MS Dhoni features in his 200th IPL match as captain

IPL 2021 | MI vs DC: What Experts said after Shreyas Iyer's 'mature' knock takes Delhi over the line

Delhi Capitals continued their form against Mumbai Indians after chasing down a target of 130 runs by 4 wickets in Sharjah on Saturday. The Capitals had a struggling start to the chase after they lost openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvis Shaw at a team score of 15. The Delhi side kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 93/6 before R Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer joined hands and provided the much-needed resistance. The two batsmen stitched a partnership of 39 runs for the seventh wicket and took the team over the line. Nathan Coulter-Nile was the pick of the bowlers for MI after he returned with figures of 1/19 in 4 overs. Earlier, in the day, MI once again struggled with the bat and had a dismal start to the proceedings after losing skipper Rohit Sharma for 7. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 111/7 to eventually get restricted to 129/8 in 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for Mumbai with 26-ball 33. DC pacer Avesh Khan rattled the MI batting unit and scalped a three-wicket haul for his side at the cost of 15 runs in 4 overs. Apart from Avesh, spinner Axar Patel was also among wickets as the left-hander returned with figures of 3/21 in 4 overs. Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma put the onus on batting for a disappointing show against DC. “We didn't bat well, we didn't create those partnerships, we always knew that it wasn't a 170-180 wicket, we knew 140 is a par score here. We just couldn't get the partnerships going. If your batters are not going to put runs on the board, it's going to be difficult to win games consistently,” he said during the post-match presentation. Experts’ Opinion Former India player Yuvraj Singh lavished praise on Shreyas Iyer for his “mature” knock. “Sometimes you have to play the situation than the expectation! Well played Shreyas Iyer mature knock,” Yuvraj tweeted. Journalist Ayaz Memon lauded Iyer and R Ashwin for a responsible and unbeaten stand that helped the side to win the match. “Sensible, clever, excellent partnership between Iyer and Ashwin takes DC home in a tense match. Rohit tried every gambit to defend modest score and almost succeeded till these two played with control and cunning to take DC home. Big setback for MI in quest for place in play off,” he wrote on Twitter. Commentator Harsha Bhogle hailed DC after the win. “Whatever the conditions, Delhi Capitals seem to have the right players. That auction three years ago was one of their finest hours,” he said. DC will now play CSK on Monday in Dubai while MI will be up against RR on Tuesday in Sharjah.

IPL 2021 | KKR vs SRH: With missing pieces in the puzzle, Kolkata take on Hyderabad

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders will be up against each other in Dubai on Sunday. This might be a dead rubber for SRH but KKR would probably look at this clash as an opportunity to grab a couple of crucial points. The race for the last two playoffs’ spots has become more intense. Moreover, the Knight Riders’ defeat at the hands of Punjab Kings has put them in a spot of bother. The game against a depleted SRH is an opportunity for KKR to stay alive in the tournament. KKR have got a stable opening combination after the introduction of Venkatesh Iyer who along with Shubman Gill has been able to give the side steady starts during the Dubai leg of the IPL 2021. Apart from these two, Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana too have been scoring some decent amount runs consistently. But the failure of middle-order with the bat and sloppy fielding are some of the major concerns for the Kolkata team management. On the other side, SRH have suffered defeats in nine out of the 11 matches that they have played in this edition and have already been knocked out of the tournament. But the Sunrisers did make some changes in their line up and included Jason Roy in place of former skipper David Warner. The right-hander scored a half-century in the first match that he played while failing to leave a mark in the next encounter. The Hyderabad side has faced a major issue of batting collapse and not scoring enough runs in the middle overs which has pushed them on the back foot. Barring Jason Holder, none of the batsmen have chipped in with some aggressive batting performance which eventually prevented SRH from putting up big scores on the board. Talking about the last match between SRH and KKR, Kolkata rode on some brilliant batting from Rana and Tripathi and a brisk knock from wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik to put 187/6 in 20 overs. Later, Manish Pandey and Jonny Bairstow scored individual fifties but failed to take the team over the line and lost the match by 10 runs. Match Details Date – Sunday, October 03, 2021 Time – 7:30 PM IST Venue – Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Broadcast: Star Sports Network and Disney Hotstar Pitch Report The last encounter at the venue saw some runs being scored in both the innings. While Venkatesh Iyer was on song for KKR while batting first, PBKS captain KL Rahul was too among the runs. Opener Mayank Agarwal chipped in with a valuable 27-ball 40 while Shahrukh Khan played a cameo of 9-ball 27 to see the side home. The track is expected to behave in the same manner and the batsmen would have to get their eye in before they start to accelerate. So, if you win the toss, elect to bat as the surface is unlikely to tweak much as the game progresses. Missing piece in the puzzle for KKR KKR skipper Eoin Morgan has failed to cross the double-figure mark in the second half of the IPL and this probably is one of the major reasons for Kolkata’s middle-order batting woes. A batsman of Morgan’s calibre has the ability to hold the fort from one end but his lean patch has created pressure on others. KKR have been getting some decent starts especially in the UAE leg and if Morgan gets among runs, the side would be unstoppable. Fielding- A headache for KKR “Initially we didn’t field that well, we put catches down, myself early and other guys, it has cost us," Morgan said during a post-match interview with the broadcasters after the game against Punjab Kings. In fact, PBKS won the match off a catch that went begging by the fielder at deep mid-wicket region. The Knight Riders are at such a crucial junction in the tournament that they can’t really afford to miss the trick in the field especially when you have Brendon McCullum in the coaching staff. Team News SRH: The Sunrisers Hyderabad have already been eliminated from the tournament but the result of this match can put a major impact on the playoff scenarios. KKR: The Kolkata Knight Riders were without the services of all-rounder Andre Russell against PBKS after he had sustained a hamstring injury during the match against Chennai Super Kings. There is now update on whether he will be available for the game against SRH or not. McCullum admitted that it is difficult to get the balance after such a void is created in the line up. “In terms of the balance, when you take out a world class all-rounder like Russell, it’s always difficult to balance your side,” the former New Zealand skipper said. Probable XI KKR: Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy SRH: Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Siddarth Kaul Fantasy XI Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Jason Holder (vc), Venkatesh Iyer (c), Shivam Mavi, Rashid Khan, Varun Chakravarthy

