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  • Watson Ton Helps CSK Register Comprehensive Win Over Rajasthan

    Shane Watson starred with the bat, scoring a ton before bowlers completed the job as Chennai Super Kings registered a clinical 64-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals in Pune – the new home of CSK – on Friday.

    Put into bat, Chennai Super Kings openers Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson put up 50 runs for the first wicket, with Watson being particularly aggressive. He was dropped in the first over as Rahul Tripathi dropped a sitter at first slip, something the Royals were made to pay for.

      After Rayudu’s departure, Suresh Raina – who was returning after an injury – scored a blistering 46 off just 29 deliveries, with 9 boundaries as he put on a 81-run stand for the second wicket with Watson going big at the other end.

    Royals did manage to fight back as leg spinner Shreyas Gopal got Raina, MS Dhoni and Sam Billings in quick succession. He was the standout bowler, picking 3/20 in his 4 overs.

    But Royals didn’t have an answer to their former player, who was particularly brutal and was clearing boundaries at will. He hit six sixes and nine boundaries in his innings, and scored 104 off just 57 balls, at strike rate of 186.

    Binny, Gowtham, Stokes and Unadkat all felt Watson’s force as CSK ended at 204/5.

    For Royals to have any sort of a chance, they needed a bright start but CSK bowlers ensured that there weren’t any easy runs on offer.

    Thakur removed Klaasen and Chahar picked up Rahane & in-form Sanju Samson as Royals were reduced to 32/3.

    Buttler and Stokes did get together, to put up 45-runs for the fourth wicket to spark some sort of a contest but then Bravo got Buttler off a slower ball to extinguish all hopes.

    CSK used 7 bowlers and almost all of them were among wickets with Chahar, Thakur, Bravo and Sharma picking two each while Tahir and Watson getting one each.

    It was a comprehensive performance by CSK in what is to be their home ground for the remainder of the season

  • Streak Hints at KKR’s Plans to Get Gayle Out Early

    After Chris Gayle blasted a 63-ball 104 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling coach Heath Streak on Friday hinted that they will look to get the dynamic West Indies batter back in the hut early when they take on Kings XI Punjab here.

    Gayle’s whirlwind hundred, his sixth in the Indian Premier League (IPL), helped Punjab ease past Hyderabad by 15 runs at Mohali on Thursday night.

    Gayle hit 11 sixes and took the best T20 bowler in the world, Rashid Khan, to the cleaners smashing the Afghanistan spinner for four consecutive sixes.

    “Lot of people always ask us, the bowling coaches ‘what’s the plan’. It is very difficult for us to say because then he’ll find out. So we can’t really tell you the exact plan. He is a dangerous player,” Streak told reporters when asked about plans to contain Gayle on the eve of their Punjab game at the Eden Gardens here.

    “How you start to him is very important early on. If you allow someone like Chris to get into his innings and rhythm and confidence, he is a very dangerous player. He is so powerful and backs his ability when the ball is in his zone to clear the boundary,” said the former Zimbabwe captain.

    “Last night was one of many examples we have seen not just in IPL but in his career. We will be planning well for him as well as the other players,” Streak added.

    Gayle was not picked in the IPL auctions initially before Punjab decided to take T20 cricket’s most successful batsman for his base price of Rs.2 crore.

    Dropped for the first two games, Gayle helped Punjab beat Chennai Super Kings by notching up a 33-ball 63 before the hundred.

    Streak was asked about the West Indians having a gala time in the IPL. Led by Gayle, KKR’s Andre Russell and Mumbai Indians’ Evin Lewis are in the top-10 highest run-getters so far this IPL while all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine have also done well for Chennai and KKR respectively.

    “They (West Indians) get bored by playing the long format of the game,” Streak said.

    “A lot of them are playing all the leagues around the world, if you look at guys like Andre and Sunil (Narine) from our team and others in the tournament like (Keiron) Pollard. They play in PSL, CPL, BBL, IPL. They are becoming highly specialised in this format of the game, whereas some of the others play all the three formats of the game,” Streak said.

    Coming to KKR, the hosts will also go into the game high on confidence after registering a convincing seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.

    This was their second win in a row after succumbing to two back-to-back defeats.

    Asked about new captain Dinesh Karthik and whether he is getting into the groove after taking over the mantle from Gautam Gambhir, KKR’s most successful captain, Streak said, ” Although he is new at IPL level and hasn’t had much experience, his leadership qualities are really good.

