The 2019 IPL has been nothing short of the fun-filled extravaganza that everyone expected it to be. For the first time in the history of the IPL, a team with 12 points has reached the playoffs, and it wasn’t clear until the very last match of the league phase which teams would move on to the next stage. If that isn’t nail-biting drama, then what is? The second last match between Kings XI Punjab and CSK was extremely entertaining for the Mohali crowd who had come to see their team get a winning send off from this year’s IPL, despite the result being inconsequential for the visiting side. A great knock from KL Rahul ensured that his team chased down the required 171 runs and gave his team the result they were hoping for. The final match between the Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders was a hugely important one with a lot riding on it. A win for KKR would have given them a berth in the playoffs and a win for MI would have seen them top the table. Chasing 134 runs, Rohit Sharma and his men ensured that they sealed that first position, in the meanwhile helping the Sunrisers Hyderabad reach the playoffs in 4th place above KKR on net run rate, despite being equal on 12 points. So we have Qualifier 1 being fought between Mumbai and Chennai, as the top two seeds. The winner will head straight to the final on May 12th, while the loser will get a chance to play in Qualifier 2 against the winner between Delhi and Hyderabad. How did the Mumbai Indians fare on their way to the top spot on the table? Well they didn’t get to best of starts in this IPL but they hit the right notes in the middle winning games continuously, before finishing strongly, especially with that 9-wicket mauling of KKR on the last day. Great performances from Pandya brothers with bat and bowl and also the West Indians Pollard and Joseph helped them win games at the right time. Despite Rohit Sharma’s troubles with the bat, Quinton de Kock had a marvelous season at the top of the order. Bowlers played a key role for the Indians, not allowing crucial runs at the death. Malinga and Bumrah bowled tightly and were supported equally well by spinner Rahul Chahar. Moving onto the Chennai Super Kings, the defending champions - despite being the first team to earn a playoff berth, their form towards the end of the league stage might be cause for conversation in their changing room. The team was ably led by captain of captains MS Dhoni, who masterfully led the team from the middle, with his decision-making, his quick glovework, and often in important moments with his bat. Like the Mumbai Indians, CSK’s bowlers played an important role in their progress. Harbhajan was in striking form, and Imran Tahir was devastating, landing second in the purple cap ranking with 21 wickets. Tuesday’s Qualifier 1 will be a fierce contest between these two teams, but if you look at the two previous meetings from this campaign, it seems like Mumbai has the upper hand after winning both matches. CSK will also have some questions to answer with regards to their lineup, especially after the injury to Kedar Jhadav. Whatever happens, it’s bound to be interesting. The Delhi Capitals are the only team in the playoffs to have never won the competition, though they will be riding a wave of confidence and momentum, after ending up on equal points as Mumbai and CSK. They’ve put in fantastic performances with both the bat and the ball, with Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw putting in some consistent knocks at the top of the order, supported well by captain Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. The Capitals’ bowling attack was spearheaded by purple cap leader Kagiso Rabada, who ended up with 25 wickets from his 12 matches. The capitals will miss his presence in this crucial stage of the tournament as he is back home in South Africa recovering from a back strain that ruled him out for the rest of the IPL, no doubt with thoughts of the imminent World Cup in mind. Sunrisers Hyderabad come into the playoffs on the back of a result that was out of their hands when Mumbai beat KKR. Their road to the playoffs was defined by a resurgent David Warner, who lead the league in runs, earning his orange cap with 692 runs. Warner and his exciting opening partner Jonny Bairstow have both returned to their national teams in preparation for the World Cup, which has severely affected their offensive power. Captain Kane Williamson will try to make up for the missing talent as much as possible but the depth of his team is a concern. The match between the Sunrisers and Capitals in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday will undoubtedly be exciting to watch, as the young Capitals side will look to ring in the change of their team name with continued success on the field. Hyderabad, on the other hand, are an experienced side when it comes to knockout matches, having reached the final in 2018, and won the tournament in 2016. But will their missing international players prove too much of a hurdle? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Howzzat!

19 - IPL 2019: The Road to the Playoffs

In this episode of Howzzat, brought to you by 9stacks, our resident cricket analyst Nikhil joins the show to shed light on the current state of events in the IPL, after the first quarter of the tournament. Which teams are performing, which teams are not, which players are standing out, what juicy controversies have been occurring... we cover it all. Subscribe to Howzzat! on Hubhopper to make sure you never miss an episode!

