Group items tagged

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the defending champions, have kept the majority of its championship core in an effort to duplicate their performance in the 2025 Indian Premier League. After probably the most successful season in IPL history in 2024, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the defending champions going into the 2025 season. The majority of KKR's championship-winning core has survived the challenge of their big auction. But there have also been certain major changes. Instead of sporting purple, Gautam Gambhir now dons blue. The team's Indian core was fostered in large part by Abhishek Nayar. Most significantly, even if the position of captain has been given to competent individuals, it is not someone who fits the KKR mold. Strengths: Varun Chakravarthy's amazing purple patch is much of KKR's greatest strength. Every time he takes up the ball, the mystery spinner appears to have a hint of gold and is in the best form of his life. Despite his age of 33 and Sunil Narine's age of 36, together they constitute the team with the strongest pedigree in terms of spin attack. What is KKR's other strong suit? Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, and Rinku Singh are the three Rs. There are already two of these in place. KKR may have the greatest lower-middle order in the tournament, though, especially when you include the rapidly improving Ramandeep. Kolkata Knight Riders Weakness: Although the Knight Riders have been able to retain the majority of its core, there are still significant gaps left by the departing members. Despite having terrible roles in their championship victory, Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer, and Mitchell Starc are no longer present. Shreyas remained unblemished in every run chase in 2024, Salt made sure that KKR had a dependable opener at last, and Starc performed excellently when it counted most. Although Spencer Johnson, Ajinkya Rahane, and Quinton de Kock are not slouches. Their T20I pedigree and form appear to have slightly declined. Particularly

CSK vs RR: Five-time IPL champion Chennai Super Kings and 2008 champion Rajasthan Royals will face off in a matchup between two teams already out of the running for the playoffs. The game will take place at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. This is CSK's second-to-last game of the season; thus they will be looking to end it on a high note with straight wins. CSK was unsuccessful this season, winning only three of their last 12 games and finishing the competition in the lower half of the standings. Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis, two young players who have taken advantage of their limited opportunities, have still developed as promising. The Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, are focused on winning their last game to cap off their IPL career. The Royals, led by captain Sanju Samson, are keen to make amends for their most recent loss to the Punjab Kings and to please their supporters with a solid showing. Rajasthan will want to repeat their victory over CSK in this match after winning their previous meeting. IPL 2025 Match Schedule Match: CSK vs RR Date: Tuesday, May 20 Time: 7:30 PM IST Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi Captain (CSK): MS Dhoni Captain (RR): Sanju Samson CSK vs RR Head-to-Head In the IPL, the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have faced one another 31 times. CSK has won sixteen of these meetings, while RR has won fifteen of them. No matches with no outcome have been found. The Rajasthan Royals won their most recent encounter by a margin of six runs in March 2025. CSK vs RR IPL 2025 Prediction: Who will Win? Since both teams are already eliminated from the playoffs, the only thing at risk in this matchup is pride. Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis are two young players who have shown promise, so the Chennai Super Kings will want to build on their recent victory and give their supporters something to celebrate. The Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, would want to finish their campaign with a bang following a disheartening defeat to the P

Match Overview KKR vs RCB: The defending champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), will play the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the famous Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, March 22, marking the official start of the eagerly awaited 18th season of the IPL 2025. Ajinkya Rahane will lead KKR for a season after they parted ways with Shreyas Iyer, their IPL-winning captain. The core group, however, is still in place, guaranteeing consistency in their title defense. The team won their third title with a landslide victory in the final after playing well in the second half of the 2024 Indian Premier League. Rajat Patidar will lead RCB this season as they continue to pursue their first IPL championship. Even though they qualified for the playoffs the previous season, they were unable to turn things around. The focus will be on Virat Kohli to hit runs since he is once again the center of attention. KKR vs RCB: Head-to-Head So far, KKR and RCB have participated in 34 IPL games. Of those games, 20 have been won by the Kolkata Knight Riders. Bengaluru's Royal Challengers won fourteen. They clashed twice in the 2024 Indian Premier League. Both games were won by KKR, one by one run and the other by seven wickets. KKR vs RCB: Who'll win? The team bowling first will win the match, according to Finebook247. KKR is predicted to win by Google Match Prediction with a 54% likelihood. We also forecast KKR to win. There is a rain scare during the contest, though. Whatever occurs, anything can happen. KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025: Eden Gardens pitch report A balanced venue for players of all trades has long been offered by Eden Gardens. It has, however, been excellent for the batters in the past few years. When the ball ages, the spinners do receive some support, but generally speaking, the batters will take center stage during the game. Weather The morning of March 22 is expected to bring rain to Kolkata. Even throughout the game, cloud cover is predicted, but there is a lower ri

