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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...

Amid the run-fest in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Varun Chakravarthy suggested that the cheeleaders should dance only after sixes and not on every boundaries hit by the batters. With 250+ scores breached multiple times this season, the boundary count during the matches has increased drastically in IPL 2024. As a result, the cheerleaders have been dealing with an overload of work. Considering the trend of cheerleaders dancing after every boundary, Chakravarthy made the cheeky suggestion after the match between KKR and Delhi Capitals. "Unfortunately that has become the trend and maybe they should dance only for the sixes and not for fours (laughs)," Chakravarthy said after the collecting the 'Man of the Match' award on Monday. Chakravarthy registered match-winning figures of 3/16 in his four overs as KKR restricted DC to 153/9 in 20 overs.  In reply, Phil Salt led the charge with the bat for KKR in the chase as ...

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...

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...

Sanju Samson scored five runs less than his opposite number KL Rahul but his unbeaten 71 off 33 balls had five times more impact compared to Rahul's relatively sedate 48-ball-76 as Rajasthan Royals took a giant leap towards IPL play-offs by comfortably beating Lucknow Super Giants by seven wickets at Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday. While Rahul still is favourite to become Rishabh Pant 's understudy as the second glovesman at the T20 World Cup, Samson did hit four classy sixes, including the winning one in a chase of 197, to keep himself in the discussion for that US bound flight. Samson and Jurel came together after the Royals had stumbled from a brisk start to hand the advantage to the home side, putting on a robust stand of 121 runs in just 62 balls stand for the unconquered fourth wicket to take their side over the line. Chasing a tricky 197 with LSG deploying seven bowlers including two leg-spinners, Rajasthan finished at 199 for three to win with an over to spare. 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...

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...

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. Sent in to bat, Pant led from the front, remaining unbeaten on 88 off 43 balls (5X4s, 8X6s), his innings proving to be a timely reminder to the national selectors, who are likely to pick him in India's first XI against Pakistan in the World T20 match in New York, barring fitness issues. Pant's maturity showed as he paced his i...

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...

Lucknow Super Giants skipper 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. Meanwhile, CSK skipper Gaikwad, whose century went in vain felt that dew played a big role towards the latter half of the match. “Tough pill to swallow but LSG played a good game at the end. We had the game in hand around the 13th over, but hats off to Stoinis. “There was a huge part that the dew played. It took the spinners away from the game. We could have taken the game deeper. But it is a part of the game, you can't control the uncontrollable.” Player of the match Stoinis said: “It is not just a go go. It was ebb and flow. There were some bowlers we targeted, some against who...

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...

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...

Mumbai Indians' hopes of reaching the IPL 2024 playoffs were dealt a massive blow as they lost to Rajasthan Royals by nine wickets on Monday. MI are currently seventh with 6 points from 8 matches with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.227. That means that MI will have to win all of their remaining six games or depend on other results if they lose any more matches in the competition. On the other hand, RR continued their dominance at the top of the table with 14 points and one more win will be enough to book their spot in the playoffs. 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. 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...

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...

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) survived a late charge by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), registering a one-run win in their IPL 2024 match at the Eden Gardens. However, KKR's win was overshadowed by Virat Kohli 's controversial dismissal. Kohli, who made a seven-ball 18, mistimed a slower full toss and fell caught and bowled off Harshit Rana . However, the former RCB captain was confident that the high full-toss was above his waist as the umpires checked for a no-ball. Third umpire Michael Gough declared it out after technology suggested that Kohli was ahead of the popping crease and the ball had dipped due to the lack of pace on the delivery. The decision sparked an angry outburst from Kohli, who was furious after exchanging words with the on-field officials. Former RCB batter AB de Villiers and ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan shared their views on Kohli's controversial dismissal. De Villiers and Pathan gave contrasting views on the same. The former South Africa cap...

Mark Chapman hit an undefeated 87 to lead an under-strength New Zealand to a shock seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third Twenty20 international in Rawalpindi on Sunday. The 29-year-old left-hander smashed his runs off 42 balls to anchor New Zealand's chase of a 179-run target in 18.2 overs against a much-vaunted Pakistan bowling attack, silencing a packed 16,000-strong holiday crowd. Shadab Khan (41) and Babar Azam (37) were the main contributors in Pakistan's 178-4 after the hosts were sent in to bat. Tim Robinson hit 28 off 19 balls and Tim Seifert 21 off 16 to set the tone for New Zealand's chase.  New Zealand were already strongly placed at 53-2 in the sixth over before Chapman and Dean Foxcroft (31) took over, adding a solid 117-run third-wicket partnership to square the five-match series at 1-1. Pakistan won the second game by seven wickets while the first match was washed out after just two balls -- both were also in Rawalpindi....

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...

Indian Premier League 2024 is nearly halfway through and a handful of sides have found the right combinations for their team. Unfortunately, Royals Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) aren't one of them and have found themselves struggling in IPL 2024 with just one win from seven matches so far. RCB's latest defeat came against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 15 after they conceded 287 runs - the highest-ever total in franchise T20 cricket. The Faf du Plessis-led RCB made 262 in reply, becoming the first team in the IPL to score a total above 250 while chasing. Their only win this season came against Punjab Kings at home where they won by four wickets. The Bengaluru-based franchise has lost five consecutive matches since then and is rooted to the bottom of the points table with only two points and a poor Net Run Rate of -1.185. However, they can still make it to the IPL 2024 playoffs if they win all their remaining league fixtures, which seems rather farfet...