Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stalwart M.S. Dhoni landed in Ranchi on Sunday after losing the Indian Premier League (IPL) virtual knockout against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to end their campaign in the tournament.

Chasing 219, CSK faltered in the middle overs after recovering from the sloppy start. Rachin Ravindra's 61-run and Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 42 failed to guide the defending champion over the line.

Despite finishing the campaign with 14 points same as RCB in the league stage, CSK failed to seal the berth due to the latter's superior net run rate.

With CSK ending their campaign in the IPL, fans and experts speculated that it could be Dhoni's final season for the franchise, but the veteran has kept his cards close to heart and headed back home after the match.

In a video that has gone viral on social media, Dhoni can be seen getting into his car outside the Ranchi airport on Sunday afternoon.

Coming at No.8, Dhoni played a knock of 25 runs off 13 balls with three fours and a six before Yash Dayal sent him back to the pavilion, crushing CSK's hopes of progressing to the playoffs.

In the IPL 2024 season, Dhoni accumulated 161 runs at a strike rate of 220.54 while batting deep down the order for Chennai. He also struck 14 fours and 13 sixes in the tournament.

With nothing concrete from the franchise and the legend himself, fans remain hopeful of Dhoni's return for the next IPL season.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins termed Abhishek Sharma as an 'amazing' talent and said he would refrain from bowling to the southpaw after a four-wicket win against Punjab Kings here on Sunday. Hyderabad finished their league engagements in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with 17 points from 14 matches and bolstered hopes of finishing in the top two. The top two spots will be decided after the conclusion of the final league-stage match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati.

Reflecting upon the season so far, Cummins lauded the youngsters including Abhishek Sharma for their consistent performances in the tournament.

"It's pretty cool, it's awesome. We have won 6 out of 7 here, it has been great. I didn't know many guys coming into this season, but we have played great cricket and had some fun. He (Abhishek) is amazing. I wouldn't want to bowl against him. He's scary," Cummins said during the post-match presentation at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Abhishek's blistering 66 runs off 28 balls was studded with five boundaries and six maximums and helped SRH earn two points in front of the enthusiastic home spectators. Heinrich Klaasen (42), Nitish Reddy (37), and Rahul Tripathi (33) also chipped in to take the side over the line while chasing 215.

Cummins is looking forward to the knockout stage of the tournament and is excited to play his first IPL final.

"Nitish is a class player, looks mature beyond his age, he is perfect for the top-order. Really satisfying. I haven't played in finals before. Playing some really good cricket, excited for what's ahead," the Australian pacer said.

Sharing his thoughts on his knock, Abhishek said he wanted to capitalise on his form and contribute to the team's success. "It's a matter of time for any batsman. My days are going good so I should utilise it for my team. I wanted to contribute as the target was big today. I think I have told this before, during SMAT (Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament) I was clear how I was going to play and dominate (during IPL)," the opener said.

"He (Brian Lara) was our coach as well, have done some work with him, and he's in touch. That's helping me now. Just waiting for the loose balls, I am going hard against them and trying to put them (bowlers) under pressure," he added.

The 23-year-old thanked the home crowd and pitch curator for making batting-friendly wickets throughout the season. "I was talking to Nitish, the more I was waiting it was getting easier for me. I was ready for that (playing against Harshal). I was trying to take a single but fortunately got a boundary (one of the balls.) I want to thank the crowd, with special mention to the pitch curator and groundsmen. They have given pitches that have suited our style," Abishek concluded.

 England wicketkeeper-batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore is in his maiden stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the 2024 season with Rajasthan Royals and said it has been an amazing experience for him, where he’s learned so many things.

“It's been absolutely mad, the atmosphere, the crowds. The kind of support we have been getting is amazing. For me spending a lot of time on the bench, and being able to watch the cricket, I have learned so much and it's been an amazing experience. Hopefully, we manage to get on a roll and get back to winning ways tonight,” Kohler-Cadmore told the official broadcaster ahead of RR’s clash against KKR at the Barsapara Stadium, where the toss is delayed due to rain.

Asked how the mood in the camp has been after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat to Punjab Kings in their last game, Kohler-Cadmore explained, “I don't think you'd be able to tell that we've lost four in a row. Great spirit among the lads, everyone is really close and confident. We all have each other's backing.”

“We had a great start and normally if you lose four in a row, then you might be struggling at the back end. But we have qualified and if we win tonight, we are guaranteed a top-two. We are in a great position and hopefully, we can get the ball rolling and get the confidence back.”

“You always want to win every game you play. We are going out there tonight to win. We can't control what happens in the future, but we can kinda control what happens tonight -- put in a good performance and then focus on the qualifiers.”

Guwahati is also the home ground of all-rounder Riyan Parag, who is RR’s top run-getter in IPL 2024 and fourth in the overall list with 531 runs from 13 matches, including four fifties while averaging 59 at a strike rate of 152.58.

“Very inspirational actually (on being with Riyan). I've followed his journey a little bit from afar. He's had a couple of tough years, he's had a lot of abuses and he's had a lot of people kind of hating on him.”

“For him to be able to come out this year and show everyone actually how good he is, the performance, the pressure he was under ... to be able to do it, I think we are seeing a future star in the making. I am sure he'll play a lot for India,” he concluded.

