The Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 will start on November 21 and run till December 2 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Organised by the Emirates Cricket Board, the Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 will see as many as 10 teams compete in a total of 40 matches.

Ajman Bolts, Bangla Tigers, Chennai Brave Jaguars, Deccan Gladiators, Delhi Bulls, Morrisville Samp Army, New York Strikers, Northern Warriors, Team Abu Dhabi and UP Nawabs are the teams that will compete in the eighth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10.  

As per the Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 schedule, each team will play seven league matches in the league phase. 

The top five teams in the standings after all 35 league matches will qualify for the playoffs.

The top two teams in the standings will clash in the Qualifier 1 for a place in the Abu Dhabi T10 2024 final.

Meanwhile, the fourth and fifth-placed teams in the standings will square in Eliminator 1 to stay alive in the competition.

The winner of Eliminator 1 will face the third-placed team in the standings in Eliminator 2 for a spot in Qualifier 2. The loser of the first qualifier will then lock horns with the winner of the second eliminator in Qualifier 2 for the other spot in the final.

All Abu Dhabi T10 2024 matches will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

New York Strikers are the defending champions of the Abu Dhabi T10 after beating Deccan Gladiators in the 2023 final.

Northern Warriors and Deccan Gladiators are the most successful teams in the tournament’s history with two titles each.

Jos Buttler, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Kieron Pollard, Faf du Plessis, Jonny Bairstow, Phil Salt, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Marcus Stoinis, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult and Matheesha Pathirana are some of the high profile names that will feature in the upcoming T10 tournament.

Where to watch Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 live in India

The Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 will be telecast live on Star Sports Network’s TV channels in India.

Live streaming of the Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website. It will also be live streamed on the FanCode app and website in India.

Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 schedule and live match start times

All timings are in India Standard Time (IST)

