IPL 2018: Chennai Super Kings are back with a bang; but not at home

They may not be playing at home but what has not diminished is the unquestioning adulation the team receives in Chennai

As Ravindra Jadeja slammed the ball for a six, little did everyone know that it would be the last time Chennai Super Kings would get to celebrate a victory at the Chepauk stadium in the latest iteration of the Indian Premier League. Days later, it was confirmed that Chennai Super King will play its remaining home games in Pune. The protests over the Union government’s inaction over sharing of Cauvery river waters had already seen calls for boycott of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. As the threat perception grew more serious in the police’s eyes, CSK was asked to find a new home.

Ironically, the build-up to this campaign for the ‘Yellow Army’ was dominated by the narrative of 

return. After spending the last two years in suspension due to team official Gurunath Meiyappan’s involvement in betting, CSK’s comeback was eagerly awaited. Particularly by its loyal fan base which gave short shrift to the accusations of spot-fixing and conflict of interest. Rather, the supporters felt unfairly targeted.

CSK has always prided itself on the manic support it seems to attract. The uncritical adoration has been carefully nurtured by the franchise. Arguably, no other IPL side can boast of such loyalty. Even during the Cauvery protest last week, some agitators spoke of the difficulty in choosing their politics over their favourite team.

CSK itself gives rise to dilemmas as it reflects the contradictions which beset the IPL better than any other side. Like the league, the franchise entertains and succeeds in good measure; but it also replicates the IPL’s tendency to court controversy, leaving a miasmic trail behind.

It began with the charges of auction-fixing (2009) and then moved on to betting and conflict of interest in CSK’s ownership model. Moreover, Chennai has not been an entirely hospitable venue to the IPL. The ban on Sri Lankan players and officials is still fresh in memory while three stands at the Chepauk stadium have remained shut since 2012. Yet, the bumps in the road have not dimmed the enthusiasm of the CSK faithful.

As witnessed during this IPL, the franchise is mindful of playing up this emotional connect. In the lead-up to the tournament, we saw fan videos gain immense traction while CSK itself sought to play up its return to the Chepauk. To embellish its connection with Chennai, the franchise had its players mouth off lines from the trailer of Rajnikanth’s latest film Kaala. In another video, made by fans, supporters borrowed a famous line from the superstar’s hit movie, Kabali – “Tell them we are back,” they roared, with pride.

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IPL 2018: SRH's Deepak Hooda does a Houdini's Act to defeat MI by 1 wicket

Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to the depth and variety in its bowling attack to counter the might of Mumbai batting which have the likes of Rohit Sharma, Even Lewis, and Ishan Kishan

Sunrisers Hyderabad won their second match of IPL 2018 against Mumbai Indians by 1 wicket in a nail-biting encounter. Chasing a modest target of 148 in 20 overs, Shikhar Dhawan and Wridimann Saha gave Sunrisers Hyderabad a flying start as they crossed 50 run mark in the 6 overs of Powerplay. But Mumbai Indians Pulled it back by taking wickets at regular intervals. In the last two overs, Sunrisers Hyderabad needed 12 runs off 12 balls and Mustafizur Rahman gave only 1 run and took 2 wickets. Ben Cutting came to bowl the last over for Mumbai Indians, SRH's Deepak Hooda dispatched the first ball of the last ball for six as they needed 11 runs in last over. That brings the deficit down to 5 runs of 5 balls. Both Stanlake and Deepak Hooda held their nerve and brought the deficit down to 1 run of 1 ball. Stanlake hit a boundary over midwicket to seal the game for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Here are over by over and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians innings analysis, highlights

Sunrisers Hyderabad innings: Over by over

Pradeep Sangwan bowling first over. Shikhar Dhawan and Wriddhiman Saha are on the crease.Over 1: Saha took one run of the first ball. Shikar hit the 2nd ball for 4. The third ball he took single. Dot, dot, and single of the last ball of the over. At the end of first over. SRH 7/0

Over 2: Bumarah came to bowl. First ball dot. Singles of 2nd, 3rd, 4th ball. Dhawan hit four of the 5th ball. Takes a cheeky single off the last ball. At the end of

Over 3: Sangwan bowling the third over. Dhawan hit the first ball for four, took a single off the second ball that is leg bye. Saha dropped off the third ball and ball gone for 4. Dot ball. Short ball, top edge goes for four. Last ball of the 3rd ball for no run

Over 4: Ben Cutting bowling, Dhawan takes single. Second ball for goes for 1 run. Third ball again a single. The 4th ball hit for four over the bowler’s head. Single of the fifth ball. Two runs of the last ball.

