With the equation still wide open for any team to win(especially the teams currently placed from 1 to 6) and still make it to the playoffs, the DC and SRH was always going to be an interesting match up. DC has had a surprise IPL where they’d played consistently well from the start with a few hiccups and SRH has had a slightly disappointing IPL but were still making up for it with some good wins. DC won the toss and decided to bowl first.

SRH was off to a flyer getting some exceptional boundaries. Today SRH sent in the fresh duo of Warner and dropped Bairstow with Wriddhiman Saha finally making the cut for today’s encounter. Ravi Ashwin’s over saw Saha sweep him for boundaries at ease. At 4.4 overs SRH already posted 50 on the board. This was going to be a high scoring match.

The onslaught continued and the flourish brought runs aplenty for SRH. Watching the duo bat was really a good sight and Warner brought in his 50 off a mere 25 balls. In the 8th over, the duo brought in a 100 runs partnership. Man, what a innings this was turning out to be.

This was certainly a very strenuous spell for DC and Ravi Ashwin brought in the 1st breakthrough dismissing Warner for a splendid 66.

Saha was still at the crease and brought in his 50 off 27 balls. What a return to his side in his 1st match of the season. He was hitting some phenomenal boundaries but was dismissed for 87 by Anrich Nortje. Hands down this was a really good comeback and classic knock from Saha.

Manish Pandey with a glorious 44 off 31 and Williamson 11 off 10 drove SRH to 219. Now that was a really good score to put on board. They really dismantled the DC bowling and the DC dugout cut a sorry figure at the end of the innings exuding disappointment.

Rabada, the purple cap holder went wicketless which was really surprising but credits to Warner and Saha who pushed SRH to get the intial crucial runs and making the DC bowlers toil and last minute flourish from Pandey really set the tone. This will now be an interesting run chase as DC has the firepower to chase this but the pressure will be on them.

DC was in to bat and they had Dhawan and Rahane as openers. Off to a disastrous start that saw Dhawan getting dismissed early on by Sandeep Sharma for a golden duck, DC was certainly feeling the pressure. Stoinis was fast tracked and sent in at 3. Good start for SRH as DC was 6/1 at the end of the 1st over.

DC was dealt in with another blow when Stoinis was dismissed for a lackluster 5 by Nadeem at DC was 14/2 at the end of 2 overs. It was expected that Iyer would walk in, but Hetmyer was sent in. Perhaps this was to preserve Pant and Iyer for latter stages.

At the end of the powerplay, DC was 54/1. Rashid Khan was in the attack and struck in his 1st ball of the spell dismissing Hetmeyer and in his 4th ball LBW’d Rahane. Iyer was finally in after this 4 wickets collapse.

At the halfway mark, DC was 73/4. His lukewarm stay getting just 7 off 12 also ended when Vijay Shankar got his wicket. DC was 5 wickets down at this stage with Pant at the crease when Axar Patel joined him but in the pursuit of boundaries, couldn’t convert it to anything significant. DC 6 wickets down, another for Rashid and with 3/7 of 4 overs, he cemented the best figures in the history of IPL.

Wickets kept tumbling while Pant soldiered on but the total was too overwhelming and he was dismissed for 36. It was done and dusted for DC at this point. With Ashwin and Deshpande batting, the tail left obviously they’d have to bat on for pride. Deshpande with his 20 off 9 provided some respite but T Natarajan taking one more ended the agony for DC and helped SRH get this much deserved 88 runs victory.

With both the teams coming into this encounter riding on some good wins in their previous matches, this was a crucial one. As KKR are on the top half of the table, this win was important and for KXIP the season wasn’t done and dusted for them as with 4 wins on trot, a playoffs berth seemed possible. The last time the teams took on each other was a thriller where KKR handed KXIP a loss by a narrow margin of 2 runs defending a competitive 164.

KXIP won the toss and decided to bowl first.

KKR sent in Shubman Gill and the openers slot was quite a revolving door with the thinking tank experimenting and today sending in Nitish Rana. This didn’t work out as a wily Maxwell dismissed him for a golden duck in the 2nd ball of the very 1st over. Tripathi was the new man in.

Tripathi also didn’t make his stay at the crease count as after a boundary and some runs was out for a disappointing 7. Shami got this wicket and was back in the hunt getting another wicket of Dinesh Karthik for a duck in what was a clear knick and rightly given out but took a review which was a lapse in judgement. Within 3 overs, they were 10/3.

Morgan was at the crease and with Shubman Gill was rebuilding the innings. At the end of the powerplay, KKR was 54/3.

The duo was batting really well and brought in a well made 50 runs partnership with Morgan most importantly playing the role of the aggressor with some cracking boundaries.

Morgan was dismissed soon after for 40 by Bishnoi caught by Murugan Ashwin. KKR was now 4 wickets down. Narine’s stay was shortlived as after striking a boundary was out for 6. Nagarkoti was fast tracked at this 5 wickets down stage. Was he a proven pinch hitter and will he be able to assist Gill?

Nagarkoti didn’t contribute much with the bat and was out for 6. Gill in the meanwhile brought a good 50, the only positive for them batting. Cummins who came in next also had a lukewarm stay getting dismissed for off 8 balls. KKR was now in deep trouble 7 wickets down.

Shami once again got the crucial wicket of Shubman Gill who was looking to make the most with boundaries for a well crafted 57.

Lockie Ferguson’s cameo of 24 and a good last over by Jordan ensured KKR made a manageable 149. For KXIP, Shami, Jordan and Bishnoi were the pick of the bowlers.

KXIP was in to bat and chase this not so humongous target. KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh were in to bat as Mayank Agarwal’s prolonged absence continued owing to injury. They gave a good start and at the end of the powerplay, KXIP was 36/0.

Chakravarthy was in the attack for his 2nd over and got the crucial breakthrough in the form of Rahul.

Gayle joined Mandeep at the crease and was off to a flyer. Hitting some delightful boundaries, at the end of 10 overs, KXIP was 67/1.

While Mandeep Singh was playing a calm and calculative knock and Gayle played a blinder of a knock 51 but was dismissed when KXIP needed just 4 runs to win. Nevertheless, brilliant knock and really a useful one.

KXIP sealed the match eventually winning by 8 wickets and continue their purple patch. Special mention to Manddep for his blistering knock of 66.

RR was pretty much out of contention to make it to the playoffs but it didn’t seem out of question as with the top 4 not making the difference in points table and having some ups and downs but still they’d had a very disappointing IPL like CSK. MI as usual were playing some exceptional cricket sitting comfortably at the top of the table.

Pollard was still captaining the team as Rohit Sharma was ruled out. MI won the toss and decided to bat first. In retrospect, this must’ve been a good decision.

Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan opened the innings for MI. Off to a good start with a boundary, Archer struck in the very first over getting the prized wicket of de Kock for a wily 6.

Suryakumar Yadav was the new man in and partnered Kishan at the crease. They were striking at a very good rate and this was a good start as the end of the powerplay, MI was at 59/1.

Batting well and making the RR bowlers toil, at the halfway mark they were at 89/1. This bliss didn’t last long enough as Ishan Kishan, yet after a good start couldn’t capitalize it for a big one and was out for 37. A brilliant and almost unbelievable catch was taken by Jofra Archer who dived and caught it, a single hand beauty of a catch.

In the following overs, Suryakumar Yadav was also dismissed. Suddenly RR was staging a comeback and putting a break on MI’s aspirations of getting a big one.

Saurabh Tiwary was taking time to settle in and Pollard was dismissed soon after as he didn’t set the stage on fire with big shots. Hardik Pandya was the new man in and was hitting some mindblowing boundaries. Tiwary was out for 34 for Archer and MI was 5 wickets down.

With Hardik Pandya playing a screamer of an innings of 60 coming off just 21 balls, he navigated MI from the trenches to a very competitive total of 195/5.

RR sent in Robin Uthappa and Ben Stokes to open the innings for RR. Although he did hit some good 4s, Pattinson got the better of him for 13.

Steve Smith looked solid with some exceptional sixes but Pattinson got his 2nd of the night dismissing his Aussie captain after a brief exchange of words during the previous ball. At the end of the powerplay, RR was 55/2.

Samson and Stokes were at the crease and the latter looked poised for a half century and was hitting really well. He did bring up his 50 in style with a four. At the end of 10 overs, RR was 99/2.

Sanju Samson and Ben Stokes were batting brilliantly and really tilted the equation in RR’s favour. They even brought up a 100 runs partnership. Sanju Samson brought in a well deserved half century and this was a brilliant batting effort.

Stokes brought in a magnificent 100 with a six. He deserved all the accolades and appreciation and finished the match off in style with a four. Sanju Samson with a 54 also contributed and ensured this win for RR by 8 wickets. What a fantastic run chase.

RCB was having a golden run this season getting those crucial victories and some breathtaking losses but was still making it up to their fans as they were in the top 4.

CSK was having a dismal season and certainly has a lot to evaluate and come back stronger. But they’ve always been a potent force and could spring up surprises and play out of their skin vs RCB, a team they’ve always played well against. Playing got pride doesn’t always mean go easy on the opposition, right?

RCB won the toss and decided to bat first. Finch and Padikkal walked out. Finch has had a very average season and would look to turn it around this match. Padikkal on the other hand has been really impressive and really cemented his position in the side.

Finch started with a flurry of boundaries dispatching Deepak Chahar and Monu Kumar for boundaries. Padikkal also got a maximum. But Finch’s stay was shortlived as he was out for 15. Sam Curran got this crucial wicket.

Skipper Kohli joined Padikkal at the crease and at the end of the powerplay, RCB was 46/1.

As soon as the powerplay was done, the next over saw new man in CSK colors in this edition take Padikkal’s wicket. This one was tricky catch as Faf took it at the boundary and before he could touch the rope he threw it to Gaikwad who made no mistake catching it. AB was the new man in.

AB de Villiers and Kohli were stiching a good partnership but were playing with precision and control. They brought up a 50 runs partnership and looked poised.

But this partnership was broken when de Villiers was dismissed for a lukewarm 39 by Deepak Chahar. He has a relatively quiet stay at the crease.

Moeen Ali also couldn’t make the most of his stay as he was out for 1. Kohli in the meanwhile brought up a controlled 50. The very next ball attempting to slog couldn’t connect and was out dismissed Curran.

Morris and Sundar with short stays at the crease with scores of 2 and 4 helped RCB reach a manageable 145. With good bowling, ideally they would be able to restrict CSK but an interesting run chase was on cards.

Gaikwad and du Plessis walked out to open for CSK. Du Plessis continued his purple patch hitting some exquisite boundaries and at the end of 4 overs were 40/0.

But Morris dismissed du Plessis for 25 and this was a crucial breakthrough. Siraj took an exceptional catch and this ensured RCB could now slowly start imposing themselves in the match. At the end of the powerplay, CSK was 48/1.

Ambati Rayadu joined Gaikwad at the crease. Gaikwad was playing some exceptional shots and forged a good 50 runs partnership with Rayadu.

Chahal once again struck gold dismissing Rayadu and Gaikwad on the other hand brought in his 50. The total seemed very much under control to chase this total and MS Dhoni walked in to bat.

Gaikwad with a brilliant 4 and a 6 sealed the deal and guided CSK to a comfortable win with 8 balls to spare and got them the 2 points on the table.

KXIP having a golden run mid season with some exceptional wins under their belt and suddenly brought some hope for their fans and maybe even seal a playoffs berth. SRH on the other hand were at a similar position having a very lukewarm IPL.

SRH won the toss and decided to bowl first. KXIP sent in KL Rahul and as Mayank Agarwal was injured owing to the last match injury he had picked. Massive respect to Mandeep Singh who was reeling with the untimely demise of his father and still had the grit to come out and bat.

KL Rahul gave a good start to KXIP innings with some good boundaries and Mandeep looked solid as well. However, soon enough he was dismissed for 17.

Gayle was the new man in. What would’ve been more tactical for KXIP was to perhaps send in Gayle to open with KL, but anyway he came in at 3. At the end of the powerplay, KXIP was 47/1.

Jason Holder struck dismissing Gayle, whose passive aggressive approach ordeal at the crease for 20. The wickets continued to tumble as KL Rahul was dismissed in the very next over for 27.

Glenn Maxwell also couldn’t contribute to save this sinking ship and his poor run continued getting dismissed for 12 and Sandeep Sharma, the man who has clocked in 100 wickets in the IPL today took this crucial wicket.

Rashid Khan struck this time getting the wicket of Hooda supported well by Bairstow with a good stumping and KXIP was now in a situation that needed their remaining batsman Pooran and last recognized batsman in the tail, Jordan to fire considering they were 5 wickets down.

Jason Holder once again carrying the momentum of some good bowling dismissed Jordan for 7 and the scorecard read 105/6. Another jolt as Murugan Ashwin was run out and Khaleel was bowling some good yorkers really curtailing the run flow.

Natarajan bowled a good last over and Pooran with his knock of 32(28) drove KXIP to a dismal 126/7. SRH’s bowling was really good and this was a clinical performance. Easy chase, perhaps?

Warner and Bairstow walked out for SRH and courtesy Warner they were off to a flyer. They were batting well in tandem hitting some exquisite shits couple by some shoddy fielding. At the end of the powerplay, SRH was 52/0.

As soon as the powerplay ended, SRH faced a setback when a set Warner was given out as it just glanced through his glove enough to satisfy the keeper Rahul to go for a review and it did work in their favour. Bishnoi continues to impress.

There was another close appeal for Jonny Bairstow but the review was not a wise one for KXIP but soon enough Murugan Ashwin got this crucial wicket and suddenly was there a twist in the tale. Abdul Samad was pushed up the order at 4 and joined Manish Pandey at the crease.

But before they could settle in, KXIP got the wicket of Samad. Shami got this crucial breakthrough. SRH was losing plot and why were they complicating this easy chase?

It was a tricky chase and the KXIP bowlers weren’t making it any simpler. Pandey and Vijay Shankar were batting well and the last 4 overs needed 28 for SRH to win this. But the 16th over saw Pandey getting dismissed off a brilliant catch near the boundary by the substitute fielder J Suchith.

But it still didn’t seem all over for SRH as with Holder and Shankar still hitting those good consistent boundaries, there was hope. But suddenly the SRH hopes were hit when a wrongly aimed shot by Pooran at the wickets hit Shankar’s helmet that left him rattled and broke the momentum for SRH as he was dismissed the very next ball by Arshdeep Singh. 17 off 13 and Priyam Garg walked in.

Holder was the next man dismissed as Jordan got this important wicket. SRH was now letting go and 6 wickets down, this was only getting tougher. Back to back wickets as Rashid also attempted to hit a big one was out.

The final over required SRH to get 14 off 6 balls. Arshdeep Singh was handed the reins for the final over. A single by Garg and another wicket down for SRH in the form of Sandeep Sharma. Garg succumbing to the pressure attempting to hit a big one couldn’t connect and was out for 3. Khaleel Ahmed showing a lazy intent while running was disappointing and was run out. KXIP stole this win out of no where and a comprehensive 12 runs victory.

DC having a fairytale season was the 2nd placed team taking on KKR, the 4th placed team currently on the table was always going to be an interesting match. The points as usual was going to be crucial for both teams.

DC won the toss and decided to bowl first. Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi opened the proceedings for KKR. Gill’s unimpressive mid season lull continued as he was out for 9. Nortje struck getting this crucial wicket.

Nitish Rana was the new man at the crease and his partner Tripathi’s stay was shortlived as he was dismissed for an unimpressive 13 again by Nortje. At the end of the powerplay, KKR was 36/2.

Rabada struck in the 7th over dismissing Dinesh Karthik and KKR was now 3 wickets down. They were now in need of a big partnership to put a respectable total on board.

Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine began the resurrection for KKR. With some good running between the wickets and some breathtaking shots. They struck a brilliant partnership. Nitish Rana also crafted a brilliant 50 and then paid respect to the demise of his father in law which was very good sight and one could make out how much this innings meant to him.

Soon after, Sunil Narine brought about his 4th IPL 50 overall and he brought it up with a maximum. They kept batting on but Rabada struck again dismissing Narine for a well made 64.

Morgan was complementing Rana well and both were dismissed in the last two balls of the innings for 17 and Rana for a well made 81 taking KKR to a formidable 194/6. This was going to be a challenging chase for DC and KKR’s bowling unit has been clicking so this would be a good chase.

DC off to a bad start with Rahane getting dismissed off the 1st ball for a golden duck. Pat Cummins got this crucial wicket.

Dhawan’s stay at the crease was also short as he was untimely dismissed for 6. Cummins struck again and was bowling in the right areas.

At the end of the powerplay, DC was 36/2. They really needed this partnership between Pant and Iyer to click to get them out of this quandary. They struck a good 50 runs partnership.

But KKR gate crashed this partnership dismissing Pant for 27 and in quick succession Hetmeyer was also dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy. His purple patch continued when he dismissed the skipper Iyer and was on a hattrick. What a spell.

Chakravarthy was having a splendid day as he struck again dismissing Stoinis. He then dismissed Axar Patel. This was his 5th wicket. Unbelievable turnaround and a dismal batting performance for DC. With this it was done and dusted for DC and with Rabada getting dismissed, DC was 8 wickets down.

Lockie Ferguson dismissed Deshpande and DC was 9 down. With a single off the last ball, KKR registered a commanding much needed victory and boost to their campaign with this massive 59 runs victory.

There was a permutation and combination devised by ESPN Cricinfo that was really interesting. It basically made a hypothetical case for CSK somehow managing to eek out a playoffs berth that required them to win all the remaining matches and some other encounters of their rival teams to go tipsy turvy basically working in their favour.

This certainly wasn’t the champion CSK side that we know of and seeing them struggle (even as an ardent RCB fan, okay much to many RCB fans disappointment) has really disheartening. Maybe this is coloured by the bias that I have for Dhoni. This could be his farewell season and for him to walk away like this was not the best, but again that’s cricket. CSK has to enforce some major reforms and field a better and competitive unit. MI on the other hand looked solid and were in a purple patch with some good wins right at the top of the table.

Rohit Sharma however would be missing out the game because of an injury with Kieran Pollard stepping in to captain the side. Winning the toss, MI decided to bowl first perhaps a very good tactical decision by the interim captain as batting first on this surface with the CSK bowlers would be challenging.

Gaikwad and du Plessis walked out to bat. Trent Boult struck in the 1st over dismissing Rituraj Gaikwad who continued his poor run in the limited outings he has got this season.

In the very next over, Bumrah struck dismissing Rayadu and Jagadeesan back to back which was a major blow to the CSK batting line up. Now, even before they could settle in and stay on crease, Boult who was back in the attack got rid of du Plessis. The scorecard read an unbelievable 3/4.

Dhoni and Jadeja were at the crease. Before they could settle in and recover, Trent Boult dismissed Jadeja. CSK was 5 wickets down. Major batting collapse.

The very next over Rahul Chahar got the prized wicket of MS Dhoni and it almost looked done and dusted. Sam Curran would have to pull of a miracle if something were to happen to save CSK the blushes. Rahul Chahar struck to dismiss Deepak Chahar for a duck and now CSK was 43/7.

Nathan Coulter Nile got his wicket when he dismissed Shardul Thakur known for his pinch hitting prowess for an uneventful 11. 8 wickets down.

Sam Curran with a brilliant knock of 52 drove CSK to a respectable 114/9 only to be dismissed in the end by a brilliant yorker bowled by Boult who needed with a dream spell. Nevertheless, this was a good knock but Curran getting CSK out of the dumps but how defendable was this going to be? Not a lot considering the MI batting lineup and MI would fancy this easy win and 2 points they’d register with ease.

As Rohit Sharma was ruled out, MI sent in the southpaws de Kock and Kishan to open. With knocks of 68(37) and 46(37) by Kishan and de Kock, MI sealed the match. We got to see some exquisite shots and this was a very convincing and good win. Tough day for CSK.

RR was at 6th on the table and this win would propel them to break into the top 4 as it they would have 10 points and on par with KKR if not 5th. SRH on the other hand have been playing some good cricket but with collapses and inconsistencies creeping in, they certainly had a lot to work on and this win would get them the 2 points taking them to 8 and a higher place on the table. Crucial game for both teams and some interesting match ups as well.

SRH won the toss and cleverly chose to bowl first sending in RR to bat first. RR sent in the duo of Stokes and Uthappa to bat. Off to a relatively decent start, in the 3rd over SRH struck dismissing Uthappa for 19 in what was an unfortunate run out and crucial wicket for SRH.

Sanju Samson was the new batsman and really needed this innings to count as with the negativity and the critics around him questioning his batting, he had a point to prove. At the end of the powerplay, RR was at 47/1.

With some handy boundaries and good running between the wickets, RR looked good but Stokes was not at his attacking best. At the halfway mark, RR stood at 74/1. But what followed was certainly not anticipated by RR.

Samson was out soon after for 36 off 25 and Jason Holder got this crucial wicket. RR was at 86/2. The struggle continued as Ben Stokes’ indifferent ordeal came to an end when he was dismissed by Rashid Khan. This double wicket blow was going to prove to be costly for RR.

Steve Smith was batting solidly when Buttler joined him but the latter’s stay was shortlived as he was out for a disappointing 9. With the commentators reflecting on how he has been striking at 110 and has not lived up to his potential, maybe bringing in someone like a Miller would help change fortunes in the middle order for RR, but this change is a little unlikely to be enforced unless the management is looking for a major turnaround.

Riyan Parag with some exceptional boundaries of T Natarajan in an over that yielded 16 runs ensured that at the end of 18 overs,RR was at 134/4. Maybe SRH at this point was really missing the services of a seasoned campaigner like Bhuvi.

Jason Holder making the most of his opportunity dismissed Smith who couldn’t hit the ball which was in the right slot for 19. RR was 5 wickets down. Holder struck again dismissing Parag for 20.

Jofra Archer with a clinical knock of 16 off 7 took RR to a 154/6. SRH was one side that has not successfully chased a total and they’d certainly be looking to change that dubious distinction.

SRH was off to a poor start as he was dismissed early on by Archer who got this crucial breakthrough for RR. At the end of the 1st over, SRH was 4/1. Manish Pandey joined Bairstow at the crease.

Archer was back in the attack and struck with another delightful ball dismissing Bairstow. This was a big wicket. SRH was 16/2 at the end of 3 overs, Vijay Shankar was the new man in.

Manish Pandey was hitting some cracking boundaries and at the end of the powerplay, SRH was 58/1 looking on course. He got to a 50 off 28 balls and this was a much needed effort. At the halfway mark, SRH was 79/2. Vijay Shankar was complementing Pandey well and this was paving the way for a comprehensive win.

They were batting really well and at the end of 16 overs were 131/2 now in a comfortable equation needing 24 off 24 to seal the deal. Manish Pandey with a delightful 83 off 47 balls and Vijay Shankar who brought his 50 with a four helped SRH win. One to savour as this is their first win coming chasing this season. Hopefully one among many.

KKR and RCB encounters are ones to watch out for as for an ardent RCB fan it brings back memories of the infamous 49 all out that KKR meted out to RCB. Every match they face off at least once this thought passes by if RCB could avenge that disaster and man, did it happen today and in a stellar fashion.

KKR won the toss and decided to bat first, a decision they’d certainly regret as they were skittled for a paltry 84.

Siraj was outstanding the ball with the consecutive wickets of Tripathi and Rana. Two in two, what a dream start. The nightmare didn’t end for KKR.

Navdeep Saini was in and was quick to add to the misery by striking with another wicket in quick succession. He dismissed Shubman Gill and KKR was off to a disastrous start with the scoreboard reading 7/3.

Tom Banton also didn’t contribute much getting dismissed for an ‘indifferent’ 10 and this was Siraj’s 3rd scalp. KKR was 4 wickets down. At the end of the powerplay, KKR was at 17/4, one of the worst possible starts.

Chahal took the crucial wicket of Dinesh Karthik via an LBW for which they had to review and it luckily worked in their favour. It now seemed done and dusted for KKR but their skipper was still there. With this type of a collapse, no contribution would be enough to save this sinking ship. At the end of 10 overs, KKR was at 36/5.

Morgan made the only contribution with a 30 and the rest of the batting pretty much the tail pushed for runs but it was never going to be enough as KKR ended with a disappointing 84/8. Siraj with his figures of 4-2-8-3 really silenced all his critics (for the time being), but this will always be remembered as a legendary spell complemented well by Chahal, Saini and Sundar.

RCB’s opening pair of Padikkal and Finch batting with poise and precision and at the end of the powerplay were at 44/1. But the moment Lockie Ferguson was in the attack, he struck dismissing Finch.

RCB needed another 39 runs to seal the match and doing it under 10 overs would provide a much needed boost to RCB’s negative net run rate.

Another good tactical decision by RCB was to experiment by sending Gurkeerat at 3 to give him some batting time but immediately was off to a bad start as he was involved in a sorry excuse for a mix up that resulted in a run out that sent back a set Padikkal to the pavilion.

Gurkeerat and captain Kohli’s knock of 21 and 18 helped RCB comprehensively crush and hand KKR a 8 wickets loss. Morgan’s rein has now witnessed two losses, what will of KKR management now do? Obviously give him a longer rope and come stronger for the next match.

DC was having a dream run this IPL sitting right at the top of the table. Each match they were certainly growing from strength to strength. At this stage, they certainly looked alive and in the reckoning for a playoffs berth and so did KXIP.

KXIP on the other hand had some good performances that wasn’t really translating to big wins. They had 3 wins of which two were with RCB and one was the legendary match they played vs MI that saw 2 super overs. For them every match from this stage would count so as to stay relevant and quite honestly it would be disappointing to see the top two orange cap holders team not making it to the playoffs.

DC won the toss and decided to bat first as the tradition continues here in Dubai.

Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw walked out in the middle to open the innings for DC. Prithvi Shaw’s miserable run continued as he was dismissed for yet another disappointing 7 unable to connect the ball as well as he would’ve liked. Jimmy Neesham got this crucial wicket and finally his cricket was doing the talking.

Dhawan was batting brilliantly hitting those consistent boundaries with Iyer at the crease, a big partnership was expected. At the end of 6 overs, the powerplay DC was at 53/1.

Iyer’s stay at the crease was curtailed when Murugan Ashwin dismissed him for a minuscule contribution of 14. Rishabh Pant was the new man at the crease. In the meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan notched up his 4th consecutive 50+ score and looked poised again for a big one.

Maxwell, the part time offie struck dismissing Rishabh Pant for 14 and DC were 3 wickets down.

Dhawan was batting really well and with Stoinis joining him, 180 certainly looked on cards and Dhawan another 100. He was batting effortlessly. Stoinis couldn’t contribute much and was out for 9.

And yes, Shikhar Dhawan has done it. This southpaw becomes the first batsman in the history of IPL to score back to back 100s and one could see him bat selflessly running for a 2 even when he could’ve have settled for 1. He was striking at a good rate and is certainly becoming the backbone of this DC batting line up.

The last over by Shami gave away just the 7 runs and although Dhawan batted magnificently, KXIP really pulled things back and staged a comeback restricting DC to 164/5.

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal walked in for KXIP. KL looked in good touch hitting boundaries before he was dismissed by Axar Patel, the unsung hero of DC for 15. He even brought in 100 sixes in his IPL career. 1st setback for KXIP but considering the firepower in their batting, it was certainly far from over. Gayle was the new man in.

Gayle made the most of this Tushar Deshpande over hitting him all around the park getting 26 off it. This was a glorious over for KXIP setting then on course for a easy victory and relieving pressure of Mayank Agarwal at the other end.

But Gayle was dismissed in the very next over by Ravi Ashwin for 29. This was the 5th time the offie was dismissing him. The over also witnessed a freakish run out of Mayank Agarwal and he dived to the crease in a very ugly fashion potentially even injuring himself as he was seen limping away back to the pavilion. At the end of the powerplay, KXIP was 57/3.

Pooran was batting a little sporadically and there was another close run out call but was making up for it with some splendid sixes striking it right from the middle of the bat. At the end of 10 overs, KXIP was 101/3.

Pooran converted those big hits making a 53 off 28 and with this whirlwind knock shifted the balance in a comfortable KXIP win. But his dismissal was unfortunate as the ball just touched his glove caught well and vociferously appealed for by Rishabh Pant. KXIP at the end ot 13 overs were 130/4 needing another 35 off 42 to get this crucial win.

Maxwell was soon after dismissed by Rabada and was there a twist in the tale? KXIP needed just 17 off the last 4 overs and with Neesham and Hooda it seemed possible and with knocks of 15 by Hooda and 10 by Neesham sealed the deal. Rabada with his 2 wickets was excellent again with the ball. KXIP take two crucial points from this win, their 3rd consecutive win.