Publications
19 April 19:58
Lucknow Super Giants tame much-vaunted Rajasthan Royals batting line-up to secure victory
Lucknow Super Giants have won their IPL top-of-the-table clash against Rajasthan Royals after an excellent display by their bowlers against the much-vaunted Royals batting line-up as they ran out winners by 10 runs.
Batting first, Lucknow Super Giants posted 154/7, a total that seemed a little short initially.
While KL Rahul (39 off 32) and Kyle Mayers (51 off 42) put on 82 for the first wicket in a little over 10 overs, LSG somewhat lost their way in the middle overs.
Marcus Stoinis (21 off 16) and Nicholas Pooran (29 off 20) got their innings back on track, but at the change of innings, it seemed as if they hadn't scored enough.
And when Yashasvi Jaiswal (44 off 35) and Jos Buttler (40 off 41) put on 87 for the first wicket in 11.3 overs, the Royals looked on course for an easy win.
Avesh Khan (3/23) and Stoinis (2/28) had other ideas and hauled LSG back into the contest.
With wickets falling regularly, the Royals fell behind the rate, and despite some late hitting by Devdutt Padikkal (26 off 21), they could only end on 144/6.
LSG now join the Royals at the top of the IPL table with 8 points each.
Scores in brief:
Lucknow Super Giants 154/7 (Mayers 51, Rahul 39, Ashwin 2/23)
Rajasthan Royals 144/6 (Buttler 41, Jaiswal 44, Khan 3/23, Stoinis 2/28)
LSG won by 10 runs.
19 April 17:43
INNINGS
After being put into bat, Lucknow Super Giants posted 154/7 in their IPL clash against the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.
While KL Rahul (39 off 32) and Kyle Mayers (51 off 42) put on 82 for the first wicket in a little over 10 overs, LSG somewhat lost their way in the middle overs.
Marcus Stoinis (21 off 16) and Nicholas Pooran (29 off 20) got their innings back on track, but LSG will feel they are at least 20 runs short, considering the Royals' strong batting lineup.
The pick of the bowlers for the visitors was Ravichandran Ashwin (2/23 in four overs).
Scores in brief:
Lucknow Super Giants 154/7 (Mayers 51, Rahul 39, Ashwin 2/23)
19 April 15:53
TOSS
Rajasthan Royals have won the toss, and they have opted to bowl.
TEAMS
Quinton de Kock is still not getting a game for LSG, so the only South African we might see is Donavon Ferreira, who is a sub for the Royals.
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (w/k), Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ravi Bishnoi
Subs: Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, Krishnappa Gowtham, Prerak Mankad, Daniel Sams
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (w/k & c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Murugan Ashwin, Donavon Ferreira, Navdeep Saini, Akash Vasisht
19 April 15:46
Today in the IPL it's the Lucknow Super Giants up against Rajasthan Royals.
We will have the toss and teams in a little while for you.
18 April 19:55
Klaasen threatens for Sunrisers, but Green shines as Mumbai makes it three in a row
Mumbai Indians have beaten Sunrisers Hyderabad with relative ease in their IPL clash on Tuesday.
Chasing 193 to win, regular wickets meant Sunrisers were always on the back foot, and they eventually went down by 14 runs after being bowled out for 178.
There was some hope, however, when Mayank Agarwal (48 off 41) and Heinrich Klaasen (36 off 16) put on 55 for the fifth wicket in double quick time, but once Klaasen fell, caught on the boundary, and then Agarwal followed, the game was up for the home side.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians scored 192/5 after they were sent into bat. After a quickfire start by Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishin, skipper Sharma was first out for 28 off 18 balls.
Kishan and Cameron Green continued to build towards an impressive total on a pitch that was gripping when pace was taken off the ball.
Marco Jansen removed Kishan (38 off 31) and Suryakumar Yadav (7 off 3), both caught by Sunrisers captain, Aiden Markram.
Green (64* off 40) went onto his maiden half-century in the IPL, while Tilak Varma (37 off 17) injected some real impetus into Mumbai's innings.
Marco Jansen took 4/43 for Hyderabad but was collared for 21 runs in his final over, while Markram held onto three difficult catches.
Scores in brief
Mumbai Indians: 192/5 (Green 64*, Kishan 38, Varma 37, Marco Jansen 2/43
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 178 all out (Agarwal 48, Klaasen 36, Meredith 2/33)
18 April 17:43
INNINGS REPORT
Mumbai Indians scored 192/5 in their IPL clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday.
