LIVE | IPL: Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Punjab Kings

RCB win again!

Can they make the playoffs.

Despite a quick-fire 61 off 27 balls by Rilee Rossouw, Punjab fall short by 60 runs as they are bowled out for 181.

More to follow...

15 over update

Punjab 164/7 

Curran 16*

Patel 0*

Need 78 from 30

10 over update

Punjab 114/3

Singh 18*

Sharma 1*

Need 128 from 60

5 over update

Punjab 61/1

Rossouw 36*

Bairstow 18*

Need 181 off 90.

INNINGS:

Virat Kohli continued his stellar IPL form as his half-century steered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 241-7 against the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala.

After being sent to bat first, RCB lost two quick wickets as Faf du Plessis (9) and Will Jacks (12) was dismissed by Vidwath Kaverappa.

However, Kohli and Rajat Patidar put on a 76-run stand with Patidar bringing up his IPL century off just 21 balls.

However, Sam Curran struck at the halfway stage as Patidar stretched at a wide delivery and edged behind for 55 off 23 balls (hitting three fours and six sixes).

After a brief rain delay, Kohli continued his onslaught and scored back-to-back IPL fifties - and also his 55th IPL fifty.

Kohli, who was dropped on 0 and 10, was only eight runs away from the IPL's 100th hundred before Arshdeep Singh struck.

Orange cap holder slices a wide delivery and is caught by Rilee Rossouw (who dropped Kohli on 10) taking the catch deep extra cover to depart for a stunning 92 off 47 balls (hitting seven fours and six sixes).

Harshal Patel struck in the death as Dinesh Karthik fell for 18, Mahipal Lomror for a duck and Cameron Green, who scored a handy 46 off 17 balls.

Scores in brief:

RCB 241-7 in 20 (Kohli 92, Green 46, Patel 3/38, Kaverappa 2/36)

Punjab Kings need 242 runs to win

5 overs left!

After the weather delay, Bengaluru have come back as Virat Kohli brings up back-to-back fifties.

Orange cap holder Kohli continues his fine form with the bat as he brings up his 55th IPL half-century off just 32 balls. This is the fourth time Kohli has crossed 600+ runs in an IPL season.

RCB 164-3 in 15

Kohli 67*

Green 19*

10-over update:

A blistering 76-run third-wicket stand formed between Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar.

Patidar smashed three fours and six sixes to bring up his IPL half-century off just 21 balls.

However, Sam Curran strikes at the halfway stage as he dismisses Patidar, who edges behind for 55 off 23 balls.

RCB 119-3 in 10

Kohli 42*

Green 0*

5-over update:

A very eventful start in Dharamsala.

Virat Kohli is dropped TWICE, first when he was on zero and then 10 (by Rilee Rossouw).

However, Punjab Kings have clawed their way back with two wickets thanks to Vidwath Kaverappa.

Former Proteas batter Faf du Plessis is first to go as he cuts and gets a leading edge to the fielder in the deep for nine.

Will Jacks departs for 12 as he tries to clip it over, but ends up dragging the shot more towards short fine leg.

New batter Rajat Patidar was also dropped in the deep on a duck.

RCB 44-2 in 5

Kohli 22*

Patidar 0*

TOSS

Punjab Kings chose to field. 

TEAMS

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Mahipal Lomror, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (w), Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson

Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow (w), Prabhsimran Singh, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Sam Curran (c), Liam Livingstone, Ashutosh Sharma, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa

Head, Abhishek star as 'unreal' Hyderabad crush Lucknow by 10 wickets

Openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma smoked half-centuries as Sunrisers Hyderabad crushed Lucknow Super Giants by 10 wickets on Wednesday to boost their play-off hopes in the IPL.

Chasing a modest 166 for victory, Head, who smashed 89, and fellow left-hander Abhishek, who hit 75, tore into the opposition attack to romp home with 10.2 overs to spare at their home in Uppal.

"I'm lost for words. We've watched that batting on TV but that was unreal," Lucknow skipper KL Rahul said of the bludgeoning by the Hyderabad openers.

"Everything was hitting the middle of the bat, kudos to their skill, they've worked very hard on their six-hitting."

Australia's Head attacked with a flurry of fours and sixes as he reached his fifty in 16 balls and went past 500 runs this season.

