Royal Challengers Bengaluru started off with a bang, scoring 91 runs in the first 10 overs against the Chennai Super Kings. CSK won the toss and chose to field in Bengaluru.RCB openers Virat Kohli and Phil Salt started off well, attacking the CSK bowlers in the powerplay. Kohli was initially dropped by Shivam Dube at mid-on. However, Dube made amends next time as he caught Kohli on long-on off Anshul Kamboj's bowling. The Indian star batter was dismissed for 28 runs off 18 deliveries.After Kohli's departure, Salt took charge of run scoring, targeting the CSK pacers. The English opener scored 45 runs at the end of 10 overs, as RCB found themselves in a promising position at 91 runs for the loss of 1 wicket midway through the innings. For CSK, Anshul Kamboj starred with the big wicket of Virat Kohli. Apart from that, the onus will be on Noor Ahmed and Jamie Overton to put a stop to RCB's free-scoring run-rate. For RCB, the hosts will target a big score with Rajat Patidar, Tim David and Jitesh Sharma still in the dug-out. The home team will be confident coming into the game, having chased down over 200 runs in their last match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.CSK have lost both of their opening two matches in the IPL so far. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side will hope that Ayush Mhatre can continue his good form and Sanju Samson can contribute with the bat in the run chase. Out of the last seven encounters between the two sides, RCB have won 4, while CSK have won 3. The Bengaluru-based franchise has won the last 3 games in a row against their bitter rivals, coming into today's contest. Confirmed playing XI for RCB and CSK: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob DuffyChennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed
05 April,2026 08:25 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentRuturaj Gaikwad won the toss, and CSK will bowl first against RCB. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings will face off at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.RCB won their first match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad, while the Chennai Super Kings have lost both their matches so far in the season. CSK are still searching for their first win of the season. MS Dhoni to rejoin CSK soon Speaking after the toss, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said that they will be bowling first. He further confirmed that MS Dhoni is still recovering from the injury and will be back in the team soon."We will bowl first. Obviously, high scoring ground. Looks like a good pitch, there's going to be some runs. We'll look to restrict them as much as possible. MS is getting back slowly, sometimes it takes time, if he's ready to play, it'll be soon. The first game was disappointing, but our batting was much better in the second game. Everyone is feeling confident. Same team for us." Gaikwad said.Opposition captain Rajat Patidar admitted that he was looking to bowl first as well. The RCB skipper will be keen to continue their good momentum this season and add another win."We were looking to bowl first, but it looks like a hard pitch, so we're happy to bat. It's a fresh wicket. The boys played well in the last game and we're looking to continue here. The way everyone played in the last game was tremendous, everyone had clarity in their role and they are high in confidence. We're going with the same side." Patidar said.RCB have won their last 3 matches against CSK and will be keen to start their season with back-to-back victories. Confirmed playing XI for both teams: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob DuffyChennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Matt Henry, Khaleel Ahmed
05 April,2026 07:56 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentLucknow Super Giants defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 5 wickets to win their first match of the season. LSG captain Rishabh Pant was the star of the show as he scored an unbeaten 68 to guide his team to a victory.Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 156 runs in 20 overs after recovering from a poor power play. Speaking after the match, Ishan Kishan admitted that his team were a few runs short in the first innings. "I think the bowlers did an extremely good job today. They bowled according to the plan to the right areas, credit goes to the fielders as well for putting all the effort. But you know, one or two of boundaries in these kind of tournaments can go and let's take the match away. I'll appreciate Klasee and Nitish for taking the total so deep. And I think like in a very good manner, like how it was needed. So yeah, credit goes to them. But yeah, we need to work on batting as well, given so many games where we all make it easier for our chasing team. Yeah, 100%. That was the plan, but you know, we got taking on singles, he was smart about it." Kishan said. Kishan further praised Rishabh Pant for his match-winning innings. The SRH skipper also praised Harsh Dubey for his brilliant spell early on in the innings. "We have to give credit to the batters as well because they know Rishabh played well. Like I said, sometimes the margin is not so much. One or two boundaries will suddenly change the game and that's what happened in the 17th over, I guess, when we got so many boundaries, like two, three boundaries. But I think Harsh bowled exceptionally well and we want him to bowl in this kind of manner." he added. Rishabh Pant heaps praise on LSG bowlers after thrilling win LSG captain Rishabh Pant heaped praise on his bowlers after the win against SRH. Pant said that the bowling unit worked well together to give the visitors a strong start in the match. "Definitely, it's a big plus. You know, when you get this at the last and finish the game, definitely a good plus for us. (on their bowling) I think definitely. I think with bowlers, you know, you've got to appreciate and give them one because, you know, those are the people who set you up for the night, especially when you bowl first. I think Shami Bhai, Avesh, Rathi, I think everyone's contributed really well, especially Siddharth coming in today." Pant said.
05 April,2026 07:47 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentLucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant was the star of the show as he scored an unbeaten 68 to guide his team to a victory against SRH. The Indian star scored 9 runs in the last over to get his team their first 2 points of the season.Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 156 runs in 20 overs after recovering from a poor power play. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klassen starred with the bat for the hosts.LSG started off well with the ball as Mohammed Shami took the big wicket of Abhishek Sharma in the first over. Shami was the star with the ball for LSG, taking 2 wickets in his four overs for just 9 runs, including the wickets of both openers. After a poor start, Nitish Reddy and Klassen stitched a partnership for SRH and took them to 156 runs in 20 overs. Both Reddy and Klassen scored half-centuries to get the hosts to a competitive total. Chasing 157, the Lucknow Super Giants took control of the run chase, scoring 81 runs after 10 overs. However, SRH bowlers got them back in the game after Aiden Markram's wicket. The South African opener Aiden Markram scored 45 of 27 balls at the halfway stage to keep the visitors in control of the run chase. After opening in their last match, Rishabh Pant came in at number 3 after the dismissal of Marsh. Pant scored an unbeaten 68 off 50 balls to take his team home. The visitors needed 9 runs of the last over, and Pant smashed three boundaries to win the match.For SRH, Harsh Dubey was the star bowler, taking 2 wickets for just 18 runs. Eshan Malinga and Shivang Kumar chipped in with a wicket each, but it was too little too late for the hosts. LSG get their first win of the season Rishabh Pant's brilliant innings propelled LSG to their first win of the season. The Lucknow-based franchise lost its opening game at home against the Delhi Capitals at home. LSG will face KKR next, while SRH will take on PBKS away from home.
05 April,2026 07:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe Lucknow Super Giants took control of the run chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 81 runs after 10 overs. LSG are chasing 157 runs to get their first win of the season.LSG started their innings with a bang, attacking the SRH bowlers in the powerplay. South African opener Aiden Markram scored 45 of 27 balls at the halfway stage to keep the visitors in control of the run chase.Markram's opening partner, Mitch Marsh, was dismissed by Eshan Malinga in his first over. Marsh scored 14 runs in 12 balls to give LSG a steady start in a low-scoring run chase.LSG captain Rishabh Pant joined Markram at number 3 and stitched a partnership. Markram was soon caught at long off as Shivang Kumar got his maiden IPL wicket. Eshan Malinga was the key bowler for SRH, taking the crucial wicket of Marsh in the powerplay. After opening in their last match, Rishabh Pant came in at number 3 after the dismissal of Marsh. The Indian star will hope for a good knock and guide his team to their first victory of the season.Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 156 runs in 20 overs after recovering from a poor power play. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klassen star with the bat for the hosts.After opting to bowl first, LSG started off well as Mohammed Shami took the big wicket of Abhishek Sharma in the first over. Shami was the star with the ball for LSG, taking 2 wickets in his four overs for just 9 runs, including the wickets of both openers. After a poor start, Nitish Reddy and Klassen stitched a partnership for SRH and took them to 156 runs in 20 overs. Both Reddy and Klassen scored half-centuries. Confirmed playing XI for both teams: Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
05 April,2026 06:22 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe Lucknow Super Giants dominated the first 10 overs of their match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, restricting the hosts to just 35 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the first 10 overs.After opting to bowl first, LSG started off well as Mohammed Shami took the big wicket of Abhishek Sharma in the first over. The Indian star pacer bowled a slower delivery, forcing Abhishek into his shot early before getting caught at short third man.Shami struck again in his second over as he dismissed the dangerous Travis Head to put SRH under early pressure. Prince Yadav chipped in with a wicket as well, as he dismissed Ishan Kishan for just 1 run.Digvesh Rathi got his maiden wicket of the season after he dismissed Liam Livingstone for 14. The Englishman was looking good at the crease before edging one to Rishabh Pant.At the 10-over mark, SRH scored 35 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Shami was the star with the ball for LSG, taking 2 wickets in his four overs for just 9 runs. Digvijay Rathee and Price Yadav took a wicket each.SRH have Klassen and Nitish Kumar Reddy at the crease and will hope that the duo can build a partnership and take the home side to a competitive total. With Aniket Verma and Harsh Dubey still to come, SRH can score big in the final overs of the innings.Earlier, Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to bowl first against SRH. The Indian star admitted that the wicket looked good and his team would like to chase the total put on the board. Ishan Kishan mentioned that he was happy to bat first in front of the home crowd. Confirmed Playing XI: Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
