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Tag: Rajasthan Royals

  • Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes trolls Sunil Gavaskar for commentary during IPL match

    By IANS
    MUMBAI: All-rounder Ben Stokes took a shot at the commentary for the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Wankhede Stadium.

    “Commentator: “Such a poor bouncer, if you want to bowl a bouncer it must be over Off Stump” REPLAY: bouncer line directly over Off Stump Me: (facepalm emoji)” Stokes tweeted on Sunday.

    The incident that Stokes was referring to happened in the 11th over of the PBKS innings in which DC fast bowler Kagiso Rabada conceded 20 runs. Mayank Agarwal hit two sixes in the over while PBKS captain KL Rahul hit one off the third ball. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said at the time in the commentary box that Rabada needed to bowl his bouncers over the off stump.

    “This is a poor delivery because if you are going to bowl the bouncer, you have got to bowl it around the off stump,” said Gavaskar. Replays showed that the ball was indeed soaring above the off stump and Rahul got into position early to hook it over backward square.

    PBKS scored 195/4 but eventually lost the match by six wickets with 10 balls to spare due to Shikhar Dhawan’s 92 off 49 balls.

  • IPL 2021, CSK vs RR: Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals in battle to gain momentum

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Three-time champion Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals would look to build on their first wins and gain momentum when they clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL), here on Monday.

    The two sides bounced back after losing their opening fixtures with wins, albeit in contrasting styles.

    While the MS Dhoni-led CSK had it easy against Punjab Kings, the Royals scraped through against Delhi Capitals in the final over.

    Both teams would be eyeing a second win to give their campaign a boost.

    CSK hit back superbly after a chastening defeat to Capitals with Deepak Chahar putting his hand up with a four-wicket haul to break the back of the Punjab batting line-up, setting up a six-wicket victory.

    Skipper Dhoni would have been happy with the bowlers’ performance after they had been taken to the cleaners by Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan in the opener.

    Chahar, in particular, came up with a fine spell, which helped CSK restrict its opponent to a below par 106 which the batsmen chased down without much trouble.

    The Super Kings will expect Chahar to continue the good work while also hoping that Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur and the others also step up.

    Also, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi is out of quarantine and could be drafted into the playing XI to give more teeth to the CSK pace attack.

    England all-rounder Moeen Ali was in the thick of action in the win over Punjab and that should please the CSK think-tank.

    He picked up a wicket with his off-spin and batted fluently.

    Faf du Plessis made an unbeaten 36 despite not being at his fluent best and would hope to build on the knock while the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu need runs to get their confidence back.

    Suresh Raina’s presence has certainly boosted the CSK batting unit and his form will be crucial in the long run.

    He will be keen to get a big score after returning to the IPL with a fifty.

    Dhoni didn’t bat in the game against Punjab after a duck in the opening match.

    It remains to be seen if the captain chooses to push himself up the order and gives himself the opportunity to find some form.

    Meanwhile, Royals will be keen to build on the win over Capitals after a dramatic four-run loss to Punjab.

    Skipper Sanju Samson hit a magnificent ton which almost single-handedly won the opener for them and his form along with that of Jos Buttler and David Miller will be crucial to their chances in the tournament.

    Royals would like to see their batsmen fire in unison as the top-order collapsed against Delhi before Miller and Chris Morris pulled them past the line.

    The experienced pacer Jaydev Unadkat underscored his value with a superb spell against Delhi while the young Chetan Sakariya has shown promise.

    The experience of Morris and Mustafizur Rahman could be crucial in tight situations.

    The Royals bowlers would aim to strike early blows to stifle the CSK batting which has not been dominant while the batsmen need to step up in what promises to be an interesting battle between two sides led by wicket-keepers.

    Teams (From):

    Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, Sam Curran, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.

    Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manan Vohra, Anuj Rawat, Riyan Parag, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal, Mayank Markande, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh.

    Match starts at 7.30 PM.

  • Rajasthan Royals all-rounder​ Ben Stokes to undergo finger surgery in Leeds on Monday, sidelined for 12 weeks

    By ANI
    LONDON: England and Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was ruled out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a finger injury, has been sidelined for up to three months, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Friday.

    ECB also informed that a repeat X-ray and CT scan on Thursday revealed that Stokes has a fracture of his left index finger and the all-rounder will fly home on Saturday for the surgery.

    “England all-rounder Ben Stokes will be out for up to 12 weeks after a repeat X-ray and CT scan on Thursday revealed that he has a fracture of his left index finger,” the ECB said in an official statement.

    “Stokes, who is currently in India with Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, will fly home tomorrow. He will have surgery in Leeds on Monday,” the statement further read.

    The England all-rounder had sustained the injury during the game against Punjab Kings on Monday. The incident occurred during the Punjab innings as Stokes went forward to complete the catch off Punjab batsman Chris Gayle.

