Two teams have been eliminated from the IPL 2026 playoffs race. Virat Kohli didn’t trouble the scorers again. Wicket-keeper batters had a record-breaking day in Chennai. Pat Cummins isn’t pleased with Cricket Australia’s contract. Is Bhuvneshwar Kumar bound for an India comeback?
LSG knocked out
LSG has become the first team to be eliminated from IPL 2026. After losing their 8th match of the season to CSK by 5 wickets in Chennai, LSG were knocked out. With three matches left, Lucknow can move up the ladder since they are the lowest-ranked team this year.
India comeback after 2.5 years?
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has reclaimed the purple cap from Anshul Kamboj after bagging a 4-fer against MI in Raipur. The 36-year-old fast bowler claimed three of the top four in the first three overs of the game, and then Tilak Varma was back in the 18th over. Bhuvneshwar might force the selector to call him back.
Urvil Patel’s day out
Josh Inglis returned and smashed a 17-ball fifty. He scored 77 runs in the powerplay alone and ended with 85 off 33. However, he was one-upped by Urvil Patel, who scored the joint-fastest IPL fifty in just 13 balls. Urvil guided CSK to a comfortable 5-wicket victory at Chepauk and kept them alive in the playoffs qualification race.
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MI eliminated
After the day game saw LSG get knocked out, it was MI’s turn to get eliminated in the night. After losing to RCB on the final ball of the match, the 5-time champions were officially out of IPL 2026. Like LSG, MI has also lost 8 of their 11 games and is placed second from the bottom.
Pat Cummins vs CA
At least 5 top Australian men’s cricketers haven’t signed their central contracts. Pat Cummins, among others, isn’t pleased with the money offered. Cummins has been offered INR 27.4 crore for a 3-year contract, but he can earn the same or more from just 1 year of franchise cricket. Some cricketers are even considering refusing contracts and playing as freelancers.
Kohli’s duck-worthy performance
Virat Kohli has bagged back-to-back ducks in IPL 2026. After Prince Yadav’s beauty, Kohli got out to Deepak Chahar’s outswinging delivery in Raipur. It was just the second occasion in the veteran’s 19-year IPL career that he got dismissed without troubling the scorers in consecutive innings.
