Venkatesh Iyer's maiden T20 century was in vain as Mumbai Indians produced an excellent run chase to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets on Sunday.

Iyer took over as the leading run-scorer in the IPL with a magnificent 104 from 51 balls in KKR's 185-6 at the Wankhede Stadium.

The left-hander struck nine sixes and another six boundaries, facing only 49 balls to get to three figures as he ended a 15-year wait for a KKR century since Brendon McCullum achieved the feat.

He finished on the losing side, though, as Ishan Kishan (58 from 25) smashed a quickfire half-century and Suryakumar Yadav (43 off 25) returned to form to give Mumbai back-to-back wins.

Iyer put on a show after Cameron Green and the excellent Piyush Chawla (1-19) dismissed Narayan Jagadeesan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz respectively in the powerplay.

The in-form number three carted the Indians attack to all parts, dominating a fourth-wicket stand of 50 with Shardul Thakur in a masterclass before finally falling to Riley Meredith soon after bringing up a swashbuckling hundred.

There was a late flurry from Andre Russell (21 not out from 11), but it soon became apparent KKR were short of runs as Kishan and Rohit Sharma – batting as an impact player while struggling with a stomach bug – got Mumbai off to a flyer.

Suyash Sharma (2-27) had Rohit (20) superbly caught by Umesh Yadav to end a partnership of 65 in the fifth over, with Kishan hitting five sixes and as many fours before he was bowled by Varun Chakravarthy.

Suryakumar and Tilak Varma (30) then put on 60 to put the Indians well on their way to victory before Tim David (24no from 13) got the team home with 14 balls to spare.

Iyer takes orange cap in style

Iyer took the Indians attack apart, scoring KKR's first century since current England Test head coach McCullum bludgeoned a brutal 158 back in April 2008.

The 28-year-old's hundred was the second of this tournament, two days after Harry Brook's 100 for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Iyer's exploits ensured he took the top scorer's orange cap from Shikhar Dhawan, with 234 runs from five visits to the crease at an average of 58.50.

Suryakumar steps up as captain

It had been a miserable IPL so far for Mumbai's Suryakumar, but he was back in the runs skippering the side with Rohit unable to play a full part.

He missed out on a half-century after nicking Thakur behind, but looked in good touch as he cleared the rope three times and hit another four boundaries.

Mumbai Indians claimed their first win of the Indian Premier League season as Tim David got them over the line in a nerve-wracking final ball victory over Delhi Capitals.

Having suffered defeat in each of their opening two matches, Mumbai were set 173 to win after they bowled out the Capitals with two balls to spare.

Robbing Delhi of those final two deliveries proved pivotal as Mumbai edged to a six-wicket win, David hitting the winning runs despite some excellent death bowling from Anrich Nortje.

Half-centuries from captain David Warner (51) and Axar Patel (54) had helped Delhi to 172, Warner and Patel combining for a key stand of 67.

But an incredible 19th over in which Jason Behrendorff removed both and, after Kuldeep Yadav was run out, Abishek Porel, prevented Delhi from posting a more imposing total, their innings ended slightly prematurely when Nortje was dismissed.

Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma (65) led what for long periods looked to be a serene chase as they reached 139-1, only for a flurry of wickets to fray the nerves.

Tilak Varma (41) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) went in successive deliveries and Rohit fell to a stunning catch from Porel off a wide yorker from Mustafizur Rahman five balls later.

David (13 not out) and Cameron Green (17 not out) initially struggled to get going but both hit sixes in the penultimate over to leave Mumbai needing five off the last.

Nortje almost miraculously rescued the situation for Delhi by continually nailing his yorker. However, needing two off from the final ball, David punched to long-off and clinched victory with a desperate dive to the crease as Warner's throw to the striker's end proved too high.

Rohit confounds Capitals again

With his half-century in this one, Rohit scored his sixth fifty-plus score against Delhi in the IPL. Only Virat Kohli (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (7) have registered more such scores against the Capitals.

