News Analysis India

Tag: IPL

  • Our players have understood their roles and responsibilities: Dhoni on turnaround

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday attributed his team’s remarkable turnaround this IPL season to the players’ hard work and understanding their roles and responsibilities.

    Three-time winners CSK endured their worst outing last season when they finished seventh in the eight-team league, a far cry from the manner in which they are dominating in this edition, including their latest six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.

    “Our players have worked hard, they have understood their roles and responsibilities. Over here, the three grounds are different. This is slowest (so far) of all. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are different. So the players have been adapting,” Dhoni said after the comfortable six-wicket win over RCB.

    RCB skipper Virat Kohli (53) and young Devdutt Padikkal (70) struck brisk half-centuries in an impressive 111-run stand but CSK pulled the strings to restrict them to 156 for six after electing to bowl.

    The in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad, then, came good again with a quick 38 while Faf du Plessis made 31 at the top to lay a strong foundation for CSK to chase the modest target in 18.1 overs.

    CSK’s decision to bowl first was prompted by the dew factor.

    “We were worried about the dew, so whenever there’s chances of dew we want to bat second.

    “They got off to a good start but after ninth over wicket slowed down. You still had to bowl tight, and Jadeja’s spell was important with Padikkal batting from one end.”

    “After that Bravo, Josh (Hazlewood), Shardul (Thakur), Deepak (Chahar) were brilliant. It’s always on the back of your mind on which bowler can be effective over here,” the former India skipper said.

    Even as RCB got off to a great start, Dhoni brought into play his years of experience to effect a turnaround.

    “I had told Moeen (Ali) before drinks that he would be bowling soon, but then I decided Bravo should bowl. The more you delay Bravo, the more difficult it is since he will end up bowling four straight overs in these difficult conditions.”

    Stroke-making was not very difficult on this track but RCB ended up conceding a lot of boundaries to their opponents.

    “Looking at the wicket, I felt left-right combo was important. We bat deep, we have a lot of left-handers, so in the back of the head it’s there.”

    “And I feel all of them are good enough to play in any position. That’s why we went with the left-right combination, which pushed Raina and Rayudu down.”

    Dhoni called his longtime CSK teammate Bravo “brother”, who brought them back into the game with the wicket of Kohli.

    “Bravo has turned up fit – that’s a very good thing. And he is executing well. I call him my brother.”

    “We always have fights over whether he should bowl the slower ball. But I told him that now everyone knows he bowls slower balls, so I told him to bowl six different balls in one over. Whenever he can, he takes up responsibilities.”

    Besides admitting that his team conceded too many runs off boundaries, RCB skipper Kohli said they were 15-20 runs short of a challenging target.

    He also said his bowlers could not make use of the conditions.

    “175 could have been a winning total. The pitch had a lot to offer but our bowlers could not make use. They got away with too many boundary opportunities. They bowled well in their back end and executed the yorkers when needed,” Kohli said.

    “It was difficult for us to get elevation, and only bad balls could be put away. We then gave too many boundary balls. We spoke of areas we didn’t want them to hit, but we couldn’t do that.”

    “The X-Factor was missing in the first five overs with the ball. But it’s very important to execute balls during the crunch moments. Those few moments. That’s what we failed to capitalise on.”

    Despite their seventh straight loss in the UAE (including results from last season), Kohli remained optimistic of turning things around in the coming days.

    “We need to get on a winning run again. This game is more disappointing than the first one. We were on top and then gave it all away.”

    Man of the Match Bravo, who returned excellent figures of 3/24 in four overs, said he just wanted to keep things simple.

    “I just strive to be competitive. IPL is the toughest competition in the world. Some days it works for me, some days it doesnt. But the pride and love I have for this game keeps me going.”

    “RCB are a big side, and Virat is a very good player, so it was an important wicket. I wanted to just keep it simple. Variations, yorkers, slower balls. Just stuck to my basics,” Bravo said.

  • Our batters are lot more aggressive than they were last time: CSK bowling coach Simons

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Chennai Super Kings batsmen plan to bat more aggressively on the slowish UAE tracks compared to last time and that’s what they have been doing during the first two games, said bowling consultant Eric Simons.

    Simons also said that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led outfit had learnt their lesson after a horrendous show in the 2020 edition, which was also held in the UAE.

    “We have already spoken about what worked for us in India during the first half of the IPL (2021). We spoke about what we did wrong here (in the United Arab Emirates last time). You know any situation, often the bad performance is the best place to learn,” Simons said at the post-match press conference after his side outplayed Royal Challengers Bangalore.

    CSK produced a clinical all-round show to humble Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and claim the top spot in the IPL pecking order here on Friday.

    The former India bowling coach said that last IPL was a good learning experience.

    “So, what went wrong here in the last IPL was a tremendous lesson for us. But I think, probably the biggest different is the aggression in our batting, we have come out (a) lot more aggressive than we did last time,” the bowling consultant explained.

    Simons also had words of praise for all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who returned with figures of 3/24, saying the team was “extremely happy” with his performance and the West Indian “has bowled particularly well in the last few matches.”

    All-rounder Shardul Thakur, also scalped two crucial wickets and Simons said that the Palghar boy was very smart in the way he used his tactics and ability to read the wicket and the batsman and the (game) situation.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal, who scored stroke-filled 70, said that the team was looking to get 170-180 on the board.

    “Obviously, when you have a start like that, we would like to get to probably 170-180 at-least and that’s, we didn’t really set a target like that because it can go above that as well.”

    “So, we were just looking to play the ball on its merit and try to get as many runs as possible, unfortunately just didn’t work out today towards the end of the innings, but hopefully, we can make that in the next game,” Padikkal said at the post-match media conference.

    When asked whether he and Virat could have shown more intent, Padikkal replied, “Yeah definitely, there is always things we can improve on.”

    “And at that point, we were looking to take the game as deep as possible and we felt that the wicket was getting a little tougher. We knew that for someone new coming it, it won’t be that easy to straight away get going.”

    “So yeah, that is what we were looking to do and try and take our chances whenever possible and pick the right spots and right bowlers at the right time.”

    Padikkal also defended the move to send Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga ahead of KS Bharat, saying both are capable batsman.

    “They both (are) two good batsmen as well and they are very much capable of clearing the boundaries and we have seen that in our practice matches and stuff like that and they are really capable batsmen as well,” he said.

    “So there is no reason that they shouldn’t be going higher and we just thought that the match-up was better for them to go out and get those runs for us, unfortunate it didn’t work out, but yeah, these things happen,” the southpaw said.

    Padikkal in both the games, against KKR and CSK, had been dismissed while playing the upper cut and he said he would be more careful next time around.

    “Definitely, I will keep working on that short (upper-cut). And it is a really high-run making short and I felt today it was on.”

    “It is just that I could not execute it well enough, and probably didn’t come on as well as I expected it to, sometimes these things happen and that is not going to stop me from playing the shot but to be more careful next time,” the Karnataka opener signed off.

  • MS Dhoni’s CSK humble Virat Kohli’s RCB with all-round show, claim top spot

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical all-round show to humble Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and claim the top spot in the IPL pecking order here on Friday.

    RCB skipper Virat Kohli (53) and young Devdutt Padikkal (70) struck brisk half-centuries in an impressive 111-run stand but CSK pulled the strings to restrict them to 156 for six after electing to bowl.

    The in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad came good again with a quick 38 while Faf du Plessis made 31 at the top to lay a strong foundation for CSK to chase the modest target in 18.1 overs.

    The win took CSK to the top spot with 14 points.

    They overtook Delhi Capitals, who also have 14 points, but the yellow brigade has better net run-rate of 1.185, compared to 0.613 of the Delhi team.

    While it was the second consecutive win for CSK, the RCB now have lost both the games post the league’s resumption.