After they were sent into bat, Mumbai made a quickfire start with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishin before Sharma was first out for 28 off 18 balls.
Kishan and Cameron Green continued to build towards an impressive total on a pitch that was gripping when pace was taken off the ball.
Marco Jansen removed Kishan (38 off 31) and Suryakumar Yadav (7 off 3), both caught by Sunrisers captain, Aiden Markram.
Green (64* off 40) went onto his maiden half-century in the IPL, while Tilak Varma (37 off 17) injected some real impetus into Mumbai's innings. Marco Jansen took 4/43 for Hyderabad but was collared for 21 runs in his final over, while Markram held onto three difficult catches.
Scores in brief
Mumbai Indians: 192/5 (Green 64*, Kishan 38, Varma 37, Marco Jansen 2/43
18 April 15:50
TOSS
Sunrisers have won the toss, and they have elected to field first.
TEAMS
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (w), Abhishek Sharma, Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan
Subs: Abdul Samad, Vivrant Sharma, Glenn Phillips, Mayank Dagar, Umran Malik
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Cameron Green, Arjun Tendulkar, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff
Subs: Riley Meredith, Ramandeep Singh, Kumar Kartikeya, Shams Mulani, Vishnu Vinod
18 April 15:43
Before we get the toss and the teams, there is a chance that twin brothers Duan and Marco Jansen could face off against each other (if both are selected).
Marco is in the Sunrisers squad, while Duan plays for Mumbai.
18 April 15:41
Today's IPL clash sees Sunrisers Hyderabad v Mumbai Indians, and there are a few South Africans that could feature.
18 April 12:05
Kohli fined after high-octane IPL clash
Indian cricket star Virat Kohli was on Tuesday fined for breaching the IPL code of conduct, after his side Royal Challengers Bangalore went down to Chennai in a nail-biting match.
Kohli's wild celebration of Chennai batsman Shivam Dube's wicket at a crucial point of the high-scoring game on Monday resulted in the sanction, according to media reports.
The fiery 34-year-old was fined 10 percent of his match fee after admitting to the offence, organisers said, without detailing what rule the batsman broke.
The tense match in front of a raucous capacity Bengaluru crowd witnessed a record-equalling 33 sixes and was finally won by Chennai Super Kings, led by MS Dhoni, by eight runs.
One of the best batsmen of the modern game, "King Kohli" has often run into trouble with his aggressive approach and no-holds-barred emotions on the cricket pitch.
He has had numerous run-ins with opposing players and was once reprimanded after hitting a plastic chair with a bat following his dismissal during an IPL match.
He escaped a fine.
According to media reports this week, Kohli has fallen out with India's former cricket chief Sourav Ganguly with the two men reportedly "unfollowing" each other on Instagram.
Kohli quit as Indian T20 skipper in late 2021 and in January 2022 was sacked from the one-day captaincy and gave up leading the Test side too after a reported fall-out with Ganguly.
- AFP
17 April 19:50
Clobbering Conway sets up CSK's win over RCB as Faf, Maxwell's blistering knocks in vain
Another day, another high-scoring thriller in the IPL as Chennai Super Kings won their Monday night clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs.
Chasing 227 to win, RCB were in contention thanks to a fantastic partnership between Glenn Maxwell (76 off 36) and Faf du Plessis (62 off 33) as the pair put on 126 for the third wicket in just over 10 overs.
While the pair fell in quick succession, Dinesh Karthik (28) kept RCB in with a shout, but ultimately, it was a bridge too far for the home side as they ended on 218/8.
Tushar Deshpande's 3/45 was the best bowler for CSK.
Earlier, MS Dhoni's team ended on 226/6 in their 20 overs after they were asked to bat first.
That score was largely driven by Devon Conway, who blasted 83 off 45 balls.
He received excellent support from Ajinkya Rahane (37 off 20) and Shivam Dube (52 off 27).
Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the RCB bowlers, finishing with 1/30 in his four overs.
Scores in brief:
CSK 226/6 (Conway 83, Rahane 37, Dube 52)
RCB 218/8 (Maxwell 76, Du Plessis 63, Deshpande 3/45)
17 April 18:27
INNINGS REPORT
After being asked to bat, Chennai Super Kings dominated proceedings, ending on 226/6 in their 20 overs.
That score was primarily driven by Devon Conway, who blasted 83 off 45 balls.
