Underachievers Punjab and Delhi seek winning start
mohali — Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils will both look to end their trophy drought in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by getting off to a winning start when they clash here on Sunday.
Delhi have never lifted the IPL trophy despite having decent squads on occasions in the past and the same goes for Punjab, who also have their trophy cabinet empty after 10 seasons.
Under new leaders Gautam Gambhir (Delhi) and Ravichandran Ashwin (Punjab), both outfits will want to make a fresh start and make the most of the talent pool they have in their ranks. Hosts Punjab have the explosive Chris Gayle in their ranks and his exploits in the IPL are well documented. The burly West Indian, though in the
Anew-look Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), sans their most successful captain Gautam Gambhir, will look to outshine a strong Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) led by Virat Kohli in the inaugural match of this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.
Gambhir, who led KKR to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, left the city-based franchise to join his home team Delhi Daredevils, prompting the KKR management to appoint seasoned campaigner Dinesh Karthik as skipper for the 11th edition.
Karthik, riding high after an unbeaten eight-ball 29 where he clobbered a last-ball six to singlehandedly guide India to a four-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the final of the Nidahas Trophy T20I Tri-series in Sri Lanka, will have his task cut out. “I’m aware of the expectations. Whether there would be pressure, NEW DELHI — England fast bowler Liam Plunkett was roped in by Delhi Daredevils as a replacement for the injured South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for the Indian Premier League (IPL), a statement said on Saturday. twilight of his career, should fancy his chances with Mayank Agarwal who is likely to open with him.
Agarwal will have a point to prove after being snubbed by national selectors for the Sri Lanka tri-series despite amassing more than 2,000 runs during the domestic season.
India opener KL Rahul, the most expensive player of the franchise ‘yes’. As a captain, you’re expected to at least go to the playoffs, that’s the least anybody can expect,” Karthik had said in his first interaction with journalists as KKR captain.
It will be a litmus test first up for Karthik and his charges against RCB who once again look very strong on paper.
Kohli and Co. finished at the bottom of the pile last time and since the start of the IPL have come close to laying their hands on the elusive trophy thrice — in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
But once again, the Bangalorebased outfit have put together Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Dinesh Karthik (captain), Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi, Tom Curran.
Plunkett has featured in 13 Tests, 65 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 15 T20 Internationals for England so far. This will be Plunkett’s first stint in the VIVO IPL. He was picked from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) list. — who will also don the gloves, and Yuvraj Singh should also add teeth to Punjab’s batting while the finishing responsibilities will lie on the trio of David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, and Axar Patel.
Off-spinner Ashwin, ignored in white-ball cricket since the advent of wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, will lead the bowling for his side. — (UAE Time) DUBAI — The IPL 2018 matches will be broadcast and streamed live by beIN SPORTS across 24 countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
beIN SPORTS has exclusively acquired the rights for (UAE Time) an impressive squad. The batting department in particular looks to be one of the best in the league. Led by the mercurial Kohli, RCB boast of proven IPL stars like AB De Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson and Quinton De Kock. RCB have always been weak when it comes to their bowling unit. This time though, with the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar and Tim Southee, they have looked to plug the gap. —
IPL matches on beIN Sports
the completion for the next five years. The announcement sees a further strengthening of beIN’s burgeoning global cricket portfolio, following long-term rights agreements signed in 2017 with Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board. Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Woakes, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Brendon McCullum, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Quinton De Kock, Mohammed Siraj, Corey Anderson, Colin De Grandhomme, M. Ashwin, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Aniket Choudhary, Pavan Deshpande, Anirudha Ashok Joshi.