisers Hyderabad fell to fourth with 10 points from 9 matches as well but an inferior Net Run Rate (NRR). Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad missed his second successive IPL century by a whisker, while pacers Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana decimated the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting as Chennai Super Kings won their IPL 2024 home game by 78 runs. After Gaikwad scored a 54-ball 98 and shared a 107-run par...

Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was on Saturday reprimanded and fined 10 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during a match against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. "Kishan committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.2 of the IPL's Code of Conduct. He admitted to the offence and accepted the Match Referee's sanction," an IPL statement read. "For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding." Article 2.2 includes any action(s) outside the course of normal cricket actions, such as hitting or kicking the wickets and any action(s) which deliberately (i.e. intentionally), recklessly or negligently (in either case even if accidental) results in damage to the advertising boards, boundary fences, dressing room doors, mirrors, windows and other fixtures and fittings. It also includes abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fitt...

Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya said he wanted batters to take chances in the middle overs and claimed MI were backing themselves to chase down the score in the end against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. Fraser-McGurk equalled his own record for the fastest fifty in IPL 2024, smashing 87 off 27 balls to lay the groundwork for a massive total. DC scored 257 in 20 overs, with cameos from Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant, and Tristan Stubbs. MI seemed to be always behind the chase, and Tilak Varma's brave effort was insufficient as Delhi prevailed by 10 runs. MI suffered their sixth loss of the season, jeopardising their playoff ambitions significantly. Speaking after the match, Pandya stated that the game was becoming increasingly close. "This game is becoming more and more closer. It (the difference) used to be a couple of overs, now it's becoming a couple of balls. Because of the kind of games and how the bowlers are under pressure, we backed o...

"Cricket is turning into baseball," Punjab Kings skipper Sam Curran aptly summed up his team's T20 world record run chase of 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL here on Friday. Led by Jonny Bairstow 's incredible hundred, Punjab Kings set the new world record for the highest run chase in the history of T20 cricket as they went past KKR's 261/6 with eight wickets and eight balls to spare. "Very pleasing. Most importantly the win, cricket has turned to baseball isn't it? We're delighted with the two points," Curran said at the post-match presentation ceremony. "We had a tough few weeks as a team. Forget about the scores, we deserved this victory."  Asked about the massive scores being put up by teams this IPL season, Curran said, "Loads of different things, guys can hit balls for long periods of time, the coaches, training, the dew, dot balls become wide after reviews and you get the extra ball. "Stats are going ou...

The cricket world was in shock as Punjab Kings set a new world record on Friday. Led by Jonny Bairstow 's incredible hundred, Punjab Kings set a new world record for the highest run chase in the history of T20 cricket as they overhauled the 262-run target set by Kolkata Knight Riders with eight wickets to spare in the IPL on Friday. PBKS bettered South Africa's 259/4 against West Indies in March last year. In the IPL, Rajasthan Royals held the previous record for chasing down 224 against KKR at Eden Gardens recently, equalling the record they had set against then Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2020 in Sharjah. Highest targets successfully chased in Men's T20 cricket 262 - Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata, IPL 2024 259 - South Africa vs West Indies, Centurion, 2023 253 - Middlesex vs Surrey, The Oval, T20 Blast 2023 244 - Australia vs New Zealand, Auckland, 2018 243 - Bulgaria vs Serbia, Sofia, 2022 243 - Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi, Rawalpin...

Mumbai Indians have struggled to effectively halt opposing teams' momentum once they start building it, which is something the five-time IPL champions must address going forward, feels batter Tim David. MI find themselves in the eighth spot with only three wins from eight outings. They suffered a nine-wicket loss to table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in their previous outing. Barring Jasprit Bumrah, their bowling has been disappointing. "Someone like Booms (Jasprit Bumrah) has been winning games for us but we haven't been effective enough in shutting teams down when they get going. "That is a challenge going forward," David said on the eve of MI's match against Delhi Capitals here. "It was pretty obvious against RR that wasn't the standard that we set ourselves to. That is the challenge for the playing group, we set the tone," the Australian added. Known to be perennial slow starters, MI find themselves in a precarious situation and cannot afford...

