News Analysis India

Tag: IPL

  • Sanju Samson Fighting Lone Battle for Rajasthan Royals A Worry Ahead of KKR Clash

    Since they have returned from their suspension the Rajasthan Royals have won two of their three games, and in one have posted what is the highest score this season so far. The Royals scored 217 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last match, with Sanju Samson (92*) getting the bulk of the runs.
    The Royals, in their three innings so far have totally scored 470 runs, with Samson being the only one who has scored more than 50.

     Samson, who has been the pick of the batsmen for the Royals, has scored a total of 178 runs, which is close to 40% of the total runs the team has scored.

    Samson’s tally is also almost double their second most successful batsman so far, captain Ajinkya Rahane who has scored 94 runs in three innings.

    Samson

    The Rajasthan Royals are also the only team who have got just one half-centurion among their ranks, even if the tournament is in its early stages now.

    Against the Dinesh Karthik-led Kolkata Knight Riders, who have the most successful spinners in the IPL so far, the Royals will definitely need more than just Sanju Samson to stand up and be counted if they are to get a positive result.

  • Hardik Pandya Apologises to Ishan Kishan, Calls Him ‘Cutie Pie’

    Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya has apologised to wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan after a throw from Pandya — in the 13th over of the RCB innings — jumped from a bowler’s footmark near the popping crease and hit Kishan in the eye. Kishan was in a lot of pain and was given temporary medication before being taken off the field by the MI physio. Kishan’s right eye looked visibly swollen as he walked off. Aditya Tare kept wickets for Mumbai for the rest of the game.

    Speaking at the end of the game Rohit Sharma said: “Unfortunate, I have not checked on him because I came here right after the presentation got over. He seems all-right, he has got little swelling in his eyes, which should be ok by tomorrow/ day after, we have got few days before we play the next match on 22nd, we have got 3-4 days, where we will assess and hopefully he will be fine.”

    Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 92 went in vain as Rohit Sharma’s 94 helped Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore to register their first win of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

    With this 46-run win, the defending champions have opened their account in the league while as for the losing skipper Kohli, he is now the proud owner of the orange cap. Also, during the course of his stunning innings, he surpassed Suresh Raina as the highest run-getter in the history of the league.

    Chasing a mammoth target of 214, Bangalore got off to the best start possible with skipper Kohli and Quinton de Kock taking the attack to the Mumbai bowlers. The duo put on a stunning 40-run partnership for the opening wicket to give the away side an ideal start. However, it all changed in the fifth over of the innings when Mitchell McClenaghan came into the attack and got rid of de Kock and AB De Villiers in a span of four deliveries.

  • Virat Kohli Doesn’t Feel Like Wearing Orange Cap After Loss, Markande Elated to Get Purple Cap

     

    Winning and losing might be part and parcel of competitive sports, but Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli definitely likes to end on the winning side and that was evident when he was handed the orange cap at the end of the game at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

    Speaking as he was presented the orange cap as he now has 201 runs from 4 games, Kohli said: “I don’t feel like wearing this (orange cap) right now because it really doesn’t matter.”

      Kohli is not only the highest run-getter at present in the current edition of the Indian Premier League, but is also the man with the most runs over the 11 editions of the cash-rich league with 4619 runs. He surpassed Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina – 4558 runs. At the third place is Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma with 4345 runs.

    On the other hand, Mumbai spinner Mayank Markande was handed the purple cap as he now has 8 wickets from 4 games and is closely followed by RCB pacer Chris Woakes who also has 8 wickets. They are followed by Sunil Narine with 7 wickets.

    Speaking at the presentation, Markande said: “I am really glad to get the purple cap again. Really feels nice to compete with world class bowlers like Narine and Woakes.”

    Markande picked up three wickets in Mumbai Indians’ opener against Chennai Super Kings and followed that up with a four-wicket haul against Sunrisers Hyderabad. While the defending champions were on the wrong end of the result on both occasions, Markande caught everyone’s attention with his guile and variety.

    “He was working with me on his plans for certain batsmen here in Patiala before the IPL. After the match against CSK, we spoke over phone the next morning and he told me that he had planned MS Dhoni’s dismissal. He had even planned Rayudu’s dismissal by bowling him the flipper. The most important thing about Mayank is the amount of confidence he has, even as a youngster. He knows everything about his own game and works accordingly. This will hold him in good stead in future as he will now step into first-class cricket,” a proud coach Mahesh Inder Singh told Cricketnext.

    Markande has played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic T20 and ODI tournaments respectively, but is yet to play in the Ranji Trophy for Punjab. His coach feels that his exploits in the IPL will boost his confidence and he could do well in the longer format as well.

