Publications
Partners
26 April 20:32
Jonny Bairstow smashed an unbeaten century as Punjab Kings recorded the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket with an eight-wicket thrashing of Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League on Friday.
The England star clobbered nine sixes and eight fours in his 48-ball 108 to help Punjab overhaul Kolkata's 261-6 with eight balls to spare in hot and humid conditions at the Eden Gardens.
Shashank Singh also impressed with the bat, making 68 not out off 28 balls with eight sixes and two fours.
The previous highest run chase in T20 history was scripted by South Africa who overhauled 258 for 5 made by the West Indies in 2023.
"Both teams played tremendously. You have to go back to the drawing board and see where you went wrong," said Kolkata skipper Shreyas Iyer.
"Not defending hurts but it's a great lesson for the players."
Punjab registered only their third win from nine games and moved to eighth spot in the 10-team competition.
Kolkata, with five wins from eight games, remain in second place.
"From the dugout, I was watching the wicket. I felt the ball was coming on with good bounce,' said Shashank.
"This match, the way Jonny batted was a huge positive. It was a great learning for me, we still have five more matches to go."
Opening the Punjab innings, Bairstow put on 93 runs with impact sub Prabhsimran Singh (54) and another 85 runs with South Africa's Rilee Rossouw (26).
Prabhsimran was run out by a direct throw from Sunil Narine who also chipped in with the wicket of Rossouw in the 13th over.
Despite the two dismissals, Shashank continued to unleash big shots, making sure Punjab did not lose their nerve while chasing the big total.
Earlier, Kolkata got off to a blistering start with Phil Salt and Narine sharing 138 runs off just 69 balls for the first wicket after being put in to bat.
Narine, dropped on 16, hammered four sixes and nine fours in his 32-ball 71 before holing out to Bairstow off leg spinner Rahul Chahar.
England's Sam Curran dismissed Salt who hit a 37-ball 75 studded with six sixes and six fours after being dropped twice by sloppy Punjab fielders.
Venkatesh Iyer chipped in with a cameo 39-run knock as Kolkata posted the highest IPL total ever at the Eden Gardens.
- AFP
26 April 19:51
UNBELIEVABLE!
Punjab Kings have just chased down the highest-ever T20 total!
Johnny Bairstow ends on 108* off 48 balls, while Singh blasted 68* off 28 as they end on 262/2 in 18.4 overs to win by 8 wickets.
More to follow...
26 April 17:59
INNINGS:
Openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine got Kolkata Knight Riders off to a flyer with their half-centuries to guide the home side to 261-6 against the Punjab Kings at Eden Gardens.
After being sent to bat first, Narine and Salt put on a devastating 138-run opening stand thanks to sub-par fielding, poor bowling and multiple dropped catches from the Punjab Kings outfit.
Rahul Chahar got the breakthrough as Narine attempted to clear it long-on and was caught in the deep for a sparkling 71 off 32 balls (hitting nine fours and four sixes).
Stand-in skipper Sam Curran bowled his fellow countryman Salt for a stunning 75 off 37 balls (hitting six fours and six sixes).
Venkatesh Iyer contributed with a handy 39, captain Shreyas Iyer's 38 and Andre Russell's 24 got the Kolkata to their highest-ever T20 total at Eden Gardens.
Proteas speedster Kagiso Rabada's poor IPL form continues as he went wicketless for 52 runs in his three overs.
Scores in brief:
KKR 261-6 in 20 (Salt 75, Narine 71, Arshdeep 2/45, Chahar 1/33)
Punjab Kings need 262 runs to win
26 April 17:24
15-over update:
Both set-in Phil Salt and Sunil Narine fall in a space of two overs.
Rahul Chahar provides the breakthrough as Narine tries to clear it long-on but he can't get the distance and is caught in the deep and departs for a sparkling 71 off 32 balls (hitting nine fours and four sixes).
Stand-in skipper Sam Curran gets his first scalp as he bowls his fellow countryman Salt, who swings and misses and walks back for a stunning 75 off 37 balls (hitting six fours and six sixes).
However, Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer have kept the momentum going with boundaries of their own. Kolkata set for a big total with plenty of wickets in hand.
KKR 190-2 after 15
Russell 14*
Venkatesh 22*
26 April 16:58
10-over update:
Carnage in Kolkata as both openers bring up their half-centuries.
