News Analysis India

Tag: IPL 2021

  • Virat​ Kohli has given RCB kind of profile, very few could give their franchise: Sunil Gavaskar

    By PTI

    DUBAI:The legendary Sunil Gavaskar says Virat Kohli has given Royal Challengers Bangalore that kind of a profile which only a few cricketers can manage for their respective franchises despite not winning an IPL trophy.

    Kohli’s dreams of winning an IPL title with RCB ended in a heartbreak after Kolkata Knight Riders beat them by four wickets in the eliminator on Monday. Gavaskar said not all scripts are written in the manner players want them to.

    Kohli had announced that he would step down as RCB skipper after the end of the 14th edition of the lucrative league. “He has given RCB that kind of profile, that brand recognition that very (few) cricketers have given to their franchise,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

    The former India captain compared Kohli’s last match as RCB skipper with Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar farewells.

    “Everybody wants to finish on a high. But these things never always happen according to your or fans’ wishes. Look at what happened to Sir Don Bradman. Just four runs were needed in his last innings and he gets out for a zero.

    “Sachin Tendulkar would have wanted to finish with a hundred, he got 79 (Tendulkar scored 74) in Mumbai, his 200th Test match. 79 is not bad but somebody who is used to making hundreds would have wanted to get those extra 21 runs and then end his Test career there,” Gavaskar added.

    Sharing his thoughts on Kohli’s failure to lift an IPL trophy, Gavaskar said Kohli had an ever-lasting impact on the team and mentioned the 2016 season when he amassed close to 1000 runs in a single edition.

    “The script is not always written that way. Not everybody has this great fortune of going on a high. But can one ever dispute what he has done for RCB? He has done magnificently. There was one year when he got 973 runs, 27 runs short of 1000 runs. Nobody has done it, nobody looks like ever getting to 1000 runs,” he added.

    Since taking over as RCB’s captain in 2013, Kohli has led the team to the play-offs four times, including the last two seasons, and the final in 2016. Kohli led RCB in 140 matches, winning 66 and losing 70. Four games did not produce any results.

  • Hope IPL stint will help me at T20 World Cup for South Africa: Punjab Kings batter Aiden Markram

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: South African batter Aiden Markram feels exposing himself to the high standard of cricket that the IPL offers will help him deal better with pressure situations in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

    Markram batted in six innings for Punjab Kings in this year’s IPL with a best score of 42. One of his innings stretched into the 17th over and two into the 16th in the IPL, something he might experience in the T20 showpiece even though he bats at the top of the order.

    “…It was a great experience.It was nice to be exposed to that at a high standard of cricket, and to learn on the job. To mingle with some seriously good players who do the IPL circuit post-game, chatting to guys who have done well, legends of T20 cricket, was good. It was nice to get some information from them and also to work things out for yourself in the middle of a game,” Markram said during a virtual press conference.

    Blessed with a textbook technique, he has opened the innings for South Africa and also batted at number three and four. For Punjab Kings, though, he also came in at number five. “In T20 cricket, at a World Cup or domestic or international series, results come down to the last three overs if not the last ball,” Markram said.

    “It was good to be exposed to that, because I’m sure games are going to go to the wire at the World Cup. It’s about dealing with that pressure in the moment when two to three balls could change the whole outcome of the game,” he added.

  • Social media needs to be a kinder place: KKR’s Dinesh Karthik slams trolls on RCB players

    By ANI

    SHARJAH: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik has said people don’t realise the gravity of what they post when they are on social media.

    Say NO to hate-mongering.Cricketers are subjected to online-abuse way too often. It’s high time we take a strong stand against it.Victories and Losses are a part of any sport. We stand by you @RCBTweets @danchristian54 @Gmaxi_32. We’ve been there too #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/eCUGroEbyI
    — KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 12, 2021
    In a video posted by KKR on Twitter on Tuesday, regarding the ‘hate-mongering’ players receive on social media, Karthik was seen expressing his disappointment regarding the same. “I feel sometimes that social media needs to be a kinder place. I think people don’t realise the gravity of what they say, be it memes, videos or just the use of words. It’s a spur of moment thing for them, instinctively what they feel they just put out there,” said the wicket-keeper batter.

    Karthik also said these people don’t realise that what the other person has to go through because of their actions.

    Earlier on Monday, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Daniel Christian and his partner Jorgia Dunn received flak from a certain section of fans following the team’s defeat in the Eliminator of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

    KKR came in support of RCB players and tweeted, “Say NO to hate-mongering. Cricketers are subjected to online abuse way too often. It’s high time we take a strong stand against it. Victories and Losses are a part of any sport. We stand by you @RCBTweets@danchristian54 @Gmaxi_3. We’ve been there too.”

    RCB batter and Christian’s compatriot Glenn Maxwell was the first one to call out the social media trolls. Maxwell in the wee hours of Tuesday hit back on social media trolls following the incident. 

  • IPL 2021: ‘Pacer Kagiso Rabada’s form is a concern for Delhi Capitals’, feels Brian Lara

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara reckons Delhi Capitals’ South African pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada could be an anxious man right now given his poor form in the IPL. Rabada, who was the tournament’s highest wicket taker last edition, has struggled to replicate the terrific form in the second leg of the ongoing season.

    “Yes (his form is a concern for Delhi), he is an exceptional talent. He played a very big part in them getting to the finals, he got a lot of wickets in the middle and back end overs with slower balls and that is not been happening for him off late,” Lara said on Star Sports’ ‘Select Dugout.

    A key bowler for the Delhi franchise alongside compatriot Anrich Nortje, Rabada has gone wicketless in the last four games. “So, yeah, when you got Anrich Nortje doing the business upfront, you want a world-class bowler who can do what he did in the previous tournaments, which he hasn’t. And this has caused him a little bit of anxiousness. I suppose Delhi Capital will love to see Rabada back in form,” Lara said.

    The Capitals had reached their maiden finals last season, losing the summit clash to Mumbai Indians. They will take on former champions Kolkata Knight Riders for a place in this season’s final against Chennai Super Kings in the second qualifier in Sharjah on Wednesday.

  • Virat Kohli is a leader, will celebrate his contributions: RCB pacer Harshal Patel

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Virat Kohli’s tenure as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore may have ended without an IPL triumph but the franchise will nonetheless “celebrate” his contributions over the years, said the team’s pacer Harshal Patel.

    Harshal though did not specify how exactly the team plans to celebrate Kohli’s contributions. He stressed that Kohli, who has decided to step down as India T20 captain after the upcoming World Cup and RCB skipper post the ongoing IPL, remains a “leader”.

    “In terms of his captaincy, there are captains and there are leaders, he is definitely a leader. Just because he won’t have the captaincy tag, it doesn’t make him any less of a leader,” Harshal said after RCB’s defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator on Monday.

    “So, I just want to thank him for whatever he has contributed for this team and to my growth,” he said, adding the skipper always supported him whenever he was “down”.

    He also said that the team would “celebrate” the contributions of Kohli as a skipper. “Yeah, I think, absolutely we are going to celebrate his contributions and it would have been nicer to celebrate that with the trophy in our hand, but it was not meant to be. But his contributions, like I said, have been immense and we are definitely going to celebrate that,” he added.

    Harshal conceded that the entire outfit was disappointed on how it finished the Indian Premier League season. “Obviously, we are all disappointed in the way we finished the tournament. The way we were playing, I think we should have been in (the) top two. But as we all know, it is a game of small margins,” Harshal said at the post-match press conference.

    Sunil Narine gave glimpses of his ‘old mystery’ with the ball and then topped it up with three monster sixes as Kolkata Knight Riders’ four-wicket victory in an exciting eliminator dashed Kohli’s dream of winning an IPL trophy while leading RCB.

    “In hindsight you could have done a lot of things differently, but at the end of the day, we all know that once (the) top four teams are qualified, they are all on the same line. So, at the end of the day, who plays better on that particular day matters, but obviously we all are very disappointed in the way we finished but we are also proud of the way we played cricket in the league stage,” the Haryana pacer added.

    Harshal is the leading wicket-taker in this IPL edition, with 32 wickets from 15 games, including best figures of 5/27. The right-arm speedster, who also took his first hat-trick in any competitive game in this UAE leg of the IPL, was pleased with his performance.

    “I am very happy with what I have been able to achieve and very happy with how I contributed to the (team’s) wins. Records are something that I don’t really look at, but in the context of the game, it would have been nice if he (Devdutt Padikkal) had taken the catch, we could have gone a little, even a little closer. So, in terms of the game, that was probably an important wicket, but in terms of records, it doesn’t really matter much to me,” added Harshal, who also equalled Dwanye Bravo’s record for most wickets in an IPL season.

    Coming back to Kohli, he said the captain always backed him.

    “Like I said earlier many times, the RCB management and Virat showed a lot of confidence from the start, even though I hadn’t bowled in the death overs in the IPL, which I did for Haryana. So, suddenly to give me that responsibility, they would have definitely seen something in me and they made that decision that I will be bowling the most difficult overs. So, I am very grateful for the faith that they have shown in me,” he added.