    Gaikwad and Du Plessis added 71 runs in 8.2 overs and later Moeen Ali (23) and Ambati Rayudu (32) also got starts but could not convert those into big knocks.

    Suresh Raina (17) and skipper MS Dhoni (11) ensured that there was no twist in the tale, taking the side past the finish line.

    Neither Mohammed Siraj nor Navdeep Saini could trouble the CSK openers.

    Whether the ball was pitched up, short or bowled at good length, Gaikwad and his Protea partner treated them with equal disdain.

    Gaikwad punched the ball hard and even reverse swept with ease before Kohli pulled off a stunning low catch off wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

    Realising that spinners may turn the game around, Kohli handed the ball to off-spinner Glenn Maxwell and the Australian responded with the wicket of du Plessis, who was guilty of playing a loose shot.

    However, Rayudu and Moeen did not show any respect to the slow bowlers.

    They worked the ball around to keep the scoreboard moving and also got the big shots.

    Earlier, Kohli and Padikkal went hammer and tongs after being asked to take first strike but once the partnership was broken by Dwayne Bravo, RCB lost the momentum.

    RCB managed only 45 runs in the remaining 6.4 overs after being in a position from where they could have pushed for a score in the vicinity of 200.

    Bravo’s bowling made a huge difference to the conclusion of the RCB innings as he conceded only 24 runs in his four overs and also added the wickets of Glenn Maxwell (11) and Harshal Patel (3).

    CSK had no dearth of quality bowlers with Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood opening the attack but Bangalore openers — Kohli and Padikkal — went about striking the ball cleanly.

    Kohli began with consecutive boundaries off Chahar but took a bit of time to find his rhythm.

    The skipper lofted the same bowler for a massive six on the on-side while Padikkal was fluent with his well-timed shots on the off-side.

    Dhoni shuffled his bowlers but none got the length that could either trouble the batsmen or stop the run flow.

    The young left-hander also used his feet well against left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, sending the ball soaring over long-on.

    He completed his fifty with a crushing four off Chahar which also raised the team’s hundred.

    The breakthrough eventually came when Bravo sent back Kohli, who struck the ball clean and hard but was caught near the boundary ropes.

    That wicket stemmed the run flow and while trying to break the shackles, both AB De Villiers (12) and Padikkal became victims of Shardul Thakur.

    Maxwell was expected to go after the bowlers and he did that, striking a six off Bravo to raise the team’s 150 in the 18th over, but a late flourish eluded RCB.

  • Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal strike fiery half-centuries but CSK restrict RCB to 156/6

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Skipper Virat Kohli and young Devdutt Padikkal struck brisk half-centuries in an impressive 111-run stand before Chennai Super King pulled the strings to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 156 for six in an IPL game here on Friday.

    Kohli (53) and Padikkal (70) were going hammer and tongs after being asked to take first strike but once the partnership was broken by Dwayne Bravo, the RCB lost momentum and allowed CSK to wrest control.

    RCB managed only 45 runs in the remaining 6.4 overs after being in a position from where they could have pushed for a score in the vicinity of 200.

    Bravo’s bowling made a huge difference to the conclusion of the RCB innings as he conceded only 24 runs in his four overs and also added the wickets of Glenn Maxwell (11) and Harshal Patel (3).

    CSK had no dearth of quality bowlers with Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood opening the attack but Bangalore openers — Kohli and Padikkal — went about striking the ball cleanly.

    Kohli began with consecutive boundaries off Chahar but took a bit of time to find his rhythm.

    The skipper lofted the same bowler for a massive six on the on-side while Padikkal was fluent with his well-timed shots on the off-side.

    MS Dhoni shuffled his bowlers but none got the length that could either trouble the batsmen or stop the run flow.

    The young left-hander also used his feet well against left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, sending the ball soaring over long-on.

    He completed his fifty with a crushing four off Chahar which also raised the team’s hundred.

    The breakthrough eventually came when Bravo sent back Kohli, who struck the ball clean and hard but was caught near the boundary ropes.

    That wicket stemmed the run flow and while trying to break the shackles, both AB De Villiers (12) and Padikkal became victims of Shardul Thakur.

    Maxwell was expected to go after the bowlers and he did that, striking a six off Bravo to raise the team’s 150 in the 18th over, but a late flourish eluded RCB.

  • Singapore batsman Tim David makes IPL debut as RCB bat first against unchanged CSK

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Hard-hitting T20 freelancer Tim David has become the first player from Singapore national team to make an Indian Premier League debut as Royal Challengers Bangalore were invited to bat by Chennai Super Kings here on Friday.

    David replaced pacer Kyle Jamieson and RCB also brought in Indian pacer Navdeep Saini in place of batsman Sachin Baby.

    CSK fielded an unchanged side.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Debdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David, Wanindur Hasaranga, Navdeep Saini, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

    Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

  • IPL 2021: Sunrisers Hyderabad face Punjab Kings in battle of laggards

    By PTI

    SHARJAH: Almost out of reckoning for a play-off berth, bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to play party-poopers when they take on an equally struggling Punjab Kings in the IPL’s battle of laggards here on Saturday.

    Sunrisers suffered their seventh defeat on Wednesday after being blown away by Delhi Capitals and their play-off chances look less than dim as they have managed just two points after eight games.

    Punjab, on the other hand, quite inexplicably found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Rajasthan Royals and will be desperate to find an answer to their problems after being placed seventh with six points from nine matches.

    The Kings were well-placed to win their first IPL game of the UAE leg before committing harakari in the last over bowled by Kartik Tyagi.

    They lost two wickets and scored just one run while needing four to win against Rajasthan.

    Despite being packed with excellent Indian and foreign talent, Punjab Kings have regularly messed up games and skipper KL Rahul will have to address their inconsistency.

    Punjab Kings have also lacked any kind of stability over the last 14 seasons with captains and coaches being changed frequently.

    Their playing XI too has gone through many changes, something which has drawn sharp criticism from former team mentor Virender Sehwag.

    In batting, Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been one of the most dominant opening duo of the IPL. In the last game too, they put on 120 runs in 11.5 overs but none of them could stay back to finish the job.

    While Chris Gayle can destroy any attack even at the age of 41, he was kept out in the last game.

    In the middle-order, Nicholas Pooran, who had a horrendous outing in the first phase, looked good in the last game before he lost his bearings in the final over even as Aiden Markram was left stranded on the other side.

    In bowling department, Mohammed Shami has been their prime bowler and he did well to pull things back against RR. Young Arshdeep Singh also returned with five wickets as he and Shami bowled out RR to 185 in the last game.

    However, Punjab’s spinners, especially England’s Adil Rashid, have disappointed and they will need to step up their game in the next few weeks.

    For Sunrisers, it is all about enjoying the remaining few games and ending on a high.

    With Johnny Bairstow, their season’s leading run-getter, pulling out and Australian opener David Warner in poor form, SRH have found the going tough against Delhi.

    The likes of Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad also failed to capitalise on their starts as SRH could manage just 134 in their last game.

    Their bowling has been too dependent on spin sensation Rashid Khan and it will be important for the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jason Holder to put up a strong show to give some respectability to the team’s campaign.

    Squads:Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Nathan Ellis, Adil Rashid, Murugan Ashwin, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Aiden Markram, Mandeep Singh, Darsan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh, Ravi BIshnoi, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Jalaj Saxena.

    Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (Captain), David Warner, Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abdul Samad, J Suchith, Jason Holder, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jason Roy.

    March Starts: 7:30 pm.

  • IPL: Delhi Capitals aim for consolidation as RR hope to keep winning momentum going 

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Operating like a well-oiled unit, Delhi Capitals will be eager to consolidate their top spot when they clash with a resurgent Rajasthan Royals, who will be keen to keep the winning momentum going in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

    The Rishabh Pant-led side had a sensational first leg, winning six games in eight outings.

