Toss Rajasthan Royals chose to bowl v Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rajasthan Royals will bowl first in their must-win encounter with Sunrisers Hyderabad in Jaipur. While Sunrisers come into this match nestled in fourth place on the points table - and with the confidence of their five-wicket win in the last meeting between these two teams - Royals are wedged down near the bottom of the table in seventh, needing to win all three of their remaining games in order to stay in contention.

Royals are without Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, while Jonny Bairstow has also departed Sunrisers' squad, with all three players returning to England for national duty. Royals have also been without Jos Buttler since he returned to England to be present for the birth of his first child last week.

Liam Livingstone and Ashton Turner have slotted into Royals' XI for Stokes and Archer, while Kane Williamson is back for Sunrisers after briefly returning to New Zealand following the death of his grandmother. Wriddhiman Saha also returns for his first IPL match this season, replacing Yusuf Pathan and taking the gloves from Bairstow. Siddarth Kaul is also back in Sunrisers' XI, in place of fellow fast bowler Sandeep Sharma.

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Riyan Parag, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Varun Aaron, 11 Oshane Thomas

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Deepak Hooda, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Siddarth Kaul

After winning four of their first five matches of this IPL season, Kolkata Knight Riders have lost their last six matches on the bounce. Their batting has come under plenty of criticism for the situation they find themselves in, but Andre Russell believes the blame lies elsewhere.

"We have a good team," Russell said on the eve of Knight Riders' match against Mumbai Indians. "But having a good team and making bad decisions, I think you will always lose games. And that's what we've been doing.

"I could pinpoint a few games where if we'd just looked to bowl tighter, and bowl bowlers who would restrict the game - the right bowlers at the right time [the results would've been different]. They say our batting has been struggling, but our batting hasn't been struggling really. We get the totals that we should defend, and we should restrict teams to lesser totals and go in and get those runs. And we don't really take our catches, we've been the worst fielding team so far. It's plain on TV, everyone's seeing it."

Russell has been Knight Riders' standout performer this season - with 406 runs at a strike rate of nearly 210, and eight wickets - but he says his team's performances have left him deflated.

"To be in this position is not the most healthiest," Russell said. "I find myself just being in my room for the last couple of days. Losing game after game… I'm not the type of guy to go walking around like I'm doing something good. Even if I score a half-century or get five wickets and we come out on the losing end, it doesn't make me want to leave my room.

"We as cricketers, we have to hold our passion inside and not show it on the television. I'm passionate inside. Sometimes it may show on the field. I may get upset at a team-mate for dropping a catch or not taking a half-chance. Because when we mess up, [opposition] guys take our half-chances. It's hard to go walking around, losing six games in a row. It's not healthy. I'm feeling down at the moment, but tomorrow when I cross that rope, my level will be 150."

As for his highly-debated batting position - he has himself advocated going higher up the order - Russell hinted at more flexibility in the matches to come.

"Yes, there have been conversations with the coach, and he's backing me to go in whenever the team needs me," Russell said. "Maybe tomorrow you'll see me a bit earlier, maybe I'll be coming in at the same lower-order spot. It all depends on what happens tomorrow. You can't predict the future.

"If we should get a good start, then maybe I'll just stay where I normally bat. I can go in at four-five overs to go, I'm happy doing that. If the team needs me to bat 12 overs tomorrow, I'm happy to bat 12. If they need me to bat three or four, that's my job."

Asked about the prospect of facing one of the best attacks in the IPL in Mumbai Indians, Russell said the pressure would be on the bowlers and not on him.

"I never fear any bowler. Never. Bowlers fear me! (laughter) I'm not bragging or anything," Russell said. "I can get out in one ball tomorrow, or the first ball they bowl can go for six. I'm not afraid to get out. It's not a life and death situation. You're giving yourself a chance to score runs, and they're trying to get you out.

"[Jasprit] Bumrah is a top bowler, [Lasith] Malinga - top bowler. But they're human beings. Tomorrow they can bowl a few balls that slip out of the fingers and don't come out like they normally come out - and I'm in business. I never back down."