First up was Narine, who was previously dropped on 16, brought up his second IPL fifty of the season - excluding his 109 last week - off just 23 balls.
Then Salt, who was also dropped on 35, brought up his third IPL fifty of the season off just 25 balls.
Punjab Kings' are defeated in the field, which has led to sloppy fielding and bowlers leaking too many runs and conceding extras.
KKR 137-0 after 10
Salt 59*
Narine 71*
26 April 16:28
5-over update:
Kolkata Knight Riders are off to a flyer thanks to the equal exploits of openers Phil Salt and Sunil Narine.
Not even Proteas speedster Kagiso Rabada could tame this duo as he went for 21 runs in his opening over.
KKR 70-0 after 5
Salt 30*
Narine 37*
26 April 15:41
TOSS
Punjab Kings won the toss and decided to field.
TEAMS
Kolkata Knight Riders: Philip Salt (w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Dushmantha Chameera, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana
Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran (c), Rilee Rossouw, Jitesh Sharma (w), Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
25 April 19:45
Indian spinners Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh took four key wickets to help IPL's lowest-ranked Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 35 runs in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Earlier, Faf du Plessis-led RCB won the toss and scored a par 206-7, setting a 207 run target for Hyderabad's in-form batting unit which has already broken some IPL batting records this season.
Hyderabad could only score 171-8 as RCB registered only their second win in nine games and are still languishing at the bottom of the 10-team table.
Indian batting superstar Virat Kohli hit a slow 43-ball 51 and stitched a 48-run opening partnership with Plessis, who fell after hitting 12-ball 25.
England's Will Jacks (6) fell early before Rajat Patidar's explosive 20-ball 50 propelled Bengaluru to 130 in the 13th over, when the rookie batter fell to Indian veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat.
Kohli fell in the 15th over leaving RCB reeling at 140-4 as their innings lost some momentum and wickets of Mahipal Lomror (7) and Dinesh Karthik (11) by the 19th over.
Australia's star all-rounder Cameron Green hit an unbeaten 20-ball 37 to provide a final flourish as Unadkat (3-30) and T Natarajan (2-39) finished with five wickets between them.
Hyderabad's explosive openers, Australia's Travis Head and Indian rookie Abhishek Sharma, failed to build a partnership Thursday.
Head (1) fell in the very first over of the chase to spinner Jacks and Sharma hit 13-ball 31 before he fell in the fourth over to leave Sunrisers at 2-37.
Bengaluru's Karn and Swapnil took three key middle-order wickets -- Aiden Markram (7), Nitish Kumar Reddy (13), and Heinrich Klaasen (7) -- to leave Hyderabad at 5-69 in the eighth over of the chase.
Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins, who hit 15-ball 31 with three sixes, provided some lower-order flourish before dismissal to national teammate Green, who bowled two tight overs for 12 runs and two wickets.
Hyderabad is still comfortably placed on the third spot in the IPL table and Cummins said that he "won't dwell on this one too much".
Winning captain Plessis said that their team had "been close for a while but you need to win matches to get confidence in the group".
"Massive win for us. When you're not winning it does affect you mentally, it does affect your confidence," he added.
"You can't speak confidence into the group, you can't fake confidence into the group."
- AFP
25 April 17:42
INNINGS:
Half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar propelled Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 206-7 in their IPL encounter on Thursday.
After deciding to bat first, RCB got off to a flyer thanks to skipper Faf du Plessis, but he soon perished for 12-ball 25.
A 65-run stand between Kohli and Patidar got RCB back in the game but the duo fell shortly at the hands of Jaydev Unadkat after bringing up their own half-centuries.
Patidar, who scored his second IPL fifty of the season, decided to flick Unadkat legside and finds the sole fielder at the deep square leg boundary for 50 off 20 balls (hitting two fours and five sixes).
Kohli pulled a slow delivery and found the fielder on the boundary to depart for 51 off 43 balls (hitting four fours and a six).
Cameron Green made a handy unbeaten 37 off 20 balls and got RCB over the 200-mark.
Unadkat was the pick of the Hyderabad bowling attack as he took three for 30 in his four overs.
