Lucknow Super Giants moved to within two points of the Indian Premier League summit as Quinton de Kock's stand helped see off Punjab Kings by 20 runs.

Opener De Kock scored 46 from 37 balls as the Super Giants reached 153-8 from their 20 overs on Friday.

That was despite the efforts of Kagiso Rabada, who took 4-38, including the early wicket of Super Giants captain KL Rahul.

Yet after Rahul's dismissal, De Kock – with the assistance of Deepak Hooda (34) – guided the Super Giants from 13-1 to 98-2 before falling to Sandeep Sharma (1-18).

Deepak was run out by Jonny Bairstow in the next over to kick-start a middle-order collapse, but Dushmantha Chameera's 17 from 10 balls and an unbeaten 13 from Mohsin Khan added vital runs.

Mohsin went on to impress with the ball for the Super Giants, taking 3-24 from his four overs, which included a maiden.

Mayank Agarwal (25) and Bairstow (32) tried to get Punjab going, but both fell to Chameera (2-17) before Khan sent dangerman Liam Livingstone packing on 18 to all but end the Kings' hopes – Rishi Dhawan's flurry of 21 proving too little, too late.

De Kock back to form

Rabada gave his best but it was fellow South African De Kock who was the difference in this match.

The wicketkeeper-batsman had only scored a combined 13 runs across his previous two appearances but was the anchor of the Super Giants' innings here, with his 46 coming at a strike rate of 124.32 and including six boundaries – two of those were sixes.

Mohsin shows his worth

After adding a useful tally to the Super Giants' score, Mohsin – who had only taken one wicket this season before Friday's match – delivered with the ball, taking the key wicket of Livingstone (who has scored 60+ three times already this season) before dismissing Rabada and Rahul Chahar in the 18th over.

The Middlesex United Stars defeated the Surrey Risers by nine wickets in a rain-affected fixture in the Dream 11 Jamaica T10 at Sabina Park on Friday.

The Risers found it hard from the start after winning the toss and electing to bat first.

Delbert Gayle (27) and Nicholas Lewin (15 not out) were the only batsmen to reach double figures as pacers Ojay Shields (2-9 off two overs) and Andel Gordon (2-13 off two) combined to restrict the Risers to a modest 72-6 off their 10 overs.

Jamaica Scorpions all-rounder Alwyn Williams with 30 not out and Damani Sewell with 15 not out then helped the Stars reach 71-1 in the eighth over before rain ended proceedings with the Stars comfortably 19 runs ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis par score.

West Indies opener John Campbell earlier made 20 for the Stars who now have four wins from eight matches.

Rovman Powell hit 33 off 16 balls to ensure the Delhi Capitals sealed a four-wicket victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.

A knock of 42 from David Warner had helped to set the table for Powell, with the Capitals condemning the Knight Riders to their fifth straight loss in the Indian Premier League.

Kolkata mostly struggled with the bat themselves, with captain Shreyas Iyer the only man to show any resistance in the early stages with 42, while Nitish Rana added a much-needed 57 later on.

Apart from Rinku Singh's 23, no other Knight Rider managed double figures, and they were only able to reach 146-9 from their 20 overs.

Prithvi Shaw was out first ball for Delhi in reply, caught and bowled by Umesh Yadav (3-24), but Warner was able to guide his team through the early overs to build a base for the chase.

The Capitals did enter panic mode slightly as they went from 82-2 to 84-5, with skipper Rishabh Pant out for just two.

However, Powell and Axar Patel (24) calmed things down, with Powell the aggressor with one four and three sixes as he saw his team home with an over the spare.

Batting woes for Knight Riders

If you bat first in T20 cricket, you better set a big total, even if just to put an element of doubt in the chasing team's minds.

It's not that 146 is a poor total, but that almost all the runs came from just three batsmen was the real issue for Kolkata.

Six others came and went without making more than six runs, with Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Tim Southee all falling for ducks.

Tight bowling the difference

It would be harsh to dismiss those batting failures without crediting the bowling that caused them. Delhi's attack was fierce at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mustafizur Rahman (3-18) and Kuldeep Yadav (4-14) were particularly impressive, with the former bowling 14 dot balls in his four-over spell.

