Coming off some exceptional victories and a patch of consistent wins, who would register the next consecutive win was the question fresh on everyone’s minds.

Off to a good start, Prithvi Shaw looked to get the run board ticking getting a 4 of Boult but in the very next ball was dismissed.

Most of us rallying for Rahane to make it into the playing 11 were delighted to see him walk in next to bat. He looked in good touch hitting 3 boundaries but was dismissed by Krunal Pandya via an excellent LBW call that worked in MI’s favour.

Although this early dismissal was witnessed, the only hope is that wouldn’t be an impediment in future selections and his past consistent performances should warrant a place in the side and with more opportunities, he could cement his place in the squad.

Dhawan was the anchor of the ship batting calm and composed with Shreyas Iyer also building on a partnership. At the end of 11 overs, DC was at 85/2.

They strung a brilliant partnership when Krunal struck again dismissing Iyer for 42 breaking a brilliant partnership. DC were at 109/3 at the end of 14.4 overs when a strategic timeout was called for.

Shikhar Dhawan brought about a well deserved 50 off 39 balls and it was his 38th IPL 50. Stoinis was the other end and a big one from him would really aid DC’s cause.

Stoinis got back to back boundaries and DC was scoring at almost 8 an over. A freak run out of Stoinis via a good throw by Suryakumar Yadav and the stumps dislodged to perfection by Chahar was putting DC in deep trouble.

Alex Carey was the new man in and had the distinction of being a pinch hitter. It was his time to shine. Dhawan’s 69 off 52 and Carey’s cameo ensured DC got 14 off 9 took DC to 162/4.

Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock were in to bat. Sharma appearing in his 150th IPL match and it shows how consistent he’s been for the side.

While Rohit Sharma was taking time to settle in, de Kock was making the most of this Ashwin over. Rohit Sharma’s stay was short as Axar Patel dismissed him and a comfortable catch for Rabada. A welcome breakthrough most certainly and at the end of 5 overs, MI was at 31/1.

De Kock was in fine touch hitting some good boundaries and brought in a fine 50 of 33 balls and it a wide repertoire of shots were witnessed. He also was complemented well by Suryakumar Yadav playing well. At the end of 9 overs, they were at 72/1 on par to chase the total.

De Kock was dismissed soon after by Ashwin and there was a mix up with S Yadav and Kishan but luckily Rahane threw the ball at the wrong end which resulted in no run out. But MI had to be wary of such results and carefully navigate their innings.

Suryakumar Yadav got his 50 off 30 balls and was really impressive. He even stitched the 50 runs partnership with Kishan and this one was going to be an easy one for MI provided they didn’t lose wickets but S Yadav was out but the equation still was 33 off 30 with a lot of batting still left for them. Hardik was the new man in.

Stoinis got his wicket owing to an edge generated by the out swinger and what was an easy chase was simply getting complicated. From time to time, hitting those boundaries really helped MI. Pollard and Kishan were doing exactly that.

It still wasn’t over as DC struck back dismissing Kishan for 28 off 15 balls with Axar Patel taking an excellent catch. MI needed just 10 more from 12 and DC was desperate for more wickets. Nortje bowled a good 19 over and now MI needed 7 off the last over.

Krunal Pandya started off with a good boundary and ended with another. MI comfortably won this match by 5 wickets and a good game overall. Credits to DC for taking it so deep and with this the coverage of double header Sunday comes to an end.

RR coming of 4 consecutive losses needed a much needed win and SRH on the other hand were coming of a win and loss and this was going to be a crucial encounter.

SRH won the toss and decided to bat first. Off to a relatively slower start, Bairstow was dismissed early on for 16 by Tyagi courtesy a sensational catch by Sanju Samson, the man playing his 100th IPL match. SRH was still hanging on and at the end of the powerplay were 26/1.

Manish Pandey was batting and finally brought up his 3000 runs in IPL in this milestone laden day. Jofra Archer struck dismissing the crucial Warner for 48 and SRH was at 96/2.

Manish Pandey was batting brilliantly eventually falling for 54 dismissed by Unadkat and was complemented well by Williamson who remained unbeaten on 22. Garg also played an instrumental role with a cameo of 15 off 8 and SRH ended with a below par 158/4.

RR was in to bat and sent an unlikely pair of Stokes and Buttler to open. But his stay at the crease was short lived as he was dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed for 5.

