England all-rounder Overton re-signs for Strikers in BBLpublished at 09:46 29 May
09:46 29 May
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England all-rounder Jamie Overton has been re-signed by Adelaide Strikers for the Big Bash.
Overton, 31, has been with Strikers for the past two seasons and won the MVP Dansie McCauley medal in 2025 as he claimed 11 wickets and scored 191 runs at an average of 95.40, with a top score of 45 not out.
Adelaide Strikers head coach Tim Paine said: "Securing Jamie as a pre-draft g was a top priority for us.
"His last two seasons with the Strikers have been outstanding, not just with his individual performances with both bat and ball, but also with his competitive spirit and energy he brings to the group.
"Jamie has such a big impact over the game, he can change the course of a match in just a few overs."
The draft for sides to build their squads for next year's competition will take place on 19 June.
How India found 'untapped potential' with IPLpublished at 12:31 28 May
12:31 28 May
Agnideb Bandyopadhyay Freelance cricket writer
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When the India Premier league was announced in 2007 the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bet on the pace of the format and the untapped potential that the marriage of entertainment and cricket had in India.
A summer schedule and games being aired on entertainment networks around prime-time slots outside sports channels, pitched the league as a family-entertainer, altering viewership patterns for the sport in India.
Watching cricket was suddenly a daily activity across ages. With the IPL, cricket had a theatrical allure - packed in a three-hour package.
The league rode on the back of a digital transformation in India, which further amplified viewership and reach.
Affordable internet plans and arrival of streaming facilitated IPL's seamless journey into people's phones, making it easier for people to catch it on the move.
It has evolved into a unique product which sells success stories and narratives for posterity to a country where most kids, at some point, aspire to pursue cricket professionally.
The rags-to-riches stories drive the aspiration of pursuing cricket backed by the kind of money that the IPL can offer young cricketers hailing from lesser-privileged communities.
Experts believe that the IPL's primary merit has been facilitating a gradual transition from an obsession with foreign names to a population proud of its homegrown talents.
Joy Bhattacharya, cricket pundit and former team director of Kolkata Knight Riders, says: "The platform helps them [parents of young children] associate, dream, hope and get closer to the stars - in cricket and entertainment."
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With the success, the value of the tournament has soared from a $2 billion valuation in 2008 - its first season - to $12 billion in 2024.
Despite its comparatively short duration - 65 days in 2024 - compared to other major sporting leagues across the world, what makes the IPL such a consistently growing brand?
The 10 franchises, each representing a major Indian city or a state have ventured into other international T20 leagues stretching individual brand identities beyond India and increasing IPL's impact on the global cricketing ecosystem.
In a primarily sponsorship driven market, the IPL's duration promises a definite yet intense stretch for sponsors and strategic partnerships, which drive the major share of IPL's revenue.
Bhattacharya says the IPL is a "singular advertising phenomenon with the national focus completely concentrated on it".
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How IPL fantasy apps have created 'accessible dream'published at 11:51 28 May
11:51 28 May
Agnideb Bandyopadhyay Freelance cricket writer
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Fantasy team apps have allowed a considerable cross-section of people to find a sense of regularity, the opportunity to strategise and the prospect of a return - and bragging rights over friends, family and colleagues of course.
The IPL is no different in that regard with the app particularly effective in reaching lower-middle and lower income communities.
Brands that are associated with the fantasy apps have also invested significantly in securing primary sponsorship deals with most franchises, making them synonymous with the IPL months.
These legalised platforms have managed to attract people across age groups with major stars endorsing the apps, and the promise of prizes as high as $350,000 (approx £260,000) on every match against affordable and nominal entry fees.
Recently, India ODI captain Rohit Sharma, who represents Mumbai Indians in the IPL, gifted his own luxury car to a winner of a contest organised by one of the major fantasy team apps in India.
That allows fans like Nasir Sheikh to get closer to the game and the stars, and be part of something where every success story feels personal.
It is an annual festival, an accessible dream, with Nasir's work barely paying enough to put food on the table but nothing will get in the way of him following his beloved IPL.
He checks score updates on free wifi or sneaks a peek at a fellow engers screen to catch some of the action.
Failing that, he signs up for five-minute free trials for the platforms streaming to watch snippets of the matches.
Pant ton in vain as RCB win secures top-two finishpublished at 19:18 27 May
19:18 27 May
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured a top-two finish at the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they chased 228 to beat Lucknow Super Giants in an enthralling final match of the group stage.
Virat Kohli's eighth half-century of the tournament helped set RCB's platform and build a recovery from losing two wickets in two balls to New Zealand seamer Will O'Rourke, including England's Liam Livingstone for a golden duck.
Kohli fell for 54, but a sensational stand of 107 from just 45 balls between stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma and Mayank Agarwal sealed a six-wicket win with eight balls remaining.
In an eventful 17th over bowled by spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi, Jitesh survived being dismissed from a no-ball and then the bowler tried to run him out in his follow-through at the non-striker's end - often known as a Mankad.
Jitesh was out of his crease, but LSG captain Rishabh Pant withdrew the appeal and left RCB needing 28 from the last three overs.
Jitesh made the most of his lifeline, striking two fours and three sixes - including one for the winning runs - from his next eight balls, and finished unbeaten on 85 from 33.
