Before IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bangalore wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma has surprised cricket fans by choosing his all-time IPL playing eleven. The biggest surprise was that Virat Kohli did not get a place in this team, whereas the responsibility of captaincy has been handed over to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This selection of Jitesh has become a topic of discussion on social media.

Have a special relationship with RCB

Jitesh Sharma proved himself as a reliable finisher while playing for RCB in 2025. Jitesh, who was bought for Rs 11 crore in the mega auction, strengthened the team by scoring fast runs in that season. RCB lifted the IPL trophy for the first time in the same year, in which Jitesh played an important role. During this period he scored 261 runs at a strike rate of 176.35. Despite his brilliant performance, Ishan Kishan did not get a place in the T20 World Cup 2026 due to his return.

Jitesh Sharma’s all-time IPL XI

In Jitesh’s selected team, the responsibility of opening has been given to Rohit Sharma and Adam Gilchrist. Both the players are known for their aggressive start in IPL. Suryakumar Yadav has been placed at number three, who has the ability to change the course of the match in T20 cricket. The middle order includes stalwarts like Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers, who offer a great mix of experience and aggression.

Dhoni balance between captain and all-rounders

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been selected not only as wicketkeeper but also as captain. Jitesh believes that Dhoni’s captaincy and calm nature gives the team an edge in big matches. Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel have been included as all-round options, which creates balance in both batting and bowling.

reliable bowling attack

In the bowling unit, Varun Chakraborty has been given the responsibility of spin, while Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood are seen handling the responsibility of fast bowling. This attack can create problems for the opposition team on any pitch.

Jitesh Sharma’s playing 11

Rohit Sharma, Adam Gilchrist (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (captain), Axar Patel, Varun Chakraborty, Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated UP Warriors by 9 wickets in the fifth match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026. With the second consecutive win, RCB has reached the top of the points table. At the same time, after the second consecutive defeat, UP is in fifth place.

In the match played at DY Patil Sports Academy on Monday, after losing the toss, UP Warriors came to bat and scored 143 runs losing 5 wickets. The team had lost 5 wickets by the score of 50. Meanwhile, captain Mag Lanning was out after scoring 14 runs, while Phoebe Lichfield was out after scoring 20 runs.

From here, Deandra Dottin made a partnership of 93 runs in 70 balls with Deepti Sharma for the sixth wicket and took the team to a challenging score. Deepti Sharma scored unbeaten 45 runs in 35 balls with 1 six and 5 fours, while Dottin contributed 40 runs in 37 balls. His innings included 1 six and 3 fours.

From the opposition camp, Shreyanka Patil and Nadine de Klerk took 2 wickets each, while Lauren Bell got 1 wicket.

In response, Royal Challengers Bangalore won in 12.1 overs. Gracie Harris and captain Smriti Mandhana gave a great start to this team.

Both the players made a partnership of 137 runs in 11.4 overs. Harris was out after scoring 85 runs in 40 balls with 5 sixes and 10 fours. From here Mandhana took charge. He gave an easy victory to RCB by scoring unbeaten 47 runs with 9 fours in 32 balls. Shikha Pandey got the only success from the opposition camp.

The record for most wins with most balls remaining in WPL is in the name of Delhi Capitals, who won against Gujarat Giants in the year 2023 with 77 balls remaining. Whereas, Delhi Capitals had won against Mumbai Indians in the year 2023 with 66 balls remaining. RCB has reached the third position in the list by registering victory with 47 balls remaining.

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MI vs RCB WPL 2026 Live Streaming: The wait for women cricket fans is now about to end, because the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 is going to start with a spectacular match. The first match of the tournament will be played between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). This match will be held on 9th January i.e. Friday at Navi Mumbai’s D.Y. Will be held at Patil Stadium.

MI vs RCB: First match of the tournament

Defending champion Mumbai Indians will enter the field this season with the intention of defending their title. The team will be captained by Indian women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur. On the other hand, the command of Royal Challengers Bangalore will be in the hands of Smriti Mandhana. Both the teams are studded with star players and would like to start the season with a win.

Head-to-head record

Till now, the teams of Mumbai and Bengaluru have faced each other 7 times in WPL. Out of these, Mumbai Indians have won 4 matches, while RCB has won 3 matches. In such a situation, this match will be a great opportunity for RCB to level the record, while Mumbai will be eyeing to further strengthen their lead.