Ben Stokes has told England chiefs he wants James Anderson and Stuart Broad back in the Test team under his captaincy.

The new skipper believes it is too soon to dispense with the fast-bowling expertise of the duo who between them have taken 1,177 wickets in the five-day international game.

Broad, 35, looks set to add to his 152 caps, and 39-year-old Anderson can expect to boost his total of 169 Test appearances in the upcoming series against New Zealand.

That is set to mark Stokes' debut as England's new full-time Test captain, with the first match beginning on June 2 at Lord's.

Joe Root's successor made it an urgent matter when he spoke to new England managing director Rob Key, after the pace pair were left out for the recent West Indies series and used sparingly in the Ashes.

"When I met Ben Stokes the other day, one of the first things he said was, 'Jimmy and Broady are back'," Key said.

"I said, 'Absolutely, no problem'. Now that might have been a bit of a problem if I didn't think that, but I was on exactly the same page.

"That wasn't much of a debate, we both agreed. I sat with Broady a week and a half ago and Jimmy last night. They're both keen and ready to go."

Ben Stokes has been appointed as England Test captain following Joe Root's resignation.

Root led his country in the longest format for just over five years, but brought his long reign to an end this month following an abysmal run of just one win in 17 matches.

Stokes has agreed to step up from his role as vice-captain after holding talks with new managing director of men's cricket Rob Key.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) approved the appointment of Stokes on Tuesday after Key recommended the 30-year-old for the job.

All-rounder Stokes said: "I am honoured to be given the chance to lead the England Test team. This is a real privilege, and I'm excited about getting started this summer.

"I want to thank Joe for everything he has done for English cricket and for always being a great ambassador for the sport all across the world.

"He has been a massive part of my development as a leader in the dressing room, and he will continue to be a key ally for me in this role."

Key, who started his role this month with plenty of issues to address, said: "I had no hesitation in offering the role of Test captain to Ben.

"He epitomises the mentality and approach we want to take this team forward into the next era of red-ball cricket. I am delighted that he has accepted, and he is ready for the added responsibility and the honour. He thoroughly deserves the opportunity."

Stokes' first match as skipper will be when a series against New Zealand starts at Lord's on June 2.

England should also have appointed a new Test head coach by the time they face the Black Caps after Chris Silverwood was sacked in the wake of a 4-0 Ashes hammering in Australia.

The ECB has opted to appoint separate head coaches for the Test and limited-overs teams.

Gary Kirsten, Simon Katich, Tom Moody and Graham Ford are among the names to be linked with the Test job.

Ben Stokes has been appointed as England Test captain following Joe Root's resignation.

Root led his country in the longest format for just over five years, but brought his long reign to an end this month following an abysmal run of just one win in 17 matches.

Stokes has agreed to step up from his role as vice-captain after holding talks with new managing director of men's cricket Rob Key.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) approved the appointment of Stokes on Tuesday after Key recommended the 30-year-old for the job.

All-rounder Stokes said: "I am honoured to be given the chance to lead the England Test team. This is a real privilege, and I'm excited about getting started this summer.

"I want to thank Joe for everything he has done for English cricket and for always being a great ambassador for the sport all across the world.

"He has been a massive part of my development as a leader in the dressing room, and he will continue to be a key ally for me in this role."

Key, who started his role this month with plenty of issues to address, said: "I had no hesitation in offering the role of Test captain to Ben.

"He epitomises the mentality and approach we want to take this team forward into the next era of red-ball cricket. I am delighted that he has accepted, and he is ready for the added responsibility and the honour. He thoroughly deserves the opportunity."

Stokes' first match as skipper will be when a series against New Zealand starts at Lord's on June 2.

England should also have appointed a new Test head coach by the time they face the Black Caps after Chris Silverwood was sacked in the wake of a 4-0 Ashes hammering in Australia.

The ECB has opted to appoint separate head coaches for the Test and limited-overs teams.

Gary Kirsten, Simon Katich, Tom Moody and Graham Ford are among the names to be linked with the Test job.

West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell has urged IPL franchise Delhi Capitals to quickly move past the recent no-ball controversy as the team looks to jostle for a position in the playoffs.

