Tag: Moeen Ali

  • Moeen Ali’s master-class has Matthew Hayden in awe

    By IANS

    MUMBAI: Those watching a Moeen Ali’s master-class at the Brabourne Stadium were left amazed at the power the 34-year-old England cricketer could pack in his lissom frame. The Chennai Super Kings all-rounder pulverised the Rajasthan Royals bowling on Friday night, smashing 93 off just 57 deliveries with 13 boundaries and three maximums.

    Any team would have gone on to put an imposing score on the board after such a fine innings, but unfortunately for him, CSK finished with just 150, as the four-time IPL champions suffered a middle-order meltdown in their last league game of the season.

    Australian great, Matthew Hayden, a power-hitter in his playing days, was in awe of the England cricketer, who retired from Test cricket to prolong his white-ball career last year, saying, “It was complete dominance from Moeen Ali. He was hitting fours and sixes at will. Unbelievable, especially against Trent Boult who has been the premium bowler for Rajasthan Royals.”

    Moeen also ended up scoring the second-fastest fifty ever for CSK, with his half-century coming off just 19 deliveries. The fastest half-century for the Chennai franchise was made by Suresh Raina, off 16 balls.

    Moeen’s 70 out of his 93 runs came in boundaries. His first six was a superb pull shot off Prasidh Krishna. The bowler bowled the delivery just a fraction short, and Moeen pulled him over deep square leg.

    Moeen then dished out a master-class in the sixth over of the innings bowled by Trent Boult and scored 26 runs in the over. He struck five boundaries and a six in the over as the Super Kings finished the powerplay strongly. When the spinners got some purchase in the middle overs, Moeen was willing to wait and churned out the singles and doubles.

    Moeen stayed till the 20th over of the innings and helped CSK touch the 150-run mark.

  • Moeen Ali’s master-class has Matthew Hayden in awe

    By IANS

    MUMBAI: Those watching a Moeen Ali’s master-class at the Brabourne Stadium were left amazed at the power the 34-year-old England cricketer could pack in his lissom frame. The Chennai Super Kings all-rounder pulverised the Rajasthan Royals bowling on Friday night, smashing 93 off just 57 deliveries with 13 boundaries and three maximums.

    Any team would have gone on to put an imposing score on the board after such a fine innings, but unfortunately for him, CSK finished with just 150, as the four-time IPL champions suffered a middle-order meltdown in their last league game of the season.

    Australian great, Matthew Hayden, a power-hitter in his playing days, was in awe of the England cricketer, who retired from Test cricket to prolong his white-ball career last year, saying, “It was complete dominance from Moeen Ali. He was hitting fours and sixes at will. Unbelievable, especially against Trent Boult who has been the premium bowler for Rajasthan Royals.”

    Moeen also ended up scoring the second-fastest fifty ever for CSK, with his half-century coming off just 19 deliveries. The fastest half-century for the Chennai franchise was made by Suresh Raina, off 16 balls.

    Moeen’s 70 out of his 93 runs came in boundaries. His first six was a superb pull shot off Prasidh Krishna. The bowler bowled the delivery just a fraction short, and Moeen pulled him over deep square leg.

    Moeen then dished out a master-class in the sixth over of the innings bowled by Trent Boult and scored 26 runs in the over. He struck five boundaries and a six in the over as the Super Kings finished the powerplay strongly. When the spinners got some purchase in the middle overs, Moeen was willing to wait and churned out the singles and doubles.

    Moeen stayed till the 20th over of the innings and helped CSK touch the 150-run mark.

    MUMBAI: Those watching a Moeen Ali’s master-class at the Brabourne Stadium were left amazed at the power the 34-year-old England cricketer could pack in his lissom frame. The Chennai Super Kings all-rounder pulverised the Rajasthan Royals bowling on Friday night, smashing 93 off just 57 deliveries with 13 boundaries and three maximums.

    Any team would have gone on to put an imposing score on the board after such a fine innings, but unfortunately for him, CSK finished with just 150, as the four-time IPL champions suffered a middle-order meltdown in their last league game of the season.

