In the IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerged victorious by six wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Having put to chase a target of 202 runs, RCB posted a total of 203 runs for the loss of four wickets in 15.4 overs. Opening the innings, Phil Salt was dismissed for eight runs in seven balls, which also included two boundaries. Fellow opening batsman Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 69 runs off just 38 deliveries, laced with five boundaries and the same number of maximums. Impact Player Devdutt Padikkal garnered 61 runs in just 26 balls, with the help of seven boundaries and four maximums. Skipper Rajat Patidar smashed 31 runs after facing 12 balls. His knock included two boundaries and three maximums. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma returned to the pavilion on the first ball duck. Tim David stayed unbeaten along with Kohli. Facing 10 balls, David scored 16 runs by smashing a boundary and a maximum. SRH's Impact Player David Payne claimed two wickets by conceding 35 runs in three overs. Jaydev Unadkat and Harsh Dubey also chipped in with one wicket each. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Eshan Malinga, and Harshal Patel went wicketless in the IPL 2026 match against RCB. Earlier, having put to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) opening batsman Travis Head scored 11 runs in nine balls, including two boundaries. Fellow explosive opening batsman Abhishek Sharma departed on seven runs in eight balls, including a maximum. Nitish Kumar Reddy returned to the pavilion after scoring one run in six balls. Facing 22 balls, Heinrich Klaasen accumulated 31 runs. He also smashed two boundaries and a maximum. Skipper Ishan Kishan played a knock of 80 runs off 38 deliveries, which was laced with eight boundaries and five maximums. Salil Arora scored nine runs in six balls, including a maximum. Harsh Dubey and Harshal Patel departed on three and zero runs, respectively. Facing three balls, Dubey scored three runs, whereas Patel faced two balls. Aniket Verma gave the finishing touches to the team's innings. Having played just 18 balls, he garnered 43 runs with the help of three boundaries and four maximums. With this, SRH posted a total of 201 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Jacob Duffy returned with the figures of three wickets for 22 runs in four overs. Romario Shepherd also bagged three wickets by conceding 54 runs in his spell of four overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, and Suyash Sharma also registered one wicket each to their names. Krunal Pandya went wicketless in the IPL 2026 match against SRH.
28 March,2026 11:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe much-anticipated IPL 2026 has begun. Mumbai Indians (MI) are all set to kick off their campaign by playing a clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Ahead of the match, the "Paltan" will look to break the jinx of losing the season's opening match. The "Men in Blue and Gold" have been struggling to secure a win in their first match of the tournament since 2012. Ahead of the match against KKR, MI's head coach Mahela Jayawardene spoke about the jinx. He feels that there is no other way to break the "hoodoo" than playing a good game of cricket. "It is the elephant in the room but there is no way for us to prepare differently. If you look at the season that I was involved in, we had close matches, we lost. I think I have spoken to the boys about the intensity being there for that first game. I think that is all we can control," he told reporters at the Wankhede Stadium. "That is what I have asked from the guys to go out and play a good game of cricket at that high intensity. Other than that, I don't see how else we could prepare because we pretty much prepare for each and every game the same way. Hopefully, I can break that hoodoo," added Jayawardene. IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: Full Squads Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (WK), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Mayank Markande, Sherfane Rutherford, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, Tilak Varma, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz (WK), Allah Ghazanfar, Naman Dhir, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar. (With PTI Inputs)
28 March,2026 10:41 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentRoyal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made a dream start to their Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL) campaign, with pacer Jacob Duffy ripping through the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) top order in the season opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. After winning the toss, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar elected to bowl first, a decision that paid immediate dividends as Duffy struck early blows to leave SRH reeling. The right-arm pacer was on fire, picking up three wickets in his four-over spell. In a decisive over, he dismissed Abhishek Sharma (7 off 8) and Travis Head (11 off 9), denting SRH’s aggressive intent early in the innings. SRH slumped to 29/3 in just four overs, struggling to recover from the early collapse. Duffy’s third scalp came when Nitish Kumar Reddy (1 off 6) was caught by debutant Abhinandan Singh, capping off a sensational opening spell. The match also marked debuts for Abhinandan Singh (RCB) and Salil Arora (SRH), adding fresh faces to both line-ups. Earlier, a solemn moment preceded the high-octane clash as players and spectators observed a minute’s silence in memory of 11 RCB fans who tragically lost their lives on June 4 last year. As a mark of respect, players from both sides donned black armbands. The star-studded stands at the Chinnaswamy featured Anushka Sharma alongside Indian women’s cricket stars Smriti Mandhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Jemimah Rodrigues. Speaking at the toss, Patidar expressed optimism about the season ahead, stating that RCB would “try their best to add the second star” to their jersey. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Confirmed Playing XI SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(wk/C), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga RCB: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(C), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma
28 March,2026 08:39 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe wait for the commencement of the highly anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) is over. In the first match of the IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Considering the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Virat Kohli, and Phil Salt, the clash promises to be a high-scoring game. After winning the toss, RCB skipper Patidar said, "We'll bowl first. Of course, there are a lot of positives from last year, but as we go into this season, we are not defending; we'll try to be champions again in 2026. I think there are a lot of good players in the side and we have proper backups for every position. There's a good support system and medical team as well. So yeah, everyone is fit and looking forward to this game. Thank you so much for supporting us over the years. We'll try our best to put a second star on our jersey. There are two new faces - Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh, who are going to play their first match". Rajat Patidar-led men will be high on confidence, considering that they have clinched the title in the previous edition. The side will look to begin their title-defending campaign by securing a victory tonight against the Sunrisers. All the RCB players will wear black armbands to pay tribute to fans, who earlier lost their lives in the stampede outside the stadium following the team's historic title win in the previous year. Additionally, in the lasting gesture of remembrance, eleven seats at Bengaluru's stadium will remain unoccupied, serving as a permanent tribute to the fans. SRH's regular skipper Pat Cummins will miss the initial matches. The pacer is still recovering from his injury. In his absence, the management provided the leadership duties to Ishan Kishan. Abhishek Sharma has also been appointed as his deputy. On the other hand, SRH's captain Kishan said, "Looks like a fresh wicket, doesn't matter if you bat or bowl first. You don't need to start doing something new. We need to execute our plans. Everyone looks in good touch". It will be interesting to see how Kishan leads the team. The left-handed batsman will enter the cash-rich league on the back of a successful T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. He played a crucial role for Team India in the concluded global showpiece and will look to continue the momentum in the IPL 2026. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Confirmed Playing XI Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suryash Sharma. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (C) (WK), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkar, Eshan Malinga. (With ANI Inputs)
28 March,2026 07:28 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is all set to kick off on Saturday. Ahead of the start of the tournament, Gujarat Titans' (GT) wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler heaped praise on Glenn Phillips by labelling him as a dynamic player, and a fantastic batsman. "I'm not a selector or the captain, so that's a conversation for them. Glenn Phillips is a brilliant player; he's had some great successes for a long time now in T20 cricket. He is a really dynamic player, obviously a fantastic batter, can bowl off-spin, one of the best fielders in the world," he said. Further speaking, the wicketkeeper-batsman said that Phillips gives the coach and captain a lot of options. He stated that, considering the rule of fielding just four overseas players in the cash-rich league, it's just about the opportunity, and also said that the New Zealander will deliver amazing performances when he gets his chance. "He gives the captain and the coach a lot of options, and sure, you know, he'll perform well given his opportunity. But that happens in the IPL, as I've said a few times, it's the biggest and best tournament in the world, all the best players in the world are all here and in an overseas- only four overseas can play. Sometimes it's just about opportunity. So yeah, I'm sure when Glenn gets his opportunity, he's going to be amazing," added Buttler. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Gujarat Titans (GT) will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. IPL 2026, Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans: Full Squads Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Conolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad. Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tom Banton (WK), Yarra Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sandhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma. (With ANI Inputs)
28 March,2026 05:57 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off on Saturday. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Ahead of the match, the RCB players will wear black armbands to pay tribute to fans, who earlier lost their lives in the stampede outside the stadium following the team's historic title win in the previous year. A statement from RCB said, "Royal Challengers Bengaluru will pay tribute to the eleven members of the RCB family who tragically lost their lives in the unfortunate incident on June 4". "As a mark of respect, players will wear practice jerseys bearing the number 11 during the warm-up, followed by black armbands during the match. In a lasting gesture of remembrance, eleven seats at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will remain unoccupied, serving as a permanent tribute to the fans whose unwavering support will always be a part of the RCB family," the statement concluded. Considering the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Travis Head, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, and Romario Shepherd, the clash promises to be a high-scoring game. Both teams have geared up, and the defending champions, RCB, will be looking to begin their title-defending campaign by securing a win tonight. On the other hand, in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins, Ishan Kishan has been appointed as the stand-in captain for Hyderabad. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Full Squads Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale. (With ANI Inputs)
28 March,2026 05:36 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off on Saturday. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Ahead of the match, RCB stalwart Virat Kohli cleared the air on his new haircut. Earlier, there were several rumours that he decided to select the haircut after seeing his AI-generated pictures. Speaking on PUMA India’s New Broadcast Channel, when asked about his haircut, he said, "No, I was shown the AI pictures after, and I did not do the cut by looking at the pictures". The 37-year-old cricketer is also the leading run-scorer in the history of the tournament. So far, having made 267 appearances in the league, Kohli has smashed 8661 runs, with a top score of an unbeaten 113 runs. He also has eight tons and 63 half-centuries to his name. Considering the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Travis Head, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, and Romario Shepherd, the clash promises to be a high-scoring game. Both teams have geared up, and the defending champions, RCB, will be looking to begin their title-defending campaign by securing a win tonight. On the other hand, in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins, Ishan Kishan has been appointed as the stand-in captain for Hyderabad. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Full Squads Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale.
