Author: Mishaal Mubarak

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have lost eight games while chasing this season, and most of them have come with a very narrow margin. They lost one in a Super Over, one by a single run, one by two runs, one by 10 runs, and one by 11 runs. And in the majority of these games, they lost the plot after establishing early dominance. No matter how close the defeats were, they were still defeats, and hence RR do not have any playoff games to look forward to this year. Even worse, they might go down with a wooden spoon if they…

Being the first team to breach the 300-run mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was a matter of when for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), not if. The expectations became louder when they scored 286 runs in their very first game. But since then, they have hardly held on to themselves, let alone made or broken records. SRH started this season as one of the favourites, but now all they can do is get as much distance from the bottom position as they can manage from what remains of their campaign. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are just one spot ahead of…

Peshawar Zalmi (PZ) and Lahore Qalandars (LQ) will meet for an important clash in Rawalpindi today, the kind of important that had Lahore pulling Sikandar Raza out of his national duties for just this one game, before he rejoins Zimbabwe for a four-day Test against England. This is a virtual quarterfinal, with both teams vying for the fourth playoff spot. This was always going to be a tense face-off, even before the disruptions arrived. Even a potential war couldn’t dim the kind of show this match promises. The world has never seen a PSL season where PZ weren’t part of…

Delhi Capitals (DC) have entered the danger zone; one misstep and things get tricky for them. A defeat might not see them out immediately, but plenty of things will have to go their way in order to get them through the group stage. But things going their way haven’t quite happened lately. They have three defeats in their last four completed games. Although rain bailed them out against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), when the team could only accumulate a paltry 133-run total in the first innings, any game that isn’t a win for them is essentially a defeat. After a five-game…

Two of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) extremes meet today. Quetta Gladiators (QG) have already qualified for the playoffs, and Multan Sultans (MS) have been eliminated. So, if there ever were a bigger dead rubber in PSL history, it couldn’t be bigger than this. The game also doesn’t have any sort of impact on the fate of other teams. And on top of that, it’s a day game in a 43-degree hot Rawalpindi. But cricket must go on, even a week after a potential war-like situation. Multan Sultans (MS), at the start of this season, had the highest win-to-loss ratio…

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have won just three out of their 12 Indian Premier League (IPL) games, one of which came against Punjab Kings (PBKS). Since then, though, a lot has changed, some of it dramatically. RR have crashed out. PBKS have kept their momentum. The South Asian region teetered on the edge of chaos and somehow stumbled back. Even the IPL itself saw a sword dangling over it. A lot really has changed. One thing, however, has stayed as is, and that is how cutthroat and cruel this tournament remains. Almost a week ago, India was on the brink of…

Punjab Kings (PBKS) had just reached the halfway mark batting first in Dharamsala when a sudden wave of anxious urgency swept through the IPL officials. Signals went up. Something awful was unfolding. Awful it was, indeed, when the players found out they were in the middle of a potential war-like situation. The ground was emptied. Match abandoned. The tournament was suspended indefinitely. Some stayed in India. Others flew home on the first available flight. Now that the IPL has resumed and normalcy is tentatively restored, Punjab have realised they were turning the world upside down in their pursuit of a…

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) held a practice session on Thursday at the Chinnaswamy, with all but one of their overseas picks looking ready to pick up where they left off. Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Jacob Bethell arrived in India after the Indian Premier League (IPL) resumed following a week-long suspension. Tim David, Lungi Ngidi, and Romario Shepherd also joined the squad. The only RCB foreign player who remains absent is Josh Hazlewood, whose return is uncertain due to a minor shoulder niggle. While the injury may not have been a major concern on its own, the upcoming World Test…

Barring Jos Buttler and Gerald Coetzee, Gujarat Titans’ entire overseas squad, including Rashid Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Kagiso Rabada, and Karim Janat, stayed in India, even as the threat of war loomed large. This meant they were the first team to resume training shortly after a ceasefire was brokered. Now that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has an official restart date, Buttler and Coetzee are expected to return too, but GT’s problems are far from over, with fixture clashes likely to gut their core just when they need it most. Jos Buttler, the backbone of their campaign this season, is likely…

After a week-long unplanned hiatus, both tournaments, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL), are set to resume action on May 17. The remaining eight PSL games, including four group stage matches and four playoffs, will be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Lahore will exclusively host the playoff games, which means all of the remaining group stage matches are locked in for Rawalpindi. The revised schedule for the league includes one double-header on Sunday (May 18). Multan Sultans (MS) will face Quetta Gladiators (QG) in the day fixture, while Peshawar Zalmi (PZ) and…