Ipl 2018 letest updates

15:08 (IST)

CSK XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Monu Kumar

RCB XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(w), Moeen Ali, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

15:05 (IST)

Virat Kohli, RCB Captain: We will bat first. Even if you have dew, the surface should allow ball to come well on the bat. Even with dew, bowlers have bowled well. Just one change, Moeen comes in for Udana, just because of conditions. 

MS Dhoni, CSK Captain: Initially, we wanted to chase then we were forced to. We would have also loved to bat first. The pitch slowed down considerably in last game in second innings and chances are it will slow down today as well. Mathematically yes, we are still in but we had decided five matches before that we will take one game at a time. We are looking to give chances to guys who have not got games so far. Mitchell Santner and Monu Singh come in for Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood. 

15:01 (IST)

Toss news: Virat Kohli has won the toss and Bangalore will bat first. 

14:57 (IST)

Pommie Mbangwa and Kumar Sangakkara with pitch report: Very hot in Dubai. Short boundary 68 meters. Long boundary 81 meters. Any batsman will target the shorter side. Important to make batsmen hit to the longer side. The pitch is hard and the pitch has been playing quick under lights, but in day's game, captains winning the toss should bat first. 

14:41 (IST)

Last night, Varun Chakravarthy spun KKR to victory against DC and KXIP bowlers held their nerves to win a close contest against SRH. There were some nerve-racking moments and exceptional performances in both the games.

Click here to know the full story of yesterday's matches in our photo story. 

14:29 (IST)

Two very important games today. CSK would look for a win in order to stay afloat in the tournament, even if so minutely. RCB, on the other hand, will be pressing for a victory as well. If they win, they are through to the playoffs. MI will be eyeing the same result. Win for MI will pretty much end the road for Steve Smith and Co and guarantee a place in playoffs for Rohit Sharma's men. 

Click here to check the points table.

14:21 (IST)

Structured bowling plans, depth in bowling stocks have made Virat Kohli's RCB a winning team

One of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) videos that went viral on social media before the commencement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was titled the ‘yorker challenge’. The video shows each RCB bowler attempting to hit a target that is placed around the popping crease at the batsman’s end. While the bowlers go about their task the rest of the squad members sit alongside the pitch cheering each bowler on. It might not be the most creative of challenges, but the fact is Royal Challengers and bowling skills have never gone hand in hand.

For the duration of the IPL, Bangalore have always been a team that has built their foundation on batting. Their megastars have always been executioners that can wield their willows, but they have always found it difficult to find a series of bowlers that can perform at an admirable level. Before each season of IPL, the big question about the Royal Challengers is "they can always score the runs, but can they defend them?”.

IPL 2020 is different. Bangalore have won consistently matches on the back of their bowling. Last night they dismissed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a paltry total of 84. The standout performer was Mohammad Siraj, who finished with figures of 3/8 from his four overs. It was Siraj’s only fourth match this season, but his control with the new ball was sublime as he sliced through the KKR's top-order.

Click here to read more of Gaurav Joshi's analysis of Royal Challengers Bangalore's win over KKR.

14:14 (IST)

We have not played to our potential this season, it hurts, says CSK captain MS Dhoni

The usually indefatigable Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded to being hurt at the way Chennai Super Kings' IPL campaign has hurtled from one disaster to another but ruled out benching himself from the remaining three games, saying "a captain can't run away".

CSK are all but out of reckoning from a play-offs spot and Dhoni said the three remaining games would be an exercise in understanding how the side should plan for the next season.

Click here to read more of MS Dhoni's quotes on the subject.

13:57 (IST)

MS Dhoni should stop blaming conditions, bad luck and own up to mistakes in CSK camp

Sam Curran’s brief cameo with the bat against the Mumbai Indians in the opening game had pleased Mahendra Singh Dhoni to a large extent. Not only was Curran the only youngster in the ageing XI, but Dhoni had found a power hitter in the lower order that he could base his batting around. For a while now, Dhoni has realised his reflexes and power have disowned him. He has needed a couple of strong hitters to rally around. In IPL 2020, those players were always going to be Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja. After the first game, he had found another in Curran.

These three players were going to be his lieutenants. They would be the ones that would take the maximum risks while he holds up one end. It’s only when the situation is cut-throat in the last couple of overs, he unleashes his power game. In the past, even if those players have failed him, he had the presence to dig his team out of trouble. Now, he can’t.

Click here to read more of Gaurav Joshi's analysis of Chennai Super Kings' defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians.

13:40 (IST)

Bruised CSK look for much-needed victory against high-flying RCB

Their house in complete disarray after eight defeats from 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

CSK, with six points from 11 games, still have a theoretical chance to make it to the playoffs, provided they do not lose any of their remaining three games, improve their net run-rate and all other match results go their way.

The three-time IPL winners have struggled in all departments of the game, leading to heavy criticism towards skipper MS Dhoni for not showing enough faith in the youngsters.

Click here to read more of the preview for this afternoon's match.

13:24 (IST)

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the IPL!

It's match 44 of the Indian Premier League coming up, and it will see the Royal Challengers Bangalore face off against the Chennai Super Kings. CSK have massively underperformed so far and find themselves at the very bottom of the points table in this latest edition of the competition. RCB, on the other hand, are currently having one of their best seasons, and find themselves level on points with MI and DC at the top of the table, meaning they could become outright leaders if they win today's match. Stay tuned as we bring you all the updates from this high-stakes encounter.