What you see on the live tab
Open the live tab and you'll see the current match scorecard at the top, with strike rate, balls per boundary, dot percentage, and projected fantasy points for each batter. Below the scorecard is the bowling card with economy rate, dot percentage, and wickets. Below that is the live captain pick card, which rotates suggestions every 15 minutes based on the live performance.
The live tab also shows the wagon wheel and pitch map for the current innings. The wagon wheel updates after every boundary. The pitch map shows where the ball pitched for each delivery, color-coded by line (yorker, full, good, short) and length (off, middle, leg). Both are interactive — tap a delivery to see the bowler's name, the batter's name, and the runs scored.
The live tab is built for one-handed use on a phone in a stadium. The buttons are 44px tall. The captain pick card sits above the fold so you can change your captain with one tap and one swipe. The scorecard is scrollable vertically. The wagon wheel and pitch map can be expanded to full screen.
How the captain pick updates during a live match
The captain pick model runs on a 15-minute refresh cycle during live matches. At each refresh, it reads the current strike rate, balls faced, boundaries hit, and dot percentage for every batter who has batted. It also reads the current economy rate, dot percentage, and wickets for every bowler who has bowled. It then recalculates the captain pick confidence for the top 5 candidates.
If a player significantly outperforms expectations — a quick 25 off 12, a maiden over with 2 wickets — the captain card rotates to suggest that player. The rotation is shown as a smooth slide animation. The previous captain's card slides to the left, the new captain's card slides in from the right. The change is highlighted with a small mint-green dot.
The refresh stops at the 18-over mark. After that, fantasy points are mostly locked in and captain changes don't help. The app shows a small timer that tells you exactly how many minutes remain before the refresh window closes. If you're at the stadium and can't check the app every 15 minutes, set a push notification for the captain pick rotation.
What the projected fantasy points mean
Projected fantasy points are an estimate of how many points each player will score by the end of the match, based on their current performance and the expected remaining balls. The model uses a regression against the last 14 days of IPL matches to project points per ball, then multiplies by the expected remaining balls.
Projected points are useful for captain pick decisions because they tell you which players have the highest ceiling. If two players are both on 30 runs, but one has faced 18 balls and the other has faced 35 balls, the first player's projected points are higher because they have a higher strike rate and more potential to score boundaries in their remaining balls.
Projected points are not guarantees. They are estimates. A batter projected for 65 might get out on the next ball and finish with 30. A bowler projected for 30 might take 3 wickets in their next over and finish with 75. Use projected points as a guide, not a verdict. The app shows the projection with a small confidence bar to remind you it's an estimate.
The match ticker on the homepage
The match ticker on the homepage shows three matches: one live, one upcoming, and one recently completed. The live match shows the current score and overs. The upcoming match shows the start time and toss time. The recently completed match shows the result.
The ticker auto-refreshes every 60 seconds. It uses the same live data feed as the live tab. If the live match is in a rain delay, the ticker shows a small umbrella icon and the words 'Rain delay'. If the live match has been abandoned, the ticker shows 'Abandoned' and a link to the next match.
The ticker is also where we surface breaking news. If a player is ruled out due to injury, if the toss is delayed, if the pitch report changes — the ticker shows the news as a headline below the match scores. The headline has a timestamp and a 'Read more' link.
Push notifications during a live match
The app sends three push notifications during a live match: at the toss, at the powerplay break (end of over 6), and at the death overs start (over 16). Each notification includes the captain pick suggestion, the live score, and the top 3 differential picks for the second innings if applicable.
The toss notification arrives 5 minutes after the official IPL feed confirms the toss. It includes the playing XI for both teams. The notification has a 'Change captain' button that opens the captain pick card directly. The powerplay break notification arrives 30 seconds after the 6th over ends. It includes the powerplay score, the dot percentage, and the captain pick suggestion update. The death overs notification arrives 30 seconds after the 16th over ends. It includes the projected final score and the captain pick suggestion for the death overs bowlers.
You can disable any of the three notifications in Settings. Most users keep all three on because they are spaced out enough that they don't feel spammy. If you're watching the match on TV, you might disable the powerplay notification because you'll already know the score. If you're at work and can't watch, keep all three on.
How to read the wagon wheel
The wagon wheel is a polar chart showing where the batter hit each ball that scored runs. The chart is divided into sectors: cover, point, third man, fine leg, square leg, midwicket, cow corner, long-on, long-off, straight. Each boundary or run is plotted as a line from the batter's position (the center) to the boundary or running region.
The wagon wheel tells you where the batter likes to score. A batter whose wagon wheel is heavy on the leg side is a spin-hitter. A batter whose wagon wheel is heavy on the off side is a pace-player. This affects captain pick decisions — if you're playing on a spin-friendly pitch, pick the leg-side heavy batter. If you're playing on a pace-friendly pitch, pick the off-side heavy batter.
The wagon wheel updates after every ball. If the batter hits a six over long-on, a line appears in that sector immediately. The animation is smooth — the line grows from the center to the boundary over 0.4 seconds. The wagon wheel can be expanded to full screen with a tap.
How to read the pitch map
The pitch map is a top-down view of the cricket pitch showing where each delivery pitched. Each ball is plotted as a colored dot: red for a wicket, yellow for a boundary, green for a dot, blue for a single or double. The dots are clustered in regions that show where the bowler is landing the ball.
The pitch map tells you what the bowler is trying to do. A bowler whose dots cluster on off-stump and middle-stump is bowling a tight line. A bowler whose dots cluster on leg-stump is trying to attack the stumps. A bowler whose dots scatter across the pitch is struggling with their line.
The pitch map also shows you which batters are good against which line. If a bowler is hitting off-stump and the batter is consistently scoring on the leg side, the batter has identified the bowler's line and is working the ball around. That batter is in form. Pick them as captain.
Live match etiquette: when to change your captain
Changing your captain too often is a tax. Every captain change uses a free transfer or costs you 100 points. If you change your captain 4 times in a match, you've used 400 points. That's a 50-run innings wasted. We see users do this. Don't be that user.
The right number of captain changes in a match is 1-3. Once at the toss to set the captain based on the toss outcome. Once mid-innings if there's a significant overperformer (a quick 25 off 12, a maiden over with 2 wickets). Once at the death if the match situation has changed. Three changes maximum.
Don't change your captain because one ball went badly. Don't change your captain because the previous batter got out and the new batter came in. The captain pick model updates every 15 minutes — let it do the work for you. If the model hasn't suggested a change, the change isn't worth making.