News Analysis India

Tag: IPL

  • Virat Kohli told me to bowl dot balls rather than look for wickets in middle overs: RCB spinner Yuzvendra Chahal

    By ANI

    SHARJAH: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed that skipper Virat Kohli told him to bowl dot balls rather than look for wickets in the middle overs phase in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter against the Punjab Kings.

    Glenn Maxwell’s knock of 57 runs off just 33 balls helped RCB defeat Punjab Kings by 6 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday. With this win, Kohli’s side sealed its qualification for the playoffs.

    “I backed myself and bowled according to my strength, just that I varied my length. On this wicket 160 was a good score. Virat Kohli told me not to go for wickets in the middle overs, he told me to bowl dot balls. Agarwal is a great batsman, I love to bowl against him, it’s challenging,” Chahal told host broadcaster Star Sports after the game ended.

    “My focus was not to bowl any loose balls. We had good momentum in the first half. The way we have bounced back after first couple of games in the UAE, it is all because of unity in our team,” he added.

    Maxwell’s firing fifty was followed by a spirited bowling performance by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS).

    For RCB, Yuzvendra Chahal scalped two wickets while Shahbaz Ahmed and George Garton returned with one piece. Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul scored innings of 57 and 39 respectively for Punjab.

    RCB will next square off against SunRisers Hyderabad at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

  • Dubai wicket wasn’t easiest to hit spinners: KKR batsman Shubman Gill

    By ANI

    DUBAI: After playing a knock of 57 runs against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opening batter Shubman Gill revealed that the pitch was not the easiest to hit spinners for constant boundaries.

    “It was important to keep the wickets in hand, and when the balls and runs were closer then just take it easy. It was important to assess the wicket. It wasn’t easy to hit the spinners on this wicket. I was targeting the shorter side, and the leg-side was shorter than the off-side at one end. When I didn’t have much runs under the belt, you don’t want the opposition to gain the upper hand,” Gill told host broadcaster Star Sports after KKR’s six-wicket win over SRH.

    “When you play on slower wickets, it’s more important to play with the wrists and that comes naturally to me. I took on the extra pace (of Umran) today and it came off in this game, but in another game it might not,” he added.

    Gill played a knock of 57 runs as KKR defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets with two balls to spare here at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. With this win, KKR consolidated its position at the fourth spot and the side now has 12 points from 13 games.

    Earlier, a spirited bowling performance helped KKR restrict SRH to 115/8 in the allotted twenty overs. For Eoin Morgan-led side, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy returned with two wickets each while for SRH, Kane Williamson top-scored with a knock of 26 runs.

    KKR will next square off against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

  • Royal Challengers Bangalore want me to do same role I have for Australia: Glenn Maxwell

    By ANI

    SHARJAH: Australia batter Glenn Maxwell has revealed that Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) always wanted him to do the same role he has for his country while batting.

    Maxwell’s knock of 57 runs off just 33 balls helped RCB defeat Punjab Kings by 6 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday. With this win, Kohli’s side sealed its qualification for the playoffs.

    “Not much has been different, came at a nice time out to bat, took a bit of time to assess the conditions, got away with the first couple of risks that I took and then started off. A bit of clarity, I think I have been clear in my mind over the last couple of seasons in the IPL as well as professional cricket. I have found a nice bit of rhythm. Batting at 4, sometimes it’s not the easiest position to bat – but the openers gave us an ideal set-up, took a bit of time to understand the wicket,” Maxwell told host broadcaster Star Sports at the post-match presentation.

    “This is something I have had with Australia for a long period of time (a clarity in the role), this is perhaps why I have had success over there. Coming into RCB, they wanted me to do the same type of role. Really enjoyable to come into the dressing room and not make too many changes. This Sharjah wicket is the toughest to adjust, the ball skidded through, unlike at the other venues where the ball held up and gave you some time to go onto the back-foot. Once you get used to it, the more time you spend, the easier it gets,” he added.

    Maxwell’s firing fifty was followed by a spirited bowling performance by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS).

    For RCB, Yuzvendra Chahal scalped two wickets while Shahbaz Ahmed and George Garton returned with one piece. Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul scored innings of 57 and 39 respectively for Punjab.

    RCB will next square off against SunRisers Hyderabad at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

  • SRH pacer Umran Malik clocks 151 kmph against KKR, impresses one and all

    By ANI

    DUBAI: SunRisers Hyderabad might have lost the Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), but pacer Umran Malik impressed one and all with his quick pace to rattle the opposition batters.

    Malik, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir clocked two deliveries over 150 kmph on the speed gun and his fastest ball was 151.03.

    As a result, he is now the only Indian in the top ten for this season to deliver the fastest balls. The 21-year-old Malik clocked a delivery at 146 kmph speed in his very first over, and he then entered 150s twice on the speed gun.

