ipl 2023

For 2 months a year, most of India is glued to a strange love. In this ep, Chuck and Tony are joined by Nitin Sundar to help understand how to learn to stop worrying and start loving the IPL.

Add one part news, one part bad jokes, one part Wikipedia research, one part cult references from spending too much time on the internet, one part Wodehouse quotes, and one part quality puns, and you get Simblified.

A weekly podcast to help you appear smarter, to an audience that knows no less! Your four hosts - Chuck, Naren, Srikeit, and Tony attempt to deconstruct topics with humor (conditions apply). Fans of the show have described it as "fun conversations with relatable folks", "irreverent humor", "the funniest thing to come out of Malad West" and "if I give you a good review will you please let me go".

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Rohit Sharma's Mumbai have sailed into Qualifier 2 of this T20 season after completely destroying Lucknow in Wednesday’s Eliminator, with the help of some super tight bowling and fielding!

Rohit Sharma elected to bat first at Chepauk and his team scored 182/8 with Cameron Green top-scoring with 41 while the pick of Lucknow's bowlers was Naveen ul Haq who finished with 4/38. In reply, Lucknow's chase just never took off and the three run outs didn't help much as the team was bowled out for 101. Akash Madhwal finished with stunning figures of 5/5 in his 3.3 overs.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd. 

Gujarat have looked the most dominant team this season and entered the playoffs as the top ranked team following the league stage, but if there was any team that knows how to play the playoffs - it's Chennai. MS Dhoni's team had the added advantage of playing this first Qualifier at home at the Chepauk and they made the most of it, winning the match by 15 balls to spare.

First things first, Shubman Gill did not score another century, since he does seem to be on such a streak. He made 42. MS Dhoni also got to bat and scored 1 off 2 as Chennai posted 172/7 after being put into bat first by Hardik Pandya. That, however, proved more than enough as Gujarat lost by 15 runs.

Chennai now go through to Sunday’s final but Gujarat aren't out of the tournament, but have another shot at reaching the final when they play Friday's Qualifier 2 against the winner of Wednesday night's Eliminator between Lucknow and Mumbai. 

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd. 

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Renowned cricket journalist Shashank Kishore joins Dhruv Mullick towards the end of IPL 2023!

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In 2015, Mumbai did the Indian cricket team a great favour, by providing an unknown youngster from Baroda with a platform to shine. Eight years later, the player, Hardik Pandya, returned Mumbai the favour, as his team, Gujarat knocked Bangalore out with a six-wicket win in the last league-stage match of the season.

Put to bat first, Bangalore scored 197 runs, as Virat Kohli scored his seventh century in this competition, and subsequently, creating a new record. But from the opposition, Shubman Gill not only matched it, but he even bettered it, as his unbeaten 104-run knock took Gujarat over the line.

Barring Kohli, none of the Bangalore batters turned up, with the experienced batters now being subjected to a few difficult questions. Having scored only 140 runs this season, Dinesh Karthik was dismissed on a golden duck, whereas an in-form Glenn Maxwell scored merely 11 runs.

Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad starred with the ball for Gujarat, combining effectively to pick up three wickets, and concede just 63 runs in their eight overs. The visitors lost Wriddhiman Saha early, but Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar built a 123-run partnership, which eventually proved to be match-defining.

Following Shankar’s dismissal, Gill took the onus on himself to get his team over the line, which he did by scoring an unbeaten 52-ball 104. Not only did his knock secure a couple of points for his team, but it also booked Mumbai’s place in the playoffs, subsequently calling curtains to Bangalore’s campaign.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd. 

Lucknow became the third team to qualify for the 2023 Indian T20 League playoffs, courtesy of a hard-fought one-run triumph over Kolkata, at the Eden Gardens. Subsequently, the two-time champions’ campaign also comes to a conclusion.

Put to bat first, Lucknow scored 176 runs, with Nicholas Pooran’s half-century, and Ayush Badoni’s supporting act rescuing the team from a precarious position. In response, Kolkata were just a run short, with Rinku Singh’s 33-ball 67 not yielding two points.

Lucknow had a difficult start with the bat, as Kolkata’s uncapped pace pairing of Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora did a decent job. They combined to bowl seven overs, wherein they conceded just 51 runs and also picked up three wickets.

At one stage, Lucknow were reeling at 73/5, but Pooran and Badoni’s sixth-wicket stand changed the complexion of the game. The Caribbean wicketkeeper-batter was the star of the show, scoring 58 runs in 30 deliveries.