Dreadful start for Delhi

While Mumbai got off the mark, Delhi have now lost each of their first four matches to start the campaign. Only in 2013 (six games) have they endured a longer losing run to begin a season.

Ajinkya Rahane scored the fastest half-century of the 2023 Indian Premier League on his Chennai Super Kings in a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians.

Mumbai were restricted to 157-8 after they were put in at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, Ravindra Jadeja taking 3-20 with support from Mitchell Santner (2-28) and Tushar Deshpande (2-31).

That was not enough to give them a first win of the tournament, as Rahane struck 61 off only 21 balls and faced just 19 deliveries to reach his half-century on his home ground before CSK reached their target with 11 balls to spare.

The Indians were going along well at 61-1 at the end of the powerplay, but lost their way after Ishan Kishan (32) followed captain Rohit Sharma (21) back to the pavilion.

Santner had Suryakumar Yadav caught behind and Jadeja took a sharp catch off his own bowling to remove Cameron Green as Mumbai lost four wickets for only 12 runs.

Hrithik Shokeen added 18 in quick time after a brisk 33 from Tim David and Jason Behrendorff struck an early blow in the run chase by bowling Devon Conway for a duck.

Rahane then took centre stage, taking the Mumbai attack apart with great timing and placement to put CSK well on course for victory by the time he fell to Piyush Chawla.

Mumbai, who were without Jofra Archer, were unable to recover from Rahane's onslaught, with Ruturaj Gaikwad making an unbeaten 40 as the Super Kings made it two wins from three matches.

Rahane destructive on debut

CSK were missing Ben Stokes, reportedly due to a heel injury and the unwell Moeen Ali but Rahane proved he still has so much to offer on the big stage.

Snapped up by Chennai after being released by Kolkata Knight Riders, the 34-year-old looked like a man eager to prove a point as he struck three sixes and a further seven boundaries in a brilliant knock.

Jadeja spins the game in CSK's favour

India all-rounder Jadeja was excellent with ball in hand, turning the game in CSK's favour by seeing the back of Kishan, Green and Tilak Varma.

He bowled nine dot balls and was hit for just one boundary in an excellent display of spin bowling.

A superb opening stand from Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis ensured Royal Challengers Bangalore cruised to an eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League opener.

Having fallen just short of the IPL final last year, RCB got their 2023 campaign off to a terrific start, dominating their opponents on both sides of the ball at The Mangalam Chinnaswamy Stadium.

RCB made a fast start with the ball, with Harshal Patel well-placed to claim an outside edge from Ishan Kishan (10) before Reece Topley bowled Cameron Green (5), though a bizarre collision between Dinesh Karthik and Mohammed Siraj saw the latter inexplicably drop Rohit Sharma.

Rohit was less fortunate when he handed Karthik a catch for just one run three balls later, though his exit allowed Tilak Varma to step up with a quickfire 84 off 46 balls, carrying Mumbai to 171-7.

That outstanding effort proved to be in vain, however, with Du Plessis (73) and Kohli (82 not out) putting on a strong opening stand of 148, both bringing up half-centuries by the end of the 12th over.

While skipper Du Plessis walked with five overs remaining, lofting through to Tim David for a simple catch, Mumbai never looked likely to break the momentum of RCB, who recorded a statement win.

Varma wastes no time

In dragging Mumbai to a respectable tally with his knock of 84, Varma averaged a boundary every 3.5 deliveries.

Only Jos Buttler – who struck a boundary every 2.2 balls in the Rajasthan Royals' win over Sunrisers Hyderabad – has posted a better such rate in the early stages of the IPL this season, with Varma hitting nine fours and four sixes from the 46 balls he faced.

Unfortunately for the 20-year-old, RCB's top-order batsmen were in similar form as Mumbai failed to build any momentum with the ball.

