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#Youll #toss #Anukul #Roy #tightlipped #Pathiranas #availability #LSGKKR #clash">‘You’ll only know at the toss’: Anukul Roy tight-lipped about Pathirana’s availability for LSG-KKR clash Lucknow Super Giants is still trying to find its best combination but feels it is one match away from getting its IPL 2026 campaign going, spin bowling coach Carl Crowe said here on Saturday.
Super Giants, currently ninth in the standings, have changed their batting line-up on multiple occasions in seven games so far. Captain Rishabh Pant opened in their first game with Mitchell Marsh before Aiden Markram was given that role. Ayush Badoni has opened with Marsh in the last couple of games.
“I think in terms of one of those changes, it was very much a match-up. In the modern game, you try and recognise what the options are going to be and plan accordingly,” Crowe explained on the eve of LSG’s fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium.
“When you’re not playing quite so well, you’re trying to find that perfect match-up, but at the same time stability is vitally important,” he added. “It’s about still trying to find the best combination for us, and when you do find that combination, you try to stick with it for as long as possible.”
Crowe said the LSG batters are aware of their shortcomings in the first half of the league stage and are working hard to overcome them. “We are one match away from smashing it and getting to where we need to be,” the coach said.
The contest will be played on a black-soil pitch – a surface that will be used for the first time this season. However, Crowe said it doesn’t matter which surface the game is played on.
“So, it’s black soil tomorrow, I believe. From a foreign perspective – and I know this is probably more of a coach’s view – sometimes we can make a bit too much of the conditions before the game, whether it’s red soil, black soil or mixed.
“If you come in with a preconceived idea of how a certain pitch is going to play, you limit your plan,” Crowe said.
Meanwhile, KKR’s Anukul Roy said that the team’s first win last week has boosted players’ confidence. “Whatever we are trying to do, we haven’t been able to do up to the mark. Results can go up and down. We are trying to win every game possible from here,” Roy said.
When quizzed whether Matheesha Pathirana will be available for the game, the youngster remained tight-lipped. “He has been practicing with us for the last week. You’ll only know at the toss tomorrow if he’s playing or not,” Roy said.
Published on Apr 25, 2026
Lucknow Super Giants is still trying to find its best combination but feels it is…
Sports news
#IPL #Happy #bat #higher #order #DCs #Stubbs">IPL 2026: Happy to bat higher up the order, says DC’s Stubbs
Too often in this Indian Premier League (IPL), Tristan Stubbs has had to come in to bat when Delhi Capitals has lost a spate of wickets. It has resulted in the South African having to rebuild rather than attack from the get-go, as indicated by a middling strike rate of 137.06 after six matches.
It prompted Venugopal Rao, Capitals’ Director of Cricket, to remark after their loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad that they could look to free up the 25-year-old by moving him to No. 3.
READ | Floundering Delhi faces visit from red-hot PBKS
“Being in the middle-order in general, you come into different situations all the time. You are sort of mentally prepared for that. I don’t really mind where I come in. If the team asks me to bat higher up the order, I will be more than happy to do it,” Stubbs said on Friday ahead of DC’s clash against Punjab Kings. “I have batted through my whole career from 3 to 6. It changes all the time. With (playing) Test cricket as well, it has allowed me to be able to try and change gears and do what I think is right out there.”
Stubbs doesn’t expect the surface for Saturday’s afternoon clash to be a batting featherbed. “From the T20 World Cup to now, we haven’t seen an absolute belter here. It will probably be really similar,” he stated, before adding partly in jest, “Hopefully it is really low, ragging and 120 plays 120. That will be great.”
PBKS, meanwhile, is a well-drilled outfit under Shreyas Iyer. Praising the skipper, Punjab’s spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said: “Shreyas’ leadership qualities are special. The rapport he has with each player, he knows how to get the best out of everyone.”
Published on Apr 24, 2026
Too often in this Indian Premier League (IPL), Tristan Stubbs has had to come in to bat when Delhi Capitals has lost a spate of wickets. It has resulted in the South African having to rebuild rather than attack from the get-go, as indicated by a middling strike rate of 137.06 after six matches.
It prompted Venugopal Rao, Capitals’ Director of Cricket, to remark after their loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad that they could look to free up the 25-year-old by moving him to No. 3.
