The Cricket.com Weekly - Edition 29

There’s been a lot of action this week, both, on the field and off of it. So, fasten your seatbelts

Let’s begin with the biggest news of this week. Sorry, guys. It’s once again the IPL. 

The Kohli-Gambhir fight

An on-the-field argument between Virat Kohli and Naveen ul Haq trickled off the field. Gautam Gambhir didn’t seem too pleased with the RCB icon’s celebrations, and had a thing or two to say to him.

You can check more on what happened in Lucknow in this video below.

A Shot at Redemption

Nope, it’s not the title of an abstract Hollywood flick. I’m talking about Karun Nair and Kedar Jadhav. After going unsold in the pre-season auction, both players have been picked as replacements by Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore, respectively. 

Kedar Jadhav, in particular, was pleasantly surprised by the call-up. RCB fans will be hoping for him to turn back the clock and relive some of his best knocks. 

The Rivalry Week

What was billed as “The Rivalry Week’ by TV broadcasters lived up to it’s name. Every game was a return fixture, and was won by the team that lost the first encounter.

RCB returned the favor to LSG, DC shocked GT, PBKS were made to eat the humble pie by MI, KKR managed to jailbreak their way to win against SRH, and RR were humiliated by the Titans. It also saw IPL's first washout in over four years. 

These results have also created a lot of movement on the points table. Even then, the second-placed team and the seventh placed are separated by just a solitary point. Speaks volumes about the competition we’ve seen in this season.

Injury Premier League

The 16th season of the Indian Premier League has been marred by injuries, and the last few days have been no different. The past week saw Jaydev Unadkat and KL Rahul getting injured, and being ruled out of the rest of the IPL and the WTC final.

Jaydev Unadkat injured his shoulder during a practice session, while KL Rahul did his thigh no good while fielding in the Royal Challengers Bangalore encounter. 

International Cricket, Anyone?

Pakistan in Pakistan

With IPL taking center stage in April and May, only one cricketing nation can afford to field a full-strength XI. You guessed it right, it’s our northern neighbors - Pakistan. 

New Zealand managed to tie the T20I series 2-2, thanks to Mark Chapman’s heroics in the final T20I. However, Pakistan have been clinical in the ODI series. Four matches into the five match ODI series; Pakistan successfully chased in the first two games, and successfully defended in the last two, taking an unassailable 4 - 0 lead.

Asia Cup's First-Timers

The ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023 saw Nepal and United Arab Emirates fight it out in the finals. Nepal managed to seal a spot for the main event by defeating an underwhelming UAE by seven wickets. 

They join India and Pakistan in Group A, making Asia Cup 2023 the first time Nepal get to face their South Asian counterparts.

Time to Retire?

International women’s cricket was dealt a huge blow, as two of it’s shining lights, Katherine Brunt and Shabnim Ismail, decided to hang up their boots. 

Although, a silver lining amongst all this is the confirmation from both players that they will continue to be available for franchise cricket around the world. Another indication of players’ shift of focus from international cricket to franchise leagues.

Articles in Focus

As we enter the business end of the IPL, there are seven teams in direct contention for the playoffs, with the other three teams still in with an outside chance. Anirudh Suresh writes about the possible scenarios in which different teams can make it to the playoffs.

RCB fans, why do you do this to yourselves? Anyways, here’s Akshay Kumaraswamy talking about the roller coaster ride that was the RCB-LSG encounter. 

Nepal entering the Asia Cup might seem like an overnight success. But, a lot of it had to do with a certain Mumbaikar. Our very own Pramod Ananth looks into Monty Desai and Nepal’s journey in international cricket.

We all know that it’s important for IPL teams to win their home games. Suryanarayan S digs deep into quantifying home wins and their significance in a team’s road to playoffs.

About a decade ago, when West Indians decided to let go off a central contract with their board to play franchise cricket globally, the idea was met with severe criticism. Aakash Sivaubramaniam traces the journey of T20 globetrotters and how their perception changed over time.

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