Head is now third in the batting chart behind Virat Kohli (542) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (541) with his fourth half-century - he also has a ton - in this edition.

He took on the spinners with aplomb and said the skill will be invaluable on the slow pitches in the West Indies during the T20 World Cup in June.

"Something I have been working on with spin, something I have been working hard on. It will be a big part in the Caribbean," said man of the match Head.

"Nice to get 360 (degrees) and get to the parts of the ground I have not been to. We want to maximise the powerplay. It is not going to work every time but we want to go for it."

'Incredible'

The 30-year-old Head lauded his younger partner Abhishek, 23, and said: "His spin game is something else. We complement each other so well."

Abhishek joined the charge as he got to his fifty in 19 balls after the pair took Hyderabad to 107 in the first six overs of powerplay, when only two fielders are allowed outside the inner circle.

Hyderabad, who won the IPL in 2016 under David Warner, registered their seventh win in 12 matches to hand a perfect gift to birthday boy and captain Pat Cummins, who turned 31 on Wednesday.

Abhishek hit the winning six as Hyderabad moved to third in the 10-team table with 14 points.

Lucknow stay sixth after the bruising loss.Top four teams will make the play-offs with the final on May 26 in Chennai.

Cummins said Head's unconventional hitting does not "surprise" him anymore and praised Abhishek for being "an incredible player of spin" and pace.

Seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar set up victory with impressive bowling figures of 2-12 in his four overs to restrict Lucknow to 165-4 after they elected to bat first.

Lucknow lost regular wickets until Nicholas Pooran, who hit 48, and Ayush Badoni, who smashed 55, put on an unbeaten stand of 99 in 52 balls to boost the team total.

But the score proved too little against a team which posted record totals of 277 and 287 in this high-scoring edition of the T20 tournament. - AFP

Scores in brief

Sunrisers 167/0 after 9.4 overs (Abhishek 75*, Head 89*; Thakur 0-47, Naveen-ul-Haq 0-37) beat LSG 165/4 after 20 overs (Badoni 55*, Pooran 48*; Cummins 1-47, Kumar 2-12) by 10 wickets with 62 balls remaining.

RESULT

Sunrisers win by 10 wickets (with 62 balls remaining)

On the ropes and punch drunk! One can only sit back and wonder what the Super Giants thought they were about when they opted to bat first and the hash of it ensued (166/4 after 20 overs). Abhishek got his turn to score a 19-ball 50 in the sixth over as the boundaries rained down on the luckless Lucknow. Slow batting pitch, my foot!

Singles? For who? For what?

Boundaries were flying to all corners of the park and it was a hundred runs in the power play before long, with 15 fours and 11 sixes struck between the marauding Head and Abhishek. And with nine required off 66 by the time the ninth over rolled around it was surely over before it had even begun.

Abhishek landed the death blow, a six after 9.4 overs, as the pair chased down 166 inside 10 overs at a run rate of 17.27 (16 fours, 14 sixes between the two batsman)

Head tallied 89 off 30 (eight 4s, eight 6s) and Abhishek75 off 28 (eight 4s, six 6s). Spare a thought for those Lucknow bowlers. Incredible scenes!

That will do wonders for Sunrisers' Net Run Rate... Luckow not so much.

Scores in brief

Sunrisers 167/0 after 9.4 overs (Abhishek 75*, Head 89*; Thakur 0-47, Naveen-ul-Haq 0-37) beat LSG 165/4 after 20 overs (Badoni 55*, Pooran 48*; Cummins 1-47, Kumar 2-12) by 10 wickets with 62 balls remaining.

5-over update

Sunrisers are 87/0

Well, the hosts have made their intentions clear. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma aren't going to die wondering and after five overs the score was 87 for nought. And they weren't about to slow down, Head in particularly who looked to be in one of those moods as he dismissed the bowling of Krishnappa Gowtham (29 off 2 overs) and Thakur Yash (21 off 1) with short shrift. To make matters worse, Abhishek was dropped at short third in the third over and as Ravi Bishnoi bizarrely continued to bowl googlies at two lefties, he was made to pay a sum of 17 runs. It wasn't long before Head had tallied a 16-ball fifty. There's nowhere to hide for the Lucknow bowlers... The figures speak for themselves.

Head 58 off 18 (seven 4s, five 6s), Abishek 40 off 16 (six 4s, two 6s). Ouch!