Fifty up for Kohli

RCB never looked likely to fall short in their chase of 172, with Kohli taking centre-stage to bring up a personal IPL landmark.  

With his knock of 82 runs from 49 balls, Kohli recorded his 50th score of 50 runs or more in the IPL. Only David Warner (60) has more half-centuries in the competition's history.

The Mumbai Indians are champions of the inaugural season of the Tata Women’s Premier League after a seven-wicket win over the Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

The Capitals, who advanced to the final after finishing top-of-the-table in the league phase, made 131-9 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.

Captain Meg Lanning led the way with 35 while Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav each made 27*.

Hayley Matthews was magnificent with the ball for Mumbai, picking up three wickets in her four overs while conceding only five runs. Issy Wong also continued her wicket-taking form with 3-42 from her spell.

The successful Mumbai chase took 19.3 overs and was anchored by Nat Sciver-Brunt, who finished not out on 60 off 55 balls including seven fours. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur made a 39-ball 37 in support as the Indians reached 134-3.

Sciver-Brunt was named player of the match while Matthews, who ended the season with 271 runs and 16 wickets, was named player of the tournament.

Her run total placed her fifth overall behind Lanning (345), Sciver-Brunt (332), Talia McGrath (302) and Kaur (281) while her 16 wickets were joint-most alongside Sophie Ecclestone.

Nat Sciver-Brunt scored an unbeaten 72 to lead the Mumbai Indians to the final of the inaugural Women’s Premier League after a 72-run win over the UP Warriorz in the eliminator at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on Friday.

The Indians batted first after losing the toss and posted 182-5 in their 20 overs.

Sciver-Brunt’s knock 72* lasted only 38 deliveries and included nine fours and two sixes.

Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews also made valuable contributions with 29 and 26, respectively, against 2-39 from Sophie Ecclestone.

The Warriorz reply was a tame one as Kiran Navgire, with 43, was the only meaningful contributor as they were bowled out for 110 in only 17.4 overs.

Issy Wong led the way with the ball for the Indians with 4-15, including a hat trick, while Saika Ishaque took 2-24 from 2.4 overs.

The Mumbai Indians will now play the Delhi Capitals in the final at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.

The Delhi Capitals have advanced to the final of the inaugural Tata Women’s Premier League after a five-wicket win over the UP Warriorz at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The Warriorz made 138-6 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Capitals. Talia McGrath made 58* and captain Alyssa Healy made 36 against 3-26 off four overs from off-spinner Alice Capsey.

Meg Lanning (39), Capsey (34) and Marizanne Kapp (34*) then led a successful Delhi chase as the finalists needed just 17.5 overs to reach 142-5.

Pacer Shabnim Ismail took two wickets for the Warriorz.

With the league phase of the tournament now complete with all teams having played eight games, the Capitals, after finishing top-of-the-table with 12 points, are automatically into the final.

The Warriorz will have an opportunity to meet them there when they take on the Mumbai Indians, who finished as runners-up in the league phase, in the eliminator on Friday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mumbai also finished the league phase with 12 points after a four-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.

RCB made 125-9 from their 20 overs after losing the toss. Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh both made 29 for RCB as Amelia Kerr continued her good form with the ball with 3-22 from her four overs for Mumbai. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong also took two wickets each.

Kerr then completed a fine all-round performance with an unbeaten 31 while Yastika Bhatia made 30 and Hayley Matthews 24 as the Indians reached 129-6 in 16.3 overs.

The eliminator will be held at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy on Friday while the final will take place at the Brabourne Stadium on March 26.

The UP Warriorz secured a five-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League on Saturday.

The Warriorz won the toss and elected to field first at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews led the way with 35 while Issy Wong scored 32 and Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur 25 as the Indians were bowled out for 127 in their 20 overs.

Sophie Ecclestone led the way with the ball for the Warriorz, taking 3-15 from her four overs while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma took 2-16 and 2-35 from their respective four over spells.

