Apr 4, 2019 Big picture Like so often in the recent past, Sunrisers Hyderabad have started the IPL 2019 season as tournament favourites must; they did lose their first match, away against Kolkata Knight Riders, but have won their next three games – two of them at home – comprehensively. But unlike in previous years,

3:41 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff Kolkata Knight Riders’ win on Friday was the ninth instance of a team winning an IPL game when more than 90 were needed off seven overs. On six of those occasions, Royal Challengers Bangalore were the bowling side. It’s become a painfully familiar tale for Royal Challengers, who possess a

Apr 4, 2019 How does one stand out in a team that has Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in it? Just ask Parthiv Patel. He is currently Royal Challengers Bangalore’s top run-scorer in IPL 2019, with 138 runs in four games, 45 ahead of the second-placed de Villiers. Yet, nearly half the questions asked

Steven Smith has insisted Cameron Bancroft will prove a “good choice” as captain of Durham. News that Bancroft, who like Smith has recently returned from suspension for his role in the Newlands ball-tampering episode, had been appointed ahead of the 2019 county season raised eyebrows in some quarters, with former England fast bowler Darren Gough

3:00 AM ET Toss Sunrisers Hyderabad chose to bowl v Delhi Capitals Bhuvneshwar Kumar led Sunrisers Hyderabad again in the absence of Kane Williamson and chose to bowl with an unchanged side against Delhi Capitals. On the contrary, Capitals made three changes to their XI that lost to Kings XI Punjab three days ago. The

6:13 AM ET Andrew Fidel Fernando Former Sri Lanka allrounder Dilhara Lokuhettige has been slapped with three fresh corruption charges – these by the ICC’s own Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) – five months after the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) had also charged him. The ACU’s allegations are generally in line with the charges Lokuhettige had already

10:23 PM ET ESPNcricinfo staff New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham came to the brink of retiring 18 months ago amid a battle with form and injury that had seen him fall out of love with cricket. Neesham spoke about his challenging time as he soaked up the “surreal” experience of securing a spot in the

3:00 AM ET Toss Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians chose to bat/bowl v Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl first against Mumbai Indians, expecting a little help from the Wankhede Stadium surface in Mumbai. For the third time in four matches, Super Kings

12:39 AM ET Sruthi Ravindranath While there have been umpteen suggestions on who should take up India’s No. 4 World Cup spot, former captain Kapil Dev does not believe the concept of slots applies in modern day cricket. At the end of nearly every IPL match, a number of names, including the likes of Vijay

7:26 PM ET Deivarayan Muthu From out of nowhere, Tom Blundell has bolted into New Zealand’s World Cup squad as the second wicketkeeper behind Tom Latham. This is partly due to a finger injury to Tim Seifert, who was initially ahead of Blundell in the pecking order. Uncapped in ODI cricket, Blundell could be thrown