He received excellent support from Ajinkya Rahane (37 off 20) and Shivam Dube (52 off 27).
Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the RCB bowlers, finishing with 1/30 in his four overs.
Scores in brief
CSK 226/6 (Conway 83, Rahane 37, Dube 52)
17 April 15:46
TOSS
RCB has won the toss, and they will bat first.
TEAMS
Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (w/k and captain), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (captain), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (w/k), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj
South African interest in both teams with Faf an RCB linchpin and Wayne Parnell also playing in the side. Dwayne Pretorius is an impact sub for CSK.
SUBS
CSK Impact Subs: 1 Akash Singh, 2 Dwaine Pretorius, 3 Subhanshu Senapati, 4 Shaik Rasheed, 5 Rajvardhan Hangargekar
RCB Impact Subs: 1 Suyash Prabhudessai, 2 David Willey, 3 Akash Deep, 4 Karn Sharma, 5 Anuj Rawat
17 April 15:12
Today's clash in the IPL promises to be an epic as Royal Challengers Bangalore, captained by Faf du Plessis, takes on the Chennai Super Kings.
The toss and teams to follow shortly.
16 April 20:33
MATCH REPORT
Powerful knocks by skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer led Rajasthan Royals to a stunning three-wicket win over holders Gujarat Titans to stay top of the IPL table on Sunday.
Chasing 178 for victory, last year's runners-up Rajasthan depended on Samson's 32-ball 60 and an unbeaten 56 by Hetmyer to achieve their target with four balls to spare in Ahmedabad.
Rajasthan were two down for four and then 55-4 when Samson and Hetmyer put together 59 off 27 deliveries to bring alive the chase at the world's biggest cricket ground.
Samson took on leg-spinner Rashid Khan in an over and smashed a hat-trick of sixes and then took on another Afghanistan spinner before departing.
Noor Ahmad, a left-arm wrist spinner, came in as impact player for Gujarat and after getting smashed for a six and four got Samson caught out.
But the dismissal only fired up the left-handed Hetmyer who kept up the charge as he and Dhruv Jurel, who hit 18, got 20 runs from an Alzarri Joseph over to near the target.
Hetmyer finished off the chase with a six off Ahmad, an IPL debutant who was given the final over by skipper Hardik Pandya.
Mohammed Shami stood out with figures of 3-25 for Gujarat, who won the title last year in their fairytale debut season in the T20 tournament.
Earlier Shubman Gill (45) and David Miller (46) guided Gujarat to 177-7 after being invited to bat first in the second match of the day.
Gill started strongly despite losing partners including Wriddhiman Saha to a dramatic mid-pitch catch by Trent Boult off his own bowling after the ball bounced off Samson's gloves following a near collision between three fielders.
Gill put on a 59-run stand with Pandya to take the attack to the opposition.
Sandeep Sharma denied Gill his fifty but the left-handed Miller smashed boundaries in his 30-ball knock and got help from the other end with Abhinav Manohar hitting 27 off 13 balls.
- AFP
Scores in brief:
Gujarat Titans 177/7 (Miller 46, Gill 45)
Rajasthan Royals 179/7 in 19.2 (Samson 60, Hetmyer 56*, Shami 3/25)
Rajasthan won by 3 wickets with 0.4 overs to spare
16 April 17:49
INNINGS REPORT | Miller, Gill guide Titans to competitive score despite Royals' effective middle squeeze
David Miller and Shubman Gill were the cornerstones of the Gujarat Titans' 177/7 in their Indian Premier League clash against the Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Gill made 45 off 34 to keep the innings afloat at the top while Miller, who was dropped on six by Adam Zampa, came through with a 30-ball 46 to at least ensure the Titans had something to bowl at.
Outside of Wriddhiman Saha's four at the top before he offered a return catch to the rather expensive Trent Boult (1/46), there were starts Sai Sudharsan (20), Hardik Pandya (28) and Abhinav Manohar (27).
It was thanks to tight bowling from Sandeep Sharma (2/25), Zampa (1/32) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/36) that the Titans were limited to strike-rotation in the middle part of the innings.
Big finisher Rahul Tewatia (1*) didn't have sufficient time to bat as the Royals' squeeze proved to be inch perfect.
