https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/starc-sizzles-with-3-34-as-kkr-bundle-out-srh-for-just-159-23350421 He had half a chance when Gurbaz first tried to throw the ball at the bowler’s end, but sensed the situation in time to whip off the bails. A dejected Rahul trudged back to the pavilion, slumped, and sat down on the 80-step stairs to the dressing room Kolkata Knight Riders’s all-round bowling armoury was too hot for Sunrisers Hyderabad to handle, but in-form Rahul Tripathi (55, 35 balls, 7×4, 1×6) ensured KKR had a challenging target (160) in Tuesday’s Qualifier 1. Mitchell Starc (4-0-34-3) triggered the Sunrisers collapse with his second ball in the first over when he bowled Travis Head for his second successive duck. Vaibhav Arora accounted for Abhishek Sharma in the next over. That was like a body blow to SRH aspirations for a quickfire start to their innings like they have been doing in the league phase. Starc’s two wickets in two balls in the fifth over reduced Sunrisers to 39 for 4 and they were looking down the barrel of a gun. Heinrich Klaasen (32, 21 balls, 3×4, 1×6) joined Rahul and the two did some damage control by adding 62 runs in 37 balls. Their partnership ended when Klaasen’s attempted six was short of the ropes and Rinku Singh pouched the catch to give Varun Chakravarthy (4-0-26-2) his first wicket.  Rahul’s brain-fade moment in the 14th over dealt a deadly blow to Hyderabad. Abdul Samad cut Sunil Narine at backward point where Andre Russell dived to his left and threw the ball to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Samad had run full length of the pitch, but Rahul, watching Russell field, froze mid-pitch.  He had half a chance when Gurbaz first tried to throw the ball at the bowler’s end, but sensed the situation in time to whip off the bails. A dejected Rahul trudged back to the pavilion, slumped, and sat down on the 80-step stairs to the dressing room.  Rahul was lucky in the third over when Starc had him leg before, but the umpire did not give him out and surprisingly, KKR didn’t go for the DRS. Replays showed that the ball was hitting the stumps.  Pat Cummins (30, 24 balls, 2×4, 2×6) took SRH to 159.

https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/royal-battle-for-survival-23350420 Rajasthan, who were table-toppers at the start of the season, but have struggled with form recently, take on Bengaluru, who began with a string of defeats before rallying to win six matches on the trot, in tonight’s Eliminator The Narendra Modi Stadium will see a Royal elimination battle here as temperatures can soar to 45 degrees C. There’s also red-hot excitement for the Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bengaluru clash. The two teams have had contrasting fortunes in the league phase. The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan were off to a high-flying start, winning eight of their first nine ties. On the other hand, RCB lost seven of their first eight. The trend reversed in the second phase of the league when RR lost their last four matches while one was washed-out, to drop out of the top-two race. RCB clinched the fourth spot in the Playoffs with a close win over the Chennai Super Kings being their sixth win on the trot. RR’s run of defeats came after injury sidelined Shimron Hetmyer. But the West Indian trained at the Gujarat College Ground on Tuesday and RR could be boosted by his return. In the absence of Jos Buttler, RR will pin hopes on their other opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal. The Mumbai opener scored one hundred and a fifty, but has otherwise struggled as Samson’s men have gone without a win since May 2. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, RCB have risen from the abyss to get into the reckoning for their maiden title. Call it complacency or confidence, the cock-a-hoop RCB, coming from rain-hit pleasant Bangalore, skipped training  when they could have acclimatised with the hot conditions here. For them, Virat Kohli is in supreme form, scoring 708 runs at a 155.6 strike-rate in 14 games. Faf du Plessis (421 runs) and Rajat Patidar (361) have done well alongside Kohli. Yash, the pace ace Yash Dayal, who had turned a villain at this venue after conceding five sixes to Rinku Singh last season, has been their star performer with the ball. He is the highest wicket-taker for RCB with 15 scalps and an economy rate of 8.94. 504No. of runs scored by RR skipper Sanju Samson so far at an average of 56.00 1-1RR and RCB’s head-to-head record in Playoffs. RCB won the Eliminator in 2015 while RR won the Qualifier 2 in 2022 708Virat Kohli’s runs in 14 games, the most by any batter in this IPL season