MI vs RCB: Match Time

This match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will start at 7:30 pm (IST). Whereas, the toss will be done at 7:00 pm.

MI vs RCB: Live Telecast and Streaming

The live telecast of this high-voltage match will be available on Star Sports Network. At the same time, viewers who want to watch the match on mobile or laptop can enjoy live streaming of the match on JioHotstar app and website.

Squads of both teams

Royal Challengers Bangalore – Smriti Mandhana (captain), Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Georgia Woll, Nadine de Klerk, Radha Yadav, Lauren Bell, Lynsey Smith, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Grace Harris, Gautami Naik, Pratyosha Kumar, D. Hemalatha, Sayali Satghare.

Mumbai Indians – Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Nate Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajna Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vashishtha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaq, Millie Illingworth.

WPL 2026 Opening Ceremony: The fourth season of Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026, one of the biggest platforms of women’s cricket, is going to start in a grand style. Before the start of the tournament, a grand opening ceremony will be organized on January 9, in which along with cricket, the flavor of Bollywood will also be seen. On this special occasion, the first match will be played between defending champion Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

When and where will the opening ceremony of WPL 2026 take place?

The opening ceremony of WPL 2026 will be held on Friday, January 9 at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The first match of the tournament will start at 7:30 pm (IST), while the opening ceremony is expected to start about an hour before that i.e. at 6:30 pm.

Fans in India will be able to watch the live telecast of this colorful program and match on Star Sports Network. At the same time, live streaming on mobile and digital platforms will be available on JioCinema app and website.

The evening will be adorned with Bollywood stars

This time BCCI has invited big stars to make the opening ceremony special. Famous singer Yo Yo Honey Singh will create an atmosphere in the stadium with his popular songs. Apart from him, Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandes will also perform. It is being told that Jacqueline’s dance performance will be dedicated to the confidence and passion of women players.

Along with this, Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu will also participate in this ceremony, which will further increase the glamor of the event.

Full format of the tournament

A total of five teams are participating in WPL 2026 – Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriors. This time a total of 22 matches will be played in the tournament.

The matches of this season will be held in two cities. The initial matches will be played in Navi Mumbai, while the important matches, playoffs and finals of the league will be played at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. The final match of WPL 2026 will be played on 5 February.

growing height, growing thrill

The popularity of WPL is increasing rapidly with every season. This time too, tremendous excitement is expected from the tournament on the basis of new captains, international star players and young Indian talent.

WPL 2026 MI vs RCB Live Streaming: The fourth season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 is going to start with a big match. In the very first match of the tournament, two great players of Indian women’s cricket will face each other. Mumbai Indians captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Smriti Mandhana will take the field leading their respective teams. This match is being considered no less than a blockbuster for the fans.

When and where will the match be played?

The first match of WPL 2026 will be played on Friday, January 9. This high-voltage match will be held at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The match will start at 7:30 pm, while the toss will be done half an hour earlier i.e. at 7:00 pm. A large number of spectators are expected to reach the stadium, as both the teams are full of star players.

All eyes will be on Mumbai Indians

Talking about Mumbai Indians, the command of the team is in the hands of Harmanpreet Kaur. They have a balanced and strong squad. The team has experienced foreign players like Nate Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail. Mumbai Indians has been one of the most successful teams of WPL so far and will look to defend its title.

RCB will enter with the intention of making a comeback

At the same time, Royal Challengers Bangalore, captained by Smriti Mandhana, will leave behind the disappointment of the last season and enter the field with new enthusiasm. RCB has a good balance of young and experienced players. The team will have big expectations from players like Richa Ghosh, Shreyanka Patil, Harris, Lauren Bell, Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy.

Where to watch live?

If you want to watch this match live, then it will be telecast live in India on Star Sports Network. At the same time, live streaming of the match will be available for mobile and online viewers on Jio Hotstar app and its website.

Mumbai Indians team

Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Nate Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur, G. Kamalini, Amelia Kerr, Shabnim Ismail, Sanskriti Gupta, Sajna Sajeevan, Rahila Firdous, Nicola Carey, Poonam Khemnar, Triveni Vashishtha, Nalla Reddy, Saika Ishaq, Millie Illingworth.

Royal Challengers Bangalore team

Smriti Mandhana (captain), Georgia Woll, Gautami Naik, Grace Harris, Richa Ghosh (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Lauren Bell, Kumar Pratyusha, Sayali Satghare, Prema Rawat, Dayalan Hemalatha, Linsey Smith.

