News Analysis India

Category: Sports

  • SRH seek to bounce back in clash against CSK

    Their unbeaten run in the tournament snapped by the ‘Gayle Storm’, Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to bounce back when they take on Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Hyderabad on Sunday.

    Both the Sunrisers and the Super Kings have six points each from four matches, having lost just one game so far, and a win by either side at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal will take them to the top of the table.

    The Sunrisers began their IPL campaign with three wins on the trot before they were stopped on their tracks by West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle, who played a special innings of 104 not out off 64 balls at Mohali on Thursday.

    The Kane Willamson-led side will have to forget the battering of his bowlers by Gayle and quickly regroup against the Super Kings who, despite having to shift their home venue to Pune due to the Cauvery water dispute, have been doing very well.

    After winning their first two matches, the Super Kings slumped to a defeat against Kings XI Punjab before bouncing back with a 64-run win over Rajasthan Royals on Friday on the back of smashing century (106 from 57 balls) from veteran Australian Shane Watson.

    Watson has been in fine touch with both the bat and ball, thereby proving his utility as a top-class all-rounder. He is currently the top scorer and top wicket-taker for CSK but on Sunday he will be up against one of the most balanced sides in this IPL.

    All the front line bowlers of the Sunrisers — Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Billy Stanlake and Shakib-al-Hasan — have been among the top wicket-takers so far this season though young Afghan spinner Rashid Khan is struggling a bit with just three wickets from four matches. He was taken to the cleaners by Gayle in their last match, conceding 55 runs for one wicket.

    Kaul has six wickets while Kumar, Stanlake and Shakib have taken five wickets each.

    For CSK, Watson is the top bowler with six wickets to his name. Man to man, the Sunrisers have been a better side in the bowling department. In fact, they are touted as the most balanced bowling unit of this IPL.

    In the batting department, the Super Kings have a lot of depth. They have batsmen who can play shots well up to the number seven spot. Watson has been leading the charge but Ambati Rayudu and captain and stalwart Mahendra Singh Dhoni are also doing a decent job with the bat.

    But Englishman Sam Billings and West Indian Dwayne Bravo have not done much after hitting a half century each, and both would be looking to do better, going ahead.

    For the Sunrisers, Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan are the main batsmen in their side. They have been playing that role very well so far though Dhawan had to retire hurt in their last match against Kings XI Punjab after being hit by the ball on his elbow.

    SQUADS

    Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Rashid Khan Arman, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sandeep Sharma, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Billy Stanlake, Siddharth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Shreevats Goswami, Basil Thampi, T. Natarajan, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Ricky Bhui, Sachin Baby, Tanmay Agarwal.

    Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, K M Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan.

  • Legspinners have stolen thunder in IPL: Kapil Dev

    Wrist spinners have become the toast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) so much so that a successful off-spinner like Ravichandran Ashwin, too, has been keen to try bowling leg breaks, feels cricket legend Kapil Dev.

    “Everybody has a different bowling attack, depending on which pitch they are playing. But what we have come to know from the first or second IPL (till) now, is that the most successful bowler to come out is the leg-spinner,” Kapil Dev told PTI in Mumbai.

    The 1983 World Cup-winning captain spoke on the sidelines of a live cricket comedy show, which is co-produced by Greymatter Entertainment.

    “Every team has their leg-spinner. Even a bowler like (Ravichandran) Ashwin, he likes to bowl more leg-spin than off spin. That shows the leg-spinners are more successful than anybody else,” Kapil said to buttress his point.

    Ashwin is leading Kings XI Punjab this IPL season, after having turned out for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants in past editions.

    In the current edition of the T20 league, leg-spinners have been largely successful with Mumbai Indians’ rookie Mayank Markande shining in the first three games for his franchise.

    Sunrisers Hyderabad, too, have a good leg-spinner in Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, while his compatriot Mujeeb Ur Rahman is also a wrist spinner who plays under Ashwin.

    Even the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore possess a successful leggie in Yuzvendra Chahal.

    Quizzed why leg spinners are more successful, Kapil quipped, “Can’t really put a reason, but that is a wicket-taking bowler. It is difficult and not easy (to read them) and every team loves to have a leg-spinner.”

    The 59-year-old former cricket pointed out how a leggie like Karn Sharma had edged out experienced offie Harbhajan Singh for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals on Friday.

    “Karn is playing, not Harbhajan (Singh), so Chennai is playing with two leg-spinners (the other being Imran Tahir).

    So everybody is there with an extra leg-spinner.

    “I think that is where in spinners you don’t see so many off-spinners, you don’t see left-arm spinners so much, but you see leg spinners definitely,” Kapil added.