Tim Robinson's blitz with the bat and William O'Rourke's remarkable spell put New Zealand ahead in the series following a four-run win against Pakistan in the 4th T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday. A nail-biting thriller that kept the fans on the edge of their seats at scenic Gaddafi Stadium witnessed the Kiwis take an unassailable lead in the series. The inexperienced quick made early inroads by dismissing skipper Babar Azam in the second over. Saim Ayub showed promise on the other end but O'Rourke got the better of him. With Pakistan reduced to 79/4 in the 10th over, Fakhar Zaman raised hopes of a win. He took on the opposition bowlers to keep the required rate in Pakistan's reach. Iftikhar Ahmed (23) and Imad Wasim (22*) backed Fakhar as he tried to pull off a win for the Men in Green. Fakhar got Pakistan close to the finish line, but Ben Sears proved to be the game-changer as he removed the left-handed batter in the 18th over. With 28 runs needed in th...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru kept their IPL 2024 playoff dreams alive with a comfortable -run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday. This was RCB's second win in this year's competition as the Faf Du Plessis -led side ended their six-match losing streak. However, RCB remained at the bottom of the IPL 2024 points table with 4 points and they will have to win all of their remaining matches to keep themselves in the race for Top 4. It was a crushing defeat for Sunrisers Hyderabad but they also retained their spot in the third position with 10 points from 8 matches. Rajasthan Royals are currently leading the table with 14 points with Kolkata Knight Riders in second with 10 points from 8 matches. Rajat Patidar 's explosive fifty and a collective effort from the spinners set up Royal Challengers Bengaluru's 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, bringing an end to their six-match losing streak. Patidar's 50 off 20 balls stood in stark contrast to Virat Kohli ...

Rajat Patidar's explosive fifty and a collective effort from the spinners set up Royal Challengers Bengaluru's 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024 game on Thursday, bringing an end to their six-match losing streak. Patidar's 50 off 20 balls stood in stark contrast to Virat Kohli's measured 51 off 43 balls as RCB put up 206 for seven after opting to bat. For a team that has breached the 250-run mark thrice season, the target was very gettable but the in-form SRH batting line-up could not deliver on this occasion and ended at 171 for eight in 20 overs. It was a much-needed result for RCB, who lost seven of their first eight games. The loss was SRH's third in eight matches. Considering the effectiveness of the spinners in the first innings, RCB opened the bowling with part-time off-spinner Will Jacks. The English man had the destructive Travis Head (1 off 3) caught at third man to give RCB a massive boost. Head's opening partner Abhishek Sharma (...

The Impact Player has a bit of role to play in making the matches high scoring as he provides the extra cushion for batters to keep going hard at the bowlers, feels Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill . The ongoing IPL season saw its 12th 200 plus score as Delhi Capitals piled on 224 for 4 against Gujarat Titans on Wednesday. "I think impact player has a bit of a role (in making the matches high scoring), even if you lose extra wickets, extra cushion is there for the batters to keep going and it gives the license for the batters to keep going till the end," Gill said after GT's four-run loss. "I think we played some really good cricket, disappointing to lose in the end, but great character shown by everyone. Great fight till the end and we never thought we were out of the game at any point. When you're chasing 224, there's no point in talking about plans, just go out and score runs." Despite starting strong, GT bowlers allowed DC to make a comeback as ...

Rishabh Pant virtually sealed his spot as India's first choice wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup with a belligerent unbeaten half-century in Delhi Capitals' narrow four-run win over Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. Skipper Pant and Axar Patel forged a blistering stand of 113 runs off 68 balls en route to quickfire individual half-centuries to power DC to 224 for 4 in their must-win game. In reply, Sai Sudarshan (65 off 29 ) and David Miller (55 off 23) scored fifties, while Rashid Khan hit a 11-ball 21 not out but still couldn't take GT over the line, finishing at 220 for 8 in their 20 overs. The win helped DC jump two spots in the points table to reach the number 6 spot. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians slipped a place each to move to the 7th and 8th positions, respectively. Rest of the table remained unchanged. Here is the updated IPL 2024 points table - Virat Kohli continues to hold the Orange Cap by top...

Chennai Super Kings dropped to the fifth spot in the IPL 2024 points table after suffering a six-wicket loss against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday. Ruturaj Gaikwad 's century went in vain as Marcus Stoinis slammed an unbeaten 124 to guide LSG to victory. CSK have 8 points in 8 matches right now with a healthy Net Run Rate of 0.415. On the other hand, LSG moved up to fourth with 10 points from 8 matches but their NRR is not better than CSK's. Rajasthan Royals are at the top of the table with 14 points followed by Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad (both with 10 points). KL Rahul was all praise for Marcus Stoinis' match-winning 63-ball-124 not out against Chennai Super Kings as he felt that the home team's score of 210 for 4 was at least 30 runs above-par on that particular Chepauk track. Stoinis' special effort overshadowed a classy century by CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad in their IPL match on Tuesday as LSG won by six wickets. Rahul, who once said s...

