Alur (Karnataka), Jun 8 (Cricket News) Young Karan Sharma led from the front with a calm and composed 93 not out as Uttar Pradesh knocked out favourites Karnataka with a five-wicket win in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinals here on Wednesday.

This was UP's first ever win over Karnataka on 13 occasions and it could not have come at a better time. UP are now headed for a semifinal clash against heavyweights Mumbai at the same venue from June 14.

Previously, UP had lost four times and drawn nine times but never won against Karnataka.

Captaining the team in his very first season for UP, the 23-year-old Sharma, playing his fourth first-class match, showed solid temperament in their chase of 213 after Priyam Garg made an elegant 60-ball 52.

Sharma, who scored a second innings century in their win over Maharashtra that sealed their quarterfinals berth here, once again stood like a rock.

The Lucknow Super Giants batter, who faced 163 balls (119 of them dots), paced his innings brilliantly, especially at the fag end of the day.

That the slow pitch had little to offer for the pacers also played a part as Sharma happily took on Ronit More, pulling him in front of square, even on front foot.

He slammed 13 fours and one six in his knock as UP fashioned a memorable win with two days to spare.

The skipper found an able ally in Prince Yadav who played a patient innings of 33 not out from 73 balls (3x4, 1x6) in their unbroken match-winning partnership of 99 runs.

UP had a jittery start to their chase as they lost Aryan Juyal and Samarth Singh for 28 but thereafter Garg played a counter-attacking knock and reached to his fifty in 57 balls with a six off Vidhwath Kaverappa.

Just when it seemed that UP had the game on their hands, the home side titled the match in their favour after off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham gave the breakthrough by dismissing Garg.

Bowling superbly to his field, Gowtham foxed Garg with a length ball as the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter gave a simple catch to leg slip.

Rinku Singh (4) and Dhruv Jurel (9) were also dismissed cheaply as UP lost three wickets for 27 runs with 114/5 on board in the second session when the young skipper came to take charge of the proceedings.

Sharma had a solid approach upfront without buckling under pressure and took time to settle down before coming on his own.

Earlier, it was their India 'A' left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar who returned with a match-haul of seven wickets to turn it around for the Vijay Dahiya-coached UP after they suffered a first innings batting collapse to concede a 98-run first innings lead.

Saurabh returned with 3/36 in the second essay which included the prized-scalps of Mayank Agarwal as Karnataka failed to build on their healthy lead and were bundled out for 114 on the third day morning.

Yash Dayal grabbed the last two wickets to complete the formalities as Karnataka, who were overnight 100/8, were bowled out in five overs.

On a docile pitch, there was a sheer lack of application from the star-studded Karnataka batting lineup.

Their Big Three of Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and captain Manish Pandey combined for just 36 runs in the second essay that highlighted their plight in the absence of Devdutt Padikkal who was sidelined for the match.

Brief Scores: Karnataka: 253 and 114 in 39 overs.

Uttar Pradesh: 155 and 213/5 in 65.2 overs (Karan Sharma 93 not out, Priyam Garg 52, Prince Yadav 33 not out; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/47).

UP won by 5 wickets. 

Also Read : KL Rahul ruled out of entire series, Pant to captain team against Proteas

News Source : PTI

Bengaluru, Jun 5 (Cricket News) Their most decorated player, Wriddhiman Saha, may have left the team in the lurch owing to his personal grudge against the establishment, but the Abhimanyu Easwaran-led Bengal will still start as favourites against Jharkhand with their pace troika ready to let it rip in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final, starting from Monday.

The trio of Mukesh Kumar (15 wickets), Ishan Porel (14 wickets) and Akash Deep (10 wickets) has been the most prolific pace attack in the country and with a cumulative count of 39 wickets among the 58 that Bengal got this season, they will come all guns blazing at the Jharkhand line-up, which has shown firepower during the league stages.

However, the likes of Kumar Deobrat, Kumar Kushagra, Virat Singh will like to forget their overwhelming near 900-run innings score against Nagaland, which was their pre-quarter-final at the Eden Gardens.

It will be a very different fight against one of the best domestic bowling attacks in the country along with the gutsy spin-bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (8 wickets) for company.

When a senior player puts self above team ---------------------------------------------- Out of the Indian Test team as the new management doesn't want a 37-year-old second keeper, an upset Wriddhiman had cited "personal reasons" for not playing in the league stages, where the team found a new star in 19-year-old Abhishek Porel.

However, after doing a star turn for Gujarat Titans in the IPL, the India discard demanded a public apology from state body office-bearer Debabrata Das for allegedly insulting him.

Subsequently, he decided to not play one of the most important matches of the season for the state team, which made him the cricketer that he is today.

In this backdrop, the Bengal side, without arguably its No. 1 player with 40-Test experience, is sure to feel let down but will be determined to prove a point that it has long back adapted to life without an India "star".

"We would have liked him as he is a big player but if someone is so unwilling to play, his wish should be respected. If someone isn't interested, then forcing that person to play is often detrimental to a side's interest," a member of the team management told PTI ahead of the match.

Bengal fretting about No. 3 and No. 8 positions --------------------------------------------------- With the Just Cricket Academy ground producing a proper "five-day" wicket, Bengal coach Saurasish Lahiri pointed out that a couple of slots are up for grabs.

For the No. 3 spot, it will be a toss-up between two stodgy left-handers with good defensive game -- the diminutive Abhishek Raman and the lanky Sudip Chatterjee.

"It's a tough call as both are quality players," Lahiri said.

The other position up for grab is the all-rounder's slot where Sayan Sekhar Mondal, with his hard-hitting batting and good seam-up stuff at close to 130 clicks, is considered a better bet than Writtick Chatterjee, who bowls off-spin and also have a double hundred in first-class cricket.

What will be a slight worry for Bengal is the fact that none of their batters have accumulated 250 runs in the three league games, with only one hundred (114 by Easwaran) in six completed innings.

The top-run getter in the league stages is veteran Anushtup Majumdar (242 runs), who is at the fag end of his career.

However, it is Porel, who has turned out to be an exciting prospect and in his debut, he scored a fine half-century in a 350-run fourth innings chase against Baroda after the team was bowled out for less than 100 in the first innings.

For Bengal, the key will be to counter the two left-arm spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Anukul Roy, who are seasoned performers. The pace duo of Rahul Shukla and Varun Aaron might not be a big threat, especially with the latter not having played any red-ball games in recent times.

Karnataka find their match in UP ----------------------------------- A star-studded Karnataka batting line-up comprising Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey and till recently India's opener Mayank Agarwal gives the team a menacing look but they will be up against a quality seam attack from Uttar Pradesh that has stars Mohsin Khan and Yash Dayal in its ranks.

