Seeking a break in IPL after going unsold in mega auction, Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal will look to extend his incredible run of form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy when he leads his team out in their semi-final against defending champions Haryana in Vadodara on Wednesday. If four-time winners Karnataka have the likes of Agarwal, Shreyas Gopal and Vijaykumar Vyshak in their ranks, Haryana will be banking on in-form players such as Nishant Sindhu, Anshul Kamboj and Ankit Kumar to get the job done for their side.

While a return to the national fold may not seem realistic at this stage of his career, the 33-year-old Agarwal would want to impress the IPL franchises with a strong finish to the tournament in which he has already amassed four hundreds against Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Hyderabad and Nagaland.

Apart from the sensational Karun Nair, Agarwal is the only other batter to have aggregated over 600 runs in the season so far.

The veteran opener has so far scored 619 runs at an excellent average of 123.80, while striking the ball at a rate of 109.75 to show his aggressive intent throughout the season.

Karnataka can also afford to lean on the shoulders of KV Aneesh, who has totalled 342 runs from eight matches going into the first semifinal. Also, Devdutt Padikkal had smashed a century in their win over Baroda in the quarterfinals.

When it comes to bowling, Agarwal’s top performers so far have been his experienced deputy Shreyas Gopal (16 wickets in 8 matches) and seamer Vasuki Koushik (17 wickets in 10 matches).

Karnataka topped Group C before defeating Baroda by five runs in a close quarter-final match but in Haryana, they could probably face their most difficult test of the premier tournament.

There is no dearth of match-winners in the Haryana line-up.

Amit Kumar has scored 507 runs from 10 matches at a fine average of 56.33, while the 20-year-old Nishant Sindhu has been brilliant with both bat and ball.

Sindhu has scored 313 runs with the willow and has picked 12 wickets with his left-arm spin at an excellent economy rate of 4.98.

Kamboj has been very impressive with the ball, having claimed 18 wickets in 10 games while playing a vital role in Haryana’s run to the semifinals.

A handy batter lower down the order besides being a very promising seamer, Kamboj has the ability to move the ball both ways and could prove to be a difficult customer for the Karnataka batsmen.

Haryana entered the semi-finals by finishing second in Group A and defeating Bengal and Gujarat in the preliminary quarter-final and quarter-final, respectively.

File image of Manish Pandey.© BCCI/IPL

IPL 2025 mega auctions are all set to take place on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The highly-anticipated event will be continued till Monday as a whopping total of 1,574 players (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) will be going under the hammer. Just two days before the auctions, a shocking report has come to light that India all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who played for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024, has been included in BCCI’s suspected bowlers’ list and is likely to be banned from bowling.

According to a report of Cricbuzz, Hooda and Saurabh Dubey and KC Cariappa are being suspected by BCCI for their illegal bowling action.

“Manish Pandey (KSCA, 157) and Shrijith Krishnan (KSCA, 281) have been banned from bowling while Deepak Hooda, an off-spinner from Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), is in the suspect bowling list. Saurabh Dubey (344, VCA) and KC Cariappa (381, CAM) are also in the suspect list,” stated Cricbuzz in a report.

Hooda was released by LSG ahead of the auctions. He had a very lukewarm outing in IPL 2024 as he scored only 145 runs in 11 games and went wicketless.

Talking about his international career, Hooda has played 10 ODIs for India and scored 153 runs. In T20Is, he has played 21 matches and 368 runs with one century to his name.

His last international appearance came in the T20I match against New Zealand in February 2023, where he scored 30 runs.

Talking about IPL, a report also suggested that the upcoming season will be held from March 14 to May 25.

The BCCI has also decided to include injury-prone England pacer Jofra Archer, Indian-born American pacer Saurabh Netravalkar and uncapped Mumbai-wicketkeeper-batter Hardik Tamore in the two-day mega players’ auction.

In its communication to the franchises, the Board has stated that the dates for the next three seasons are being shared at once to “assist the franchises in planning for the players’ auction.” The 2026 edition of the tournament will start on March 15 and the grand finale has been scheduled for May 31.