16 April 16:22
TOSS:
The Rajasthan Royals won the toss and chose to field first in their Indian Premier League fixture against the Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Teams:
Gujarat Titans:
Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammad Shami, Mohit Sharma
Rajasthan Royals:
Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal
16 April 15:59
MATCH REPORT | Ice-cool collective chase from Mumbai earns them second win despite Iyer's fireworks
The Mumbai Indians eased themselves to a five-wicket win against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
It was Mumbai's second win of the season as they made light work of KKR's 185/6 that came off the back of Venkatesh Iyer's 104.
That they got there with 14 balls remains speaks volumes of how efficient the hosts were, with a batting collective effort trumping Iyer's individual fireworks.
Ishan Kishan provided the spine of the chase with 58 off 25 balls with five balls and five sixes, with Suryakumar Yadav easing himself back into form with 43 of 25 deliveries that ensured Tim David (24), Nehal Wadhera (6) and Cameron Green (1*) had all the time in the world to see off the target.
There were also contributions from Rohit Sharma (20) and Tilak Verma (30) that ensured the hosts made the most of the pliable chasing conditions at the home base.
16 April 14:13
INNINGS REPORT: KKR set Mumbai 186 runs to win after Venkatesh Iyer’s sensational century
Venkatesh Iyer scored a super century at Kolkata Knight Riders posted 185/6 in their innings after being put in to bat by the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Iyer took just 51 deliveries to reach the landmark, which included nine sixes and six boundaries before Riley Meredith claimed his pricey wicket.
However, KKR would be disappointed that they weren’t able to sort better contributions from other batters in the innings, with Andre Russell (21*), Rinku Singh (18), Shardul Thakur (13) being the only other notable contributions.
South African left-arm seamer struggled on his IPL debut as his four overs went for 53 runs, with one wicket bagged, that of Singh, who was caught by Nehal Wadhera for 18 (18 balls).
Unsurprisingly, spinner Piyush Chawla was Mumbai’s most economical bowler, going for just 4.75 runs per over for 1/19 but Hrithik Shokeen took 2/34 at 8.50.
16 April 13:45
Arjun Tendulkar made his Indian Premier League debut on Sunday bowling for Mumbai Indians, the team once captained by his illustrious batsman father Sachin Tendulkar.
Standing at over six feet (1.83 metres) tall, the 23-year-old left-hander was given the new ball in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. He joined five-time IPL winners Mumbai in 2021 - making his T20 debut for the state team the same year - but this was the first time he had been picked for the franchise.
The pacer has played seven first-class matches for Goa, after shifting bases to the western state last year. His father, who has almost god-like status in cricket-mad India, began his career with Mumbai state's junior team before being picked for the senior side at the age of 15.
He won his first cap for India in 1989 before going on to become the highest Test scorer of all time as well as the first player to score 100 international centuries. He retired in 2013.
- AFP.
16 April 13:07
16 April 12:51
TOSS:
Hosts Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India, against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Teams
Mumbai Indians: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Tim David, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Riley Meredith
Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana (capt), Venkatesh Iyer, Narayan Jagadeesan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy
15 April 20:07
MATCH REPORT - Raza, Shahrukh help Punjab edge Lucknow in IPL
Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza's half-century and some late boundaries from Shahrukh Khan led Punjab Kings to a two-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL on Saturday.
Raza made 57 in Punjab's chase of 160 before departing in the 18th over, but Shahrukh hit an unbeaten 23 off 10 balls to steer the team home with three balls to spare.
Raza started slowly but soon found his groove as he smashed four fours and three sixes in his 41-ball knock before falling to Ravi Bishnoi's leg-spin on a tough pitch.
Shahrukh top-edged a six off Mark Wood in the penultimate over and hit the winning boundary off Bishnoi as Punjab moved fourth in the 10-team table.
Sam Curran set up Punjab's win with bowling figures of 3-31 as he stood in as captain following an injury to regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan.
Curran and South Africa's Kagiso Rabada shared five wickets between them to limit Lucknow to 159-8.
Lucknow skipper KL Rahul made 74 - his first half-century of the season - and took a stunning diving catch wide of mid-off, but his efforts failed to inspire the Super Giants, who slipped to their second loss in five matches.
Punjab initially stuttered in their chase after losing their openers to debutant pace bowler Yudhvir Singh and then Australian Matthew Short for 34.
But Pakistan-born Raza kept calm to keep the Kings in the hunt despite losing regular wickets, including Curran for six.
- AFP
15 April 18:17
INNINGS: Rahul steers Super Giants to 159
KL Rahul scored a half-century as the Lucknow Super Giants posted 159-8 in their Indian Premier League encounter against the Punjab Kings.
