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By K.R. Nayar Mumbai. When Mohammed Shami bowls, it’s not just another show from a fast bowler. His deliveries carry whispers of struggle and echoes of resilience. His spell of four overs, no maiden, just nine runs and two wickets shaped Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday (April 5, 2026). He is not a tearaway pacer, but one who strikes using his intelligence. It looks like he stalks the weakness in every batter. One wonders whether his seam position is a trap and whether the length he bowls is only to mislead a batter. When he runs in to bowl with the seam upright, the movement he generates resembles that of a restless and venomous snake. He knows fast bowling can be cruel, and injuries have often stopped his run-up to glory. Every time he has returned to the top of his run-up, he has looked sharper and hungrier. What forced SRH to manage only nine runs from his four overs is his precision. His accuracy is suffocating for any ...

By K.R. Nayar  Mumbai.  Saturday’s double delight from the Indian Premier League witnessed a commanding six-wicket win for Delhi Capitals (DC) over Mumbai Indians (MI) and a nail-biting six-run triumph for Rajasthan Royals (RR) over Gujarat Titans (GT). It looked like the afternoon game created the tempo for the exciting evening clash between RR and GT. Both matches produced heroes and created drama. What fans love is a nerve-shredder or a last-over finish. The star who did not allow the DC-MI match to turn into a thriller, though many expected it to be keenly fought, was the in-form DC batter Sameer Rizvi. His knock of 90 outscored MI’s stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav’s knock of 51. What was great about Rizvi’s knock was that he was calm when needed and brutal when the situation demanded it. He reminded the MI bowlers that their line and length would be destroyed at his will. Delhi Capitals batters were expected to capitalise on any poor delivery, as well as on the...

By K.R. Nayar Mumbai. In a clash of two kings – Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), PBKS won by five wickets with eight balls to spare inside Chennai’s fortress. The victory sent out a message that PBKS now looks stronger than CSK, who were once the kings of the IPL having won the title five times. Through this royal duel, PBKS has announced that they are busy recording new chapters in IPL history. The beauty of this clash was not just PBKS chasing down a daunting target of 210 and recording their ninth successful chase of over 200 runs – the most by any team in IPL history – but also the show put on by two rising stars. PBKS’ Priyansh Arya walked away with the man of the match award through an 11-ball knock of 39 runs. He proved that this award can be won in just 11 balls too. Then there was 18-year-old Chennai’s Ayush Mhatre, who top-scored with 73 runs. The cherry on the victory cake was undoubtedly Shreyas Iyer’s captain’s knock of 50 off 29 balls – a knock playe...

By K.R. Nayar   Mumbai. Election fever is at its peak in India, with four states and one union territory going to the polls this month. While there is constant breaking news on television channels across India about the West Asia war, undeterred by all this, from 7:30 pm, almost everyone is glued to the action in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Stadiums are also packed with cheering fans. On Thursday, April 2, all that mattered was whether Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Kolkata, which unfortunately they did not. The home team lost by 65 runs. Election promises in India gets listeners only till the toss. Once the first ball is bowled, election manifestos are strategically timed out.  Breaking news updates on the war that may pop up on mobile phones are not even glanced at. They are treated like unwanted fielders at fine leg, completely ignored. In the crowded Mumbai trains, passengers, despite being crushed and unabl...

By K.R. Nayar  Mumbai.  Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) 15-year-old wonder boy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, smashed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to ensure RR an eight-wicket win on Monday. Although he is not yet eligible to get a driving license since he just 15, in cricket, there is no age limit to be in the driver’s seat. And unfortunately for the CSK bowlers, this boy does not care about speed limits. He took only 15 balls to reach his half-century during his 17-ball knock of 52 runs.  The IPL started in 2008 and Sooryavanshi was born in 2011. For a boy younger than the tournament, to bat with such audacity may seem disrespectful to the tournament itself, forget being inconsiderate to CSK’s reputation. For someone who is not a fan of cricket, watching his shots would seem like a video game in which a player hits sixes with ease. His knock was such that no one could press the pause button as long as he was at the crease.  Wonder if he does his school homework too at such s...

By K.R. Nayar Mumbai. Cricket becomes exciting when a jinx is broken and flung into the Arabian Sea. It turns into a spectacle when a target of 221 runs is chased with brilliant, aggressive batting. Even more, it turns magical when the home team wins, and that too at the historic Wankhede Stadium, where many spectacular victories have been celebrated in the past. All of this happened on March 29, during the second match of the Indian Premier League 2026, when Mumbai Indians won by six wickets over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ending a 13-year jinx of not having won their opening game since 2012.  The exorcists: Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma. Photos: Mumbai Indians  For fans who enjoy watching bowlers dominate, this was not their day. It was sheer massacre of the bowlers, so much so that if a bowler managed to deliver two dot balls in a stretch, he became a hero. Hence, it was not surprising that Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur, who bagged three wickets, was awarded t...