In the tea break, Shubman Gill reached his first Test double-hundred and walked off unbroken on 265 after driving England into the ground with the highest-ever total by an Indian captain. Joe Root removed Washington Sundar for 42 as England's bowling attack grew weary. Allowing them to take just one wicket for the second straight session. India sped beyond 500 after lunch after cruising past 400 on the second morning at Edgbaston. Their strategy of filling their batting lineup with all-rounders following their lower-order collapses at Headingley drew a lot of opposition. But it has so far paid off handsomely, as they have partnerships of 203 and 144 for the sixth and seventh wickets. At number four, Gill was all class as he batted through a third straight session with little hope for England. Picking gaps with accuracy and finding reward for playing late. He persistently milked Shoaib Bashir, who had bowled 21 overs without reward on the second day, for singles and struck boundaries all over the park. After cleaning Washington up just before the tea break with an offbreak that turned past the outside edge. Root celebrated his dismissal with remarkable vigor. Curiously, Ben Stokes underbowled him, attempting every other possible way to get a wicket, including Harry Brook's less well-known medium pace. After the half, Washington took on Josh Tongue, hooking him over the long leg for six. After being concerned by his bouncer ploy before lunch. While Shubman Gill glided past several benchmarks, notably the best score by an Indian on English soil (previously 221) and the highest score by an Indian captain (previously 254*). He otherwise gave excellent support. India is well-positioned to achieve the highest total against England in the Stokes-McCullum era. Which stands at 579 (by Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022). There were no clear indications of a coming declaration at the tea break. England has won the last three times they have let up more over 550 runs while Sto

England have made just one change to their squad for the decisive fifth Test of the 2025 series against India. All‑rounder Jamie Overton has been brought back into the 15‑member side for the match starting July 31 at The Oval. This is Overton's first involvement in Test cricket since June 2022. When he played his only Test for England at Headingley scoring a magnificent 97 and taking two wickets during that lone appearance. Standing at 6′5″, the Surrey paceman provides both batting depth and seam‑bowling options, making him an ideal candidate to help balance the injury‑stretched England seam attack. Skipper Ben Stokes had flagged the urgent need for fresh legs after the front‑line bowlers grinded through a gruelling 257 overs in the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford. Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, and returning pace spearhead Jofra Archer have carried a heavy workload through the series to date. Woakes alone has bowled 167 overs, while Archer just returning from a four‑year break has compiled his heaviest outing ever at Old Trafford with 49.1 overs. Stokes acknowledged that after their exertions, rotation or reinforcement may be essential ahead of the turnaround to Oval. Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue already in the squad but unused at Old Trafford are the likely competition for places. Atkinson recently returned from hamstring injury with a strong outing in Surrey's Second XI. While Tongue has taken 11 wickets in the series so far but has struggled with consistency. The Oval Test Overton's inclusion is not only about workload management. As a local Surrey player, he brings familiarity with the conditions at The Oval. He rejoined Surrey permanently in 2021. After a loan spell, and has seen strong county form throughout the current season - and even featured for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025. Selectors have retained all 14 members from the squad that fielded at Old Trafford, with Overton being the single addition to the group. This inclusion r