Kolkata had a flying start with the bat, until the introduction of the spin trio of Krunal Pandya, Krishnappa Gowtham and Ravi Bishnoi. They worked wonders for the team that donned green and maroon in this game, as a tribute to ATK Mohun Bagan, with Rinku ending up on the losing side, despite yet another herculean effort.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd. 

Rajasthan have had a messy May in this Indian T20 League which meant they needed a win on Friday night to stay alive in the tournament and they managed that, beating Punjab by 4 wickets in Dharamsala.

It was both teams’ last league stage match which means Punjab are out of the tournament and Rajasthan now move up to the fifth position in the points table. Their qualification hopes will depend very heavily on the result of RCB and Mumbai's games over the weekend as victory for either team will mean automatic elimination for Sanju Samson's team.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd. 

Mohsin Khan bowled a solid final over, not allowing Mumbai to score the 11 they needed for a win, and Lucknow are now back strongly in contention for a spot in the playoffs of the 2023 season of the Indian T20 League.

Riding on Macus Stoinis' unbeaten 89, Lucknow posted 177/3 after being put into bat first by Rohit Sharma in Lucknow while Mumbai managed to score just 172/5 despite having Tim David and Cameron Green at the crease.

The win takes Lucknow to the third spot in the points table, with 15 points from 13 matches and just one more match left to go. Mumbai also have just the one league match left, against Hyderabad, as they are now placed fourth in the table with 14 points from 13 games.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Llyod. 

So much to celebrate for Mumbai on Tuesday night. A 6 wicket victory over Bangalore at home that has helped them jump five spots in the points table to third, with 12 points.

The victory in front of their home fans also came with 21 balls to spare which has boosted the team's net run rate that will come handy in two week's time when teams fight for playoff berths.

The star of the night though was Mumbai's SKY who smashed a solid 35-ball 83 in the chase to get the team to within 8 runs of the victory after Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell scored half centuries to help Bangalore post 199/6.

Mumbai were in trouble at 52/2 in 5 overs with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan out, but Surya played a magical knock, and partnered with Nehal Wadhera help the team seal two vital points.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd.

Andre Russell is back! After a below par season so far in the Indian T20 League, the Kolkata veteran smashed sixes and fours at will on Monday night at the Eden Gardens to help the team chase down Punjab's 179/7 and collect two vital points that help in keeping their campaign alive.

Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring a half century, his third this season, but one that came off 41 deliveries. The team completed their 15 overs at 124/5.  Harpreet Brar and Shahrukh Khan then switched gears, smashing a few big fours and sixes as Vaibhav Arora’s 19th over went for 15  and Harshit Rana’s 20th went for 21 runs to help Punjab post 179/7. Varun Chakravarthy picked 3/26 in his 4 overs. 

In reply, Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 38 for the first wicket before Nathan Ellis sent back the Afghan batter on 15. Skipper Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer collaborated to score 51 for the third wicket with Rana contributing with a handy half century. By the time he got out in the 16th over, 56 needed from 29 deliveries. But Rinku Singh and Andre Russell were at the crease.

Nathan Ellis went for 15 runs in the 17th over and it was then 36 needed from 18 balls. Arshdeep went for 10 but Sam Curran then was hit for 3 straight sixes by Andre Russell and the equation was down to 6 needed from 6.

Arshdeep Singh bowled the final over and 2 were needed from the final 2 deliveries when Russell got run out. 2 then were needed off the last ball and Rinku Singh at the crease, and he hit a four to help Kolkata seal their fifth win of the season.

This podcasts series is brought to you in association with Llyod.

Last-over drama in the match between Rajasthan and Hyderabad on Sunday night in Jaipur saw Hyderabad finish on top and collect two vital points that helps them move out of the bottom spot in the standings.

Rajasthan batted first and scored a solid 214/2 with Jos Buttler returning to form with 95 and Sanju Samson scoring an unbeaten 66.

In reply, Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma top-scored with 55 but it was Glen Phillips, playing in place of Harry Brook, that turned the game, smashing Kuldip Yadav for 24 runs in the 19th over. Eventually, 17 were needed off the last over with Sandeep Sharma bowling to Abdul Samad and Marco Jansen. The equation in the end was 5 needed off the last ball when Samad was caught. However, it was a no ball and in the free throw that followed, Samad smashed a six and Hyderabad won the game by 4 wickets.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Llyod.

Delhi’s campaign seems to be getting on track as they’ve beaten Bangalore by 7 wickets in Saturday’s night match in the Capital to win their fourth match in the last five outings.

The 2 points from the clinical performance against Bangalore takes Delhi's tally to 8 points this season as they finally move up from the last position in the standings table, and are now ninth with eight points.

Bangalore elected to bat first and opener Virat Kohli scored a half century while Faf du Plessis made 45. Mahipal Lomror played a key innings, scoring 54 off 29 as the team posted 181/4. Delhi's all-rounder Mitch Marsh picked 2 wickets for 21, including the scalps of Faf and Glenn.  

The chase was near-perfect. Phil Salt, opening with David Warner, added 60 for the first wicket before Warner fell on the first ball of the sixth over to Josh Hazlewood on 22. Salt though put up a solid performance, anchoring the chase to score 87 and by the time he got out, to Karn Sharma, just 11 more runs were needed with over 4 overs remaining.

Delhi eventually won with 20 balls to spare. 

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Llyod.

A one-sided game through and through and MS Dhoni's Chennai have collected two points with a 6 wicket win over Mumbai on Saturday evening at the Chepauk.

MS Dhoni won the toss on his home ground and elected to bowl first. Mumbai moved their top three around a bit with Cameron Green opening with Ishan Kishan, and Rohit Sharma batting at number three, but none of it worked with all three batters out by the end of the third over- Cameron on 6, Ishan on 7 and Rohit on a duck- his second straight duck of the season and fifth single digit score this season. Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera then stabilised the innings adding 55 for the fourth wicket but Surya then fell on 26 to Ravindra Jadeja in the 11th over and the team was at 69/4. Nehal though went onto score his first fifty of the season, scoring 64 to help Mumbai post 139/8.

Chennai were quick to get off the blocks as easy sixes and fours flowed from the bats of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad as they posted 46 in 4 overs. Piyush Chawla got Mumbai a wicket in the fifth, sending back Gaikwad on 30. Rahane scored 21, Ambati made 12 but the target was always comfortably within reach. They lost 4 wickets by the end as Dhoni finished it off. Chennai won with 14 balls to spare.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd.

Kolkata have beaten Hyderabad by 5 runs in Thursday's Indian 20 League fixture in another last-over fixture this season.

Kolkata won the toss and elected to bat first in Hyderabad and posted 171/9 with Rinku Singh top-scoring with 46 and skipper Nitish Rana making 42. Hyderabad's Marco Jansen set the tone early, striking twice in his first over and then Karthik Tyagi got the crucial wicket of Jason Roy as Hyderabad were 35/3 within 5 overs. The team recovered to get to 127/5 after 14.2 overs with Rinku and Nitish scoring 61 for the fourth wicket, but once they got out, the team couldn’t switch gears at the right time and ended up with 171/9.

Hyderabad’s chase was slow to get off the blocks with Mayank, Abhishek, Rahul Tripathi and Harry Brook out by the 7th over and the team was 61/4. Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram stitched a 70-run fifth wicket stand to get the team to 48 needed from 36. The equation in the end was  9 needed from 6 but Varun Chakravarthy managed to bowl a tight over and conceded just 3 as Kolkata won by 5 runs.

This podcast series sis brought to you in association with Lloyd.

Mumbai are back! Rohit Sharma’s team chased down Punjab’s 214/3 with ease in Mohali on Wednesday night to pick up two vital points and move to the sixth spot in the league standings with 10 points. Punjab are now placed seventh, with as many points.

Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to chase. Arshad Khan got the team a wicket in the second over, sending back Prabhsimran Singh on 9. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan scored 30 but the star of the Punjab innings was Liam Livingstone who remained unbeaten on 89. He added 119 runs for the fourth wicket with Jitesh Sharma as the home team posted 214/3. Piyush Chawla was the pick of Rohit’s bowlers, picking 2/29 while Jofra Archer had a forgettable outing as he picked no wicket and gave away 56 runs.

Mumbai’s chase had an early setback with skipper Rohit Sharma falling on a duck on the third delivery itself to Rishi Dhawan. Ishan Kishan and Cameron Green though stabilised the innings with 54 runs for the second wicket before Suryakumar Yadav and Kishan smashed 116 runs off 55 deliveries for the third wicket. Ishan scored 75, Surya made 66 but by the time both returned to the dressing room, the equation was about 21 needed from 18 and Tilak Verma and Tim David closed the victory.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd.

The last placed team in the league took down the table-toppers in another last ball thriller of the Indian T20 League, on Tuesday night. David Warner's Delhi managed to defend 130 successfully against Gujarat in Ahmedabad and pick up just their third win of the season to stay in contention for a spot in the playoffs.

