Franchise Cricket

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Kolkata Knight Riders' difficult start to the Indian Premier League continued as fellow strugglers Chennai Super Kings inflicted a fourth defeat on the three-time champions.

After CSK reached 192-5, Kolkata underwhelmed with the bat again in managing only 160-7 in a 32-run defeat.

Opener Finn Allen made only one from three balls and after West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine hit 24 they fell away.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi mistimed to long-on, captain Ajinkya Rahane, whose form and ability to score quickly has been questioned, made 28 from 22 balls and big-money signing Cameron Green was bowled by Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmed for a first-ball duck.

The defeat leaves KKR winless after five games of the competition.

CSK's win is only their second of the tournament and they sit eighth in the table.

Opener Sanju Samson made 48, 18-year-old right-hander Ayush Mhatre 38 and South Africa Dewald Brevis 41 in their total.

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England all-rounder Will Jacks will travel to the Indian Premier League this week after missing Mumbai Indians' first four matches of the competition.

Jacks, 27, has taken time off after playing in four of England's five Ashes Tests, the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup that followed.

He was England's best performing player during their run to the semi-finals, scoring 226 runs and taking nine wickets.

Mumbai have only won one of their first four matches in this year's IPL and host Punjab Kings in their next match on Thursday.

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Peshawar Zalmi reaffirmed their Pakistan Super League ambitions by beating second-placed Multan Sultans by 24 runs to increase their lead at the top of the standings.

After posting 196-6, Zalmi held firm when Multan needed 51 from the last five overs with six wickets left.

Shan Masood was dismissed for 35 by spinner Iftikhar Ahmed and Zalmi restricted their opponents to 172-8.

Zalmi's innings was built around Sri Lanka batter Kusal Mendis, who followed scores of 109 and 74 with 68 from 40 balls.

They now hold a three-point lead at the top of the standings after five wins from six matches.

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Seamer Praful Hinge took three wickets in his first over, including in-form 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi for a first-ball duck, in a game of impressive debuts for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Rajasthan Royals.

Opening the bowling, right-armer Hinge, 24, had Suryavanshi caught off a top edge, ending the teenager's run of form after scores of 78 in 26 balls, 39, 31 and 52.

Hinge then bowled India international Dhruv Jurel, concluded the first over with a third wicket as South African Lhuan-dre Pretorius was caught at deep square leg and finished with figures of 4-34 as Sunrisers won by 57 runs.

Signed after success in the T20 League in the state of Vidarbha last year, he was playing only his second professional T20 and his first match in the IPL.

His haul made him the first bowler to take three wickets in the opening over of an IPL match.

Sakib Hussain, another seamer playing his first IPL match with Sunrisers captain Pat Cummins and England's Brydon Carse absent, also dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second over went on to take 4-24.

The opening burst from from the debutants left Royals 9-5 and they were dismissed for 159.

Sunrisers made 216-6 despite England bowler Jofra Archer dismissing India opener Abhishek Sharma with the first ball of the match.

India wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan hit 91 and South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen 40, while Archer finished with decent figures - 2-37.

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The ILT20 franchise league will move forward again this winter with its opening match to be played on 22 November.

The fourth edition of the T20 league ran from 4 December to 2 January last winter, having been brought forward to avoid a clash with the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

This year's tournament will run from 22 November to 20 December.

Organisers hope it will mean a clearer window for players, though England have a T20 series in Australia between 21 November and 2 December.

The ILT20, held in the United Arab Emirates, has previously clashed with the Big Bash in Australia and South Africa's SA20.

Last year's Big Bash ran from 14 December to 25 January, while the SA20 is expected to be played from early January next year.

England all-rounder Sam Curran led Desert Vipers to their first title in last year's ILT20.

Phil Salt, Tom Banton and Jordan Cox, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Dan Lawrence, Moeen Ali and a host of other England players also featured.

Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka and West Indies trio Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford and Andrew Russell were among the international names.

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It is not often that the wickets column is empty next to Jasprit Bumrah's name, let alone after four matches.

The India superstar has not been able to resolve Mumbai Indians' pace bowling woes with the ball this season as Sunday's defeat by Royal Challengers Bengaluru was their third in succession.

However, despite a lack of wickets, Bumrah has still been economical with overall figures of 0-123 from 15 overs, just over eight runs per over - an exceptional number in such a high-scoring tournament.

"You'd take those figures every day of the week, in this total," former South Africa quick Dale Steyn said of Bumrah's spell of 0-35 after RCB posted 240 against Mumbai.

"He has put on a show tonight with all his skills, his yorker in particular has been fantastic. Yes, he has missed his length on occasion, but you don't see that often from him."

Although Bumrah's economy remains excellent, it has not been enough to relieve the pressure from Mumbai's other struggling seamers.

New Zealander Trent Boult has figures of 1-110 from three games at an economy rate of 12.22, Deepak Chahar has been inconsistent and while Shardul Thakur has five wickets, he is conceding more than 13 runs per over.