If Karnataka's batting has a scary look, the bowling is a bit thin on quality compared to the days when R Vinay Kumar, Srinath Aravind and Abhimanyu Mithun would run through opposition sides.

Often the reserve pacer in that line-up, Ronit More is now the leader of the attack and it will be interesting as to how he counters the likes of Rinku Singh, Akshdeep Nath and Priyam Garg.

The match will be played at Alur (1) ground.

Matches to start at 9:30 am.

Karnataka vs UP (Alur 1) Star Sports 1 Live Bengal vs Jharkhand (Just Cricket Ground) Live Streaming on Hotstar. 

Also Read : Mumbai favourites against Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh take on Punjab

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, May 28 (Cricket News) Two leaders, who are minefields of talent in their own right, one team that has made a mockery of all betting odds and the other trying to complete a cycle that started 15 summers back, IPL final between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals is about this and much more.

When IPL started over two months back, nobody would have believed that two captains walking out for toss in the title clash will be Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson.

'Remember the Titans', a 2000 Hollywood film headlined by Denzel Washington is considered one of the best sports films on the proverbial underdog story, which always has a capital.

It is not known if Titans skipper Hardik has watched it but for him and head coach Ashish Nehra, this journey of two months has been nothing short of spectacular. They have made a lot of people eat a humble pie because many, including experts, termed them a team of no-hopers post auction. A team that looked like a rag-tag outfit with only a few good players like David Miller, considered past their sell by date, or one-match wonders like Rahul Tewatia, it didn't really look good on paper.

But then you wouldn't call cricket a "game of glorious uncertainties" if everything would be decided on paper.

A fit-again Hardik took to leadership like fish takes to water and showed the way with his performances and the reason why he will always be an asset for Indian cricket.

Miller, who played his best cricket at least five years back, showed his 2.0 version that stunned one and all. Tewatia showed that those five sixes in Sharjah wasn't a mere flash in the pan.

Rashid Khan knew that he would be read well, so he became all the more parsimonious. Wriddhiman Saha after Rahul Dravid's hard-talk had reached a dead-end in his career but got a new lease of life and at least one more season to look forward to.

Gujarat as a state has not been known for its sporting exploits.

It produced players like Parthiv Patel or one of India's greatest ever pacers in Jasprit Bumrah but just like Tamil Nadu never had an emotional connect with a team before CSK appeared in the horizon, same is the case with Gujarat.

Come Sunday, expect a partisan and vociferous crowd to chant "Aava De" and that's the impact that Titans have had on their fans.

History will always throw examples that sporting teams bind a community and perhaps Titans can strike that chord with the Gujaratis.

For Titans, if this is about carving a niche in-front of home crowd, Rajasthan would like to do it for someone, who would be watching up from the stars.

Shane Warne -- Rajasthan's forever first Royal had used the IPL stage in its inception year to show Australian cricket establishment what Ian Chappell had always maintained : "Shane Warne was the best captain Australia never had".

With the Ravindra Jadejas, Dinesh Salunkhes, Swapnil Asnodkars and Niraj Patels, Warne had guided tournament's then cheapest team to victory.

Thirteen summers have gone but there is no Warne in flesh and blood to watch his beloved team complete a cycle of life and sport.

Sanju is perhaps one of those rare Indian cricketers, who has a massive fan following despite not having played even 20 international matches for the country.

In terms of talent quotient, there is little to choose between Sanju and Hardik.

Sanju's batting like a pendulum swinging between heroism and insanity.

One ball, he can audaciously flick Kagiso Rabada or a Josh hazlewood for a six and the next delivery could be an atrocious shot that would make his biggest supporter tear his hair in frustration.

But captaincy has made him explore a different aspect -- the skills of a manager.

It is not easy to lead a pack that has bonafide stars like Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jos Buttler, Trent Boult along with young guns Yashasvi Jaiswal or Prasidh Krishna but Sanju has handled it well.

It will be one hell of a battle where Buttler with 800-plus runs will not only fight a Lockie Ferguson or a Yash Dayal but also withstand crowd pressure: about 1,11,000 fans would be cheering for the hosts.

Similarly, Shubman Gill would like to own the big stage and show what he can do when the canvas is as large as the IPL final.

Prasidh Krishna is a handful when his team bowls first but how will he react against a rampaging Miller if he has to defend in a tense situation? What will be Hardik's tactic against a wily Chahal and an experimental Ashwin during the middle overs? Or will Buttler take risks against a Rashid Khan? We will get all those answers in the next 24 hours.

There will be heroes, there will be heartbreaks but above everything, perhaps a contest that everyone will remember for ages.

Squads: Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent NSE 1.86 % Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell, Corbin Bosch.

Match starts at 8:00 pm. 

Also Read : I am trying to hold one end up and let bowler from other end attack: Rashid Khan

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, May 26 (Cricket News) Rajasthan Royals will need to shake off an ordinary bowling performance in their last outing when they clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore, a team which seems to be peaking at the right time, in the high-stakes IPL Qualifier-2 here on Friday.

Having sneaked into the play-offs, RCB seem are on a roll and a tight win over Lucknow in the Eliminator has fuelled expectations for a long-awaited trophy.

They take on Rajasthan, a team which has all bases covered but still came up short against Gujarat in Qualifier 1.

The IPL caravan moves to Ahmedabad after a couple of high-scoring games in Kolkata.

It has been a quick turnaround for RCB but they won't mind that as they look to ride the momentum.

"The best thing is that we have one day and we play again. Cannot wait to be in Ahmedabad and take the field again. We are so excited and happy with how things have gone. Hopefully, two more games and we all can celebrate," star RCB batter Virat Kohli told the IPL website after the win over LSG. Rajat Patidar, who played the innings of his life on Wednesday, will be a man with supreme confidence in another high-pressure knockout fixture.

For someone who went unsold in the IPL auction and came into the RCB squad as a replacement player, it has been a career-changing season for him.

Both the high-profile openers, Kohli and Faf du Plessis, are big match players and will be itching to make an impact after low returns in the previous game. Dinesh Karthik has managed to maintain consistency in a tough role and the team management would be also hoping for more runs in the back end of the innings from Glenn Maxwell.

The team is likely to stick to the winning combination. While Wanindu Hasaranga has shown the courage even when he has been taken to the cleaners, Harshal Patel has been the go-to pacer in slog overs.

Mohammad Siraj returned for the LSG game and bowled well with the new ball. Josh Hazlewood enhanced his reputation as a death bowler with a match-deciding penultimate over and with the addition of a yorker in his armoury, has only become tougher to score of.

RCB bowlers will have to be on the top of their game against a formidable Rajasthan batting line up which rely heavily on Jos Buttler and skipper Sanju Samson. Both scored against Gujarat but it did not prove to be enough.