READ | Floundering Delhi faces visit from red-hot PBKS
“Being in the middle-order in general, you come into different situations all the time. You are sort of mentally prepared for that. I don’t really mind where I come in. If the team asks me to bat higher up the order, I will be more than happy to do it,” Stubbs said on Friday ahead of DC’s clash against Punjab Kings. “I have batted through my whole career from 3 to 6. It changes all the time. With (playing) Test cricket as well, it has allowed me to be able to try and change gears and do what I think is right out there.”
Stubbs doesn’t expect the surface for Saturday’s afternoon clash to be a batting featherbed. “From the T20 World Cup to now, we haven’t seen an absolute belter here. It will probably be really similar,” he stated, before adding partly in jest, “Hopefully it is really low, ragging and 120 plays 120. That will be great.”
PBKS, meanwhile, is a well-drilled outfit under Shreyas Iyer. Praising the skipper, Punjab’s spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said: “Shreyas’ leadership qualities are special. The rapport he has with each player, he knows how to get the best out of everyone.”
Published on Apr 24, 2026
Too often in this Indian Premier League (IPL), Tristan Stubbs has had to come in…
A fortnight is a long time in a fast-moving tournament like the Indian Premier League.
Two weeks ago, the Rajasthan Royals was on top of the world, having won its first four IPL 2026 games. Around the same time, Sunrisers Hyderabad was floundering, having lost four of its five games.
But, as the two teams come together at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday for the first game of the season in Jaipur, the narrative has transformed.
Over their last three games, the Royals have tasted the bitterness of the law of averages, as their seemingly hypersonic top-order has screeched to a near halt.
Consecutive failures by openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have denied the Royals an early launch, exposing their undercooked middle-order.
Incidentally, the first team to apply the brakes on the Jai-Soorya duo was SRH, in their first meeting of the season in Hyderabad.
Riding on four-wicket hauls from debutant pacers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, the Sunrisers had handed Royals their first defeat of the season.
READ: The boy who asked for more: Behind the rise of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
The Royals then suffered another away defeat, to Kolkata Knight Riders, before recuperating with a hard-fought win against Lucknow Super Giants.
Meanwhile, SRH has added two more wins to its kitty – against Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings – and now finds itself fourth in the table.
Adding fuel to its momentum, full-time captain Pat Cummins has returned from injury and will make his first appearance of the season in Jaipur.
For rival skipper Riyan Parag, IPL 2026 has been a mixed bag. With the bat, he has cut a sorry figure, aggregating just 81 runs from seven innings.
But, on the leadership front, Parag has shone, marshalling his side adeptly to win five out of seven games and occupy the second spot in the standings.
The sharpest tool at Parag’s disposal has been the express-pace duo of Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger.
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants. | Photo Credit: PTI
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants. | Photo Credit: PTI
With their combined prowess with the new ball, Royals have claimed 18 wickets in the PowerPlay, the most by any team in IPL 2026.
On Saturday, the Archer-Burger axis will look to unsettle SRH’s in-form opener Abhishek Sharma, who smashed a blazing hundred (135*) against Delhi Capitals in the last game.
On the opposite corner, Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi would be on the lookout for payback against Hinge and Sakib.
Both these early-game tussles and their outcomes could determine the course of Saturday’s game. The Jaipur crowd, which had to wait half a season to watch its team in flesh, would naturally be yearning for the game to swing the Royals’ way.
Published on Apr 24, 2026
Sports news
#IPL #SRH #Royals #hope #repeat #mistakes #leg #Cummins #returns #lead #Sunrisers">IPL 2026, RR vs SRH: Royals hope not to repeat mistakes from away leg even as Cummins returns to lead Sunrisers
A fortnight is a long time in a fast-moving tournament like the Indian Premier League.
Two weeks ago, the Rajasthan Royals was on top of the world, having won its first four IPL 2026 games. Around the same time, Sunrisers Hyderabad was floundering, having lost four of its five games.
But, as the two teams come together at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday for the first game of the season in Jaipur, the narrative has transformed.
Over their last three games, the Royals have tasted the bitterness of the law of averages, as their seemingly hypersonic top-order has screeched to a near halt.
Consecutive failures by openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have denied the Royals an early launch, exposing their undercooked middle-order.