    He ended up conceding just 27 runs in his four overs. Shubman Gill played a knock of 57 runs as KKR defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets with two balls to spare here at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. With this win, KKR consolidated its position at the fourth spot and the side now has 12 points from 13 games.

    Earlier, a spirited bowling performance helped KKR restrict SRH to 115/8 in the allotted twenty overs. For Eoin Morgan-led side, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy returned with two wickets each while for SRH, Kane Williamson top-scored with a knock of 26 runs.

    Sunrisers Hyderabad had brought in medium-pacer Umran Malik as a short-term COVID-19 replacement for T Natarajan for their ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign in the UAE.

    Natarajan had tested positive for COVID-19 before the team’s fixture against Delhi Capitals on September 22. Before playing against KKR, Malik had played one T20 and List A match for Jammu Kashmir and he picked a total of four wickets.

  • Chahal, Chahar…Chahal? Questions arise over Yuzi’s exclusion from World T20 squad  

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU:  It was a surprise call, whichever way you looked at it. Yuzvendra Chahal seemed a certainty to make the T20 World Cup squad. However, the selection committee, which picked up a power-packed squad, threw a surprise when it came to the spinners.

    Keeping in mind the spinner-friendly conditions in the UAE, where the tournament will be played, they named five spinners in the 15-member squad.

    Yet, there was no Chahal. The lone leg-spinner slot went to Rahul Chahar.

    The reason offered by Chetan Sharma, the chairman of the selectors, was simple.

    They needed a spinner, who could get the ball to spin quickly off the pitch, which Chahar is good at and one Chahal rarely does.

    The latter is not a conventional leg-spinner in many ways.

    For example, when he flights the ball, he prefers to bowl outside off and he will only resort to leg and middle-stump line only when he wants to send in a flat trajectory.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore’s YuzvendraChahal celebrates the dismissal of PunjabKings’ Mayank Agarwal at Sharjah onSunday | sportzpicsIt must still be a tough pill to swallow for Chahal. There was a dip in form, most notably during the home leg of the ongoing IPL.

    But he hasn’t let it continue for long like his other spin-twin Kuldeep Yadav, who is totally off the radar. Instead of sulking, Chahal has responded like how seasoned professionals do. Let the ball do all the talking.

    It has been a statement of the highest order.

    Chahal has picked up 10 wickets in his last five matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore, including a match-winning 3/29 against Punjab Kings on Sunday. 

    After beginning with two wicketless overs, it was Chahal who stepped up once the ball got soft.

    This is what experience brings. Seize the moment, when a window opens. He removed Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Agarwal and Sarfaraz Khan — the latter with a peach — to break the back of Punjab. The six-run win meant Bangalore became the third team to make it to the play-offs.

    There has been a sort of a trend for Bangalore in the UAE. They are yet to take a wicket in the powerplay, but it is during the middle overs, where they have taken control thanks through Chahal.

    His control has been immaculate, doesn’t give many freebies. Not only has he contained runs, but the leg-spinner has also taken wickets whenever the team has needed them.

    Put it simple, whenever Kohli has needed wickets, Chahal has provided, something the Indian captain will be missing at the World Cup.

    With every good performance from Chahal, he is asking valid questions. So did selectors rush in dropping him? At the moment, the answer is loaded in favor of Chahal as his replacement Chahar has only two wickets to show in the UAE leg so far.

    He has not conceded more than 30 runs in any single innings in the UAE so far this edition, which just shows that the bowler is on top of his game.

    More importantly, the same cannot be said for Rahul Chahar, who got the nod ahead of Chahal in the World Cup squad.

    The Mumbai Indians spinner, comparatively, has scalped two wickets in his four matches in the league so far.  Whether the decision by the selectors is right or wrong, time will tell.

    Brief scores: RCB 164/7 (Maxwell 57, Padikkal 40, Henriques 3/12, Shami 3/39) bt PBKS 158/6 (Agarwal 57, Rahul 39, Chahal 3/29).

    Yuzvendra Chahal 

    vs Punjab 3/29vs Rajasthan  2/18vs Mumbai  3/11vs Chennai  1/26vs Kolkata  1/23

    Rahul Chahar 

    vs Punjab  1/27vs Bangalore  1/33vs Kolkata  0/34 (3 ovs)vs Chennai  0/22

  • KKR beat SRH by 6 wickets to keep IPL play-offs hopes alive

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets to keep their IPL play-offs hopes alive here on Sunday.

    Chasing a modest target of 116, KKR reached 119 for 4 in 19.4 overs overs to win the match.

    Opener Shubman Gill top-scored with 57 from 51 balls while Nitish Rana contributed 25.