Scores in brief:
RCB 206-7 in 20 (Kohli 51, Patidar 50, Unadkat 3/30, Unadkat 2/39)
Sunrisers Hyderabad need 207 runs to win
25 April 17:13
15-over update:
The two set batters have departed thanks to Jaydev Unadkat with five overs still to go for RCB.
Shortly after bringing up his second IPL fifty of the season, Rajat Patidar flicks the ball legside and finds the sole fielder at the deep square leg boundary.
Patidar walks back to the dugout for 50 off 20 balls (hitting two fours and five sixes).
Opener Virat Kohli fell in the 15th over after the Indian star brought up his 53rd IPL fifty.
Kohli tried to pick up a slower delivery, pulled and found the fielder on the boundary to depart for 51 off 43 balls (hitting four fours and a six).
RCB 142-4 after 15
Lomror 2*
Green 5*
25 April 16:45
10-over update:
Englishman Will Jacks doesn't last long as he sweeps too early and is bowled by Mayank Markande. Jacks walks back for six.
However, Virat Kohli on the other end continues to shoulder RCB's innings as he moves into the forties.
RCB 94-2 after 10
Kohli 42*
Patidar 21*
25 April 16:25
5-over update:
RCB got off to a flying start but Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis was the first scalp to fall.
Natarajan bowls a bouncer and Du Plessis follows the ball, swings and gets a top-edge to Aiden Markram at cover. Du Plessis walks for 25 off 12 (hitting three fours and a six).
RCB 51-1 after 5
Kohli 24*
Jacks 2*
25 April 16:03
25 April 15:38
TOSS:
Faf du Plessis has won the toss and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will BAT first in their IPL encounter against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Teams:
RCB
Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, T Natarajan
24 April 19:45
Rishabh Pant smashed an unbeaten 88 as he led Delhi Capitals to a tense IPL win over Gujarat Titans on Wednesday, boosting his chances of playing for India at the T20 World Cup.
Delhi posted 224-4 courtesy of a 113-run stand between Pant and fellow left-hander Axar Patel, who hit 66, after they slipped to 44-3 inside six overs at their home Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The hosts kept Gujarat down to 220-8 to win by four runs after David Miller's 23-ball 55 and an unbeaten 21 off 11 deliveries by Rashid Khan.
Mukesh Kumar kept his nerve in the final over for Delhi's fourth win in nine matches as they kept their playoff hopes alive in the T20 tournament.
Pant, 26, struck his third half-century of this season after 14 months away from top level cricket following a frightening car accident when his Mercedes rammed into a barrier, flipped and caught fire in December 2022.
Pant, a wicketkeeper-batsman, suffered multiple injuries and was rushed to hospital before being airlifted to Mumbai for further treatment and surgery.
He has not only fired with the bat in the IPL but his sharp work behind the stumps prompted Delhi's director of cricket Sourav Ganguly and coach Ricky Ponting to back the India star for making the national team for the World Cup in June.
Up and coming Australian batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk gave Delhi a strong start with his 14-ball 23 but medium-pace bowler Sandeep Warrier took three wickets including two in one over.
Patel, a bowling all-rounder promoted to number three in the batting, brought up his fifty with a boundary off Rashid before another Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad had him caught at long-on.
Pant reached his fifty in style with a six off Mohit Sharma and then hammered the medium-pace bowler in a 31-run 20th over when he finished with a six, four and three hits over the fence to raise the roof.
South African Tristan Stubbs watched the blitz from the other end after he smashed Sai Kishore in the 19th over, which went for 22 runs, for his unbeaten seven-ball 26.
In reply, Gujarat lost skipper Shubman Gill for six off Anrich Nortje before impact substitute Sai Sudarshan smashed 65 off 39 balls.
Gujarat lost regular wickets but the left-handed Miller smashed Nortje for three sixes and a four to give Delhi a scare before his departure in the 18th over.
Rashid kept up the fight till the end as Gujarat needed 19 off the final over and five on the last ball.
- AFP
24 April 17:44
INNINGS
A Tristan Stubbs cameo helped Delhi Capitals to 224/4in their IPL clash against the Gujarat Titans on Wednesday.
Stubbs ended on 26* off 7 balls (three fours, two sixes) as Rishbah Pant's 88* (including 31 off the last over) and Axar Patel's 66 drove Delhi's innings after they were asked to bat first.
