Dubai, March 26: India all-rounder Hardik Pandya retained his No. 1 T2OI all-rounder position, whereas Abhishek Sharma, No.2 T2OI batter, and Varun Chakravarthy, No.2 T2OI bowler, too claimed their sport in the latest ICC Men’s T2OI rankings.

New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy made a significant leap in the ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings, breaking into the top five for the first time after his stellar performances against Pakistan in the ongoing five-match series.

Duffy’s impressive haul of 4/20 in Mount Maunganui, and his 1/37 in the previous match in Auckland, has propelled him seven places up to the fifth position in the latest rankings update. His contributions were instrumental in New Zealand’s commanding 115-run victory over Pakistan, sealing a 3-1 series lead.

Duffy was not the only New Zealand bowler to see an upward trajectory in the rankings. Zakary Foulkes, who supported him with figures of 3/25 in Mount Maunganui, has jumped 26 spots to claim the 64th position.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Haris Rauf has also made significant strides, moving up 11 places to 15th after picking up three wickets in each of the last two matches. Abbas Afridi has reached a career-best 36th place after his consistent performances in the series.

The latest rankings update also saw several batters making significant gains. New Zealand’s Finn Allen, who smashed a 20-ball 50 in Mount Maunganui, has climbed two places to 16th. His teammate Mark Chapman made an even bigger leap, advancing from 51st to 41st after his remarkable 94-run knock in Auckland.

For Pakistan, young batter Hasan Nawaz has made a major impact, skyrocketing to the 77th position following his blistering 105 not out in Auckland.

The rankings update also took into account the recently concluded five-match T20I series between Namibia and Canada in Windhoek, where the hosts secured a 5-0 series whitewash.

Namibia’s Nikolaas Davin has risen 27 places to 68th, becoming his country’s highest-ranked batter, while captain Gerhard Erasmus has moved four places up to 98th in the bowling rankings. Canada’s Nicholas Kirton also made progress, jumping from 91st to 74th among batters.

New Delhi, March 26: New Zealand batting great Kane Williamson was all praise for Punjab Kings’ middle-order batter Shashank Singh, whose blistering unbeaten 44 off just 16 deliveries played a crucial role in his team’s 11-run victory over Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2025 match on Tuesday.

Williamson lauded Shashank’s ability to remain composed at the crease while displaying a wide range of attacking strokes against some of the best bowlers in the tournament.

“Shashank is coming off an outstanding breakout season last year. He’s incredibly still at the crease, has beautiful hands, and doesn’t move excessively, yet he possesses so many scoring options. He has the time to adjust to short-pitched deliveries — whether ramping it over the keeper or pulling off a length — but he can also hold his position and play powerful straight drives,” Williamson said on JioHotstar.

“The way he comes in during the death overs, with little time to settle, and takes on bowlers with confidence is exceptional. Whether it’s Rashid Khan missing his length slightly and Shashank slapping it back over the square — that’s an incredibly difficult shot against someone of Rashid’s calibre. It just speaks to the quality of the player,” Williamson added.

Alongside Shashank’s late flourish, Punjab Kings’ captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a match-winning 97 not out off 42 balls, smashing nine sixes and five fours at a strike rate of 230.95.

“What stands out about Shreyas is how he continues to evolve his game. For a period, teams targeted him with short balls, but now, he’s adjusting brilliantly—getting deeper in his crease, de-weighting his front leg, and dominating the short-pitched deliveries. His ability to shift his weight forward again makes it difficult for bowlers who try the ‘one-two’ approach—going short, then full. He’s now able to access all areas of the ground, which makes him such a formidable batter,” Williamson said.

Iyer’s innings was packed with breathtaking stroke play, as he dictated terms from the outset. “It was a knock of the highest standard. From the very first ball, it was almost a highlight reel—he played the ball exactly where it was meant to be hit. Anything outside off stump, he looked to access the offside, and he even struck sixes over cover against some of the best seamers in the world,” Williamson remarked.

“To take on Rashid Khan as well—that’s one of the toughest challenges in the game. As a leader, to step in at No. 3, set the tone, and take on the opposition’s biggest threats was remarkable. That innings was truly out of this world,” he concluded.

Guwahati, March 26: After opening their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season with a loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Rajasthan Royals will look to bounce back when they host Kolkata Knight Riders at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.

RR and KKR were also slated to face off at the same venue last year but the match was washed out due to rain.

Both the Royals and the Knight Riders will be looking for their first wins of the IPL 2025 season. RR are currently eighth on the IPL 2025 points table with a net run rate of -2.200 while KKR are seventh with an NRR of -2.137.

As the RR vs KKR head-to-head record reads, the two teams have played each other 30 times in the IPL, with the Royals and the Knight Riders winning 14 each. Two matches ended in no results.

Interestingly two of the matches between the two teams went into Super Overs with the Royals clinching both of them.

When will the RR vs KKR match take place?

The match will take place on Wednesday. The match will begin at 7:30 PM IST, with the toss scheduled for 7 PM IST.

Where will the RR vs KKR match take place?

The match will be played at ACA Stadium in Guwahati.

Where will the live broadcast for RR vs KKR match be available?

The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network.

Where will live streaming for RR vs KKR match be available?

The match will be streamed live on the JioHotstar app.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Nitish Rana, Sandeep Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Akash Madhwal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh, Kunal Singh Rathore, Ashok Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Anrich Nortje, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya