Category: News

Crickingduels Fantasy: RCB v KKR- Power players

Last time when both these teams locked horns, Kolkata rattled Bangalore for IPL’s lowest total.

While RCB retained most of their core hitters, revamped KKR looked like a weak team, but in T20, we can never say.

Best Performance of the match:

He is also the uncapped player of the match- Nitish Rana
Karthik’s instinct to go with Rana worked out well for KKR. He picked up two wickets in two deliveries. It’s the wickets of ABD and Kohli. What else can you ask for?
It changed the momentum of the game. Also, with the bat, he scored 35 runs, added a crucial partnership with the captain Karthik to take the team near the finish line.

Best overseas player:

AB de Villiers and McCullum performed well with the bat, but it has to be Sunil Narine who picked a wicket and smacked 17 balls 50. That makes him the best overseas player of the match.

Best Indian player:

When every bowler went for runs, RCB’s Umesh Yadav bowled well to pick two wickets giving away only 27 runs in four overs. Though on a losing cause, He at least gave the team a chance.

Crickingduels fantasy tips: Revamped Royals looks to rattle Risers

WHO: Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals

WHERE: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

WHEN: 9 April 2018, 20.00Hrs (IST)

HEAD TO HEAD: Overall: Matches – 7
Sunrisers Hyderabad won – 3, Rajasthan Royals won – 4

Both the teams- SRH and RR both lost their captains- Steve Smith and David Warner because of the ball tampering incident. Hyderabad will miss Warner more. The opener led the team from the front all these years for Sunrisers. For Royals, Smith’s absence can be a blessing in disguise.
IMPACT BATSMEN:

At 27 years, Kane Williamson will be SRH’s youngest captain. He will have a point to prove. Shikhar Dhawan normally plays an anchor role while his partner David Warner smashes during the power play. With no Warner, Dhawan will be switching his role especially if Williamson is opening.

Ben Stokes had a great 2017 season. He is crucial in this line-up. D’Arcy Short, the Big Bash find is another important player for the team. Rahane will play the anchor role for the big-hitters. This shall make the match a high scoring affair.

IMPACT BOWLERS:

 

Jaydev Unadkat had a wonderful 2017 season. That why he went for bonkers this season. With that kind of price tag comes to the responsibility, and the 26-year old will be expected to repeat, or even better, his last season’s performance. Ben Stokes is another bowler in the RR line-up capable of making things happen.

The purple cap owner- Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan likely to cause the damage to the batsmen.

Crickingduels Fantasy tips: KXIP v DD- Power performers

The first match of the doubleheader saw Rahul light up the home crowd, and Karun Nair’s blistering knock, in the end, took Punjab home safe.

Let’s look at the power performer of the match,
He is also the Best Indian performer.

Three Indians batters scored fifties today. Delhi’s captain Gambhir’s crucial fifty for the team, Karun Nair’s fifty down the order to take Punjab home, but it was KL Rahul who lit up the crowd with the fastest IPL fifty. He smacked all around the park to score 51 off just 16 deliveries. He is the power performer of the match.

Best uncapped player:

Rahul Tewatia is the best-uncapped player of the match. After the run hunt from Rahul, Punjab was in a position to win the match convincingly. Tewatia not only picked a wicket he stopped the run flow that made Punjab go bat till the end. His spell reads four overs, 24 runs, one wicket.

Best overseas player of the match:

The youngest player to play in the IPL, Mujeeb Zadran. Who else?
The 17 years old Afghan bowler was economical, also picked two wickets.

Hope you did well in crickingduels and won.
Stay tuned.

Crickingduels Fantasy tips: RCB v KKR

When: 8 April 2018, 2000Hrs (IST)

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Team Head to Head

Overall: Matches – 20, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 11, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 9

At the Eden Gardens: Matches – 8, Kolkata Knight Riders won – 5, Royal Challengers Bangalore won – 3

When these two teams met at the Eden Gardens last season, KKR bundled out RCB for 49 in 9.4 overs – the lowest team total in the history of IPL.

Fantasy Picks:
Batsmen:
Narine and Lynn were explosive at the start for KKR the last season. They might continue their great run here too. Dinesh Karthik – who will be playing his first game since the match-winning last ball six in Sri Lanka – will be expected to make big contributions with the bat.