Scores in brief:
Delhi Capitals 224/4 (Pant 88*, Patel 66, Stubbs 26*)
Gujarat need 225 to win
24 April 15:52
TOSS
Gujarat Titans won the toss and will field first.
TEAMS
Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Abishek Porel, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Mukesh Kumar, 11 Khaleel Ahmed.
Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha, 3 Azmatullah Omarzai, 4 David Miller, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 R Sai Kishore, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Sandeep Warrier.
23 April 20:04
Super Stoinis slams LSG to win over Chennai
Australia's Marcus Stoinis hit an unbeaten 124 as Lucknow Super Giants chased down a target of 211 with six wickets and three balls to spare against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.
It was Stoinis' first IPL century and his second in T20 cricket, trumping an unbeaten 108 by Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad at his home M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
Lucknow looked in trouble at 88-3 after 11 overs but Stoinis put on 70 runs with Nicholas Pooran, who hit 34 off 15 balls, and an unbeaten 65-run stand with Deepak Hooda to achieve victory in 19.3 overs.
Stoinis reached his hundred in 56 balls as he and Hooda, who made 17 not out off six balls, secured Lucknow's second straight win over Chennai, replacing the five-time winners in fourth spot.
Needing 17 to win in the final over, Stoinis smashed Mustafizur Rahman for a six and three fours, including one off a no ball.
"Tough pill to swallow, but good game of cricket," said Gaikwad.
"LSG played really well in the back end. We had the game in control till 13-14 overs, but Stoinis played a great innings."
Stoinis walked in in the first over after Quinton de Kock's departure for a duck and paced his innings to perfection as he hit 13 fours and six sixes in his 63-ball knock.
It was the highest score by a batsman while chasing in the IPL.
Hooda said Stoinis "played like a warrior, he is a kind of motivation to us".
Sri Lanka pace bowler Matheesha Pathirana took two wickets including the dangerous Pooran.
Chennai posted 210-4 courtesy of Gaikwad's second IPL ton and a 104-run stand between the captain and Shivam Dube, who smashed 66, after the hosts were invited to bat first.
Gaikwad took on the opposition attack despite losing Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell and raised his hundred from 56 balls with a six and four.
Gaikwad became only the third Chennai player after India's Murali Vijay and Australia's Shane Watson to hit two IPL tons and moved to second in this season's batting chart with 349 runs.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Virat Kohli tops the chart with 379 runs.
Dube got to his fifty with a four and a six before being run out in the final over, which saw veteran M.S. Dhoni walk out to a rousing reception and hit a four off the final ball.
- AFP
23 April 17:54
INNINGS:
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad carried his bat with a stunning century as the Chennai Super Kings posted 210-4 in their IPL encounter against the Lucknow Super Giants.
After being sent to bat first, Gaikwad shouldered Chennai Super Kings' innings despite the loss of two early wickets.
Gaikwad went to share a 52-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja before the latter was caught behind for a 19-ball 16.
Shivam Dube joined in on the action and formed a 104-run partnership with Gaikwad before Dube was run-out for a superb 66 off 27 balls (hitting three fours and seven sixes).
Gaikwad powered to his second IPL century as he went onto score an unbeaten 108 off 60 balls, hitting 12 fours and three sixes.
Scores in brief:
CSK 210-4 in 20 (Gaikwad 108*, Dube 66, Henry 1/28, Thakur 1/47)
Lucknow Super Giants need 211 to win
23 April 17:20
5 overs left
A 52-run stand between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja formed before Mohsin Khan struck.
Jadeja tries to pull but gets a tiny edge behind to the keeper and Lucknow reluctantly celebrate as it was a soft dismissal. Jadeja walks back for 17 off 19.
However, captain Gaikwad continues to go strong for Chennai as he looks to bat deep.
CSK 135-3 after 15
Gaikwad 85*
Dube 19*
23 April 17:01
Ruturaj Gaikwad reached his IPL fifty off just 28 balls. Splendid knock from the Chennai Super Kings captain.
The only other wicket to fall so far is Daryl Mitchell, who attempted to pull but was caught off the bowling of Yash Thakur for 11.
