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IPL 2022: Bangalore were very much in a position to get potentially 175-180, says Mike Hesson

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Mike Hesson, the Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore, admitted that the side were in a good position to get 175-180 on board in their Qualifier 2 loss to Rajasthan Royals. Bangalore were at 123/3 at the end of 15 overs and looked set to reach at least 170.

But Obed McCoy and Prasidh Krishna stalled their march in the death overs, with Bangalore getting just 34 runs off the final five overs, losing five wickets to be 157/8 in 20 overs, eventually proving to be a big factor in their seven-wicket loss ending their quest for their maiden IPL trophy.

“It’s a fair reflection; 123 for 3 with five overs to go, we were very much in a position to get potentially 175-180 with (Glenn) Maxwell set along with (Rajat) Patidar. We lost those two wickets and then in the last three overs, Obed McCoy and (Prasidh) Krishna bowled nicely, and we struggled to get any momentum. We only got 30 odd off the last five, probably leaving us 20 short,” said Hesson in the post-match virtual press conference.

Hesson felt that loss in Qualifier 2 was just a one-off day for Bangalore in last five overs with the bat. “You are always after more power hitters. I think between Maxwell, who was well set after 15 overs, Patidar has got power, Lomror has power, Shahbaz Ahmed has shown he’s got power. We have had a number of guys stand up along with Dinesh Karthik who has been outstanding.

“In the last five overs of the innings, our death run-scoring throughout the season has been exceptional. It’s probably more at the top end where we didn’t get that momentum, but other than today, we’ve pretty much nailed the last five overs of most innings.”

Now with Bangalore’s season over, Hesson pointed out that the side weren’t dependent on just two or three players to carry them throughout the tournament, which generally has been the case with them in previous seasons.

“If you rely solely on two or three players, you’re not going to make it to the playoffs. The beauty of our side has been we didn’t necessarily rely on all of our retained players. We built a squad around our retained players, but we didn’t necessarily have to rely on them for every game. That was probably the most pleasing aspect, the fact that so many different players stood out.

“Mohammed Siraj is a fine bowler; he didn’t have his best tournament, but we know that he will come back strong. He just quite didn’t get those new ball wickets, didn’t get the ball swinging, and lost a little bit of confidence, but as I said, he will bounce back.

“Glenn Maxwell had a good all-round season with both bat and ball – very high strike rate, average close to 30, strike rate of 170 and went for seven an over with the ball. Sure, you always want more, but he’s had a pretty good tournament.

“At the top of the order, Virat (Kohli) and Faf (du Plessis). Obviously, we started with Virat at three and moved him to the top and he certainly got better and better as the season went on. Look, he was in really good touch in the last four or five innings.”

“There are always things you want to tweak, when you get knocked out of a tournament, there are always areas we need to improve, but all in all, pleased with the way the team gelled this season,” concluded the former New Zealand head coach.

 Mike Hesson, the Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore, admitted that the side were in a good position to get 175-180 on board in their Qualifier 2 loss to Rajasthan Royals. Bangalore were at 123/3 at the end of 15 overs and looked set to reach at least 170.

But Obed McCoy and Prasidh Krishna stalled their march in the death overs, with Bangalore getting just 34 runs off the final five overs, losing five wickets to be 157/8 in 20 overs, eventually proving to be a big factor in their seven-wicket loss ending their quest for their maiden IPL trophy.

“It’s a fair reflection; 123 for 3 with five overs to go, we were very much in a position to get potentially 175-180 with (Glenn) Maxwell set along with (Rajat) Patidar. We lost those two wickets and then in the last three overs, Obed McCoy and (Prasidh) Krishna bowled nicely, and we struggled to get any momentum. We only got 30 odd off the last five, probably leaving us 20 short,” said Hesson in the post-match virtual press conference.

Hesson felt that loss in Qualifier 2 was just a one-off day for Bangalore in last five overs with the bat. “You are always after more power hitters. I think between Maxwell, who was well set after 15 overs, Patidar has got power, Lomror has power, Shahbaz Ahmed has shown he’s got power. We have had a number of guys stand up along with Dinesh Karthik who has been outstanding.

“In the last five overs of the innings, our death run-scoring throughout the season has been exceptional. It’s probably more at the top end where we didn’t get that momentum, but other than today, we’ve pretty much nailed the last five overs of most innings.”

Now with Bangalore’s season over, Hesson pointed out that the side weren’t dependent on just two or three players to carry them throughout the tournament, which generally has been the case with them in previous seasons.

“If you rely solely on two or three players, you’re not going to make it to the playoffs. The beauty of our side has been we didn’t necessarily rely on all of our retained players. We built a squad around our retained players, but we didn’t necessarily have to rely on them for every game. That was probably the most pleasing aspect, the fact that so many different players stood out.

“Mohammed Siraj is a fine bowler; he didn’t have his best tournament, but we know that he will come back strong. He just quite didn’t get those new ball wickets, didn’t get the ball swinging, and lost a little bit of confidence, but as I said, he will bounce back.

“Glenn Maxwell had a good all-round season with both bat and ball – very high strike rate, average close to 30, strike rate of 170 and went for seven an over with the ball. Sure, you always want more, but he’s had a pretty good tournament.

“At the top of the order, Virat (Kohli) and Faf (du Plessis). Obviously, we started with Virat at three and moved him to the top and he certainly got better and better as the season went on. Look, he was in really good touch in the last four or five innings.”

“There are always things you want to tweak, when you get knocked out of a tournament, there are always areas we need to improve, but all in all, pleased with the way the team gelled this season,” concluded the former New Zealand head coach.

