Rajasthan Royals bowler Ravichandran Ashwin.
| Photo Credit: AP

R. Ashwin couldn’t have asked for a better build-up to this year’s IPL. Before the T20 extravaganza, the off-spinner had a memorable Test series against England at home. He reached significant milestones, becoming the second Indian bowler to take more than 500 Test wickets and also playing his 100th Test.

Barren stretch

However, as he swapped the red cherry for the white kookaburra ball, the wily spinner had a tough beginning to the 17th edition of the IPL. He went wicketless for six consecutive games and had only two scalps after nine outings.

However, in the last four matches, the 37-year-old has managed to turn things around, bagging seven wickets and being economical (ER: 6.81).

Ashwin saved his best for the big occasion on Wednesday, producing a match-winning performance in the Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

His spell (4-0-19-2) during the middle phase of the contest proved decisive as Rajasthan Royals tightened the screws on the Bengaluru side. That Ashwin did not concede a single boundary reflected his accuracy and control. Along the way, he dispelled the myth that an off-spinner bowling to a right-hander was not an effective option.

Against RCB’s right-hand heavy batting line-up, Ashwin stuck to a predominantly over-the-wicket line to tie down Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar — one of the better players of spin — by bowling into their pads and cramping them for width.

Opening up

After his Player-of-the-Match show, Ashwin opened up about his difficult start to IPL 2024.

“Truth be told, my body wasn’t moving at all in the first half of the season. I felt like I wasn’t able to complete my action many times. I had a little bit of an abdomen injury as well. So I couldn’t get through it a lot,” said Ashwin.

“For me, it was more about the rhythm and hitting the right lengths. You come from Test-match mode and your body needs to get into it. I am ageing, so it’s not that easy anymore.

“The amount of repetitions I need for a T20 game is a lot. I actually bowl a lot off game time as well. I needed that amount of bowling time to get into rhythm,” added Ashwin.

Flag-bearer

At a time when finger spinners are finding it tough in white-ball cricket, Ashwin is flying the flag for his craft.

Having rediscovered his mojo, the Tamil Nadu off-spinner will hope to continue his form in the home stretch of the competition which will be played in his backyard over the next three days, starting with Friday’s Qualifier 2 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The in-form Royal Challengers Bengaluru against a side who are on a slide viz. Rajasthan Royals in a do-or-die IPL Eliminator in Ahmedabad on May 22, 2024
| Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash

When Rajasthan Royals won its eighth match of the IPL season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru had just two victories. Where RR seemed set for a top-two finish, RCB was all but out of contention for a place in the playoffs.

Since then, the sides’ paths have diverged dramatically; RR contrived to finish third while RCB stormed into fourth, setting the stage for an exciting Eliminator clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 21.

Royals haven’t won a game since their seven-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants on April 27 and come into this fixture on the back of four consecutive defeats and a washed-out final league game.

In contrast, RCB’s journey has been the stuff of dreams, cinematic in every way. After losing seven of its first eight games, Faf du Plessis’ men have won their last six, including the last against Chennai Super Kings on a dramatic night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

With the wind behind its sails, RCB will feel it has an edge based on recent form and clarity in gameplan. The turnaround has been fashioned by its batting firepower, led by Virat Kohli.

Rajat Patidar’s uptick in form and impetus in the middle-overs have ensured the team is not over-reliant on the top-order.

Among bowlers, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal have done their bits to keep opponents in check.

For Royals, skipper Sanju Samson has led from the front, scoring heavily in its first eight wins. The 2008 champion’s troubles in recent times stem from its misfiring middle-order. Lack of runs from Dhruv Jurel and Rovman Powell has exposed vulnerabilities.

Shimron Hetmyer’s absence has affected the balance of the side, and the Rajasthan outfit will pray that the West Indian is fit for this tie. RR will also look to fall back on its bowling depth, which has a mix of top-class pacers and spinners, to tip the scales in its favour.

Despite having its back to the wall, RCB has livened up the tournament by playing with freedom. But now that the stakes are higher, will it continue sticking to its proven formula and extend the fairytale?

Teams (from):

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c&wk), Abid Mushtaq, Avesh Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira, Kuldeep Sen, Kunal Singh Rathore, Nandre Burger, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Rovman Powell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Trent Boult, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tanush Kotian.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.

Match starts at 7:30pm IST.

High on confidence after making their first playoffs in three years, Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim for a second-place finish in the IPL points table when they take on Punjab Kings in their final league game in Hyderabad on May 19.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad, which has already qualified for the playoffs, takes on a depleted Punjab Kings in its last IPL league match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on May 19 afternoon.