RR faced another jolt when Smith was dismissed for 5 albeit a run out and a brilliant one by Vijay Shankar and the score was 25/2. But SRH could keep their spirits high as Buttler was dismissed soon enough for 16 and now they were in deep trouble as the score was 26/3.

The new batsmen in starting afresh were Sanju Samson and Robin Uthappa. Both were building on a formidable partnership when Uthappa’s poor vein of form continued as he was dismissed for 18 by a screamer of an LBW by Rashid and RR was 4 wickets down.

At the end of 10 overs, RR was at 67/4 with Samson going solid and young Parag joining him in. Rashid Khan was certainly having a field day dismissing Sanju Samson and his mid season wave of poor performances continued. Now 5 wickets down, RR was having a very tough outing.

Tewatia was the new batsman in and RR still required 65 off 30 balls. He was hitting those big sixes, with Parag hitting them as well, they brought the equation to a chaseable and acquirable total getting 18 off this Sandeep Sharma over and needed 36 off 18 balls.

Rashid Khan still had 1 over in his kitty and this would be a big challenge that RR would have to surpass and come through stronger. Tewatia got three brilliant 4s off Rashif Khan of which 2 were switch hits. Unbelievable stuff.

Drama wasn’t over as the ball missed Tewatia’s bat and hit Bairstow and struck the stumps as well but was not enough to dislodge the bails and Tewatia was out of the crease to return quickly. A hypothetical scenario of a run out could’ve happened had the bails come off. But with the last 2 overs needing 22 runs, RR was still making it look possible.

Slashing a full toss for two boundaries off Natarajan (a 6 and a 4), Tewatia’s heroics were ensuring another win for RR, maybe? They strung the highest 6th wicket partnership this IPL and they were batting like a dream.

Now they needed 8 off the final over and all credits to Tewatia for bringing it so much more closer for RR. Khaleel was handed the ball for the final over. He’d been the pick of the bowlers.

This over saw some excellent running between the wicket for 2s and singles. They needed 3 off 3 and easy singles would easily guarantee a win. Parag finished it off in style with a glorious 6 and an exchange of words between Khaleel and Tewatia was unsavory with Tewatia animatedly explaining Warner something but this was a stellar win for RR and that’s what mattered at the end of the day with the youngsters paving the way for the same.

This was the one match that I was looking forward to considering the sheer tenacity and the ‘fan created’ animosity between the two teams, this was an interesting match on cards on a rainy Saturday here for us Bengaluruians within the safe confines of our homes watching our home team take on CSK at Dubai.

RCB won the toss and decided to bat first. No surprises there. Chahar picked up the 1st wicket for CSK dismissing the ‘indifferent’ Aaron Finch for a mere 2 runs off 9 balls. It was 13/1 when Kohli walked in to bat. At the end of the powerplay, RCB were at 36/1.

At the end of 10 overs, RCB were at 65/1. Devdutt Padikkal wasn’t his usual self and was rotating strike and hitting those consistent boundaries but a mistimed top edge generated by Thakur was caught to perfection by du Plessis and he was sent back for an unimpressive 33 off 34 balls.

Shardul Thakur struck again dismissing AB de Villiers for 0 off 2 balls and this was a major loss for RCB considering the kind of impact AB has on the team.

Washington Sundar hit one solitary 6 and scored a run a ball 10 before getting dismissed by Curran. RCB was 4 wickets down now and Shivam Dube walked in.

Kohli looked really settled in and Dube was striking it really well. Timing was a little amiss for Kohli but he raked and surpassed 5600 runs for RCB and brought up his 2nd 50 for the season off 39 balls.

Sam Curran’s over turned out to be exceptional as we got to see some Kohli classic shots and the over gave RCB 24 runs and Virat Kohli the confidence to take the risks and go for the big ones making optimal use of the gaps.

He was in the zone this innings welcoming Shardul Thakur in the attack with a six and brought about the 50 runs partnership with Dube. The next ball was a disastrous no ball and Jadeja (yes, him) dropped him but it was a no ball so it didn’t make a difference. Hitting another excellent shot in the free hit, a good fieling attempt didn’t give RCB 4 runs.

The last and final over was a brilliant one as we got to see magnificent athleticism from Kohli with a 4 and 4 doubles, he was really pushing all levels. Unbelievable running and sprinting was ensuring RCB get those extra runs was pivotal in taking RCB to 169/4.