18 - Q1 Report from the 2019 IPL

Women's cricket is on the rise, gaining more and more popularity and importance especially on the international stage. So what better opportunity to catch up on what's been happening in the last month? First, I want to explain exactly how the women's game works. The top 8-ranked teams compete in ODIs over 3 years in the ICC Women's Championship, battling to qualify for the next Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in 2021. The hosts and other top 4 teams in the Championship - which works in a league format with points given for every win - qualify directly for the World Cup, while the bottom 3 will fight it out in a ten-team qualification tournament for the remaining 3 World Cup spots. In this Championship league, instead of playing against one match against one team at a time, the nations go on tours and play series against each other, with the ODIs contributing to the Championship tally. Australia, who have been the most successful team at World Cups, winning it 6 times in the past, hosted New Zealand last month in 3 ODIs, and won all three matches against their neighbours, sweeping up all 6 available points. The first match was a close as things get, with New Zealand falling just 5 runs short of their 242-target in 50 overs. The second match was more one-sided, with Australia winning by 95 runs thanks to an unbeaten Ellyse Perry maiden century in international cricket. The final match saw a tight run chase which went in Australia's favour, as they successfully chased down their 232-target to win by 7 wickets. In the final match of Pakistan's series against the West Indies in Dubai, Pakistan (the acting hosts) defeated the Windies by 4 wickets to take home the series 2-1. The West Indies batted first and managed only 159, a total that Pakistan reached with 4 wickets in hand. This series win is a historic achievement for the Pakistan Women's team and will give them a lot of confidence before facing South Africa in May. England's women are on a roll. First, they beat India on their own turf 2-1 in ODIs and then 3-0 in the T20 series, including a thriller in the final match in Guwahati. England bowler Cross held her nerve in the last over to guide her team to a 2 run victory over the hosts. India’s stand-in captain Smriti Madana had a splendid series, scoring 59 runs off 38 balls in the final match to top the ICC rankings. She has urged all her teammates to perform better in their domestic circuit after a below average performance in this series. England have since then flown south to Sri Lanka, where they overpowered Sri Lanka in the ODIs, winning all three by very safe margins. They've dismantled the Sri Lankan team in the first two T20s since then and are looking to complete another 3-0 sweep when they meet on Thursday. Turning to the IPL, we've seen already that young talent and hardened experience can have very different impacts on a match. So today I want to take a few minutes to look at some legends of the game who could potentially be playing in their last IPL. Yuvraj Singh: The veteran cricketer remained unsold in the first round of this year's auction before the Mumbai Indians showed faith in him, bagging him at his base price of 1 crore. During the 2015 IPL players'auction, the left-hander was pocketed by the Delhi Daredevils for a whopping 16 crores. However, Yuvraj's dismal performances in domestic cricket forced franchises to show very little interest in him. But based on his first performance this year, scoring a half-century against his former team, he may have some fight left in him yet. Shane Watson: At 37, Watson has defied age with some great performances both with the bat and ball. In 2018, Watson played a significant role for Chennai Super Kings, helping MS Dhoni's side clinch the trophy. Watson amassed 555 runs from 15 games last year, averaging 39.64 with a fantastic strike rate of 154.59. The all-rounder also scalped six wickets, at an economy rate of under nine. However, he'll be 38 next year and is likely to feature for the last time in the tournament. A duck on the opening day could not have been a worse start for him this year. AB de Villiers: The oldest but definitely the most valuable cog in Royal Challengers Bangalore's wheel is de Villiers. The South African star has retired from international cricket but will continue to feature in the lucrative league. Known as the 3360-degree​batsman, AB possesses hard hitting skills, is a more than decent wicket-keeper and an agile fielder who can put acrobats to shame. On a good day, he can single-handedly​ win matches for his team. He'll be looking to build on a dismal performance against CSK in Match 1. ​​Chris Gayle: The self-proclaimed Universe Boss is the most feared batsman in IPL history. Before this season, Gayle had 3994 runs in 111 innings (the second-highest for an overseas batsman in the IPL). Gayle was at his peak between 2011-13, averaging around 60 in those three years. While playing for RCB, Gayle was another man who could single-handedly decide matches. However, his form has seen a slight dip in recent years and he's been inconsistent in the past few seasons. Gayle was picked up very late in the previous auction by Kings XI Punjab, but they'll be glad they did it after his blistering performance against Rajasthan Royals. ​Imran Tahir: Imran Tahir went on to become the World No.1 bowler in the shortest format of the game at age 37. Positivity and a never-say-die attitude have been Tahir's mantra for success all these years, which you can see every time he takes to the field. However, the leg-spinner is very close to his 40s, which could be a factor when his name appears for next year's auctions. The South African has done well in the past for CSK and other teams however, it is very unlikely that Tahir's IPL career would continue after this year. But looking at his performance and celebrations against RCB, you'd never guess that he was getting on in age!

17 - Women's Cricket Roundup & the Veterans of IPL12

In this episode of Howzzat!, brought to you by 9stacks, we take a look at Match 1 of the Vivo IPL 2019 - Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals. A powerful first innings performance with the bat for Delhi gave them a lead that Mumbai just couldn't handle in the end. Despite a shaky start and losing two wickets in the first four overs, which included a stunning catch from Kieron Pollard to remove Shreyas Iyer, Delhi's attack sparked into life when Colin Ingram joined Shikhar Dhawan out in the middle. Ingram flexed his muscles and just hammered 47 off 32 balls, while Shikhar played his way to 43. When the South African finally succumbed, Rishabh Pant came out and after 5 uneventful balls, absolutely lit up the Wankhede Stadium, reaching 40 off 15. But he didn't stop there. Whatever Rohit Sharma threw at him, Pant dispatched. 2 fours and a six off Cutting, 2 sixes and a four off Hardik Pandya, 2 fours off McClenaghan, 2 sixes and a four off Bumrah, 2 sixes and a four off Salam. Up until this point, the young 17-year-old Rasikh Salam from Jammu & Kashmir had a nerve-wracking but commendable start, conceding only 21 runs in his first three overs, only to get punished for a further 21 in his final over. Pant's 78 not out drove the Capitals to a massive 213 for 6, a total which Mumbai never seemed like they would reach. A solid bowling performance from Delhi, including a nostalgic spell from Ishant Sharma that saw him claim two wickets (his first wickets since 2017 in the IPL), drove the required rate consistently away from Mumbai's grasp despite a nostalgic Yuvraj half-century, and the Indians stumbled to 176 all out after 19.2 overs. Delhi will head home to the capital to host CSK on Tuesday and will look to take this momentum forward and start on the front foot in the tournament. Mumbai in the meantime head out to Bangalore, where both teams will look to register their first victories of the season.

16 - IPL Match 3 - Pant Magic Seals DC Victory Against MI

In this episode of Howzzat!, brought to you by 9stacks, we take a look at Match 2 of the Vivo IPL 2019 - KKR vs SRH. After a rollercoaster first match, this second game matched the excitement of the fist, but in a very different way. A returning David Warner put to bed one of the most discussed topics of discussion before this year's IPL with a sublime opening knock of 85 off 53 for the visiting Sunrisers Hyderabad, before falling to a solid catch from Robin Uthappa. His opening partnership of 118 with Bairstow lasted 13 overs and laid a solid foundation before Vijay Shankar came in to knock up 40 unbeaten runs of his own in pursuit of a very defendable score of 181 for 3. In the Knight Rider's inning, things started off in the visitors' favour, with Chris Lynn falling early to leave the team at just 7 runs for 1 wicket. This was the early breakthrough Hyderabad was looking for, but they couldn't capitalise on this. Despite the encouraging partnership between Rana, who left with a handsome 68 runs, and Uthappa, SRH largely controlled the run rate, with Rashid Khan's 6.5 economy rate doing a good job of keeping the batsmen in check. Rana was unlucky to have his momentum broken by a floodlight failure which paused the match for a short while and gave both teams time to cool off. Everything seemed to be going the Sunrisers' way until the final 3 overs of the match. 53 runs behind and just 18 balls remaining, Andre Russell decides to put on a show. He hits 2 sixes and a four in the 18th over to bring the requirement to 34 from two overs, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar's remaining kept Hyderabad hopes at a low simmer. Russell is having none of it and smashes 4 boundaries to bring it to just 12 runs off the last over. Shubman Gill wanted in on the action himself and secured the turnaround victory with 2 very stylish sixes. The crowd, which included star owner Shah Rukh Khan and family, was going absolutely nuts, and they'll be just as pumped for the next game at home against Kings X1 on Wednesday. The Sunrisers, meanwhile, will head home to host the Rajasthan Royals on Friday, where a mouth-watering contest between David Warner and Steve Smith is on the cards.