Sunrisers require 79 off 90.

INNINGS

Lucknow Super Giants 165/4 after 20 overs

Ayush Badoni proved to be the saviour for the Super Giants as he opened the taps in the death overs after coming in at 64/4 in the 11th. With the pace bowlers initially having had their way with the slow-going Super Giants' top order, Badoni strode in and went about casting doubts in the bowling attack as he took on spin and stabbed at the pace bowlers, too, and went on to score a zippy 50 off 28 balls. The last over bowled by Pat Cummins went for 19 runs.

Badoni, who finished on 55 off 30 not out having struck nine 4s, was ably supported by a more circumspect knock from Pooran 48 off 24 not out (six fours and one six). 

But it remains to be seen if 165/4 will be enough, albeit on a slow batting pitch that could defy a score in the 200s. Sunrisers are at home with some big guns in their arsenal, including South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen and Aussie Travis Head.

Sunrisers require 166 to win

15-over update

Lucknow Super Giants are 102/4

Pooran has been biding his time until the Sunrisers spin bowlers were introduced and finds himself on a tidy 18 off 12 and in his groove, with a cheeky four and six to show for it. But that was not before Sunrisers' sharp fielding struck once more with their pace merchants on attack, when birthday boy Cummins, who rarely misses, ran out Krunal (24 off 21) who thought he hit a length ball from Natarajan better than he had.

The Super Giants are struggling to kick on on a pitch that's not as bat friendly as usual, but Ayush Badoni (23 off 13 with four 4s) and Pooran are starting to assert themselves against the Sunrisers' bowlers.

10-over update

Lucknow Super Giants are 57/3

Pat Cummins, with a good length ball on leg stump, bagged the big wicket of KL Rahul on 29 when he was caught comfortably on the ropes by Natarajan. Pooran joins Krunal Pandya who is on 24.

5-over update

Lucknow Super Giants are 23/2

Bhuvneshawar Kumar claimed both Sunrisers' two early wickets with the help of some fine catching the field.

Quinton de Kock, back in the team after a niggle and in need of a good innings in the tournament cheaply for two in the first over, when Nitish Kumar showed good awareness on the ropes to hop out and back in to take the catch. Marcus Stoinis followed in the fourth over, with Sanvir Singh diving low to scalp the Australian at mid-on for three runs.

Opener Rahul (20*) and Krunal Pandya (3*) are at the crease.

Both teams are on 12 points in the league with three league matches remaining before the play-offs. Super Giants (sixth) and Sunrisers (fourth) will be looking to charge up their NRR after heavy defeats to Kolkata and Mumbai, respectively.

TEAMS

Lucknow Super Giants XI: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Quinton de Kock, 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 K Gowtham, 9 Yash Thakur, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Naveen Ul Haq.

Impact players: Amit Mishra, M Siddharth, Yudhvir Singh, Ashton Turner, Devdutt Padikkal

Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: 1 Nitish Reddy, 2 Travis Head, 3 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 4 Abdul Samad, 5 Shahbaz Ahmed, 6 Sanvir Singh, 7 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Viyaskanth Vijayakanth 11 T Natarajan.

Impact players: Umran Malik, Mayank Agarwal, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Abhishek Sharma

RESULT

Tristan Stubb's quick-fire 41 helped propel the Delhi Capitals to a 20-run win as they restricted Rajasthan Royals to 201-8 in their IPL encounter on Tuesday.

Chasing a competitive 222 to win, Rajasthan Royals got off to a see-saw start as Yashasvi Jaiswal's early demise brought captain Sanju Samson in.

Samson and Jos Buttler put on a 63-run second wicket stand before Buttler was bowled out for 19 off 17 balls.

Samson was the only batter to show fight for Rajasthan as he brought up his fifth IPL half-century of the season.

Samson was controversially caught on the boundary rope off Mukesh Kumar as he departed for a lovely 86 off 46 balls (hitting eight fours and six sixes).

With Samson gone and wickets and runs drying up, Rajasthan fell 20 runs short of their target and 

After being sent to bat first, Fraser-McGurk and Porel got Delhi Capitals to a fast start, sharing a 60-run opening stand.

Fraser-McGurk was the main attacker as he smashed a 19-ball IPL fifty before he was caught off the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin (3/24).

Porel shouldered the middle of the Capitals innings as he brought up his maiden IPL half-century before he got a leading edge to point and departed for 65 off 36 balls (hitting seven fours and three sixes).

Proteas batter Stubbs took Capitals over the 200-mark as he shared a 45-run stand with Gulbadin Naib (19) before Stubbs was trapped LBW by Sandeep Sharma for a handy 41 off 20 balls (hitting three sixes and fours).

Scores in brief:

Delhi Capitals 221-8 in 20 (Porel 65, Fraser-McGurk 50, Ashwin 3/24, Sandeep 1/42)

Rajasthan Royals 201-8 in 20 (Samson 86, Parag 27, Kuldeep 2/25, Mukesh 2/30)

Result: Delhi Capitals won by 20 runs

OUT

Mukesh Kumar gets the massive wicket! Sanju Samson is out as he is caught on the boundary rope for 86 off 46 balls (hitting eight fours and six sixes).

Is that it for Rajasthan or can they push over the line?

RR 170-4 in 16

Rajasthan Royals 52 need off 24 balls

Rasikh Salam struck in the 11th over as he removed Riyan Parag, who was bowled for 27 off 22 balls.

However, captain Sanju Samson has led from the front, bringing up his fifth IPL half-century of the season. The in-form batter has continued to pick up boundaries, but Rajasthan are still two runs off the required run-rate of 13.

RR 131-3 in 13

Samson 74*

Shubham 3*

Rajasthan Royals need 91 off 42 balls

10 overs left

Axar Patel breaks the 63-run second wicket stand as Jos Buttler edges the ball onto his stumps and is bowled out for 19 off 17 balls.

However, Rajasthan have just dipped down the run-rate of 12.10 as Samson inches closer to a fifty...

RR 93-2 in 10

Samson 47*

Parag 20*

RR need 129 runs off 60 balls.

5-over update:

After opening their run chase with a boundary, Yashasvi Jaiswal is caught off the second delivery of the first over.

Khaleel Ahmed strikes early as Jaiswal stepped back and slapped it to the fielder at mid-on for four.

An unbeaten fifty-ran stand has formed between Jos Buttler and captain Sanju Samson as Rajasthan keep up with the required run-rate of 10.94.

Samson has been the main aggressor and has already reached his forties.

RR 57-1 in 5

Buttler 9*

Samson 41*

Rajasthan Royals need 165 off 90 balls.

INNINGS

Half-centuries by openers Abishek Porel and Jake Fraser-McGurk propelled Delhi Capitals to 221-8 in their IPL encounter against Rajasthan Royals.

After being sent to bat first, Fraser-McGurk and Porel got Delhi Capitals to a fast start, sharing a 60-run opening stand. Fraser-McGurk was the main attacker as he smashed a 19-ball IPL fifty before he was caught off the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin.

While a few wickets fell, Porel shouldered the middle of the Capitals innings as he brought up his maiden IPL half-century and went onto 42-run stand with Axar Patel (15).

Ashwin strikes as Porel gets a leading edge to point and departs for 65 off 36 balls (hitting seven fours and three sixes).

Proteas batter Tristan Stubbs took Capitals over the 200-mark as he shared a 45-run stand with Gulbadin Naib (19) before Stubbs was trapped LBW by Sandeep Sharma for a handy 41 off 20 balls (hitting three sixes and fours).

Ashwin was the pick of the Rajasthan bowlers as he took three for 24 in his four overs.

Scores in brief:

Delhi Capitals 221-8 in 20 (Porel 65, Fraser-McGurk 50, Ashwin 3/24, Sandeep 1/42)

Rajasthan Royals need 222 runs to win

15-over update:

Two more wickets fall for the Delhi Capitals.

Ashwin gets his third scalp and the big wicket of Abishek Porel, who brought up his maiden IPL fifty. Porel swings and gets a leading edge to point for 65 off 36 balls (hitting seven fours and three sixes).

Skipper Rishabh Pant swept straight to fine leg and hand Yuzvendra Chahal his 350th T20 wicket. Pant departed for a 13-ball 15.

DC 156-6 in 15

Stubbs 5*

Naib 4*

10-over update:

Two quick wickets have fallen as Shai Hope is run out for one. Ashwin gets his second scalp as Axar Patel is caught at long-off for 15.

Opener Abishek Porel continues to go strong and is four runs away from an IPL fifty.