Incidentally, the first team to apply the brakes on the Jai-Soorya duo was SRH, in their first meeting of the season in Hyderabad.
Riding on four-wicket hauls from debutant pacers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, the Sunrisers had handed Royals their first defeat of the season.
READ: The boy who asked for more: Behind the rise of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
The Royals then suffered another away defeat, to Kolkata Knight Riders, before recuperating with a hard-fought win against Lucknow Super Giants.
Meanwhile, SRH has added two more wins to its kitty – against Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings – and now finds itself fourth in the table.
Adding fuel to its momentum, full-time captain Pat Cummins has returned from injury and will make his first appearance of the season in Jaipur.
For rival skipper Riyan Parag, IPL 2026 has been a mixed bag. With the bat, he has cut a sorry figure, aggregating just 81 runs from seven innings.
But, on the leadership front, Parag has shone, marshalling his side adeptly to win five out of seven games and occupy the second spot in the standings.
The sharpest tool at Parag’s disposal has been the express-pace duo of Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger.
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
With their combined prowess with the new ball, Royals have claimed 18 wickets in the PowerPlay, the most by any team in IPL 2026.
On Saturday, the Archer-Burger axis will look to unsettle SRH’s in-form opener Abhishek Sharma, who smashed a blazing hundred (135*) against Delhi Capitals in the last game.
On the opposite corner, Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi would be on the lookout for payback against Hinge and Sakib.
Both these early-game tussles and their outcomes could determine the course of Saturday’s game. The Jaipur crowd, which had to wait half a season to watch its team in flesh, would naturally be yearning for the game to swing the Royals’ way.
Published on Apr 24, 2026
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants. | Photo Credit: PTI
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants. | Photo Credit: PTI
A fortnight is a long time in a fast-moving tournament like the Indian Premier League.
Two weeks ago, the Rajasthan Royals was on top of the world, having won its first four IPL 2026 games. Around the same time, Sunrisers Hyderabad was floundering, having lost four of its five games.
But, as the two teams come together at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday for the first game of the season in Jaipur, the narrative has transformed.
Over their last three games, the Royals have tasted the bitterness of the law of averages, as their seemingly hypersonic top-order has screeched to a near halt.
Consecutive failures by openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have denied the Royals an early launch, exposing their undercooked middle-order.
Incidentally, the first team to apply the brakes on the Jai-Soorya duo was SRH, in their first meeting of the season in Hyderabad.
Riding on four-wicket hauls from debutant pacers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, the Sunrisers had handed Royals their first defeat of the season.
READ: The boy who asked for more: Behind the rise of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
The Royals then suffered another away defeat, to Kolkata Knight Riders, before recuperating with a hard-fought win against Lucknow Super Giants.
Meanwhile, SRH has added two more wins to its kitty – against Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings – and now finds itself fourth in the table.
Adding fuel to its momentum, full-time captain Pat Cummins has returned from injury and will make his first appearance of the season in Jaipur.
For rival skipper Riyan Parag, IPL 2026 has been a mixed bag. With the bat, he has cut a sorry figure, aggregating just 81 runs from seven innings.
But, on the leadership front, Parag has shone, marshalling his side adeptly to win five out of seven games and occupy the second spot in the standings.
The sharpest tool at Parag’s disposal has been the express-pace duo of Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger.
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants. | Photo Credit: PTI
Rajasthan Royals’ Brijesh Sharma, Jofra Archer, and Nandre Burger celebrate after winning against Lucknow Super Giants. | Photo Credit: PTI
With their combined prowess with the new ball, Royals have claimed 18 wickets in the PowerPlay, the most by any team in IPL 2026.
On Saturday, the Archer-Burger axis will look to unsettle SRH’s in-form opener Abhishek Sharma, who smashed a blazing hundred (135*) against Delhi Capitals in the last game.
On the opposite corner, Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi would be on the lookout for payback against Hinge and Sakib.
Both these early-game tussles and their outcomes could determine the course of Saturday’s game. The Jaipur crowd, which had to wait half a season to watch its team in flesh, would naturally be yearning for the game to swing the Royals’ way.
Published on Apr 24, 2026
A fortnight is a long time in a fast-moving tournament like the Indian Premier League.Two…