In their previous encounter, a 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals on Friday, the team was left incensed by what they believe was a missed no-ball call in the final over.  Needing an improbable 36 off the final over, Powell kept things interesting when he blasted three straight 6s off international team Obed Mccoy.

The Capitals were convinced the third six was also a waist-high no-ball and as such would have been a free hit, which would have made things even more interesting.  The delivery was, however, not called by the umpires and Mccoy fought back to dismiss Powell.  The incident led to arguments between Delhi players and the umpire, and assistant coach Rajasthan Royals Pravin Amre came onto the field.  In the aftermath, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and Amre were slapped with heavy fines resulting from the incident, with Amre also given a one-match ban.  With a match upcoming against the Kolkata Knightriders on Wednesday, Powell is looking to move past the incident.

“It’s something that we have to put behind us and put behind us very fast.  We have a lot of upcoming matches and we have no time to sit down and dwell in the past,” Powell said of the incident.

“We have some important games coming up, important games that we have to win to get to the next round of the competition,” he added.

“We are about 6^th or 7^th in the table that is a good place to be. It’s just for us to climb the ladder and hopefully, we’ll reach our goal, which is the top four.”

Umran Malik's first IPL five-for was overshadowed by Sunrisers Hyderabad's remarkable collapse to lose to Gujarat Titans from the final ball.

Umran has impressed all with his outstanding pace bowling in 2022 and took another step forward on Wednesday with a dazzling 5-25, including what seemed to be the big wicket of Wriddhiman Saha (68).

But Sunrisers, protecting a target of 196, fell apart after the 22-year-old completed his four overs, undone by their former bowler Rashid Khan.

Rashid had not performed anything like he would have hoped with the ball, with figures of 0-45 as Sunrisers scored well through Abhishek Sharma (65), Aidan Markram (56) and Shashank Singh (25 off six).

Yet he then stepped up in the final over of the match, with Saha long gone and Marco Jansen having just about manoeuvred Rahul Tewatia (40 not out) off the strike.

Rashid hit three sixes off the final four balls to lift the Titans to 199-5, an incredible five-wicket win and first place in the standings.

Tale of two young bowlers

This has been a breakout season for Umran, of which this match should be the undoubted highlight, regardless of the result. With 15 wickets – including all five Sunrisers took here – he is up to second in the standings, behind only Yuzvendra Chahal (18).

However, Jansen, one year his team-mate's junior, was the man tasked with getting Sunrisers over the line and fell desperately short. His economy of 15.75, with figures of 0-63, told the whole story.

Batsmen surprisingly on top

This was expected to be a battle between two elite bowling line-ups – the top two in terms of bowling average coming into this clash – yet Jansen was not the only man to struggle at the death.

Lockie Ferguson matched Jansen in giving up 25 runs off the final over of the first innings, including three sixes in a row from Shashank that put the Titans in the sort of position from which they required a sensational turnaround.

The England and Wales Cricket (ECB) has restarted the search for a new chair following failure to find a suitable candidate.

Barry O'Brien has been operating as the interim chair since October, when Ian Watmore stepped down following a wave of coronavirus-related challenges and scrutiny for cancelling England's tour of Pakistan.

However, the ECB confirmed O'Brien has now resigned from the role due to ill health, with deputy chair Martin Darlow to take charge while the board search for a permanent appointment.

A statement read from the ECB read: "The ECB board met last night [Tuesday] and has agreed to restart the process for recruiting its next permanent chair.

"Following an ongoing process involving a number of strong candidates undertaking interviews with both the nominations committee and a cricket panel it was felt that no single candidate was able to fully meet the criteria to become next chair.

"In light of this, the board decided that the process should now be restarted. A new nominations committee will be appointed, chaired by senior independent director Brenda Trenowden, to run the new process."

The announcement comes at a time of wholesale change within English cricket, with Rob Key confirmed as the new managing director of men's cricket to replace Andrew Strauss, who had been in interim charge.

The ECB is advertising for separate coaches for the vacant Test and limited-overs roles following the dismissal of Chris Silverwood, with Gary Kirsten, Simon Katich and Graham Ford among the favourites for the red-ball side.