    He said that Kohli always backs his bowlers. “Everyone knows Virat, the kind of energy and passion he brings to the field. Everyone knows that he backs the bowlers and gives them space, allows them to execute their skills, plans. I have learned a lot playing with him since 2012,” he added.

  • IPL 2021, KKR vs DC preview: Kolkata come in way of Delhi’s maiden title hopes in second qualifier

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Eyeing a maiden IPL title, the fancied Delhi Capitals will face another litmus test in the form of a Kolkata Knight Riders unit brimming with optimism when the two sides lock horns in the second qualifier here on Wednesday.

    Delhi Capitals failed in their first big test when they lost to Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier and another defeat will mean there will be no more examination for the strong squad, led by India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

    Two-time winners KKR will no doubt take confidence from their victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Monday’s eliminator that dashed Virat Kohli’s hopes of winning an IPL title with his longstanding franchise.

    If the emphasis is on momentum and peaking at the right time then KKR will definitely fancy their chances in their next outing, notwithstanding their opponents’ resources and depth in lineup. DC, who topped the league stage with as many as 10 wins for a total of 20 points, are well aware of the task that awaits them.

    Since Australian great Ricky Ponting took over as their coach, Delhi Capitals have grown from strength to strength as they finished second runners up in the 2019 edition before reaching the summit clash last year.

    This year there aim is to do one better and win the title. They are one of the most balanced sides in the tournament with a formidable batting line-up and a potent pace attack that is aided by seasoned spinners including Ravichandran Ashwin.

    In Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer, Delhi boast of a solid top order. Pant, along with Shimron Hetmyer, look after the middle order, even as they missed the injured Marcus Stoinis’ prowess. Dhawan (618) was the second highest run-scorer in 2020 and has already raked up 551 this season.

    His opening partner Shaw is also coming off a good game against CSK. On the bowling front, the South African pace duo of Kagiso Rabada (2020 purple cap winner) and Anrich Nortje has proved to a dream pair, having scalped 52 wickets together in 2020.

    Then there is speedster Avesh Khan, who has taken 23 wickets so far in this season of the tournament, and he will back himself to add to his tally against KKR. DC have posted five wins in the UAE leg of the tournament but one of their defeats here has come against KKR, and what better opportunity for them to exact revenge than in the IPL playoffs.

    It is easier said than done though, with Eoin Morgan’s side enjoying a massive reversal of fortunes in the Gulf after enduring a disastrous first half in India earlier this year. They just about managed to sneak into the playoffs at the expense of five-time defending champions Mumbai Indians, thanks to their better net run-rate.

    Things changed for the better after the Kolkata-based side landed in the UAE and if their performance against RCB is any indication, KKR is raring to go and will want to do more than just end their campaign in the playoffs.

    On a pitch offering turn, KKR’s spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy (16 wickets so far) and Sunil Narine, who is on a high after his superb all-round performance against RCB, will look to test the formidable Delhi batting lineup. Batting hasn’t been KKR’s biggest strength this season and DC will look to capitalise on that.

    Up against a potent bowling attack, the likes of Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi (team’s top-scorer this season with 393 runs so far) and Morgan himself will need to rise to the occasion if KKR is to make the final, where Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s three-time winners Chennai Super Kings await.

    Teams:

    Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimrom Hetmyar, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Ben Dwarshuis, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Meriwala, Pravin Dubey, Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Billings and Vishnu Vinod.

    Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

    (Match starts at 7:30 PM IST)

  • Tried to create culture for youngsters, have given my best, says Kohli as he bids goodbye to RCB captaincy

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Virat Kohli expects the new leadership group in Royal Challengers Bangalore to maintain the “culture” of giving opportunities to youngsters for playing expressive cricket as his innings as captain of the side ended without an IPL trophy.

    RCB was knocked out of this year’s edition after losing the Eliminator to KKR by four wickets but Kohli promised to stay with the team as a player because “loyalty” is everything for him.

    “I have tried my best to create a culture here where youngsters could come in and play with freedom and belief. It is something I have done with India as well,” Kohli, who led the side for a decade, said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

    Kohli finished with below-par 66 wins to 70 defeats in 140 games as RCB skipper, something that will certainly be a blot in his chequered career.

    “I have given my best. I don’t know how the response has been, but I have given 120% to this franchise every time, which is something I will now do as a player. It is a great time to regroup and restructure for the next three years with people who will take this ahead,” the outgoing skipper said.