https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/battle-of-batters-beckons-23350235 Tonight’s Qualifier 1 will be about two big batting outfits—SRH and KKR—whose willow-wielders are a perfect man-to-man match The Narendra Modi Stadium will be like an oven when the top two teams in the Indian Premier League clash on Tuesday to book a place in the final on Sunday (May 26) at Chennai. Both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) flew over 1000 km to arrive here on Monday after finishing their league engagements on Sunday at Guwahati and Hyderabad respectively. According to the weather forecast, this city, which lies on the banks of the Sabarmati River, is set to experience excessive heat in the next two days. On Sunday, the mercury levels here touched a maximum of 45 degrees. And it is learnt that when the IPL table-toppers begin their Qualifier 1 clash at 7:30pm, the temperature will be in the 40s and could drop to around 38 by the time one of them books a place in the final, around 11pm. It will be interesting to see if the openers of both KKR and SRH are as hot as they’ve been throughout the league phase and match the climatic conditions. KKR will miss Salt Shreyas Iyer’s Knight Riders will miss their in-form opener, Phil Salt (12 matches, 435 runs) as the wicketkeeper has left to join the England camp ahead of the T20 World Cup. With Sunil Narine (13 matches, 461 runs), Salt had formed an attacking partnership that gave the Kolkata side a brilliant start in the league phase. Dashing Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter and opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is yet to play this season, is expected to step into Salt’s shoes and partner Narine. However, rain in the last league match against Rajasthan Royals at Guwahati on Sunday robbed him of a chance to warm up for the first knockout match of the season. While lack of match practice for Gurbaz could be a slight worry for KKR, the SRH camp seems to have found an answer to their worries. Rahul Tripathi, who has played only three matches this season, played an aggressive cameo at No. 3 after the in-form Travis Head got out for a golden duck against the Punjab Kings on Sunday. Tripathi proved that he can hold the middle order in a crisis and can also be combative when needed. Pat Cummins’s Hyderabad boys have crossed the 200-run mark four times this season, but ironically, have twice failed to breach that number while chasing. However, in their last league match they comfortably chased a target of 215 to beat the Punjab Kings, despite their top-scorer Head (12 matches, 533 runs) getting out on the first ball of the innings. KKR bowlers hold the edge The batting might of both teams match man-to-man, but when it comes to bowling, the Knight Riders may have a slight edge. At the Motera Stadium this season, four out of six matches were won by a team chasing. The Knight Riders score a point or two over the Sunrisers when it comes to chasing. Thus, the toss could hold the key to success besides of course the team that plays out of their skin to book a spot in the final.  26 No. of IPL matches KKR and SRH played against each other. KKR have won 17 encounters, while SRH have emerged victorious nine times 209.41 SRH explosive opener Abhishek Sharma’s strike-rate in 13 matches—highest this season

https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/csk-reel-under-gts-gill-sai-tonathon-23348561 By the time of going to press, Chennai had lost three wickets for 57 runs in the seventh over while chasing the imposing Titans’s score of 231-3. A depleted Chennai Super Kings bowling attack was taken to the cleaners by the Gujarat Titans openers on a featherbed clay pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium on a sultry Friday evening. By the time of going to press, Chennai had lost three wickets for 57 runs in the seventh over while chasing the imposing Titans’s score of 231-3. The new opening pairing of Sai Sudharsan (103, 51 balls, 5×4, 7×6, 201.96 strike rate) and Shubman Gill (104, 55 balls, 9×4, 6×6, 189.9 strike rate) was fruitful for the home team which were sent in to bat after Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss. Sudharsan used the slog sweep to pronounced effect for his seven hits over the ropes. He even swept seamer Simarjeet Singh over long leg for his first Indian Premier League hundred. Chennai badly missed their three main seamers—Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman on a wicket that offered no help to bowlers. However, Tushar Deshmukh (4-0-33-2) and Shardul Thakur (4-0-25-0) were somewhat economical, otherwise, the other four bowlers conceded more than 13 runs an over. A niggle to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was like a blessing in disguise for the Titans as their new opening combination of Gill and Sudharsan took off the block with 14 runs in the first over and never looked back, scoring on an average 10 or more runs an over. Brief scores GT 231-3 in 20 overs (S Gill 104, S Sudharsan 103; T Deshpande 2-33) v CSK (scores incomplete) 