Thursday, November 21

Team Abu Dhabi vs Ajman Bolts - 5:00 PM

Morrisville Samp Army vs Bangla Tigers - 7:15 PM

Deccan Gladiators vs Chennai Brave Jaguars - 9:30 PM

Friday, November 22

Northern Warriors vs Delhi Bulls - 2:45 PM

New York Strikers vs Morrisville Samp Army - 5:00 PM

UP Nawabs vs Team Abu Dhabi - 7:15 PM

Ajman Bolts vs Deccan Gladiators - 9:30 PM

Saturday, November 23

Morrisville Samp Army vs UP Nawabs - 2:45 PM

Bangla Tigers vs New York Strikers - 5:00 PM

Chennai Brave Jaguars vs Northern Warriors - 7:15 PM

Deccan Gladiators vs Team Abu Dhabi - 9:30 PM

Sunday, November 24

UP Nawabs vs Northern Warriors - 2:45 PM

Delhi Bulls vs Ajman Bolts - 5:00 PM

New York Strikers vs Deccan Gladiators - 7:15 PM

Morrisville Samp Army vs Chennai Brave Jaguars - 9:30 PM

Monday, November 25

Team Abu Dhabi vs New York Strikers - 5:00 PM

Chennai Brave Jaguars vs Ajman Bolts - 7:15 PM

Delhi Bulls vs Bangla Tigers - 9:30 PM

Tuesday, November 26

UP Nawabs vs Deccan Gladiators - 5:00 PM

Bangla Tigers vs Northern Warriors - 7:15 PM

Morrisville Samp Army vs Delhi Bulls - 9:30 PM

Wednesday, November 27

Ajman Bolts vs Bangla Tigers - 5:00 PM

Team Abu Dhabi vs Chennai Brave Jaguars - 7:15 PM

UP Nawabs vs New York Strikers - 9:30 PM

Thursday, November 28

Deccan Gladiators vs Bangla Tigers - 5:00 PM

Delhi Bulls vs Chennai Brave Jaguars - 7:15 PM

Northern Warriors vs New York Strikers - 9:30 PM

Friday, November 29

Team Abu Dhabi vs Morrisville Samp Army - 2:45 PM

New York Strikers vs Delhi Bulls - 5:00 PM

Chennai Brave Jaguars vs UP Nawabs - 7:15 PM

Northern Warriors vs Ajman Bolts - 9:30 PM

Saturday, November 30

Bangla Tigers vs UP Nawabs - 2:45 PM

Northern Warriors vs Team Abu Dhabi - 5:00 PM

Ajman Bolts vs Morrisville Samp Army - 7:15 PM

Deccan Gladiators vs Delhi Bulls - 9:30 PM

Sunday, December 1

Qualifier 1 - 5:00 PM

Eliminator 1 - 7:15 PM

Eliminator 2 - 9:30 PM

Monday, December 2

Qualifier 2 - 6:30 PM

Abu Dhabi T10 2024 final - 9:00 PM

Abu Dhabi T10 League 2024 teams and squads

Ajman Bolts: James Neesham (Icon), Mohammad Nabi, Alax Hales, Obed McCoy, Ravi Bopara, Terrance Hinds, Shehan Jayasuriya, Mark Deyal, Ali Abid, Safeer Tariq, Huhammad Mohsin, Shevon Daniel, Arineshto Vhezha, Ijas Ahmadzai, Dunith Wellalage, Mujheeb Ur Rahman, Lungi Ngidi, Gulbadin Naib, Haider Ali

Bangla Tigers: Shakib al Hasan (Icon), Rashid Khan, Liam Livingstone, Iftikhar Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, Hazratullah Zazai, Dasun Shanaka,Joshua Little, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Shehzad, Mir Hamza, David Payne , Luqman Faisal, Nav Pabreja, Hafis Almas Ayub, Tashinga Musekiwa, Ravindu Rathnayke, Imran Khan, Towhid Hridoy 

Chennai Brave Jaguars: Rassie van der Dussen (Icon), Chris Lynn, Nuwan Thushara, Thisara Perera, Dan Lawrence, Aayan Khan, George Munsey, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Joshua Brown, Nick Hobson, Akila Dhananjaya, Oshane Thomas, Matiullah Khan, Sabir Ali, Kavindu Nadeeshan, Garuka Sanketh, Ali Khan, Kobe Herft 

Deccan Gladiators: Jos Buttler (Icon), Anrich Nortje, Marcus Stoinis, Maheesh Theekshana, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Tom Koher-Cadmore, Zahoor Khan, Luke Wood, David Wiese, Usman Tariq, Khary Pierre, Aryan Lakra, Abrar Ahmed, Malsha Tharupati, Tinotenda Maposa, Richard Gleeson, Rilee Rossouw 

Delhi Bulls: Rovman Powell (Icon), Muhammad Rohid, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazlahaq Farooqi, James Vince, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Wade, Tom Banton, Salman Irshad, Kasun Rajitha, Nikhil Chaudhary, Saghir Khan, Shahid Iqbal Bhutta, Isai Thorne, Pavan Rathnayake, Fabian Allen, Harshir Seth 

Morrisville Samp Army: Faf du Plessis (Icon), Qais Ahmad, Andries Gous, David Willey, Imad Wasim, Karim Janat, Rohaan Mustafa, Jack Taylor, Sajid Khan, Kjorn Ottley, Hazrat Bilal, Taimoor Ali, Umair Ali Khan, Brain Bennett, Leonardo Julien, Amir Hamza Hotak, Sharafuddin Ashraf 

New York Strikers: Kieron Pollard (Icon), Mohammad Amir, Sunil Narine, Akeal Hossain, Muhammad Waseem, Muhammad Jawadulla, Matheesha Pathirana, Donovan Ferreira, Evin Lewis, Dewald Brevis, Doug Bracewell, Kusal Perera, Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Choudhary, Nathan Edward, Dumindu Sewmina, Asif Ali, Reece Topley 

Northern Warriors: Trent Boult (Icon), Finn Allen, Johnson Charles, Sherfane Rutherford, Saqib Mahmood, Colin Munro, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ankur Sangwan, Brandon King, Fareed Malik, Shohidul Islam, Ziaur Rahman, Sagar Kalyan, Muhammad Uzair Khan, Shaqkere Parris, Ackeem Auguste 

Team Abu Dhabi: Phil Salt (Icon), Noor Ahmad, Kyle Mayers, Jonny Bairstow, Lockie Ferguson, Shimron Hetmyer, AM Ghazanfar, Adam Milne, Kadeem Alleyne, Asif Khan, Rumman Raees, Haider Ali, Zeeshan Nasser, Muhammad Arfan, Ramon Simmonds, Muditha Lakshan, Angelo Mathews  

UP Nawabs: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Icon), Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Andre Fletcher, Binura Fernando, Odean Smith, Najibullah Zadran, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Curtis Campher, Ryan Burl, Farhan Khan, Hafeez ur Rehman, Khalid Shah, Joshua Bishop, Ashmead Nedd, Masood Gurbaz, Khalid Ahmad Gurbaz 

Photo credit: Imago

Star New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson has been ruled out for four to six weeks with a partial stress fracture to his lumbar spine, which he had suffered during the T20I series against West Indies. Though Ferguson won’t be needing surgery, he will undergo a period test and rehabilitation.