Rahul brought up his first IPL fifty of the season and shared a 53-run opening stand with Kyle Mayers (29).
Rahul went on to score 74 off 56 balls (hitting eight fours and a six) before he was caught at long-on off the bowling of Arshdeep Singh.
Sam Curran was the pick of the Punjab Kings bowlers as he took three for 31. Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada ended with figures of two for 34.
15 April 16:04
TOSS:
Punjab Kings have won the toss and chose to bat first in their Indian Premier League encounter against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Kagiso Rabada is the sole South African in the IPL match.
Teams:
Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Mark Wood, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi
Punjab Kings
Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran (c), Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
15 April 15:40
REPORT - Faf's Bangalore clinch vital win over Nortje's Capitals
Faf du Plessis' Royal Challengers Bangalore sealed a comfortably 23-run victory against the Delhi Capitals in their Indian Premier League encounter on Saturday.
Chasing 175 to win, the Delhi Capitals got off to the worst possible start as they were reeling on 2 for the loss of three wickets.
Anuj Rawat ran out opener Prithvi Shaw for a duck, Bangalore all-rounder Wayne Parnell took the wicket of Mitchell Marsh, who popped the ball in the air for a duck.
Mohammed Siraj then trapped LBW Yash Dhull for one and saw the Capitals in deep trouble.
David Warner could only score 19 before he was caught off the bowling of Vijaykumar Vyshak.
Manish Pandey stood tall for Delhi as he made 50 off 38 (hitting five fours and six) before he was trapped LBW by Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva.
Anrich Nortje scored a handy unbeaten 23 but Delhi Capitals kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually restricted to 151-9.
Earlier on, Virat Kohli scored a half-century as the Royal Challengers Bangalore posted 174-6.
Kohli made 50 off 34 balls as Bangalore kept losing wickets at regular intervals with set batters.
Skipper Faf du Plessis scored 22 before he was caught at midwicket off Mitchell Marsh (2/18).
Mahipal Lomror made 26, Glenn Maxwell 24 and Shahbaz Ahmed unbeaten on 20* as Bangalore scored a sufficient 174.
15 April 13:43
INNINGS - Kohli fifty propels Bangalore to 174
Virat Kohli scored a half-century as the Royal Challengers Bangalore posted 174-6 in their Indian Premier League encounter against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Kohli made 50 off 34 balls as Bangalore kept losing wickets at regular intervals with set batters.
Skipper Faf du Plessis scored 22 before he was caught at midwicket off Mitchell Marsh (2/18).
Mahipal Lomror made 26, Glenn Maxwell 24 and Shahbaz Ahmed unbeaten on 20* as Bangalore set Delhi a target of 175.
15 April 11:39
Faf du Plessis will lead Bangalore with Wayne Parnell also representing the Royal Challengers.
The SA duo will face Anrich Nortje for the Delhi Capitals.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak
Delhi Capitals
David Warner (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Yash Dhull, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Aman Khan, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman
15 April 11:33
TOSS:
Delhi Capitals has won the toss and will bowl first against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
14 April 19:51
Brook, Markram steer Sunrisers Hyderabad to easy victory in Kolkata
Harry Brook's century and Aiden Markram's fifty helped the Sunrisers Hyderabad seal a 23-run victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League encounter at Eden Gardens on Friday.
Chasing a competitive 229 to win, captain Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh made half-centuries as the Kolkata Knight Riders were restricted to 205-7.
Marco Jansen took two consecutive wickets as he dismissed Venkatesh Iyer (10) and Sunil Narine for a golden duck.
Rana scored 75 off 41 balls (hitting five fours and six sixes) before he was caught off the bowling of T Natarajan.
Singh remained unbeaten on 58 off 31 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and eventually fell short of the run chase.
Earlier on, after being sent to bat first, opener Brook stood tall for the Sunrisers as Kolkata look to chase the biggest score in the IPL season so far.
Brook shared a 72-run stand with skipper Aiden Markram, who scored 50 off 26 balls (hitting two fours and five sixes) before Markram was caught off the bowling of Varun Chakravarthy.
West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell took three for 22 before he limped off with an injury.
Brook then shared a 72-run stand with Abhishek Sharma (26) as he reached his maiden IPL century.
Brook finished on 100 off 55 balls (hitting 12 fours and three sixes) as Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 16 helped the Sunrisers score an epic 228 in their 20 overs.