CSK 93-2 in 11
23 April 16:25
5-over update:
Only one wicket fell early as Ajinkya Rahane drives Matt Henry but gets an edge behind to wicketkeeper KL Rahul, who takes a one-handed catch to dismiss the Chennai opener for 1.
However, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has gone off to a rocking start as he has hit six boundaries so far to move into his thirties.
CSK 48-1 after 5
Gaikwad 36*
Mitchell 11*
23 April 15:38
TOSS
Lucknow have won the toss and will field first.
TEAMS
Chennai Super Kings: RD Gaikwad*, AM Rahane, DJ Mitchell, MM Ali, S Dube, RA Jadeja, MS Dhoni†, DL Chahar, TU Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, M Pathirana
Lucknow Super Giants: Q de Kock, KL Rahul*†, MP Stoinis, DJ Hooda, N Pooran, A Badoni, KH Pandya, MJ Henry, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur
22 April 20:17
MATCH RESULT
Yashasvi Jaiswal struck form with an unbeaten 104 as Rajasthan Royals consolidated their position at the top of the IPL table with a nine-wicket thrashing of Mumbai Indians on Monday.
Medium-pace bowler Sandeep Sharma took 5-18 to help restrict Mumbai to 179-9 after Yuzvendra Chahal claimed an IPL first of 200 wickets at Rajasthan's home ground in Jaipur.
Jaiswal, a left-handed opener whose previous best this season was 39, steered the team home in 18.4 overs in an innings interrupted by rain.
"I really enjoyed from the start and I made sure I was watching the ball properly and playing proper cricketing shots," said Jaiswal.
"I'm trying to do what I am doing well, some days it comes good and some days it doesn't, I'm not thinking much."
Rajasthan, who won the inaugural IPL in 2008 under late Australian hero Shane Warne, registered their seventh win in eight matchesJaiswal struck his second IPL hundred - both versus Mumbai -- as he smashed nine fours and seven sixes in his 60-ball knock and put on 109 runs with skipper Sanju Samson, who made 38.
Sharma set up victory his first ever five-wicket haul in T20 cricket as he took the spotlight away from Chahal's remarkable feat and was named man of the match.
Chahal sent back Mohammad Nabi caught and bowled for 23 with his leg-spin as he celebrated the achievement with hugs from teammates.
But Chahal was taken for 48 runs in four overs and Sharma stood out after he took three wickets in the 20th over including Tilak Varma, who top-scored with 65, and Tim David, who made three.
Chahal was substituted with Jos Buttler coming in as impact player and he began with two boundaries in the opening over by skipper Hardik Pandya, who played his landmark 100th IPL match.
Pandya has endured a tough time this season after he replaced veteran Rohit Sharma as skipper only to be booed by the fans across venues.
"After the game, it's not the right time to go to the players, everyone is professional, they know their roles," said Pandya.
"What we can do is learn from this game and the mistakes which we have made, rectify it and make sure that we don't repeat it."
The left-handed Jaiswal joined in the charge as he hit South African speedster Gerald Coetzee for a six and two fours to get the chase underway.
Rajasthan raced to 61-0 in six overs when rain stopped play and action resumed after 45 minutes.
Piyush Chawla bowled Buttler for 35 after the break but Jaiswal stood firm and in the company of Samson made the chase a cakewalk.
- AFP
22 April 17:52
INNINGS:
Sandeep Sharma's five-wicket haul helped Rajasthan Royals restrict the Mumbai Indians to 179-9 in their IPL encounter in Mumbai on Monday.
After deciding to bat first, the Mumbai Indians lost wickets early on with the early demise of captain Rohit Sharma (6) and opener Ishan Kishan (0) thanks to Trent Boult and Sandeep.
Reeling at 52-4, a 99-run stand between Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera formed before the latter missed out on a fifty as he was caught off 49 off 24 balls (hitting three fours and four sixes).
Tilak smashed his second IPL fifty of the season as he scored 65 off 45 balls (hitting five fours and three sixes).
Sandeep, however, continued to pick up scalps in the death as he ended on his career-best figures of five for 18 in his four overs with an economy rate of 4.50.
Scores in brief:
Mumbai Indians 179-8 in 20 (Tilak 56, Wadhera 49, Sandeep 5/19, Boult 2/32)
Rajasthan Royals need 180 runs to win