Samson will be eager to convert his 30s and 40s into a substantial knock and lead from the front.

It remains to be seen how the bowlers comeback after a forgettable outing. R Ashwin had a rare off day against Gujarat while Prasidh Krishna paid the price for bowling length balls to David Miller in the final over.

Squads: Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell, Corbin Bosch.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar and Siddharth Kaul Match starts at 7:30 pm. 

Also Read : I don't shy away from bowling in slog overs: Harshal Patel

News Source : PTI

Kolkata, May 23 (Cricket News) Equipped with a lethal bowling attack and boasting a number of quality finishers, debutants Gujarat Titans will start as favourites against spin-heavy former champions Rajasthan Royals when the two teams face-off in the first IPL Qualifier, here on Tuesday.

Captaining a team in the IPL for the first time ever, a fit-again Hardik Pandya has been a revelation this season as he led from the front with both bat and ball to ensure a top finish for his team in the league stage.

Apart from firing at number 4, Pandya has used his resources well, be it the death bowling of wily Rashid Khan or making his batting exploits count to go alongside the fiery duo of David Miller and Rahul Tewatia. Every little thing has fallen in place.

Their weak link was their top-order batting with highly-rated Shubman Gill failing to convert his starts but the addition of veteran Wriddhiman Saha has done wonders for the team.

The discarded India wicketkeeper-batter is batting with a new-found passion at the top of the order and has scored three half-centuries in nine matches to make up for Gill's lacklustre run.

While the Afghan leg-spinner has been outstanding in the middle and death overs, India senior pacer Mohammed Shami has given them perfect starts, by being the highest wicket-taker (11 wickets) in the powerplay this season.

Saha, who has been making headlines since he was axed for Team India, will look to make a point as he along with Bengal teammate Shami play in front of their home crowd again.

The fact that the playoffs will be played on fresh tracks would put the seamers in focus and Pandya may look to bring in Alzarri Joseph to go alongside Lockie Ferguson and Shami.

The Titans had defeated the same opponents by 37 runs in the league stage but the inaugural edition champions have a spin-heavy attack to go with rich experience and they might prove to a tricky customer.

The Titans also have looked vulnerable as they suffered three defeats in last five matches, including an eight-wicket thrashing by Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous outing, which would mean that the Pandya-led side has to step up.

Three of Titan's four defeats, and four of Royals' five losses have come while setting up a target as the toss would also be a key area of concern.

The Sanju Samson-led outfit boast of both the Orange and Purple Cap holders this season -- Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal.

They also have the experience of Ravichandran Ashwin whose versatility has come to the fore especially in the second-half of the season. Ashwin's batting has also made a huge difference.

Batting at number 5 ahead of their regular batters Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag against Chennai Super Kings the other day, Ashwin smashed an unbeaten 23-ball 40 to script a five-wicket win that also sealed their top-two finish.

But for them to repeat their 2008-IPL winning show, the Royals would not just need an Ashwin but the top-order to fire. Their leading run-getter Buttler has slowed down in the business end of the season with single digit scores -- 2, 2, 7 -- in his last-three outings.

The Englishman, who has slammed three centuries and three fifties this season, is yet to score a half-century in five innings and the Royals would desperately need him to be back among runs.

Their batting too has slumped with Samson and Hetmyer's loss of form and they would look to get into the act ahead of the big match.

The fact that the loser of the Qualifier One will get a second shot at making the final will give both the teams some breathing space.

Squads: Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell, Corbin Bosch.

Match Starts at 7:30 pm. 

Also Read : Arshdeep delighted to represent India, says bowling to Punjab King batters helped perfect yorkers

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 19 (Cricket News) Having gone off the boil in the last few games, Jos Buttler would be eagerly waiting to pounce on an inexperienced Chennai Super Kings attack in order to clinch a play-off berth for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL here on Friday.

A win will take Sanju Samson's men to 18 points and help them steer clear of any permutations or combinations for a top-four finish.

In fact a win will ensure a top-two finish for Royals as they will then enjoy a superior Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.304 compared to Lucknow Super Giants' +0.251.

In this backdrop, Royals would like to turn the heat on a lacklustre CSK, who can turn out to be 'party poopers' in their final game.

To prevent that, Buttler, who is currently leading the batters' chart with 627 runs, will need to do better than register scores of 22, 30, 7, 2 -- his contribution in the last four games.

The Royals' success in the tournament has got a lot to do with brilliant starts from Buttler, who has three hundreds and as many fifties -- most of his runs were scored during the first half of the tournament -- and Yuzvendra Chahal's 24 wickets.

While Chahal has maintained his consistency, in the case of Buttler there has been a slight dip in form but the last league game is an ideal time to up the ante before the play-offs.

Rookies Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh and 'Baby Malinga' Matheesha Pathirana will like to show their wares one last time but the CSK unit's confidence has taken a big dent because of its poor batting efforts for the better part of the tournament.

While Buttler is at the top of the batting chart for Royals, Ruturaj Gaikwad came to the party late with 366 runs, but none of the others have crossed the 300-run mark. Devon Conway, who played more matches in the second half, has 236 runs to his credit.

Most of CSK's senior players like MS Dhoni (206), Ambati Rayudu (271) and Robin Uthappa (230) haven't had a great IPL and that has been the biggest failure of the 'Yellow Brigade'.

The bowling suffered a lot because of the absence of an injured Deepak Chahar and the inability to retain Josh Hazlewood. It was wafer-thin in terms of experience and they paid the price.

Pathirana, with a slinging action that is pretty similar to Malinga, has caught Dhoni's imagination but he is a work in progress. Similarly, the likes of Mukesh (16 wickets), Simar (3 wickets) and spinner Mahesh Theekshana (12) are good but not assured match-winners yet.

The Royals' bowling attack, perhaps, is one of the best in the tournament with the spin duo of Chahal (24 wickets and ER of 7.76) and Ravichandran Ashwin (10 wickets at 7.15) creating plenty of trouble for the batters.

Prasidh Krishna (15 wickets) has been sharp on most days and when Trent Boult (12 wickets) gets the ball to slant into the right-handers first up, it will be difficult for any top-order.

The Royals' qualification is in their own hands and they would like to keep it that way with a win against Chennai Super Kings.

Teams: Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain), Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayadu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Subranshu Senapati, K Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (C), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell, Corbin Bosch.

Match Starts at 7:30 pm. 

Also Read : RCB hope to qualify as they take on top seed GT in match no 67

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 14 (Cricket News) In impressive form throughout the season, Lucknow Super Giants would look to bounce back from their previous match defeat and register a win to confirm their IPL play-offs berth when they face another aspirants, Rajasthan Royals, here on Sunday.

LSG were on top of IPL points table with four wins on the trot before relinquishing that position after losing to Gujarat Titans in their previous match.

The KL Rahul-led side, which is now at second spot with 16 points, would not want to lose another game just before the start of the knockout round.

The Royals would also look to make amends for their all-round failure in their comprehensive eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals in their last match.

With 16 points from 12 matches, a win for LSG on Sunday will confirm their play-offs berth. For the Royals too, a victory will take them on the verge of securing a last-four stage spot.

Captain Rahul and his opening partner Quinton de Kock will have to score the bulk of runs once again for LSG. Both fell cheaply against the Titans and they would look to bounce back against the Royals.

Rahul, the tournament's second most prolific batter with 459 runs from 12 matches, has been in impressive form with two centuries and as many half centuries.

De Kock has scored three half centuries to accumulate 355 runs from 12 outings.

Deepak Hooda is another batter who is in form with 347 runs and three half centuries, and he has the ability to make a difference.

The Royals will rely heavily on England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, who has scored 625 runs from 12 matches with the help of three centuries and as many half centuries. His team-mates though have not been in the best of form.

Captain Sanju Samson has, again, failed to realise his full potential though he has not done bad either. He has scored 327 runs from 12 matches with two half centuries.

The good news for the Royals is that Devdutt Padikkal (295 runs from 12 matches) has shown some consistency with 31 and 48 in the last two matches though he is yet to make a big one.

The same is the case with Shimron Hetmyer (291 from 11 matches), who has shown a lot of promise but is yet to fire, though his 31 not out off 16 balls was instrumental in the Royals' six-wicket win over Punjab Kings.

Ravichandran Ashwin was the top-scorer for the Royals in their previous match against Delhi Capitals and his utility as a batter can be exploited by the Royals.

The Royals will once again depend on spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who is at joint top among wicket-takers with 23 scalps from 12 matches, to deal with the likes of Rahul and de Kock, even as R Ashwin, Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna look to chip in.

For LSG, bowling is the weaker department and the likes of Avesh Khan and Jason Holder will have to step up to restrict Buttler and other RR batters.

Both were among wickets against the Titans while Mohsin Khan was economical with figures of 1/18 in four overs. The teams (from): Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Quinton De Kock, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya. Jason Holder.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell.

Match Starts at 7:30pm. 

 

Also Read : Do or die game for KKR and SRH in match number 61

 

 

 

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Navi Mumbai, May 10 (Cricket News) Delhi Capitals will aim to quickly recover from their loss in the previous match to stay in the IPL play-offs race while Rajasthan Royals will be eager to hold on to their winning momentum when the two teams clash here on Wednesday.

The Capitals have lost six of their 11 games and although they are fifth on the points table, they are bunched alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings, who also have 10 points from as many games.

Delhi has the advantage of a positive Net Run Rate (+0.150) but the Capitals need to win all their remaining three matches for a shot at the playoffs.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, are sitting on the third spot with 14 points and need just two wins to be certain of qualification. They have a healthy 0.326 NRR, which could come in handy even if they lose their remaining games.

DC have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the league this season as they have struggled to keep the winning momentum going.

After a moral-boosting win against Sunrisers, they were handed a 91-run thrashing by CSK.

Their bowlers looked clueless against Devon Conway, who was hitting boundaries and sixes at will as CSK set a 200 plus target.

Delhi's bowling department hasn't inspired confidence. While Kuldeep Yadav is having a good season, the left-arm spinner has gone for runs aplenty in the previous two games.

The return of pace spearhead Anrich Nortje has also not made much of a difference as the South African hasn't been able to replicate his fiery performance from the previous seasons.

Khaleel Ahmed has been economical while Axar Patel has bowled well.

In the batting department, David Warner has enjoyed a good run but the Australian has got little assistance from his opening partners, who have ranged from Prithvi Shaw to Mandeep Singh to Srikar Bharat.

This biggest downer for Delhi has been Rishabh Pant's form. He has shown glimpses of his destructive power but the team would want more from its skipper who can single-handedly turn around any game.

The Capitals will have to fire on all cylinders against a formidable Rajasthan side.

The Royals have arguably the best bowling side in the competition.

With 22 wickets at 14.50, Yuzvendra Chahal leads the bowling charts this season and alongside R Ashwin, Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna, the Rajasthan attack has the ability to defend any total.

One of the positives for the Royals is that have been able to break the overdependence on Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler, who has had a quite couple of outings.

Given a chance to play after over a month, young Yashasvi Jaiswal shone with a fine half-century against Punjab Kings, providing the otherwise faltering batting department a boost.

But going ahead skipper Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal need to shoulder more responsibility.

The Royals will miss the services of the big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer who flew back to Guyana for the birth of his child.

The last time the two sides met drama ensued in the final over due to the no-ball controversy. RR ended up winning the clash and Delhi would hope they can be on the right side of the result this time round.

Teams: Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (C), Ashwin Hebbar, David Warner, Mandeep Singh, Prithvi Shaw,Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kamlesh Nagarkoti,Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Vicky Ostwal, Yash Dhull, KS Bharat and Tim Seifert.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (C), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell.

Match starts 7.30 IST. 

Also Read : LSG and GT fight it out in a bid to secure top spot in match no 57

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 7 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal won the toss and elected to bat against Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League (IPL)match here on Saturday.

Punjab Kings are fielding the same playing XI from their previous game.

For the Royals, Yashasvi Jaiswal comes in place of Karun Nair.

Teams: Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal(c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma.

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(wk/c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen. 

Also Read : Dr Powell appointed Performance Manager for England Disability Cricket

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 2 (Cricket News) Kolkata Knight Riders restricted Rajasthan Royals to a modest 152 for five, despite rival skipper Sanju Samson's half-century in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday.

For RR, Samson's 54 off 49 balls was the only saving grace, as wickets tumbled at regular intervals.

KKR bowlers justified skipper Shreyas Iyer's decision to ask the opposition to bat first with quick wickets.

A late onslaught by Shimron Hetymar (27 not out off 13 balls) took Rajasthan beyond the 150-run mark.

RR lost opener Devdutt Padikkal (2) cheaply as pacer Umesh Yadav (1/24) grabbed a return catch in the third over.

Samson, who hit seven boundaries and a six, joined in-form Jos Buttler (22 off 25 balls; 3x4s) and the duo tried to rally the innings, sharing 48 runs for the second wicket as KKR bowlers didn't allow RR batters to free their arms.

Samson carved through the point to get his first four in the fourth over as RR crawled to 12 for one.

Samson and and Buttler tried to break the shackles in the fifth over, which fetched RR 15 runs. The duo hammered Umesh for three boundaries, with the skipper hitting two of them.

Samson lofted Anukul Roy (1/28) over deep extra cover for his first maximum as RR amassed 11 runs in the sixth over, scoring 38 runs in power-play. The RR skipper then cut Sunil Narine (0/19) for another boundary.

But RR slipped to 55 for two after pacer Tim Southee (2/46) removed a rusty looking Buttler, who was caught by Shivam Mavi at long on.

Samson struck two successive boundaries off Mavi (1/33) but was devoid of partners. He was able to add only 35 runs with Karun Nair (13) and 25 with Riyan Parag (19).

Karun (13), Parag (19) and Samson fell in quick succession as RR slipped to 115 for five from 90 for three.

While Nair became left-arm spinner Roy’s only victim, Parag was caught by Roy at deep-mid wicket off Southee.

Samson, in a bid to score quickly, gave a skier to Rinku Singh at deep-midwicket.

Hetymar and R Ashwin (6 not out) added unbeaten 37 runs in 18 balls to push RR's total beyond the 150-run mark. 

Also Read : Way Rinku maintained his calm under pressure was outstanding: KKR skipper Iyer

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 2 (Cricket News) Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field against Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday.

Anukul Roy replaced Venkatesh Iyer while Shivam Mavi also came in for KKR.

RR, on the other hand, brought in Karun Nair in place of Daryll Mitchell.

Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Aaron Finch, Sunil Narine, Shreyas Iyer (c), Baba Indrajith (wk), Nitish Rana, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi.

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Karun Nair, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen. 

Also Read : Training sessions with Mohd Shami during lockdown helped 'Gentle Giant' Mohsin Khan

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 1 (Cricket News) Guilty of making too many changes at the top, Kolkata Knight Riders would like to find a winning combination against Rajasthan Royals and snap their five-match losing streak in the IPL here on Monday.

The form of Venkatesh Iyer, who is experiencing second season blues, has a lot to do with the changes KKR have been forced to make regularly at the top of the order.

Venkatesh's performances have been underwhelming to say the least after a season that helped him get into the Indian team. After his struggles at the top, the team tried him in the middle-order but that too did not work.

The southpaw was back opening alongside Aaron Finch in the last game but runs deserted him again.

Making the play-offs from here looks improbable for KKR who desperately need to find their best XI and stick with it for the remainder of the competition.

"A lot of chopping and changing is happening, it's been difficult to set up the right combination, with all injuries not helping as well. We need to stick together, play some fearless cricket, not be conservative with the bat.

"Five more matches remaining, we need to play well, show belief and give something back to the team and the management, forget about the past, start fresh and back your instinct," said skipper Shreyas Iyer after the last game.

Shreyas has had a decent run as a batter with 290 runs at 36.25 but he has not got enough support from his teammates. In his first season as KKR captain, Shreyas has shown promise but needs to inspire his troops to script a turnaround.

Alongside Venkatesh, the dismal run of another retained player Varun Chakaravarthy has hurt the team. However, the move to drop him in the previous game did not yield the desired results as KKR lost their fifth game in a row.

The trio of Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine has been impressive and will be aiming to keep the in-form Jos Buttler quiet.

Rajasthan rely a lot on Buttler and his 566 runs at 70.75 are a big reason why they find themselves in the top-four. As the Englishman can't be expected to fire in every game, skipper Sanju Samson needs to step up and be more consistent.

They are arguably the best bowling side in the competition but could not defend 159 in their previous game against Mumbai Indians due to heavy dew.

With 19 wickets at 13.68, Yuzvendra Chahal leads the bowling charts this season and alongside R Ashwin, Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna, the Rajasthan attack has the ability to defend even below-par totals.

However, Royals will be looking for a much-improved batting effort to minimise the dew factor.

Teams (from): Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Aaron Finch, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Baba Indrajith, Nitish Rana, Pratham Singh, Rinku Singh, Ashok Sharma, Pat Cummins, Rasikh Dar, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Aman Khan, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohammed Nabi, Ramesh Kumar, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson.

Rajasthan Royals squad for 2022 IPL: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell.

Match starts 7.30 IST. 

Also Read : If dew hadn't played a part, 158 would've been enough: Ashwin

News Source : PTI

Navi Mumbai, Apr 29 (Cricket News) On a three-match winning streak, Rajasthan Royals have the momentum as well as source of inspiration when they face bottom-placed and out-of-reckoning Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.

The Royals will be celebrating the extraordinary life of their lone IPL title-winning captain Shane Warne, who died last month in Thailand, during this game. A win would give a perfect tribute to the legendary Australian spinner under whose inspirational leadership, the Royals had won the 2008 title.

While Rajasthan, placed second in the standings, have lost only two games and won six, Mumbai are already out of contention for a play-off berth, having lost all their eight matches so far.

After mustering just 144 runs in their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Royals would be hoping for an improvement from their batters.

Their openers Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal have been among the runs. Buttler has already slammed three hundreds and the challenge for the MI bowlers would be to find ways to stop the marauding Englishman. He and Paddikal would look to continue to provide an aggressive start.

Skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetymer possess the shots to hammer the Mumbai attack and there is also the firepower of Riyan Parag, who hit an unbeaten 56 in the last game, and Daryl Mitchell, as the Royals middle-order looks settled.

A consistent Samson will look to add to his runs tally of 232 from 10 matches and build the innings in case of any failure in the top-order, as had happened last time when Buttler and Padikkal were out cheaply.

The Royals' bowlers have been in top form as the pacers as well as the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 18 scalps, doing well so far.

Pacer Trent Boult is wreaking havoc and is ably supported by Prasidh Krishna, who has been effective in the death overs. With his delivery that comes in, Boult can trouble Mumbai's top batters.

Mumbai, on the other hand, need a “collective effort”. The out-of-form opening duo of Rohit and Ishan Kishan need to find ways to get going and the same holds good for the middle-order batters.

Kishan, with 199 runs from eight outings, has not justified his Rs 15.25 crore price tag.

Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Dewald Brewis have had their moments of individual brilliance, but they need to fire in unison. One of the top-order batters will need to score big if Mumbai have to get a big score or chase down a stiff target.

Another concern for Mumbai is the poor run of form of all-rounder Kieron Pollard who is no longer the ‘finisher’ that he once used to be and the burly West Indian will need to display his six-hitting abilities.

Mumbai’s bowling has been even a bigger concern. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been at his best but has lacked support from the likes of Jaydev Unadkat, Daniel Sams and Riley Meredith.

If Mumbai again opt for a pace-heavy attack, the pacers will need to hit the right lengths to stop Buttler and company and will also need support from rookie off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen.

The Teams (From): Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Ramandeep Singh, SuryakumarYadav, Tilak Verma, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Basil Thampi, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Tymal Mills, Kartikeya Singh, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

 

Also Read : Titans look to continue 'Golden Touch', RCB seek Kohli's return to form

 

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) RCB will hope that this time they put up a better performance and forget about the horror show they produced last match against SRH. It also left them with the worst Net-Run-Rate among the teams around them - a factor that could prove decisive in the run-in. On the other hand , RR have been banking heavily on their two star players in Jos Butler and Yuzvendra Chahal to win them matches.

RCB endured one of their heaviest defeats against SRH last time out and will be hoping that they will bounce back from that crushing defeat. In terms of batting the RCB management will be hoping that Virat Kohli finds his batting mojo back after two back to back ducks as Anuj Rawat hasn't quite set the batting charts on fire for his new team, and is in danger of losing his place. The one thing that has been their recipe to success is their lower middle order which has flourished in pressure situations and often bailed their team out from the clutches of defeat. The battle between Dinesh Karthik and Chahal will be one to watch as the leg spinner has dismissed him thrice in nine innings, with Karthik scoring at a strike rate of only 83. In terms of bowling, Wanindu Hasaranga will be the key as he has dismissed Sanju Samson four times in five innings and will be an obvious plan of attack against the Royals captain.

For RR in the batting department it has been the Jos Butler show, he has scored 491 runs in 7 matches including 3 centuries, at this rate he is well on course to break Virat Kohli’s historical 2016 season where he scored 4 hundreds and scored over 900+ runs. Shimron Hetmyer and Sanju Samson have also been in good form as they have been finishing the innings really well. In the bowling department, despite having Yuzvendra Chahal in flying form, the Royals have conceded 192, 210 and 207 in their last three games, which could be a cause of concern for the RR management. We saw in the last match how Marco Jansen caused havoc in the RCB batting lineup, the same way RR can throw Trent Boult and Obed McCoy to poke at their opposition's insecurities. 

Pitch and weather report: The MCA Pune pitch has been brilliant for batting but the venue will be used after a long time as this might just restart the trend of winning the toss and bowling first. Pacers will get some assistance in the powerplay and the spinners will play a massive role in the middle overs. The temperature is going to hover around 28 degrees as there is no chance of rain.

Interesting facts:

• Wanindu Hasaranga has completed his full quota of overs only once in the last four matches
• Buttler is 58 runs ahead of where Kohli was in the 2016 season when he scored the record-setting 973 runs.
• Among batters with more than 200 runs in the league, only Dinesh Karthik (200) and Liam Livingstone (182.26) have a higher strike-rate than Shimron Hetmyer 179.20
• Faf du Plessis' teams have won 70% of matches where he has made 30 or more.

Also read: Punjab Kings PBKS beat Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs

Probable XI for RCB:

1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Anuj Rawat/Rajat Patidar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Shahbaz Ahmed, 6 Suyash Prabhudessai, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Probable XI for RR:

1 Jos Buttler, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Obed McCoy, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
 

Pune, Apr 25 (Cricket News) Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming to halt the Jos Buttler juggernaut when they take on Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

Attention will be on Virat Kohli as well following his second consecutive first ball duck in the competition.

RCB would be hoping their star batter to be back among the runs besides a much improved performance by the batting unit after a shocker in the previous game.

While the Challengers come into the match on the back of a demoralising nine-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan have had two successive wins and are one of the in-form teams this season.

While the focus would be on Kohli, RCB have also power-hitters in captain Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaaz Ahmed, who can be destructive on their day and if they fire in unison, the RR attack would have a tough time.

Du Plessis, the highest run-scorer for his team, has blown hot and cold with the willow but remains a vital cog for the team.

Karthik too with his hitting abilities is playing the finisher’s role to near perfection.

They are up against Rajasthan’s varied attack, led by Trent Boult, who has troubled Kohli in the past with the delivery that comes in.

Prasidh Krishna and the spin duo of wily Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal can also pose problems for the RCB batters. Chahal, with 18 wickets so far, can turn the game on its head.

And ditto for Ashwin, who can be the opposition's nemesis on his day. Add to it the four overs by Obed McCoy; Rajasthan have a decent attack.

For Rajasthan, opener Jos Buttler has been in sublime form, having already hammered three hundreds this season.

Opener Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Sanju Samson have also been toying with opposition attacks and are among the runs. And so is Shimon Hetymar, who can compound the bowling team’s woes with his brutal onslaught.

RR would be hoping that the top order delivers once again at the MCA Stadium, which has witnessed high-scoring games.

The weak links in Rajasthan’s batting are Karun Nair and Riyan Parag and the duo would need to step up and deliver.

For RCB, they have the best death bowler in Harshal Patel, but he would need support from Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood.

The four overs by Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who has eleven wickets, could also change the match’s fate.

Teams (From): Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : We haven't batted well enough in tournament, more responsibility needs to be taken: Rohit Sharma

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 22 (Cricket News) Delhi Capitals won the toss and chose to field first against Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match here on Friday.

Both the teams named unchanged playing XIs.

The Teams: Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c/wk), Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Karun Nair, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Obed McCoy, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Rovman Powell, Sarfaraz Khan, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed. 

Also Read : T20 is a cruel format, MI need to grab crunch moments: Tendukar

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After the mini covid scare Delhi Capitals bounced back in emphatic fashion when they beat Punjab Kings in the last match. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals will be on cloud 9 after a thrilling victory over KKR in a high scoring encounter. Both teams will be looking for back to back victories and give their season the much needed momentum.

The Delhi Capitals have been heavily reliant on Prithvi Shaw and David Warner to give them good starts as they have been arguably the most destructive and in-form opening pair in the tournament but that is masking their problems in the middle order. Rishabh Pant has played a couple of cameos but Rovman Powell's form is a serious concern for the DC management . In five innings this season, Powell has scored only 31 runs, at an average of 6.20 and a strike rate of 100.00. In the bowling department the left arm bowlers have been brilliant for them, as they have held a sway over the oppositions batting lineup. Shardul Thakur has the edge over Devdutt Padikkal, dismissing him three times in 19 balls, as the Wankhede pitch will offer a lot of assistance to the left arm swing bowlers early on. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will be the key against Shimron Hetymer who is circumspect against  wrist spin.

Rajasthan Royals this season have been reliant on three players, Jos Butler, Shimron Hetmyer and Yuzvendra Chahal to win them matches this season. If Buttler has been the chief  power-anchor, then Hetmyer has ensured Royals have finished their innings with a crescendo. Among those who have scored at least 200 runs this season, Hetmyer has a strike rate of 179.83 which is the third-highest and both of them have scored more than 57% of Royals' total runs. With the bowl, Chahal is spinning webs around the opposition batters, having picked up 17 wickets in 7 matches already this season. Prithvi Shaw's struggles against Trent Boult as he has been dismissed thrice in 18 balls. The battle between Ashwin and Warner will be one to watch out as the offspinner has dismissed Warner five times in 127 balls while conceding 159 runs.