O'Rourke's two wickets counted for very little in the end, as he finished with figures of 2-74.
LSG were already eliminated before the match, but Pant's stunning 118 not out from 61 balls was in vain as they were unable to finish their campaign on a high.
Pant hit 11 fours and eight sixes, and added 152 for the second wicket with Australia's Mitchell Marsh, who made a blistering 67 from 37 balls in their imposing 227-3.
RCB have never won the tournament but the win gives them two chances to reach the IPL final. The winner of the first qualifier between RCB and Punjab Kings, who finished top, will proceed to the final on 3 June but the loser will get another opportunity by facing the winner of the Eliminator.
Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, who finished third and fourth respectively, play in the Eliminator on 30 May.
IPL play-off schedule
29 May: Qualifier 1 - Punjab Kings v Royal Challengers Bengaluru
30 May: Eliminator - Gujarat Titans v Mumbai Indians
1 June: Qualifier 2 - loser of Qualifier 1 v winner of Eliminator
3 June: Final - winner of Qualifier 1 v winner of Qualifier 2
Punjab beat Mumbai to secure top-two finishpublished at 18:53 26 May
18:53 26 May
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Punjab Kings beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets to secure a top-two finish in the Indian Premier League.
Punjab started the day in second place but leapfrogged Gujarat Titans, who lost to Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, into top spot in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Gujarat now face a nervy wait to learn their play-off fate. If Royal Challengers Bengaluru avoid defeat against Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday, Shubman Gill's Titans will drop out of the top two and will have to win two knockout matches to reach the final, starting with Friday's eliminator against fourth-place Mumbai Indians.
Chasing 185, Josh Inglis and Priyansh Arya smashed 109 runs off 59 balls for the second wicket to put Punjab Kings on course for victory before an explosive cameo from captain Shreyas Iyer (26 off 16) saw them over the line with nine balls to spare.
Inglis reached his half-century off 29 balls and top-scored with 73 (42), including nine fours and three sixes. Arya scored 62 off 35 balls.
Earlier, after being sent in to bat, Mumbai openers Ryan Rickelton (27) and Rohit Sharma (21) shared a steady 45-run partnership before regular wickets reduced the five-time champions to 106-4 in the 13th over.
However, Suryakumar Yadav, who top-scored with 57 (39), dragged them to 184-7, putting on 44 (23) with captain Hardik Pandya and 31 (17) with Naman Dhir.
Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, and Vijaykumar Vyshak took two wickets apiece.
Klaasen hits third-fastest IPL century in Sunrisers winpublished at 21:40 25 May
21:40 25 May
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Heinrich Klaasen hit an unbeaten 105 as Sunrisers Hyderabad finished their Indian Premier League season with 110-run thrashing of Kolkata Knight Riders.
The South African's century came off 37 balls, the third-fastest in the competition's history, while he put on partnerships of 83 apiece with Travis Head (76) and Ishan Kishan (29) as Hyderabad cruised to 278-3 in Delhi.
The total, the third highest in the tournament's history, was always going to be a formidable challenge for defending champions Kolkata, and they failed to make much of a chase.
Opener Sunil Narine hit 31 from 16 deliveries, but he was the only member of the top six to 15.
Manish Pandey (37) and Harshit Rana (34) added 42 for the eighth wicket, but by that point the match was over as a contest, and Rana's dismissal by Eshan Malinga in the 19th over saw Kolkata bowled out for 168.
Malinga finished with figures of 3-31, while Jaydev Unadkat and Harsh Dubey also took three wickets, for 24 and 34 respectively.
Hyderabad had got their innings off to a flier, with Head and Abhishek Sharma putting on an opening partnership of 92 inside seven overs.
Abhishek was caught by Rinku Singh off Narine for 32, bringing Klaasen to the crease, and the 33-year-old raced to 50 in 17 deliveries.
His innings featuring seven fours and nine sixes, with Kolkata failing to restrict their opponents to a total they'd be capable of chasing.
The result lifts Hyderabad to sixth, while condemning the 2024 title winners to eighth place.
Dhoni to take time on retirement decisionpublished at 18:39 25 May
18:39 25 May
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Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni says he has "four to five months" to decide if he continues playing professional cricket.
The former India captain, who turns 44 in July, led Chennai to a 83-run win over Gujarat Titans on Sunday, but his side finished bottom of the Indian Premier League table.
"There's no hurry to decide what needs to be done," Dhoni said after the match.
"Every year, it's 15% more effort to keep the body fit - not to forget this is top-level cricket.
"It's professional cricket - you have to be at your best - and it's not always performance that you can count, because if cricketers start retiring because of performance then a few of them will retire when they're 22."
Dhoni has scored 196 runs in 13 innings this season, with a high score of 30, taking over the captaincy after an injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has said that Dhoni, once known as one of the game's great finishers, now "can't bat for 10 overs" because of problems with his knees.
"What is important to see is how much hunger you have, what kind of fitness you have, and how much you can contribute to the team, and whether the team needs you or not," Dhoni added.
"I will go back to Ranchi - haven't been home for a long time - enjoy a few bike rides.
"I'm not saying I'm done, I'm not saying I'm coming back. As I said, I have the luxury of time. When you have the luxury then why not think about it and then decide">
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