    Jason Holder was the pick of the SRH bowlers, grabbing two wickets for 32 runs, while Siddarth Kaul and Rashid Khan took a wicket apiece.

    With the win, KKR remained on fourth spot with 12 points with a match left to be played.

    Earlier, already out of contention for a play-off berth, Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 115 for 8 after opting to bat.

    Captain Kane Williamson top-scored with 26 while Abdul Samad made 25 in a mediocre show after opting to bat.

    For KKR, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy took two wickets apiece while Shakib Al Hasan got one.

    Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad: 115 for 8 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 26; Tim Southee 2/26, Varun Chakravarthy 2/26, Shivam Mavi 2/29).

    Kolkata Knight Riders: 119 for 4 in 19.4 overs (Shubman Gill 57, Nitish Rana 25; Jason Holder 2/32).

  • Royal Challengers Bangalore win toss, opt to bat first against Punjab Kings 

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat in their Indian Premier League game against Punjab Kings here on Sunday.

    RCB have decided to field an unchanged XI from their last game against Rajasthan Royals.

    Punjab Kings made three changes from their game against Kolkata Knight Riders, Harpreet Brar, Sarfaraz Khan and Moises Henriques coming in for Fabian Allen, Deepak Hooda and Nathan Ellis.

    Teams: Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

    Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (capt & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Harpreet Brar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.

  • Maxwell, Chahal star in RCB’s passage into IPL play-off with 6-run win over Punjab Kings

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Glenn Maxwell smashed 57 and then Yuzvendra Chahal spun a web around Punjab Kings as they once again bungled a chase allowing Royal Challengers Bangalore book a play-off berth with a six-run victory in an IPL game on Sunday.

    Maxwell’s 34-ball-57 propelled Punjab Kings to 164 for 7 which is the highest team total in Sharjah this season and then Chahal owned the middle-overs with another game-changing spell of 3/29 which saw KL Rahul’s team finish at 158 for 6.

    With 16 points from 12 games, RCB thus became the third team after Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals to make it to the last four stage.

    Punjab Kings with 10 points from 13 games can reach 12 points but with a net run-rae of -0.

    241 and having played one match more than Rajasthan Royals (10 points), Mumbai Indians (10 points) and KKR (10 points before evening game), they are all but out of the competition.

    It was another close match that Punjab Kings couldn’t finish off and their skipper Rahul needs to take a lot of responsibility as his 39 off 35 balls did more damage than help to his teams cause.

    Match after match, Rahul has been taking the game deep and then frittering away the advantage after which, the below-par middle-order of Punjab Kings, arguably the worst in this edition is bungling up big time.

    Punjab Kings were 91 for no loss in the 11th over before Rahul’s indiscreet shot selection trying to hit left-arm spinner Sahbaz Ahmed against turn changed the course of the match.

    His opening partner Mayank Agarwal (57 off 42 balls) was more attacking but was fooled by Chahal’s cleve variation of pace as he top edged a sweep shot.

    Nicholas Pooran (less than 100 runs in 11 games) probab;y is the luckiest player to get one chance after the other and played another rash sweep shot off a tossed up Chahal delivery and a distinctly overweight Sarfaraz Khan, was fooled by a conventional leg-break.

    Punjab needed 27 runs from the last two overs and Mohammed Siraj (0/33 in 4 overs) bowled an impressive penultimate over to bring down the equation to 19 runs off the final over and Harshal Patel (0/27 in 4 overs) defended well by taking the pace off his deliveries.

    Earlier, Glenn Maxwell’s six-hitting prowess was on display as his 33-ball 57 propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to a challenging 164 for 7 in their Indian Premier League game against Punjab Kings here on Sunday.

    Opting to bat, RCB suffered a middle order collapse after openers Devdutt Padikkal (40; 38 balls, 4×4; 2×6) and Virat Kohli (25; 24 balls, 2×4; 1×6) added 68 runs for the first wicket.

    But Maxwell, who is in the midst of one of his best IPL seasons, hit four sixes and three fours, to complete 50 off 29 balls.

    He and AB De Villiers (23 off 18 balls; 1×4; 2×6), the two best T20 batters, conjured 73 runs for the fourth wicket and brought their side back on track.

    Kohli started with a four, while Padikkal hammered Arshdeep Singh (0/42 in 3 overs) for a back-to-back six, over deep mid-wicket and a boundary, an elegant cut, in the third over, in which RCB fetched 13 runs.

    Padikkal then launched into leggie Ravi Bishnoi (0/35 in 4 overs), striking two boundaries, in similar fashion, over his head.

    Kohli, who got a reprieve in the fifth over as young Sarfaraz Khan, dropped a tough chance at short-mid wicket, then was in his element.

    The duo tore into the Punjab Kings attack, as they raced to 55/0 after Powerplay.