15 - IPL Match 2 - KKR's Andre Russell Breaks SRH Hearts

In this episode of Howzzat!, brought to you by 9stacks, we take a look at Match 1 of the Vivo IPL 2019 - CSK vs RCB. This year's Vivo IPL got off to a rollercoaster start in Chennai. India's two captain-class leaders, CSK's Dhoni and RCB's Kohli met in this first match, and it was Dhoni's team that came out on top. In fact, they came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, starting the match with spinners completely dominating in the first 8 overs. In fact the whole of Bangalore's inning was mind-blowing to watch. The unexpected resurgence of Harbhajan Singh, who took 3 for 20 from his spell, and a whole lot of poor shot selection completely dismantled the batting lineup and removed Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali and AB de Villiers, completely deflating RCB morale. Imran Tahir then pounced to earn himself mad figures of 4 overs, 1 maiden, 9 runs and 3 wickets. The excitement surrounding Shimron Hetmyer will have to be satisfied on another day, after he got himself run out through a mixup with Parthiv Patel, who himself was the only one to get into double figures for his team. The opener almost carried his bat through the innings, before finally being the last man out. Looking at the fall of wickets as a Bangalore fan you might have become prone to a panic attack - 1-16, 2-28, 3-38, 4-39... It almost feels like a miracle that they even made it to 70 runs! In the second innings, with RCB trying to get on the front foot through their own spinners, Chennai also got off to a rocky start with Shane Watson being dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal for a duck. However, World Cup hopeful Ambati Rayudu steadied the ship and slowly worked his team forward. Suresh Raina batted himself to 5000 IPL runs before Kedar Jhadav and Jadeja saw out their team's first victory of the tournament on a slow and difficult pitch that, in the end, was criticised by both captains. Visitors to Chennai will have to be careful at this ground, and I'm sure it'll be interesting to see how the pitch and the home team's performance evolves and adapts here over the course of the IPL. Next, CSK travel to Delhi to face the Capitals on Tuesday, while Bangalore will have a lot to think about and work on before they host the Mumbai Indians on Thursday.

14 - IPL Match 1 - CSK Spinners Destroy RCB in Opener

After back-to-back series losses against Australia on home turf in the T20 and then ODI formats, Vish and Nikhil discuss what happened - how did things turn around so quickly from the exact same matchup just 2 months ago? And how is this Indian team shaping up for the World Cup? This episode of Howzzat is presented by 9stacks, India’s best platform for playing poker online.

13 - What Happened to India Against Australia?

In this episode of Howzzat!, brought to you by 9stacks, we take a look at India and Australia’s T20 matchups, the conclusion of England’s ODI series in the West Indies, the beginning of Sri Lanka’s ODI series in South Africa, and New Zealand’s huge win over Bangladesh in their 1st Test.

12 - International Round-up

India has taken an unassailable 2-1 lead the series Down Under. I’m joined by my colleague and our resident cricket expert Nikhil Kapoor once again to take a look at the performances and decisions that made the difference in that 3rd Test.

06 - India Comes Out on Top in the 3rd Test Against Australia

In this episode of Howzzat!, brought to you by 9stacks, we take a look at the state of international cricket across the globe, with the 2019 ICC World Cup less than 100 days away. The touring season is in full swing, with teams crossing borders and taking each other on with everything on the line to establish some sort of form leading up to the tournament. Players are putting in their best efforts to improve their chances of making the final squads, so stand-out performances are cropping up everywhere.

11 - The State of International Cricket 100 Days Out from the World Cup

Vish the Dish takes a look at the international cricketing scene at the end of January, and catches up with the few series taking place around the globe: India’s tour of New Zealand, Pakistan’s Tour of South Africa, England’s Tour of the West Indies, Sri Lanka’s Tour of Australia and Nepal’s Tour of the UAE. Plus, a look at the ICC Awards for the men’s game in 2018!

10 - Monthly Roundup: International Cricket in January 2019

Despite a heroic 133-run knock from Rohit Sharma, Australia's youngster Jhye Richardson led an inexperienced home side with 4 wickets to take victory in the first ODI against India in Sydney. Our resident cricket expert Nikhil joins us once again to discuss.

09 - Australia Takes the Lead in the 3-ODI Series Against India in Sydney

Nikhil joins in once again to discuss the washed out 4th and final test in Sydney, which sealed India's first ever test-series victory in Australia. We then take a look ahead at the upcoming One Day International series and put forward our own predictions on the outcome!

08 - A Historic Series Win for India in Australia

India’s tour of Australia has understandably been the focus of the last few episodes, so it’s about time we take a step back and look out at the rest of the world, catching up on what else is going on in the world of cricket.

07 - In Other News...

This is it, guys: 2018 is ending, and with it comes the end of a roller-coaster year in cricket. From record-breaking stints on the field, to some career-blemishing acts off the field, here’s a look at the biggest news and performers from this past year.

05 - A Year in Review: Cricket in 2018

Howzzat!?!?! Keep up to date with the latest news and analysis from the world of cricket in this new Hubhopper Original series. There’s a lot to look forward to with international tours and series, to the IPL and, of course, the World Cup! So don’t let yourself be caught out, and subscribe now.

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