Kohli ended with a magical 90 off 52 balls ably supported by Dube who made 22 off 14 balls. It was good to see Kohli batting like that and the running was supreme. The levels of fitness displayed by him is inhuman and even his partners have played a crucial role in ensuring the same. Thakur with his 2 wickets was the pick of the bowlers. This was going to be a challenging one for CSK chasing.

CSK was off to a sluggish start and lost their 1st wicket of du Plessis was captured by Sundar. Watson was also taking time to settle and Rayadu was the new batsman in.

Saini was bowling some exceptional line and lengths and was making the CSK batsman toil in this powerplay overs. Sundar struck again taking the crucial wicket of Watson bowling hom out. At the end of the powerplay, CSK was at 26/2.

N Jagadeesan was the new batsman in and at the end of 10 overs, CSK were at 47/2. RCB bowlers were holding things well and bowling a good length restricting the runs flow. CSK needed 114 runs more off 9 overs and they had to accelerate.

Jagadeesan and Rayadu were building on a partnership here and RCB had to apply the breaks and get the crucial wicket. CSK needed 81 off the final 36 balls and this certainly was changing into an interesting run chase with the asking rate steeply rising to 13.

Morris made that opportunity for RCB dismissing Jagadeesan run out and in was Dhoni. CSK fans were certainly expecting some magic from Dhoni as they know what he’s capable of and in the heart of hearts, RCB fans know what he brings to the table.

Dhoni’s cameo didn’t last as he was dismissed for 10 and CSK was 4 wickets down. Requiring 64 runs off 24 balls, Sam Curran was the new batsman in. His stay was short lived as attempting to scoop, it carried on to the wicketkeeper. CSK was now staring down the barrel chasing this improbable total.

Isuru Udana bowler an excellent slow ball yorker that was miread by Rayadu and it was done and dusted for CSK getting dismissed for 42. They were now 6 wickets down.

Morris got the wicket of Bravo and Jadeja making mincemeat of their latter batsmen and it was the tail of CSK batting exposed. Last over and 2 more wickets, CSK would be done and out.

Udana bowling a last good over and CSK endured a heavy 37 runs loss and RCB’s biggest win over CSK was registered. What a fantastic win.

Can KL Rahul finally get KXIP out of their misery and this losing rut and can KKR finally show some consistency were some initial thoughts before the start of the game with many even stressing on the absence of Gayle hurting KXIP’s prospects but their batting wasn’t quite the problem area. KKR won the toss and decided to bat first.

Off to slow start, KKR didn’t have the best of the starts as their hero from last game, Rahul Tripathi departed for a 4 off 10 balls dismissed by an excellent ball by Shami. Shubman Gill was poised at the other end when Nitish Rana was the new batsman in.

Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill had a mix up and his stay ended when he was run out for a meagre 2 leaving a listless Gill behind. At the end of the powerplay, they had a dismal 25/2 on the board and had a lot to catch up.

Morgan was in now and a partnership between him and the settled Gill would aid KKRs pursuit of putting up a big total. But as Harsha Bhogle rightly pointed out, the pitch had been acting very differently.

Morgan’s lukewarm stay at the crease also came to an end with Bishnoi picking his wicket. KKR was at 63/3 and perhaps was really contemplating their decision to bat first.

Dinesh Karthik and Shubman Gill with scores of 58(29) and 57(47) really changed things for KKR. Gill was run out and in a weird scenario and unlikely turn of events was run out.

Andre Russell and Pat Cummins with scores of 5 apiece drove KKR to 164/6 which seemed competitive considering KKR has a solid bowling attack.

KXIP was in to bat and KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. They strung a 115 runs partnership and it was magical to see them bat and unfortunately the partnership was broken by Prasidh Krishna who dismissed Mayank Agarwal for 56.

KL Rahul was batting well consistently well in the other end. Wickets were tumbling in the form of Pooran, Prabhsimran and Mandeep. It still looked like a comfortable run chase but KL Rahul was out in a crucial juncture.

Requiring a 7 of the last ball, Maxwell attempted to hit a big one off Narine but quite unfortunately it fell right next to the boundary rope for a 4 and KXIP lost this thriller of a match by 2 runs.

DC was certainly looking to make the most of this encounter to continue their solid march up the table and carry on the momentum while RR languishing at 7 would be looking to turn things around.