Powerplay wickets are also proving hard to come by, as they have only taken five in their four games, but Mumbai batting coach Kieron Pollard says they are not concerned about Bumrah's form.

"We're not looking too much into the wicketless nature of Jasprit Bumrah," Pollard said.

"He's a world-class bowler. He has done it time and time again for India and also for Mumbai Indians. When the time comes to get wickets, he'll get wickets.

"If not, and he's economical, we'll accept that as well."

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England batter Phil Salt returned to form with a brutal innings of 78 from 36 balls as Royal Challengers Bengaluru cruised to an 18-run win over Mumbai Indians.

Salt and India superstar Virat Kohli added 120 for the first wicket in 10.5 overs as RCB posted an imposing 240-4, with the former crashing six fours and six sixes in his knock.

It was the pair's first partnership of more than 50 in this year's tournament and Salt had previously made just 54 runs in three innings.

Captain Rajat Patidar ensured his side did not lose momentum after Salt's departure, crashing a stunning 17-ball half-century alongside Kohli's anchoring 50 from 38, before Tim David finished the innings with an unbeaten 34.

Jasprit Bumrah was Mumbai's most economical bowler again with 0-35 but Trent Boult's struggles continued with figures of 1-50.

Mumbai also made an entertaining start on a very batting-friendly surface at the Wankhede Stadium as they added 72 in seven overs, but were set back by Rohit Sharma having to retire hurt on 19 before Suyash Sharma removed both Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Varma in the space of four balls.

Sherfane Rutherford smashed an entertaining 71 not out from just 31 balls at the death, including nine sixes, but his contribution came too late after a middle-overs stutter and Mumbai finished 222-5 to suffer their third straight defeat.

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Marnus Labuschagne struck 61 not out as Hyderabad Kingsmen comfortably beat Islamabad United by six wickets.

Kingsmen were struggling with four defeats from their first four games but have now registered back-to-back wins.

Australia's Labuschagne anchored the innings with his 53-ball knock, adding partnerships of 50 with fellow opener Maaz Sadaqat and 60 with Saim Ayub.

He completed the chase with compatriot Glenn Maxwell, who made an unbeaten 21 from nine balls as Kingsmen reached their target of 153 with 11 balls to spare.

Islamabad posted 152-9 in a stuttering innings which saw contributions of 45 and 42 from New Zealand batters Devon Conway and Mark Chapman, but lost four wickets in a chaotic final over bowled by Asif Mehmood as the innings fell away.

Mehmood finished with 4-18 while Mohammad Ali took 2-26.

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Jos Buttler's second successive half-century led Gujarat Titans to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants.

Buttler added 84 for the second wicket with captain Shubman Gill to set the foundation for Gujarat's comfortable chase of 165 with eight balls to spare.

The pair fell in consecutive overs with Gill making 56 and Buttler scoring 60 from 37 balls to give Lucknow's bowlers a glimmer of hope, but all-rounder Washington Sundar's unbeaten 21 from 13 helped Gujarat over the line.

Gill and Buttler's partnership proved the difference as eight of Lucknow's batters reached double figures but opener Aiden Markram's 30 was their highest contribution.

They were undone by a masterful spell of seam bowling from Prasidh Krishna, who claimed 4-28 to become the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 10 scalps in four games.

England's Buttler had gone 18 innings without a fifty before last week's 52 against Delhi Capitals, and his form has helped Gujarat to back-to-back wins after they lost their first two games.

"I had a bit of a lean patch over the past few months so it's nice to be contributing to wins," said Buttler.

"A little bit of space from the game has been helpful, a few technical issues crept in to my game so this has allowed me to go back to basics."

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Sanju Samson's century and Jamie Overton's fine spell of 4-18 earned Chennai Super Kings their first win of this year's IPL as they beat Delhi Capitals by 23 runs.

Samson made a sparkling 115 not out from 56 balls in CSK's 212-2, and was supported by 18-year-old Ayush Mhatre, who was eventually retired out for 59 from 36.

Despite choosing to bowl first, Delhi skipper Axar Patel was the sole wicket-taker in the innings, removing opener Ruturaj Gaikwad for 15.

Delhi started positively in the powerplay but slipped from 61-0 to 76-4 as KL Rahul fell for 18, Pathum Nissanka made 41 and Sameer Rizvi and Axar fell for single-figure scores.

Destructive South African batter David Miller was bowled by a beauty from Overton which clipped his leg stump, but Miller's compatriot Tristan Stubbs kept Capitals' hopes alive with a counter-attacking half-century.

With 32 needed from 12 balls, Overton - despite struggling with a sore side from throwing in from the boundary - held his nerve in the 19th over to remove Stubbs for 60 and conceded just four runs.

Anshul Kamboj then took two wickets in the final over as Delhi were bowled out for 189 to take CSK above Kolkata Knight Riders and off the bottom of the table.

"The first few games didn't go my way but these things happen in T20 cricket, but I have felt good with my pace since the Big Bash in December," said Overton.

"The pitch was a little bit tacky so it was just about trying to keep the stumps in play as much as possible. My side is fine, it was just a bit of cramp out there."