28 March,2026 05:13 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to start on Saturday. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Ahead of the match, former Team India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin feels that SRH's Heinrich Klaasen will have a night to remember, whereas he also picked Jacob Bethell as the power player for Bengaluru. "I have a strange feeling for this match. In the last 18 months, this guy has not done much wonders. A strange feeling that Heinrich Klaasen is going to have a night to remember, I don't know why. From RCB's side, I think Jacob Bethell will be the power player of the day," he said on his YouTube channel. He also feels that the Rajat Patidar-led RCB don't have much strength to stop leaking runs in the death overs. "SRH have got the better of RCB in the recent past, and they will follow in this game also, I feel that this game will also follow that trend, for strange reasons that RCB are without Hazlewood. In that game in Lucknow last year, as well, Hazlewood was not there, if I am not wrong," said Ashwin. "In RCB, we always have to remember that death overs bleed. If wickets are in hand, then it is not only difficult to stop runs in the death overs, it is impossible," he added. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Full Squads Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale. (With ANI Inputs)
28 March,2026 04:51 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni has sustained a calf strain and has been subsequently ruled out for the first two weeks of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, the franchise said in a statement. The 19th edition of the tournament is set to begin on Saturday, with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the curtain-raiser at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Official StatementMS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a calf strain. As a result, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of TATA IPL 2026.Get well soon, Thala! 💛🦁 pic.twitter.com/4dgmt5EWFi — Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 28, 2026 CSK are set to play their campaign opener on Monday against the inaugural champions, Rajasthan Royals. However, Dhoni, who has led the franchise to five titles, the joint-most in the league across all seasons, will miss the first few matches and sit out for the first two weeks. “MS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a calf strain. As a result, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of IPL 2026,” the franchise said in a statement on Saturday. Earlier in the day, the franchise shared a video of the team’s practice match, a match-like simulation, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where Dhoni batted and Samson kept the wickets. The 44-year-old unleashed some terrific shots, sending the ball over the boundary line on multiple occasions. With the veteran now out for some time, Samson is most likely to keep the wickets for CSK in the initial few games as they aim for a record sixth IPL title. Samson, previously the captain of RR, was traded to CSK as the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side traded out all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. While the English all-rounder has been ruled out of IPL 2026 owing to an injury, it will be interesting to see Samson and Jadeja going up against their former franchises on Monday, when RR take on CSK at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. 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.