This comes as a huge blow for the Black Caps who were hoping to see a short cameo of the Auckland pacer in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Pakistan after completing the West Indies series with an impressive seven-wicket haul.

"We're all really feeling for Lockie. Injuries are certainly part of our sport, but to get something like this when you're at the very top of your game is especially disappointing,�?said New Zealand head coach Gary Stead.

“The pace and skill he's been able to consistently produce have made him one of the very best white-ball bowlers in the world and a huge asset for the Blackcaps.

"Lockie has a great attitude and I know he's up for the fight so he'll get stuck into the rehab and we're still hopeful he may get back on the park at the back end of summer," the coach added.

Not only the New Zealand national team but Ferguson is now likely to miss the entire Super Smash season for Auckland, which is scheduled from late December to February 14.

Though Lockie Ferguson looked up and running for Kolkata in the Indian T20 League last month, where he returned with six wickets in five matches, he has had a couple of injury-plagued seasons of late.

His Test debut for New Zealand against Australia was marred by a calf problem as he was ruled out from the tour after just 11 overs in the first innings. Consequently, he missed Kiwi’s home series against India and most recently, the recently concluded Test series against West Indies.

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Michael Bradley

This is the seventh in a series of features where we will be taking a detailed dive into the various factors that stood out during the course of the Indian T20 League 2020 season.

We saw many of the usual suspects like KL Rahul, David Warner, Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada, etc., coming up with top-notch performances in the recently concluded Indian T20 League. All of them have been consistent performers in the tournament over the years and it was not surprising to see them stepping up once again.

"We knew once the stage was set for the Indian T20 League to unfold at Dubai, that there would be some unexpected displays of brilliance," said Brett Lee. "Rajasthan's Rahul Tewatia was certainly one of those players, as he rose to the occasion more than once and became one of the most talked-about players of the tournament. Then there was Lockie Ferguson who worked some magic with the ball for Kolkata, and Chris Morris, another revelation. It's these surprising showings that keep the sport fresh and unpredictable in my book."

However, they were not the only players who dominated the headlines this season. In fact, there were many players who came up with stellar performances from nowhere and thus turned out to be absolute gamechangers for their respective sides. Here we take a look at some of those players.

Rahul Tewatia

Tewatia's association with the Indian Premier League dates back to 2013 but he had hardly earned any recognition in the sporadic opportunities he got with different teams during this period. However, the 2020 edition turned his career around completely as he went on to have a stellar season with both bat and ball.

Tewatia not only scored 255 runs at an excellent average of 42.50 but also picked up 10 wickets during the season. It included three match-winning performances as well. His spell of 3 for 37 completely derailed Chennai at Sharjah whereas his knocks of 53 and 45* against Punjab and Hyderabad respectively helped Rajasthan to pull off wins from difficult situations.

Lockie Ferguson

Kolkata were really struggling with their bowling towards the middle of the season. Pat Cummins was proving to be highly ineffective whereas nothing good was coming out of the inexperienced Indian pacers either. That was when they brought Lockie Ferguson into the XI to give their bowling unit the penetrative edge they were lacking, and the Kiwi international didn't disappoint.

Ferguson registered a match-winning spell of 4-0-15-3 right in his first match of this edition and thus helped Kolkata bounce back after a slump in form. He went on to end the season with six wickets to his name in five matches, claimed at an economy rate of 7.46.

Jason Holder

The Caribbean all-rounder's performances probably had the highest impact on a team's fortunes in this edition of the Indian T20 League. At the halfway mark, Hyderabad's chances of qualifying for the playoffs looked quite bleak. But Holder changed things up considerably as he not only turned put to be a wicket-taking bowler but also became a vital cog of their batting unit.

The 29-year-old picked up 14 wickets in the seven matches he played for Hyderabad, at an impressive average of 16.64, and also played a couple of useful cameos. It was due to his all-round show that Hyderabad were able to make it to the playoffs and his performances have ensured that he will be a highly sought-after asset in the mega auction next year.

If Kolkata want to keep their 2020 Indian T20 League playoff hopes alive, they must beat Chennai when the two teams square off in Dubai on Thursday. The two-time champions dropped out of the top four spots after losing to in-form Punjab in their last game and they will be aware that another defeat will all but ensure that they don’t finish in the playoff spots.