Rajasthan Royals fast-bowler Avesh Khan thinks his time in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 has been good so far but felt he hasn’t picked as many wickets he aimed to have in his kitty. Avesh is RR’s second leading wicket-taker in the competition with 13 wickets from as many matches.

“It has been a good season, but I haven’t got as many wickets as I’d have liked. I’ve been doing different roles for this team. When (Nandre) Burger was playing for us, I wasn’t getting to bowl in the power-play, but now I’ve been told to bowl in the power-play.”

“I’ve done well there and also at the death. I’ve been told to be prepared to be an all-phase bowler,” said Avesh to broadcasters ahead of RR’s clash against KKR at the Barsapara Stadium, where the toss is delayed due to rain.

His performances, though, have been good enough to land Avesh a spot as a reserve player for India in the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in the USA and the West Indies from June 1.

“The prep for that hasn’t started yet. I’m not part of the squad but since it is T20, anything could happen since everyone plays a lot of cricket. I’ll keep preparing and try to rectify the mistakes there. During an IPL season, you don’t get to practice that much because the games are back-to-back,” he added.

Asked what RR need to do to conclude the league stage well and enter playoffs with an optimistic mindset, Avesh said, “Just want to continue following the process. We have qualified already but we need to win one more. We want to focus on ourselves, not rely on other teams. Want to win today and get the momentum on our side after four defeats.”

“We discussed that the set batters need to take the game deep and the bowlers should look to focus on every delivery, rather than thinking of completing four overs. The fielding unit has also been told to sharpen up, give their 100%, and put in more effort.”

A scintillating half-century by opener Abhishek Sharma guided Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a comfortable four-wicket win over Punjab Kings PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Sunday. SRH finished their league stage campaign with 17 points in 14 matches and is currently placed at second spot in the points table. However, the final standings will be decided after the conclusion of the second match between table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.

Chasing 215 on their home ground, Hyderabad suffered an early blow as they lost opener Travis Head (0) on the first ball of the innings -- Arshdeep Singh clinching the wicket for Punjab in the power-play.

Rahul Tripathi came in to bat at No. 3 and joined Abhishek in the middle. The duo kept the scoring rate high, firing boundaries at regular intervals. In no time, SRH crossed the 50-run mark and went on in cruise mode before Harshal Patel gave PBKS a slight respite with the wicket of Tripathi in the fifth over. He was dismissed for 33 runs which included four fours and two sixes.

Nitish Reddy walked out to bat and kept the momentum going as SRH posted their third-highest power-play total after finishing 84-2 in six overs.

Meanwhile, Abhishek slammed his third fifty of the season, off 21 balls. He scored 66 runs in 28 balls including six sixes and five fours before losing his wicket to Shashank Singh in the 11th over. During his knock, he also created history by becoming the first Indian batter to smash 39 sixes in an IPL season. Previously, Virat Kohli held the record with 38 maximums in the 2016 edition of the tournament.

Nitish and Heinrich Klaasen continued the onslaught as SRH controlled the pace of the match throughout their innings. Reddy played a 37-run knock while Klaasen scored 42 off 26 runs to keep them ahead in the chase. Despite losing Shabaz Ahmed (3) and Klaasen (42) in the death overs, the win was a cakewalk for the home franchise. In the end, Abdul Samad (11*) and Sanvir Singh (6*) remained unbeaten as Hyderabad chased the target with five balls to spare.

For Hyderabad, Arshdeep and Harshal bagged two scalps apiece.

Earlier, Prabhsimran Singh's half-century coupled with Rilee Rossouw's 49 powered Punjab Kings to 214/5.

Playing his second game of the season, the left-handed opener Atharva Taide along with partner Prabhsimran gave PBKS a blazing start. The duo set the foundation for Punjab's total by unleashing carnage in the power-play. The openers scored at the rate of over 10 runs per over to make the most of the field restriction. After six overs, Punjab were 61 for no loss. Pacer T. Natrajan finally broke the partnership in the 10th over as Taide hit the ball into the hands of Sanvir Singh at point.

Rilee Rossouw joined Prabhsimran in the middle and carried the momentum forward in the middle overs. Meanwhile, the latter also completed his second half-century of the season. The batters steered Punjab to the 150-run mark and stitched a 54-run partnership for the second wicket before Prabhsimran departed after scoring a 45-ball 71 studded with seven fours and four sixes. This time, Sri Lanka spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth did the job for the home team.

The in-form Shashank Singh (2) failed to make his final game of the season memorable as his stay at the crease only lasted for four balls following a mix-up with Rossouw between the wickets in the 16th over.

Meanwhile, SRH skipper Pat Cummins trapped Rossouw on a slow full-toss in the 18th over and left Punjab without a set-batter for the final overs. The South African batter played a knock of 49 runs off 24 balls including four sixes and three fours.

Ashutosh Sharma (2) lost his wicket cheaply to Natrajan in pursuit of scoring at a brisk pace.

In the end, stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma's cameo of 14-ball 26 not out, laced with two sixes and as many fours, enabled them to touch the 200-run mark in the final over of the innings. For Hyderabad, Natrajan bagged two wickets while Cummins and Viyaskanth claimed one scalp each.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 214/5 in 20 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 71, Rilee Rossouw 49; T. Natrajan 2-33, Pat Cummins 1-36) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 215/6 in 19.1 overs (Abhishek Sharma 66, Heinrich Klaasen 42; Arshdeep Singh 2-37) by four wickets.