The successful chase was then led by Grace Harris’ 28-ball 39 while Talia McGrath got 38 as the Warriorz reached 129-5 in 19.3 overs to secure their third win out of six games to move to third in the table behind Mumbai, who lead the table only having one loss in six games, and Delhi who have two losses in their six outings.

Amelia Kerr was the best Mumbai bowler on the day with 2-22 from her four overs while Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong all took a wicket each.

Scores: Mumbai Indians 127 off 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 35, Issy Wong 32, Harmanpreet Kaur 25, Sophie Ecclestone 3-15, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-16, Deepti Sharma 2-35)

UP Warriorz 129-5 off 19.3 overs (Grace Harris 39, Talia McGrath 38, Sophie Ecclestone 16*, Deepti Sharma 13*, Amelia Kerr 2-22).

The Mumbai Indians maintained their perfect record through five matches in the inaugural season of the Tata Women’s Premier League with a dominant 55-run win over the Gujarat Giants at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Mumbai captain Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with an elegant 30-ball 51 to help her side post 162-8 off their 20 overs after the Giants won the toss and chose to field first.

Opener Yastika Bhatia also batted well for her 44 against Ashleigh Gardner’s 3-34 from four overs.

The Giants chase started in the worst way possible as English star Sophia Dunkley was dismissed by Sciver-Brunt with the first ball of the innings.

Harleen Deol and Sneh Rana both played fighting innings of 22 and 20, respectively, but the Giants chase never gathered momentum and saw them eventually be reduced to 107-9 off their 20 overs.

Sciver-Brunt ended her four over spell with 3-21 while Matthews took 3-23 off her four overs.

Scores: Mumbai Indians 162-8 off 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 51, Yastika Bhatia 44, Nat Sciver-Brunt 36, Ashleigh Gardner 3-34) Gujarat Giants 107-9 off 20 overs (Harleen Deol 22, Sneh Rana 20, Nat Sciver-Brunt 3-21, Hayley Matthews 3-23, Amelia Kerr 2-18)

West Indies Captain Hayley Matthews produced another fine all-round display to help the Mumbai Indians defeat the Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in their Tata Women's Premier League match at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on Thursday.

The Capitals were restricted to 105 all out off 18 overs after winning the toss and batting first.

Captain Meg Lanning led the way with 43 while Jemimah Rodrigues made 25 as English pacer Issy Wong took 3-10 from her four overs.

Left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque bowled three overs for her 3-13 while Matthews took her second consecutive three-wicket haul with 3-19 from her four overs.

With the bat, Mumbai needed just 15 overs to reach 109-2 and secure their third straight dominant win.

Yastika Bhatia top-scored with a 32-ball 41 including eight fours while Matthews made 32 off 31 balls including six fours.

Scores: Delhi Capitals 105 off 18 overs (Meg Lanning 43, Jemimah Rodrigues 25, Issy Wong 3-10, Saika Ishaque 3-13, Hayley Matthews 3-19) Mumbai Indians 109-2 off 15 overs (Yastika Bhatia 41, Hayley Matthews 32, Nat Sciver-Brunt 23*).

An unbeaten 114-run second wicket partnership between Hayley Matthews and Nat Sciver-Brunt helped the Mumbai Indians secure a dominant nine-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their WPL fixture at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.

RCB made 155 all out off 18.4 overs after winning the toss and batting first. Wicket-Keeper Richa Ghosh scored 28 while captain Smriti Mandhana and Shreyanka Patil made 23, each for the Royal Challengers.

Matthews led the way with the ball for Mumbai with 3-28 from her four overs while Saika Ishaque and Amelia Kerr took two wickets, respectively.

The Indians, who made 207-5 in their first game against the Gujarat Giants, continued their excellent form with the bat by needing only 14.2 overs to reach 159-1 for their second straight win.

Matthews rounded out an exceptional all-round display with a top-score of 77 not out off 38 balls including 13 fours and a six. Sciver-Brunt provided excellent support with a 29-ball 55 invluding nine fours and a six.

Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 155 off 18.4 overs (Richa Ghosh 28, Smriti Mandhana 23, Shreyanka Patil 23, Hayley Matthews 3-28, Saika Ishaque 2-26, Amelia Kerr 2-30)

Mumbai Indians 159-1 off 14.2 overs (Hayley Matthews 77*, Nat Sciver-Brunt 55*, Yastika Bhatia 23).

Harmanpreet Kaur and Hayley Matthews led the way with the bat as the Mumbai Indians hammered the Gujarat Giants by 143 runs at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai to kick off the inaugural season of the Women’s Premier League on Saturday.

Mumbai made an imposing 207-5 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Giants.

Kaur, captain of the Mumbai Indians as well as India, led the way with a classy 65 off just 30 balls including 14 fours while Matthews, the West Indies skipper, hit four sixes and three fours on her way to a 31-ball 47 at the top of the innings.

New Zealander Amelia Kerr also hit a 24-ball 45 not out including six fours and a six. The Gujarat bowling was led by the off-spin of Sneh Rana who took 2-43 from her four overs.

Needing 208 for victory, the Giants’ task was made even harder when captain Beth Mooney was forced to retire hurt after facing just three balls and not scoring a run.

In the end, only Dayalan Hemalatha (29*) and Monica Patel (10) reached double figures as they were restricted to 64-9 off 15.1 overs.

Saika Ishaque led the way with the ball for Mumbai with 4-11 from her 3.1 overs while Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amelia Kerr took two wickets apiece.

Scores: Mumbai Indians 207-5 off 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 65, Hayley Matthews 47, Amelia Kerr 45*, Sneh Rana 2-43) Gujarat Giants 64-9 off 15.1 overs (Dayalan Hemalatha 29*, Saika Ishaque 4-11, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-5, Amelia Kerr 2-12).

Former West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been controversially ruled out of the inaugural Women’s Premier League because she is “recovering from a medical situation,” according to reports.

However, Dottin has refuted these reports, revealing that she is, in fact, fit and healthy.

Dottin was announced as “ruled out” on Friday according to ESPN Cricinfo but quickly moved to dispute those reports on her social media.

“Get well soon from what if I may ask,” Dottin said on her Instagram stories over a screenshot of the report of her injury.

She also took to Twitter to voice her confusion.

“I appreciate all the messages but, truth be told, I’m recovering from nothing but the Holy Ghost anointing. Thank you,” she added.

Dottin was set to feature for the Gujarat Giants after being bought for US$73,000 at the WPL Auction in February.

Giants have named Kim Garth, the Australia allrounder, as replacement.

Garth had gone unsold at the auction last month. At the time of the auction, she was with the Australia squad that won the T20 World Cup in South Africa.

The Giants are set to take on the Mumbai Indians in the opening game on Saturday. The WPL runs from March 4-26.

West Indies Captain Hayley Matthews and former West Indies All-rounder Deandra Dottin were the only two West Indian players sold at the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) player auction at the JIO Convention Centre in Mumbai on Monday.

The WPL is the Women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will run between March 4 and March 26.

The first edition will feature five teams: Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz.

Matthews, currently representing the regional side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa where she made 44 in their opener against England, was sold to the Mumbai Indians for US$49,000.

Dottin, who retired from international cricket in 2022 after representing the West Indies 143 ODIs and 127 T20Is since her international debut in 2008, went to the Gujarat Giants for US$73,000.

Opener Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive Indian player, going to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for US$415,000.

England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt and Australia’s Ash Gardner both went for US$390,000 to the Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants, respectively, to share the tag of most expensive overseas player.

Leg-spinner Afy Fletcher and pacer Shamilia Connell were the West Indians among the list of unsold players.J

Dwayne Bravo has lauded Kieron Pollard on his decision to retire from the Indian Premier League.