Marcus Stoinis made a bustling unbeaten hundred, a perfect anti-thesis to Ruturaj Gaikwad's classy century to shepherd Lucknow Super Giants to a stunning six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match on Tuesday. Stoinis (124, 63b, 13x4, 6x6) helped the Super Giants to mount the highest chase – 211 – at the Chepauk in IPL, ending up at 213 for four. Gaikwad (108, 60b, 12x4, 3x6) and Shivam Dube (66, 27b, 3x4, 7x6) added 104 runs for the fourth-wicket stand to power the Super Kings to a competitive 210 for four. Thus, LSG also scored a rare back-to-back home and away win over Chennai as they had won the match at Ekana Stadium a few days back. Stoinis' innings was in direct contrast to the silken smooth knock of Gaikwad. The Australian's 6'1 inch frame is a storehouse of power and he made no effort to hide it too, crunching some fours and sixes, and nothing was more special than his maximum off pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who had earlier consumed LSG skipper KL...

Following his side's nine-wicket win, India and Rajasthan Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has thanked all the seniors for helping through his tough phase during the first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Yashasvi's return-to-form century and Sandeep Sharma's five-wicket haul were the key highlights as RR defeated MI by nine wickets at Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday. Following the win, in a video posted by the IPL, Jaiswal said, "I am enjoying it (The IPL). It is incredible (the century). Initially, it was tough for me. But that is what cricket is, you have to go through ups and downs and all the learning. I would like to thank all my seniors, Rohit bhaiya (Rohit Sharma), Virat bhaiya (Virat Kohli), Sanju bhaiya (Sanju Samson) and Sanga sir (Kumar Sangakkara, RR Director of Cricket) for the way they have been talking to me during these past few days." Sandeep Sharma, who was in the video along with Jaiswal, said that the team knew tha...

The Indian cricket team's provisional squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 is going to be picked at the end of April. Needless to say, while some names are automatic picks, their form in the IPL 2024 shows a probable picture about their likely form at the T20 World Cup. Keeping that in mind, the first four weeks of the IPL 2024 has raised some concerns. On top of the list is Hardik Pandya 's form. As India's no. 1 fast bowling allrounder, Pandya is almost indispensable in the Indian limited over side.  However, the Mumbai Indians captain's display at the IPL 2024 has been far from satisfactory. Pandya has so far scored only 151 in eight matches at a strike-rate of 142.45. For a middle-order batter like Pandya, those numbers in T20s don't augur well at all. With the ball also he has taken only four wickets in eight matches. Former Indian cricket team star Irfan Pathan , member of the 2007 T20 World Cup, raised several  "Hardik Pandya's hitting ability is goin...

Yashasvi Jaiswal roared back to form with a terrific hundred after Sandeep Sharma's maiden five-for as a rampaging Rajasthan Royals hammered Mumbai Indians by nine wickets in the Indian Premier League on Monday. After Sandeep returned 4-0-18-5 to record the best bowling figures this IPL, Jaiswal found form at last in Rajasthan's final home game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, flaying the Mumbai Indians attack during his 104 not out off 60 balls. Despite a rain intervention delaying the proceedings, Rajasthan did not face much challenge in overhauling a 180-run target set by Mumbai Indians, reaching 183/1 in 18.4 overs. The contest also witnessed India and RR spinner Yuzvendra Chahal entering history books with 200 dismissals. After Jaiswal put on 79 runs for the opening wicket with Jos Buttler (35, 25 balls, 6x4s), he added another unbeaten 109 for the second wicket with Sanju Samson (38 not out). Jaiswal, who came into this IPL after an immensely successful five-Test series a...

R Sai Kishore shone with figures of 4 for 33 in four overs as Gujarat Titans eased past Punjab Kings by three wickets for their fourth win in the 2024 IPL in Mullanpur on Sunday. It was a dominant day for the spinners as the trio of Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan (1/15) and Noor Ahmed (2/20) exposed an ill-equipped Punjab Kings with their guile to dismiss them for a below-par 142. Liam Livingstone, who juggles between leg-break and off-spin, struck twice in the middle overs to keep Punjab Kings alive in the game. However, he did not get much support from fellow spinner Harpreet Brar, who leaked 35 in his four overs in a low-scoring affair. With 42 runs to get off 30 balls, Titans eventually recorded a comfortable win in 19.1 overs courtesy a pressure releasing cameo from Rahul Tewatia (36 not out off 16). It was Gujarat Titans' fourth win in eight games while Punjab Kings suffered their sixth loss in eight matches. The victory helped GT move to the sixth spot with Mumbai Indians and D...