The 2027 edition will once again start on March 14 with the final on May 30. All three finals will be held on Sundays.

(With PTI Inputs)

Not one, not two, but three Super Overs. Yes, you heard it right. History unfolded in the ongoing season of the Maharaja T20 Trophy as a match between Bengaluru Blasters and Hubli Tigers witnessed a triple super-over for the first time in T20 cricket history. After being put into bat, Hubli Tigers put 164 runs on the board. Captain Mayank Agarwal hit a fifty but the Blasters’ could only match the total, denied a win due to run out off the last ball. After the scores were tied for the first time, Agarwal came out to bat once again in the first Super Over. However, he was dismissed for a golden duck, with the Blasters putting 10 runs on the board.

Chasing 10 to win, Hubli Tigers’ captain Manish Pandey hit a crucial six to tie the game once again, taking the game to another Super Over.

In the second Super Over, both teams scores 8 runs each. This took the game to a record third Super Over in the history of T20 cricket.

In the decisive Super Over, Manvanth Kumar hit two fours as Hubli Tigers chased down a target of 13.

Friday night frenzy at the @maharaja_t20: Not one, not two, but THREE Super Overs were needed for Hubli Tigers to finally win against Bengaluru Blasters #MaharajaT20onFanCode #MaharajaTrophy #MaharajaT20 pic.twitter.com/ffcNYov1Qf

— FanCode (@FanCode) August 23, 2024

Earlier in the day Bengaluru’s Lavish Kaushal logged the first five wicket haul of the season to restrict Hubli Tigers to 164/10. Mayank Agarawal’s (54) half-century would also go in vain.

Chasing 165, the Bengaluru Blasters lost Chethan LR to Vidwath Kaverappa in the first over. Coming in at number three, Niranjan Naik showed intent, cracking four boundaries including a six, but Kaverappa ensured the end of Naik in the fifth over. Mayank Agarawal hit five boundaries in the powerplay, but the Bengaluru Blasters struggled, finishing the phase at 48/3 after Manvanth Kumar dismissed Shubhang Hegde for a duck in the sixth over.

The runs were hard to come by as Mayank Agarawal and Rakshit S (11) put on only 26 runs in 29 balls. In pursuit of a higher run rate, Rakshit S would become Manvanth’s second wicket of the day. Soon after Mayank Agarawal completed his half-century in 29 balls, including eight fours, he was caught behind off the bowling of Manvanth Kumar, leaving the Bengaluru Blasters in trouble at 96/5 in 13.2 overs.

Suraj Ahuja (26) and Anirudha Joshi (17) combined for 27 brisk runs. In the 17th over, Ahuja was run out and Joshi was bagged by Manvanth Kumar. With 30 runs needed off 18 balls, Naveen MG added the finishing touch, working three boundaries and a six in his 11-ball knock before he was picked up by Kumar LR in the 19th over. Bengaluru Blasters needed one run off the last ball of the innings, but Kranthi Kumar was run out to finish the innings with a tie.

In the first innings, Thippa Reddy (7) fell early, Mohd. Taha gave the Hubli innings a jump-start hoisting two sixes and two fours off Santok Singh in the third over to race to 31 runs in 14 balls. Lavish Kaushal picked Taha in the fifth over with the Hubli Tigers finishing the powerplay at 53/2.

Shubhang Hegde broke through in his first over with the wicket of KL Shrijith (9) and Karthikeya KP (13) became Lavish Kaushal’s second wicket of the night. It was Manish Pandey (33) and Aneeshwar Gautam (30) who kept the innings afloat in the middle overs, building a partnership of 57 runs in 40 balls. However, both batsmen would perish in the 16th over, dismissed by Lavish Kaushal, leaving the Hubli Tigers at 131/6.

Manvanth Kumar played a high impact innings in the death overs, finding 28 runs in his 15-ball knock, before he was run out in the last ball of the innings. The wickets had tumbled around him as Kranthi Kumar bested KC Cariappa and Adarsh Prajwal in the 17th over and Lavish Kaushal picked up his fifth wicket through Kumar LR, restricting Hubli Tigers to 164/10.

(With ANI Inputs)