Mohammad Rizwan built one of the most remarkable T20 batting records in Pakistan cricket on a single foundation: anchor first, accelerate later. It worked for years because the formula was reliable enough to produce totals and reliable enough to win matches. What’s happening in this PSL campaign is something more uncomfortable than a form slump. […]
Mohammad Rizwan built one of the most remarkable T20 batting records in Pakistan cricket on a single foundation: anchor first, accelerate later. It worked for years because the formula was reliable enough to produce totals and reliable enough to win matches. What’s happening in this PSL campaign is something more uncomfortable than a form slump. […]
This fixture comes down to one phase and one matchup within it. Over 7 to 15 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium will decide whether RCB post a total that feels threatening or DC’s spinners choke the innings into something manageable. Rajat Patidar has been the most destructive middle-order batter in this contest on paper, and Kuldeep […]
Most match previews are built around what teams do well. This one is built around what both teams are failing to do, because that’s where the result will actually be decided. Sunrisers Hyderabad cannot close out innings at the death. Chennai Super Kings cannot win the powerplay with either bat or ball consistently. At Rajiv […]
There was a specific reason Iyer found himself on the outside of India’s T20I setup, and it wasn’t a general loss of form. It was the short ball. Bowlers at the international level identified it, targeted it consistently, and the results showed. Selectors noticed. What’s changed recently is that Iyer has gone back and done […]
Arshdeep Singh walked into the MI vs PBKS clash carrying a problem everyone could see. Two wickets in four games. A growing wide count. An economy rate that reflected a bowler searching for something that wasn’t quite there. What followed wasn’t a sudden rediscovery of form or a lucky spell on a helpful surface. It […]
Four losses from five matches. That’s the number that has pushed Kolkata Knight Riders into genuine restructuring territory. The problems aren’t subtle or hard to locate. The opening pair hasn’t fired, the bowling unit has been disrupted by injuries, and a high-profile auction signing hasn’t delivered what was expected. KKR is a team built to […]
KKR’s problems this season aren’t about players failing. They’re about players being put in positions where succeeding is almost impossible. Cameron Green is the clearest example. Sunil Narine’s opening is an experiment that creates more questions than answers. The middle overs have become a phase where partnerships accumulate without applying any pressure on the opposition. […]
Gujarat Titans have enough talent to be genuine contenders this season. The problem isn’t quality in isolation; it’s how the moving parts are affecting each other. A middle order that can’t accelerate when it matters. A top order structure so dependent on two players that one bad day reshapes the entire innings. Powerplay bowlers who […]
Josh Hazlewood doesn’t produce the kind of highlights that end up on social media at midnight. He won’t bowl a 150kph delivery that sends a stump cartwheeling, and he won’t swing a ball 40 metres in the air the way Starc can on his best day. What he does instead is quietly dismantle batting plans […]
Gujarat Titans aren’t just the form side going into this fixture. They’re the side better equipped for exactly the conditions Narendra Modi Stadium produces. KKR arrive in Ahmedabad searching for answers to problems that have compounded across multiple games: a batting order that’s been reshuffled out of its optimal shape, a bowling unit that has […]
RCB posted 240. RCB won. Virat Kohli scored 50. Those three facts should coexist comfortably. The reason they don’t is the fourth fact: his 50 came off 38 balls at a strike rate of 131 in a match where the surface demanded 180-plus and the batting lineup around him produced it. Rajat Patidar scored 50 […]