Years from now, it could well be a trivia question. Who was man of the match in India’s first T20 match (the only one the great S. Tendulkar played), who also won the award against the same team nearly 16 years later? D. Karthik, who turned 37 earlier this month, illustrated his enduring value to the India team with a sparkling 55 that helped square the series at 2-2 heading into this deciding contest.  With so many of the first-choice XI rested, India have had to do it the hard way in this series, coming back from 2-0 down. South Africa, who chased down targets with relative ease in the ..read more

India and South Africa will take on each other in the 4th match of the 5-match T20I series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot on Friday evening. South Africa lead the 5-match T20I series by 2-1. Put in to bat for the third straight match, India posted a strong total of 179 runs thanks to a big 97-run opening stand. R. Gaikwad and I. Kishan scored half-centuries followed by a good cameo by H. Pandya towards the end. For the visitors, D. Pretorius picked up a couple of wickets. In reply, South Africa failed to chase down the total and were all out for a score of 131 runs. None ..read more

India and South Africa will take on each other in the third match of the 5-match T20I series at the DYSRR International Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on Tuesday evening. South Africa lead the 5-match T20I series by 2-0. Put in to bat again, Team India posted a somewhat par total of 148 runs on a difficult surface in the 2nd T20. Solid contributions from I. Kishan (34), S. Iyer (40), and D. Karthik (30) helped the hosts to get to that score. For the visitors, A Nortje was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets.  In reply, South Africa team chased down the score easily with 10 balls to s ..read more

Rajasthan and Bangalore will battle out in the Qualifier 2 of this Indian T20 League season on Friday evening. For both teams, the final is just one step away. Lose the Qualifier 2, and start all over again next year. The winner of this match will play the final against Gujarat on Sunday.  The Rajasthan team, the first season champions, have played quality cricket all throughout the season. They have won 9 of their 14 group stage matches, and finished 2nd in the points table. Rajasthan lost Qualifier 1 on Tuesday against Gujarat by 7 wickets, failing to defend 189 runs. J. Buttler and ski ..read more

Bangalore and Gujarat will battle in Match 67 of the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening. Bangalore are currently placed 5th with 7 wins and need a win here to stay in the race for the play-offs. On the other hand, Gujarat are placed 1st with 20 points and have already qualified for the Qualifier 1. Gujarat beat Bangalore by 6 wickets when they met for the first time earlier in the season. The Bangalore team have had an up-and-down tournament with streaks of both win and loss throughout the group phase. They will have to win this match and hope that Delhi ..read more

Punjab and Delhi will take on each other in Match 64 of the Indian T20 League 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium on Monday evening. Punjab are currently 7th in the points table, with  6 wins in 12 matches, while Delhi are placed 5th, with the same number of wins but a better net run rate. A win here for either team will take them into the elusive fourth place in the standings. Delhi defeated Punjab comfortably by 9 wickets when they met for the first time earlier in the season. The Punjab Team has looked a more settled unit in the second half of the season, which has reflected in their results ..read more

As is the case with many Indian T20 League matches at this late stage of the regular season, both Kolkata and Hyderabad find themselves with next to no margin for error in this game. Kolkata, with their dismal run-rate, will probably miss out on the playoffs even if they win their last 2 matches by big margins. For Hyderabad, who have lost 4 in a row to slip down the table, only 3 straight wins are likely to be enough. Kolkata made a late surge to the final last season, but have suffered from a collective loss of form in 2022. They started brilliantly, with 3 wins from 4 matches, and S. Iyer i ..read more

In many ways, this has been the most surprising of Indian T20 League seasons, with the two most successful teams in the competition’s history stuck at the bottom of the table. To add to that shock, the two new franchises sit at the top of the table. Gujarat are already certain of a play-off spot, while Lucknow will join them if they get a victory over Kolkata. For Kolkata, who started the season so brightly with 3 wins from 4 games, defeat could well mean the end of the road. Lucknow Team come into this game having won 4 of their last 5 matches. K.L. Rahul and Q. de Kock have provided runs at ..read more

As the teams head into the final fortnight of the league phase of this Indian T20 League season, there is a huge traffic jam in the middle of the table. Gujarat are pretty much guaranteed a play-off spot, while Mumbai are out of contention. Chennai are as good as out too, but Punjab and the other 6 teams all have hopes of making the final 4.  A win for Rajasthan on Saturday will move them within touching distance of that aim. For Punjab, whose net run rate is terrible, the margin for error is much less with only 4 games remaining.  Punjab are currently 7th in the table and have relie ..read more

H. Pandya will be up against his former team as Gujarat and Mumbai battle it out in Match 51 of the Indian T20 League 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday evening. Gujarat are currently placed 1st, with 8 wins in their 10 matches, whereas Mumbai are in the last spot, with just 1 win in their 9 matches. A win here for Gujarat will solidify their position to finish in the top 2 of the points table. Team Gujarat are the table toppers and have had an excellent season so far. Their 5-match win streak was broken in the last game as they lost to Punjab by a comprehensive margin of 8 wickets. Nobod ..read more