     

  • Mumbai Indians Trounce Royal Challengers Bangalore

    Virat Kohli’s 92* went in vain as Rohit Sharma’s 94 helped Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore to register their first win of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Tuesday. With this 46-run win, the defending champions have opened their account in the league while as for the losing skipper Kohli, he is now the proud owner of the orange cap. Also, during the course of his stunning innings, he surpassed Suresh Raina as the highest run-getter in the history of the league.

  • Sunil Narine Joins Illustrious List, Becomes Third Overseas Bowler to Scalp 100 Wickets

    West Indian spin wizard Sunil Narine has added a fresh feather into his already illustrious cap by becoming only the third overseas bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to scalp 100 wickets.

    During Kolkata’s fourth match of the season against Delhi Daredevils, Narine finished with stunning figures of 3/18 in 3 overs to play a more than important role in guiding the home side to their second win of the season.

     And by doing to, Narine became only the 11th bowler in the history of the league to go past the magical 100-mark, as far as wickets are concerned.

    Lasith Malinga (O): 154
    Amit Mishra: 134
    Piyush Chawla: 130
    Harbhajan Singh: 129
    Dwayne Bravo (O): 123
    Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 115
    Ashish Nehra: 106
    Vinay Kumar: 105
    R Ashwin: 104
    Sunil Narine (O): 102
    Zaheer Khan: 102

    Moreover, Narine’s economy rate is also the best amongst all the players that have bowled at least 250 deliveries in the league. Narine takes the top spot ahead of the likes of Rashid Khan, Shaun Pollock and Ravichandran Ashwin.

    Sunil Narine: 6.3
    Rashid Khan: 6.4
    R Ashwin: 6.5
    Shaun Pollock: 6.5

    In the ongoing edition of the league, Narine has started ever so well and is currently the proud owner of the purple cap. So far, in four matches, Narine has scalped 7 wickets and he has given just 82 runs off the 90 deliveries that he has bowled thus far.

    Following their latest win in the league, KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik had high praise for the spinners, especially Narine.

    “The wrist spinners are picked in the IPL for a purpose. They’re doing a good job for us, they’re top quality spinners. Days you don’t win you sleep and wake up with a lot of thoughts. It’s something I’m getting used to. You’ve got to try and separate your batting and captaincy and do the job,” Karthik said.

  • IPL 2018, Live Streaming KKR vs DD, When and Where to Watch, Star Sports and Hotstar Timings IST

    Skipper Dinesh Karthik will face a big test when a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with a resurgent Delhi Daredevils, led by double title winning former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, in a much-anticipated IPL clash on Monday.

    The live telecast of the IPL 2018 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils will start at 8 PM on April 16th (Monday). Today’s IPL live match can be seen on the Star Sports network and IPL online free live streaming will be available on hotstar.com and Jio app. You can also follow our live blog for ball-by-ball updates and analysis on cricketnext.com.

     After back-to-back defeats, Karthik-led KKR will be desperate for a revival, while Delhi will hope to continue their momentum after snapping a two-match losing streak in style against Mumbai Indians yesterday.

    Kolkata had made a winning start to their campaign against Royals Challenger Bangalore but successive defeats to Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next two matches have put them in a spot of bother.

    Delhi, on the other hand, lost to Kings XI Punjab in their opener and then went down against Rajasthan Royals in a rain-hit match. But the Gambhir-led side bounced back in style against Mumbai with Jason Roy smashing an unbeaten 91 in his debut match for DD.

    DD’s Kolkata leg fixture means their Team India speedster Mohammed Shami is all set to return to his hometown for the first time after his wife had accused him of infidelity and domestic abuse last month a controversy that had hogged the headlines.

    Gambhir, who was associated with KKR since 2011, has better knowledge of the conditions and he will be keen to make a point against his former franchise, who did not retain him this year.

    Included in the DD side at the expense of Colin Munro, Roy showed his prowess with a sizzling display as the Englishmen smashed his career best T20 score to pull off a tricky last ball victory.

    Gambhir can heave a sigh of relief after their batting combination clicked following some experimentation in the first two matches. He too would like to score some runs against his former franchise.

    As DD look to climb up the table, KKR will be keen to arrest their slide and they will have to do a lot of soul-searching first and foremost would be to get their batting organised.

    Bringing in-form Sunil Narine down the order did not help their cause and he might be back at his opening slot. KKR also need to back the Under-19 World Cup winning duo of Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi.

    The youngster duo didn’t get enough time in the middle to prove themselves as Gill, primarily a No 3 batsman, came only at No 7, while Mavi’s raw pace and energy were left untested as he was not introduced during the Powerplay.

    Karthik would also hope that his deputy Robin Uthappa, who is a KKR veteran, shoulders more responsibility with the bat as his scores of 13, 29 and 3 have been a big letdown.

    Asked to open, Uthappa looked clueless particularly against Bhuvneshwar Kumar and it remains to be seen whether he would open again with DD boasting pace duo of Trent Boult and Shami up front.

  • When Ziva Wanted to Hug MS Dhoni During CSK’s Game Against KXIP

    Even as MS Dhoni was gearing up to go out and bat in the middle during the Chennai Super Kings-Kings XI Punjab game at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Sunday, daughter Ziva suddenly wanted to hug her father and insisted that her dad be called from the dug-out.Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni was back in his elements on Sunday night as he almost single-handedly took CSK over the line against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, but it was a bad back injury that saw the skipper fall just short as KXIP won by 4 runs.

    Speaking at the end of the game about his back and how difficult it was to carry on with a back injury, Dhoni was at his candid best. “It’s bad; how bad it is, I don’t know. God has given me the power. I don’t need to use the back a lot, the hands can do the job. But overall, we’ll assess how bad it is. It shouldn’t be too bad because I know what really happened and once you know the kind of injury it is, it becomes slightly easy to get out of it and also we have three-four days now before the next game. I’m quite used to playing with few injuries, whether it is back, fingers, elbow or something else. You have to be tough and get on with the game,” he smiled.Chris Gayle starred with the bat and Mohit Sharma kept his cool in the end as Kings XI Punjab registered a 4-run win over the Chennai Super Kings in Mohali on Sunday.

    Gayle announced his arrival to KXIP with a scintillating 63 runs from 33 balls. His magical innings included seven fours, four sixes as the hosts reached a commanding total of 197/7 after their 20 overs.

    For CSK, it was the MS Dhoni show as he scored an unbeaten 79 off just 44 balls but for once, failed to take his team past the finish line.

    The men in yellow were never really in the chase as they lost wickets at regular intervals.

    Mohit Sharma removed Shane Watson early, the in-form Aussie making only 11. Murali Vijay, who had replaced Suresh Raina, didn’t last long either as he was dismissed for 12 by Andrew Tye.

    Ravichandran Ashwin’s leg-spin accounted for CSK’s hero in the previous game – Sam Billings, as he looked to sweep the KXIP captain but completely missed the ball to be trapped lbw. Though, the umpire didn’t raise his finger, DRS came to Ashwin’s rescue.

    However, then Skipper MS Dhoni then joined Ambati Rayudu in the middle and the two put on a 57-run partnership which got CSK back on track.

    Dhoni’s injured back didn’t help their cause either as he had to call in the physio for treatement.

    But as he often does, the 36-year-old took the game right till the end and started bringing in the big shots when the required rate reached 15. CSK needed 67 off 24 balls, but then Jadeja-Dhoni combo hit 9,19 and 19 runs in the 17th,18th and 19th over respectively.

    This meant Mohit Sharma had the unenviable task of defending 17 runs in the final over.

    He started by bowling yorkers outside the off-stump, which Dhoni struggled to hit due to a jarred back. In the end, it was enough to guide KXIP to their third victory.

    Earlier, Gayle showed why he is still the most feared batsman across the world. It all started when on the first ball of his innings, he caressed Harbhajan Singh through the covers for a four.

    There was no looking back from there as he notched a fifty in just 22 balls. His innings was instrumental in powering Punjab to the huge total.

  • Gautam Gambhir Turns Nostalgic as Skipper Returns to Kolkata

    Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik will face a big test when a struggling KKR lock horns with a resurgent Delhi Daredevils, led by double title winning former KKR skipper Gambhir.

    After back-to-back defeats, Karthik-led KKR will be desperate for a revival, while Delhi will hope to continue their momentum after snapping a two-match losing streak in style against Mumbai Indians.

    Kolkata had made a winning start to their campaign against Royals Challenger Bangalore but successive defeats to Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the next two matches have put them in a spot of bother.

    Delhi, on the other hand, lost to Kings XI Punjab in their opener and then went down against Rajasthan Royals in a rain-hit match. But the Gambhir-led side bounced back in style against Mumbai with Jason Roy smashing an unbeaten 91 in his debut match for DD.

    DD’s Kolkata leg fixture means their Team India speedster Mohammed Shami is all set to return to his home town for the first time after his wife had accused him of infidelity and domestic abuse last month a controversy that had hogged the headlines.