05 April,2026 04:36 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentRishabh Pant wins the toss, and LSG will bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team will face off at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. SRH lost their opening match of the season against the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but recovered from the loss by beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the second match. Meanwhile, LSG have lost their only match of the season so far, against the Delhi Capitals in Lucknow. The visitors will hope to get their first win of the season against SRH. Speaking after the toss, Rishabh Pant said that his team would chase in their first afternoon encounter. Pant further added that the wicket looks good and will be better to chase in the day game."We'll bowl first. The wicket is good, let them bat first, and we will put them under pressure in the second innings. It's not a new challenge, but this is one team that can hurt us. Looks like a good wicket for sure, but there's something in it, the ball might stick after the first 6 overs. Just one change, Manimaran Siddarth is in, Nortje is out," said Pant. The opposition captain, Ishan Kishan, said he was happy to bat first and put up a big score in front of their home crowd. The hosts have brought Liam Livingstone back into the team after spending big on him during the auction. "Very happy, always good to be in front of the home crowd. Two changes - Livingstone and Harshal Patel come in. Harshal has always done well here. Livi will give us some off-spin. Decision-making is the most important; try well and execute your plans. It's important to get two points, but we need to be calm and take one match at a time." Kishan said. Confirmed Playing XI: Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
05 April,2026 04:01 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentPunjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer credited his side’s explosive start and collective batting effort for chasing down a 200-plus total against Chennai Super Kings. PBKS once again proved why they are the masters of 200-plus chases in the IPL, pulling off the feat for the ninth time as Priyansh Arya (33 off 11 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (50 off 29 balls) dismantled the CSK attack. Shreyas Iyer “The way we started today [Friday], I think it was an exceptional start. Priyansh and Prabh [Prabhsimran Singh, 43 off 34 balls] are doing the job at the start and setting the bench for us to go inside,” said Iyer. Meanwhile, Iyer was fined Rs 24 lakh for maintaining a slow over-rate during his team’s match against CSK. Fleming backs struggling Samson There may have been some doubts about Sanju Samson’s start with the CSK (six and seven), but head coach Stephen Fleming is sure that the star batter will soon get back into the swing of things. “He is not going to score every time. It’s T20 cricket and he just nicked one today [Friday]. But, he is in good form. He is training well. And when he gets going, he is often a match-winner. So, two innings don’t define an area of concern,” Fleming said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 April,2026 08:44 AM IST | Chennai | AgenciesLucknow Super Giants will need to step up their batting as they seek their first win of the season against an explosive Sunrisers Hyderabad side in a tricky away IPL clash here on Sunday. SRH head into their first home game of the season brimming with confidence after rediscovering their batting mojo, hammering 226-8 to crush Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs at Eden Gardens. Returning to Uppal, where conditions are expected to favour strokeplay in an afternoon game, only adds to LSG’s challenge. With momentum on their side and home conditions in their favour, SRH will surely start as favourites. Despite making the Playoffs in their first two seasons, the Sanjiv Goenka-owned side have endured a slump over the past couple of years, finishing seventh in identical fashion, and their campaign this time has not begun on a promising note. The Justin Langer-coached side boasts a formidable batting line-up featuring Australia T20 skipper Mitchell Marsh, South Africa’s Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant and the explosive Nicholas Pooran. SRH, on the other hand, appear to have hit their stride after an opening defeat to defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL opener. Their batting unit clicked in unison against KKR, with Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma returning to form at the top. Skipper Ishan Kishan, leading in the absence of Pat Cummins, has also shown encouraging signs, while Heinrich Klaasen’s experience remains central to their middle-order stability. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 April,2026 08:42 AM IST | Hyderabad | PTIThe sports journalistic fraternity of India on Saturday woke up to the profoundly sad news of cricket writer Santosh Suri passing away at the age of 68 in Lucknow. He is survived by his wife and daughter. Suri contributed regularly to this newspaper over the last decade after his retirement from The Times of India. Playing the game and being a good swing bowler in his younger days contributed to his expertise in cricket writing. His Ahmedabad-based contemporary, Sunil Vaidya told us on Saturday that Suri did some of his education in Jamnagar and had he not taken up journalism, he could have played for a state like Saurashtra. He spoke fluent Kathiawar Gujarati. Suri didn’t have to be prompted or always assigned to do a cricket piece. A comment on the big news of the day would land up in our inboxes. He was versatile to the point of becoming one of our go-to men for a comment on a controversial occurrence of Pan India importance. Whenever Kuldeep Yadav faced a lack of opportunities, Suri would come up with a piece. Not only because the cricketer hails from his state of Uttar Pradesh and he had access to the people who coached Kuldeep, but also because Suri felt that a wrist spinner added a cutting edge to an attack. Suri covered World Cups in both formats, Champions Trophies, home and away series and IPL games. His last article appeared in these columns on Friday. His reports were to-the-point and the only time we recall him missing a deadline was when the WI-FI misbehaved in one of the many press boxes he graced. His quiet, kind, and pleasant ways in those media enclosures will be missed by reporters young and old. This newspaper has lost a fine cricket writer, but the loss to cricket journalism in an overall sense seems greater.
05 April,2026 08:41 AM IST | Mumbai | Clayton MurzelloIt’s been a long week since Royal Challengers Bengaluru began the defence of their IPL crown, at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad last Saturday. Their six-wicket victory is almost a distant memory; so much has happened in the interim, with several teams having played two matches already. SRH, their opponents in the opener, will have played their third game before Rajat Patidar’s men take the field on Sunday night, against beleaguered five-time former champions Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. CSK have made a horror start with comprehensive losses away to Rajasthan Royals and at home on Friday to Punjab Kings. Their bowling has appeared bedraggled and terribly short on penetration. RCB’s power-packed batting unit will need no second invitation to express itself at a venue it is determined to make a fortress after having had mixed fortunes at the Chinnaswamy in previous years. Hazlewood likely to return RCB have used the seven days between games judiciously, mixing rest and recovery with smart training and a match-simulation exercise at the Just Cricket ground, some 25 kilometres from the city centre. The week will have given Josh Hazlewood a reasonable time to refamiliarise himself with his colleagues. The Australian quick, who took 22 wickets last season, is expected to line up against his former franchise, who will be fretting over the fitness of Dewald Brevis. CSK will bank on skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (left) and Sanju Samson for a solid start The South African missed the two losses with a side strain and is a 50-50 shot for the morrow. He was one of the bright spots during a miserable campaign in 2025 when CSK occupied the cellar for the first time. Within the RCB camp, there is a sense of quiet belief stemming from their clinical display against SRH when they chased down 202 with 26 deliveries to spare. Vice-captain Jitesh Sharma revealed that there had been no talk about their exploits of last season. “Mo Bobat, the director [of cricket], clearly said we are not defending, we are chasing the title,” the wicketkeeper-batter said on Saturday evening. “We are hungry like we were last year. We have the confidence that we have achieved something. With that confidence, we are just going forward.” Dhoni absence felt The normal buzz that accompanies an RCB-CSK clash has been conspicuously absent, primarily because of the publicised absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni with a calf strain. But it isn’t merely the Dhoni-sized hole that Chennai must contend with. 3-2RCB’s win-loss record against CSK at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, in the last five IPL matches 60CSK’s winning percentage against RCB in the IPL. The two teams have faced each other in 35 matches, with CSK winning 21, RCB winning 13, while one match ended in no result ThreeConsecutive IPL matches won by RCB against CSK
05 April,2026 08:37 AM IST | Bengaluru | R KaushikADVERTISEMENT
-1775400389975_d.png?tr=w-436,h-271 "Phil Salt (Pic: PTI)")
-1775398448483_d.png "Ishan Kishan (Pic: AFP)")
-1775397403420_d.png "Rishabh Pant (Pic: AFP)")
-1775381384506_d.png "Rishabh Pant (Pic: PTI)")
