Cricket coverage: every format, every day
Live scores, editor notes, captain picks and tournament context across Test, ODI, T20I, IPL, BBL, CPL, PSL and county cricket - written by a desk that has covered the format since 2008.
What our cricket desk does best
IPL 2026 coverage
Match-by-match previews, captain picks, pitch reports, and post-game tactical reads across the eighteen home-and-away games and the playoffs.
ⓘInternational cricket
Test, ODI, T20I and the ICC events calendar, with editor reads on series context, squad composition and travelling conditions.
⊕T20 leagues
BBL, CPL, PSL, The Hundred, SA20, ILT20 - every franchise competition with squad trackers and local-condition notes.
≋Pitch and weather
Daily pitch reads from our consultant network, dew forecasts, and how grass length affects spinners versus pacers.
©Captain picks
Differential calls, expected-impact rankings and the match-ups our fantasy team leans into for every fixture.
↔Trade window
Player movement, salary retention and the rumour index for every franchise cricket window.
IPL 2026: where the desk stands today
The 2026 IPL entered its closing stretch on Monday with five teams still within reach of the playoffs. Our current net run-rate model puts Mumbai Indians at the top by a slim margin, with Royal Challengers close behind on tiebreakers. The remaining fixtures will be decided less by batting depth than by how each team uses its fifth bowler on slow surfaces in the second innings.
Read the captain-by-captain match-up notes, the venue-by-venue projections and the fantasy implications of each match in the daily brief.
Top eight on net run rate
Last fourteen days across all formats. Read it with a grain of salt - fixtures matter - but the trend is clear.
| Pos | Team | Mat | Won | Lost | NRR | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mumbai Indians | 14 | 9 | 4 | +0.872 | W W L W W |
| 2 | Royal Challengers | 14 | 9 | 5 | +0.461 | W L W W W |
| 3 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 14 | 8 | 5 | +0.318 | W W L W L |
| 4 | Chennai Super Kings | 14 | 8 | 6 | +0.122 | L W W L W |
| 5 | Sunrisers | 14 | 7 | 6 | -0.044 | W L W W L |
| 6 | Delhi Capitals | 14 | 6 | 7 | -0.190 | L W L L W |
| 7 | Rajasthan Royals | 14 | 6 | 8 | -0.215 | L L W L W |
| 8 | Punjab Kings | 14 | 5 | 9 | -0.388 | L L W L L |
Top three captaincy calls, ranked by expected impact
Hardik Pandya (MI)
Index: 89. All-rounder ceiling in a 200+ chase, with the ball responding to slower cutters on a used pitch. Differential options thin out if Hardik is rested.
Travis Head (SRH)
Index: 84. Powerplay impact against new-ball swing in evening conditions. We rate him above the obvious names on this surface.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK)
Index: 79. Anchor role in a Chepauk chase; lower ceiling but higher consistency if the surface grips.
How we cover each format
Different formats, different rhythms. The desk writes a different brief for each.
Test cricket
Day-by-day, session-by-session. The morning brief at 9 am, session notes at lunch and tea, and an end-of-day recap from our Test correspondent.
ODI cricket
Pre-match tactical preview, in-play phase notes around the 25-over and 40-over marks, and a closing-window read after the result.
T20 cricket
Innings splits: powerplay, middle overs, death. Three short reads per innings, plus a captain-cut fantasy angle.
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Our cricket brief lands at 7 am IST with the day's fixtures, captain picks and one tactical read. Free, no app download required.