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Rickelton, Rohit, Shardul break Mumbai’s first-game jinx

Published

3 weeks ago

2026/03/30

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Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma added 148 for the first wicket [Cricinfo]

Before Sunday, Mumbai Indians had never chased down a 220-plus target in their previous seven attempts. MI had never won their opening game of the IPL since 2012. On day two of IPL 2026, MI broke two jinxes as they chased down 221 in 19.1 overs to begin their season with a comfortable six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders. Rohit Sharma wound back the clock, smashing 78 off 38 balls, while Ryan Rickelton thumped 81 off 43, the duo adding 148 runs for the opening wicket off 71 balls.

That KKR were coming into this opening game severely depleted on the bowling front was known. The extent of it was visible on Sunday night with Vaibhav Arora and Blessing Muzarabani toothless, Varun Chakravarthy ineffective and Sunil Narine a shadow of his former self.

At the halfway mark, KKR might have been happy reaching 220 for 4, their second-highest score against MI in the IPL. Ajinkya Rahane, who at the toss said that he had “never seen so much of grass at Wankhede”, scored 67 off 40 balls while Angkrish Raghuvanshi, another Mumbai lad, made 51 off 29 as KKR breached the 220 mark. But against a KKR unit missing several of their frontline seamers, MI barely had any hiccups, completing the highest-successful IPL chase at the Wankhede with five balls to spare.

It was a typical Rohit innings that Wankhede has witnessed so many times, laced with some of the most pristine shots. He was on 12 off eight at one stage, but once in, he lit up Mumbai like only he can. Coming into the game, he had a strike rate of less than 100 against Varun in T20s. So, what did he do? He lofted the spinner inside-out over covers first ball and then lifted him for six the next ball. By the time the powerplay was done, Rohit had raced to a 23-ball fifty, his fastest in the IPL and MI’s chase was on course.

They raced to 80 in the first six, past 100 in 8.1 overs and by the time Rohit fell, thanks to a lovely catch by Anukul Roy running back from mid-off, MI’s required rate had gone below nine, which at the start of the innings was above 11 an over.

There were a few raised eyebrows when Rickelton was picked over the more experienced Quinton de Kock , but the former justified his selection. Rickelton needed just the first couple of overs to get a hang of the surface and once he did, there was no stopping him. He deposited Arora for back-to-back sixes, one over extra cover and then over deep midwicket, and that kickstarted a brutal takedown of the KKR bowlers.

While he saw Rohit do his thing in the powerplay, Rickelton took on Narine after the six-over mark. He slog swept him over deep midwicket in his first over and then launched him over the ropes twice in three balls in the next to raise a 24-ball fifty.

He didn’t stop there and only fell courtesy a stunning direct hit from the deep by Anukul. Suryakumar Yadav, the Impact Sub, came and went, but Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma took MI closer. Hardik finished on an unbeaten 18 off 11 balls, while Naman Dhir hit the winning runs off Anukul as MI started their IPL 2026 in style.

Finn Allen brought his stellar form international cricket to the IPL. After facing five dot balls against Hardik, he went after MI debutant AM Ghazanfar, pumping him to the deep square fence and then spanking him for an 86-metre six over wide long-on. Another six capped off Ghazanfar’s opening over. Rahane then went after Hardik, thumping him for back-to-back sixes and Allen then got on strike and went 4, 4, 4. A monster 26-run over against Hardik helped KKR race past fifty in 3.5 overs, their fastest against MI in the IPL.

Shardul Thqkur, on MI debut, then brought his experience into play and sent back Allen who shoveled a slower length ball to long-off but Rahane carried on. He struck two fours off Thakur as KKR finished on 78 for 1 in six overs.

Two Mumbai boys on opposite ends were critical to their team’s cause. After removing Allen, Thakur sent back Cameron Green, whose innings lasted just ten balls and he then dismissed Rahane with a hard length delivery outside off that was mistimed to extra cover. At this point, KKR were still going at over ten an over but had lost steam, thanks to some terrific bowling from Bumrah, Trent Boult and Thakur.

Enter the other Mumbai boy, Raghuvanshi. He was on 17 off 14 at one stage but found a new lease of life after being dropped by Rohit at long-on. He closed out the 15th over with a four and six against Ghazanfar and then launched Thakur over long-on. Raghuvanshi added 60 off 30 balls with Rinku Singh for the fourth wicket, reaching his fifty off 28 balls as KKR raced past 200 in the 19th over.

Rinku struck unbeaten on 33 off 21 as KKR finished on 220 for 4 but it wasn’t enough.

Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 221 for 4 in 19.1 overs (Ryan Rickelton 81, Rohit Sharma 78, Suryakumar Yadav 16, Tilak Varma 20, HardikPandya 18*; Vaibhav Arora 1-52, Kartik Tyagi 1-43, Sunil Narine 1-30) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 220 for 4 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 67, Finn Allen 37, Cameron Green 18, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 51, Rinku Singh 33*; Hardik Pandya 1-39, Shardul Thakur 3-39) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Abhishek’s 135 not out blows Delhi Capitals away

Published

2 hours ago

2026/04/22

Priyan

Harsh Dubey took 3 for 3 in the final over[Cricinfo]

Read this closely. Abhishek Sharma played within himself to bat through a full 20-over IPL innings for the first time and still ended up with 135 not out off 68. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) consequent 242 for 2, with supporting vigour provided by Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, was more than enough against one of the hitting lightweights of this year’s IPL, Delhi Capitals (DC). The win took SRH level on No. 2 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals, but the others have a game in hand.