IPL 2021 | RCB vs PBKS: It's Virat Kohli vs KL Rahul show with playoff place at stake

After suffering from some of the glimpses of their unceremonious past at the start of the second phase of the tournament this season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore arrested their slide and quickly went back on the winning way to consolidate their impressive start to the season. They are third on the table with seven wins out of the 11 games played this season and are all but through to the playoffs however they would love to win this contest against the Kings to seal their place in the final four. On the other hand, the Punjab Kings have not been able to shed the reputation of being inconsistent and underachiever after another on and off-season. They have shown enough firepower both with bat and ball but all those good moments have been very far and few in between some mediocrity in general. Their batsmen have been found confused on whether they should play an attacking brand of the game or playing solid and substantive innings to see them through and in the end, more often than not, have done neither with perfection. Their plight is reflecting in their precarious position on the points table and only a good win that they could have easily spoilt one more time against the Kolkata Knight Riders have kept them alive in the competition. The Kings will also take inspiration from their phenomenal performance against the RCB in the first round of battle between them this season. The RCB were rolled over by a 57-ball 91 from KL Rahul in mid of their journey of non-stop wins. They would hope that the skipper will use his good form to ballistic effect against the RCB and show the middle order which showed remarkable composure against the KKR a way to get on the top of the Virat Kohli’s bowlers. Match Details Match No: 48 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings Date and Time: October 3, 15:30 IST (10:00 GMT), 14:00 LOCAL Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah Pitch and weather The pitches at Sharjah have been conducive to spin bowling and with no due factor in play due to this being a day game, the sides will be relying on their wrist spinners to do the job. Spinners from both sides—Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shehbaz Ahmad have been in rollicking form in the last few games and the pitch is expected to offer them a lot of assistance to throw a low or mid-level score game. There will be high humidity in Sharjah and pace bowlers too can use it to their advantage and try to swing the new ball. Team News Royal Challengers Bangalore The RCB handed a debut to George Garton in the last game against the Rajasthan Royals and albeit he received some mauling at the hands of Evin Lewis, the left-armer is likely to have one go with the new ball along with Mohammed Siraj. Harshal Patel has been in the thick of things this season and Kohli will once again bank on him for the death bowling duty. The RCB have given the opportunity to KS Bharat at the top of the order after Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal’s opening partnership and he has not done his chances any harm so far and is likely to continue at number three with the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Ab de Villiers to follow. Probable XI Virat Kohli (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (WK), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Punjab Kings The pull out by Chris Gayle could have come as a massive setback to the Punjab Kings chances but they used the crisis as an opportunity for the pair of Fabian Allen and Sharukh Khan, who batted sensibly to take them home in the last game. The emergence and progression of Bishnoi, the leg spinner has been one of the shining lights for the Kings this season and a lot of their chances for the playoff spot rests on his young shoulders. The middle-order will continue to be occupied by Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram, who has risen as a dependable player with the bat for the Kings after coming as a replacement for Dawid Malan. The pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis is likely to be separated with the entry of Englishman Chris Jordan in place of the Australian quick who has not lit the fire with his pace and accuracy. Probable XI KL Rahul (C &WK), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh RCB vs PBKS: Fantasy XI KL Rahul(WK), Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, KS Bharat, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami Captain: Virat Kohli Vice-captain: Mayank Agarwal

AUS W vs IND W | India ride on Smriti Mandhana's ton, but bat sluggishly to post big score

India Women continued batting commandingly and propelled past the 350-run mark before declaring on the third day of the only Test against Australia Women. The big score has been achieved on the back of the disciplined batting unit as all batters reached double-digit scores to contribute to the team’s cause in their maiden Day-Night Test. However, no other batter made their starts count except Smriti Mandhana, who became only the second Indian batter after Virat Kohli to score a century in Pink Ball Test and lead India’s batting with a fluent 127. She set up a big platform with a 95-run first-wicket partnership with Shafali Varma. and followed another with Poona Raut to consolidate India’s position in the game. After Mandhana, Deepti Sharma was outstanding with the bat on the second day of the game and scored a half-century. However, a failure to add impetus to the innings in terms of moving the game forward with a proactive approach took some of the sheens off his composed 66. For Australia Women, Ellyse Perry and Sophie Molineux were the picks of the bowlers as they picked up two wickets each to stop India Women from getting away with the game. India Women and Australia Women are playing their first and only Test match of the full tour comprising of all format games. Australia Women clinched the ODI series 2-1 before the ongoing Test at the Gold Coast while a three-match long T20I series is scheduled to follow.