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes is widely expected to be appointed as England's Test captain following the resignation of skipper Joe Root earlier in April.

England start their next Test series against New Zealand on June 2, while they begin an ODI series versus the Netherlands on June 17.

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons insists he understands and respects the decision of recently retired captain Kieron Pollard but insists the player’s passion and desire will be sorely missed.

After nearly 16-years representing the regional team and three years in charge of both the One Day International (ODI) and T20 squads, the 34-year-old Pollard announced his decision to step away from international cricket last week.

“Skipper it is sad to see you retire from the maroon shirt so early…I completely understand,” Simmons said, addressing the issue via Facebook.

“Your ability to give players your backing and trust to deliver and your strong leadership both on and off the field was a joy to work with,” he added.

Pollard took charge of both squads in 2019 and experienced mixed fortunes during his tenure.  The T20 squad lost 21 of 39 matches and had a disastrous defense of its World Cup title.  The ODI squad on the other hand fared better, winning 13 and losing 11 of 21 matches played.  Still, Simmons hailed Pollard as a positive force for pushing players to reach their full potential and having a genuine desire to see the team do well.

“Your passion for pushing players to build on skills and knowledge of the game and more. Your unwillingness to settle for mediocrity was a pleasure to work with,” Simmons said.

“Your undoubted passion for the game and especially the Maroon Shirt together with your desire to bring success to the West Indies cricket team henceforth Cricket West Indies will be missed. You will be missed.”

Former India players Sunil Gavaskar and RP Singh are among those critical of all-rounder Krunal Pandya kissing former West Indian skipper Kieron Pollard during Sunday’s India Premier League (IPL) encounter between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants.

So far this season, Mumbai, the many-time champions, have failed to gain any traction, losing all eight of the games played so far.  In Sunday’s loss, Pandya found himself at the centre of controversy after running to give Pollard a kiss on the head after dismissing the West Indian.

Despite it being generally known that the men are friends, Gavaskar believes the bowler went too far with his celebration and that his mockery could have provoked a negative reaction from the West Indian. 

“I know he is not going to like it, No! No! However good friends you are, that has to happen once the game is over. He is lucky that Pollard didn’t do anything,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.  Singh agreed, adding that the Lucknow player had gone too far.

“Nobody likes losing. When a player is not doing well, one should avoid such things. You don’t know what emotions he is going through. What if he (Pollard) had turned back and reacted. He was walking back disappointed at being unable to win matches and that reaction was definitely too much.”

Riyan Parag scored an unbeaten 56 and Kuldeep Sen took 4-20 as Rajasthan Royals defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 29 runs despite Jos Buttler's struggles. 

Buttler has been in immaculate form in the Indian Premier League, scoring successive centuries in the previous two matches, but he lasted just nine balls in Pune on Tuesday. 

The England international's score of eight included one boundary before he was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood (2-19) in the fifth over. 

Sanju Samson struck an entertaining 27, including three sixes, to get the Royals back on track, though it was Parag who ultimately dragged them through. 

Having anchored the back half of the Royals' innings, Parag let rip in the final over, plundering two sixes and a four to get his side to 144-8. 

Faf du Plessis elected to go with Virat Kohli at the top of the order, but RCB's former captain went for nine in the second over. 

Du Plessis tallied up 23 before he fell to Sen, who had Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck with the next delivery. 

Ravichandran Ashwin (3-17) joined the party, dismissing Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai and Shahbaz Ahmed, while Dinesh Karthik was run out. 

Wanindu Hasaranga (18) offered some resistance for RCB, though their hopes of avoiding a second straight defeat ended when Sen wrapped up the tail as Rajasthan went top of the IPL on 12 points. 

Parag takes up the mantle

With Buttler failing to ignite, Parag initially showed great composure before that explosive final over when he reached a 29-ball half-century. Harshal Patel, who took 1-33, was the unlucky bowler, with 18 runs coming from those last six balls. 

More frustration for Kohli

It was another bad day at the office for Kohli, who has failed to reach double figures in five of his nine IPL innings in 2022. Indeed, it was a bad day all round for the Challengers, who could have gone top with a win, with only Du Plessis scoring above 20. 