RR won the toss and decided to bowl first which wasn’t a very common decision here in the UAE. But playing at Sharjah makes room for that decision as chaising can be an excellent opportunity as the match progresses.

DC was off to a shaky start losing Dhawan early on and awarded Archer his first wicket in the powerplay.

Shaw and the skipper Iyer wasting no time with their timely boundaries ensured DC was at a good pace. However, Prithvi Shaw was out and soon after the captain was also dismissed. Archer took Shaw’s wicket but Iyer was out in an unfortunate run out albeit a brilliant ‘rocket’ arm throw by colt Jaiswal. Suddenly Delhi lost all their 3 wickets in the first 5 overs and the scorecard read 50/3 at the end of 5.5 overs.

Stoinis continued his rich vein of form hitting the ball out of the park. Another mix up and a clear lapse of concentration from Rishabh Pant was run out for 5. Shimron Hetmyer was the new batsman in and although DC had some batting in their lineup, these two will play crucial roles to string a partnership and get DC in a comfortable position. DC was at 87/4 at the end of 10 overs.

Hetmyer and Stoinis were building a partnership well when Tewatia aka ‘The Sharjah miracle man’ got a soft dismissal of Stoinis caught to perfection by Smith for 39. DC was at 109/5 in 13.3 overs and surprisingly the new batsman in was Harshal Patel.

At the end of 15 overs, DC was at 122/5. There was a still a lot to be done in terms of making a big total and Hetmyer with some mishits and good shots was fulfilling that criteria. Hetmyer was out attempting to hit another big one was out for 45 of a mere 24 balls and a ‘leap of faith’ by Tewatia who seems to love this ground worked well and DC was 6 wickets down. Kartik Tyagi got this wicket and has been really impressive.

Making good use of extras and free hits was Axar Patel, the new man in bringing in those big runs. Aiming for the right slots, RR certainly didn’t know what hit them. This Andrew Tye over that got DC 22 runs and all drama was not done as he was dismissed in the last ball scoring a 17 off 8 balls.

DC had an uneventful 20th over where they got just the 3 runs and a wickets. They finally managed to spot 184/8 and Archer was the pick of the bowlers.

This was going to be an interesting run chase on cards that RR was about to undertake. Off to 10 runs of turn 1st over, RR was looking good. Yashasvi Jaiswal having a quiet IPL had a point to prove and today could he his big opportunity.

Jos Buttler playing a 13 off 8 was out courtesy a brilliant catch by Shikhar Dhawan and Ashwin struck in his very 1st over and Dhawan was seen celebrating in his typical style.

Steve Smith was getting some unorthodox boundaries and Rabada looked frustrated as he gave away 14 runs. At the end of 6 overs, RR was at 41/1.

Steve Smith was dismissed by Nortlje for 24 off 17 balls and again we got to see a brilliant catch by Hetmyer who dived forward to the deep mid square region to take this clean. RR was at 56/2 when a strategic timeout was called for.

Samson was out early without affecting the scoreboard much and was quite unfortunately falling in the pattern of underperforming in the middle stages after a tremendous start to a new season. He was again falling prey to the old habit.

Jaiswal liked poised but had to score boundaries. Mahipal Lomror was the new batsman in and Ashwin dismissed him for 1 off 2 balls. They were 4 wickets down and in a quandary.

Stoinis started his over in a magnificent fashion and clean bowled the young Jaiswal who was walking bval after an unimpressive 34 off 36 balls unable to score even run a ball.

RR was losing wickets in a hurry with Tye getting dismissed. With 6 wickets down, RR still had Archer and Tewatia at the crease and fans had still pinned their hopes on them for a miracle.

They still needed 78 off 24 balls and an asking rate staring at 19. Tewatia started in an excellent manner of Nortje’s over with a 6 and a 4. Harshal Patel struck again with a screamer of a catch taken by Hetmyer and Gopal was walking back to the pavilion after a massive review process to see the legitimacy of the catch.

While wickets were tumbling on the other end, Tewatia was makin heads turn with some good hitting. But it was never going to be enough and with a couple of midfields from DC not helping their cause.

The 19th over started off with Rabada getting the wicket of Tewatia and now RR was reduced to 9 wickets down. Rabada with the 2 wickets in this final over closed the match and handed RR a 46 runs loss.