Former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad was elected the new president of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Sunday. Prasad, former vice president of this association, defeated experienced sports administrator KN Shant Kumar by 749-558. A total of 1307 members voted in these elections.

Prasad will now face the challenge of bringing back top-level cricket in the state, which was marginalized after the stampede near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4. In this, 11 fans of Royal Challengers Bangalore were killed.

Prasad and Shanth Kumar, director of The Printers (Mysore) Pvt Ltd and one of the directors of the PTI board, both pledged to take necessary steps to revive cricket in the state. This was the main election issue of their respective panels.

Former Indian batsman Sujit Somasundar defeated D. Vinod Shivappa by 719-588 in the election for the post of Vice President. Somasundar had recently resigned from the post of education head of BCCI ‘Centre of Excellence’ to contest the KSCA elections.

BN Madhukar has become the new treasurer of KSCA by defeating MS Vinay by 736-571. Veteran administrator Santosh Menon returned to the association as the new secretary by defeating ES Jayaram 675-632.

After 11 fans died and many were injured in the stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Jayaram had resigned from the post of KSCA secretary, taking moral responsibility for this tragic incident.

The Prasad-led panel had the support of former Indian players like Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath. This panel captured all the important posts except the Joint Secretary.

These elections were held from 10 am to 5 pm. In the camp supported by Brijesh Patel, BK Ravi won for the post of Joint Secretary by defeating AV Shashidhar by a margin of 669-638.

Former women cricketer Kalpana Venkatachar (764) and former Karnataka wicketkeeper batsman Avinash Vaidya (691), who contested from Prasad’s panel, were selected as members from the Bengaluru region along with Ashish Amarlal (703).

Namita

IPL Record: Big scores are seen every year in IPL matches. However, the kind of stormy performance shown by the batsmen in the last two seasons has changed the definition of T20 cricket. The records of highest match aggregates, i.e. the total runs scored by both the teams in a single match, are continuously being broken. According to statistics, the RCB vs SRH match played on 15 April 2024 remains the highest-scoring match till date.

RCB vs SRH

On April 15, 2024, such a run-storm occurred on the Bengaluru field that shook the entire IPL. RCB and SRH together scored 549 runs in 40 overs. The run rate of this match was 13.72, and the bowlers were severely tested in every over. This match showed at what level Chinnaswamy Stadium has become a paradise for batsmen.

SRH vs RR

The match between SRH and Rajasthan Royals played in Hyderabad on 23 March 2025 set a new standard for scoring runs in this season. Both the teams together scored 528 runs, in which the bowlers were seen struggling not only in taking wickets but also in trying to save runs. RR batsmen gave a fast start in the powerplay, while SRH rained runs in the death overs.

SRH vs MI

The match between SRH and MI on 27 March 2024 is also included in the list of highest aggregates. 523 runs, only 8 wickets, and run rate 13.07, this match was a great example of power-hitting. Hyderabad’s batting looked in luminary form, while Mumbai Indians also played good counter innings from the top order.

KKR vs PBKS

The match between KKR and Punjab Kings on 26 April 2024 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata was also very exciting. Both the teams together scored 523 runs in 38.4 overs at a run rate of 13.52. This match is counted among the most entertaining matches of IPL.

DC vs MI

On 27th April 2024, DC and MI gave complete value for money entertainment to the audience by scoring 504 runs on the Delhi ground. Although 13 wickets did fall in this match, the run rate was 12.6 runs per over.

IPL Record: The new season of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) is going to start soon. In its last season, big scores were seen continuously, which destroyed all the old records. In the match played in Lucknow, RCB women’s team and UP Warriors together scored 438 runs. This became the largest match aggregate in WPL history so far.

rcb vs up warriors

The match played between RCB Women and UP Warriorz Women in Lucknow on 8 March 2025 became the highest-aggregated match in WPL history. Both the teams together scored a total of 438 runs and 15 wickets fell in this match. The match lasted only 39.3 overs, but the run rate was 11.08, which is one of the highest in league history.

In this match, RCB’s batsmen demonstrated power heating and UPW also chased the target brilliantly. However, RCB’s score proved to be huge.

Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

A total of 403 runs were scored in the match between Gujarat Giants (GG Women) and RCB Women in Vadodara on 14 February 2025. This match was also entirely in the name of the batsmen. RCB made a great start, but Gujarat Giants also gave a tough fight. Both the teams together made this score by losing 9 wickets and the run rate was 10.46.

Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

In the first season of WPL itself, Gujarat Giants and RCB together played a high-scoring match of 391 runs. This match lasted 40 overs and during this the run rate was 9.77. At that time, such big scores were rarely seen in women’s T20 matches.

Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

On March 11, 2025, in the match played between Mumbai Indians women’s team and RCB Women in Brabourne, 387 runs were scored. Both the teams displayed excellent batting. In this match, the in-form batsmen of Mumbai and RCB gave a lot of entertainment to the audience.

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals

In the first match of the season between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals Women, both the teams together put 386 runs on the board. RCB’s batting may have scored fast runs, but Delhi also gave equal competition to Bangalore.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is considered to be the most aggressive and high-scoring league in the world. Here, explosive innings by batsmen, explosive fours-sixes and big targets are common. However, there have been many such shameful moments in this league when the entire batting order of the teams surrendered and very few runs were added on the scoreboard. Let’s take a look at the five lowest team scores in IPL history, which are still recorded as shameful records.

Royal Challengers Bangalore – 49 runs (2017, Kolkata)

The lowest score in IPL history is not of any other team, but of Royal Challengers Bangalore with star players. On 23 April 2017, the entire RCB team was out for just 49 runs against KKR in Kolkata. RCB’s batting order fell apart like a pack of cards on the Eden Gardens pitch. The team could not even play 9.4 overs. This was the match which even today RCB fans do not want to remember.

Rajasthan Royals – 58 runs (2009, Cape Town)

The 2009 season was played in South Africa. Rajasthan Royals team was bundled out for just 58 runs against RCB in Cape Town. The team kept trying to hold on to the pitch for 15.1 overs, but the batsmen looked completely helpless in front of the pace of the bowlers.

Rajasthan Royals – 59 runs (2023, Jaipur)

Even after so many years, RR has made another shameful record in its name. On 14 May 2023, once again against RCB, Rajasthan team was reduced to 59 runs in just 10.3 overs. Even the fans could not understand such performance of the batsmen on home ground.

Delhi Daredevils – 66 runs (2017, Delhi)

Delhi scored only 66 runs against Mumbai Indians at their home ground Feroz Shah Kotla on 6 May 2017. The team’s run rate was 4.82 and the batting order looked completely disintegrated. This was the match which exposed the weak batting of Delhi.

Delhi Daredevils – 67 runs (2017, Mohali)

The year 2017 was no less than a nightmare for Delhi. In the same season, against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Mohali, the entire team was once again reduced to just 67 runs. This match proved to be embarrassing for Delhi while batting first.

Many records have been made in T20 cricket, but there is one record which has become the definition of “impossible” even today. This is a feat which perhaps no batsman will be able to touch in the coming years. We are talking about India’s run machine Virat Kohli, who created such a history in the T20 format in the year 2016 that no one has been able to break till date.

973 runs in one tournament!

Virat Kohli, while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2016 season, scored 973 runs in just 16 matches. This is the highest number of runs scored by a player in any T20 tournament. Kohli was in full “Virat mode” that season. He scored a total of 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries in the entire season, while his highest score was 113 runs.

His batting was so tremendous that the bowlers of the opposing team looked helpless in every match. Kohli hit 83 fours and 38 sixes in that season. That means 498 runs were scored from boundaries alone. This figure shows how he dominated the opposition team in every match.

RCB had reached the final, but…

Thanks to Virat’s bat, RCB had reached the final, but Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) broke their dream of winning the title. RCB had to face defeat by 8 runs in the final, and Kohli’s team’s dream of winning the trophy remained unfulfilled. However, after that season, Virat Kohli’s name got registered in the golden letters of cricket history.

Kohli’s wish fulfilled after 18 years

After the defeat of IPL 2016, RCB came close again and again but could not win the trophy. Finally, in the year 2025, RCB created history. The team won the IPL trophy for the first time. Virat Kohli had tears of joy in his eyes after defeating Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Anushka Sharma, the entire team staff and fans, all celebrated this victory like an “emotional festival”.

Virat Kohli’s T20 statistics

Virat Kohli has so far scored 13,543 runs in 414 T20 matches, in which his average is more than 41. In IPL alone, he has scored 8,661 runs in 267 matches, which includes 8 centuries and 63 half-centuries. Even in IPL 2025, his bat spoke volumes. He again became the most reliable batsman with 657 runs in 15 matches.