14 April 17:55
Brook, Markram steer Sunrisers to 228 at Eden Gardens
Harry Brook smashed an unbeaten century as the Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a competitive 228-4 in their Indian Premier League encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.
After being sent to bat first, opener Brook stood tall for the Sunrisers as Kolkata look to chase the biggest score in the IPL season so far.
Brook shared a 72-run stand with skipper Aiden Markram, who scored 50 off 26 balls (hitting two fours and five sixes) before Markram was caught off the bowling of Varun Chakravarthy.
West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell took three for 22 before he limped off with an injury.
Brook then shared a 72-run stand with Abhishek Sharma (26) as he reached his maiden IPL century.
Brook finished on 100 off 55 balls (hitting 12 fours and three sixes) as Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 16 helped the Sunrisers score an epic 228 in their 20 overs.
13 April 21:29
Punjab's Rabada quickest to 100 IPL wickets but can't stop Miller's Titans winning last over thriller
India opener Shubhman Gill starred in a six-wicket win for defending IPL champions Gujarat Titans over Punjab Kings in Mohali on Thursday.
Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat were cruising towards victory until England all-rounder Sam Curran removed Gill for 67 in the final over of the chase to raise hopes for Punjab.
Punjab, captained by former India opener Shikhar Dhawan, could only score 153-8 after they were put into bat by their opponents.
Curran, the most expensive player in tournament history at $2.23 million, tried to defend seven off the last off but Rahul Tewatia smacked the penultimate ball for four to win the game.
Earlier none of the Punjab batters managed to convert their slow and scratchy starts into a bigger score as they faced a very disciplined bowling performance from Gujarat.
Former India pacer Mohit Sharma, who made his debut for Pandya's team, bowled tight lines and took a tidy 2-18 in a man-of-the-match display.
Sharma was well supported by Afghanistan's Rashid Khan (1-26), West Indies quick Alzarri Joseph (1-32) and Ireland's Josh Little (1-31).
Punjab lost Prabhsimran Singh for a second-ball duck and Dhawan (8) soon followed.
Australian Matthew Short steadied the innings with 36 off 24 balls before falling to Khan's spin, while Sri Lanka's Bhanuka Rajapaksa needed 26 balls to score 20 before Joseph took his wicket.
Shahrukh Khan's quick-fire 22 and contributions from Curran (22) and Jitesh Sharma (25) took Punjab to a below-par score.
In contrast, Gujarat openers Gill and Wriddhiman Saha (30) laid a good foundation with a 48-run partnership in the chase.
They were backed by youngster Sai Sudharshan (19) and South African David Miller (17 not out) before Tewatia hit the winning runs.
- AFP
13 April 18:05
INNINGS BREAK
Asked they were asked to bat first, Punjab Kings managed 153/8 in their 20 overs against the Gujarat Titans.
Matthew Short (36) top-scored, but the Kings failed really get going and only some big hitting by Masood Shahrukh Khan (22 off 9) at the end of the innings helped them to a run rate of just over 7 per over.
That might not be enough against Gujarat's star-studded batting line-up, which includes Protea David Miller.
The pick of the bowlers for Gujarat was Mohit Sharma who took 2/18.
Scores in brief:
Punjab Kings 153/8 (Short 26, Khan 22, Sharma 2/18)
13 April 15:56
TOSS
Gujarat Titans win the toss and they will bowl first.
TEAMS
South African interest in both teams today.
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Matthew Short, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma (w/k), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh
Subs: Atharva Taide, Rahul Chahar, Sikandar Raza, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Bhatia
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (w/k), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (capt), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little
Subs: Vijay Shankar, Shivam Mavi, Jayant Yadav, Abhinav Manohar, Srikar Bharat
12 April 20:41
Evergreen Dohni falls just short in epic chase as Rajasthan top the table after downing Chennai
Rajasthan Royals survived a late blitz from MS Dhoni, in his landmark 200th match as captain of Chennai Super Kings, and Ravindra Jadeja to prevail in a last-ball IPL finish on Wednesday.
Chasing 176 for victory, Chennai were 113-6 when Dhoni (32) joined Jadeja (25) and the pair put on an unbeaten stand of 59 but fell short of Rajasthan's 175-8 by three runs.
Dhoni, 41, rolled back the years as he smashed Sandeep Sharma for two sixes in the final over with Chennai needing 21 to win from the last six balls.