Both teams were certainly looking to get a win this match especially KXIP who’ve put up dominant batting performances which hasn’t quite translated into wins owing to the abysmal bowling performance. SRH on the other hand has had a mixed IPL with the openers not quite firing, today maybe we would get to see a renewal of fortunes for one side.

SRH won the toss and no surprises chose to bat first. Bairstow and Warner provided an excellent start for SRH raking up massive boundaries and making a mockery of the KXIP bowling attack. At the end of 4.2 overs, they already brought the 50 for SRH on board.

At the end of the powerplay, SRH was at 58/0. Bairstow was in fine flow bringing up his 50 off 28 deliveries. It was a treat to watch him and with David Warner playing an excellent second fiddle, hitting those boundaries was helping SRH get a big score.

David Warner brought about his 50 and his 9th consecutive vs KXIP and in 37 balls. SRH was scoring at almost 10+ and were really making using of gaps well. The KXIP attack looked listless and new addition Mujeeb was ineffective. At the end of 14 overs, they were 154/0 and scoring at 11. Wow.

Ravi Bishnoi, the game changer walked in and consequently dismissed Bairstow and Warner in the same over and gave away one run. Bairstow was dismissed for a well made 97. In the very next over, Arshdeep Singh sprung into action dismissing Pandey.

Suddenly, SRH was losing plot as Abdul Samad was out as Ravi Bishnoi got his 3rd for the night. Priyam Garg also had an uneventful stay getting dismissed for 0 and SRH was at 175/5.

Williamson and Abhishek Sharma tuned things around and with crucial knocks of 20 and 12 coming very quick of their bats drove SRH to a competitive 201/6. KXIP’s Bishnoi, Arshdeep and Shami’s solitary wicket got KXIP on top.

KXIP was not off to a great start as a mix up between the openers led Mayank Agarwal run out and back to the pavilion early on the innings in this crucial run chase.

KL Rahul was holding the fort at the other end and in was Prabhsimran Singh who was hitting some exceptional shots stepping down the crease. But he was dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed for a good shot provided there was no fielder there at point but for his misfortune there was a prompt Priyam Garg.

Nicholas Pooran was the new man at the crease and at the end of the powerplay, SRH was at 45/2. Starting the over after powerplay with two majestic sixes by Pooran off Abhishek Sharma, a partnership was building when KL Rahul was dismissed for 11 and now KXIP needed some batting firepower and runs.

Pooran was striking the ball in an excellent manner and brought up his 50 off just 16 balls and didn’t stop as he was making the most of Samad and hit him for 4 sixes and a 4 this over. He certainly made the ground seem like the Sharjah with the ease of scoring runs.

Priyam Garg with an excellent throw dismissed Maxwell run out for 7 and KXIP was still struggling to get through. At the end of 12 overs, they were 112/4 still needing 90 more off 48 balls.

Rashid Khan joined the party taking the wicket of Mandeep Singh and it was one of the best balls as it turned lage and was too late a reaction from Mandeep to that ripper of a wrong-un.

KXIP was facing a downfall as Mujeeb was out and they were 6 wickets down. Pooran was still in the crease but the fall of wickets from the other end was really hurting KXIP’s prospects in this match.

Requiring 76 off 36, it still looked difficult and with Pooran getting dismissed after defending 4 balls, he was foxed by this Rashid Khan brilliance and excellent field set up by Warner. Pooran was dismissed for a well made 77.

Rashid struck again dismissing Shami for a duck LBW and it was a magical spell. The rest of the batting was out and fell like a pack of cards. SRH won by a huge margin of 69 runs.

Mixed fortunes for both the teams during this IPL having been previous winners and this was going to be an interesting match. KKR with the young blood and CSK with their experienced players facing off was a good match on cards on this mid week schedule.

KKR won the toss and after 5 years and 69 matches later decided to bat first considering the wave of teams batting first, putting up a big total on board and exerting pressure on the team coming in to chase.

A welcome sight was to see Rahul Tripathi walking in with Shubman Gill to open the innings for KKR. Gill’s stay at the crease was not for long as he was dismissed by Thakur as he mistimed this length ball which comfortably fell in the hands of Dhoni. KKR’s batting this season has been inconsistent and with the changing batting order has been a little tipsy turvy.

At the end of the powerplay, KKR were at 52/0. Tripathi was striking really well. Nitish Rana was the new batsman in and hitting a solitary boundary was out without contributing much to the scoreboard for 9 off 10. They were now at 70/2.

