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This is the joint-worst streak of losses in IPL history; Capitals meanwhile record their third win in six games

The Report by Peter Della Penna07-Apr-2019Royal Challengers Bangalore slumped to their sixth straight loss in IPL 2019. They first struggled to 149, and then saw Shreyas Iyer wallop 67 after a costly let-off on a two-paced pitch. This knock helped Delhi Capitals overcome a late wobble to secure a four-wicket win. It was their third win in six games this season.Virat Kohli managed to face just 33 balls for his 41 despite staying at the crease until the 18th over, before falling to Kagiso Rabada to start a triple-wicket over. This ensured Royal Challengers didn’t get a finishing kick.Tim Southee struck three balls into the chase to give Royal Challengers a spark with the ball. They should have had Iyer off the last ball of his first, but for a costly fumble by Parthiv Patel, who reacted late. Prithvi Shaw took the attack to him in the next over by hitting him for four successive fours and Iyer went on to hit his first half-century of the season to take Capitals to within striking distance. They lost two more wickets to induce some nerves, but Axar Patel finished off the chase by hitting a boundary with seven balls to spare.Ice Kohl’d

Kohli was nearly out to the first ball he faced when Chris Morris got one to rise off a length. The thick edge flew wide of Shikhar Dhawan at slip, but he couldn’t capitalise on the let off and was pinned off strike for much of the next 90 minutes as batsmen came and went. He faced just 33 of 103 RCB’s deliveries during his time at the crease.Parthiv slashed Morris to third man, where Sandeep Lamichhane took a sharp catch running forward to end the second over. AB de Villiers then became Rabada’s first victim of the day on the last ball of the Powerplay. He miscued a slower delivery to Colin Ingram, who pouched a catch running back from mid-on.Marcus Stoinis, promoted to No. 4, tried to flat bat Axar Patel over long-on but couldn’t clear Rahul Tewatia in the 11th. Moeen Ali showed a bit of intent against Lamichhane, charging him for one of three sixes in his 32 off 18 but was then stumped failing to read a googly.Kohli’s strike rate remained under 100 at the start of Lamichhane’s final over in the 17th as he struggled to generate any rhythm from the lack of strike. He swatted Lamichhane twice over the leg side for six, but was out soon after to Rabada as Royal Challengers tumbled.Rabada on a roll

De Villiers wasn’t his only scalp. Rabada, who was later named Player of the Match, returned to start a devastating 18th over. Kohli skied a drive to Iyer at long-on. Two balls later, he had Akshdeep Nath caught behind after he tried to steer a length ball past the wicketkeeper. Only a ball earlier, he managed to dab it wide of the wicketkeeper for a boundary. The over ended with Pawan Negi failing in an attempt to ramp a short ball over Rishabh Pant. This left Royal Challengers on 138 for 7.Rabada couldn’t seal the deal on what would have been his maiden T20 five-for in the 20th over, but he still only managed to concede just seven runs to complete a sterling spell and ensure the first innings total was well under par.Aye aye Iyer

Royal Challengers fluffed four chances in a wretched display against Rajasthan Royals. While the quantity of let-offs was far fewer here, the quality of the batsman they let off here didn’t help them. Iyer added 63 after being dropped on four as he got a thick edge to Parthiv.Iyer was squared up as he nicked but Parthiv was flat-footed behind the stumps. Despite covering the necessary ground diving right he shelled a one-handed chance.It was the only life Iyer needed as he went on to compile a 37-ball half-century, including 68 for the second wicket with Prithvi Shaw. By the 15th over, the target was under a run a ball and despite the trio of wickets that fell in a flurry sparked by Shreyas’ dismissal in the 18th, Capitals won convincingly.

The wicketkeeper-batsman was guilty of causing damage to a part of the ground during their two-run defeat to hosts Zimbabwe in Bulawayo

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2018Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been suspended from his team’s two remaining Group B matches in the World Cup Qualifier, after he was guilty of causing damage to a part of the ground during their two-run defeat to hosts Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

Injured Stanikzai ruled out of tournament

Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai, who underwent surgery for appendicitis, has been ruled out of the tournament. Stanikzai, whose surgery happened on the eve of his side’s first warm-up match against West Indies, was initially expected to be out for 10 days. Nineteen-year old legspinner Rashid Khan has been captaining Afghanistan in Stanikzai’s absence.
Stanikzai has been replaced by Afsar Zazai, the 24-year old wicketkeeper-batsman, with the ICC’s event technical committee approving the replacement on Wednesday.

Shahzad was the second wicket to fall in Afghanistan’s chase of 197, in the ninth over, after he had settled in with three boundaries. Upset with himself, Shahzad slammed his bat hard onto the adjacent pitch, leaving behind a noticeable divot as a result. He was fined 15 percent of his match fee and received one demerit point for his actions.As this was Shahzad’s second breach of the ICC’s code of conduct within a two-year period – he was fined the whole of his match fee and handed three demerit points after a T20I against UAE in December 2016 – the accumulated four demerit points, as per the ICC’s norms, translated into two suspension points.The latest penalty comes two months into his return to the national squad, after he spent a year out serving a doping ban. Shahzad’s suspension also leaves Afghanistan on shaky ground for the remainder of the group play. Having lost both their matches so far, Afghanistan are desperate to bounce back in upcoming matches against Hong Kong and Nepal to give themselves the best chance of advancing to the Super Sixes round and maintain hope of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in England.In separate incidents during the same match, Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor and 16-year old Afghanistan offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman were also handed out penalties. Taylor was fined 15 percent of his match fee and received one demerit point for showing dissent when umpire C Shamsuddin withheld an lbw appeal against Dawlat Zadran late in the Afghanistan chase. Mujeeb was handed out a 50 percent fine and three demerit points for throwing the ball back at batsman Taylor off his own bowling during the first innings in what the umpires deemed a dangerous manner.Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Nizakat Khan was fined 50 percent of his match fee and given three demerit points for making deliberate and inappropriate contact using his shoulder to barge into Scotland bowler Alasdair Evans while attempting a run.

Meg Lanning’s 134 off 122 balls and Ellyse Perry’s unbeaten 95 sank South Africa in a rain-hit game in Canberra as Australia marched to a 2-0 series lead

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMeg Lanning brought up her century off 94 balls•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Meg Lanning equalled Charlotte Edwards’ record of nine ODI hundreds, the most by a woman, with a quickfire 134 to script Australia’s win against South Africa in the second ODI by 66 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis Method in a rain-hit encounter in Canberra. Lanning and Ellyse Perry, who scored a career-best 95*, put on 224 for the third wicket as Australia put on a competitive 278. A rain break in the chase revised South Africa’s target to 241 from 38 overs and they eventually fell short when rain ended the match with their score on 5 for 119, when they should have been 186.Lanning found herself out in the middle early after electing to bat. Opener Elyse Villani fell in the sixth over, and her partner Nicole Bolton followed in the next over as Mignon du Preez took a stunning one-handed catch while leaping to her right at backward point. Australia were reduced to 2 for 27 and it brought Lanning and Perry together.Lanning dominated the partnership, bringing up her century off 94 balls, while Perry ambled to her fifty off 90 balls. The duo pushed the score past 250 during their 236-ball partnership before medium-pacer Ayabonga Khaka (3-55) took a return catch to dismiss Lanning for a 122-ball 134 that included 20 fours. Perry scored her last 45 runs off 39 balls to overtake her previous best of 93* that she had scored in the previous game on Friday. Her 95* off 129 with seven fours helped Australia to 4 for 278 in their 50 overs.Australia kept things tight at the start of South Africa’s chase, opening with left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen in combination with Perry, and then throwing legspinner Kristen Beams into the mix after 11 overs. Perry broke the opening stand in the second over, Jonassen struck in the fifth over and Beams trapped du Preez lbw for 9 to reduce them to 3 for 45. Opener Suné Luus was still at the crease, but the slow start and the interference of rain in the 19th over meant that South Africa were well behind the revised target when play resumed.Luus scored an unbeaten 60, her personal best and second straight fifty, but two more wickets fell and a second spell of rain in the 32nd over ended the game with South Africa well short of the par score.

Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade have been fined for breaching Cricket Australia’s code of behaviour in Victoria Bushrangers’ 17-run loss to South Australia in their Matador Cup match on October 16

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2015Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade, who are both part of Australia’s current ODI set-up, have been fined for breaching Cricket Australia’s code of behaviour during Victoria’s 17-run loss to South Australia in their Matador Cup match on October 16.Finch was docked 70% of his match fees for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision after he was given lbw off the bowling of Daniel Worrall. Wade was charged under Article 2.1.4 for “using language that is obscene, offensive or insulting during a match,” after a mix-up with Daniel Christian that resulted in his run-out.Wade, who has had a history of suspensions in the past, was fined 50% as a result of this being his second Level 1 offence in the past 18 months. He was suspended for one match in last year’s one-day competition for inadvertently breaking a window after his dismissal in the loss to Queensland. Wade was also suspended for one Sheffield Shield match for tampering the pitch against Tasmania in November 2013.Both players admitted to their respective offences to match referee Stephen Bernard and accepted the penalty, so no hearing was required.

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on March 28, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2013

Group A

A career best 4 for 11 from left-arm seamer Suryakant Pradhan helped Odisha clinch a convincing seven-wicket victory over Delhi in Indore. After Delhi chose to bat, Pradhan destroyed their top order; they couldn’t recover from it and were eventually bowled out for 80 in the final over of the innings. No. 9 Pawan Negi was the top scorer with 20. In reply, Odisha lost their first wicket in the first over, but thereafter steadied themselves through patient knocks by Ankit Yadav (26), Arabind Singh (19) and Govind Podder (25), to reach the target in the penultimate over. With the win, Odisha moved above Gujarat to occupy the second-last place in the points table after three games.An unbeaten 16-ball 42 from Raiphi Gomez took Kerala to a narrow one-wicket victory (VJD method) over Vidarbha in a rain-shortened match at the Emerald High School Ground. Kerala, chasing 108 from 13 overs, lost wickets quickly and were in danger of being bowled out cheaply, but Gomez helped his side score 52 off 29 balls, with wickets falling all around him, to get them home in the final over. Besides him and Sanju Samson, no other batsman put up any resistance. Vidarbha’s innings revolved around a solid unbeaten 55 from Amol Ubarhande. He took them to 138 in 19 overs before rain delayed play. Kerala moved to the top spot of the table.

Group B

A responsible knock of 70 from Mohammad Kaif helped Uttar Pradesh to a 10-run victory over Karnataka in Indore. After UP were put in to bat, Kaif put on valuable partnerships of 51 (37 balls) and 70 (41 balls) with wicketkeeper Gaurav Tomar and Tanmay Shrivastava. Though they lost wickets towards the end of the innings, Kaif’s innings ensured they set their opponents a target of 164. In their chase, Karnataka were pegged back by early wickets – they were reduced to 31 for 3 in the sixth over. Lokesh Rahul (34), Stuart Binny (39) and Karun Nair (29) kept them in the hunt, but wickets fell towards the end and they fell short of their target. The win gave Karnataka third place in Group B, above UP.A solid top-order performance from Punjab, led by Ravi Inder Singh’s knock of 60, helped Punjab clinch a 25-run victory over Bengal in a Group B tie at the Holkar Stadium. The foundation of a strong total was laid by Ravi’s valuable stands of 46 with the captain Mandeep Singh, 39 with Gurkeerat Singh and 39 with Mayank Sidhana. Sidhana and Amitoze Singh accelerated towards the end of the innings to push their run-rate up, and get them to a competitive 168. Bengal lost wickets regularly in their chase, and the lack of a long knock or a partnership, despite a number of starts by batsmen, hurt them. The opener Shreevats Goswami was the top-scorer with 33; Bengal eventually limped to 143 for 8 in their 20 overs. Punjab took the top spot in the group with the win, with Bengal behind them at the second spot.

