Royal Challengers eye a top-two finish as they clash with LSG
In 1925, Jack Hobbs' first innings at The Oval, after he'd passed W.G. Grace's record of 126 career centuries, was greeted by spectators hurling their bowler hats in the air in an apparent tribute to the Surrey legend.
A century later, in the T20 franchise era, we saw cricket's tradition of public fan homage continue at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the ongoing IPL last week. Spectators in white Test jerseys, figuratively tipping their hats off to a glorious Test career in a T20 match - that may be a first! The crowd may have felt bittersweet as rain dampened their celebration of Virat Kohli.
A greater tribute would be RCB winning the IPL trophy for Kohli. In a way, RCB, having qualified for the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons, finds itself in the position of an escape artiste, who, having entered a strongbox blindfolded, handcuffed, and straitjacketed, faces the moment of truth. Can he pull off the trick? Can RCB finally win the trophy?
To give itself the best chance, it should try and finish in the top two in the league table. And that's what is at stake as it takes on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Ekana Stadium here on Friday.
SRH comes off the high of completing a record successful chase (206) at the Ekana versus Lucknow Super Giants a few days ago.
RCB, on the other hand, will look to resume its winning habit after a week-long suspension of the league and an abandoned match.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Bengaluru Stampede: Karnataka HC grants relief to RCB marketing head Nikhil Sosale, directs him to surrender passport
The Karnataka High Court on Thursday granted interim protection from arrest to Nikhil Sosale , marketing head of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), in connection with the tragic stampede at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4. The court also directed Sosale to surrender his passport as a condition of the relief. Sosale had moved the court seeking anticipatory bail and protection from coercive action after an FIR was lodged naming RCB, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and event management firm DNA Entertainment Networks. The FIR alleged negligence and public endangerment under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita following the fatal incident that claimed 11 lives and left several others injured. The stampede occurred during a public celebration organized to mark RCB's historic maiden IPL title victory. The event, held at the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium, saw an unexpectedly massive turnout, overwhelming crowd control arrangements and resulting in chaos. Multiple eyewitness accounts pointed to inadequate barricading and delayed medical assistance, raising questions about event preparedness. Live Events Court reserves ruling, later grants interim relief On Tuesday and Wednesday, the High Court had reserved its verdict on Sosale's plea. Delivering its decision on Thursday, the court ruled that Sosale be released from immediate arrest but imposed the condition that he cooperate fully with the investigation and surrender his passport to ensure his availability during the proceedings. KSAC officials already under interim protection This decision comes days after the same court granted interim relief to key KSCA officials, including President Raghuram Bhat, Secretary A Shankar, and Treasurer ES Jairam. Justice SR Krishna Kumar, who is hearing the matter, had earlier restrained the police from initiating coercive action against them, provided they continue to cooperate with the investigation. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 12. The controversy escalated last week after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah publicly ordered arrests of officials from KSCA, RCB, and DNA Entertainment, stating that those responsible for the tragedy would be held accountable. The KSCA responded by filing a petition to quash the FIR, arguing that it had limited involvement in the event's logistics and was not directly accountable for the mishap. As investigations continue, the focus remains on establishing liability for the overcrowding and lack of adequate safety measures at what was intended to be a celebratory occasion for cricket fans in Bengaluru. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
India.com
41 minutes ago
- India.com
BCCI may take BIG action after Bengaluru stampede at RCB celebration, board will...
In these collection of pictures, we find out about the big BCCI meeting scheduled this week to discuss the deadly stampede in Bengaluru on sidelines of RCB's IPL 2025 winning celebration. RCB won the IPL title after wait of 18 years. Virat Kohli's RCB defeated PBKS by six runs in the IPL 2025 final last week. Felicitation function for IPL 2025 champions was organised a day after the final in Bengaluru on Wednesday last week. RCB team members were felicitated at Vidhan Soudha and at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. 11 people lost their lives in a deadly Bengaluru stampede on the sidelines of the RCB felicitation function. Image credit: X (Formerly Twitter) BCCI Apex Council will be meeting on Saturday and IPL team celebration rules will be discussed. While the BCCI acknowledged that the celebrations could have been better managed, the matter will now be formally deliberated during the meeting. "The need of formulation of norms for IPL victory celebration will be discussed during the meeting," a BCCI source told PTI. Over 2.5 lakh people turned up to catch glimpse of victorious RCB team in Bengaluru last week. Police have made multiple arrests in the Bengaluru stampede case, including RCB marketing manager Nikhil Sosale.
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
Ruturaj Gaikwad Joins Yorkshire for County Championship and One-Day Cup
Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to join Yorkshire as a strong batsman. He has proven his skill across all formats, especially during his current overseas spell where he scored seven centuries in 38 first-class matches. His highest score so far is 195 runs. At 28, Gaikwad is an IPL champion with Chennai Super Kings and has captained the team for the past two seasons. Gaikwad, a right-handed batsman from Pune, has played first-class cricket for India A and made 29 appearances in international limited-overs matches, including ODIs and T20Is. He will play for Yorkshire in the Rothesay County Championship from late July through the summer and also participate in some Metro Bank One-Day Cup matches in August. He started his senior domestic career in the 2016/17 season with Maharashtra. His breakthrough came during the 2021 IPL season when he scored 635 runs, the highest by any batter that year, helping Chennai Super Kings win their fourth IPL title. Gaikwad usually opens the batting but can also bat at three or four, maintaining a first-class average of 41.77 with seven centuries and 14 fifties. Gaikwad had captained Maharashtra and India A, leading the latter on a tour of Australia. He scored an unbeaten 123 off 57 balls for India in November 2023. He is one of only 15 batsmen worldwide to score 220+ runs in a List A match. Former Indian greats like Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, and Pujara have also played for the county.