Rahul Tripathi on the other hand brought up a well crafted 50 off 31 balls and carried on his excellent form from the previous games.

Narine’s cameo at 4 this time around brought in 17 off 9 balls. Jadeja took an exceptional catch and was backed well in time with du Plessis catching it. What is not quite understandable why they couldn’t bring in Russell and give him fair share of time in the middle. The think tank of KKR certainly has to relook this decision. Morgan was the new batsman in. Karn Sharma was in fine form taking the crucial wickets of Rana and Narine in his 1st game of the season ending with figures of 2/25.

At the end of 13 overs, KKR was at 109/3 scoring at 8.38. A soft dismissal of Morgan was seen when Sam Curran bowled a short one that was slyly knicked by Morgan and CSK got a big wicket.

Russell was the new man in and Tripathi was going all guns blazing, making use of the gaps and the deficit in runs considering the other batsmen weren’t able to bat for long. Russell’s indifferent form continued as he was out for 2 off 4. Thakur was getting his line and length right and it was for all to see.

Tripathi playing an excellent knock of 81 off 51 was out and as Harsha Bhogle mentioned was the “heart” of today’s KKR batting. DJ Bravo got his wicket and was displaying his prowess in the death overs.

The last over saw DJ Bravo take 2 wickets and with contributions from Dinesh Karthik with 12 and Pat Cummins with 17, KKR was all out for 167.

Dhoni’s undoubted excellence as a keeper was seen with the wonderful catch of Mavi and the last ball run out of Varun Chakravarthy. His dive and enthusiasm on the field and his foresight to remove the glove to aid the run out was some exceptional thinking.

DJ Bravo on his birthday with this excellent spell was a delight to watch.

CSK was in it to win and Watson and du Plessis were the dynamic duo to open the innings for them. At the end of 3 overs, CSK were at 25/0 with Faf hitting really well but Mavi bowled an excellent one that deceived him and was caught well by the keeper, DK. Faf has been the backbone for CSK and his dismissal would be major jolt for CSK.

CSK ended the powerplay at 54/1 with Rayadu and Watson at the crease. They were batting in a controlled and strategic manner, hitting those occasional boundaries and the scoreboard was busy.

Considering there wasn’t a big total to change, CSK seemed in control and were almost on par with KKR at each of the stages, a little acceleration would ensure they’d be in the driver’s seat.

Rayadu attempting to slog hit one which landed in the sage hands of Gill and Nagarkoti was celebrating the wicket. Much to our delight, Dhoni walked in at 4 and finally we could see him close this match.

Shane Watson playing the perfect role of the anchor brought about his 50 off 39 balls and now at 13 overs, CSK was at 101/2 when strategic timeout was called for.

A twist in the tale was when Narine got the crucial wicket of Watson right after the timeout and CSK now had to keep it going to be on par with the asking rate.

Sam Curran was the new batsman in and runs from his side would greatly help CSK’s case. Getting 14 off Narine’s over, CSK was bridging the gap. Needing 44 off 24, CSK was still cruising and it was possible.

Varun Chakravarthy got the much needed breakthrough dismissing Dhoni for 11 and would CSK still be able to seal the deal.?

With Sam Curran also getting dismissed by Andre Russell, CSK was losing plot. With Jadeja and Jadhav, recognized batsman at the crease, they’d have to play out of their skins to get 36 off the final 2 overs.

Jadhav who hogged the strike couldn’t make the most and Jadeja hitting a 6 and 2 4s but it was too late and they were unable to close the chase handed KKR a 10 run victory and 2 points in the table.

Mumbai Indians taking on Rajasthan Royals was poised to be an exciting match. Having given us some exciting matches, seeing them take on each other was always going to be interesting. MI won the toss and decided to bat first.

Off to an excellent start, Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma were middling the ball really well. Getting those consistent boundaries, MI was at 49/0 cruising when a 19 year old talented debutant Kartik Tyagi (a bowling action very similar to Brett Lee) dismissed de Kock with a short ball that clearly was misread by him and top edge it was comfortably caught by wicketkeeper Buttler.

At the end of the powerplay, MI was 57/1. Suryakumar Yadav was the new batsman in and was getting those sweet, timely boundaries. MI faced a setback when Shreyas Gopal struck twice removing skipper Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan golden duck. The scorecard read 88/3.

Krunal Pandya walked in ahead of Hardik Pandya and Pollard so this was an interesting mix up. But he was dismissed for 12 off 17 by Jofra Archer and MI was at 117/4.

Suryakumar Yadav brought in his 50 off 33 balls and was another class knock. He really now needed Hardik Pandya to strike well from the other end as well so they could string up an excellent partnership as well.

Hardik Pandya with those excellent boundaries off the ground coming of Archer was a delight to watch. S Yadav was also striking well and it was heartbreaking to see Tom Curran drop Hardik Pandya who dispatched him for a 4 and both of them collectively got 19 of the over propelling MI to a big score.

Suryakumar Yadav’s 79 off 47 balls and Hardik Pandya’s last minute flourish 30 off 19 took MI to a very challenging and tricky 193. This partnership of 76 between the two helped seal the deal.

It was exciting to see Yashasvi Jaiswal walk in as the new batsman making a return after warning the benches opening with Buttler. But much to our disappointment, he was dismissed of his 2nd ball by Boult.

Steve Smith opened the quota for RR with a flick that traveled fast to the boundary. Again, his stay was shortlived as he was dismissed by boom-boom Bumrah for 6 and RR needed Samson to revive this sinking ship as they were reduced to 7/2 when they faced a close dismissal call for Samson but didn’t review it.

RR faced this jolt when Sanju Samson was dismissed by Boult for 0 and RR’s scorecard read 12/3. Mahipal Lomror was the new batsman in.

Mahipal Lomror was dismissed attempting to hit one was dismissed for 11. Butler in the meanwhile brought up his 50 off 34 balls. He was on song hitting the consistent 6s. But with the asking rate steeply rising and in the pursuit of more runs, he couldn’t keep pace and was dismissed for 70 off 44.

Tom Curran also couldn’t contribute much and Tewatia also was out for a lowly score. Jofra Archer was still in but with 80 odd needed of 4 overs, it was mission impossible chasing it with Bumrah bowling so well and the MI attack complementing so well.

RR’s tail tumbled like a pack of cards and even though Archer was hitting those occasional boundaries, RR was still struggling.

I was personally hoping Bumrah to get 2 more to get a fifer and have single digit figures but Archer was hitting him and Bumrah struck dismissing him. He ended the match with 4 wickets. This was a magical spell. Pattinson quite literally sealed the deal taking the last wicket and knocking RR out of the match handing them a 57 runs hefty defeat.

RCB and DC, the current #2 and #3 of the table were taking on each other and it was going to be an exciting encounter. RCB won the toss and decided to bowl first.

DC was off to an exceptional start and Prithvi Shaw was striking the ball really well and Shikhar Dhawan was playing an second fiddle. At the end of the powerplay. They even brought up a 50 runs partnership at 4.5 overs and were making the most of the loose deliveries.

At the end of the powerplay, DC was at 63/0. Washington Sundar was being his usual economical self. Siraj got the 1st breakthrough for RCB when he dismissed Prithvi Shaw for 42.

Shreyas Iyer was the new batsman in and before he could acclimatise, Dhawan, the set batsman was out for 32 dismissed by Udana who with his pace really makes the batsman toil. Shreyas Iyer’s stay at the crease didn’t last long as he was dismissed by Moeen Ali courtesy an excellent catch at the boundary by Dev Padikkal. DC suddenly looked in trouble and the scorecard read 91/3.

Marcus Stoinis would’ve almost been dismissed but owing to Chahal’s height, he couldn’t quite grab a hold of it and he received a lifeline. DC touched 100 at 12.4 overs and getting 15 off Moeen Ali’s over DC was 117/3 at the end of 14 overs.

Stoinis was playing outstanding cricket hitting excellent shots and on being struck on his finger by Saini, it fired him up further and the over was expensive giving away 16 runs. He was striking the ball really well and if Chahal hadn’t dropped him, he certainly wouldn’t be a threat. Stoinis and Pant brought about their 50 runs partnership off 28 balls.

Rishabh Pant was finally dismissed for 37 of 25 by Siraj after playing an innings that could’ve potentially been a game changer but some of his boundaries were mindblowing.

Stoinis was cleverly making use of the gaps and brought up a well made 50 off a mere 24 balls. Udana was given the last over and Hetmyer got a wonderful 6 if the 3rd ball and it was a very economical over and the last ball was a 2 and DC ended with 196/4.