Bottom-placed Chennai, on the other, are already out of the playoff reckoning and have nothing to lose heading into the clash against Kolkata. Their last match saw them get the better of second-placed Bangalore and the three-time champions will be hoping for another win on Thursday as they look to end the tournament on a high.

Chennai can also take heart from the fact that they enjoy a better head-to-head record against Kolkata. The two teams have squared off 21 times in the Indian T20 League with Chennai winning on 13 occasions and Kolkata winning eight times. That said, Kolkata did beat Chennai in their earlier encounter this season and they will be hoping for more of the same on Thursday. Here, we look at a few key players and battles that could have a bearing on the outcome of the game.

Dinesh Karthik versus Imran Tahir

While it’s no secret that Dinesh Karthik hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons so far, that’s unlikely to change against Chennai. Karthik handed over the Kolkata captaincy to Eoin Morgan midseason in a bid to rediscover his batting form but that has done little to improve his fortunes. After 12 matches this season, Karthik has managed to score just 148 runs at an average of 13.45 �?damning stats for any player, let alone an experienced campaigner and the former captain of the team. 

His chances of a turnaround in fortunes against Chennai don’t seem very likely either, especially considering the three-time champions�?ace spinner Imran Tahir’s past record against the Indian wicketkeeper. Not only has Karthik struggled to score runs against Tahir in the Indian T20 League, but he’s also been dismissed by him in three of the six innings he’s faced the South African. Tahir’s record against Kolkata’s powerful all-rounder Andre Russell isn’t bad either.

Batsman	Innings	Runs Scored	Dismissals	Strike Rate
Dinesh Karthik	6	31	3	114.81
Andre Russell	4	26	2	96.29

Table: Imran Tahir against Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell in the Indian T20 League.

Players to watch:

Chennai �?Ruturaj Gaikwad

After below-par displays in his first three matches of the season, Chennai’s Ruturaj Gaikwad finally repaid the faith shown in him by the team management this year by scoring an unbeaten 51-ball 65 against Bangalore. He smashed four 4s and three 6s during his knock and was adjudged the Player of the Match as Chennai picked up a morale-boosting win over Bangalore. With some runs finally under his belt, the 23-year-old right-hand batsman will be eager to kick on in the clash against Kolkata and will be in a confident frame of mind heading into the contest.

Kolkata �?Lockie Ferguson

Despite joining the team late, New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson has been a valuable addition to Kolkata since coming into the side and has frightened several opposition batsmen with his raw pace. He has already bowled 21 out of the 100 fastest deliveries in the Indian T20 League this season �?third most after Jofra Archer (41) and Kagiso Rabada (28). The Kiwi bowler has taken six wickets and has the second-best economy (5.93) among the 41 pacers who have bowled more than 10 overs this year. Ferguson’s ability to get rid of the top-order batsmen has also proved to be valuable for Kolkata with five out his six wickets so far coming against batsmen from positions 3-5.

Stats to watch out for:

0: Kolkata have never defeated Chennai twice in a single Indian T20 League season.

1: Catch required by Ravindra Jadeja to complete 50 catches in the Indian T20 League for Chennai.

3: Eoin Morgan is 3 fours away from completing 100 fours in the Indian T20 League.

9: Runs required by Dinesh Karthik to become the sixth player to score 500 runs against Chennai in the Indian T20 League.

18: Runs required by MS Dhoni to become the seventh player to score 500 runs against Kolkata in the Indian T20 League.

Writer’s pick:

Chennai will know that the pressure will be on Kolkata to come away with a win and the southerners will be hoping to capitalize on that. However, Kolkata have played better cricket over the course of the tournament than Chennai and will be looking for a repeat of the performance that saw them beat the southerners earlier in the season. With plenty of gifted international players, who have played in big pressure matches before, as well as some in-form domestic talents in their ranks, Kolkata should have just about enough to beat Chennai.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Dibyangshu Sarkar

A sensational hard-hitting display from Ravindra Jadeja in the final two overs put a massive dent to Kolkata's hopes of achieving a playoff berth in this year's Indian T20 League as Chennai won their second game on the trot for the first time this season. Kolkata, riding on the back of Nitish Rana's 61-ball 87, put 172/5 on board and while Chennai looked out of sorts at times, Jadeja snatched the game right at the death by scoring a quickfire 11-ball 31. A win for Chennai, meanwhile, means Mumbai have become the first team to qualify for playoffs.

