IPL 2021: Glenn Maxwell recalls hilarious incident when Virat Kohli called him idiot

IPL 2021 | RR vs DC: Depleted Royals run into roaring Capitals in battle of young Indian captains

The Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals will hardly share any sort of good things with each other when it comes to their opening games in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. The capitals started their campaign on a high by thumping the Chennai Super Kings in their last game while the Royals have had to engulf a hurting loss after their new skipper drove them all the way through, almost. Instead, what they will share commonly will be the adversity of missing some of their best players who have been the strengths of the team over the last few seasons. The Royals were already missing Jofra Archer—their Most Valuable Player from the last seasons, and now they are set to miss their most important member in Ben Stokes, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a broken finger. The Capitals have their share of problems as well with the full-time skipper Shreyas Iyer not starting the tournament along with the South African fast bowling duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. Reportedly, Nortje has tested positive for the dreaded novel coronavirus and will miss the game against the Royals as well. Who will gain from Ben Stokes’ pain? Ben Stokes’ injury will be an excruciating blow to the Royals’ chances in the 14th edition of the league, but it also opens up winds of opportunity for the players such as Liam Livingstone, and David Miller would have struggled to find a place in an all-strength team. The Royals will have to do a lot of rejigging in the team balance and hence a window can be opened for at least either of them for the coming games tarting the one against the Delhi Capitals. Miller has a lot to offer to the Royals in terms of experience, while Livingstone will bring a lot of firepower at the top of the order in the absence of Stokes. The jury’s out on Chris Morris, Mustafizur Chris Morris was snapped up by the Royals in the auction held earlier this year for his exploits with the ball, especially in the later phase of the game, and batting at the lower order. However, he made a pretty inauspicious start to the campaign with the Royals and conceded a lot of runs against the Punjab Kings. The story was somewhat similar for Mustafizur Rahman, who is appearing to be losing grasp on his variations and also suffering at the hands of intelligent batsmen against him. Now, in the absence of both Archer and Stokes, the Royals would be banking upon every wheel of the motor if they have to stand any chance of making it to the playoffs. Can Prithvi continue his ‘Shaw’? Prithvi Shaw was the opening batsman to start off the campaign last year as well and he was dominating from the outset. He promised a lot of runs and more intent at the top of the order but only to be a repetitive failure and subsequently going out of the playing XI. He has seen a serious rough patch starting the last edition of the IPL and life is coming to full circle for the Mumbai lad as he has started to score all those runs, with all the same intent he has been threatening to do for the last couple of seasons. He started off the IPL 2021 campaign on a dominating note against the Chennai Super Kings and would be eager to show the world that his methods can be consistent as well, apart from having a lot of firepowers. Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals: Match Details Match Number-07 Date and Time: April 15, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 pm GMT Venue: Wankhede Stadium Broadcast and Live Stream; Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch and Weather Both the games played at the venue this season have turned out to be high-scoring ones with batsmen finding it easy to hit through the line of the ball. The surfaces have offered pace but it has done far too little for the bowlers and instead batsmen have made merry. However, the early start at 7.30 PM IST and the first half an hour of the game has been flagged by the CSK skipper MS Dhoni as the phase where the pitch behaves differently than the other phases of the game. In the last game the Capitals played at the Wankhede, both Avesh Khan and Woakes got some assistance both in the air and off the pitch with the new Kookaburra ball. The trend is likely to continue and Pant would be banking on Rabada to do the damage with the new ball. The weather condition in Mumbai during the game is likely to be a pleasant one for the players with the temperature hovering around the 27-degree mark. There is no chance of rain in the city and fans would be hoping for a crackerjack of a contest between the sides captained by young Indian talents. Team News Rajasthan Royals The Royals are certain to make an enforced change in the wake of the hand injury to Ben Stokes and one of Livingstone and Miller is certain to come into the playing XI for the game against the Capitals. Stokes had bowled only over in the game before getting injured and Samson will have to take a call on if he wants to use Riyan Parag and Shivam Dube to fill in as the sixth and the seventh bowling options. Jos Buttler, who batted at the number four position in the last game against the Punjab Kings is set to come back to the top of the order with Manan Vohra, while Livingston. Strongest XI Manan Vohra, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman Delhi Capitals The English pair of Chris Woakes and Tom Curran was assigned the task of pace bowling by the Capitals as their talismanic pair of Rabada and Nortje were late to join the squad. With Nortje set to sit out for a long time, the Capitals will have a tough call to take on who among Woakes and Curran will make way for the returning Rabada. Woakes is an all-rounder who can provide flourish with the bat in the last few overs and it would work completely to his advantage as the Capitals would be looking to have depth in batting with the approach they have batted in the last game. Strongest XI Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan RR vs DC: Dream XI/Fantasy XI Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Chris Morris, Marcus Stoinis, Kagiso Rabada, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya Captain: Jos Buttler Vice-captain: Prithvi Shaw