A magnificent bowling effort from the Surrey Royals allowed them to score an easy eight-wicket win over the Cornwall Warriors in their Dream 11 Jamaica T10 fixture at Sabina Park in Kingston on Tuesday.

The Royals chose to field after winning the toss and were dominant throughout the innings taking wickets in quick succession.

Jamaica Scorpions pacer Nicholson Gordon (3-13 from 1.2 overs), left-arm spinner Raewin Senior (2-9 from two overs, left-arm spinner Ryan Francis (2-6 from two overs) and off-spinner Peat Salmon (2-19 from two overs) were all instrumental in bowling out the Warriors for a subpar 58 in 9.2 overs.

Jamaica Scorpions all-rounder Derval Green (13), opener Ockeeno Farquharson (12) and former Scorpions skipper Paul Palmer Jr (11) were the only Warriors batsmen to scratch double figures.

The chase was a simple one for the Royals despite the early wickets of West Indies batsman Nkrumah Bonner (5) and Leroy Lugg (12).

Carlos Brown (25 not out) and captain Javelle Glen (16 not out) ensured that the Royals got to their target without the loss of another wicket, ending 59-2 from 8.2 overs to secure their fourth win of the tournament.

A destructive unbeaten 39 from Andre McCarthy propelled the Surrey Kings to an easy seven-wicket win over the Middlesex United Stars in the Dream 11 Jamaica T10 at Sabina Park in Kingston on Monday.

After winning the toss and choosing to field first, the Kings were in good form with the ball, holding the United Stars to a modest 82-6 in their 10 overs.

Jamaica Scorpions player, Alwyn Williams, was the only batsman to make a significant contribution for the Stars with 35 against 3-13 off two overs from medium-pacer Oraine Williams and 2-5 off one over from leg-spinner Kenroy Williams.

When it came time for the Kings to chase, McCarthy, batting at number four, was the chief destroyer with his 39 coming off just 12 balls including two fours and four sixes.

Opener Kennar Lewis also contributed 19 as the Kings easily chased their target reaching 83-3 off just 5.3 overs.

Left-arm quick Andel Gordon was the best bowler for the United Stars with 2-21 from his two overs.

The Surrey Kings now have five wins in five games, living up to their tag as favourites.

Shikhar Dhawan led the Punjab Kings to an 11-run Indian Premier League win over Chennai Super Kings with a brilliant half-century.

The Kings posted a imposing 187-4 after Ravindra Jadeja won the toss and put them in on Monday.

Ambati Rayudu made a blistering 78 off 39 balls, but was dismissed in the 17th over as the struggling reigning champions were condemned to their sixth defeat in eight matches, leaving their play-off hopes in tatters.

The Kings were unable to get off to a flyer and lost captain Mayank Agarwal for 18, Shivam Dube taking the catch off the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana.

Dhawan, however, became the third-highest scorer in the 2022 IPL with a terrific knock, supported in excellent fashion by Bhanuka Rajapaska (42) until he also fell victim to a catch from Dube for Dwayne Bravo.

Liam Livingstone made a rapid 19 from seven balls as Punjab produced a late flurry of runs.

Robin Uthappa (1), Mitchell Santner (9), and Dube (8) fell cheaply to leave CSK in trouble on 40-3 from seven overs, before Rayudu's talismanic efforts threatened to be the catalyst for a stunning win.

Agarwal caught Ruturaj Gaikwad for 30, before Rayudu was cleaned up by the impressive Kagiso Rabada, who claimed excellent figures of 2-23.

Chennai's hopes of chasing down their target looked slim after Rayudu was sent packing, with Jadeja (21 not out) and MS Dhoni (12) unable to get them home.

Dhawan sets the tone

Dhawan's classy knock went a long way to ending the Kings' two-match losing run and Punjab are in sixth spot with four wins and as many defeats.

The India opener struck two sixes and nine fours, shifting through the gears after a watchful start.

Rayudu goes close for out-of-form Super Kings

Chennai's miserable IPL title defence continued after their top order was decimated early on, but Rayudu was unfortunate to taste defeat after single-handedly dragging his side into contention.