That said, here are some key talking points from Chennai's six-wicket win over Kolkata

Sunil Narine's form continues to fickle

A lot was expected from Sunil Narine ahead of the season, and while the West Indies all-rounder has been decent with the ball, his returns with the bat have been truly underwhelming. 

On Thursday in what was his 350th T20 game, the all-rounder, who came at No. 3, departed after scoring a mere seven off as many deliveries. That’s Narine’s fifth single-digit score in eight innings in this year’s Indian T20 League. It is rightly troubling, but there’s more to it. Getting out in seven deliveries means it was the sixth time this season where he departed after playing less than 10 balls.

Sunil Narine in 2020 Indian T20 League
Balls faced	Dismissals
1-10	6
11-20	1
21-30	0
30 plus	1

To say Chennai have always been Narine’s bane would be an understatement to make. Their bowlers have always managed to get the better of him and the fact that since 2017, all of Narine’s dismissal against Chennai have come against spin - Harbhajan Singh (2), Mitchell Santner (2), Ravindra Jadeja and Karn Sharma - is the perfect example of it.

Shane Watson’s spinning voodoo

Shane Watson was back in the fold after missing two back-to-back games - a defeat against Mumbai and a win over Bangalore - but failed to assert his claim. Opening the batting alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Aussie scored a dull-witted 19-ball 14 at a lowly strike rate of 73.68 before being dismissed Varun Chakravarthy. This is, in fact, the fifth time that Watson was dismissed by a right-arm spinner this season. His stats against this bowling type further underlines how substandard he has been against them:

• 79 runs
• 59 balls
• 5 dismissals
• 15.80 avg

Before tonight’s game, Watson had scored just 30 runs off as many deliveries in seven innings against Narine while being dismissed a whopping five times, which also includes the last meeting of these two teams earlier in the season. Despite a steady start, Watson never really looked settled on the night, and we might have seen the last of him in the Indian T20 League.

Dhoni’s failure to get past Chakravarthy

There are only a handful of bowlers who have dismissed MS Dhoni twice in a single Indian T20 League season. On Thursday, spinner Varun Chakravarthy became only the sixth man to do so after his scorching delivery managed to breeze through the Chennai captain to find its way to the leg stump. Dhoni, as has been his trend this season, has struggled to go big against Chakravarthy in particular, having scored just nine off many deliveries against him, while hitting a solitary boundary.

Here is the list of bowlers who have dismissed Dhoni twice in the same Indian T20 League season:

Bowler	Innings	Runs	Balls	Outs	Avg	SR	4s	6s	Dots	Year
Pragyan Ojha	2	16	22	2	8	72.7	0	1	13	2008
Roelof van der Merwe	2	19	19	2	9.5	100	0	0	5	2009
Zaheer Khan	4	26	13	2	13	200	2	2	5	2011
Kuldeep Yadav	2	10	9	2	5	111.1	0	1	5	2017
Jasprit Bumrah	4	26	20	2	13	130	1	2	8	2017
Varun Chakravarthy	2	9	9	2	4.5	100	1	0	5	202

Off day for Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson made an instant impact for Kolkata in the Indian T20 League, picking six wickets in his last four appearances (before tonight’s game). On Thursday though, the New Zealander was hit for 54 runs his quota of four overs; most by any Kolkata bowler in the ongoing season. He went for nine runs in his first over, but Ruturaj Gaikwad hit 12 past him in his second. And while his third over was decent, to say the least, Ravindra Jadeja took a swing at him in the penultimate over, hitting 20 runs to put a massive dent in Kolkata’s hopes of achieving the final playoff spot.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

After the thrilling action over the weekend, the Indian T20 League is gearing up for another week of intense action, as teams continue to jostle for a place in the top four.

Over the past few days, we have seen players making a return to form or a comeback from injury or simply marking their return in the playing XI with a brilliant performance.

Over the next three matches, I'll be keeping a keen eye on these following players: 

Chennai �?Ambati Rayudu

He was brilliant in the season-opener against Mumbai and I had him primed for a big season in that #3 position vacated by the absence of Suresh Raina. He missed a few games through injury but overall he’s been excellent for Chennai. He has already notched up 237 runs in just seven outings with the bat and for someone who’s never been known for his big-hitting ability, he does have a decent strike rate of 129.50 this season. He played a valuable knock against Delhi after a top-order collapse and was a bit unlucky to end up on the losing side, but regardless, he’s been great and I expect him to continue in the same vein for the remainder of the season.

