News Analysis India

Tag: IPL

  • Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma completes 4,000 runs as captain in T20s

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma on Saturday added another feather to his highly illustrious cap as he completed 4000 runs in T20s as captain.

    The right-handed batsman achieved the feat against SunRisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium during his 32 runs knock. He joined the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir with 4000 plus runs in the T20s as captain.Rohit sits at the fourth spot on the most run-getters list of the IPL. He has scored 5324 runs in 203 matches so far. India and RCB skipper Kohli is leading the chart with 5944 runs in 194 matches. Followed by Suresh Raina (5430 runs) and David Warner (5347).

    Rohit also surpassed Dhoni to record the most sixes in the IPL by Indian batsmen. He pulled a short ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six over deep mid-wicket. Rohit has now smashed 217 sixes in the IPL while former India skipper Dhoni has 216 maximums under his belt.

    Rohit first whacked a six in the third over and pulled a short one in the next over to achieve the milestone. The right-handed batsman also smashed two fours before he was dismissed by Vijay Shankar in the seventh over.

    Mumbai Indians defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by 13 runs on Saturday.

    Pacer Trent Boult and spinner Rahul Chahar both picked three wickets each as Mumbai Indians registered an easy win over SRH on Saturday.

    Mumbai Indians had scored 150/5, thanks to Kieron Pollard’s two sixes on the last two balls. In response, SRH was bundled out for 137 despite a flying start given by Jonny Bairstow.

    Mumbai Indians will next take on Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

  • On this day in 2008: Brendon McCullum gave flying start to IPL

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: On April 18, 2008, a global phenomenon in the form of the Indian Premier League (IPL) first came to light and went on to cement India’s stature as a powerhouse in the game of cricket.

    On this day, the first-ever match was played in the IPL, a battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

    RCB won the toss and elected to bowl first. Little did they know, that a Kiwi batsman will take them to the cleaners. Put into bat, KKR got off to a flying start as openers Brendon McCullum and Sourav Ganguly put on 61 runs in just 5.2 overs.

    Ganguly (10) was sent back to the pavilion by Zaheer Khan, but McCullum continued to march on. Hammering the bowlers to all round the park, McCullum spared no mercy on the opposition and as a result, he brought up his century in the 16th over of the innings.

    As soon as brought up the feat, KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan gave him a standing ovation. McCullum however did not get bogged down and in the final four overs, he added 56 runs more to take his individual score to 158.

    With this knock, KKR posted a mammoth score of 222/3 in the allotted twenty overs. KKR then had no difficulty in defending the score as the side bundled out RCB for just 82 runs, winning the match by 140 runs.

    Ajit Agarkar was the pick of KKR bowlers as he returned with the figures of 3-25. This match gave a glorifying start to the competition as no one had known what the tournament had to offer before its start.

    It was the first time that players were auctioned to take part in the compeititon, but in the end, this match settled all the myths and gave everyone satisfaction that it is indeed about cricket.

    In the inaugural edition, KKR did not manage to reach the semi-finals, and it was Rajasthan Royals who managed to win the tournament.

    Till date, 13 editions of the tournament have been played with Mumbai Indians winning it five times. Chennai Super Kings has won it thrice while KKR has managed to take the title twice.

    The 14th edition of the tournament is underway and it will be played across six venues in India.

  • Reefs are heart and soul of our oceans: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma bats for ‘save the corals’

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma is continuously taking up the causes related to nature and wildlife as he bats now for saving oceans.

    In Mumbai Indians’ third game against SunRisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Rohit walked on the field with his specially designed shoes showing coral reefs and a message “Save the corals” written on it. This is the third time that Rohit has supported the cause in the ongoing 14th edition of the IPL.

    The opening batsman said reefs are the heart and souls of our oceans. He further said that protecting our oceans means protecting our future.

    Taking to Twitter Rohit wrote, “Our reefs are the heart and souls of our oceans. Nothing makes me happier than a healthy reef. My love for the ocean cannot be put into words and saving it will forever be my cause.”

    “I was afraid of the ocean at the start but as I learnt more about it and all the amazing marine life it houses and the massive role it plays for our survival, I fell in love instantly.”

    “Even the tiniest change in our mindset, in our activities or in our understanding of what we can do to help will have a massive ripple effect on our environment. Protecting our oceans means protecting our future,” he added.

    Rohit was spotted wearing spikes with “Save the Rhinos” art in the very first match of IPL 2021 and he continued to use his shoes as a canvas to highlight important wildlife and environmental issues in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

    In the second game, he chose to raise awareness for a “Plastic Free Ocean”.

    On Instagram, after Mumbai Indians’ match against RCB on April 9, Rohit talked about how making the world a better place is everyone’s responsibility and something that all need to work towards.

    Rohit laid emphasis on saving our oceans from plastic waste through a piece of shoe art that showcased turtles in pristine blue waters. Much like his support for Rhino’s, Rohit has extended his platforms in the past to voice issues of marine plastic pollution.

    Mumbai Indians defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by 13 runs on Saturday.

    Pacer Trent Boult and spinner Rahul Chahar both picked three wickets each as Mumbai Indians registered an easy win over SRH on Saturday.

    Mumbai Indians had scored 150/5, thanks to Kieron Pollard’s two sixes on the last two balls. In response, SRH was bundled out for 137 despite a flying start given by Jonny Bairstow.

    Mumbai Indians will next take on Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

  • Will stick to my plans in coming matches: Mumbai Indians spinner Rahul Chahar

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians spinner Rahul Chahar said he will stick to his plans for the upcoming games at the MA Chidambaram Stadium after bagging seven wickets in the last two matches.

    Mumbai Indians defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by 13 runs on Saturday. Chahar picked three wickets and dismantled the SRH’s middle-order.

    Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma played knocks of 40 and 32, but SRH managed to maintain a stranglehold as Mumbai Indians were restricted to 150/5. In response, SRH was bundled out for 137 despite a flying start given by Jonny Bairstow. Jasprit Bumrah bowled economically and just gave 14 runs in his fours overs including a wicket while Trent Boult returned with the figures of 3-28.

    Chahar went wicketless in the first game and then made a strong comeback against Kolkata Knight Riders as he scalped four wickets.

    “I will stick to the same plan for the coming matches in Chennai and will try to pick as many wickets as possible. Chennai wicket helps spinners. Wickets are not in our hands but I will try to turn the ball from the right spot and put batsmen under pressure,” Chahar said in a video posted on IPL’s official website.

    “There was some pressure in the second game as the first match was not so good for me. It was important for me to give the best performance in the second match and I don’t think there is any better wicket than this for spinners,” he added.

    Chahar asked Anukul Roy about his last season’s spectacular catch against Rajasthan Royals.

    Reflecting on that catch, Roy said: “It gives me confidence that I can take tough catches and now the normal catches look easy to me. But every catch is important in the match.”

    Mumbai Indians will next take on Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

  • IPL 2021: Not going to underestimate anyone, says Delhi Capitals pacer Anrich Nortje

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Delhi Capitals fast bowler Anrich Nortje feels one should never underestimate any team in a tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they can come good on any given day.

    “There’s no team that’s got a bad team so every side is really competitive, and it can come off for anyone on any day. We are definitely not going to underestimate anyone and hopefully, we can bring our A-game,” said Nortje in a Delhi Capitals’ release.

    When asked about the make-up of the Delhi Capitals squad, the South African said, “We are unfortunately missing Shreyas (Iyer), but we definitely have a great combination of players. We have got a great bowling line-up as well.”

    ALSO READ | Delhi Capitals pacer Anrich Nortje out of quarantine after false COVID-19 scare

    “It’s just about picking the right team on the right wicket and conditions. We definitely have a lot of options in our bowling line-up, which is really nice to have and hopefully we can make the best of the conditions and the different players that we have got,” Nortje added.

    Nortje has joined the team bubble on Friday after three Covid-19 negative test results. The pacer had got a false COVID-19 positive result which saw him having to stay in quarantine for longer even as teammate Kagiso Rabada came out and was a part of the game against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.

    “Ten days in the room was quite a lot for me. It was nice to get out, run around and bowl a bit. I really enjoyed it and hopefully I can build it up from here on,” said Nortje.

    Delhi Capitals, who went down fighting against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, will be looking to bounce back when they take on Punjab Kings in their third encounter of the IPL 2021 here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

  • IPL 2021: KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy learns tricks of the trade from ‘teacher’ Harbhajan

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Harbhajan Singh might still be playing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League, but that doesn’t stop him from mentoring the young spinners in the franchise.

    KKR on Saturday shared a picture in which the senior off-spinner was seen giving valuable tips to leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy. The right-handed leg spinner had bagged 17 wickets in last year’s IPL and was a key cog in KKR’s bowling wheel.

    “Not many better teachers of the craft than @harbhajan_singh,” KKR tweeted.

    Earlier this week, Harbhajan said that there is nothing wrong with Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling and he felt the left-arm spin bowler would regain his form.

    ALSO READ | Mystery solved, Varun Chakravarthy certainly is ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay fan!

    Kuldeep hasn’t been at his best form off late and Harbhajan reckons that the spinner will come good both for KKR and Team India.

    “When he entered the Indian team, no one taught him how to bowl. Whatever he did was his own merit reflecting in his bowling. The merit is still there and he has only gotten better with time,” Harbhajan told kkr.in.

    “There are times when you bowl good spells and yet you don’t get wickets. It happened with all the renowned bowlers. I don’t see anything wrong with Kuldeep. He has been a match-winner and I know he is going to come good for KKR and also Team India soon,” he added.

    In their second match of ongoing IPL, Mumbai Indians defeated KKR by 10 runs thanks to a spirited bowling performance from the Rohit Sharma-led side. Russell’s five-wicket haul saw Mumbai Indians bundled out for 152 after batsman Suryakumar Yadav’s (56) quickfire knock. In response, KKR was restricted to 142/7.

    KKR will next lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. 

  • IPL 2021: Daniel Sams joins RCB bio-bubble after recovering from COVID-19

    By PTI
    CHENNAI: Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams on Saturday joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bio-bubble after returning with two negative RT-PCR results more than a week after testing positive for COVID-19.

    The 28-year-old had arrived in India on April 3 with a negative COVID-19 report but tested positive during the second test on April 7 and was in quarantine since then.

    “We are pleased to inform that Royal Challengers Bangalore, all-rounder Daniel Sams, has joined the RCB bio-bubble on 17th April 2021 with negative reports for COVID-19,” RCB said in a statement.

    Daniel Sams is out of quarantine and has joined the RCB bio-bubble today with two consecutive negative reports for COVID-19.RCB medical team was in constant touch with Sams and has declared him fit to join the team after adhering to all the BCCI protocols.#PlayBold #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/0none9RQ7l
    — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 17, 2021

    “RCB medical team was in constant touch with Sams to ensure his safety and declared him fit to join the team after all the required examinations as part of the BCCI protocols.”

    Sams, who was traded to the RCB this season from Delhi Capitals, is the second player of the franchise to recover from COVID-19.

    Opener Devdutt Padikkal, who was the highest run-scorer for RCB last season with 473 runs from 15 matches, had earlier recovered from the dreaded disease and joined the team after returning negative.

    While Sams missed the first two matches, Padikkal was back in action in RCB’s second IPL game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which the team won by six runs.

    RCB are on top of the points table with two wins and will face Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday during tournament’s first double header.

  • Chahar’s four-for guides CSK to 6-wicket win over Punjab Kings

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Deepak Chahar produced a superb opening spell to help Chennai Super Kings beat Punjab Kings by six wickets to register their first victory in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League here on Friday.

    After medium-pacer Chahar’s four for 13 enabled CSK to restrict the Punjab team to a below-par 106 for eight, Moeen Ali (46, 31 balls, 7x4s, 1×6) put on 66 runs for the second wicket with opener Faf du Plessis (36 not out, 33 balls, 3X4s, 1X6) to secure the win for the three-time champions.

    CSK finished at 107 for four in 15.4 overs with Sam Curran (5 not out) scoring the winning runs.

    With the target in sight, CSK lost the wickets of Suresh Raina (8) and Ambati Rayudu (0) to Mohammed Shami (2/21) in consecutive balls in the 15nth over.

    Ali opened up after a rather cautious start, and played some lovely drives and also hit a big six.

    He was holed out to Shahrukh Khan in the deep off leggie Murugan Ashwin (1/32) with CSK needing 17 runs for victory.

    Arshdeep Singh provided the early breakthrough for Punjab, when he had a struggling Ruturaj Gaikwad (5) caught at deep mid-wicket.

    However, the Aussie pace duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith could not make much of an impression for the second consecutive game.

    Earlier, Chahar rocked the Punjab batting line-up with a superb four-over spell during which he picked up four wickets, including that of ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle.

    Aiming to bounce back after being outclassed by Delhi Capitals in their opening match, CSK bowlers justified skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to bowl first by reducing Punjab to 26 for four in the powerplay (first six overs) and then to 26 for five before M Shahrukh Khan (47 off 36, 4X4s, 2X6s) led a brief revival.

    Chahar started the Punjab slide in the very first over by sending back Mayank Agarwal (0) with a beauty which nipped away from middle stump to hit the off stump.

    Chahar kept up the pressure and increased CSK’s woes with his consistency and conceded only two fours in his four-over spell.

    In-form Punjab skipper K L Rahul (5) was run-out by a brilliant direct hit from Ravindra Jadeja, who was fielding at short-cover, as the batsman tried to scramble for a single.

    Jadeja was in the act in the fifth over again, grabbing a superb catch, diving full-length to dismiss Gayle for 10 to give Chahar his second wicket.

    Nicholas Pooran bagged his second straight duck, pulling a short delivery straight into the hands of Shardul Thakur at long-leg.

    Deepak Hooda (10), who played a blinder in Punjab’s first match against Rajasthan Royals, could not repeat his heroics, lobbing a simple catch to du Plessis as the team slipped to 26 for five in the seventh over.

    Tamil Nadu’s power-hitter Shahrukh Khan was the only Punjab batsman to make an impression before falling to Sam Curran in the final over as CSK was all over their opponent.

    Shahrukh Khan and Jhye Richardson (15, 22 balls, 2x4s) added 31 runs for the sixth wicket, in what was the best partnership of the innings.

    Murugan Ashwin (6) then added 30 runs with his Tamil Nadu teammate Khan to help Punjab’s cause in an otherwise nightmare night for them.

    Sam Curran (1/12), Moeen Ali (1/17), Dwayne Bravo (1/10) were the other wicket-takers for CSK.

    Dhoni, playing his 200th game for CSK, won the toss and chose to bowl.

  • Hoping to be fit and ready within the week: Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Kane Williamson

    By PTI
    CHENNAI: Star New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson, who missed Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first two IPL matches due to an elbow injury, is recovering well and is expected to attain full match-fitness “within a week”.

    The 30-year-old Williamson, a vital cog in SRH’s middle order, suffered a small tear in his left elbow tendon and was ruled out of the home ODI series against Bangladesh in March ahead of the IPL.

    However, the New Zealand captain on Friday said his “recovery is going really well”.

    “…you know I have been focussed to get pain free as quickly as possible and we are certainly tracking really nicely and hoping to be fit and ready within the week,” Williamson said in a video posted by SRH in Twitter.

    “It’s been a bit of a balance between practice and rehab and sort of things. But for the most part, the progression is been really good. So pretty optimistic about being close to full fitness very soon.”

    Batting at number four, Williamson had scored 317 runs in 11 innings to take SRH to the play-offs last season in UAE.

    All eyes are once again on his return with Sunrisers losing both their matches this season, primarily due to their inept middle-order.

    Williamson had recently won his fourth Sir Richard Hadlee medal for excelling across formats and was also adjudged the ‘Test Player of the Year’ at cricket boards’ annual awards function held virtually.

    Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on formidable Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

  • Delhi Capitals spinner Ashwin urges people to ‘follow best practices’ amid rapid surge in COVID infections

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: As India continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday urged everyone to be more vigilant to fight the second wave of COVID-19.

    India reported its highest-ever single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with over 2.17 lakh new cases and more than 1,100 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry on Friday.

    Ashwin, who is currently playing for Delhi Capitals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, also cautioned the citizens about the severity of the coronavirus.

    “All I can say right now!! We are all spoiling towards ….sday. The virus is right at my doorstep, it will be at yours tomorrow. Let’s try and follow best practices and my sincere prayers #COVIDSecondWave,” Ashwin tweeted.

    In the last 24 hours, 1,185 COVID-related deaths were reported in the country taking the death toll to 1,74,308. As many as 2,17,353 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in India in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of cases has gone up to 1,42,91,917.

    The active number of cases stands at 15,69,743. In the last 24 hours, 1,18,302 people recovered from the disease. With this, the total recoveries reached 1,25,47,866.

    Coming to the ongoing IPL, Rajasthan Royals clinched a thrilling win over Delhi Capitals, thanks to David Miller’s 62-run knock followed by Chris Morris’ cameo at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

    With 27 needed off the final two overs, Morris stepped up to the occasion to take his side over the line with two balls to spare. He hit two sixes off Kagiso Rabada’s penultimate over and accumulated 15 runs from it before smashing the winning run in the final over bowled by Tom Curran.

    Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting feels Ashwin not completing his fours overs was a ‘mistake on their behalf’ despite the spinner just giving 14 runs in his three overs.

    “That’s certainly something that we will talk about when I get a chance to sit down with the team. He had bowled beautifully. Three overs, none for 14. Hadn’t even conceded a boundary,” said Ponting.

    “Look he had a disappointing game in game one, but he has worked really hard in the last few days to make sure he adjusted and got things right in this game. I thought he bowled beautifully tonight. Probably a mistake on our behalf, and something we will be talking about later on,” he added.

    Delhi Capitals will next take on Punjab Kings here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.