Mumbai, April 8: Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar hailed Virat Kohli’s 67-run knock in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 12-run win over Mumbai Indians, noting that the right-hander’s intent to play lofted shots much earlier in the innings worked beautifully for him.

Kohli led the RCB charge with a classy 67 off 42, his second half-century of the season, while skipper Rajat Patidar’s 64 off 32 and Jitesh Sharma’s quickfire 40 off 21 powered the visitors to a commanding 221/5 against MI.

Kohli, showcasing vintage flair, welcomed Jasprit Bumrah by clobbering a six over mid-wicket before bringing up his second half-century of the season, launching Vignesh Puthur into the stands. His sensational knock came to an end when he fell victim to Hardik Pandya in the 15th over.

“The big difference over the last season and a half has been his intent to play lofted shots much earlier. Earlier, those lofted shots would come later in the innings, but now he’s looking to take risks from ball one, and that’s making a huge difference. Bowlers who were prepared for his drives and flicks are now seeing the ball going over the infield for boundaries. That change in mindset has thrown the bowlers off, and it’s working beautifully for him.”

In reply, MI skipper Pandya (42 off 15) and Tilak Varma (56 off 29) launched a sensational counterattack after the top order collapse, threatening to pull off a stunning chase. But Krunal Pandya (4-45), Yash Dayal (2-46) and Josh Hazlewood (2-37) came good with the ball to restrict Mumbai Indians to 209/9, sealing the 12-run win to end their 10-year drought at Wankhede Stadium.

Gavaskar lauded Krunal’s performance while defending the score for RCB and said his bowling reminds him of one of the greatest Indian all-rounders, Vinoo Mankad.

“I’ve always admired him for the sharpness with which he plays his cricket and in his thinking. He makes up with his temperament for any minor deficiencies he might have — and frankly, he doesn’t have too many. He’s a fine batter and a clever bowler. When he bowls, he actually reminds me of how Vinoo Mankad used to be.

“Mankad wasn’t a huge turner of the ball, but he had subtle variations — line and length, changes of pace, occasional bounce, and even a high full toss kind of beamer. Krunal Pandya has that same kind of variety. No wonder the captain had the confidence to hand him the ball for the final over. That kind of trust speaks volumes,” said Gavaskar.

RCB have won three of their four games so far and are sitting third in the table. They will next play Delhi Capitals (DC) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

New Delhi, April 7: Former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher hailed Shubman Gill’s captain’s knock of unbeaten 61 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, noting that despite losing a couple of wickets around him, the opener never appeared to be in a panic and maintained his focus throughout.

After GT restricted SRH to 152/8, courtesy of Mohammed Siraj claiming his career-best IPL figures of 4-17 along with the contributions from Prasidh Krishna (2-25) and Sai Kishore (2-24), skipper Gill led the chase with an unbeaten 61 off 43, with Washington Sundar and Sherfane Rutherford’s free-flowing knocks helping GT to secure a seven-wicket win with 20 balls to spare.

The victory made it a hat-trick of wins for GT, who have jumped up to second place on the points table.

“They’re sitting pretty at the moment, and they’ll take a lot of heart from this one as well. It’s tough to win away from home these days, especially the way that they won. They were very convincing with the ball – they did the job a lot better than I thought the Sunrisers did. They lost their way a little bit up front, but then the captain (Shubman Gill) came through and played a fantastic captain’s knock.

“He never looked like he was panicking at all, even though he was losing a couple of wickets around him. It’s not about the run rate that you have to look at – it’s more about the volume of runs and the calmness with which he batted. It was a great captain’s innings, and he’ll be ecstatic with this one, especially away from home,” Boucher said on JioHotstar.

Boucher also commented on SRH’s performance after they slumped to their fourth successive loss to be rooted at the bottom of the table and said there was a lack of confidence in Pat Cummins-led side’s batting line-up, adding that SRH was 30–40 runs short of the competitive total.

“I think they knew that the wicket they were playing on this evening wasn’t the same as what they’ve been exposed to before. You could see they were trying to play a little more responsibly. It looked like there was a lack of confidence in their batting line-up as well. Every time they wanted to have a go, a wicket fell.

“There was never really a partnership where they could kick on – I think that’s where they ended up being 15–20 runs short. Or maybe 15–20 runs wouldn’t have been enough – maybe they were 30–40 runs short. But yes, it just didn’t suit their style of cricket, playing on this particular pitch tonight,” he added.

Lucknow, April 5: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Justin Langer has offered a promising update on tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav, revealing that the speedster is bowling at “90 to 95 percent” intensity at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and could return to the squad in the coming weeks.

Speaking after LSG’s thrilling win over Mumbai Indians on Friday night, Langer sounded upbeat about Mayank’s recovery. “Mayank is up and running, which is really great for Indian cricket and for the IPL. I saw some video of him bowling yesterday at the NCA. He was bowling at about 90 to 95%,” Langer said in the post-match press conference.

“We saw the impact he had last year. I don’t think there’s been a bowler in India who’s bowled faster than Mayank Yadav — that’s why there’s so much talk about him.”

Mayank has been sidelined with a back injury and was close to returning earlier this season before a freak toe injury — sustained after stubbing it against his bed — caused an infection that further delayed his comeback. While Langer did not provide a definitive return date, he indicated that the pacer is edging closer to a much-anticipated return.

“He’s keen to get going. The NCA have done a great job with our bowlers — they got Avesh Khan and Akash Deep back for us, and now hopefully Mayank as well,” he added.

The 21-year-old speedster took the IPL by storm last season with his raw pace and wicket-taking ability, consistently clocking speeds above 150 km/h. His return will be a massive boost for LSG, who have had to manage a severely depleted bowling lineup since the start of IPL 2025.

LSG’s injury crisis began before the season opener with Mohsin Khan, Mayank, Avesh Khan, and Akash Deep all unavailable. The franchise brought in veteran Shardul Thakur to bolster the attack, and the move has paid dividends. Thakur has picked up seven wickets in four matches, including a match-defining 19th over against Mumbai, where he gave away just seven runs despite facing the dangerous duo of Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma.

Akash Deep made his return on Friday, finishing with figures of 4-0-46-1, while Avesh has played three matches but has struggled with economy, collecting just two wickets so far.

While LSG’s bowling resources have been stretched thin, the performances of Thakur and the gradual return of key players have kept them competitive.