Rajasthan �?Robin Uthappa

Who doesn’t love a redemption ark? And we might be witnessing one with Robin Uthappa. He was having a pretty mediocre season and was even benched for youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal, but has been drafted back into the playing XI for the past few games. I don’t know what exactly prompted the decision, perhaps it was Uthappa being vocal about it to the team management, but he was sent to open in Rajasthan's last match and we saw a glimpse of the old Uthappa, who was so good for one of my teams, Kolkata, back in the day. He’s bought himself at least a couple of more innings as the opener with his performance against Bangalore and I hope he can capitalise on it.

Punjab �?Chris Gayle 

Punjab finally had Chris Gayle available to play and the Universe Boss showed why they were so desperate for his return to the starting XI. Batting in a new role at #3, Gayle smashed an entertaining half-century, playing a huge role in Punjab's victory over Bangalore and followed it up with a handy 21-ball 24 against Mumbai on Sunday. With Punjab’s middle-order struggle, I really believe Gayle can up the ante and take the team back to the winning ways. 

Delhi �?Axar Patel

One of the unsung heroes of Delhi's incredible season so far has been their lanky all-rounder, Axar Patel. He won them the game with the bat in their last game against Chennai, smashing Ravindra Jadeja for three sixes in the final over when Delhi needed 17. But what has truly gone unnoticed is how good he’s been with the ball for Delhi. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje may be the ones who are stacking up the wickets column for Delhi, but the pressure Axar builds in the middle overs with his tight bowling and economical spells has benefited the team and its pacers immensely. His economy this season is just 5.50, which is just mind-boggling considering how high-scoring the season has been. I really enjoy watching Axar bowl and he will certainly be one to watch out for from the Delhi team.

Kolkata �?Lockie Ferguson

The bowling action concerns of Sunil Narine forced Kolkata to do something I believe they should have done a while back, which is drafting Lockie Ferguson back in the playing XI. He was exceptional against Hyderabad, giving away just 15 runs in his four overs and also picking three wickets. His Super Over was simply sensational, bamboozling Warner with an off-speed delivery and then dismissing Abdul Samad with a peach. The Super Over may not count in the official statistics, but Lockie picked up five wickets in 4.3 overs for Kolkata while conceding just 17, by far the best I have seen him bowl in the Indian T20 League. Kolkata should persist with Ferguson and Pat Cummins as the two front-line pacers in the team.

Bangalore �?Chris Morris 

Bangalore raised a lot of eyebrows during the auction when they splurged big on Chris Morris, who spent the better part of the last two seasons on the bench at Delhi, but their decision is proving to be a masterstroke and the South African is delivering big time for Bangalore. So far in four matches, his economy rate is a scarcely believable 5.25, and he’s also picked up nine wickets, second behind Yuzvendra Chahal in the leading wicket-takers list for Bangalore this season. He's had only one opportunity with the bat so far and he ended up scoring 25 off eight balls in their loss against Punjab. Morris has elevated Bangalore to a different level since his return from injury and I expect him to continue his stellar form in the upcoming matches. 

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

With just five matches left in the league stage (per team), there isn’t a lot of time left to salvage your fantasy season. But, with these picks, you can surely make a big last-gasp push to climb up the leaderboard.

Here are this week's top fantasy picks:

Player: Jasprit Bumrah

Team: Mumbai 

After a rather uncharacteristic start to his campaign, Mumbai's ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah has hit form in his past few outings and is closing in on Kagiso Rabada, the leader in the race for the Purple Cap, in a hurry. 

After picking up just five wickets in the first four matches, Bumrah has picked up 10 in his last five and has climbed up to second in the list of the season’s leading wicket-taker, trailing Rabada by four. In those five matches, Bumrah has bowled at an economy rate of 6.65 and a strike rate of 12, further illustrating just how sensational he has been. Injury concerns and his indifferent form had kept him out of everyone's fantasy, but Bumrah is now locked in and should be a constant in your fantasy team as well.

Player: Virat Kohli 

Team: Bangalore

Before his now-infamous comment about Virat Kohli's wife, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar noted how the Bangalore skipper is a rhythm player and needs match practice to hit his stride, and true to his prediction, after a few dodgy innings, Kohli seems to have found his groove with the bat.

After scores of 14, 1 and 3 in his first three matches, Kohli has scored 330 runs at an average on 110 in his last six outings with the bat, with his lowest scores being 33* in Bangalore's huge victory over Kolkata. While his strike rate has been rather decent at 135.80, he’s consistently been among the runs and is seemingly the only threat alongside Mayank Agarwal to KL Rahul's runaway lead in the race for the Orange Cap. Kohli is in supreme form and needs to be in your fantasy team.