Sunrisers, with 15 points from 13 outings, should look to claim full points against a team which will not have the services of key players like Sam Curran, who led the team in the absence of injured Shikhar Dhawan, and hard-hitting Jonny Bairstow in what should be yet another good IPL wicket if the weather stays clear.

Importantly, the home side played its last game on May 8 when it drubbed Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets and with many players taking a long break, it will be interesting to see how quickly they regain the momentum ahead of the playoffs.

Imposing batters

For most of the league so far, Sunrisers relied heavily on the imposing batting line-up. And, to its delight, the senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar was back at his best in the last few games, providing the crucial breakthroughs in the company of captain Pat Cummins and left-armers T. Natarajan and Jaydev Unadkat.

On form, it should be an easy outing for the Cummins’ men against PBKS.

On the other hand, Kings’ pacers Arshdeep Singh, and Harshal Patel — who is the leading wicket-taker with 22 wickets in the IPL this season — hold the key in keeping a check on the run-flow with leggie Rahul Chahar expected to raise the bar.

In batting, Kings badly need the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, captain Jitesh Sharma, and Ashutosh Sharma to score big for the bowlers to have a go.

Teams (from):

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Anmolpreet Singh, Glenn Phillips (wk), Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Upendra Yadav (wk), Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Agarwal.

Punjab Kings: Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Jitesh Sharma (c & wk), Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw.

Match starts at 3:30pm IST.

Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to snap their four-match losing streak and finish in the top two when they meet table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in an important IPL game in Guwahati on May 19.   
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

An alert from the National Disaster Management Authority bears grim prognoses about impending thunderstorms, rain and gusty wind for the residents here ahead of Rajasthan Royals versus Kolkata Knight Riders, Indian Premier League’s last group-stage fixture.

That the match at Barsapara Stadium may end up deciding whether Sanju Samson’s men finish in the top two, may have the dugout addressing a prayer or two to the weather gods.

How things are

The mathematics is quite simple now. If RR wins against KKR on Sunday, it enters Qualifier 1. However, a Chennai Super Kings loss on Saturday and a Punjab Kings win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the day game on Sunday can also ensure a second-place finish for the RR without it having to take the field.

If Sunday’s contest does get underway, death overs are where Samson’s team needs to metamorphose into its full glory. RR has not only scored 71 runs more than KKR between the 16th and 20th over, but it has also picked 24 wickets, a touch better than KKR’s 21. RR will also carry a psychological advantage for it pulled off a record chase to prevail the last time these two sides met.

An interesting duel to look forward to will be the one between spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs. While Varun has picked 16 wickets, the most by any bowler in 2024 between overs 7 and 16, Chahal has accounted for 15.

KKR will not have Phil Salt, who has flown back to England on national duty, in the eleven. Although Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be an ideal like-for-like replacement, Shreyas Iyer and Co. haven’t officially named anybody.

Teams (from):

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson and Allah Ghazanfar.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Abid Mushtaq, Avesh Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira, Kuldeep Sen, Kunal Singh Rathore, Nandre Burger, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Rovman Powell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Trent Boult, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tanush Kotian

Match starts: 7.30pm.

Rain clouds hover around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, during training ahead of the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in Bengaluru on May 17, 2024
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Bengaluru’s weather is so notoriously fickle that its tantrums have acquired cult status. On May 18, the city faithful will be praying that it behaves, for a washout against Chennai Super Kings will send their beloved Royal Challengers Bengaluru out.

There is indeed an inglorious tradition of rain affecting at least one RCB home game in an IPL season. An unrelenting summer has ensured that RCB has dodged the bullet six times in the 2024 edition.

However, Saturday’s forecast is for good amounts of precipitation, and it seems like luck may have finally run out.

Scope for hope

There is, of course, the state-of-the-art SubAir drainage system that can get the ground ready in no time. And if the skies relent for two hours, a five-over match is eminently possible. But would five overs do justice to a clash that will be one of the last times Virat Kohli and M.S. Dhoni face-off?

Another variable is the pitch. This season, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has been far from the batting paradise it usually is; only twice has the 200-run mark been breached in 12 innings (RCB vs. SRH). But the last time CSK and RCB met in Bengaluru, 444 runs were scored. A repeat is in the hands of the weather gods.

It’s not for nothing that Nicholas Pooran is rated so highly in white-ball cricket. At the Wankhede Stadium against Mumbai Indians on Friday, the Caribbean power-hitter’s blitz (75, 29b, 5×4, 8×6) piloted Lucknow Super Giants to 214 for six and set up an 18-run win in its final IPL fixture of the season.

A slow start by LSG captain K.L. Rahul (55, 41b, 3×4, 3×6) allowed the home team to keep things under check until the 11th over before Pooran took charge. Walking in with his team at 69 for three, Pooran counter-attacked. He hit a couple of fours and as many sixes off Anshul Kamboj before smashing two huge sixes off MI skipper Hardik Pandya.

Pooran brought up his third half-century of the season off just 19 deliveries and forged a 109-run stand with Rahul for the fourth wicket. He was at his scintillating best in the 15th over as hit Arjun Tendulkar’s first two deliveries for sixes before the bowler walked off the field due to cramps. The left-hander then hoisted Naman Dhir into the stands before missing a maximum off the fourth by a whisker. A single and a six from Rahul completed the over.

Just when he looked on course for a hundred, Pooran was caught by Suryakumar Yadav at long-on off Nuwan Thushara. Arshad Khan was dismissed off the next ball before Piyush Chawla performed a team hat-trick, removing Rahul off the first delivery of the next over.

Ayush Badoni slammed 19 off the final over bowled by Romario Shepherd .

MI started its chase briskly before rain interrupted play for 45 minutes. With Rohit Sharma (68, 38b, 10×4, 3×6) in good nick and Dewald Brevis lending good support, the host cruised to 78 for no loss in eight overs.

Rohit hit speedsters Mohsin Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq for a flurry of boundaries while Brevis joined in with a four and six off Naveen in the ninth over. The South African’s innings ended when he was caught by Krunal Pandya.

In the next over, Krunal dismissed Suryakumar Yadav for a duck before Ravi Bishnoi ended Rohit’s stay. Though Naman Dhir (62 n.o., 28b, 4×4, 5×6) battled on, the target proved too stiff for Hardik’s men.

SCOREBOARD

LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS

K.L. Rahul c Thushara b Chawla 55 (41b, 3×4, 3×6), Devdutt Padikkal lbw b Thushara 0 (1b), Marcus Stoinis lbw b Chawla 28 (22b, 5×4), Deepak Hooda c Wadhera b Chawla 11 (9b, 1×4), Nicholas Pooran c Suryakumar b Thushara 75 (29b, 5×4, 8×6), Arshad Khan c Wadhera b Thushara 0 (1b), Ayush Badoni (not out) 22 (10b, 1×4, 2×6), Krunal Pandya (not out) 12 (7b, 1×4, 1×6); Extras (w-11): 11; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 214.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-1 (Padikkal, 0.3 overs), 2-49 (Stoinis, 5.6), 3-69 (Hooda, 9.3), 4-178 (Pooran, 16.5), 5-178 (Arshad, 16.6), 6-178 (Rahul, 17.1).

MUMBAI INDIANS BOWLING

Thushara 4-0-28-3, Arjun 2.2-0-22-0, Anshul 3-0-48-0, Chawla 4-0-29-3, Wadhera 2-0-13-0, Hardik 2-0-27-0, Naman 0.4-0-17-0, Shepherd 2-0-30-0.

MUMBAI INDIANS

Rohit Sharma (Impact Player in place of Thushara) c Mohsin b Bishnoi 68 (38b, 10×4, 3×6), Dewald Brevis c Hardik b Naveen 23 (20b, 1×4, 2×6), Suryakumar Yadav c Bishnoi b Krunal 0 (3b), Ishan Kishan b Naveen 14 (15b, 1×4), Hardik Pandya c Naveen b Mohsin 16 (13b, 1×4, 1×6), Nehal Wadhera c Krunal b Bishnoi 1 (3b), Naman Dhir (not out) 62 (28b, 4×4, 5×6), Romario Shepherd (not out) 1 (1b); Extras (nb-1, w-10): 11; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 196.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-88 (Brevis, 8.4), 2-89 (Suryakumar, 9.2), 3-97 (Rohit, 10.5), 4-116 (Hardik, 13.3), 5-120 (Wadhera, 14.2), 6-188 (Kishan, 19.3).

SUPER GIANTS BOWLING

Arshad 2-0-11-0, Henry 2-0-24-0, Krunal 4-0-29-1, Mohsin 4-0-45-1, Naveen (Impact Player in place of Badoni) 4-0-50-2, Bishnoi 4-0-37-2.

Toss: MI; PoM: Pooran.

LSG won by 18 runs.