Royal Challengers Bangalore registered a massive 82-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 12.

RCB captain Virat Kohli had opted to bat, reasoning that the pitch will be slower in the second half.

Man of the match AB de Villiers and Kohli had a 100-run partnership that steered the side to 194 for two. The South African batsman played an aggressive 73 off 33 balls (five boundaries and six sixes) while Kohli hit 33 off 28 balls.

This was followed by RCB spinners tightening the chase. Washington Sundar (2/20) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1/12) gave KKR a hard time and they could never really score on a sluggish wicket. The success of the spinners was partly down to the tiring pitches and the absence of grass.

For KKR, Shubhman Gill topscored with 34 off 25 balls, and the team finished at 112 for nine.
Rahul Tripathi, who had played brilliant innings against Chennai and Delhi, was shuffled to the lower-middle order, this time to accommodate IPL debutant Tom Banton at the top. Banton could make only 8 off 12 balls. Tripathi batted at No. 7 and by the time he came in, the game was up for the Knight Riders.

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Delhi Capitals inflicted a 46-run defeat on Rajasthan Royals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 8 in Match 23 of the Dream 11 IPL season currently staged in the UAE. Delhi now top the points table with 10 points.

Between them, DC bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin and Marcus Stoinis shared seven wickets as they bowled out Rajasthan for 138. Ashwin’s two wickets for 22 runs earned him the Man of the Match.

Delhi’s batting performance at 184/8 was disappointing too, save for Stoinis (39 off 30 balls) and Shimron Hetmyer (45 off 24). Among Rajasthan bowlers, Jofra Archer took three wickets.

Batting second, Rajasthan suffered their fourth straight loss despite the efforts of Rahul Tewatia (38) and Steve Smith (24). Good bowling and fielding helped DC win comfortably. Hetmyer and Shikhar Dhawan netted some brilliant catches.

Dhoni’s daughter receive rape threats

Meanwhile, in a disturbing development, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s five-year-old daughter Ziva received rape threats from social media trolls following Chennai Super Kings’ loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 10 runs on October 6. The incident has been condemned by women leaders and organisations in particular, who decried the misuse of social media platforms and the rape culture permeating the country.

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Champions Mumbai Indians posted their third win in three matches on October 4 at the afternoon game in Sharjah Cricket Stadium against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Chasing a target of 209, captain David Warner (60 off 44 balls) did not get enough support from his batsmen in tackling the Mumbai bowlers save for Manish Pandey (30). The 2016 champions ended at 174 for seven after their stipulated 20 overs.

Though Mumbai lost their captain Rohit Sharma early in the match, Quinton de Kock (67 off 39 deliveries) and Ishan Kishan (31) listed a 78-run partnership to gift the team 208 for five wickets. Sunrisers pacemen and Rashid Khan did a good job, but Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard caused maximum damage in the final four overs.

Trent Boult was declared Player of the Match for his 2/28 spell in 4 overs.

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The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, lit up in purple and gold to wish team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) good luck ahead of their first IPL match on September 23 against Mumbai Indians. The LED display had the faces of the KKR team members including its captain Dinesh Karthik, and played their anthem.

However, luck was elusive as the team lost to Mumbai Indians by 49 runs in the match at the Abu Dhabi cricket stadium. Captain Rohit Sharma’s opening knock of 80 off 54 balls steered MI to a convincing victory.Rohit’s knock included six sixes and three fours.

Rohit’s90-run second-wicket stand with Suryakumar Yadav (47) frustrated the Knight Riders. Next came Saurabh Tiwary (21) and Hardik Pandya (18) who helped MI reach 195-5 in 20 overs.

Kolkata could post only 146-9 in reply, way short of their target.Jasprit Bumrah (2-32) dismissed KKR’sstar batsmen Andre Russell (11) and Eoin Morgan (16).Russell and Morgan seemed capable of resuscitating KKR, which had slipped to 77-4, back Bumrah broke up their partnership in the 16th over.

Trent Boult, James Pattinson and Rahul Chahar also finished with two wickets each in an all-round effort from Mumbai’s bowling team.

MI has thus rebounded from the opening loss to Chennai Super Kings.

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The move came at a time when the world is battling the coronavirus pandemic and it would be a major challenge for BCCI to find a new title sponsor.

VIVO had signed the deal in 2017 and was paying Rs 440 annually as the title sponsor of the lucrative tournament.

The IPL is played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. At short notice, it is almost impossible to find other sponsors who would promise that amount from one year.

There was a huge outrage in different parts of the country ever since 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the violent clash between India and China in the Galwan valley recently. Following the incident the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps in India.

Once the IPL dates were confirmed, the focus shifted to the tournament’s title sponsor, the Chinese mobile giant VIVO.

According to reports, the Chinese company took the decision to avoid bad publicity.

Apart from VIVO, IPL has seen Chinese smartphones brands, Oppo, Xiaomi, Realme and OnePlus taking up prime slots. They spend nearly Rs 500 crore annually.

Interestingly, Duff & Phelps in 2019 had valued the IPL ecosystem at Rs 47,500 crore.

It has been reported that Vivo might return as the title sponsor in 2021 and the deal might be continued till 2023. At the moment, the biggest challenge for the Indian board is to find a new title sponsor with the 13th edition all set to kick off in UAE from September 18.

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