News Analysis India

Tag: IPL

  • Kolkata Knight Riders wins toss, asks Mumbai Indians to bat

    By PTI
    CHENNAI: Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl against Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.

    KKR are fielding an unchanged side, while MI have replaced Chris Lynn with South African Quinton de Kock, who was in quarantine for their first game.

    The Teams:

    Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan(c), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Harbhajan Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.

    Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Quinton de Kock(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Marco Jansen, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.

  • Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson was right in not taking a single: Sanjay Manjrekar

    By IANS
    CHENNAI: A day after Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson played the magical 119-run innings but fell just short of guiding his team past the target set by Punjab Kings, opinion was divided on whether he took the right decision to not go for a run off the penultimate ball of the innings.

    The new RR skipper declined a single to Chris Morris off the second-last ball of the innings, while chasing a mammoth target of 221.

    Samson, instead, decided to go for a big hit off the last ball from Arshdeep Singh but couldn’t clear deep cover and was caught by Deepak Hooda.

    Rajasthan Royals finally managed 217 for 7 in 20 overs.

    Former India batsman and cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar said the RR captain took the right decision to not go for a single.

    “Yes, he took the right call because I am thinking, which is the greatest possibility. Samson hitting the last ball for a six with the kind of form that he was in and Morris had just come in — hitting that ball for a four and, you know, I thought hitting the six was a greater possibility than Morris hitting a four. I thought he (Samson) took the right call and almost managed it but, unfortunately, it turned out to be a great innings in a losing cause,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com.

    Former South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn, whose last stint in the IPL was with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2020 season too felt it was the right call but felt Morris too is capable of ‘clearing the ropes’.

    “When you’re in and you feel like you can hit any ball for a six and that’s the situation that he (Samson) was in, you can’t blame him (for not taking a single),,” said Steyn.

    “I think, he knew where (Arshdeep) Singh was going to bowl… (but) you know when someone like Chris Morris on the other side can also clear the ropes, it’s probably the wrong decision. Well, it’s such a tight (decision) to make..,” added Steyn.

    On his part Samson said, “When I am in the zone, and watching the ball well, the sixes come out naturally. I don’t think I could have done better than that. I thought I timed it well for a six but unfortunately couldn’t clear the man in the deep.”

  • Yuzvendra Chahal ‘welcomes’ KL Rahul, Chris Gayle to Royal Challengers Bangalore

    By IANS
    MUMBAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spinner Yuzvendra Chahal pointed out the similarities between the Punjab Kings’ jersey with that of RCB’s by playfully welcoming captain KL Rahul and Chris Gayle to the franchise.

    “Welcome to @RCBTweets boys @henrygayle @klrahul11,” said Chahal in his tweet with a video of Gayle and Rahul having a chat on the field wearing the Punjab jersey during their match on Monday against Rajasthan Royals.

    Welcome to @RCBTweets boys @henrygayle @klrahul11 pic.twitter.com/1TQ65VzScR
    — Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) April 12, 2021

    Punjab Kings scored a mammoth 221/6 with captain KL Rahul scoring 91 off 50 balls. However, RR almost pulled off an epic chase with their captain Sanju Samson scoring an extraordinary 119 runs off just 63 deliveries. However, they fell just four runs short with Samson being dismissed off the last ball of the match and RR’s innings ended on 217/7.

  • 2017 IPL final victory against Rising Pune Supergiants my favourite: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Mumbai Indians has won five titles in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but the sweetest victory for Rohit Sharma is the one against Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in 2017.

    In the final of the mega event, Mumbai Indians scored just 129 runs. Thanks to a gutsy 47 from Krunal Pandya, Mumbai managed to get over the 120-run mark.

    In response, the Steve Smith-led Rising Pune Supergiants fell just two runs short of the target, giving Mumbai Indians their third title win in the IPL. Former India skipper MS Dhoni, who played for Pune Supergiants in 2016, 2017 too failed to take the side over the line in the summit clash.