Namibia eased to an eight-wicket win over Canada in Windhoek after the visitors were bowled out in their second innings for 213 on the fourth morning

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2012
ScorecardNamibia eased to an eight-wicket win over Canada in Windhoek after the visitors were bowled out in their second innings for 213 on the fourth morning. Starting the day on 167 for 7, Canada’s hopes were on Zeeshan Siddiqi, who was unbeaten on 45. While Siddiqi carried on to 73, Christi Viljoen polished off the tail to finish with career-best figures of 7 for 61. Namibia were set a target of 114. Ewald Steenkamp led with a breezy half-century in an opening stand of 86 with Pikky Ya France as Namibia motored to victory in the 26th over. Sarel Burger’s 135 in the first innings, which gave Namibia a lead of 100, proved crucial, as did his four wickets in Canada’s first innings.

This IPL starts off with a lovely battle within a battle, an ad writer’s dream. MS Dhoni, the man who led India to the World cup win, v Gautam Gambhir, the man who played a big hand in that final

The Preview by Sriram Veera07-Apr-2011

Match facts

MS Dhoni’s men have dominated Kolkata in the past, but will be up against a different bunch of players this time•Indian Premier League

Friday, April 8
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

If India hadn’t done well in the World Cup, would it have led to viewer fatigue ahead of the IPL? And since they won, will it translate to an enthusiastic fan base, and even creation of new fans for the game? This IPL will answer that question. There is another question that has been hovering around since the creation of IPL. Have the teams succeeded in creating loyal fan bases? This is the fourth edition and one should ideally see the early signs of loyalty but many teams, barring Chennai Super Kings, have changed their personnel so much that it will be interesting to see how the fans respond. Is fans’ parochial affection to the region/city bigger than their love for the players?For what it’s worth, this IPL starts off with a lovely battle within a battle, an ad writer’s dream. MS Dhoni, the man who led India to the World cup win, v Gautam Gambhir, the man who played a big hand in that final. It’s not as big as the Dhoni v Tendulkar contest, but it’s a mouth-watering prospect nevertheless. So far, Chennai have showcased a winning ethos while Kolkata have provided pathos. From seeking glory in the first season and searching for redemption in the second, Kolkata were fighting to avoid humiliation in the last edition. Will this season offer the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel?Chennai have ensured they didn’t lose too many personnel, a move that will have gladdened their fans and their marketing team, and they still are one of the stronger sides in the tournament. In the past, they relied a lot on the spinners and their seam attack largely depended on Doug Bollinger. This year, they have added Nuwan Kulasekara and Tim Southee and that seam attack looks far more potent. The batting will miss the services of Michael Hussey until the end of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh and Anirudha Srikkanth might open in his absence, along open with M Vijay. The middle order is pretty established with the likes of Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni and Albie Morkel.Kolkata Knight Riders have been looking for a fresh start ever since the nightmarish first season and this season will start on the same premise. Can Gambhir and the new faces turn things around? Ryan ten Doeschate, Jacques Kallis and Eoin Morgan will add great value to a middle order that has often proved brittle in the past. Add to that the menacing presence of Yusuf Pathan, and you are looking at a pretty formidable batting line-up.

Team talk

Kolkata might be forced to play all their available overseas players tomorrow. The likes of Brett Lee, Brad Haddin and Shakib Al Hasan will feature only at the end of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh. For Manoj Tiwary, who has decisively slipped under the national radar, this season offers another chance to prove a point or two. Shreevats Goswami, the wicket-keeper batsman who struggled to get a game with Royal Challengers, might get an opportunity to prove his worth.Anirudha might get a chance to open for Chennai in Hussey’s absence. It will be interesting to see if they pair Suraj Randiv with R Ashwin. They are more likely to turn to Shadab Jakati, who has done a good job in the past as a back-up spinner. There is also the interesting sub-plot of S Badrinath. If he performs well, as he has done in the past, the city populace will once again sigh at the alleged “discrimination” against him in the national scene.

In the spotlight

Yusuf Pathan‘s reputation was built in the IPL and he carried that confidence on to play a couple of furious match-winning knocks for India in ODIs. He was replaced by Suresh Raina near the end of the World Cup and will be itching to showcase his brutal power in this year’s IPL. He has the shots, he has the heart – unlike some, he doesn’t retreat further into crease every ball in anticipation of the bouncer – and he has the ambition.Eoin Morgan is that rare commodity in England cricket: an excellent limited-overs batsman. He can unfurl the craziest of the innovative shots and is difficult to contain. He could potentially be the engine of Kolkata’s middle order.In Hussey’s absence, M Vijay will have to take up the burden of scoring against the new ball. His career path has been fascinating: he shrugged off the tag of a Test batsman to play some screaming knocks in the shortest form of the game but the criticism against him is that he either goes too slow or plays too many shots. The critics have demanded maturity in his shot selection and his progress will be closely monitored.