DC 115-3 in 10

Porel 46*

Pant 2*

5-over update:

Opener Jake Fraser-McGurk was in blistering form as he smashed seven fours and three sixes to bring up his IPL half-century off just 19 balls.

However, Fraser-McGurk's innings didn't last long as Ravichandran Ashwin struck in his opening over.

Fraser-McGurk chipped it straight to the Donovan Ferreira at extra cover and the Australian departed for 50 off 20 balls.

DC 68-1 in 5

There are two South Africans in today's IPL fixture as Donovan Ferreira plays his first IPL game of the season for Rajasthan, and Tristan Stubbs represents Delhi Capitals.

Teams:

Delhi Capitals

Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Shai Hope, Tristan Stubbs, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Gulbadin Naib, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed

Rajasthan Royals

Rovman Powell, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Shubham Dubey, Donovan Ferreira, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

TOSS:

Rajasthan Royals win the toss and chosen to FIELD first in their IPL encounter against Delhi Capitals.

Yadav's ton blasts Mumbai to win over Sunrisers

Suryakumar Yadav hit an unbeaten 102 to lead Mumbai Indians to a crushing seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday as teams jostle for a play-off berth in the IPL.

Chasing 174 for victory, Mumbai slipped to 31-3 before Suryakumar put on an unbeaten stand of 143 with Tilak Varma to achieve the target with 16 balls to spare at their home Wankhede Stadium.

Suryakumar hit the winning six, which also raised his second IPL ton in 51 balls and comes as a welcome sign for India ahead of the T20 World Cup in June in the West Indies and the United States.

"SKY was unbelievable," skipper Hardik Pandya said of his player of the match.

"More than him getting runs, him putting so much pressure on bowlers that even other batters get loose balls. He breaks you. Lucky to have him in my team."

However the win for five-time winners Mumbai, placed ninth in the 10-team table, could be late in a tournament fast moving towards its business end.

Hyderabad, led by Pat Cummins, stay fourth in the table but their fifth loss and a big one could hurt their play-off chances.

Hyderabad need to win two of their remaining three matches to make the play-offs as they remain locked at 12 points with third-placed Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at fifth.

The top four teams will make the play-offs with the final on 26 May in Chennai.

Hyderabad, who have posted record IPL totals of 277 and 287 this season, next host Lucknow and Cummins said, "We like playing at home, done well there so far. Looking forward to what's ahead of us. Hopefully a few more fireworks."

Former champions Hyderabad posted 173-8 courtesy of Travis Head's 48 and an unbeaten 17-ball 35 by lower-order batter Cummins after being invited to bat first.

The left-handed Head gave the team a brisk start with his 30-ball knock before his departure in the 11th over and Hyderabad lost their way with regular wickets.

Pandya and spinner Piyush Chawla took three wickets each to rattle the opposition middle and lower-order as Hyderabad slipped to 136-8 in 17 overs.

But number nine Cummins had other ideas as the Australian Test and ODI captain hit back in the final three overs and put on an unbeaten stand of 37 off 19 balls with Sanvir Singh.

The batting effort inspired the team and fast bowlers came roaring to reduce Mumbai to 31-3 including the key wicket of Rohit Sharma, out caught behind for four off Cummins.

Suryakumar soon took charge with his attacking batting as he raised his 50 in 30 balls and hammered the opposition bowling with 12 fours and six sixes.

The left-handed Varma made 37 and enjoyed Suryakumar's blitz from the other end.

- AFP

15 over update

Mumbai Indians 139/3

Yadav 76*

Varma 29*

Need 35 from 30. 

10 over update

Mumbai Indians 84/3 

Yadav 33*

Varma 19*

Need 90 from 60

5 over update

Mumbai Indians 36/3

Yadav 4*

Varma 0* 

Need 138 from 90

INNINGS update

Sunrisers end on 173/8 thanks to a fighting 35 off 17 balls at the back end by skipper Pat Cummins. 

Travis Head scored 48 to get them off to a good start, but they lost their way in the middle order with Heinrich Klaasen contributing 2 and Marco Jansen 17.

Mumbai need 174 to win at 8.66 per over. 

15 over update

Sunrisers 120/5 

Jansen 16*

Ahmed 10*

10 over update

Sunrisers 88/2 

Reddy 18*

Head 47*

5 over update

Sunrisers 51/0 

Head 33*

Sharma 11*