    “He is a highly detailed person, his attention to small things is good and he has shown that even when you watch him bat. He brings that composure and reads the situation well.”

    Streak lauded his under-fire pace battery for doing well in the last two games, saying as the tournament wears on they will get much better.

    “If we just look at barring Sunrisers (Hyderabad), it has been tough for seamers in IPL on really good wickets.

    “In the last couple of games, our seamers have been outstanding and I have been very impressed especially with young (Shivam) Mavi. He has been outstanding. Our seamers will get better and better. It’s difficult to replace someone of the calibre of Mitchell Starc but I think the guys we do have, have got the attributes.”

  • CSK Fan Breaches Security to Touch Dhoni’s Feet During Rajasthan Tie

    New Delhi: If there is one team who has the biggest fan-following in the Indian Premier League, it has to be Chennai Super Kings. Returning to the league after a gap of two years, the support has not diminished one bit for the team.

    For the fans skipper MS Dhoni is a demigod, and is certainly their favourite player. Such is his influence that MSD never ceases to hog the limelight. On Friday, in the match against Rajasthan Royals, that CSK won by 64 runs, when Dhoni walked out to bat after the fall of Suresh Raina’s wicket, a fan ran breached the security to touch his feet. A video of the same has surfaced online.

    Even the team management acknowledges this support from the fans, and does it bit for them. Recently, after CSK home matches were shifted to Pune because of Cauvery water issue, a special train was arranged for 1,000 fans to Pune, to watch the match against Rajasthan.

  • Lynn Looks to End Struggle With Bat Against KXIP

    Australian batsman Chris Lynn is known for his hitting prowess, and has proven credentials as a destructive batsman. In the 107 T20 games he has played so far in his career, he has scored 2,997 run at a strike-rate of 147.12. The right-hand batsman can change the game in a matter of few overs, and for this very same hitting ability, he was bought by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders for 9.60 Cr.

    But till now in this edition of the tournament, his bat has been quiet, and in 5 matches has scored 107 runs. Lynn, who had brilliant IPL season for KKR in 2017 where he scored 295 runs in 7 matches hasn’t had great time in 2018.

    In 2017, he scored two of the top-5 fastest fifties for KKR— 21 balls vs RCB and 19 balls vs GL. Not only that, his 93* in the first match against GL in 2017 was the highest individual score for KKR last year. Let’s compare Lynn’s first five IPL innings in 2017 against 2018.

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    Come Saturday, Lynn would be hoping to turnaround his fortunes, and get some runs under his belt. Till now his highest score in this edition of the games is 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Lynn has struggled against spin and was seen playing with a horizontal bat in only the second ball of his innings to K. Gowtham who castled him in the last match against Rajasthan.

  • In-form Virat Kohli Gears For Another Run Feast Against Delhi

    Virat Kohli has always been a force to reckon with no matter what format he plays. Kohli has shown unprecedented consistency in the T20 format, and IPL is no different. The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper has been in fine nick this season too, having scored two half-centuries already.

    Come Saturday, RCB will face Delhi Daredevils at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and Kohli will be looking to get some more runs under his belt, and most importantly get a win for his team.

     Stats show that the 29-year-old has been ruthless against Delhi in the past. He is one of the leading run-getters against DD in the IPL with 661 runs. He is 27 runs behind the current leading run-getter Rohit Sharma, who has scored 688 runs. This will be another opportunity for him to improve his record against the opposition.

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    Among the active IPL teams, he has the best average against DD. Kohli averages 73.44 in 16 innings against them. Not only that, Kohli has 7 half-centuries against DD, the most by any batsman. The next in the list is Ajinkya Rahane with 6 fifties.

    Here are some other stats that’s show Kohli’s domination against Delhi:

    —Kohli has scored 83 boundaries against DD (65 fours and 18 sixes), most against any active IPL opposition.

    —Kohli has a strike rate of 138.28 against DD, which is his 2nd best strike rate in the IPL against active teams.

    As far as the match is concerned, currently languishing at the bottom of the points table, both Delhi and Bangalore will be aiming to return to their winning ways. Both the teams have two points each currently.

  • Former RCB Players Lighting up the League While Virat Kohli & Co Look to Kick-start Campaign Against DD

    Former Royal Challengers Bangalore players have been in sublime form in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), while at the same time, Virat Kohli and his boys are once again struggling at the bottom half of the table, in the early stages of the tournament.