    In the eight over, Padikkal was given not out, despite a wiggle, which was seen off his glove, by the third umpire, off Bishnoi.

    But Punjab pegged back RCB by picking three quick wickets, all by Moises Henriques (3/12 in 4 overs).

    He first cleaned up Kohli and off the next ball forced Dan Christian, to give a regulation catch to Sarfaraz Khan.

    Henriques then dismissed Padikkal, who nicked one to Rahul, as RCB was tottering at 73/3.

    Maxwell then too charge and took theteam past 160-run mark.

    PTI NRB KHS KHS KHS 10031948 NNNN

  • Don’t think we could have scored more than 190 but dew became factor: Dhoni

    Rajasthan Royals chased down a stiff target in 17.3 overs courtesy 50 off 21 balls from Yashasvi Jasiwal and 64 not out off 42 balls from Shivam Dube.

  • IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians by four wickets, almost assured of top-two finish

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Shreyas Iyer showed steely temperament while Ravichandran Ashwin compensated his poor bowling effort with a final six as Delhi Capitals inched towards a top-two finish, beating Mumbai Indians by four wickets in an IPL match here on Saturday.

    Chasing a modest 130 on a challenging Sharjah Stadium track, DC made a rough weather of the chase but Iyer with a run-a-ball 33 anchored the innings and added crucial unbroken 39-run stand with Ashwin (20 not out).

    Needing just four runs from the last over, Ashwin sealed the chase with five balls to spare as he hit a six off Krunal Pandya as the duo shared a match-defining partnership, consuming 36 balls.

    The win took DC to 18 points from 12 games and one more win is sure to clinch a top-two finish with one more win as only twin defeats in last two games and three big wins for RCB and at least one victory from CSK will push them to third spot.

    That looks improbable at the moment with the scenario of net run-rate.

    This is the seventh loss in 12 matches this season for the five-time champions MI and their chances of qualifying for play-offs are fast fading away.

    Defending the modest total, Mumbai had a cracking start sending Delhi’s top three — Shikhar Dhawan (8), Prithvi Shaw (6) and Steve Smith (9) — back in the hut inside the powerplay.

    Kieron Pollard’s direct hit from mid-on caught Shikhar Dhawan short of his crease in the second over, while a superb review call ensured that Shaw was dismissed in a space of four balls in his comeback match.

    Smith looked in his zone and pulled Bumrah for a six but only to perish to his Australian teammate Nathan Coulter-Nile.

    Coulter-Nile cleaned up Smith around his legs with a ball that stayed low as he shuffled too much across.

    With no significant partnerships going, it was their former captain Iyer showed fine patience and rotate the strike with clever singles.

    Not under any run-rate pressure, Iyer held on cleverly rotating the strikes as he slammed just two boundaries in his run-a-ball knock.

    Earlier on a day when star bowler Ravichandran Ashwin was completely off-colour, Axar (3/21) dismissed Quinton De Kock (19), Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Saurabh Tiwary (15), ensuring that runs were hard to come by in the middle overs.

    But it was their uncapped Indian pacer Avesh Khan (3/15) who continued his dream run in the IPL and set it up for Capitals, hurrying Rohit Sharma with sheer pace.

    Avesh then returned at the death and dismissed the dangerous Hardik Pandya (17) and Nathan Coulter Nile (1) in three balls to further tighten the noose.

    World’s fastest bowler Anrich Nortje, who shared the new ball with Avesh, was also tidy with 1/19 from his four overs as DC bowlers got their length right on a slow deck.

    Such was their discipline that none of the MI batters save Surya could cross 20-run mark.

    Before that the Madhya Pradesh lad Avesh conceded just seven runs with eight dot balls in his first two overs and took the prized-scalp of MI skipper Rohit Sharma in his fifth ball of the day.

    Avesh’s run-up might not look smooth but the effort ball to bounce Rohit out was special as the India’s T20 captain in waiting couldn’t connect his pull-shot.

    The 24-year-old, who is second (21) in the list of leading wicketakers in this IPL, now has taken three Indian superstars — MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and now Rohit — in this IPL.

    Ashwin at the other end looked unsettled with Surya sweeping the star Indian off-spinner for a six, while De Kock also looked ominous, taking on his compatriot Kagiso Rabada with a lap-shot over fine-leg.

    Making a smart captaincy call, Rishabh Pant brought on Axar immediately after the power-play and the Gujarat lad delivered dismissing De Kock in his second ball.

    He smartly used his height advantage and was spot-on with his lengths, making it difficult for the Mumbai batsmen.

    Having not been in best of forms, Surya looked to be back in his element top-scoring for them with a 26-ball 33 but Patel outsmarted the Mumbai no 3 with a full toss.