But the medium-pace bowler, who started with two wides, kept his nerve to bowl two yorkers to deny Dhoni and Chennai a miracle as the hosts ended on 172-6.
England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler stood out with his 52, guiding last year's runners-up Rajasthan to a total which was just enough for the team's third win in four matches and sent them top of the 10-team table.
Buttler was helped along by Devdutt Padikkal (38) and Ravichandran Ashwin, who started slowly but smashed two sixes in his 30-run cameo.
Rajasthan's spinners and Sandeep then combined to restrict Chennai, with Ashwin taking an impressive 2-25 including the key wicket of Ajinkya Rahane for 31.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice in one over, removing Chennai impact player Ambati Rayudu (one) and then New Zealand's Devon Conway soon after the opener reached 50.
Rajasthan's impact sub Adam Zampa, who came in for Buttler, was expensive with his leg spin but got the wicket of Moeen Ali.
Dhoni, the once premier finisher in the game, raised the noise at the MA Chidambaram Stadium with a four and six off Zampa and more big hits, but the asking rate remained too high.Earlier
Chennai's bowlers, led by left-arm spinner Jadeja, who returned figures of 2-21, kept chipping away with wickets, but Buttler stood firm.
Rajasthan benefitted from some sloppy fielding as Chennai's Moeen dropped two catches at slip and missed a run out.
Moeen though made some amends when he bowled Buttler with his off spin after the in-form batsman reached his fifty in 33 balls.
West Indies big-hitter Shimron Hetmyer finished unbeaten with 30 off 18 balls.
-AFP
12 April 15:46
TOSS
CSK has won the toss and they will bowl first. Some South African interest as Sisanda Magala turns out for Chennai.
TEAMS
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c and w/k), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Substitutes: Riyan Parag, KM Asif, Donovan Ferreira, Adam Zampa, Joe Root
Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c andw/k), Sisanda Magala, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh
Substitutes: Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Rajvardhan Hangargekar
12 April 15:24
Today's IPL clash sees Chennai Super Kings take on Rajasthan Royals.
We will have the toss and team news for you in a little while.
11 April 20:30
Nervy Mumbai Indians win basement battle against Delhi Capitals
Skipper Rohit Sharma smashed 65 as Mumbai Indians edged out Delhi Capitals by six wickets in a last-ball IPL thriller to register their first win of the season on Tuesday.
Mumbai's chase of 173 moved to the final delivery when impact player Tim David and Cameron Green got the winning runs to hand hosts Delhi their fourth straight loss in as many matches.
Delhi, led by David Warner and coached by Ricky Ponting, have endured a horrendous run in the T20 tournament to be in danger of an early exit from the play-off race.
The franchise is yet to win the Indian Premier League and suffered an early blow when captain Rishabh Pant was involved in a car crash in December to be ruled out of the season.
Mumbai remain the most successful IPL outfit, owned by Nita Ambani, wife of India's richest man, Reliance Industries billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
The team, which is without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, out injured this season and missing England pace bowler Jofra Archer for the second straight match, bounced back from their opening two defeats.
Rohit and the left-handed Ishan Kishan gave the former champions a flying start in their 71-run stand before a run out sent Kishan back to the pavilion.
Rohit, called "hitman" for his big hundreds and six-hitting, looked in supreme touch as he pulled Nortje for a six over deep square leg and another hit over the fence off Kuldeep Yadav.
The Indian captain put on another big partnership of 68 with Tilak Varma, who made 41, but Mukesh Kumar raised hopes of a turnaround with successive strikes.
He sent back Varma and then T20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav for a first ball duck to bring a live the home crowd that went crazy when Rohit departed five balls later off Mustafizur Rahman.
But David (13) and Green (17) kept their calm in a dramatic final over from Anrich Nortje, which witnessed a dropped catch, to steer the team home and the two batsmen stole a double after David pushed the ball to mid-off.
Earlier Delhi were bowled out for 172 in 19.4 overs despite Warner's 51 and an attacking 54 by fellow left-hander Axar Patel after the hosts were invited to bat first.
Piyush Chawla rattled the opposition batting to return figures of 3-22 and was later substituted by David.
The once explosive Warner, who struck his third half-century of the season, stood firm but often struggled to find momentum until an attacking Axar joined the Australian opener in a 67-run partnership.
- AFP
11 April 16:05
TOSS AND TEAMS
Mumbai Indians won the toss and they will field first.
DC XI: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner (capt), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Yash Dhull, 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Lalit Yadav, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Abishek Porel (wk), 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Subs: Aman Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Sarfaraz Khan, Praveen Dubey, Ishant Sharma
MI XI: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Cameron Green, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Nehal Wadhera, 7 Hrithik Shokeen, 8 Arshad Khan, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Jason Behrendorff, 11 Riley Meredith
Subs: Tristan Stubbs, Tim David, Kumar Karthikeya, Arjun Tendulkar, Ramandeep Singh
11 April 16:03
10 April 21:19
Faf du Plessis in the runs again as Lucknow win last-ball IPL thriller after Pooran blitz
Nicholas Pooran smashed the fastest fifty of the IPL season in 15 balls as Lucknow Super Giants pulled off a stunning chase of 213 to edge out Royal Challengers Bangalore in a last-ball thriller on Monday.
West Indies' Pooran smashed 62 off 19 balls before he departed but Lucknow crept over the line to win by one wicket in a dramatic final over in Bengaluru.
Lucknow needed five off the last six balls after Ayush Badoni was out hit-wicket for 30 in the penultimate over, hitting his stumps while hammering what would have been a six.
Mark Wood and Jaydev Unadkat were dismissed in the final over and Ravi Bishnoi was nearly 'mankaded' from the last ball.
With the scores level and a super over beckoning, number 11 Avesh Khan scampered a bye and threw his helmet in celebration.
Australia's Marcus Stoinis had earlier clobbered a 30-ball 65, but it was Pooran's blitz including seven sixes that blew away RCB.
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell notched up 15 sixes between them in Bangalore's 212-2, with 27 hit in the match in total.
Bangalore struck with three early wickets before Stoinis dominated a fourth-wicket stand of 76 with skipper KL Rahul.
Impact player Karn Sharma broke the partnership as he sent back Stoinis but Bangalore had a new nemesis in Pooran.
The efforts of Pooran and Stoinis eclipsed the power-hitting from Kohli (61), Du Plessis (79 not out) and Maxwell (59) after Bangalore were put in to bat first.
Kohli set the tone for Bangalore's big total with his second fifty of the season in a 96-run opening stand with Du Plessis.
Maxwell kept up the charge after Kohli's departure and Du Plessis delivered a flurry of sixes, including a hit of 115 metres, as he also registered his second half-century of the campaign.
Scores in brief:
RCB 212/2 (Du Plessis 79*, Kohli 61, Maxwell 59)
Lucknow 213/9 after 20 (Stoinis 65, Pooran 62, Parnell 3/31)
Lucknow won by 1 wicket
10 April 16:31
Faf's RCB bat first against Lucknow
Faf du Plessis's Royal Challengers Bangalore are batting first against the Lucknow Super Giants.
This is RCB's third match of the IPL, having won one and lost one so far. Lucknow have won two and lost one.
Teams:
Lucknow
KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran, Jaydev Unadkat, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi
RCB
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
09 April 20:31
Markande, Tripathi lead Hyderabad to first win of IPL
Indian spinner Mayank Markande's 4-15 and an unbeaten 74 by Rahul Tripathi gave Sunrisers Hyderabad their first IPL win this season as they thrashed Punjab Kings by eight wickets on Sunday.
Skipper Shikhar Dhawan hit an unbeaten 99 off 66 balls in Punjab's 143-9 after Markande got the key wickets, including big-money signing Sam Curran for 22 in Hyderabad.
Tripathi led the chase and put on an unbeaten 100-run stand with skipper Aiden Markram (34) after former champions Hyderabad lost their openers, with Harry Brook out for 13.
Markram smashed three successive boundaries before Tripathi hit the winning runs as Hyderabad bounced back from their opening two losses.
Hyderabad's bowlers set up the victory after Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck with the first ball of the match and left-arm quick Marco Jansen followed up with two more strikes.
Express bowler Umran Malik also took two wickets, but was hammered for two sixes and a four in his final over by Dhawan.
Markande ruled with his leg spin to mark a memorable debut for Hyderabad.
The left-handed Dhawan reached his second successive IPL fifty but received little support from the rest of his team.
Punjab fell to 88-9 in 15 overs before Dhawan put on a final-wicket stand of 55 with Mohit Rathee, who faced just two balls.
Dhawan started the final over on 91, but T Natarajan denied the opener a hundred as the batsman fell one short after a six off the final ball.
- AFP