    While on one hand, stars like KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Shane Watson have been tearing the bowlers apart for their respective teams in the cash-rich league, RCB’s new recruits haven’t been able perform at their optimum levels as they have once again started ever so slow in the league.

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    RCB opted to retain the likes of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan ahead of the auction, and while the choice of picking the first two was a no-brainer, same thing certainly cannot be said about the youngster Sarfaraz, who has scored just 11 runs in three innings so far.

    Kings XI Punjab’s Rahul and Gayle have been one of the top batsmen in the league and are scoring runs for fun. While Chennai Super Kings’ Shane Watson showed in their last match against Rajasthan Royals that he is still a force to be reckoned with in the shortest format of the game.

    KL Rahul – M:4, R: 153, HS: 51, SR: 171.9

    Rahul started off the campaign with a stunning onslaught against Delhi Daredevils in Mohali and went up to notch the fastest IPL fifty as well. Rahul has been instrumental is providing his team with ideal starts and has scores of 51, 47, 37 and 18 in four match, thus far.

    Chris Gayle – M:2, R: 167, HS: 104*, SR: 167.0

    After being snubbed early on in the auction, KXIP took a punt with Chris Gayle, acquiring his services for his base price of Rs 2 Cr, and boy the decision to do so has paid dividends for the team. Gayle had a point to prove and in just two matches, he seemed to have done that by slamming a fifty and a century.

    Shane Watson – M:4, R: 175, HS: 106, SR: 176.7, W: 6, ECON: 7.3

    All-rounder Shane Watson too has shown that despite not playing international cricket, he still has a lot to offer in the IPL. With the help of his 51-ball ton against Royals, Watson has become one of the leading run-getters in the league, while with 6 wickets in his kitty already, Watson is amongst the top wicket-takers as well.

    To make matters worse of RCB, their batting line-up hasn’t fired on all cylinders, despite having so many big names, and they have had to rely on skipper Kohli to provide respectability to the score after losing wickets in a heap in almost every game that they have played so far.

    Apart from their match against KXIP, where the likes of De Villiers and Quinton de Kock fired them to their only win of the tournament so far, their batting have been found wanting on most occassion. Mandeep Singh has also shone in bits and pieces but overall, it hasn’t been a magnificent campaign for him either. Brendon McCullum failed on couple of occasions after scoring 43 in the first match and was dropped from side while his replacement Corey Anderson was dismissed for a duck in the first match that he played.

    Kohli and his boys will look to make amends in their next game against Delhi Daredevils but even if they do so, RCB fans will still be left pondering of stars like Rahul, Gayle and Watson had turned up in their colors once again this season.

  • Virat Kohli at the Launch of the Audi RS5

    Virat Kohli at the Launch of the Audi RS5 Interview. Recently Indian cricketer Virat Kohli launched the second generation Audi RS 5 Coupe in Bengaluru and we caught up with Virat Kohli for a quick conversation that was not on cricket but automobiles. Here is Virat Kohli talking about his love for automobiles, his driving style and more.

  • Chris Gayle Has Special Plans for SRH After CSK Blitz

    Kings XI Punjab batsman Chris Gayle was mighty effective against Chennai Super Kings at Mohali on Sunday, where he scored a blistering 63 runs from just 33 balls.

    His innings included four sixes and seven fours. Considering that it was his first match against in this edition of IPL, he showed the world why he is still the most destructive in the world.

     Come the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, Gayle would be looking to continue his sublime form. But looking at his record against SRH in the previous editions, he hasn’t fared very well. He boasts of a strike-rate of 151.72 in nine innings, but has only managed to score 220 runs at an average of 24.44.

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    This in fact is Gayle’s one of the worst performance in the IPL, against any opposition. His best performance is against his current team KXIP, against whom he had scored 797 runs at an average of 53.13.

    As far as the match is concerned, Kings XI Punjab’s batting will be up against the effective bowling of Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game between two in-form teams here.

    While Punjab have registered two wins in three matches so far, Hyderabad have won three games in a row, as both the teams registered crucial wins at the beginning of the tournament.

    The match at the Punjab Cricket Stadium pits a home side that has a lot of batting firepower against a Hyderabad side that is very balanced and their bowling line-up one of the best in the tournament.

  • A Battle Between KXIP Batting and SRH Bowling

    Mohali: Kings XI Punjab’s batting will be up against the effective bowling of Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game between two in-form teams here on Thursday.

    While Punjab have registered two wins in three matches so far, Hyderabad have won three games in a row, as both the teams registered crucial wins at the beginning of the tournament.