    “I would pick 2017 as we only made 129 and to defend that score on any pitch in any conditions against any opposition in a final is a big achievement,” Rohit told India cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues when asked about his favourite win in an interview on social media.

    On being quizzed about who had struck more boundaries in IPL between him and Chris Gayle, Hitman (as Rohit is fondly called) promptly said that Chris might have hit more sixes, but he was still the man who has hit more boundaries than anyone else in IPL. Answering the question, Rohit said, “No, I have more 4’s in IPL than Chris. He has got more 6’s for sure in the IPL.”

    Rohit Sharma fondly recalled the headlines newspapers put out the day after he scored the record-breaking 264 against Sri Lanka. He said, “I remember because the next day there was a headline saying Rohit Sharma beat Sri Lanka.”

    But even the Hitman was taken aback when Jemimah asked him to pick between his childhood ground and his home ground, i.e. Borivali Sports Club and Wankhede Stadium. Preferring to skip the tough pick, he said, “Don’t let me pick this one I can’t choose between the two! On one ground, I started my cricket career, whereas, on the other, I started my professional career. It is really hard for me to pick!”

    Rohit’s love for Indian movies also came out quite vividly as he chose the 1992 sports drama Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. He said, “That movie (Jo Jeeta…) was quite emotional. We were quite young, and it created a spark in me. I remember I was in school. That last scene where the race was won was just incredible.”

    The whole conversation between the two Mumbaikars took place when they caught up to chat on Dream11’s #TeamHaiTohMazaaHai segments called ‘Third Umpire’ and ‘Dil Ya Dimaag’.

  • Now that’s a comeback: SRH hails Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s impressive return to cricket

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday applauded Bhuvneshwar Kumar after the pacer won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March after an impressive show in India’s recently concluded series against England.

    Bhuvneshwar was ruled out of the 13th edition of IPL due to injury and subsequently missed India’s tour of Australia in 2020. But the right-arm pacer made a stunning comeback to the national fold during the white-ball series against England.

    “Out in 2020 due to injury, questions over his Indian team comeback, makes a return to the domestic circuit, called up for the white ball series vs ENG. Wins the ICC men’s player of the month. Now THAT’S a comeback,” SRH tweeted.

    Bhuvneshwar was the standout bowler on either side in the white-ball series and was chosen the winner by fans and the ICC voting academy.

    Reacting to the win Bhuvneshwar Kumar said: “After what seemed like a really long and painful gap, I was delighted to be playing for India again. I used the time away to work on my fitness and skill and I am happy to be back taking wickets for my country.

    “I would like to thank each and every person who helped me in this journey starting with my family and friends and my teammates. Also, a special thank you to the ICC voting academy and all the fans who voted for me and made me the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March.”

    Commenting on the pacer’s performance in March, VVS Laxman representing the ICC Voting Academy said: “Bhuvi missed nearly a year and a half of international cricket through multiple unrelated injuries, but you’d never have guessed. He was outstanding in both the PowerPlay overs and at the death in the white-ball formats against a powerful, aggressive England batting line-up. Economical and penetrative, he was instrumental in shaping Indian triumphs in both series.”

    Bhuvneshwar will next be seen in action when SRH locks horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday.

  • IPL 2021: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Harshal Patel ‘chill’ post training

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Virat Kohli might be targeting his first title in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper also likes to switch off and enjoy with his teammates off the field.

    Kohli on Tuesday shared a picture in which he was seen sharing smiles with AB de Villiers and RCB’s last game hero Harshal Patel.

    “Chilling with these dudes post practice @ABdeVilliers17 @HarshalPatel23,” Kohli tweeted.

    Chilling with these dudes post practice @ABdeVilliers17@HarshalPatel23 pic.twitter.com/Y06h8QnIXg
    — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) April 13, 2021

    Harshal had delivered a stunning bowling performance before de Villiers’ masterclass took RCB home against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening game of IPL. Harshal had picked five wickets (three in the final over) to restrict Rohit Sharma’s side to 159.