    He also praised Markande, who had bamboozled Chennai Super Kings in the league opening game at the Wankhede Stadium.

    “He (Markande) is good and if you are a good leg spinner, it always adds on to the team,” Kapil said.

    The great all-rounder also hailed India pacer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar as a mature bowler.

    “He (Bhuvaneshwar) had been excellent in the last three years, why only this one (IPL), he is fabulous, more mature and sensible,” said the former India pace spearhead, who ended his career with 434 Test wickets.

    Asked whether the IPL is more of a batsman“s game, Kapil said, “From 100 years, it’s (cricket) a batsman’s game, it’s never been a bowler’s game even though in the last 10 years (of the IPL), so many good things have come out from the bowlers — knuckle-balls and slow bouncers.

    “T20 is (not only) for batsmen (but) is there for everybody and you need to improve your skill.”

  • Watson Ton Helps CSK Register Comprehensive Win Over Rajasthan

    Shane Watson starred with the bat, scoring a ton before bowlers completed the job as Chennai Super Kings registered a clinical 64-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals in Pune – the new home of CSK – on Friday.

    Put into bat, Chennai Super Kings openers Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson put up 50 runs for the first wicket, with Watson being particularly aggressive. He was dropped in the first over as Rahul Tripathi dropped a sitter at first slip, something the Royals were made to pay for.

      After Rayudu’s departure, Suresh Raina – who was returning after an injury – scored a blistering 46 off just 29 deliveries, with 9 boundaries as he put on a 81-run stand for the second wicket with Watson going big at the other end.

    Royals did manage to fight back as leg spinner Shreyas Gopal got Raina, MS Dhoni and Sam Billings in quick succession. He was the standout bowler, picking 3/20 in his 4 overs.

    But Royals didn’t have an answer to their former player, who was particularly brutal and was clearing boundaries at will. He hit six sixes and nine boundaries in his innings, and scored 104 off just 57 balls, at strike rate of 186.

    Binny, Gowtham, Stokes and Unadkat all felt Watson’s force as CSK ended at 204/5.

    For Royals to have any sort of a chance, they needed a bright start but CSK bowlers ensured that there weren’t any easy runs on offer.

    Thakur removed Klaasen and Chahar picked up Rahane & in-form Sanju Samson as Royals were reduced to 32/3.

    Buttler and Stokes did get together, to put up 45-runs for the fourth wicket to spark some sort of a contest but then Bravo got Buttler off a slower ball to extinguish all hopes.

    CSK used 7 bowlers and almost all of them were among wickets with Chahar, Thakur, Bravo and Sharma picking two each while Tahir and Watson getting one each.

    It was a comprehensive performance by CSK in what is to be their home ground for the remainder of the season

  • Streak Hints at KKR’s Plans to Get Gayle Out Early

    After Chris Gayle blasted a 63-ball 104 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling coach Heath Streak on Friday hinted that they will look to get the dynamic West Indies batter back in the hut early when they take on Kings XI Punjab here.

    Gayle’s whirlwind hundred, his sixth in the Indian Premier League (IPL), helped Punjab ease past Hyderabad by 15 runs at Mohali on Thursday night.

    Gayle hit 11 sixes and took the best T20 bowler in the world, Rashid Khan, to the cleaners smashing the Afghanistan spinner for four consecutive sixes.

    “Lot of people always ask us, the bowling coaches ‘what’s the plan’. It is very difficult for us to say because then he’ll find out. So we can’t really tell you the exact plan. He is a dangerous player,” Streak told reporters when asked about plans to contain Gayle on the eve of their Punjab game at the Eden Gardens here.

    “How you start to him is very important early on. If you allow someone like Chris to get into his innings and rhythm and confidence, he is a very dangerous player. He is so powerful and backs his ability when the ball is in his zone to clear the boundary,” said the former Zimbabwe captain.

    “Last night was one of many examples we have seen not just in IPL but in his career. We will be planning well for him as well as the other players,” Streak added.

    Gayle was not picked in the IPL auctions initially before Punjab decided to take T20 cricket’s most successful batsman for his base price of Rs.2 crore.

    Dropped for the first two games, Gayle helped Punjab beat Chennai Super Kings by notching up a 33-ball 63 before the hundred.

    Streak was asked about the West Indians having a gala time in the IPL. Led by Gayle, KKR’s Andre Russell and Mumbai Indians’ Evin Lewis are in the top-10 highest run-getters so far this IPL while all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine have also done well for Chennai and KKR respectively.

    “They (West Indians) get bored by playing the long format of the game,” Streak said.