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) haven't been up to their best in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, winning just one game in 7 matches so far. Be it the performances of some youngsters in the team or their veterans, RCB have barely found things they could be proud of. In fact, the franchise's captain Faf du Plessis has often singled out players who cost the team the match. But, such comments weren't welcomed by his former Chennai Super Kings teammate Suresh Raina . ( IPL 2024 Points Table ) After RCB's loss in the match against the Rajasthan Royals, Du Plessis highlighted the 20-run over by Mayank Dagar as the game-changer. "The pitch definitely got better; you could feel it; the ball was skidding along nicely. We were excellent in the first four overs. I think that 20 runs over (from Dagar) took the momentum away and shifted the pressure back on us." Raina, in an interview with Lallantop , slammed Du Plessis for throwing his teammate under the bu...

Rishabh Pant's emotional homecoming didn't pan out into a dream script as Sunrisers Hyderabad adhered to their season's template by out-batting Delhi Capitals in a 67-run win in an IPL 2024 match at Arun Jaitley Stadium to consolidate their position in the league table on Saturday. It was Travis Head's 32-ball-89 and his carnage in unison with Abhishek Sharma (46 off 12 balls) that ensured another match-winning total of 266 for 7 for SRH in their 20 overs. A record Powerplay score of 125/0 gave SRH the base and at one point, the first-ever 300-plus total in IPL looked a distinct possibility. In reply, Jake-Fraser McGurk's equally aggressive and attractive 18-ball-65 raised visions of an improbable win as he added 84 runs for the third wicket along with Abhishek Porel (42 off 22 balls) in just five overs. Once Fraser-McGurk was gone, DC went off the boil and they were all-out for 199 in 19.1 overs. T Natarajan's superb use of slower bouncers and figures of 4 f...

Travis Head's aggressive fifty and bowlers' determination helped Sunrisers Hyderabad score a fine 67-run victory over Delhi Capitals in their IPL match here on Saturday. Chasing a massive 267 run for win, Delhi were in the hunt initially through Jake Fraser-McGurk (65, 18b, 5x4, 7x6) and Abhishek Porel (42, 22b, 7x4, 1x6). But once both of them were dismissed, Delhi's chase too fizzled out as SRH bowlers struck regularly to push the asking rate near the realm of impossibility. Pacer T Natarajan bagged four wickets while leg-spinner Mayank Markande picked up two wickets for SRH. Earlier, Head shone yet again as SRH notched up an imposing 266 for seven. They scored 125 runs without loss in power play, a record in the IPL. Head smashed a 32-ball 89 (11x4, 6x6) while Abhishek Sharma clobbered 46 off 12 balls. Shahbaz Ahmed then scored an unbeaten 59 (29 balls) to give SRH another massive total to defend. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav took four wickets for DC. (Except for the headl...

Former India batter and Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir is widely popular for his contributions in both international cricket and IPL. However, he is also popular for having a no-nonsense approach and giving blunt replies during media interactions. Few months ago, Gambhir was asked to choose his favourite football player between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, former KKR skipper did not choose any of the two and named Marcus Rashford. This answer by Gambhir became a viral meme on social media. Recently, Gambhir opened up about this incident in a video shared by KKR and stated that he was asked to choose his "favourite" player and none of the two players are his favourites. "If someone asks me 'which is your favourite team? Liverpool or Arsenal?' If you are asking me to choose my favourite team, then you can't give me an option," Gambhir told actor Cyrus Broacha in an episode of Knights Dugout. "Messi or Ronaldo, who...

MS Dhoni fans on Friday got treated with a vintage innings from the Chennai Super Kings former captain. Facing Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow and with his team down by six wickets, MS Dhoni came at the crease late and made an instant impact. The World Cup-winning captain hit two sixes and three fours to score a nine-ball 28*. The late cameo was crucial in CSK scoring 176/6 in 20 overs. The short but entertaining knock had the Lucknow crowd on its feet. Though the match was played in Lucknow, the support was immense for CSK and especially Dhoni. LSG star opener Quinton de Kock 's wife Sasha was at the stands where the crowd at the Ekana Stadium burst into a loud cheer for MS Dhoni as decibel levels rose.   Sasha posted an image on Instagram stories with the captain, "When MS Dhoni comes out to bat." Along with the caption she posted an image of a notification on her smartwatch saying, "Loud environment - Sound level hits 95 decibels. Just 10 minutes at this level ...