Over 5: Krunal into the attack. Easy pickings for SRH. Just four runs conceded. Tighter line and variation helped him. End of over: SRH 42-0

Over 6: Bhumra is back and Dhawan drives him through the covers for four. Dhawan takes two. Steps out, swings and misses. Off the pads, flicked off the leg side, four for Dhawan. Good shot. Inside edge misses the stumps, gone for four. End of over: 56-0

Over 7: Markande comes to the attack. Dhawan hits a four. Single, that was quick. Saha on strike misreads and his caught in front of the stump, appeal turned down, reviewed.

He is given out. Saha goes for 22. Kane Williamson comes in. Takes a single. End of over: SRH 63-1

Over 8: Mustafizur Rahman comes to the attack. Easy single. Dhawan pulls and pulls for four. He is in good touch. Dot ball. That was a risky single. Had it hit the stump, Dhawan would have gone. Mumbai needs that kind of lucky dismissals. Kane edges one and gets a four. Huge huge appeal for caught behind, turned down, reviewed. There is the spike on ultra edge! and he is out! Kane Williamson is out for 6. End of over: SRH 73-2

Over 9: Manish Pandey joins Dhawan. Markande continues. Dot ball. Cheeky single. No need for such risks. Dhawan sweeps in the air, and Bhumra takes it, a flurry of wickets. Dhawan goes for 45. Manish hits it for a four. Shakin joins him. End of over: SRH 81-3

Over 10: Six runs came off the over.

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IPL 2018: RR bowlers hold nerves, defeat Delhi by 10 runs in rain-hit match

RR made 153-5 in 17.5 overs before rain came in

IPL 2018: In a ran hit match, Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 10 runs under the D-L method. The revised target for Delhi was 71 from 36 balls. But Delhi batsmen could not clear the fence as they would have liked. Ben Lughlin was the pick of the bowler as he bowled clinical spells and took wickets.Put into bat first, Rajasthan Royals made 153-5 in 17.5 overs when rain struck. The shower was heavy and it consumed a lot of time for the ground staff to clear the puddles. The revised target for Delhi Daredevils is 71 from 6 overs. Here are the revised playing conditions:

Target 71, Powerplay of 2 overs and every bowler can bowl a maximum of 2 overs.Over 18: Shami back. Butler moves away, gives himself room and clears the fence for six. Not a good day for Shami. That was a treat to watch. Dot ball, onto the pads. Brilliant stuff from Shami, again onto the pads, saw Butler moving away. Well done. Butler moves across, tries to play it behind the wicket, ball hits the stumps.

Butler gone for 29 from 18. More importantly, that is 3 dot balls in a row in 18th over. Krishnappa Gowtham comes in. Shami bangs one short and it is wide. Gowtham flicks for 2 and covers are on the field. Rain comes pouring down. After 17.5 overs RR 1535Rajasthan Royals innings at a glance after 18 overs:Asked to bat first after Delhi Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss, Ajinkya Rahane and D’Arcy Short opened the batting for Rajasthan Royals. In the first over Rajasthan Royals openers gave RR a decent start as they looked cautious of Trent Boult’s swinging deliveries. Shabaz Nadeem came in to bowl in the second over and was hit for a boundary off the very first ball. But Short’s shots were few and, like in the first match against SRH, he was rut out by Vijay Shanker’s direct hit while taking a second run off the second ball of the 2nd over. Ben stokes came to bat after Short’s dismissal. Boult gave away 5 runs in his second over as the bowl was swinging and it was hard for Stokes and Rahane to score big. Things weighing more in favour of Delhi Daredevils so far.

Chris Morris replaced Nadeem for the 4th over of the innings and he did not look as threating as Boult: He gave away 9 runs, including a six over the square, which was hit by Ben Stokes, in his over.However, a swinging Trent Boult delivery got rid of Stokes, who was looking good after his rusty innings against SRH, as Rishab Pant took a diving catch. Sanju Samson, who came to bat after the Stokes’ wicket, dispatched Boult for a four at point and a six over square leg in the 5th over the innings. Even though they lost Ben Stokes’ wicket, Delhi Daredevils gave away 15 runs. Samson looked in a good touch as he was timing the bowl well. After giving 9 runs in his first over, Chris Morris pulled it back a little for Delhi Daredevils and gave away 8 runs off his next.