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Hyderabad Kingsmen earned their first win of the PSL as they beat Karachi Kings by four wickets.

Chasing 189 to win, the Kingsmen needed 50 from the final five overs with five wickets in hand and Hassan Khan delivered the match-winning knock, clubbing 33 not out from 16 balls as they reached the target with five balls to spare.

Irfan Khan Niazi also finished unbeaten with 29 from 20 after cameos from Marnus Labuschagne, Maaz Sadaqat and Usman Khan had provided a fast start.

They reached 96-1 inside eight overs before Karachi's bowlers fought back in the middle, including the wicket of Australia star Glenn Maxwell for just two, but the Kingsmen's lower order held their nerve.

Karachi have now suffered back-to-back defeats after winning their opening three matches, having been skittled for 87 against leaders Peshawar Zalmi previously.

Saad Baig was retired out for 53 from 37 balls before former England all-rounder Moeen Ali smashed 44 from 16 balls, including five sixes, in their total of 188-8.

Karachi Kings captain David Warner was left out with a back injury.

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Captain Shreyas Iyer's unbeaten 69 from 33 balls led Punjab Kings to a clinical six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad as they chased their target of 220 with seven balls to spare.

Punjab made a flying start as openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya added 99 in 6.2 overs, with the latter pummelling a 16-ball fifty.

Sunrisers dragged back some control when both batters were dismissed in quick succession by Shivang Kumar, who took 3-33, but Shreyas' counter-attacking knock swung the momentum back in Punjab's favour.

Shashank Singh clubbed an unbeaten 16 to go with his crucial spell of 2-20 which halted the Sunrisers' progress after their openers also made a rapid start.

Sunrisers were on course for a huge total as Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head added 120 in eight overs, with the former smashing eight sixes in his 74 from 28 balls.

But Shashank removed both in the space of three balls and Sunrisers' progress stalled, with Heinrich Klaasen's 39 from 33 the next highest contribution as they made 219-6.

The result sees Punjab remain second in the table and was also their ninth chase of 200 or more in the history of the IPL, which is a tournament record.

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Kusal Mendis' fine form continued as Peshawar Zalmi beat Lahore Qalandars by 76 runs in the Pakistan Super League.

Sri Lanka batter Mendis whacked 74 from 48 balls, with five fours and four sixes, to set up Zalmi's 173-7, backing up his 109 in their previous match against Karachi Kings.

Mendis was supported Babar Azam's 43 and a cameo of 21 from 10 balls from New Zealand's Michael Bracewell, while Lahore skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi's fine spell of 3-22 was in vain.

Bracewell also took 3-18 as Lahore were skittled for just 97 in reply, with Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique top-scoring with 21 each.

The result takes Zalmi to the top of the PSL table with four wins from five, while Lahore are sixth.

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England and Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Phil Salt's struggles at the top of the order continued as he fell to international team-mate Jofra Archer from the first ball of the match against Rajasthan Royals.

He was beaten for pace by Archer and top-edged to keeper Dhruv Jurel, which set the tone for Royals' six-wicket win in Guwahati.

Salt has scored 54 runs in three innings for RCB, with 46 of them coming in one knock, and averaged 16.25 across eight games in the preceding T20 World Cup which took place in India and Sri Lanka.

It is understandable why RCB would want to stick with Salt, who formed an effective opening partnership with Virat Kohli in last year's title-winning campaign when the pair scored 565 runs in 13 innings together, at a strike-rate of 174.3.

However, it could soon become difficult to ignore the other Englishman in RCB's ranks.

Jacob Bethell, 22, has remained on the bench so far, having found himself in a similar position in 2025 by making just two appearances for the franchise.

Bethell's lack of game time saw him struggle early in the UK summer but then went on a stunning run of form by scoring international centuries in all three formats - the most recent being his magnificent century against India in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.

England's Jordan Cox is also in RCB's squad as a spare batter, but considering Bethell's recent exploits, he is the most likely candidate if they decide to rotate the squad.

RCB next play against Mumbai Indians on Sunday and the tight turnaround could give Salt another opportunity, but he likely needs to fire soon.

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Rawalpindiz remain winless in the Pakistan Super League after they suffered a 61-run thrashing by Quetta Gladiators.

Quetta posted 182-6 as Rilee Rossouw top-scored with 53 from 42 balls, having added 87 for the second wicket with Saud Shakeel, who made 42.

Cameos of 39 from Hasan Nawaz and 21 not out from Jahandad Khan pushed Quetta to a competitive total, which proved far too much for the horribly out-of-form Rawalpindiz.

Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed first ball to set the tone for the chase, shortly followed by Usman Khawaja who was run out for seven.

Sam Billings fell for one to kickstart a middle-order collapse of three wickets for no runs, leaving Rawalpindiz 82-7, before they slumped to 121 all out in 17.3 overs.

The win keeps Quetta comfortably in the middle of the PSL table with two wins from five, while Rawalpindiz are bottom with Hyderabad Kingsmen also yet to register their first win.

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