Prime numbers

With 520 runs, Suresh Raina was the third highest run getter in the last year’s IPL. Kallis, who played for Bangalore, was the second highest scorer with 572, behind Sachin Tendulkar.

Last year, Kolkata featured twice in the top four occasions of a team conceding too many extras. They gave away 20 extras against Chennai and 18 against Punjab.

With 13 wickets apiece, Shadab Jakati and R Ashwin were the top wicket-takers for Chennai last year. Kallis also took 13 wickets while Ashok Dinda, playing for Kolkata, picked up nine wickets.

The chatter

“The batting line-up is as good as last year. IPL is not about less pressure. Batting slots are decided according to situation. When all are shuffled up and down the order, it’s according to the situation. If we have to change the batting order, everyone has to be comfortable about doing it..”
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Ryan Sidebottom has said he has ‘nothing to prove’ as an international player but conceded that regular injuries have forced him down the England pecking order in recent times

Cricinfo staff13-Apr-2010Ryan Sidebottom has said he has ‘nothing to prove’ as an international player but conceded that regular injuries have forced him down the England pecking order in recent times.Sidebottom was a surprise inclusion in England’s 15-man squad for the World Twenty20, which starts at the end of April in West Indies. He has been unable to complete a series since England hosted New Zealand in 2008 and was forced to fly home from England’s recent tour to Bangladesh with a thigh problem he picked up in the first ODI in Dhaka in February.In his absence Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn impressed and Sidebottom admits he now has to try and earn his place back. “There’s nothing I have to prove as a player or a bowler, I’ve proved that I’m good enough to play at the highest level. [But] the likes of Finn and Bresnan have come in and done pretty well, so I’ve got to keep going and try to push them out of the side.”Everybody knows what I’m capable of. I’m not the fastest bowler, but I offer accuracy and swing, and I put batsmen under pressure. If [England] need my experience then I’m here.”Sidebottom has played just one Test match in the last 12 months, when he was surprisingly called-up to replace Graham Onions for the final Test against South Africa at The Wanderers. England lost heavily and Sidebottom was unable to make a significant impact. His performance prompted suggestions that his pace was significantly down from when he led England’s attack so successfully in 2008.Yet Sidebottom insists that rather than his pace suffering from injury, there is instead a lack of consistency in his bowling due to the disruption caused by the string of back, hip, groin and Achilles injuries he has endured. “Nothing has changed in my action and my pace hasn’t changed,” he said. “I just need to get back into [match] action. I don’t think there’s much difference at all. What I have found tough is constantly stopping and starting again with injuries.”As a bowler you need rhythm. When I was playing regularly for England, I didn’t worry about anything. But recently, I’ve played one game, been 12th man and then tried to get back in the team. It’s not been easy to find rhythm.”Sidebottom hopes to take some momentum into the World Twenty20 by bowling plenty of overs for Nottinghamshire as they begin their Championship campaign against Kent on Thursday. He bowled 18 overs for Nottinghamshire in a warm-up game against Durham MCCU, collecting 3 for 48 in 18 overs.Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire coach, thinks Sidebottom needs overs under his belt to be at his best but says Sidebottom has to sustain the intensity he showed between 2007 and 2008. “Ryan likes to bowl, even though it might not look like that when he’s pulling his hair out. He’s not bowled enough overs, whether it’s in nets or matches, because of the injuries he’s picked up.”International cricket is played at a higher intensity than county cricket. He did well for the first 18 months but he’s suffered a little bit with that of late. He’s got to stay at that higher intensity the whole time. But he wants to do well with England for another couple of years yet.”