Player: Chris Morris 

Team: Bangalore

Bangalore are keeping pace with title-favourites Mumbai, who currently are in the second spot with 12 points and one of the primary reason for that has been the introduction of South African all-rounder Chris Morris into the playing XI.

After missing out on the first four matches due to fitness concerns, Morris made his debut for the team against Chennai and bowled an incredible spell of 3-19. He has since only gotten better and has picked up nine wickets in four matches. He hasn’t had many chances to showcase his ability with the bat but he did smash 25 off eight balls in his only innings with the bat this season against Punjab. The South African's all-round show has been sensational for Bangalore this season and he could be a fantastic late addition to your fantasy team.

Player: Quinton De Kock

Team: Mumbai

Mumbai's topscorer last season, opener Quinton De Kock struggled with the bat early in the season but the South African has been in terrific touch off-late and has scored three consecutive 50s and four in his last five outings with the bat, climbing to seventh in the list of the league’s leading runscorer. De Kock is also an extremely reliable keeper behind the stumps and rarely misses a catch or a stumping. If you are in the hunt for a wicketkeeper-batsman, then Quinton De Kock is the way to go.

Player: Lockie Ferguson

Team: Kolkata

Lockie Ferguson's season debut against Hyderabad made fans and analysts alike scratch their head in bewilderment, wondering why the team did not play him earlier in the season.

The New Zealand speedster bowled a terrific spell of 3-15 in his quota of four and then picked a couple of more scalps in the Super Over, finishing with overall figures of 5-17 in 4.3 overs. Ferguson's variations were too good for Hyderabad to handle and with that performance, he surely has locked his place in the team and hence, should be in your playing XI as well.

Think you know better? We've something interesting for you!

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

A hard-fought contest between Kolkata and Hyderabad took a Super Over to decide a winner, and riding on the back of sheer brilliance of Lockie Ferguson, Eoin Morgan's men managed to come out on top.

Kolkata were put in to bat first by Hyderabad, and a late blitz by former captain Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan managed to pull their team out of misery to a respectable total of 163/5. Hyderabad, who made some shuffling in their batting order, took a beating but somehow managed to equal the tally to take the game int he Super Over. Lockie Ferguson, however, stood out by picking two for as many runs and Kolkata didn't have to break a sweat to meet the target.

That said, here are some key talking points from the game: 

One at a time for Karthik

A change in captaincy has rightly edified Dinesh Karthik at least to some extent. The wicketkeeper, who is now focusing more on his batting, was a lieutenant in charge for Kolkata on Sunday. Despite a strong start, Kolkata lost wickets in crumbs and were playing at a lowly rate of 7 per over after 15 overs. Karthik joined forces with the new captain Eoin Morgan to take his team from 105/4 to 163/5 inside the final five overs. The former skipper remained unbeaten at 29 off 14 deliveries, a knock which included two fours and as many sixes.

Kolkata have had mixed fortune in this year’s Indian T20 League, and the team will be hoping this new lease of life can lift Karthik to an extent that he can deliver decent performances whenever required.

Unplayable Ferguson wins it for Kolkata

Defending 163 in the Indian T20 League can be one arduous task, to say the least, but a certain Lockie Ferguson, playing his first match of the new season, was simply unplayable. A change in the opening order saw Hyderabad going with Kane Williamson and Jonny Bairstow instead of David Warner, and although the new pair gave their team a great start, scoring 58 runs inside the powerplay overs, Ferguson’s arrival not only forced the opposition to go on the back foot but also managed to churn out important wickets. 

Pat Cummins - 186 balls , 2 Wickets
Lockie Ferguson - 10 balls , 2 Wickets

Sometimes it is not how much you pay for a bowler but the decisions taken because you have paid so much for a bowler. #IPL #KKRvsSRH

�?Gaurav Sundararaman (@gaurav_sundar) October 18, 2020

The Kiwi struck in only his first delivery, removing Williamson from the field followed by Priyam Garg in the subsequent over. As has been the case for a long while now, Hyderabad lost wickets in quick succession, and a lot of credit goes to the New Zealander, who also bowled Manish Pandey with a scorching yorker. He eventually ended his spell with 3/15, which is now the best bowling figure by any Kolkata bowler in this year’s edition. Not to forget his marvellous return in the Super Over which won his team the game.