    “I don’t see myself playing anywhere else. Loyalty matters more to me than worldly pleasures. I would be in the RCB till the last day I play in the IPL.”

    ALSO READ: Narine made it look easy with his outstanding spell, says KKR captain Eoin Morgan

    On the match, Kohli felt that it was trio of Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy who tilted the match in KKR’s favour.

    “Those middle overs where their spinner dominated the game was the difference. They kept bowling in tight areas and kept picking wickets. We had a great start and it was about quality bowling and not bad batting. They thoroughly deserve to win this one and be in the next round.”

    Kohli was happy that his team fought till the end.

    “The fight till the end with the ball has been the hallmark of our team. That one big over (22 runs) in the middle deflated our chances. We fought till the last over and made an amazing game out of it.”

    Kohli admitted that the par score could have been around 155.

    “Fifteen runs less with the bat and a couple of big overs with the ball cost us. Sunil Narine has always been a quality bowler and today he once again showed it. Shakib, Varun and him created pressure and didn’t allow our batsmen to get away in the middle.”

  • Robin Uthappa story indicative of Chennai Super Kings’s IPL record

    Express News Service

    CHENNAI: Amidst the euphoria of witnessing a late flourish from MS Dhoni’s willow — allowing fans to indulge in some wistful nostalgia of what the man from Ranchi was once capable of — it shouldn’t be forgotten that the platform for Chennai Super Kings’ victory on Sunday was set by another man in the twilight of his career. Robin Uthappa has been a formidable contributor for various teams in the IPL — his days with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) being the apogee — but he had struggled to find his groove in the past couple of seasons. On Sunday, like Dhoni, Uthappa chose a great time to turn back the clock with an innings of 63 off 44 balls.

    While Uthappa of course deserves all the credit for doing the job, the fact that the former India batter was persisted with in the first place illustrates why CSK have entered their ninth IPL final (out of the 12 seasons that they have played). In his two games before Sunday, Uthappa had managed scores of just 19 and 2. The 35-year-old had come into the side only as a replacement for an injured Suresh Raina. While the latter was admittedly struggling for runs himself, it would have been so easy for Chennai to send Uthappa back to warm the bench for Qualifier 1 against Delhi. Raina, after all, has served Chennai incredibly well in big games over the years and knows the team’s template far better than the man from Karnataka. But as Stephen Fleming reminded after the game, Chennai seldom drop somebody without giving them a proper go. So once Uthappa had found his way into the side, he was going to get every opportunity possible to make it count.

    “We are proud of every performance that a player puts up that helps us win the game. That was pretty special from Uthappa. He had been out of action for a long time. He has been training hard. An opportunity came up. And as everyone knows, when opportunities are given, we tend to stick with players a little bit longer than the rest. He has repaid us in bucket loads. His intent was good right from the first ball. It was flashes of his old self. His partnership with Ruturaj (Gaikwad) set the match up for us,” Fleming explained.

    Considering the huge stakes involved in the IPL, team owners, in particular, tend to be ruthless with their decisions, often demanding too much too soon and missing out on drawing the optimum from a potential match-winner. But CSK, refreshingly, haven’t been prone to that sort of mindset. The likes of Shane Watson have spoken about how it has helped them prolong their IPL journeys. Uthappa seems to be enjoying the benefits of that relaxed environment now.  

    “There were doubts (whether he would play or not). You listen to a lot of chatter that is happening outside. I just felt I would be able to contribute. This is one of the most secure franchises going around. That only makes a player give that much back to the franchise,” Uthappa said. 

  • Sunil Narine takes four as KKR restrict RCB to 138/7 in IPL eliminator

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Electing to bat, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 138 for seven against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL eliminator here on Monday.

    Skipper Virat Kohli made a 33-ball 39 while his opening partner Devdutt Padikkal contributed 21 runs.

    Spinner Sunil Narine rocked the RCB batting order with a four-wicket haul while Lockie Ferguson dismissed two batsmen.

    Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore: 138 for 7 in 20 overs (V Kohli 39, D Padikkal 21; S Narine 4/21, L Ferguson 2/30).

  • IPL 2021, Eliminator: Royal Challengers Bangalore win toss, elect to bat against Kolkata Knight riders

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat against Kolkata Knight riders in the IPL Eliminator here on Monday.

    Both the teams are unchanged from their previous matches.

    Chennai Super Kings have already booked their place in the summit clash on October 15.

    Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (C), Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson and Varun Chakravarthy.

    Royal Challengers Banaglore: Virat Kohli (C), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dan Christian, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammad Siraj.