Phoenix captain hits 4-6-6-6-4 off Rashid Khan as Invincibles lose unbeaten record

ECB Media12-Aug-2025A brilliant unbeaten 69 from Liam Livingstone saw Birmingham Phoenix chase down Oval Invincibles’ total of 180 for 8 with two balls to spare in a tense finish in the men’s Hundred competition at Edgbaston.South African Donovan Ferreira blazed a spectacular 63 from 29 balls for Invincibles but was upstaged by the Phoenix skipper who hit five sixes in his match-winning 27-ball innings.Inserted by the home side, Invincibles lost Will Jacks second ball and reached 31 for 2 after the 25-ball powerplay. The score quickly became 34 for 3 after the loss of Sam Curran before the Invincibles recovered through Jordan Cox and Sam Billings to reach 70 for 3 at halfway, though lost Billings soon after.Enter Ferreira, who started positively, depositing Tim Southee for a maximum over wide long-on to bring up Invincibles’ 100 after 65 balls.Cox fell for 44, but Ferreira continued unperturbed, reaching his half-century off 24 deliveries with another huge six. Invincibles finished strong, the penultimate set from Mousley conceding 25, including two sixes and two lots of five wides, while Rashid Khan (16) contributed two maximums of his own as Invincibles closed on 180 for 8.The Phoenix run chase started slowly, Aussie left-armer Jason Behrendorff bowling the first 10 balls straight through and conceding just five. Saqib Mahmood then took the big wicket of Ben Duckett with his third ball, but Will Smeed wrestled some of the initiative back with back-to-back sixes.Smeed (51 off 29) was bowled by Nathan Sower one ball after reaching his fifty to see the score 91 for 3, Jacob Bethell then went 20 runs later. But Livingstone responded by smashing Khan for 26 in a set and combined with Mousley to leave three needed from five.Mahmood then removed Mousley and Louis Kimber with successive balls, but Benny Howell drove the hat-trick ball through cover to secure the win.Livingstone, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “We needed it, it’s been a bit of a disappointing start to the tournament. It’s nice to lead from the front and hopefully that gives the boys a bit of momentum and a bit of confidence.”I was trying to be there at the end, it’s something I haven’t done a lot of in my career, so it was in the back of my mind, but we still needed to take some risks.”It’s massive. There’s no hiding in this competition. If you lose a couple of games, you’re right up against it. Hopefully this gives us a bit of confidence going forward, it’s an incredible win from where we were. It’s nice to be on the board and get that first win.”

There is still no clarity on Livingstone’s fitness for Punjab Kings or Sandeep Sharma for Rajasthan Royals

Ashish Pant12-Apr-20243:06

McClenaghan calls for Royals to trust in Boult

Match details

Punjab Kings (PBKS) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Mullanpur, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big Picture – Pace the way to go in Mullanpur?

It is still early days this season, but the surfaces in IPL’s newest venue Mullanpur have given all the indications of being a a fast bowler’s ally. In the two matches so far, 30 wickets have fallen – 27 picked by the bowlers and three run-outs. Out of these, 23 wickets have been picked up by the quicks. There was significant movement and carry noticeable under the lights when Punjab Kings played Sunrisers Hyderabad at this venue on Tuesday, with run-scoring not as easy initially. That is reflected in the numbers, too.Among all the venues so far in IPL 2024, Mullanpur has the best average for fast bowlers (19.7) and the lowest run rate (7.7) in the powerplay. Nine wickets have fallen in the first six overs here in two games, joint second with Mumbai. Only Jaipur has seen more wickets fall in the powerplay this season, but four games have already been played there.Related

• Which IPL team has made the best use of the Impact Player rule?

• Shashank's redemption: from toiling on Mumbai's maidans to turning heads at the IPL

Will this concern Rajasthan Royals, who are coming into the game having just been beaten for the first time in IPL 2024 on Wednesday? Nope. On the contrary, they might be the happier side. The Royals’ quicks have picked up nine wickets in the powerplay at an average of 24.3, the best among any team in the tournament. Kings are also not too far behind averaging 26.6 runs per wicket in the powerplay and that could make for an interesting battle up top.The other thing Royals will need to be wary of is not letting history repeat itself. They had a great start to their IPL 2023 losing just one of their first five games and a playoff spot seemed imminent. But, they won just three of their next nine matches and failed to qualify for the knockouts. In IPL 2024, they’ve again lost one and won four of the first five games, but this time will hope to right their wrongs of last season.

