Tarkesh Jha

KKR vs RCB Preview: Royal Challengers Bengaluru will seek a win to mark a positive start to Rajat Patidar's captaincy, whereas the home side would want to begin their title defence strongly.

Mumbai Indians will continue their pursuit of a record sixth title with a rejuvented squad hosting some formidable stalwarts alongside a few exciting faces.

IPL 2025: From injury replacement to RCB captain, Rajat Patidar looks to script history in new role Rajat Patidar has been a part of the RCB setup from 2022 onwards, having come in as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia midway through the campaign. By Tarkesh Jha 2 Min Read Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have a new skipper in Rajat Patidar for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The team is chasing their elusive first title and have trusted Patidar to take them over the finishing line this time around. The Madhya Pradesh batter has been associated with the team since 2022, when he had come in as an injury replacement for Luvnith Sisodia. Patidar made an instant impact, scoring a century in the Eliminator against the Lucknow Super Giants, becoming the first uncapped player in IPL history to notch a ton in the playoffs. He also scored the fastest ton in the knockouts of the league, matching Wriddhiman Saha, who had done so in 49 deliveries in the final of the IPL 2014. Also Read: KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025 Preview: Predicted XI, Key Players, Head-to-Head, Pitch and Weather Report, Where to Watch The middle-order batter was retained ahead of IPL 2023, but injury ruled him out of the entire campaign. He roared back with a terrific outing in 2024, notching 395 runs in 15 games at an average and strike rate of 30.38 and 177.13 respectively, with the help of five half-centuries. Patidar has hit 51 fours and 54 maximums in the competition, highlighting his prowess to take on spinners in the middle overs at will. Having debuted in 2015-16, Patidar has also played 68 first-class games and 64 List A encounters in the domestic circuit. He has scored 4738 runs in the former, averaging 43 with the help of 24 half-centuries and 13 tons. Patidar had scheduled his wedding during IPL 2022, since he had gone unsold in the auction. However, a call-up from RCB meant that he had to delay the same. The batter also debuted for India in ODIs and Tests in 2023 and 2024 respectively, having middling outings in both formats. However, he has been in the mix of selection discussions over the last couple of seasons, playing for India A amongst other teams too. Now, as the captain of RCB, he has two major responsibilities to shoulder. Managing egos of established international stars such as Virat Kohli, Liam Livingstone, and Phil Salt will be crucial, and handling a new-look bowling unit on the batting-friendly Chinnaswamy track will have major repercussions on their fate this season.

IPL 2025: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer balancing leadership responsibilities with perfection Rahane has been named the skipper of defending champions KKR, whereas Iyer will be his deputy. By Tarkesh Jha 2 Min Read Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer heaped praise on Ajinkya Rahane as a credible skipper ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Iyer was acquired for ₹23.75 crore in the mega auction and will have added responsibilities as Rahane's deputy from the coming campaign. KKR are set to commence their season against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday at the Eden Gardens. Rahane joined the side from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and is coming on the back of a solid domestic season when he spearheaded Mumbai to triumph in the Irani Trophy. He was also a part of their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy-winning roster. Also Read: Varun Chakravarthy calls IPL a different beast post Champions Trophy glory Calling Rahane an amazing leader, Iyer said, "So far, he has been an amazing leader of the group. He has taken the initiative to make conversations with all of us and try to gel with the team. We are talking about someone who has led India across formats and captained IPL teams before. He has a great head on his shoulders, remains composed under pressure, and has been a stalwart of the game. He has scored runs everywhere. For me, it's going to be a great learning experience, and I am quite excited to play under him." Iyer plays domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh and is a dynamic left-handed batter, who can roll his arms over for some useful medium-pace bowling too. He has played 51 matches for KKR, scoring 1326 runs at an average and strike rate of 31.57 and 137.13 respectively, with the help of 11 half-centuries and a solitary ton. Iyer also scalped three wickets in his debut season in 2021, but has not bowled since, donning the role of a specialist batter instead. He will be eyeing a national team comeback after gradually phasing out of the scheme of things in the last couple of years.

This was Chennai's fourth consecutive triumph against Mumbai in the IPL.

Ajinkya Rahane in IPL: Runs, records, stats and achievements you need to know Rahane was named captain of the defending champions before the beginning of the current IPL season. By Tarkesh Jha 2 Min Read Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane marked a fabulous start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, scoring 38 runs off 16 deliveries in the powerplay against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. Across 185 IPL matches, Rahane has scored 4642 runs at an average and strike rate of 30.14 and 123.12 respectively. He has donned multiple roles, beginning his career with Mumbai Indians (MI) in the middle-order, before finding his best form with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) from 2011 onwards. In 2012 and 2013, Rahane delivered cracking seasons, notching 560 and 488 runs respectively. His ability to play expansive shots on the foundation of a strong technique made him a formidable force to maximise the powerplay overs. He also bagged his maiden ton in 2012, before touching the three-figure mark again in 2019 for RR. The batter endured a slightly difficult period at the Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2020 and 2021, as the team could not hand him a longer run in the XI. Rahane momentarily shifted to KKR in 2022, but his journey then was cut short due to an injury. Rahane's moment of reckoning came in 2023, when he was picked by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The right-handed batter sparked the side to a title win, scoring 326 runs across 14 games at an average of 32.60 and 172.49 respectively, on the back of 24 fours, 16 maximums, and two half-centuries. First Published: Mar 22, 2025 8:10 PM IST

SRH vs RR, IPL 2025 Preview: Predicted XI, Key Players, Head-to-Head, Pitch and Weather Report, Where to Watch SRH vs. RR Match Preview: SRH will begin the new campaign with an objective of going one step further and laying their hands on the IPL trophy for the first time since 2016. By Tarkesh Jha 3 Min Read Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will play Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday, March 23, at 3:30 pm IST. This will be the first match for both these sides in the competition this season. SRH had finished runners-up last season, bagging tremendous applause for their high-scoring intent that saw a star emerge in Abhishek Sharma. They have added further firepower to the setup with the acquisition of Ishan Kishan, who will most likely feature at No. 5, whereas Nitish Kumar Reddy, Travis Head, and Heinrich Klassen will make up for the rest of the top-5. Also Read: Ajinkya Rahane in IPL: Runs, records, stats and achievements you need to know RR had come third in the league stages last season, but their squad is seeing a new look after changes in the mega auction. While they retained key stars like Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Shimron Hetmyer, they appear slightly light on the bowling front. There are concerns over Jofra Archer's form and fitness, whereas Tushar Deshpande has displayed a tendency of being slightly expensive at times. Moreover, Samson's finger injury means that Riyan Parag will be donning captaincy duties for the first three games of the campaign. Probable Playing XIs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Adam Zampa, Rahul Chahar. Impact Player: Simarjeet Singh Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Sandeep Sharma. Impact Player: Shubham Dubey Key Players to Watch Out Heinrich Klassen (Sunrisers Hyderabad) Klassen was retained for ₹23 crore by SRH, as his big-hitting prowess against spinners in the middle-order makes him a cut apart from the rest of the foreign batters. Across 35 matches, he has scored 993 runs in the IPL at an average and strike rate of 38.19 alongside 168.31 respectively, with the help of six half-centuries and a solitary ton. Riyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals) The Assamese batter showed impeccable composure at the crucial No. 4 spot for RR last season. Having led his state side in the domestic circuit, he has been handed leadership responsibilities, and how he goes about balancing both duties will have a huge say over how the campaign turns out personally for him. Head-to-Head The two sides have played 20 matches against each other, with SRH and RR winning 11 and nine games respectively. Pitch Report The average first innings score in three T20Is in this stadium in 230, which suggests that a high-scoring encounter is on the cards on Sunday afternoon. Weather Report Partly cloudy weather with temperature hovering around 32°C and 45% humidity is expected during the course of the match. Where to Watch The game will be live-streamed on the JioHotstar application, and telecast on the Star Sports Network at the aforementioned time.

Home Sports News IPL 2025: Virat Kohli powers RCB to seven-wicket win over KKR in his 400th T20 match IPL 2025: Virat Kohli powers RCB to seven-wicket win over KKR in his 400th T20 match Kohli remained unbeaten at 59* to guide his side to an emphatic victory against the defending champions. By Tarkesh Jha 1 Min Read Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 opener at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. Virat Kohli scored 59* off 36 deliveries to guide his side to a comfortable triumph in his 400th T20 match.

Home Sports News CSK vs MI, IPL 2025 Preview: Predicted XI, Key Players, Head-to-Head, Pitch and Weather Report, Where to Watch CSK vs MI, IPL 2025 Preview: Predicted XI, Key Players, Head-to-Head, Pitch and Weather Report, Where to Watch CSK vs. MI Preview: Both these teams are chasing a record sixth IPL title this season. By Tarkesh Jha 3 Min Read Mumbai Indians (MI) have travelled to take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday, March 23, at 7:30 pm IST. The clash between the two five-time champions tends to hold significant importance in the context of the competition, since they are the joint-most successful franchises and have historically produced nail-biting encounters. This time around, MI will not have services of their two key Indian stars in Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya for this month. Also Read: SRH vs RR, IPL 2025 Preview: Predicted XI, Key Players, Head-to-Head, Pitch and Weather Report, Where to Watch Bumrah is still recovering from the back injury he picked up in Australia, whereas Pandya is serving a one-match suspension because of slow over rate. Suryakumar Yadav will be stepping into his shoes for the time being, whereas Rohit Sharma is slated to open the batting for his side. CSK have a spate of fresh faces in their roster, such as Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, and Vijay Shankar. Noor Ahmad and Ravichandran Ashwin add significant strength to their spin bowling arsenal, whereas Ravindra Jadeja and Ruturaj Gaikwad will don key respective roles in the batting line-up. Predicted Playing XI Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed. Impact Player: Deepak Hooda Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Raj Angad Bawa, Mitchell Santner, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult. Impact Player: Robin Minz Key Players to Watch Out Devon Conway (Chennai Super Kings) Devon Conway is crucial for CSK to dictate the scoring tempo in the powerplay overs. His ability to pierce gaps at will and strong footwork against spinners make the southpaw a threat in all phases of the game. Conway had scored 682 runs and an average of 52, striking at 139, with the help of six half-centuries during the team's title-winning run in 2023. Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians) Suryakumar Yadav is amongst the limited middle-order Indian batters, who possess the promise to take the game away from opponents over a span of few overs. He has had an indifferent few months with the bat in India colours, but the right-hander's caliber suggests that he is one good knock away from roaring back into form. Head-to-Head The two sides have played 37 matches in the IPL, with CSK and MI winning 17 and 20 games respectively. Pitch Report The average first innings score in T20Is in the aforementioned stadium is 151, which suggests that a balanced contest between bat and ball is on the cards on Sunday evening. Weather Report Partly cloudy weather with temperature hovering around 30°C and negligible chances of precipitation are expected during the match in Chennai. Where to Watch The game will be live-streamed on the JioHotstar application, and telecast on Star Sports Network.

DC vs LSG Match Preview: Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants are eyeing a fresh start under the helm of a new captains in Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant respectively.