Cricket now

Image: BCCI/IPL Brilliance in sport is something that allows an athlete to touch a territory that would force even his/her teammates to wonder – how could you play such a shot? Or how could you sprint so fast? Brilliance is something that forces spectators to basically switch off their worries and watch an athlete’s gift-wrapped skills. While facing Gujarat Titans’ fast bowlers, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the wonderkid from Bihar, once again reached uncharted territory that left everyone gasping for breath. Perhaps Yashasvi Jaiswal, his batting partner, too would have been left in a state of daze. In his first over, Kagiso Rabada tried a short ball, but it was fractionally off line, and it was pulled with utter disdain. Mohammed Siraj attempted a yorker, but with an open stance and fast hands, the left-hand batter essayed an eye-popping wristy drive down the ground. It was nothing but willowy wizardry on display. That stance and Vaibhav’s unique bat-swing, where it goes...

Team KKR. Image: BCCI/IPL Can KKR do the improbable and make the play-offs? That’s the question doing the rounds after four consecutive wins by the Ajinkya Rahane-led team. All of a sudden, things seem to be going right. The spinners, always their strength, seem to have found their mojo and KKR are controlling the middle overs extremely well. Varun Chakaravarthy is back in form, Sunil Narine is able to turn back the clock and Anukul Roy has started to pick up key wickets. Overall, the spinners have taken control of the bowling and the team is looking like a good enough unit. In batting, Finn Allen finally came good against Delhi, while Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi have both scored consistently. What KKR needed was the early blast at the start, and that’s exactly what happened with Allen against DC. Rinku Singh, who has won two games on his own, is holding the middle order together and, if Cameron Green and Rovman Powell can contribute consistently in the next few matches, the unth...

Rashid Khan (PC: IPL/BCCI) Gujarat Titans’ (GT) spinner Rashid Khan produced a match-winning spell to help his side register a dominant 77-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on May 9. The victory marked GT’s fourth consecutive win in IPL 2026. During the post-match presentation, Player of the Match Rashid reflected on returning to rhythm and recovering from injury. “Quite happy. It was something unusual for me (last two seasons),” Rashid said. “This season, it is more about enjoying myself and hitting the right areas consistently. Happy with that. When I had that surgery, I took only two months to get back. That time, I made a huge mistake (of coming back too soon). Last year, when the IPL was over, I had 2-3 months off and tried to work on my fitness. The rhythm I bowl through the crease – it was something I was missing. Had a good Hundred competition and then kept on.” Defending a massive target of 230 runs, Gujarat bowlers kept Rajasthan under pressure throughout t...

Image: BCCI/IPL An old adage in cricket goes well with Kolkata Knight Riders’ predicament surrounding their skipper — first pick a Playing XI, then the captain. Ajinkya Rahane, the cricketer in the spotlight and captain of the KKR side, has come under increasing scrutiny in IPL 2026 for averaging 24.22 alongside a rather modest strike rate of 132.12. A deeper look shows that Rahane occupies a lowly 72nd spot in the list of best strike rates this season. Granted, such a list might comprise players who have featured in just 2-3 games. Yet, a strike rate of just over 132 is on the lower side, especially in an era where top orders are powering sides to scores in the range of 80-100 in the Powerplay overs. We also live in a time where the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma are scoring runs at strike rates in excess of 200. To make matters worse for KKR, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, the No. 3 batter, also has similar numbers — a batting average of 29.88 alongside a strike rat...

Images :X In an otherwise difficult season, Prince Yadav has indeed been a shining light for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). That he has come from a humble background and was once a net bowler is well known. He used to train with tennis balls and has since graduated into becoming a first-rate opening bowler for the franchise. Prince added one more layer to his story with the delivery that he bowled to Virat Kohli on Thursday night. Kohli has been in fine form in the competition so far and, on a good batting deck, is always a threat in the powerplay. The ball was exactly the kind of perfect delivery every bowler dreams of producing. If Prince bowls similar deliveries to any batter in the IPL, the result will likely be the same, for it was that good. It pitched on off stump and, just as Virat came forward to play a defensive shot, it jagged in ever so slightly. The replay showed the late movement, and it was virtually unplayable in the way it moved in at the very last second. As the ball ...

Arun Dhumal in frame. (PC: BCCI) The BCCI had little option but to move the IPL 2026 final out of Bangalore as it had to consider the interests of the common fans. In addition to the complimentary passes for MLAs and MLCs, additional passes, complimentary or at concessional rates, were also demanded. This prompted the BCCI to shift the final on May 31 to Ahmedabad. The quota for complimentary tickets at a venue is 15 per cent of the total capacity, and the demand exceeded that limit. Chinnaswamy Stadium has a capacity of 35,000. “See, as you all know, that is the convention and that is the norm (the venue for the final is the home city of the defending champions) that we have followed all these years, barring some incidents where it was not possible or feasible,” IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told RevSportz. “And given this convention only, we ensured that the opening game happened in Bangalore, despite the challenges they faced with the state government pertaining to last year’s stampede...