David Warner won the toss in Ahmedabad and elected to bat first. Mohammed Shami though came to the party- picking a wicket on the first ball, sending back Phil Salt. Next over, David Warner was run out on 1, and then Shami continued his rampage, sending back Rilee Rossouw, Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg to reduce Delhi to 23/5 in 5 overs. A late order fightback though helped Delhi get to a respectable total with Axar Patel scoring 27, Aman Khan making a half century and Ripal Patel adding 23 as the team posted 130/8. Apart from Shami, Mohit Sharma picked two wickets.

An easy chase, you'd think?

You'd be proven wrong because Gujarat too lost some early wickets and were down to 33/4 in 7 overs. Skipper Hardik Pandya though held fort at one end, scoring a half century and got the equation down to 33 needed from 12. Rahul Tewatia hit Anrich Nortje for 3 sixes in the 19th over and 12 were needed off 6. Ishant Sharma though conceded only 6 and Delhi won the match by 5 runs to stay alive in the tournament. 

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd. 

Bangalore successfully defended the season's lowest total to move up to the fifth position in the league standings, with 10 points alongside 4 other teams.

After electing to bat first, Faf du Plessis' team scored 126/9 but bowled KL Rahul's Lucknow out for 108 to win the game by 18 runs.

A competitive match but Virat Kohli's on-field tussle with Gautam Gambhir after the game turned things sour for the teams.

Gujarat served a masterclass in chasing on Saturday evening at the Eden Gardens, beating Kolkata by 7 wickets. From needing 69 from 36 balls at one stage of the chase, to finishing the game with 13 balls to spare - Gujarat's middle order delivered to help the team move up to the top spot in the league standings, with 12 points.

Kolkata were put into bat first by Hardik Pandya after he won the toss and the team posted 179/7 at the Eden Gardens. Jagadeesan and Shardul Thakur were out early as Kolkata completed 10 overs at 84/2. But Josh Little’s 11th over had him get the wickets of Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana and Kolkata were suddenly in trouble at 88/4, just one over later.  It was Afghan opener Rahmanullah though who saved the innings with his 39-ball 81 that was assisted by Andre Russell’s 19 ball 34 to help Kolkata post 179/7. Mohammad Shami picked 3/33 while Noor Ahmad and Josh little picked 2 wickets each.

Shubman continued his good form in the chase, scoring 49 while Saha scored 10 and Hardik Pandya made 26. After 12 overs, Gujarat were at 98/3 but David Miller and Vijay Shankar collaborated to get the team home. Varun Chakravarthy was smashed for 24 runs in the 18th over and the team needed 14 from the last 3. Vijay in fact completed his fifty, off 24 deliveries as Gujarat won with 13 balls to spare. 

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd and Domino's.

Chennai were on a three-game winning streak, and Rajasthan had lost their last couple of games before coming into Thursday's (27 April) fixture, but contrary to the popular prediction, Rajasthan emerged victorious at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Rajasthan batted first and scored 202 runs – a tournament record highest in Jaipur. In response, Chennai could only score 170 runs, with Sanju Samson's team recording a 32-run triumph.

Chennai struggled with the bat right from the start, with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway – the most dominating opening pair this season – scoring only 42 runs in the powerplay as opposed to Rajasthan's 64.

MS Dhoni's team was once reeling at 73/4, and it seemed that the game is all but done. But, Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube’s partnership brought them right back in the hunt, until Adam Zampa sent the Englishman packing. The Aussie spinner ended up with figures of 3-0-22-3.

Dube’s half-century took the game deep, but surprisingly, Dhoni did not come out to bat, sending Ravindra Jadeja ahead of him.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd and Domino's.

Kolkata are back in the game! Nitish Rana’s team have ended their four match losing streak with a 21-run victory over Virat Kohli’s Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday night.

After being put into bat first, Kolkata posted 200/5. Jason Roy gave the team another solid start, scoring his second straight half century as he and Jagadeesan added 83 runs for the first wicket before Vijaykumar Vyshak sent back both openers in the 10th over, with the score reading 88/2. Skipper Nitish Rana and Venkatesh Iyer then added 80 for the third wicket before once again Bangalore made twin breakthroughs in the same over - Hasaranga sending back both players in the 18th. A late flourish from Rinku Singh saw 18 runs come off 10 deliveries as the team posted 200/5.

In reply, Virat Kohli top-scored for Bangalore with 54 while 'Impact Player' Faf du Plessis scored just 17 today, and Maxwell made 5. The highest partnership of the innings was the fourth wicket stand between Virat and Lomror that made 55, but by the time they got out, the score was 121/5 and 80 were needed from 42. The remaining batters couldn’t do much - Dinesh Karthik got out on 22, David Willey stayed unbeaten on 11 and Vyshak on 13 as Bangalore ended their chase at 179/8.

This podcast series is brought to you in association with Lloyd and Domino's.