Ultimate dream is to become No 1 Test batsman says Babar Azam

Pakistan skipper across formats, Babar Azam today became the fourth Pakistan batsman to top the ODI batting charts. Babar occupied the top spot early today after dethroning King Kohli from the top of the batting charts. Virat Kohli occupied the numero-uno position in Test cricket for three years and it is a huge achievement for the young batsman to reach the landmark. Following his attainment of the numero uno status, Babar Azam stated that his ultimate dream is to be the number one batsman in Test cricket. “I feel privileged and honoured to have joined the company of stalwarts like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf, who will always be the shining stars of Pakistan cricket. This is another milestone in my career, which will now require even more hard work and absolute consistency with the bat in order for me to hold on to the ranking for an extended period of time, like Sir Vivian Richards from January 1984 to October 1988 and Virat Kohli for 1,258 days,” Azam was quoted as saying in an official PCB release. “I have also previously topped the T20I rankings, but the ultimate ambition and goal is to lead the Test rankings, which are the real testament and reward to a batsman's calibre, reputation and skills. I understand to achieve this objective, I will not only have to perform consistently but more importantly, against the top sides,” he added. Babar Azam was quite magnificent during the ODI series against South Africa. He started off the series with a splendid century which paved way for a nail-biting Pakistan victory. He didn’t score much in the second encounter but again played a match-winning role in the third encounter scoring a 82 balls 94. It helped him gain 13 rating points to 865 points and is now eight points clear of the charismatic Indian skipper. Babar Azam ended Virat Kohli’s 1258 day domination at the top and joined an elusive list of Pakistan batsmen who have earlier occupied the No 1 spot in the ODI rankings. Zaheer Abbas (1983-84), Javed Miandad (1988-89) and Mohammad Yousuf (2003) are the other Pakistan batsman who has reached the feat. Babar Azam is currently the 5th ranked batsman in Tests besides being the 6th ranked batsman in T20I’s.

IPL 2021: AB de Villiers needs to continue as a finisher feels Irfan Pathan

What a sensational start it proved to be for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the curtain-raiser of Vivo IPL 14 against the defending champions Mumbai Indians as they defeated them by two wickets in the final delivery of the match courtesy an AB de Villiers masterclass. It was a much-needed victory for a team who are on a mission trying to win their first-ever IPL trophy. Kohli and Co is all set to lock horns in the 6th match of the competition against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. While RCB started off with a nail-biting victory, SRH began their campaign on a losing note against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Ahead of the encounter, former Indian speedster Irfan Pathan has a piece of advice for Kohli and Co. He wants AB de Villiers to continue as a finisher with the likes of Washington Sundar and Glenn Maxwell coming up the order. Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Irfan Pathan said that Maxwell needs to spend as much time in the middle as possible and playing him above ABD will give him the luxury to play his natural game. Playing with freedom is a key factor for Maxwell and it will be interesting to see his role in the team going forward in the tournament. “AB de Villiers is such a player who can play in the top order, the middle order and also as a brilliant and consistent finisher. So, for that reason, RCB should play Maxwell higher up the batting order and hope that he plays fearlessly like in the first game,” Irfan Pathan said. “I would like to add another point that Washington Sundar should play in the top order consistently. Even after Devdutt Padikkal returns, play him at No. 3. We have been seeing RCB for so long and they always seem an Indian batsman short. So, if Washington Sundar even scores 20-25 runs consistently then the rest of the batting order is very dangerous and they'll get some firepower in the middle order,” he further added. There is no doubt about the fact that Maxwell is one of the most dangerous players going around. He is a phenomenal striker of the ball and has the ability to take any bowling attack to the cleaners on his day. Irfan Pathan feels that Maxwell’s presence in the middle order will be very crucial for RCB as it puts some undue pressure on the opposition. It will force the opposition captain to tinker with their strategy and employ the best bowlers at that juncture of the game. “When a player of Maxwell's calibre bats in the middle-order, he won't take too much time. He is a busy contender and that puts the opposition under pressure to bring their main bowlers and their planning gets completely changed. So, Maxwell playing at four is very crucial for RCB,” Pathan concluded.

Hanuma Vihari looking forward to his time with Warwickshire in county cricket

Test specialist Hanuma Vihari is all set to begin his county stint with Warwickshire and he expressed his excitement at getting a chance to play in county cricket. Taking to his Instagram handle, Vihari shared a picture of himself with a caption “Looking forward to tomorrow”. Vihari was earlier signed by the county team but any official announcement wasn’t made as they were trying to make Vihari play a few more matches rather than just the three matches which he will surely play. Vihari had left for England more than a week earlier as he had to comply with the quarantine rules at place in England. Vihari who is an important member of the Test side hasn’t played any international cricket following his heroic effort at Sydney during the Test series Down-Under. Despite leading Andhra Pradesh in the Vijay-Hazare Trophy, Vihari was far from his best and managed to score just a solitary half-century and failed to make double-digits in five consecutive matches. "With a curtailed domestic season this time and Vihari being a part of the Test side, he needs match practice. All his other Test colleagues are part of IPL teams, including Cheteshwar (Pujara). Even if it's white-ball games, they will be fit and match-ready," the senior BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Sportstar after Vihari left for England. "However, we need to ensure that Vihari also gets game time before the England tour. It's not just one World Test Championship final, but the full-fledged five-Test series that follows. We need him ready," he added. Indian players playing county seasons is nothing new. Over the years, several Indian cricketers have plied their trade in County Cricket especially ahead of tours to England and the other SENA countries. Getting acclimatised to conditions in England is always important and this opportunity might help Vihari and India in the long run. Meanwhile, Warwickshire plays their first game against Nottinghamshire starting tomorrow at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.