    Earlier in the day, Harshal said he benefitted from the clarity regarding his role given by the team management two weeks prior to the start of this year’s IPL.

    “Clarity is always good. It helps you with your mental preparation, it helps you with your skill preparation. Whenever you have clarity, you know whatever situations you are going to face in the game and you can prepare mentally accordingly and in terms of skill so it is always good to have clarity about your role,” said Harshal while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.

    When asked how he feels with Kohli entrusting him to be the death over specialist, Harshal said: “I wanted to become a bowler or a player who takes on responsibility and the captain is confident enough to put me in those important situations and I look at it as a privilege. It is something I have looked forward to for a very long time and I am very happy that I am being put in those situations now.”

    RCB will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday and will look to keep the winning momentum going.

  • Rajasthan Royals bowler Riyan Parag latest to use ‘perpendicular’ action

    By IANS
    MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) Riyan Parag raised eyebrows when he used an unusually low-armed release in the 10th over during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings.

    Parag bowled just one over in the explosive Punjab Kings innings and had his arm almost perpendicular to his body when he bowled the third ball of the over to Chris Gayle.

    Ravichandran Ashwin had used a similar action earlier this season while Kedar Jadhav is known to use a slinging release quite frequently.

    The IPL’s Twitter handle asked fans what names they can think for the action while itself calling it a “right-arm perpendicular”.

    “That is right-arm perpendicular. What name can you think of for this unique action?” said the tournament’s tweet.

    The commentators were taken by surprise. “How low is a legal sidearm delivery? Underarm deliveries are not allowed any more, as the Australians know well,” joked Harsha Bhogle, referring to the infamous underarm delivery bowled by Trevor Chappell in an ODI against New Zealand in 1981 on the instruction of his captain and elder brother Greg Chappell.

    Michael Slater said that Parag may have got away with it and the umpire was seen having a word with the bowler afterwards.

    Gayle took a single off that ball and got back on strike after the next ball. Parag ended up dismissing the former West Indies captain with a more conventional delivery off that ball.

    Punjab Kings scored a mammoth 221/6 with captain KL Rahul scoring 91 off 50 balls. However, RR almost pulled off the epic chase with their captain Sanju Samson scoring an extraordinary 119 runs off just 63 deliveries. However, they fell just four runs short with Samson being dismissed off the last ball of the match and RR’s innings ended on 217/7.

  • Rajasthan Royals pacer Chetan Sakariya: From struggling to meet cricket expenses to IPL stardom

    By IANS
    NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals pace bowler Chetan Sakariya has overcome many hurdles in his life like working at his uncles stationery shop while in school in lieu of money to cover his cricket expenses as his father couldnt afford equipment and coaching fees. Earlier this year, he and his family overcame the death of his younger brother, who had committed suicide. These have been harsh enough tests to endure early in life, especially for someone whos just turned 23.

    So it wasn’t surprising to see him maintain composure and calmness while bowling a series of slower balls in the last over on Monday night against Punjab Kings bowling innings and deceiving the batsmen while conceding five runs and picking two wickets.

    RR director of cricket operations Kumar Sangakkara was all praise for the left-arm youngster from Saurashtra.

    “I think he (Chetan Sakariya) was just brilliant. His skill was on display. It was really wonderful to watch a bowler in such a high-scoring match always smiling, always in the game. He took an amazing catch at short fine leg. He managed to come back well with the new ball. He bowled at the death, when everyone was taking punishment,” Sangakkara said while speaking to the media after the match on Monday.

    “It speaks a lot about his skill, his attitude. It is great to have him in the side. He is a simple guy. He has had his ups and downs in life. He is here to enjoy his cricket. Our job is to support that. It was really good to see the control that he had, the change-ups. He picked the moments to bowl them,” added Sangakkara.

    Sakariya was picked for Rs 1.2 crore in the IPL mini-auction on February 18 this year.

    Coming from a village, 10 kilometres from Bhavnagar in Gujarat, life wasn’t easy for him.

    His maternal uncle took care of his expenses for education, cricket equipment, and training at the Sir Bhavsinhji Cricket Academy, a go-to place for budding cricketers in and around Bhavnagar, and from where the likes of Saurashtra players Sheldon Jackson, Harvik Desai, and Sandip Maniar have emerged.

    In return, Sakariya had to help him in his business.

    Sakariya’s dad, who owned and drove a tempo, took care of the family with his meagre income.

    “When I was in school, I had to balance studies and cricket. But after completing my 12th I focussed on cricket. I would train in the evening and in the first half, I would work for my uncle,” Sakariya had told IANS just after getting picked at the auction.

    Sakariya was initially encouraged by his school coach when he was in 10th and immediately enrolled into the Bhavsinhji Academy. From there, he got a chance to play under-16 for Saurashtra.

    He was then picked for MRF Pace Foundation and spent five months there on his action and fitness.

    “I played for the Saurashtra under-19 and also the under-23 teams. Soon, I was called up for the senior team’s probables and was put in the loop. The coaches said that with experience I would improve,” he had told IANS.

    Having bowled at the senior Saurashtra team nets, he made his Ranji Trophy debut in November 2018 against Gujarat and he picked a five-wicket haul in first innings as Saurashtra won points on first innings. He picked 29 wickets in eight matches in his debut Ranji season.

    But it was his bowling in T20 format that was to catch everyone’s eye.

    During the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he impressed the Royal Challengers Bangalore scouts.

    “I was approached by the RCB scouts when I was playing a T20 match against Jharkhand. They called me for trials in January, just before Covid-19 broke out. Coach Mike Hesson was impressed. They gave me match scenarios at the nets and I impressed them. Unfortunately, a lockdown happened. But they kept in touch and signed a contract with me,” Sakariya had told IANS.

    Sakariya soon flew to the UAE for IPL 2020 as a net bowler for RCB and that is where his brush with someone from the big league came.

    South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav were at the nets.

    “Steyn taught me a lot of things related to planning out batsmen. He taught me how to come round the wicket to a left-handed batsman and bowl wide outside off-stump. It is a very difficult job for a left-armer. I got Moeen Ali out in an intra-RCB practice game,” added Sakariya.

    “Umesh bhai also taught me how to plan. My skills in variation were developed at the RCB nets during IPL 2020.”

    The brush with the Steyn & Co at the RCB nets bore fruit at the Rajasthan Royals trials.

    “I bowled extraordinarily well at the Rajasthan Royals trials just recently. One of the coaches came up to me and praised me for having different types of deliveries. I think I have six different variations — back-of-the-hand, bouncer, yorker, cutter, and slow bouncer etc, but I bowl two-three perfectly. That performance and in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is what I think got me a big contract,” said Sakariya.

    He bagged 12 wickets in five matches that put him sixth in the wicket-takers’ list of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

  • IPL 2014 made people back home believe I was sub-continent specialist: RCB all-rounder Glenn Maxwell

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has said that the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) performance made people in Australia believe that he was a sub-continent specialist.

    Maxwell played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL 2014. The first leg of that tournament was played in the UAE, and Maxwell was able to light up the tournament and that edition saw the best of the right-handed batsman.

    “I have been a massive beneficiary of the IPL. It is certainly fast-tracked my international T20 career, I have been able to experience the Indian conditions, we had an IPL in Dubai in 2014 and I was able to perform really well over there. After that, I got a bit pigeon-holed in Australia over being a sub-continent specialist. It got me a few ODIs and Test tours which I probably would not have been able to do so if not for the IPL,” Maxwell said in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.

    “I still remember chatting with Sachin Tendulkar in my first year at the IPL, the fact the I was an Aussie, I joked with him, I think he liked that. He was brilliant with the sort of way he opened up his world to him. Every year you come to the IPL, it is a massive learning experience,” he added.

    In the first game of IPL 2021, Maxwell played a knock of 39 runs to help RCB defeat Mumbai Indians by two wickets here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Maxwell revealed how the build-up for the IPL auction was for him and how teammate Adam Zampa had a funny role in RCB picking him.

    “There is actually a funny story, the day of the auction, we were training on the day of the auction in New Zealand while we were in quarantine. Adam Zampa had his RCB hat in his bag and he took out it, and he made sure to send a photo to Virat saying let’s have Maxwell in our team. It was like Zampa saying Virat congratulations, I have already given Maxwell his RCB cap. It all happened really well, it would have looked silly if it did not work out this way. Virat said you guys are idiots after Zampa sent him the picture,” said Maxwell.

    Speaking about his bond with spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Maxwell said: “I am certainly looking forward to playing with my little friend (Yuzvendra Chahal). He has already played a few pranks on me since I have been here. We were in the squad together in 2013 while playing for Mumbai Indians so we have been friends for a long time, we have been close ever since and every time we come up against each other, we hug before the game. We always try to have fun and keep smiles on the faces.”

    Maxwell also said that the Indian talent in the RCB side is quite impressive and it will push the foreign players to keep performing day and day out this season.

    “I think I look at the depth of the Indian talent RCB has got, it is something that really excited me. It is pretty scary how talented these young kids are. It puts pressure on our international stars to keep performing. You want pressure coming from underneath, we have to make sure that we are performing for RCB. We have got specialist openers and very good Indian bowlers. You have Chahal, who is going to be massive for us this year,” said Maxwell.

  • My role with the bat is to get as many boundaries as I can: RCB all-rounder Harshal Patel

    By ANI
    CHENNAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Harshal Patel on Tuesday said apart from his job with the ball, he also knows his role as a batsman and he admitted that he would be expected to hit as many boundaries as he can.

    Harshal had delivered a stunning bowling performance before AB de Villiers’ masterclass took RCB home against defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening game of IPL. Harshal had picked five wickets (three in the final over) to restrict Rohit Sharma’s side to 159. In the end, Harshal even went on to score the winning runs for his franchise.

    “Obviously, whenever I am going to bat, I am going to bat in the situation I encountered in the first game, it is always going to be a crunch situation. My role is to get as many boundaries as I can. But this role changes according to the situation of the game. In the last game, for example, AB de Villiers was batting alongside me, my job was to give him a single, all is dependent on the situation of the game and you react to it,” said Harshal during a virtual press conference.

    “I was just watching the ball when we needed one run on the final delivery against Mumbai. I knew my instincts would take over if I watch the ball closely. If you have a lot of things on your mind before the ball is bowled then you sort of get confused and you become double-minded where you do not execute what you want to. Whenever I bowl or bat, my focus is on watching the ball or hitting the areas I want to,” he added.

    When asked whether he feels any pressure after performing so well against Mumbai, Harshal said: “It is out of my control, everyone says to focus on the process. It is a cliche but it is true. All I can do is try and win as many games as possible and try to have a positive impact on the game.

    “Death bowling is one of those aspects where you are in a position to win the game for your team. It is a privileged position when you can win the game for your team, it can put a dent in your confidence if it does not go your way. Death bowling is something I have worked on and I am confident to take all that practice into the game,” he added.

    When asked how he sees himself as a batsman, Harshal said: “My focus from 2018 IPL, lot of people did not show interest in me and I took it as an insult as I wanted to become a player who was a match-winner and had a lot of value attached to it. I realised if I work on my batting then I can become a valuable player. With experience, I have realised if I pay more attention to how I approach particular innings and if I find my way around the difficulties, then I can definitely prove myself as an all-rounder.”