28 March,2026 12:56 PM IST | New Delhi | IANSI had a fairly long cricket career and it is really difficult to pick out a couple of innings out of the many I have played in Test and first-class cricket [1944 to 1967]. The first of these was against Fazal Mahamood’s Pakistan team which toured India in 1960-61. The scene was the fourth Test match at Madras. Pakistan batted first on a wicket which was under-prepared due to unseasonal rains. Although this would not have affected the side batting first, the side that took second knock had to face a spinning attack on a worn-out wicket. India had a tough task ahead if Pakistan batted for more than a day. As it happened, Pakistan batted for two full days and declared their first innings closed at 448 runs for eight. When our turn came to bat, we lost four wickets for only 164 runs. Critical situation Chandu Borde and myself were the only recognised batsmen left, and a lot depended on us to avoid the follow-on first and then to come as close to their first innings as possible. One mistake from either of us and the spinners would have run through the tailenders like a knife through butter. We started cautiously, watching each and every delivery from their spinners and not taking any undue risks. Gradually as the day wore on I felt confident and began making attacking strokes. As I got into this mood all bowling came alike to me and I [117] kept the scoreboard moving quickly. Chandu [177 not out] patiently gave a stand which not only saved us from the follow-on but made the position safe. Trinidad 1962 The scene now changes to the sunny Caribbean islands, We had lost the first three Test matches. In the fourth Test, [MAK] Pataudi lost the toss [at Trinidad] and we were on the field for almost a day and a half during which time West Indies had scored 444-9 declared. Very soon we were 30 for five. Pataudi and myself took the score to 61 before the end of the day’s play. Next we were bundled out for 197 runs and [Frank] WorrelI promptly asked us to bat again. Though we lost our first wicket at 19, [Salim] Durrani [104] and [Vijay] Mehra [62] made a stand and took the score to 163 when the second wicket fell. Good support Again wickets began to fall and we were 236 for six wickets It looked as if I would be left without any partners but stout-hearted Bapu Nadkarni [23] stayed with me at the wicket and we put up a partnership of 93 runs before Nadkarni was run out. Then Budhi Kunderan [4] lent admirable support to me to enable me to take the total from 371 to a respectable figure of 422. I remained not out with 172 runs to my credit. The Press reporters decided this innings as the most fluent seen on the Queen’s Park Oval ground, Trinidad in a Test match for many years and certainly the best by an Indian in the West Indies. Reproduced from Cricket Quarterly magazine’s April-June 1978 issue Remembering Polly (born 1926) The word Mr Cricket was first used for Mike Hussey. If there was one other person for whom it fit perfectly it was ‘Polly’ Umrigar. Not only was he one of the great all round cricketers the game has seen but after his playing days were over he became a selector, a coach, a team manager, administrator and also to use a management term a Turf Executive. His life was totally centered around cricket and he was happiest with cricketers of all ages just talking cricket. Truly Mr Cricket, Mr Palanji Ratansi Umrigar. Sunil Gavaskar’s tribute to Polly Umrigar on Friday Polly was a gentleman cricketer and liked by everyone who came in contact with him. He was dedicated to the game. If only had he been captain of India for a longer time. That extended time would have helped the team greatly. He was a great asset to any team and had good relations with not only his teammates but players from the opposition too. Going by the number of capacities he served in, you could say he was a true servant of Indian cricket. I always miss the way he used to greet me – “Hi Chand, how are you.” Chandu Borde’s tribute to Polly Umrigar on Friday Umrigar was certainly the most effective player of his time. He changed his somewhat crouched stance in 1953 to a more upright one and, in the process, lost some of his off-side strokes, which are the glory of cricket. But then he developed a sounder defence, and his on-side play improved day by day. The late Rusi Modi in Some Indian Cricketers Polly Umrigar with M Mantri Polly always wanted to know more about cricket. Not many of the current generation would know this but Umrigar hosted a popular television serial on coaching and reported on matches for a newspaper. The late Madhav Mantri Polly was always solid – solid man and cricketer. He was very helpful when I became captain by default in the West Indies in 1961-62. The late MAK Pataudi, who took over as captain from the injured Nari Contractor on that tour Special Polly Umrigar frame at MCA museum The Sharad Pawar Cricket Museum at Wankhede Stadium was visited by the man himself — the ex-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association on Friday. Present chief Ajinkya Naik was present too. The MCA, to mark the birth centenary of Polly Umrigar, has created a special Polly Umrigar frame (right) which is placed prominently at the entrance of the museum lounge. Next week is going to be the Polly Umrigar Week at the Wankhede Stadium museum, where visitors from Tuesday to Sunday will be enlightened about Umrigar’s deeds by the museum’s curator Devendra Prabhudesai.
28 March,2026 09:49 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentNewly-wed India leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and his wife Vanshika received a grand and heart-warming reception from the Delhi Capitals as they entered the team hotel together reently. DC Instagrammed a video to their 4.7 million followers, showing the couple’s entry in a vintage open roof red car. They were welcomed by a walking band, playing celebratory tunes. The couple couldn’t stop were smiling and playfully nudging each other as they rolled in. The clip was captioned: “Welcome home, Mrs and Mr.” The post received over a lakh ‘likes’ within a few hours. 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
28 March,2026 09:22 AM IST | Mumbai | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