This was Abhishek’s ninth T20 hundred, taking him level with Virat Kohli for most centuries by an Indian. Only three men have more T20 hundreds than him. He equalled his own record for most sixes in an innings for an SRH batter, ten, and made this his second entry in the top-five IPL scores.

It was always going to be a tough ask for DC against a strong bowling line-up at home. Nitish Rana, playing more as an offspinner for the three left-hand batters at the top, kept SRH at bay with a fifty, but the asking rate kept soaring. Three wickets in the tenth and 11th overs to Eshan Malinga and Sakib Hussain ended the contest, leaving DC 137 to get off 58 balls. And as offspinner, Rana went for 55 in his four.

For the second match in a row, Abhishek and Travis Head made a measured start. They followed up their 23 for 0 in three overs against Chennai Super Kings with 26 for 0 in three overs here. There seems to be recognition there that their lower middle order is not the most accomplished, and that they don’t always need 250 with their bowling line-up.

On 12 off seven at the start of the fourth over, Abhishek began to manufacture shots, starting with Lungi Ngidi and his slower balls. Having snuck a quiet Rana over in with the new ball, DC looked like they were happy with the small winnings, but then they raised the stakes by handing over the fifth over to Rana. Abhishek was 21 off 11 at this point, and in a mood to hit the next gear. He hit Rana for two successive sixes before Head got one in. All of a sudden, the powerplay read 67 for 0, still among their slower powerplays, especially when they don’t lose wickets.

The DC captain looked like he wasn’t going to get caught in match-ups arising from the direction of turn as he bowled the seventh over without a boundary but Abhishek then took his second over for 16. Even though he got lucky with Head’s wicket off a short ball, Axar didn’t bowl again.

With the wicket just gone, DC snuck in another quiet over from Rana, but Ishan Kishan and Abhishek resumed carnage against the left-arm wristspin of Kuldeep Yadav, taking 22 off the 11th over. T Natarajan and Mukesh Kumar bowled as well as they could for the next three overs, but still conceded 34. At this juncture, Rana was asked to bowl again, and Abhishek took 23 off him, bringing up his hundred with the second of the sixes in that over. Abhishek’s first T20 hundred took 59 balls; the remaining eight have all come in fewer than 50 balls. This one took 47.

At 115 at the end of the 15th over, Abhishek was a decent shout to challenge Chris Gayle’s 175, but he just couldn’t impart power into his shots even though he kept charging the bowlers. He got only 20 off the last 17 balls he faced, but the remaining 13 balls were maximised by Klaasen, who scored 37 off 13 to go with Kishan’s 25 off 13.

SRH have been keen to give Dilshan Madushanka his IPL debut but a batting collapse in the last match resulted in an extra batter as Impact Player. It didn’t take long to see why. Madushanka swung the ball in the first over, he bowled wobble-seam in the second, and was excellent with old-ball bowling outside the powerplay as well. At the start of his second over, he got rid of compatriot Pathum Nissanka with a catch at mid-off.

Rana and KL Rahul kept fighting but the game was always slipping away. The bowling from Madushanka, Hussain and Malinga kept the pressure up, and the floodgates opened around the halfway mark. Rahul was the first one to go, hitting a low full toss from Hussain straight to deep square leg. Four balls later, Malinga was on a hat-trick, having dismissed Rana and David Miller at the start of the 11th over.

Once again, Malinga found reverse swing, but cleverly he kept mixing it up with slower balls. His four-for took him to 21 wickets after the 10th over in his 14 matches since his IPL debut last year. Among fast bowlers, only Prasidh Krishna has taken more.

Left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey joined the party with three wickets in the last over, all catches in the deep.

Brief scores:
Sunriser Hyderabad 242 for 2 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 135*, Travis Head 37, Ishan Kishan 25, Heinrich Klaasen 37*; Axar Patel 1-23) beat Delhi Capitals 195 for 9 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 37, Nitish Rana 57, Sameer Rizvi 41, Tristan Stubbs 27, Ashutosh Sharma 14; Dilshan Madushanka 1-36, Eshan Malinga 4-32, Sakib Hussain 1-29, Harsh Dubey 3-12) by 47 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Trump announces Iran ceasefire extension but says blockade remains

Published

3 hours ago

2026/04/22

Priyan

US President Donald Trump has previously signalled he opposed extending the ceasefire (Aljazeera)

United States President Donald Trump has announced an extension to the ceasefire with Iran, saying that the US military will hold off its planned attack to allow more time for Tehran to put forward a proposal to end the war.

The move on Tuesday comes at the request of Pakistani mediators, according to Trump. The truce was set to expire on Wednesday.

“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” the US president said in a social media post.

Without a specific deadline, Trump’s statement suggests that the truce’s extension is open-ended, at least from the US side.

Iran did not issue an immediate response to Trump’s statement. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said Tehran’s position will be “officially announced later”.

The extension marks the latest abrupt reversal from the Trump White House. Hours before his social media post, Trump had said that he opposed lengthening the truce, warning Iran that time is running out before the US launches a huge attack on its infrastructure.

The about-face came as Iranian officials condemned the US naval blockade on the country’s ports, putting in doubt their participation in talks scheduled for Wednesday.

Afterwards, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed gratitude to Trump for agreeing to prolong the truce, saying that Islamabad will continue to push for a negotiated settlement to the conflict.

(Aljazeera)

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district during the day time

Published

5 hours ago

2026/04/22

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 21 April 2026, valid for 22 April 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern
and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district during the day time.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.