    Stokes was visibly in pain even though he did come out to bat in the Rajasthan innings — a match which the Sanju Samson-led side lost by four runs.

    Meanwhile, 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.

  • Coming from last year, I wasn’t expecting to play: Rajasthan Royals batsman David Miller

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: After a thrilling three-wicket win over Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, Rajasthan Royals batsman David Miller said he was not expecting to play but he was always ready for his chance after playing just one game for the franchise last season.

    Miller not only featured in the playing XI against Delhi Capitals but also contributed with the bat for his team. He played a knock of 62 runs while chasing 148 runs. He could not finish things for the team but his countrymate Chris Morris’ 36-run cameo was enough to get Rajasthan over the line.

    Miller came in the place of injured Ben Stokes. The English all-rounder was ruled out after injuring his left-hand finger in the first game against Punjab Kings.

    “Good to get out there and hit the few balls. We were in a bit of trouble but that first one (boundary) was always a big relief. I knew when I got out that big man Morris will take us over the line,” Miller said in a video posted by the IPL’s official website.

    “Coming from last year, I wasn’t expecting to play but you are always ready to play. Stokes, unfortunately, missed out with a broken finger so that’s a big loss to us but it allows others to come in,” he added.

    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.

    “Rabada is pretty quick. I used his pace and only a few guys can hit against the pace,” Morris said.

    Earlier, an inspired bowling performance by Jaydev Unadkat, Morris, and Mustafizur Rahman helped Rajasthan Royals restrict Delhi Capitals to 147/8 in the allotted twenty overs.

    Delhi kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, and although skipper Rishabh Pant played a knock of 51, Rajasthan managed to maintain a stranglehold over the opposition. Rajasthan Royals will play now against Chennai Super Kings on Monday.

  • It was satisfying to execute Prithvi Shaw’s well-planned dismissal: Rajasthan Royals seamer Jaydev Unadkat

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals seamer Jaydev Unadkat was extremely satisfied with a perfectly-laid trap for the in-form Prithvi Shaw as his dismissal triggered a top-order collapse from which Delhi Captals eventually failed to recover.

    Unadkat’s 3 for 15 was a match-winning spell as he scalped Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan (more due to brilliant catch by Sanju Samson) and Ajinkya Rahane with clever variations of pace on a tricky surface that had moisture.

    Asked about the strategy employed to dismiss Shaw, Unadkat said: “We had a couple of plans in place for Prithvi. He (Shaw) played really well last game and you know he tries to hit it down the ground a lot.”

    Wish some sing on offer Shaw tried to cart one outside the off-stump towards deep mid-wicket but the outside edge flew to David Miller at backward point.

    “If you have a protection down there (straight field), you know the batsman would obviously try and do something new. Be it Prithvi or anyone else, if the ball is doing something, then you will try and go out of your way and try to play a shot, which I think eventually he did and lucky to get as we get in that over itself,” he said.

    Being able to execute a strategy in a manner one wants is extremely satisfying, an emotion that the often panned Jaydev Unadkat felt after his match-winning spell for Rakasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in an IPL game.

    Unadkat took 3 for 15 in 4 overs to rock DC’s top-order and also came in at No 9 to score an unbeaten 11 off 7 balls to help Chris Morris in a low-scoring chase.

    “So happy to have contributed to the game and happy for myself that I was able to execute what I wanted and how I wanted to do,” Unadkat said at the post-match conference.

    A domestic stalwart for Saurashtra, Unadkat’s IPL career has been inconsistent at best and he has often been a subject of harsh trolling in past years when his performance didn’t match his million dollar price tag.

    In fact, he was also dropped from the playing XI during Royals’ opening game against Punjab Kings.

    “It’s always about just one good game and I knew that when my opportunity will come, I will have to be right up there in terms of my performance and happy to have contributed today,” Unadkat said.

    Unadkat felt that the Wankhede pitch wasn’t as much on the slower side as it looked.

    “It wasn’t on the slower side. If you would see the stats, it was just about four or five slower balls that that I bowled in the Powerplay. It seemed more because I got wickets on those balls.

    “I think it was seaming a little as there was a little moisture in the wicket to start with. The pace (of the deck) increased as the game progressed. That’s why it was still seaming when they came into bowl.”

  • IPL 2021: I’m a slogger that swings everything I can, says Chris Morris

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: After playing a quickfire knock of 36* off 18 balls, Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Chris Morris said that he is a slogger who can swing anything as he plays so much golf.

    Rajasthan Royals recruited Morris for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore ahead of this season. Commenting on his price tag, the South African all-rounder said he is getting paid to slog.

    David Miller’s 62-run knock followed by Morris’ cameo helped Rajasthan Royals defeat Delhi Capitals by three wickets here 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.

    “I thought Delhi bowled really well, David played an unplayable knock. T20 cricket anything can happen in the end, fortunately, went our way in the end,” Morris said after the game.

    “There are guys who get paid to bat and there are guys who get paid to slog, I know what I am. I am a slogger that swings everything I can, I play so much golf,” he added.

    Morris said Delhi bowled better than Rajasthan and hit the right areas in the game.

    “Dew plays a part here at the Wankhede, it does start to skid on. They hit the back of a length a lot better than we did. We got a few wickets early on, but they hit their lengths way better than we did. Our guys are experienced in taking pace off the ball and executed really well today. If we had to chase 140 odd when we got here, we would have taken it, so happy to get over the line,” he said.

    When asked about the single denied in the previous game, Morris said, “I was gonna run back no matter what to sacrifice because Sanju was hitting it so sweetly. Sanju was hitting it like a dream, I wouldn’t have been too upset if he had hit the last ball for a six.

    “The last game, the close game, we took so much out of that as a team. Chasing 222, it’s quite a daunting task. For us to get as close as we did on the day, we took a lot out of that first game of ours. Guys took a lot of confidence into the game, but it’s quite nice to know that we can win a game basically from anywhere after being down in the dumps. That’s T20 cricket,” he added.

    Earlier, an inspired bowling performance by Jaydev Unadkat, Morris, and Mustafizur Rahman helped Rajasthan Royals restrict Delhi Capitals to 147/8 in the allotted twenty overs.

    Delhi kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, and although skipper Rishabh Pant played a knock of 51, Rajasthan managed to maintain a stranglehold over the opposition.

    Rajasthan Royals will play now against Chennai Super Kings on Monday. (ANI)

  • Miller’s 63 and Morris’ unbeaten 36 power Rajasthan Royals to sensational win

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: David Miller’s combative 43-ball 62 and Chris Morris’ timely onslaught (36 not out) powered Rajasthan Royals to a dramatic three-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in their IPL match, here on Thursday.

    Opting to bowl, RR pacer Jaydev Unadkat took three wickets for 15 runs to restrict the Capitals to 147 for eight.

    Miller then anchored the Royals’ chase but it was Morris whose blitzkrieg took Royals home with two balls to spare.

    It is Royals’ first win of the season.

    The Royals were 17 for 3 in the fourth over and 42 for 5 at the halfway mark. They needed 58 from the last five overs and 12 from the final over.

    Morris ended the run chase with a six off Tom Curran.

    Royals’ run chase was, however, in tatters as soon as it started.

    Chris Woakes removed openers Manan Vohra (9) and Jos Buttler (1) in a space of three balls in the third over.

    In the next over, Kagiso Rabada dismissed the dangerous Royals captain Sanju Samson — the only centurion so far this season — with Shikhar Dhawan taking the catch at the slip.

    Shivam Dube (2) perished while playing an unnecessary uppish shot at a length ball off Avesh Khan with Dhawan taking his 78th catch of the IPL.

    The same pair worked in tandem two overs later with Dhawan taking his third catch of the day after Riyan Parag (2) had miscued an Avesh Khan delivery.

    The Royals were 52 for 5 at the halfway mark and by then the asking rate has gone up to nearly 10 an over.

    But, Miller and Rahul Tewatia (19) kept the Royals in the hunt with a 48-run stand for the sixth wicket before Rabada came back to give the much-needed breakthrough for the Capitals.

    Earlier, a brilliant three-wicket burst from pacer Jaydev Unadkat helped RR restrict DC to 147 for eight.

    Unadkat (3/15 off 4 overs) dismissed Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane to trigger DC’s top-order collapse from which they never recovered fully.

    Captain Rishabh Pant’s blistering 32-ball 51, studded with nine fours, was not enough as DC could only post a modest total after being put in to bat.

    DC made a disastrous start as they were two wickets down for 16 runs in the fourth over with Unadkat dismissing the opening duo of Shaw (2) and Dhawan (9) cheaply.

    Shaw was the first to go in the second over, caught at backward point before Dhawan perished while attempting a ramp shot with RR captain and wicketkeeper Sanju Samson taking a stunning diving catch to his right.

    Ajinkya Rahane’s (8) underwhelming IPL form continued as he offered an easy caught and bowled chance to Unadkat with a slow ball that clocked just 110km per hour.

    DC were 36 for 3 at the end of power-play but the slump continued as Marcus Stonis (0), foxed by a Mustafizur Rahman (2/29) delivery, checked his shot at the last minute to offer a running catch to Jos Buttler.

    The run rate started increasing once captain Pant came to the crease but still DC were 57 for 4 at the halfway mark.

    Once he had a full measure of the pitch, Pant opened up and hit four boundaries, three of which were consecutive, to take 20 runs from the 11th over bowled by Rahul Tewatia.

    Pant, in excellent form this year, reached to his fifty off 30 balls in the 12th over, with a four off Mustafizur but he was run out the next over with bowler Riyan Parag’s throw crashing onto the stumps.

    Delhi were 88 for 5 then.

    After Pant’s exit, Tom Curran gave some respectability to the DC innings with a 16-ball 21.

  • Unadkat’s brilliant spell of 3/15 restricts Delhi Capitals to 147 for 8

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A brilliant three-wicket burst from pacer Jaydev Unadkat helped Rajasthan Royals restrict Delhi Capitals to 147 for eight in their IPL match, here on Thursday.

    Unadkat (3/15 off 4 overs) dismissed Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane to trigger DC’s top-order collapse from which they never recovered fully.

    Captain Rishabh Pant’s blistering 32-ball 51, studded with nine fours, was not enough as DC could only post a modest total after being put in to bat.

    DC made a disastrous start as they were two wickets down for 16 runs in the fourth over with Unadkat dismissing the opening duo of Shaw (2) and Dhawan (9) cheaply.

    Shaw was the first to go in the second over, caught at backward point before Dhawan perished while attempting a ramp shot with RR captain and wicketkeeper Sanju Samson taking a stunning diving catch to his right.

    Ajinkya Rahane’s (8) underwhelming IPL form continued as he offered an easy caught and bowled chance to Unadkat with a slow ball that clocked just 110km per hour.

    DC were 36 for 3 at the end of power-play but the slump continued as Marcus Stonis (0), foxed by a Mustafizur Rahman (2/29) delivery, checked his shot at the last minute to offer a running catch to Jos Buttler.

    The run rate started increasing once captain Pant came to the crease but still DC were 57 for 4 at the halfway mark.

    Once he had a full measure of the pitch, Pant opened up and hit four boundaries, three of which were consecutive, to take 20 runs from the 11th over bowled by Rahul Tewatia.

    Pant, in excellent form this year, reached to his fifty off 30 balls in the 12th over, with a four off Mustafizur but he was run out the next over with bowler Riyan Parag’s throw crashing onto the stumps.

    Delhi were 88 for 5 then.

    After Pant’s exit, Tom Curran gave some respectability to the DC innings with a 16-ball 21.

  • Rajasthan Royals win toss, opt to bowl agains Delhi Capitals

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bowl in their IPL match against Delhi Capitals here on Thursday.

    Both sides made two changes from their previous match playing eleven.

    For RR, David Miller replaced Ben Stokes while Jaydev Unadkat came in for Shreyas Gopal.

    For DC, Kagiso Rabada came in for Shimron Hetmyer while Lalit Yadav replaced Amit Mishra for his debut match.

    The Teams: Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c/w), Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lalit Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Tom Curran, Avesh Khan.

    Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c/w), Manan Vohra, David Miller, Jos Buttler, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Jaydev Unadkat, Mustafizur Rahman.

  • Ben Stokes out of IPL with finger fracture, confirms Rajasthan Royals

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Star England all-rounder Ben Stokes’ IPL campaign came to an abrupt end after sustaining a finger fracture during Rajasthan Royals’ opening game against Punjab Kings, the franchise confirmed on Tuesday.

    Stokes will, however, remain in India for a week before flying back to United Kingdom.

    “Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes injured a finger on his left hand while fielding during the team’s match against Punjab Kings on 12 April 2021 in Mumbai,” Royals said in a statement after reports emerged in British media about his injury.

    “Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained a broken finger, which will unfortunately rule him out of the remainder of IPL 2021 season.”

    This is another telling blow for the Royals after the franchise missed the services of Jofra Archer due to a hand surgery.

    “Everyone at Rajasthan Royals absolutely admires Ben for being such a huge asset and a valuable member of the Royals family, both on and off the field, and wishes him a speedy recovery.

    “We are delighted that Ben would like to stay with the group to provide his valued support and inputs off the field. In the meantime, we will be reviewing potential replacement options for the remainder of the season,” the statement further said.

    Stokes sustained the injury when he went for the catch which dismissed Chris Gayle.

    “Having dropped a chance earlier in the match, Stokes ran in from long on and dived forward to complete the dismissal of the West Indian batsman. He immediately felt discomfort in his left hand, grimacing as he got up to celebrate with his teammates,” British newspaper ‘Independent’ had reported.

    It was due to the injury that Stokes didn’t bowl more than one over with Punjab Kings scoring a massive 222.

    “The Independent understands that Stokes will remain out in India for a week. Dialogue has already begun between the ECB and Royals around managing the injury,” the newspaper said.

    “He will have an X-Ray in India (Mumbai) on Thursday to determine how much damage has been done before the ECB take over the planning of the recovery,” it further said.