https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2024-gujarat-look-to-get-back-on-winning-tracks-vs-inform-hyderabad-23342272 After shaky start to season with one win and a loss, India player Shubman Gill & Co will need a solid all-round performance to overcome high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad today It will be a battle of contrasts on Sunday afternoon when hosts Gujarat Titans take on the high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad on a sweltering day at the Narendra Modi Stadium here. Gujarat are still smarting from the 63-run defeat they suffered at Chennai Super Kings’s home ground in Chennai on Tuesday, while Hyderabad are high on confidence after outplaying Mumbai Indians by 31 runs in a match that saw a record total of 523 runs. The Hyderabad batsmen had a superb run in the first two outings, with their team crossing 200 on both occasions. On the other hand, Gujarat’s batting has struggled a bit, with only Sai Sudharsan (45 and 37) showing a bit of spine. The rest of the batsmen have failed to build on their starts. Gujarat did well to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against MI, but the Sunrisers are in a different zone altogether.  Hence, Gujarat will find the going tough. Shubman Gill & Co will have to show that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Before the first match of the season, Gill said that the team had collectively come together in the success of their first two seasons when Gujarat won in their maiden season and finished runners-up to CSK last year. He was referring to the absence of Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami. The time has come for Gill and the team to prove that, as a unit, they have it in them to counter any opposition. The skipper will have to lead from the front and start scoring like he did last season. Azmatullah Omarzai, Hardik’s like-for-like replacement that GT acquired, will have to step up and perform with ball and bat. He has the potential, but needs to fulfil that promise. Klaasen, the key for SRH For the Sunrisers, Heinrich Klaasen is on song, having hit 15 sixes in two matches. Although the South African wicketkeeper is at ease against the tweakers, his duel with GT’s wily Afghan spinner Rashid Khan will be interesting. The Gujarat batsmen have struggled against seamers in their first two matches, and Hyderabad boasts of a formidable pace attack, led by Pat Cummins. The Aussie has fond memories of the Motera venue, having won the World Cup for Australia here four months ago.  He also marshalled his resources well to halt Mumbai’s march while chasing the target of 278. It will be interesting to see if Cummins’s astute leadership and marauding batsmen continue their winning streak or if Gill takes a giant step forward as captain to get back to winning ways. The victor will join the top four teams in the 10-team league.

https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2024-unbeaten-titans-to-take-on-mumbai-indians-at-motera-23341290 Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya looks to carry the legacy of predecessor Rohit Sharma against former team Gujarat; Shubman Gill excited to begin his captaincy career in Ahmedabad All eyes were on the Narendra Modi Stadium pitch four months ago when India played Australia in the 2023 World Cup final. On Friday, two days before the first IPL match at this Motera venue, no one bothered to have a look at the uncovered 22-yard strip. It was all about Hardik Pandya on his home turf in a new avatar and, as the Mumbai Indians’s (MI) new captain, his equation with India skipper Rohit Sharma. Everyone was following Pandya and his interaction with Rohit. Even if there was awkwardness between the two, it was impossible to judge that from 60 yards outside the boundary line.

https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/nehra-hardik-shami-are-big-shoes-to-fill-23340239 Nehra, however, insisted that the Titans had enough players to fall back on, like veteran seamer Umesh Yadav, who is expected to spearhead the attack in the absence of Shami, who is ruled out for the entire season Gujarat Titans coach Ashish Nehra admitted that they will miss Hardik Pandya in the 17th edition of the IPL, starting on March 22 in Chennai. “Surely, GT will miss Hardik, but we have to move on,” Nehra said at a pre-season press meet here on Saturday. He wished the Baroda-based all-rounder good luck with the Mumbai Indians. Pandya was swapped for cash by the Titans to MI after he led Gujarat for two seasons, winning the title on the team’s debut before losing to Chennai Super Kings in the final last year.  “Yes, you can’t buy experience, but talking about Hardik and [Mohammed] Shami, what they have done in the last two years… to fill those shoes won’t be easy.” Nehra, however, insisted that the Titans had enough players to fall back on, like veteran seamer Umesh Yadav, who is expected to spearhead the attack in the absence of Shami, who is ruled out for the entire season. “Every year, new guys come and step up and that is how the team move forward. And in the IPL, every team has the luxury of 25 players,” he added.