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IPL 2025: Nick Knight backs PBKS winning formula under Iyer and Ponting

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New Delhi, April 2: Former England cricketer Nick Knight believes Punjab Kings (PBKS) have found a winning formula in IPL 2025, with the leadership of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting.

After a strong start to the IPL 2025 campaign, where Iyer’s unbeaten 97 off 42 balls powered Punjab Kings to a narrow 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans, PBKS extended their unbeaten streak with a commanding eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants, courtesy to Prabhsimran Singh (69) and Iyer’s ( 52 not out) fluent half-centuries.

Knight was particularly impressed with how Indian players have stepped up in the team’s two commanding victories so far.

“You look at their team line-up and think they’ve won two games quite well—this one (against LSG) certainly comprehensively. Overseas players haven’t played a major part in that. So (there are) contributions from Indian players. The captain’s like a rock. He looks so calm. He looks so authoritative. The team is playing exactly how his mentality is playing out along with the coach Ricky Ponting,” Knight said on ESPNcricinfo.

What stands out is how much of PBKS’ success has come from their Indian core. Shreyas Iyer has led from the front, but youngsters like Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, and Prabhsimran Singh have also played key roles. This bodes well for the team, especially since their overseas stars—Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Lockie Ferguson, and Azmatullah Omarzai—haven’t yet had a major impact.

“Maxwell, Stoinis, Ferguson, Omarzai, whoever it’s going to be, you know they’re going to play a major part, win a game or two and have a major contribution along the line. So you put that in the back pocket and say, ‘Well, that’s going to happen at some point. So if we’re winning games without them, we’re in a pretty good place’. That’s as much I see from that performance. That is a really confident start for them based on some of their major players yet to make a major contribution,” said Knight.

After win on Tuesday night against LSG, PBKS will look to maintain their momentum and add another victory to their tally when they face Rajasthan Royals on April 5.

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IPL 2025: When and where to watch LSG vs PBKS, head-to-head record

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Lucknow, April 1: Lucknow Super Giants will host the Punjab Kings at the the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday in match 13 of the 2025 Indian Premier League campaign.

Led by captain Rishabh Pant, the Super Giants will head into the game brimming with confidence after they defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by five wickets at their home ground.

Having opened their account in IPL 2025, LSG will be looking to continue the winning momentum against the Kings at home.

Punjab Kings began their IPL 2025 campaign with a 11-run win over Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.

The Kings’ top order includes wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh, opener Priyansh Arya and newly appointed captain Shreyas Iyer. The likes of Azmatullah Omarzai, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh are expected to feature in their middle order. In the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal and Vijaykumar Vyshak are their key options. Their opening game win against GT was an overall solid performance where Arya and Iyer set the foundation in the first innings and clutch death bowling by Vyshak secured the win

LSG vs PBKS head-to-head record in IPL

LSG have a superior head-to-head record against Punjab Kings in the IPL, having won three of the four matches.

The last time the two sides met, the former registered a 21-run home victory over the Kings in March 2024

Live Streaming details

Venue: The match will take place at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

When: April 1, 7:30 PM IST

Livestream: The clash between Lucknow and Punjab will be live-streamed on JioHotstar app and website

Broadcast: Star Sports Network

Squads:

Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, RS Hangargekar, Akash Maharaj Singh, Avesh Khan, Matthew Breetzke, Aryan Juyal, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Deep, Mayank Yadav, Shamar Joseph, Arshin Kulkarni

Punjab Kings: Josh Inglis(w), Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas lyer(c), Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash

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IPL 2025: KL Rahul rejoins Delhi Capitals squad ahead of SRH clash

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New Delhi, March 29: India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul joined the Delhi Capitals squad in Visakhapatnam on Saturday ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2025 season on Sunday.

Rahul missed the DC’s season opener against Lucknow Super Giants last week due to the birth of his first child with actor wife Athiya Shetty. The couple welcomed a baby girl on March 24.

Taking to X, Delhi Capitals shared the video of Rahul’s arrival and wrote, “You’re loved. You’re ours. You’re home. Welcome to Dilli, KLR.”

In another post, the franchise shared a picture of Rahul in DC’s training jersey and captioned the post, “Let the games begin.”

Rahul is expected to make his Delhi debut in Visakhapatnam on Sunday against Sunrisers Hyderabad after being acquired by the franchise for Rs 14 crore in last year’s mega auction.

The Axar Patel-led side started the tournament on a winning note with a thrilling one-wicket win over Rahul’s former franchise Lucknow. Ashutosh Sharma smashed a 31-ball 66 not out to snatch victory from Lucknow’s jaw with a blistering knock studded with five sixes and as many fours.

After the match, Delhi players congratulated Rahul on becoming the new father by doing a ‘Mother’s Lap Baby Swing’ action.

On his move to Delhi, Rahul termed it both exciting and nerve-wracking for him after last year’s auction.

“This is a new experience for me – joining my fourth or fifth IPL franchise. It’s both exciting and nerve-wracking. Every new team brings uncertainties – how the players will gel, how the management operates, and how the fans will react. But looking at our squad and how the management has built this team, we seem to have most areas covered,” said Rahul.

“There’s a great mix of seasoned players and young talent. I am eager to play alongside some incredibly skilled youngsters and learn from them as well. With players like Mitchell Starc, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav -many of whom I’ve played with before – we have a solid squad. I can’t wait for the IPL to begin.”

In 132 IPL matches, Rahul has amassed 4,683 runs at an average of 45.47. He has also scored four centuries and 37 fifties in the tournament so far after making his debut in 2013.

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