The Eden Gardens crowd has witnessed four straight Knight Riders defeats. Russell was amazed that spectators were still packing the stands.

"It's been unbelievable to be honest. We keep losing game after game, but the stadium is always full," Russell said. "And I know Sunday we'll get another full crowd. It's just amazing.

"In the Caribbean, if I was playing for West Indies or Jamaica, and we lose six games in a row, you'll not see no fans to be honest. You're going to see a few die-hard fans, but you won't see the stadium full like this. People are going to say, 'you're not playing good cricket'. It's not like the English Premier League where guys look to fight. It's just amazing. I would appreciate if the stadium gets full tomorrow. That would really get me pumped, after hitting a boundary and taking a wicket to hear a big cheer. That would really keep us going."

Pakistan legspinner Shadab Khan has been given a two-week course of medication by doctors in England, along with a prescription of complete rest, in an attempt to cure the virus that ruled him out of their forthcoming series. He will now return home from London and undergo another round of blood tests in Lahore next month to determine his fitness for the World Cup.

Shadab was originally named in both squads for the England series and World Cup only to be ruled out two days after the announcement after failing a blood test. He was subsequently replaced with fellow legspinner Yasir Shah, while the PCB arranged an appointment with a London-based gastroenterology and hepatology specialist.

The possibility of being without Shadab, a key player over the last two years, would be major dent ahead of the World Cup, although the PCB is optimistic that he may still recover in time. The PCB can make changes to the squad without seeking ICC permission until May 23. After that date and through the tournament, the ICC's technical committee will process any replacement requests.

Shadab was the only frontline spinner named in Pakistan's original 17-man squad to tour England, however, the presence of Mohammad Hafeez, back after a thumb injury, and Imad Wasim gives them options in the spin department for a one-off T20I and a five-match ODI series between May 5 and 19.

Pakistan also have Mohammad Amir pushing for a World Cup spot, having been named alongside Asif Ali as the two men outside the World Cup 15. Amir's form over the past 18 months hasn't been good enough to win selection in the preliminary squad but he has the chance to push his case in familiar conditions - the country where his last ODI high point occurred in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy.

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World number one Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix semi-final against Anett Kontaveit with an abdominal injury.

The Japanese said she felt pain in her left abdomen during her victory over Donna Vekic in Stuttgart on Friday.

Osaka, 21, said she had to "roll out of bed" on Saturday morning and was unable to lift her upper body.

Estonian eighth seed Kontaveit will play either Petra Kvitova or Kiki Bertens in Sunday's final.

"It's an ab strain, something that I've had before," Osaka said.

"Thankfully, because I've had it so many times, I am able to tell what it is and I know what to do."

Florida-based Osaka will remain in Europe to have the injury assessed.

BROWNSBURG, Ind. – Rain throughout much of the day Friday mixed with more expected on Saturday has forced Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and Wayne County Speedway officials with no choice but to cancel Saturday’s event.

The event will not be rescheduled.

Much like the case with Attica Raceway Park on Friday, the Wayne County Speedway grounds were left heavily saturated with very little drying time available.

“We did everything we could. Considering all the weather that the track already received, as well as the threat of more weather tonight, we were backed into a corner,” Eric Walls said, All Star Series Director. “This has not been an easy month for our Series. Hopefully things turn the corner when we enter the month of May.”

FREMONT, Ohio – With nearly two inches of rain having fallen Thursday through Friday and a forecast of more rain later Saturday afternoon, Fremont Speedway officials have cancelled racing for Saturday.

“We probably could have had the track ready to go. Unfortunately the forecast calls for a good chance of more rain from four o’clock on, leaving us with no choice,” said Ryan Schiets, Chair of the Fremont Speedway Committee.

Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, May 4 as AmeriGas Propane Presents the Open Wheel Shootout.

It will be a Kistler Racing Products/All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by the Baumann Auto Group night for the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints paying $4,000 to the feature winner.

The K&L Ready Mix National Racing Alliance (NRA) Sprint Invaders will take on the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series non-wing sprints will be in action as well.