Rajasthan Royals do not seem to be having any better luck than the first game, which they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 9 wickets. So far, they have lost two quick wickets in the form of D’Arcy Short and Ben Stokes. As at the end of 10 overs, skipper Ajinkya Rahane is playing carefully, and Sanju Samson is going for the runs from the other end – together, are trying to building a partnership without risking much.After the end of powerplay, Rahane and Samson put up a good partnership to bring back Rajasthan Royals in the game after initial jitters. They had a 62-run partnership before Samson got bowled off Nadeem bowling in the 11th over of the inning. Samson’s wicket was a big blow for RR as he was looking good. Butler, who came to bat also looked good as he swept Tewatia for a four in the second ball he faced. While trying to accelerate, Rahane greeted Shami in his 2nd over with two boundaries. Rahane got out of Nadeem’s bowling as he tried to pull Nadeem and got a leading edge to point.

Tewatia who has been economical throughout innings gave away 9 runs as Rajasthan Royals looked desperate to score quick runs. Tewatia finished his final quota of over with a figure of 29 runs with no wickets.Rahul Tripathi greeted Chris Morris with a six over mid-wicket followed by Butler’s six over long on. Chris Morris leaked 18 runs as Rajasthan Royals came back into the game with a bang.Butler is in hitting mode as he brings 150 runs for Rajasthan Royals with a six over long off and putting Delhi under immence pressure.

But Shami pulled for Delhi as he got rid of dangerous Butler of the 4th ball of the 18th over. Butler scored 29 runs off 16 balls with a strike rate of 161.11.And the match is stopped due to rain Here are a few things you should know about the Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils match being played at Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur, the two squads and what to expect from Match 6 of IPL 2018: Rahane on loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad and what needs to be done to escape defeat: Skipper Anjikya Rahane too would like to forget the outing where he failed with the bat, missed a sitter in slips and also gambled with batting only to see a complete rout of his team. "We thought on this wicket, 150-160 would have been ideal total because ball was doing the bit and medium pacers got good help. But, we didn't get that one partnership. I think we lost crucial wickets in between. Partnership was the key in between. I think foreigners who played, they are really good. D'Arcy Short, he did really well in Big Bash, did well for Australia recently, Joss Butler and Stokes, we all know how dangerous they are and Ben Laughlin is an experienced bowler in T20 cricket," Rahane said at the post-match press conference.How Delhi Daredevils played against Kings XI Punjab: Newly appointed captain Gautam Gambhir (55) led from the front but lacked support around him. Delhi's batting is not that strong either with lack of experieneced names effecting the middle order. Lokesh Rahul's 16-ball 55 -- fastest IPL fifty -- made matters worse for them but a cause of worry for Delhi is seamer Mohammed Shami going for a lot of runs as Delhi will want him to deliver alongwith New Zealand pacer Trent Boult. Delhi will start as favourites against Rajasthan but unlike their first match if the likes of in-form D'Arcy Short, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler or Ben Laughlin fire on the morrow, it could well be Rajasthan's field day at home as all the players have reputation of turning the game around.

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IPL 2018 match schedule: Mumbai and Chennai to play opening game on April 7

A total of 60 matches will be played at nine venues across 51 days from April 7 to May 27

The eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League will begin on 7 April at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The season opener will be played between defending champions Mumbai Indians and comeback team Chennai Super Kings.

Apart from the hosting opening game and the final of the IPL 2018, Mumbai host the first qualifier. Chennai Super Kings will also play the last league match on May 20 against Kings XI Punjab.

A total of 60 matches will be played at nine venues across 51 days from April 7 to May 27. The two qualifiers and the eliminator will be played between May 22 and May 25. In this year’s IPL, all the double header- 12 in total – will be played over weekend. Out of 60 matches, 12 will be played in afternoon 48 will be played in the evening.

The afternoon games will start from 4:00 pm and evening games will start from 8:00 pm. Earlier in January, the IPL governing council had approved the proposal that evening matches would begin at 7pm and afternoon matches would begin at 5:30 pm. But after IPL franchises’s demand IPL council decided to stick to the original match timings.

In the addition to home bases of the eight franchises, Indore will be the ninth venue in the IPL 2018. Kings XI Punjab will host three of their home games in Indore and the remaining four matches in Mohali.

Wankhede Stadium will be hosting the final this time around between the winner of Qualifier 1 and the winner of Qualifier 2, on May 27. The upcoming edition of the cash-rich league will feature 12 matches that will be played at 4:00 PM IST and 48 matches will start at 8:00 PM IST.

Click here → IPL 2018 Schedule