    They started the second phase on a high by handing laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad an eight-wicket thrashing on Wednesday to maintain their top spot on the points table.

    On the other hand, Rajasthan, who were struggling to find their feet in the first leg, will take a lot of confidence after snatching a two-run victory from the jaws of defeat against Punjab Kings.

    With the win, they have bridged the gap on the playoff spots.

    A victory against Delhi will take them to the fourth.

    For Rajasthan, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mahipal Lomror rose to the occasion with the bat against Punjab but skipper Sanju Samson will be expected to take more responsibility.

    In the bowling department, pacers Kartik Tyagi and Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman did the job in the end.

    With Punjab needing eight runs to win of the final two overs, Rahman gave away just four in penultimate over before rookie Tyagi bowled a sensational final six balls, picking up two wickets while conceding just one run to seal the side’s fourth win of the season.

    The former champions will look to keep the winning momentum going and bag two more points but that’s easier said than done.

    Come Saturday, the Royals will face a tough task against the Delhi team with openers Shikhar Dhawan, the leading run scorer of the tournament this season, and Prithvi Shaw looking in good touch.

    Dhawan (422 runs) and Shaw (319 runs) have provided flying starts to their side with six half-centuries between them along with 88 fours and 21 sixes.

    For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.

    Shreyas Iyer made a stunning return with an unbeaten 47 after missing the first leg due to injury, which is a big positive for the side.

    DC also boast of a strong middle-order comprising, skipper Rishabh Pant (248 runs), Australian Steve Smith and Shimron Hetmyer, who can be highly destructive on their day.

    In the bowling department, Delhi is unlikely to tinker with their pace attack, as Avesh Khan has been impressive and South African Kagiso Rabada can do the damage early while Anrich Nortje provides the express speed.

    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.

    Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Liam Livingstone, Evin Lewis, David Miller, Chris Morris, Oshane Thomas, Mustafizur Rahaman, Tabraiz Shamsi, Glenn Phillips, Chetan Sakariya, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, KC Cariappa, Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldip Yadav, Mahipal Lomror.

    Match starts at 3:30PM IST.

  • IPL: KKR captain Eoin Morgan hails bowlers for back-to-back wins

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan has hailed his bowlers as “superstars” of the team, saying their “outstanding” performance in the last two IPL games has allowed the openers to play with freedom.

    KKR bowlers had bundled out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a meagre 92 in their first game since IPL resumption and on Thursday restricted a marauding Mumbai Indian line-up to just 155.

    Rookie Venkatesh Iyer (53) also left many in awe of his talent as he smashed a 27-ball 41 in the first game and then hit his maiden IPL fifty on Thursday to help KKR tame MI by seven wickets and enter the top-four in the points table.

    “I don’t think it’s one player that’s changed the outlook of the team. I think in the last two games, the superstars in our side have been the bowlers, they have been outstanding on really good wickets to bat on here at Abu Dhabi,” Morgan said at the post-match media conference.

    “And I think that allowed our opening pair in (of) Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer to go out and play their natural game.”

    Morgan lavished praise on the lanky south-paw Iyer for his “imposing” innings at the top of the order.

    “I think Venkatesh played an innings today that would match a guy who’s played possibly 50 IPL games. It was quite imposing as a batsman at the top of the order to be able to do that and today was no different,” he said.

    “He’s continued on his form from the first day. So, I don’t think it’s one player, I think it’s collectively, I think it is set up by our bowling line-up which was magnificent again.”

    Morgan also lauded the bowlers for executing the plans “unbelievably well”.

    “I don’t think it’s a massive gamble, I think there is a lot of preparation and strategy that go into the decisions that are made on the field,” he said.

    “Obviously, when you are on the field, you need to adjust to what’s happening with the pitch and conditions here at Abu Dhabi. And I think we had good games both with strategy and planning because the bowlers have executed unbelievably well.

    “They have been in fine form, they have managed to do that and make the rest of our preparation look really good.”

    Morgan also singled out the contribution of the spinners, who have been able to show their “high-quality” skills despite not getting much help from the wickets.

    “I think, the quality of our spin bowlers means that they can bowl in conditions that aren’t friendly to spin bowling and I don’t particularly think that Abu Dhabi is, yes, the boundaries are bigger, but the two games that we have played, the ball hasn’t turned pretty much at all…

    “So far, they haven’t played a massive part, it is just the high-quality that they are producing.”

    Morgan was also pleased to see his team play an “aggressive brand of cricket” that he along with KKR head coach Brendon McCullum have been advocating.

    “It is extremely pleasing. We want the best for everybody in the changing room and the aggressive cricket that we have shown in the last two games, is exactly what suits the talented guys in our changing room,” he said.

    “I know some of them might feel alien to take risk after risk after risk, but that is exactly what we want them to do. They are a seriously talented batting and bowling line-up and we want them to continue to get better.”

    KKR are next up against Chennai Super Kings on September 26 here.

  • With T20 WC in mind, Mumbai Indians not going to rush Hardik Pandya

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is “close to playing” but Mumbai Indians won’t rush him back as the franchise is also keeping in mind the needs of the Indian team while managing his workload, MI bowling coach Shane Bond said.

    Pandya, who has hardly bowled ever since returning to action after a back surgery last year, missed his second successive IPL game in the UAE leg but Bond asserted that the Baroda player was training well and hopefully will make a mark in the business end of the tournament.

    “Look, Hardik is training well, like Rohit. He is getting closer to playing. We are obviously balancing the needs of our team with the needs of Team India as well,” Bond said at the post-match press conference when asked about Hardik’s status.

    Mumbai Indians suffered a seven-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday in their IPL game.

    It was after their 20-run loss to Chennai Super Kings in the first game after resumption.

    “The one thing that this franchise does very well is look after its players with an eye on not only to try and win this competition but also on the T20 World Cup that’s following on,” said the former New Zealand speedster.

    “We are hopeful that Hardik will be back for the next match. As I said, he has trained today and trained pretty well by all counts.”

    Mumbai head coach Mahela Jayawardene had earlier said that Hardik was kept out of the IPL game against Chennai Super Kings as a precautionary measure as he had a little niggle.

    Bond backed the team management’s decision to not play Hardik in the first two matches.

    “We are obviously desperate to put him back out on the field. But like anything you have to balance everything up, you have to also consider what the player wants,” he said.

    “There’s also no point rushing him back to get injured to miss the rest of the tournament when we may have a chance to win it.

    “I think we are doing the right thing and hopeful (that) we will get him back shortly and he’ll have an impact on the back-end of the tournament and get us into the playoffs and hopefully win the tournament from there.” On Thursday, Mumbai Indians were restricted to sub-par 155 and Bond said that the defending champions were well short of the score.

  • Kolkata Knight Riders fined for slow over rate against Mumbai Indians 

    By PTI

    ABU DHABI: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan and his teammates have been fined for the side’s slow over rate during their seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here.

    According to an official statement, Morgan has been fined Rs 24 lakh while rest of his team members in the playing XI were each fined lesser of either Rs 6 lakh or 25 percent of their individual match fee.

    “The Kolkata Knight Riders have been fined after they maintained a slow over rate during their IPL 2021 match against Mumbai Indians at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on September 23,” read a statement issued by the IPL.

    “As it was the team’s second offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan was fined Rs 24 lakhs.

    “The rest of the members of the playing XI were each fined lesser of either Rs 6 lakhs or 25 percent of their individual match fee.

    ” KKR produced a clinical performance for the second successive game since IPL’s resumption to tame the mighty Mumbai Indians by seven wickets, riding on fluent fifties from Rahul Tripathi (74 not out) and rookie Venkatesh Iyer (53).

    The win also saw the two-time former champions enter the top-four in the points table on Thursday.

    KKR will next play Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings here on September 26.