Form guide

Punjab Kings: LWLLW
Rajasthan Royals: LWWWW

Team news and Impact Player Strategy

Punjab KingsWith Liam Livingstone unfit, Kings went with an unchanged line-up in their last game against SRH. Fast bowling coach Charl Langeveldt didn’t shed much light on Livingstone’s availability stating that they “will make a decision tomorrow”. If fit, he could replace Sikandar Raza in the XII.Kings have been consistent in subbing out Arshdeep Singh for Prabhsimran Singh or Ashutosh Sharma and vice-versa and that is likely to remain unchanged.Likely XII: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 , 4 Sam Curran, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Sikandar Raza, 8 Ashutosh Sharma, 9 Harpreet Brar, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Kagiso Rabada, 12 1:27

Jaffer: Dhawan and Bairstow need to step up

Rajasthan RoyalsNandre Burger was out injured in Royals’ previous game against Gujarat Titans, while Trent Boult bowled just two overs and was not brought back in the death. While that could just be down to match-ups, Boult’s fitness will also be one to watch out for. Royals had brought in Keshav Maharaj as an Impact sub for Yashasvi Jaiswal in the previous match, but that is likely to change considering the surface in Mullanpur has more in it for the fast bowlers.If Royals bat first, Jaiswal could start and be subbed later for one of the fast bowlers or vice-versa. Kuldeep Sen is likely to keep his place after a good showing in the previous game. If Burger is fit, he is likely to walk back into the XII and be one of the Impact Player options. There is no clarity on Sandeep Sharma’s availability as well, though he has been training with the squad.Likely XII: 1 Jos Buttler, 2

In the spotlight – Shashank Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal

Shashank Singh has twice shown his calibre as a finisher. After his heroics against Gujarat Titans, he almost took Kings to another improbable win in their last game against SRH. While Kings fell narrowly short, he proved his innings against Titans was no flash in the pan. Kings have been going at a run rate of 11.33 so far in the death overs this season and Shashank has been a major contributor. His strike rate of 195.71 is the third-highest for any batter who has faced 35 balls or more in the tournament. Shashank is also yet to be dismissed since his first-ball duck against Delhi Capitals in Kings’ first game. Do his numbers warrant a move up the order?Yuzvendra Chahal is three shy of 200 wickets in the IPL•BCCI

Yuzvendra Chahal is just three shy of becoming the first bowler in the history of IPL to reach 200 wickets. He is the joint-highest wicket-taker (10) this season along with Jasprit Bumrah and has picked up at least a wicket in every game so far. Eight of those have come in the middle phase, more than any other bowler in IPL 2024. His economy rate of 7.50 during the middle overs also stands out. Chahal has been unafraid to take risks and has often been Samson’s go-to bowler once the powerplay is done.

Stats that matter

• Jonny Bairstow averages 17.33 against Chahal in T20s and has fallen to him three times in seven innings.
• R Ashwin has removed Dhawan four times in 14 T20 innings. Dhawan strikes at only 84.4 against the spinner.
• Arshdeep has dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal twice in 15 balls in T20s. Jaiswal averages just 7.50 against him and strikes at 100.
• Shimron Hetmyer has crashed Sam Curran for 45 runs in 18 balls in T20 cricket, striking at 250.00.
• Jos Buttler strikes at 157.35 against Kagiso Rabada in T20 cricket, while averaging 53.50.

Pitch and conditions

The surface in Mullanpur has aided pace, bounce and carry and that’s likely to remain unchanged come Saturday. The temperature is expected to be in the mid-30s in the afternoon but is likely to drop down to mid-20s by the time play will get underway. There is also likely to be a 90% cloud cover and some chances of rain.

Quotes

“We want him to take wickets for us. The other night he started well. His mindset is very positive, he is a wicket-taker for us. He has hit the intensity and I will not be worried about it.”
“If you look at the [Royals] team, you always want leaders within the team. Obviously, Sanju is the leader of the team and he entrusts certain people. It is always good in a cricket team whether you are young or old, if you have good advice, nothing wrong with passing on the information because you never know when it may help.”