RCB yet again have a solid batting line-up, and unlike the past where it was top-heavy, this season they have quality batting options right through. However, there will still be dependence on the top-order – likely to comprise Brendon McCullum (or Quinton de Kock), Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers – to do the bulk of the damage.

Bowlers:
The spinners will be in the spotlight for both the teams. KKR have Yadav and Narine and for RCB Sundar and Chahal.

CSK v MI Fantasy tips: CSK predicted playing XI

The clash of the rivals is here. Two of the strongest teams in the IPL will lock horns for the first match of this year’s IPL. A lot has been changed since two years when CSK made their last appearance in the IPL.

For Wankhede, the batsmen’s fortress, this is how I will line ‘my’ Chennai Team.

This ‘probable’ is based on the player’s current form and their past records in IPL.

Openers:


For the openers, I will go with Watson and Murali Vijay as Faf is out of the match. Their experience will come in handy. Watson is in great form, while Murali Vijay’s record as an opener for CSK is great.

Middle-order:


Suresh Raina, the highest run-getter in IPL will come in next. That’s no surprise. He is the perfect option for number three. I will opt for Dhoni to come in at number four because it’s important to give him more deliveries to play.

Sam Billings at number five. The England player did well at this position for his team, Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash.

Bowlers and All-rounders:


Dwayne Bravo at number six. Everybody knows how good he is down the order with Jadeja to follow at number seven. Bhajji at number eight, Mark Wood at number nine, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar at number ten and eleven.

Bowlers:


Deepak Chahar is the leading wicket-taker of this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Thakur’s good performances earned him a place in Indian playing XI with Mark Wood being the main strike bowler, the team’s pace attack is excellent in away games.

Jadeja and Bhajji will take care of the spin department while Raina, as usual, can have an over or two in the middle.

PROBABLE: Shane Watson, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Sam Billings, Dwayne Bravo, Ravi Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Mark Wood, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur.

CSK v MI- Preview

Two of the biggest and the strongest teams lock horns in the inaugural match of the IPL. Yes, the rivalry is back.

Chennai Super Kings returns to the IPL after two years and will face the defending champions in the first match. The match surely is going to be nothing short of entertainment.

Let’s take a look at how the match might turn out:

Date: April 7

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Time: 20:00 IST

Pitch conditions:
Wankhede has always been a batting paradise leaving nothing for the bowlers. 190 will be a good target here.

Impact Batsmen:

Keep an eye on the two left-hand openers Ishan Kishan and Ewin Lewis. With Rohit Sharma, Pandya brothers and Pollard to follow, the batting looks extremely strong.

For CSK,
The team is filled with the immense amount of talent. Faf most likely will open the innings with probably Murali Vijay. Yes, both the batsmen are highly effective, but not as explosive as the Mumbai Indians openers. Suresh Raina will hold the key here coming in at number three. It will be interesting to see if Dhoni bats up the order. MS Dhoni, who according to coach Stephen Fleming ‘will play a more prominent role as batsman’ are the ones to keep a close watch on.

Impact Bowlers:

Coming to Mumbai’s bowling, Indian death overs specialist Jasprit Bumrah, in-form Pat Cummins, and with few strong options, in the form of Mustafizur Rahman, Mumbai’s fast bowling looks strong. The problems arise with the weak spin options. Unlike CSK, Mumbai doesn’t have an experienced spinner on whom they can rely on. Hopefully, the youngsters will come good for the team.

Chennai Super Kings has excellent spinning options in the team, but their pace bowling options are not as good as Mumbai Indians. The team will rely on Bravo and Watson. Mark Wood, Ngidi, Chahar, Thakur will need to step up for the team.

Head to head:

Overall: Matches – 22, Mumbai Indians won – 12, Chennai Super Kings won – 10

At the Wankhede Stadium: Matches – 7, Mumbai Indians won – 5, Chennai Super Kings won – 2

MI have held dominated CSK in recent times; MI have prevailed in the last three matches against CSK.

RCB- Three uncapped players to watch out for

Royal Challengers Bangalore has always been a heavyweight in the IPL, but somewhere they fall short of the trophy. Every single time, every single year, they enter the tournament as a favourite to win the trophy, but they just couldn’t get things done.

