TRENDING

"Our bowling was not up to the mark, similarly our batting was very, very poor. There were not many positives to take from the match. To lose by 91 runs, it will put a huge dent in our net run rate. It means we need to bounce back really strongly in our next game," said Ponting in the post-match virtual press conference.

The 23-year-old -- who is playing the role of a utility batsman to perfection while his bowling is 'lacking sting' in IPL 2022 as critics have pointed out -- hit back by taking two wickets for 24 runs in his four overs -- the best bowling figures for Gujarat Titans in the game against five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday.

The absence of pace bowler Harshal Patel the last time around the two sides met had probably rocked the RCB boat, as they lost the high-scoring game by 23 runs after conceding a mammoth 216 runs. In fact, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis too had attributed the defeat to the absence of Patel, who had to leave the IPL bio-bubble after getting the news of his sister's demise.

KKR thus bounced back from five successive losses to register a victory in IPL 2022. After Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers made full use of the conditions, bowled good line and length and restricted Rajasthan Royals to a modest 152/5 in 20 overs, skipper Iyer (34 off 32), Rana (48 not out off 37) and Rinku Singh (42 not out off 23) batted sensibly in the low-scoring match to seal a fine win.

On a sticky, two-paced pitch, Punjab Kings lost their top-three batters Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the first eight overs. Though Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow showed some intent to take Punjab home, their removal in a middle-overs squeeze by Lucknow meant they fell short by 20 runs.

The 40-year old Dhoni may have left the captaincy for India and as well as for CSK but he certainly hasn't forgotten to do what he does best i.e "finishing the game" for his team. Whether it was dragging the game to its last breath, knowing the areas to target, keeping calm and finishing off the game in his style with a last-ball boundary, all the Dhoni touches were pretty much visible in his innings during the run chase on Thursday.

Cricket greats like Ian Bishop, Sunil Gavaskar and Dale Steyn are excited to watch this seamer from Jammu and Kashmir do so well in the tournament, and everyone is of the view that he has a bright future ahead. Umran started his IPL stint as a net bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad is now a vital cog in the team's pace attack..

Dayal emerged the new bowling sensation in the IPL, taking 3/40 in his four overs as Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 155/9, falling short in the chase by 37 runs. The Titans had earlier made 192/4, thanks mainly to skipper Pandya's unbeaten 52-ball 87 and Abhinav Manohar's 28-ball 43.

These games are sure to provide hours of entertainment for players of all levels of experience. So, without further ado, let's get started!

Chasing a total of 199 for victory, Mumbai lost the wickets of openers -- Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan inside the powerplay and were in trouble at 32/2 after 4.1 overs. But a big partnership between two youngsters -- Tilak Varma (36 off 20) and Dewald Brevis (49 off 25) brought Mumbai back in the game, taking them to 105/2 at the end of the 10th over at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday night.