     The match at the Punjab Cricket Stadium pits a home side that has a lot of batting firepower against a Hyderabad side that is very balanced and their bowling line-up one of the best in the tournament.

    Punjab’s top-order batsmen Lokesh Rahul, Karun Nair — both from Karnataka — have delivered in the first three matches.
    One thing that will please the northern outfit is the return to form of West Indian marauder Chris Gayle, who blasted 63 off 33 deliveries during their four-run win over Chennai Super Kings in their last match.

    However, Punjab will want another veteran, Yuvraj Singh, and Mayank Aggarwal to also be among the runs as the home batsmen will require to be on top of their game against the Hyderabad bowlers.

    SRH’s strength lies in their bowling which has a lot of variety. They have restricted their opponents in three matches within the 150-run mark.

    Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who bowled 18 dot balls against Mumbai Indians, is a prime example. Besides Rashid, the likes of Billy Stanlake, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shakib Al Hasan, Sandeep Sharma and Siddharth Kaul provide a lot of options.

    Bhuvneshwar did not play against MI due to back pain but came back strongly to pick up three wickets for 26 runs against KKR, which must have relieved the Kane Williamson-led side.

    Also, one cannot underestimate SRH’s batting might. Hyderabad’s all three wins have come while chasing.
    Shikhar Dhawan, with 130 runs so far, has continued his superb form in the limited-overs cricket.
    With two crucial knocks of 50 and 36, Williamson has sent a message that the pressure of captaincy even in T20 cricket doesn’t overpower him. Williamson has been a class act for New Zealand and continues to be so here, ensuring that the side doesn’t miss the leadership shown by former captain David Warner.

    Hyderabad may continue to use wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha as a top-order batsman even if he has not cashed in on the opportunities so far.

    Apart from him, the likes of Shakib, Manish Pandey are proven performers and will look to showcase their talent again, especially against Punjab bowlers who have proved to be expensive, barring young Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

    Captain Ravichandran Ashwin will hope fellow bowlers like Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma and Barinder Sran restrict the Hyderabad line-up.

  • Virat Kohli Had the Hunger to be Great: RCB Batting Coach Gary Kirsten

    Having made his international debut in 2008, Virat Kohli has moved up the charts in leaps and bounds to become one of the world’s leading batsmen. For Gary Kirsten, India’s coach when Kohli started out with the national team, it was always a question of when and not if when it came to Kohli achieving great things.

    Kirsten, who has been roped in as batting coach by Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, said: “It is great to be working with Virat again because he started when I was the coach. We had a lot of conversations early in his career about how he needs to set up his game. We knew he was going to be a great player, it was just a question of when he was going to get there. How he needed to play to be able to achieve the consistency in his game.”

     Kohli, 29, had spoken glowingly about Kirsten at the time of announcing his appointment, and Kirsten is happy to be able to take their relationship forward.

    “A lot of those conversations have in many ways given him some of the thinking around how he needs to build his game. That has been fun. To come back and start working with him again, to see how he is going, we are just kind of building that relationship again. I am really enjoying it,” said Kirsten.

    Kohli, the No.1-ranked ODI batsman in the ICC Player Rankings – and No.2 in Tests – currently sits at the top of the run-scoring chart in the IPL this season.

    “Any guy with half a cricket eye would have known that he was going to be a great player. His hunger for runs, his ball-striking ability – we are talking 2008; he hit the ball to all parts of the ground, he had natural power,” pointed out Kirsten.

    “He had all the makings of a great player in terms of ball-striking ability and talent. And then, the determination to go with it. The hunger to be great. It was all there. That’s one of the easier recruitments you could make, that was not going to be difficult to work out. I wouldn’t be only one who would have seen that, I think everyone would have seen that.”

    Since becoming the full-time India captain across formats, Kohli has stacked up remarkable numbers. Most recently, in 2017, he scored 1464 ODI runs at 76.84 and 1059 Test runs at 75.64.

    With India embarking on tough away tours of England and Australia later this year, Kohli’s form is going to be crucial.

    “We know what he is now and what he looks like. It has been an amazing natural progression. Importantly for him now, as he moves into this next phase – he has gone from the prodigious talent to the high performer. The challenge now is to maintain that for a long period of time, to grow his leadership base, and he is doing that because I think it is an ongoing process,” Kirsten said.

    “He seems to be in a space where he is really willing to take on the learning that needs to be taken, like we all need to in whatever phase we are in our lives. Take the learning on board to get even better.”