    “A lot of them are playing all the leagues around the world, if you look at guys like Andre and Sunil (Narine) from our team and others in the tournament like (Keiron) Pollard. They play in PSL, CPL, BBL, IPL. They are becoming highly specialised in this format of the game, whereas some of the others play all the three formats of the game,” Streak said.

    Coming to KKR, the hosts will also go into the game high on confidence after registering a convincing seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.

    This was their second win in a row after succumbing to two back-to-back defeats.

    Asked about new captain Dinesh Karthik and whether he is getting into the groove after taking over the mantle from Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s most successful captain, Streak said, ” Although he is new at IPL level and hasn’t had much experience, his leadership qualities are really good.

    “He is a highly detailed person, his attention to small things is good and he has shown that even when you watch him bat. He brings that composure and reads the situation well.”

    Streak lauded his under-fire pace battery for doing well in the last two games, saying as the tournament wears on they will get much better.

    “If we just look at barring Sunrisers (Hyderabad), it has been tough for seamers in IPL on really good wickets.

    “In the last couple of games, our seamers have been outstanding and I have been very impressed especially with young (Shivam) Mavi. He has been outstanding. Our seamers will get better and better. It’s difficult to replace someone of the calibre of Mitchell Starc but I think the guys we do have, have got the attributes.”

  • CSK Fan Breaches Security to Touch Dhoni’s Feet During Rajasthan Tie

    New Delhi: If there is one team who has the biggest fan-following in the Indian Premier League, it has to be Chennai Super Kings. Returning to the league after a gap of two years, the support has not diminished one bit for the team.

    For the fans skipper MS Dhoni is a demigod, and is certainly their favourite player. Such is his influence that MSD never ceases to hog the limelight. On Friday, in the match against Rajasthan Royals, that CSK won by 64 runs, when Dhoni walked out to bat after the fall of Suresh Raina’s wicket, a fan ran breached the security to touch his feet. A video of the same has surfaced online.

    Even the team management acknowledges this support from the fans, and does it bit for them. Recently, after CSK home matches were shifted to Pune because of Cauvery water issue, a special train was arranged for 1,000 fans to Pune, to watch the match against Rajasthan.

  • Lynn Looks to End Struggle With Bat Against KXIP

    Australian batsman Chris Lynn is known for his hitting prowess, and has proven credentials as a destructive batsman. In the 107 T20 games he has played so far in his career, he has scored 2,997 run at a strike-rate of 147.12. The right-hand batsman can change the game in a matter of few overs, and for this very same hitting ability, he was bought by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders for 9.60 Cr.

    But till now in this edition of the tournament, his bat has been quiet, and in 5 matches has scored 107 runs. Lynn, who had brilliant IPL season for KKR in 2017 where he scored 295 runs in 7 matches hasn’t had great time in 2018.

    In 2017, he scored two of the top-5 fastest fifties for KKR— 21 balls vs RCB and 19 balls vs GL. Not only that, his 93* in the first match against GL in 2017 was the highest individual score for KKR last year. Let’s compare Lynn’s first five IPL innings in 2017 against 2018.

    lynn
    Come Saturday, Lynn would be hoping to turnaround his fortunes, and get some runs under his belt. Till now his highest score in this edition of the games is 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Lynn has struggled against spin and was seen playing with a horizontal bat in only the second ball of his innings to K. Gowtham who castled him in the last match against Rajasthan.

  • In-form Virat Kohli Gears For Another Run Feast Against Delhi

    Virat Kohli has always been a force to reckon with no matter what format he plays. Kohli has shown unprecedented consistency in the T20 format, and IPL is no different. The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper has been in fine nick this season too, having scored two half-centuries already.

    Come Saturday, RCB will face Delhi Daredevils at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and Kohli will be looking to get some more runs under his belt, and most importantly get a win for his team.

     Stats show that the 29-year-old has been ruthless against Delhi in the past. He is one of the leading run-getters against DD in the IPL with 661 runs. He is 27 runs behind the current leading run-getter Rohit Sharma, who has scored 688 runs. This will be another opportunity for him to improve his record against the opposition.

    kohli stat

    Among the active IPL teams, he has the best average against DD. Kohli averages 73.44 in 16 innings against them. Not only that, Kohli has 7 half-centuries against DD, the most by any batsman. The next in the list is Ajinkya Rahane with 6 fifties.

    Here are some other stats that’s show Kohli’s domination against Delhi:

    —Kohli has scored 83 boundaries against DD (65 fours and 18 sixes), most against any active IPL opposition.

    —Kohli has a strike rate of 138.28 against DD, which is his 2nd best strike rate in the IPL against active teams.