    Australian great, Matthew Hayden, a power-hitter in his playing days, was in awe of the England cricketer, who retired from Test cricket to prolong his white-ball career last year, saying, “It was complete dominance from Moeen Ali. He was hitting fours and sixes at will. Unbelievable, especially against Trent Boult who has been the premium bowler for Rajasthan Royals.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Moeen also ended up scoring the second-fastest fifty ever for CSK, with his half-century coming off just 19 deliveries. The fastest half-century for the Chennai franchise was made by Suresh Raina, off 16 balls.

    Moeen’s 70 out of his 93 runs came in boundaries. His first six was a superb pull shot off Prasidh Krishna. The bowler bowled the delivery just a fraction short, and Moeen pulled him over deep square leg.

    Moeen then dished out a master-class in the sixth over of the innings bowled by Trent Boult and scored 26 runs in the over. He struck five boundaries and a six in the over as the Super Kings finished the powerplay strongly. When the spinners got some purchase in the middle overs, Moeen was willing to wait and churned out the singles and doubles.

    Moeen stayed till the 20th over of the innings and helped CSK touch the 150-run mark.

  • Blow for CSK as Moeen Ali ruled out of IPL opener against KKR due to visa delay

    Express News Service

    CHENNAI: Three days ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) opener against Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings are caught in a combination deadlock. If the unavailability of Deepak Chahar because of an injury was bound to weaken their attack and affect the composition of the four overseas players, the delay in Moeen Ali’s arrival has added to the headache.

    The English all-rounder, one of Chennai’s stand-out performers in their title-winning campaign last season, is yet to join the team because he hasn’t been issued a visa yet. It is understood that a detailed verification is currently underway, which is taking more than the usual time.

    “We were expecting Moeen to join us by Monday but because of the delay in issuing a visa, it is not clear when he will leave for Mumbai. He submitted the visa application on February 28, but because of the verification process, there has been a delay. Unless he enters the bubble by Wednesday noon, it won’t be possible for him to play against Kolkata,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told The New Indian Express.

    If Ali doesn’t arrive in time, it will be interesting to see how Chennai go about their combination. Last season, batting at No 3, he provided them with some much-needed aggression in the middle overs, an area that proved to be their biggest undoing in the 2020 season. Though his absence is expected only for the game against Kolkata, it gives Chennai an option to try their other overseas picks.

    The unavailability of Chahar for at least the first half of the tournament means they need to strengthen their fast bowling resources and as a result, apart from Dwayne Bravo, Adam Milne looks certain to be in the XI. The Kiwi’s pace can be handy in the powerplay as well as in the end overs. Fellow New Zealander Devon Conway is expected to open alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad. Ali’s absence also opens the door for Robin Uthappa to slot in at No 3.

    The toss-up for the remaining one overseas slot would be between Chris Jordan and Maheesh Theekshana. With Ali unavailable, mystery spinner Theekshana could be a handy option at the Wankhede should MS Dhoni prefer a tweaker to bowl in the powerplay. In that case, one among Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif and Rajvardhan Hangargekar will get a chance. That would give Dhoni four seam bowling options in Bravo, Milne, Shivam Dube and one of the above-mentioned trio with Ravindra Jadeja and Theekshana as spinners.

    However, if Chennai wish to strengthen their pace resources further by including Jordan in place of Theekshana, then the highly-rated leg-spinner Prashant Solanki could make his IPL debut.

    Last season, one of Chennai’s biggest strengths was its batting depth. It allowed the batters to adopt a more aggressive approach. The end result was that they were amongst the highest-scoring teams in the middle-overs, something they will be keen to replicate this season too.

  • Bravo, Jadeja, Moeen: Check what the Super Kings had to say after CSK win IPL 2021

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Dwayne Bravo said as it should be said, “Experience beats youth any day”.

    The West Indies all-rounder once again played his part to perfection in Chennai Super King’s fourth Indian Premier League title triumph and summed up the journey of his side which his team-mate Moeen Ali termed “humble and grounded”.

    Deepak Chahar, on his part, said the love and loyalty for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni made the players push the envelope a little harder.

    “It’s about the belief in the squad from management, owners. After last season, I was really disappointed. We owed it to the franchise, the fans to come up with a better performance. I don’t get nervous (coming into a final),” Bravo said after the match.

    “I have had good performance in different phases of the tournament. Faf and Ruturaj standout for us. To have these two guys scoring over 500 runs together. Experience beats youth any day,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Shardul Thakur turns things for CSK to lift fourth IPL trophy; beat KKR by 27 runs

    England all-rounder Moeen expressed his gratitude when he wasn’t dropped after a few indifferent games.

    “I can’t describe how I’m feeling. To do it with this franchise is great. I could’ve been dropped a couple of games ago. It’s such a grounded and humble team,” said Moeen.

    Ravindra Jadeja on his part said: “That catch of Venkatesh Iyer changed it for us. Mr DJ Bravo is going to entertain us all night. It’s time for him to change his name from ‘Champion’ to ‘Sir Champion’.”

    Robin Uthappa, who joined the party late, also spoke about how CSK made players secure.

    “I’ve voiced over and over again that in this team, there’s secure atmosphere, lot of communication between players and support staff. I believe its the players who aren’t playing in the XI that make the atmosphere within the group.”

    ALSO READ: Harshal Patel sweeps individual honours for season, including MVP

    Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood credited Bravo for getting into the T20 bowling groove.

    “It’s fantastic. Full credit to the guys, who have been on top. It’s exciting. We’ve got a such a senior team, and having DJ (Bravo) has been really helpful.

    “A bit of downtime, and I’m straight for the World Cup. Perfect preparation really, and I am looking forward to it.”

  • CSK stars Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Moeen Ali arrive in Dubai, to undergo 6-day quarantine

    By ANI

    DUBAI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara and Moeen Ali on Sunday arrived in Dubai for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

    The boys will now undergo a six-day quarantine and join the rest of the squad members who are already in the IPL 2021 bubble.

    “En-coming. 4 times the joy today at Whistles Kingdom!” CSK tweeted.

    Meanwhile, RCB skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Mohammed Siraj also arrived in Dubai on Sunday ahead of the resumption of the IPL 2021. The duo will now undergo six-day mandatory quarantine and then they both will join the team bubble in Dubai.

    With the final Test between India and England in Manchester cancelled, IPL franchises on Friday got in touch with charter companies to fly out their players from Manchester to UAE for the resumption of the cash-rich league.

    The 14th season, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

    The action will then shift to Abu Dhabi where Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sharjah will host its first game on September 24 when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings.

    In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah, and 8 in Abu Dhabi. The BCCI has decided to do away with contact tracing devices for the UAE leg, starting on September 19.

  • Moeen Ali​ is on fire, he’s enjoying batting at the top: CSK all-rounder Sam Curran

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Sam Curran has said that teammate Moeen Ali is really enjoying batting at the top for the franchise in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja took five wickets among themselves as CSK defended 188 runs against Rajasthan to go second at the points table of the Indian Premier League (IPL). CSK defeated Rajasthan Royals by 44 runs here at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. For CSK, Sam Curran also returned with two wickets.

    “Very good. That first game we did not start well but we have talked lot these last couple of days and we executed really well with both bat and ball. It’s really nice to get two wins now and get some momentum. Moeen Ali is on fire, I think he is really enjoying batting at the top. He does that for his county team too in England. Ravindra Jadeja was excellent as well in the field and with the ball,” Sam Curran told Dwayne Bravo in a video posted on the official website of IPL.

    Earlier, Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu scored at a firing rate before Dwayne Bravo’s 20 runs off 8 balls came handy in the death overs as CSK posted 188/9 in their allotted 20 overs. For CSK, Faf top-scored with an innings of 33 while for Rajasthan Royals, Chetan Sakariya returned with three wickets.

    “After losing the first game, we had a week off, we put a lot of thought and planning into our game. Back-to-back wins, the tournament will get harder as the game progresses,” said Bravo.

    CSK has now won two matches out of three and the side will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday here at the Wankhede Stadium.

  • Moeen Ali adding all-round aspect which we lacked last year: CSK’s Stephen Fleming

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming feels that England player Moeen Ali has strengthened the team as he brings all-round value to it, which was missed in the last IPL season.

    Fleming said Ali’s impressive batting at No.3 has been instrumental in the team getting good scores so far this season.

    “He is adding an all-round aspect to our game which we lacked last year,” Fleming said of Ali, who hit a quickfire 26 and returned with figures of 3/7 in CSK’s 45-run win over Rajasthan Royals on Monday night.

    “His contribution was just what we were looking for. We are absolutely happy with the way he has started,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference.

    The head coach said his team has not played “a good 20 overs with the bat” yet but still getting high scores.

    “I’m really excited about the way we are playing. The long resource we have, we’re using and we are pushing opposition hard. So we are playing a positive brand throughout,” the former New Zealand captain said.

    He said captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would get better as he spends more time in the middle.

    Dhoni scored 18 off 17 balls after coming at number five.

    “Yes, his form is restoring, every time he gets some balls in the middle he’s going to get better and better,” Fleming said.

    “There will be opportunities where we would probably look to throw MS Dhoni up as with (Ravindra) Jadeja and others.”

    Fleming said because of the “many resources” his team has, it’s facing the challenge of managing the batting order.

    “At the moment we are just trying to be a solid order and look for simple parts of the game and what the conditions provide us in terms of how we can attack. “We know we have got a lot of batting and the way we are playing is really encouraging. We haven’t put together a perfect innings by any means but the skipper will be a big part of it going forward,” Fleming added.

    He said the team will continue to back opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (10) despite his struggles and failing for the third straight game.

  • IPL 2021: CSK say no request for removal of alcohol brand’s logo on Moeen Ali’s jersey

    By IANS
    NEW DELHI: England all-rounder Moeen Ali came into the spotlight on Sunday after certain websites/sections of media reported that he has requested his franchise Chennai Super Kings’ management to remove an alcohol brand’s logo from his jersey.

    Among other brands, the Chennai Super Kings carries the logo of SNJ 10000, a beer brand of Chennai-based SNJ Distilleries. The unqualified reports said that Moeen had requested CSK to remove the logo from his jersey to which the franchise agreed.

    However, Chennai Super Kings confirmed to IANS that there has been no such request from Moeen.

    Speaking to IANS on Sunday, Kasi Vishwanathan, the Chief Executive Officer of Chennai Super Kings, said, “There has been no request made by Moeen to CSK to remove any logo.”

    Moeen had on Thursday lavished praise on CSK skipper MS Dhoni for his ability to stay calm under pressure and help players become better cricketers.

    “I think what differentiates CSK from other teams is actually how they structure everything — from the squad they have to the way they do things. They look a very calm franchise that doesn’t panic,” Ali was quoted as saying by the franchise’s website.

    “I’ve spoken to players who have played under MS and they tell me how he improves their game. I believe a great captain does that.

    Moeen was last year with Royal Challengers Bangalore but was released ahead of this season’s IPL. He was picked by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 7 crore at this year’s mini-auction.

    The Birmingham-born has played 19 matches and scored 309 runs at an average of 20.6 and picked 10 wickets. He could play just three matches in last season’s IPL.

    Back in the 2010 edition, former India off-spin bowler Yusuf Pathan had played for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Daredevils with the logo of Kingfisher taped over.

  • IPL 2021: Royal Challengers Bangalore release Aaron Finch, Moeen Ali ahead of mini auction

    By ANI
    BENGALURU: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday announced that they have decided to retain 12 members of their IPL 2020 squad and the likes of Aaron Finch and Moeen Ali have been released from the squad.

    The likes of Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers and Yuzvendra Chahal will be seen for RCB this season. While, key performers of last season like Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj have also been retained. Australia limited-overs skipper Finch and England all-rounder Moeen Ali along with South Africa’s Chris Morris have been shown the door.

    IPL Retention Announcement  Here’s the news you’ve been waiting for, 12th Man Army. We have retained 12 stars from our 2020 squad. #PlayBold #IPL2021 #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/YkzSV3EUjU
    — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) January 20, 2021

    RCB’s retained players: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Pawan Deshpande.

    Released players: Aaron Finch, Gurkeerat Mann, Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Dale Steyn, Parthiv Patel, Isuru Udana, Umesh Yadav and Pawan Negi.

    Earlier this month, pacer Dale Steyn had announced that he would not be available for selection for IPL 2021 and as a result, he has also been released. RCB had made it to the playoffs of the IPL 2020 season but the side had to face a loss in the Eliminator against SunRisers Hyderabad.

    The Virat Kohli-led side has not been able to win the IPL title even once, but the side has made it to the finals thrice.