Warner achieves unique milestone

Hyderabad kept on losing wickets, but captain David Warner, who arrived late onto the scene, managed to score 48 off 33 and in the midst, became the first foreign player to score 5000 runs in the Indian T20 League. Overall, the Australian is now the fourth player to reach the landmark. What stands out most is the fact that he is the fastest to reach the 5000-run mark, having achieved the feat in just 135 innings. Virat Kohli, who has scored 5759 runs, took 157 innings while Suresh Raina took 173. Furthermore, he might have missed out on a half-century but he did complete 900 runs against Kolkata, becoming only the second player - after Rohit Sharma - to do so.

Fastest to 5000 Indian T20 League runs:

• David Warner - 135* inns
• Virat Kohli - 157 inns
• Suresh Raina - 173 inns
• Rohit Sharma - 187 inns

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been declared fit for the first Test against England while white-ball speedster Lockie Ferguson earned his maiden Test call-up on Friday.

The talismanic Williamson, the world's third-ranked Test batsman, sat out the recent T20 series because of a nagging hip injury.

New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said the two-week break had Williamson primed to return for what will be a historic inaugural Test at his home ground of Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

"Kane's made good progress over the past fortnight and we're delighted to welcome back a player of his class and experience," Larsen said when naming a 15-man squad to face England and Australia over the next two months.

The call-up for Ferguson and the return of leg-spinner Todd Astle in place of spinners Will Somerville and Ajaz Patel are the only changes to the New Zealand squad from the recent away series against Sri Lanka.

The inclusion of Ferguson after an impressive domestic season caps a rapid rise for the quick bowler who has been a mainstay of New Zealand white-ball sides in recent years and was the second leading wicket-taker at the World Cup in England and Wales earlier this year.

"There's no doubt Lockie has been knocking on the door for a while now and we're delighted to finally bring him into the Test fold," Larsen said.

"It's well documented he has raw pace, but he also possesses a quality bowling skill set and has proved his durability."

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling

The first Test against England starts on November 21.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Lakruwan Wanniarachchi

An exciting week of cricket awaits the faithful as the Ashes returns coupled with Sri Lanka’s second T20I against New Zealand. Apart from these, Bangladesh’s one-off Test against Afghanistan also takes centre-stage.

For all those Moneyball9 Fantasy Managers out there, it will definitely be a moment of extreme dilemma given the quality we will be surrounded by throughout the week.

If you are one from the flock, make sure you consider these five players for selection.

LOCKIE FERGUSON

Country: New Zealand

Match: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand | Second T20I

Still a newbie in the world of T20Is, having played just five games thus far, Lockie Ferguson’s ability to threaten even the best batsmen in the world was made evident during the World Cup. As for the T20Is, a bowling average of 13.50 and a strike rate of 11.4 speak volumes. Hence, if you are to pick a seamer from the game, we’d suggest you go with the World Cup finalist.

KUSAL PERERA

Country: Sri Lanka

Match: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand | Second T20I

In an ocean full of hard-hitting batsmen, a certain Kusal Perera does his task like a silent vigilante. Backing the fact is his strike rate of 138.54 and an average of 29.05 in T20Is. Indeed, the likes Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor are set to mystify all your research, but if you’re thinking for a safer bet, there’s no one better than this man.

JOFRA ARCHER

Country: England

Match: England vs Australia | Fourth Ashes Test

There should absolutely be no doubt about this man, to say the least. Having made his Test debut at the home of cricket, Lord’s, during the ongoing Ashes series, Archer has troubled some of the finest batsmen during the course. And while the likes of Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins could prove to be troublesome for fantasy gamers, just make sure Archer tops your list.

STEVE SMITH

Country: Australia

Match: England vs Australia | Fourth Ashes Test

If there’s Archer, there should definitely be a certain Steve Smith in the list. After all those mind games and exchange of words, it is finally the time for Smith to let his bat do all the talking. Two centuries and a 161-ball 92 in three innings certainly represents the champion-stuff Smith is made of. So, don’t think twice before going ahead with the Aussie.

Shakib Al Hasan

Country: Bangladesh

Match: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan | One-off Test

Following an exhilarated performance at the World Cup, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan returns to the field to take on Rashid Khan’s Afghanistan in a one-off Test, beginning from September 5. There might be some suggestions about the likes of Rashid Khan and even Mohammad Nabi, but the dimension Shakib provides as an all-rounder is next to unmatchable. If he disappoints with the bat, he can spin a web and vice-versa.

It's time to start creating your Fantasy team. Head to Moneyball9 for more details.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis