IPL 2015 Schedule: Fixtures, Start Times, Viewing Details and Predictions
We’ve seen all eight teams contesting this year’s Indian Premier League in action and already the competition has yielded plenty of scintillating hitting, blistering bowling and stunning fielding.
But expect the excitement levels to be cranked up even more as the tournament rolls on, with the standings beginning to take shape and teams starting to think about putting themselves in the best possible position to secure a playoff berth.
Here’s a look at the upcoming fixtures, who is poised to come out on top in the matches and all the information needed on where to catch the games.
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| April 12 | 11:30 a.m. | Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals | Rajasthan |
| April 12 | 3:30 p.m | Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab | Punjab |
| April 13 | 3:30 p.m | Royal Challengers Bangalore v Sunrisers Hyderabad | Bangalore |
| April 14 | 3:30 p.m | Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians | Mumbai |
| April 15 | 3:30 p.m | Kings XI Punjab v Delhi Daredevils | Punjab |
| April 16 | 3:30 p.m | Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals | Rajasthan |
| April 17 | 3:30 p.m | Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings | Chennai |
| April 18 | 11:30 a.m. | Sunrisers Hyderabad v Delhi Daredevils | Hyderabad |
Delhi Daredevils vs. Rajasthan Royals
After coming so close to springing a shock against the Chennai Super Kings in their opening match of the competition, the Delhi Daredevils will be hoping to build on that solid performance when they take on the Rajasthan Royals.
Albie Morkel’s superb batting hauled Delhi to within two runs of victory against Chennai and despite being the whipping boys of this competition in previous campaigns, there were positive signs from the Daredevils that this tournament could potentially be a lot more prosperous.
As noted by cricket statistician Mohandas Menon, the Daredevils have found it tough going in this competition in recent years:
The Royals look like a side ready to do some damage in this season’s tournament, though. They picked up a shock win of their own against the 2014 runners-up Kings XI Punjab, inspired by their core of classy Australian players. The star of the day was certainly James Faulkner, though.
As we can see here courtesy of Freddie Wilde of ESPN Cricinfo, the Baggy Greens all-rounder had a very special day:
Given their greater strength in depth and the momentum accrued from their win over Kings XI, expect a confident Royals team to have too much quality for the Delhi side.
The Daredevils have made some astute acquisitions ahead of this competition and will be much-improved overall. But Rajasthan are looking like a potential dark horse for this title and over the course of the 40 overs, they’ll be too good for their opponents.
Mumbai Indians vs. Kings XI Punjab
After losing last year’s final to Kolkata, Kings XI will have been desperate to get this year’s tournament off to the best possible start. But they were outclassed by Rajasthan last time out and will be keen on putting things right against Mumbai Indians.
The Indians had the unenviable task of going up against the reigning champions on their own turf in the competition curtain-raiser and they were well beaten on opening day. In Rohit Sharma, they have an outstanding opening batsman, though, and he showed his brilliance with a fine display at Eden Gardens.
He struck a superb unbeaten 98, and as we can see here courtesy of OptaJim, Sharma is a player who can score in so many different areas:
But aside from the opener and Corey Anderson, there was little to enjoy about Mumbai’s performance. Kings XI will be hopeful of capitalising on those frailties, but it’s imperative they get their own house in order first after that emphatic defeat to the Royals.
Their star performers failed to showcase their very best form on the day, with Virender Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell and Wriddhiman Saha all failing to catch fire with the bat. But given the quality they have within their ranks, it surely won’t be long until we see the kind of levels this lineup regularly reached in the previous campaign.
Mumbai could be the perfect opponent for them here. The strength in depth doesn’t seem to be quite there for the Indians in the bowling department, and given the talent in this Punjab team, those weaknesses will be capitalised on.
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