RCB was in to bat and it wasn’t without the drama of DC dropping Finch twice. But they finally got their 1st breakthrough when Ashwin dismissed Padikkal for 4 and RCB was at 20/1. And in was skip Virat Kohli getting off to a magnificent start with the classic cover drive.

Axar Patel provided yet another breakthrough for DC getting the wicket of Aaron Finch with RCB at 27/2. Virat Kohli with an exceptional boundary off Harshal Patel got 9000 runs in T20 cricket. What a feat.

de Villiers’ stay at the crease was short lived as he was out for 9 off 6. RCB ended the powerplay at 43/3. With good rotation of strike, Moeen Ali and Kohli could actually string up a good partnership. At the end of 9 overs, RCB was at 61/3.

The run rate was steeply climbing to 14 and Axar Patel struck again as Moeen Ali attempting to get a big one was caught comfortably by Hetmyer and RCB was now 4 wickets down.

Virat Kohli was dismissed for 43 off 39 balls by Rabada and it almost seemed done and dusted for RCB with 5 wickets down and scoring another 100 off the final 6 was always going to be impossible.

Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar were the new men in and getting the big runs was going to be a major challenge. Sundar’s cameo of 17 came to an end when Ashwin got his wicket. RCB’s tail was batting now and it was a dismal batting performance. Rabada struck again and Dube was out.

Rabada was excellent with the ball picking 4 wickets and DC was certainly producing this impressive bowling performance.

RCBs agony finally came to an end and DC won this match by a whopping 59 runs and further dipping RCBs NRR.

CSK was certainly having quite a disappointing season as they were languishing at the bottom of the table while their rivals for today KXIP having had some solid performances weren’t really able to back it up with their bowling performances. KXIP won the toss and decided to bat first.

The successful and on fire pair of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal walked in to bat. They were off to a solid start hitting those excellent boundaries and at the end of the powerplay had a comfortable 46/0.

They even brought up a 50 runs partnership when Mayank Agarwal was dismissed for 26 by an excellent Piyush Chawla delivery.

Mandeep Singh, the new entrant for KXIP was in and he started off with a glorious 6. He looked in good touch but eventually had to depart for 27 by Jadeja who was finally among the wickets. KL Rahul on the other end was striking really well and even brought up 1500 IPL runs. Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul were batting well when KL finally brought about his 50.

Nicholas Pooran after a very good stay at the crease was dismissed for 33 and almost instantaneously in the next ball KL Rahul was out by Shardul Thakur for 63 off 52 balls.

Maxwell and Sarfaraz with their cameos of 11 and 14 off 7 and 9 balls respectively took KXIP to 178/4. Shardul Thakur, Jadeja and Chahar were the pick of the bowlers for their exceptional performance in restricting runs and picking wickets.

CSK opting for an unchanged playing 11 and sent in Watson and Faf du Plessis in to open. Off to a good start, they got 9 of the 1st over. With good running and rotation of strike with consistent boundaries, CSK at the end of 6 overs ended with 60/0.

They way these two were batting was nothing short of excellent. Making up for all the previous deficits in their performances, Watson and du Plessis were striking at a very good run rate. Halfway down at 10 overs, CSK was at 101/0 and repaying all the faith that the management had imposed on them.

Watson brought his 50 in style with two consecutive boundaries off 31 balls striking at 171 and this was his 20th IPL 50. This was certainly an excellent start. Du Plessis also brought about his 50 off 33 balls. He’s been a class apart for CSK batting consistently well and was striking today at 151.

CSK was at 112/0 at the end of 11 overs and needed another 67 off 54 balls. Watson with those stunning boundaries was setting an example of how even if you don’t have a lot of runs under your belt or you’re coming of a hiatus, it’s not all lost. Believe in your strength and abilities and go there and do your best. This was one of the best things I heard the commentator Anjum Chopra say and I couldn’t agree better.

Effortlessly hitting those boundaries, CSK was making batting look so easy. And KXIP bowlers were really struggling to get that crucial breakthrough. Ravi Bishnoi got in some humour with a swirly bowling action lead up before delivering the ball and had a very economical over till Watson hit him for a delightful boundary and now CSK needed 23 off 24 balls.

Watson and du Plessis also registered the highest partnership for CSK and this was a gem of a chase that you can watch on repeat and not get bored.

CSK registered a dominating and roaring win over KXIP by annihilating them with the highest 10 wicket run chase. Excellent stuff:)