Still, there have been talents that came into the limelight while playing for RCB. Few of them even made it to the national side. Example: Chahal.

The team did retain Sarfraz Khan, an uncapped player knowing his talent to smash the ball. He did showcase his talent in previous IPL seasons.

This time, Let’s move on to youngsters other than Sarfraz Khan because we all already know more about him.

Pavan Deshpande
Credits: RCB

His consistent performance in the Karnataka Premier League earned him a place in Karnataka Ranji team. He made 70 on his debut for the team.

He was picked for this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy where he did well to earn a spot in the RCB team. He averages 67.20 in T20 for Karnataka at a strike rate of 145.45.

An occasional off-break bowler who can be effective in turning conditions.

Aniruddha Joshi
Credits: RCB

He’s been in and out of the white ball sides, but his power hitting skills have finally come to the fore when he registered 40 off just 19 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018. He followed it up with that unbeaten 73, and his current form perhaps suggested enough to the RCB management that Aniruddha can be a useful addition to the Bold. He’s a handy off-break bowler as well, and down at No. 6 or 7, provides a useful option in case skipper Virat Kohli is looking at playing a big-hitting all-rounder.

Kulwant Khejroliya
Credits: RCB

The left-arm pacer played a major role for Delhi in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which the team won. The pacer took 21 wickets in just 8 One day game and 14 wickets in 10 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 games.

Mumbai Indians: Three uncapped players to watch out for

The defending champions are backed by excellent talents and has found the right mix for the team. The young guns compliment the strengths of the core team very well. Here are the three uncapped players you should watch out for

1. Anukul Roy


The latest under 19 sensation, is the joint highest leading wicket-taker of the recently concluded world cup. The 19-year-old is a canny left-arm orthodox bowler and can use the willow to good effect down the order as well.

To the well-packed pace attack of the Mumbai Indians, Anukul Roy can fit in perfectly.

2. Tajinder Singh Dhillon


Playing for Rajasthan, Dhillon recently shined with both bat and ball in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Dhillon scored 198 runs and picked up 8 wickets in the tournament. With a batting strike rate of over 150 and bowling economy of just 6.69.

His swashbuckling knock of 69* off 21 deliveries, and his 28 runs off Dinda’s over made heads turn. Surely, Rohit Sharma will be hoping to make full use of his all-round skills.

3. Ishan Kishan


The U19 captain of the Indian team in 2016 where the team finished as the runner-up. From then on, he has been one of the potential prospects.

He gives brisk starts at the front which will set the tone for the team. In this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he scored 273 runs in his eight matches with an average of 34.1 and strike rate of 146. He is exceptional behind the wickets and will be one of the strong contenders for the orange cup.

Three reasons why Rajasthan Royals will win the IPL

The team which is making their comeback after two years has already lost their captain Steve Smith and Ajinkya Rahane has taken over the captaincy.

Here are the three reasons why Royals can clinch the title

1. Smith’s absence, a blessing in disguise

Credits: Google

Yes, you read it right!
Steve Smith is one of the best players, and he did take his team, now defunct Rising Pune Supergiants to the final in the last year’s IPL, but ask me if he is a fine T20I player, I would say a no. Yes, he is consistent, but strike rate is just above 125, which isn’t that great compared to the hard-hitters available in the team.
If no Smith, Royals will have that freedom to go with Stokes, Short, Buttler, Archer or anyone else. Every one knows Buttler’s and Stokes’ hard-hitting ability. Short and Archer were exceptional in the recently concluded Big Bash League. With so many other options available. It is a blessing in disguise.

2. Shane Warne is back

Credits: Google

In 2008, the inaugural IPL saw the weakest team on paper- The Royals went on to win the title. The man behind the inspirational run for the team was their captain Shane Warne.

He is back as the coach and mentor of the team. His influence will act as that push which the players need.

3. Young talents

Credits: Google

Rajasthan Royals has always promoted new talents than any other franchise. Every single season, Royals have had unknown uncapped stars who made it big.
For example,
Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson, Naman Ojha made heads turn through their IPL performances.
With new talents on the box, the team looks fantastic.

Players to watch out for:
Royals went into the auction with a clear-cut mindset of picking the in-form players. They bagged the big bash stars- Archer, Laughlin and Short. Rahul Tewaria is another interesting pick.