    As far as the match is concerned, currently languishing at the bottom of the points table, both Delhi and Bangalore will be aiming to return to their winning ways. Both the teams have two points each currently.

  • Former RCB Players Lighting up the League While Virat Kohli & Co Look to Kick-start Campaign Against DD

    Former Royal Challengers Bangalore players have been in sublime form in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), while at the same time, Virat Kohli and his boys are once again struggling at the bottom half of the table, in the early stages of the tournament.

    While on one hand, stars like KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Shane Watson have been tearing the bowlers apart for their respective teams in the cash-rich league, RCB’s new recruits haven’t been able perform at their optimum levels as they have once again started ever so slow in the league.

    IPl points

     

    RCB opted to retain the likes of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan ahead of the auction, and while the choice of picking the first two was a no-brainer, same thing certainly cannot be said about the youngster Sarfaraz, who has scored just 11 runs in three innings so far.

    Kings XI Punjab’s Rahul and Gayle have been one of the top batsmen in the league and are scoring runs for fun. While Chennai Super Kings’ Shane Watson showed in their last match against Rajasthan Royals that he is still a force to be reckoned with in the shortest format of the game.

    KL Rahul – M:4, R: 153, HS: 51, SR: 171.9

    Rahul started off the campaign with a stunning onslaught against Delhi Daredevils in Mohali and went up to notch the fastest IPL fifty as well. Rahul has been instrumental is providing his team with ideal starts and has scores of 51, 47, 37 and 18 in four match, thus far.

    Chris Gayle – M:2, R: 167, HS: 104*, SR: 167.0

    After being snubbed early on in the auction, KXIP took a punt with Chris Gayle, acquiring his services for his base price of Rs 2 Cr, and boy the decision to do so has paid dividends for the team. Gayle had a point to prove and in just two matches, he seemed to have done that by slamming a fifty and a century.

    Shane Watson – M:4, R: 175, HS: 106, SR: 176.7, W: 6, ECON: 7.3

    All-rounder Shane Watson too has shown that despite not playing international cricket, he still has a lot to offer in the IPL. With the help of his 51-ball ton against Royals, Watson has become one of the leading run-getters in the league, while with 6 wickets in his kitty already, Watson is amongst the top wicket-takers as well.

    To make matters worse of RCB, their batting line-up hasn’t fired on all cylinders, despite having so many big names, and they have had to rely on skipper Kohli to provide respectability to the score after losing wickets in a heap in almost every game that they have played so far.

    Apart from their match against KXIP, where the likes of De Villiers and Quinton de Kock fired them to their only win of the tournament so far, their batting have been found wanting on most occassion. Mandeep Singh has also shone in bits and pieces but overall, it hasn’t been a magnificent campaign for him either. Brendon McCullum failed on couple of occasions after scoring 43 in the first match and was dropped from side while his replacement Corey Anderson was dismissed for a duck in the first match that he played.

    Kohli and his boys will look to make amends in their next game against Delhi Daredevils but even if they do so, RCB fans will still be left pondering of stars like Rahul, Gayle and Watson had turned up in their colors once again this season.

  • Virat Kohli at the Launch of the Audi RS5

    Virat Kohli at the Launch of the Audi RS5 Interview. Recently Indian cricketer Virat Kohli launched the second generation Audi RS 5 Coupe in Bengaluru and we caught up with Virat Kohli for a quick conversation that was not on cricket but automobiles. Here is Virat Kohli talking about his love for automobiles, his driving style and more.

  • Chris Gayle Has Special Plans for SRH After CSK Blitz

    Kings XI Punjab batsman Chris Gayle was mighty effective against Chennai Super Kings at Mohali on Sunday, where he scored a blistering 63 runs from just 33 balls.

    His innings included four sixes and seven fours. Considering that it was his first match against in this edition of IPL, he showed the world why he is still the most destructive in the world.

     Come the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, Gayle would be looking to continue his sublime form. But looking at his record against SRH in the previous editions, he hasn’t fared very well. He boasts of a strike-rate of 151.72 in nine innings, but has only managed to score 220 runs at an average of 24.44.

    gay

    This in fact is Gayle’s one of the worst performance in the IPL, against any opposition. His best performance is against his current team KXIP, against whom he had scored 797 runs at an average of 53.13.

    As far as the match is concerned, Kings XI Punjab’s batting will be up against the effective bowling of Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game between two in-form teams here.

    While Punjab have registered two wins in three matches so far, Hyderabad have won three games in a row, as both the teams registered crucial wins at the beginning of the tournament.

    The match at the Punjab Cricket Stadium pits a home side that has a lot of batting firepower against a Hyderabad side that is very balanced and their bowling line-up one of the best in the tournament.