Pitch and weather report: The trend of winning the toss and bowling first will continue as the Wankhede pitch offers uneven bounce and pace up front, also the dew factor will come into play later on. Defending totals seems to be feasible at the Wankhede as the last two matches were won by teams defending a total. The temperature is going to hover around 33 degrees with no chance of rain.

Interesting facts:

• Royals have the best economy rate (6.72) in the powerplay this season
• Khaleel's economy rate so far this season is 7.15. It is the first time in five IPL seasons that he has gone for less than eight.
• Prithvi Shaw averages just 18.29 against Rajasthan Royals
• No team has hit as many sixes as Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022
• Rajasthan have batted first in five matches this season as Sanju Samson has only won  one toss
• Delhi's openers - Warner and Shaw - have put on four consecutive 50-plus stands in IPL 2022
• Also read: M.S Dhoni rolls back the years with thrilling last ball win over MI

Probable XI for DC:

1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Sarfaraz Khan, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Lalit Yadav, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Khaleel Ahmed.

Probable XI for RR:

1 Jos Buttler, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Karun Nair, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Obed McCoy, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.

Mumbai, Apr 21 (Cricket News) Yuzvendra Chahal's bagful of tricks will meet its perfect match in Kuldeep Yadav's guile as the two wrist spinners are expected to dictate the narrative when Rajasthan Royals clash with Delhi Capitals in an IPL match, on Friday.

With current 'Orange Cap' holder in Jos Buttler (375 runs) and 'Purple Cap' holder Chahal (17 wickets) in their ranks, Royals are a team that is looking pretty formidable at the moment even with a dysfunctional middle-order, save Shimron Hetmyer.

On the other hand, resurgent Capitals are battling the agony that comes with a mini COVID-19 outbreak in the camp but are still trying to put their best foot forward to stay afloat.

In this backdrop, the two wrist-spinners, who are currently dominating the bowling charts will be itching to show their wares with Kuldeep (13 wickets at No. 2) expected to pose some questions for in-form Buttler in case there is a match-up.

For Delhi, Kuldeep along with Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav would like to stem the run-flow but stopping Buttler will be on top of their agenda on a Wankhede track that is expected to be good for batting.

For Chahal, how he varies the pace against a rampaging David Warner or the ever-attacking Prithvi Shaw and skipper Rishabh Pant will be a delight for the fans.

In the past five years, life has come to a full circle for 'Kul-Cha' who were the 'taste' of the nation between 2017 and 2019 when wrist spinners were in vogue during the Ravi Shastri-Virat Kohli era.

While Chahal got a body blow after being dropped from the last T20 World Cup squad and was sporadically picked in white ball formats, Kuldeep also lost his way.

He got very little support from either erstwhile national team management or his previous IPL team (KKR) and also endured a career-threatening knee injury.

But now the smile is back and so is the guile. The left-arm wrist spinner's googly -- the one that turns away from right-hander -- is back and so is the conventional left-arm leg-break which comes into the right-hander.

However in these kind of games, the support cast becomes more important as they can create those little game-changing moments that impact the final outcome of the game.

Mustafizur Rahaman's cutters and Khaleel Ahmed's clever change of pace could also trouble the likes of Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag.

Similarly, if Trent Boult gets one to tail in first-up, Shaw's response and technique will be tested in earnest.

But Royals have now got a calm death bowler in West Indies' Obed McCoy, who was brilliant while bowling the final over against KKR.

McCoy, who made his IPL debut in the last game, is tall and looked like using his height to a good advantage to create awkward angles and length for the Delhi batters.

If middle-order non-performance is an issue for Royals, the DC doesn't seem to have found the second Indian batter in that middle-order slot apart from skipper Pant, who can take the bowling apart.

Mandeep Singh was a massive failure against genuine quick bowling but Sarfaraz Khan is trying to play himself in.

Rovman Powell till now has failed to show his destructive self and these are the players, who need to push the envelope when it comes to maintaining the momentum.

Teams (From): Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (Captain), Ashwin Hebbar, David Warner, Mandeep Singh, Prithvi Shaw, Rovman Powell, Anrich Nortje, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lalit Yadav, Mitchell Marsh, Pravin Dubey, Ripal Patel, Sarfaraz Khan, Vicky Ostwal, Yash Dhull and KS Bharat.

Match Starts at 7:30pm. 

Also Read : Struggling MI take on defending Champions CSK in match no 33

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Rajasthan Royals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs in what was one of the best T20 matches of all time with so many great individual performances. Shreyas Iyer elected to bowl first after winning the toss before announcing 1 change as Shivam Mavi replaced Aman Khan. RR on the other hand made 4 changes as they roped in Trent Boult, Obed McCoy and Karun Nair for Rassie van der Dussen, Jimmy Neesham and Kuldeep Sen.

RR posted a mammoth total of 217/5 which was the highest total of the season. Jos Buttler continued his incredible form with his second century of the season as he scored 103 off 61 balls. The Englishman hit 9 fours and 5 sixes in his blockbuster innings. Sanju Samson played a good knock of 38 as hit 3 boundaries and 2 maximums in his 19 balls. Shimron Hetmyer once again finished the match well with a 13 ball 26 including 2 fours and 2 sixes. Andre Russell, Pat Cummins and Shivam Mavi picked up a wicket each. In a high scoring game Sunil Narine worked his magic as he ended the innings with the figures of 2/21. Varun Chakravarthy's struggles continued as he got smashed for 30 runs off his 2 overs and didn't get a chance to bowl again. 

KKR opened with Aaron Finch and Sunil Narine as Venkatesh Iyer was slotted into the middle order. The plan didn't get tested as Narine was run out without facing a single ball. Finch on the other hand scored 58 off 28 balls hitting 9 boundaries and 2 sixes. The Australian has finally shown signs of his excellence in the IPL and KKR will be hoping that it continues that way. Shreyas Iyer played a captain's knock as he hit 7 fours and 4 sixes in his 51 ball 85. Umesh Yadav hit 21 off just 9 balls to take the game deep but in the end KKR fell 7 runs short. 

Despite being expensive in his first 3 overs, Yuzvendra Chahal ended with the figures of 5/40. His 4th over which was the 18th over of the match was nothing short of legendary as he picked up a total of 4 wickets including a hat-trick. The leggie has made sure that the Indian selectors can no longer have the guts to drop him from even one series. Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a magic ball to dismiss the dangerous Andre Russell for a golden duck while Prasidh Krishna took the important wicket of Aaron Finch. Obed McCoy on his IPL debut was given the responsibility of bowling the last over which he did incredibly well by picking up the last 2 wickets.

Also read: Karthik can play finisher's role for India in T20 World Cup: Gavaskar

Mumbai, Apr 18 (Cricket News) Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer opted to field after winning the toss against Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match here on Monday.

Royals made three changes, bringing in fast bowlers Obed McCoy and Trent Boult alongside Indian batter Karun Nair.

For KKR, pacer Shivam Mavi was picked in place of Aman Khan.

Teams: Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (w/c), Karun Nair, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Obed McCoy, Yuzvendra Chahal Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (w), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy. 

Also Read : With 7 T20Is in June, Umran Malik will be in selection committee's radar

News Source : PTI

Navi Mumbai, Apr 13 (Cricket News) A battle royale is on the cards when Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans take on the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals, two line-ups armed with potent bowling units in a top-of-the-table IPL showdown here on Thursday.

The Royals put together one of the best if not the best bowling attacks for this season and all their spinners and pacers have been right on the mark.

The seasoned Trent Boult has continued to reign fire with the new ball and has been equally impressive in the slog overs. In the previous game against Lucknow Super Giants, he bowled a fiery opening spell to get rid of skipper KL Rahul and Krishnappa Gowtham in the very first over.

Prasidh Krishna has given a glimpse of why he is touted to be the next fast-bowling sensation in Indian cricket. Alongside Boult, the duo has bowled with pace and aggression.

Rookie Kuldeep Sen too proved he has the stomach to play with the bigwigs. He performed tremendously under pressure on his debut, defending 15 runs off the last over against LSG.

The spin duties, on the other hand, are being ably carried out by senior India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and the wily Yuzvendra Chahal. The latter is the leading wicket taker in the league at the moment, spinning the opposition batters in to submission. The leg spinner has 11 scalps at and economy of 6.50.

Ashwin though has not had many breakthroughs, the off-spinner has operated at an economy of 6.87 and has managed to choke the opposition for runs.

It will be a tall task for the Titans’ batters, who are thin on experience, to navigate through the Royals bowling.

The new-entrants have relied heavily on young opener Shubman Gill, who has been in scintillating form, and Pandya. But the skipper, who is known for his pyrotechnics, has been more restrictive in his approach and his looked to take his innings deep.

Matthew Wade has struggled to get runs while David Miller is also yet to fire, leaving rookies Abhinav Manohar and B Sai Surdharshan with more responsibility.

However, Rahul Tewatia seems to be loving his role as the finisher tonking sixes at will.

The Titans boast of formidable bowling unit themselves.

The pace bowling department includes the likes of Lockie Ferguson, one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket, senior India quick Mohammed Shami, and Pandya, all attacking wicket-taking bowlers, who can put the opposition under pressure.

Rashid Khan, expectedly, is their most economical bowler. The opposition batters have preferred to play his four overs out rather than go for the big shots.

The Titans bowlers, however, lacked sharpness in the loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team’s first defeat this season. It will be interesting to see how they regroup against the Royals batting line up that includes the likes of the flamboyant Jos Buttler, the big-hitting Shimron Hetmyer and Samons besides the prodigiously talented Devdutt Padikkal.

Both teams have won three games and lost one with the Royals perched on top of the points table owing to a superior net run rate, while the Titans are placed fourth.

Teams (from): Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain/wicketkeeper), Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, Riyan Parag, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Devdutt Padikkal, Navdeep Saini, Karun Nair, Rassie van der Dussen, James Neesham, Anunay Singh, Daryl Mitchell, Dhruv Jurel, Shubham Garhwal, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Obed McCoy, Tejas Baroka, KC Cariappa.

Gujarat Titans: Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (Captain), Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : Able to do things which I was trying for a while: Shivam Dube

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 4 (Cricket News) Rajasthan Royals would aim to build on their promising start to the season when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore, a side that is yet to unlock its potential, in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

Rajasthan come into the game following their 23-run win over Mumbai Indians. Bangalore, led by Faf Du Plessis, head into the match after a narrow three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders and would be looking to be more convincing.

The Wankhede track has been aiding the pacers initially and both the teams can take advantage of it.

For Rajasthan, opener Buttler is in sublime form and can pummel any attack to submission, like he did on Saturday en route to a memorable hundred.

He would however, need support from fellow opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal and one-down Devdutt Padikkal, who would be itching to get among the runs.

After his half-century in the first game, RR skipper Sanju Samson was unable to convert the start against Mumbai Indians. Knowing his ability to hit sixes at will, Samson would be more than keen to find consistency and lead from the front.

Another important cog in their wheel is West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer, who has played useful cameos in the first two games. The top five, if they get going, can make things hard for the RCB bowlers.

On the bowling front, RR are unlikely to tinker with their combination. Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna and Navdeep Saini held their nerve against Kieron Pollard and were right on the money.

Eight overs of Ashwin and Chahal can turn the game on its head and their contribution could prove decisive.

For Bangalore, their bowlers led by Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga performed their task with perfection against KKR.

While Hasaranga will be key in stopping Samson and Co, pacers David Willey, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj, who combined to take four wickets against KKR, would need to come good again.

Also death overs specialist Harshal Patel will have to be at his best if RCB aim to contain a powerful RR batting unit.

More than the bowling, batting has been a concern for RCB.

While opener Anuj Rawat needs to show consistency, Du Plessis also will have to lead from the front and get a big score.

It is still not clear whether Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will be available for the team's third game of the season. Teams (from): Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul.

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : Under pressure after three losses, Jadeja lucky to have Dhoni by his side

News Source : PTI

Pune, Mar 28 (Cricket News) Packed with multiple match-winners in their ranks, heavyweights Rajasthan Royals face Sunrisers Hyderabad in a clash of former champions as both sides aim for a winning start in the IPL here on Tuesday.

Royals' batting fortunes will hinge largely on the form of their talented skipper Sanju Samson, who has been around the scene for a while now but has not delivered up to the expectations.

Inconsistency has been his bane and he would like to change that and lead from the front this season in search of their first title since the inaugural edition in 2008.

Each year, Samson plays one or two match-defining knocks but this time he would have to go the extra mile if the Royals want to win that elusive second title.

Good performances in the IPL could also help Samson cement a place in the Indian team with the T20 World Cup scheduled for later this year.

The Jaipur-based side are most likely to open with Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal. A rampaging Buttler can tear into any bowling attack and if he and the stylish Padikkal can get off to flying starts, the Royals would be well served with the likes of Samson and the others to follow.

Royals have an array of players like power-hitter Shimron Hetmyer, Rassie Van der Dussen, Jimmy Neesham and Riyan Parag to pick for the middle-order and their contribution could well determine the team's fortunes.

They have a stronger bowling unit this time around with the inclusion of ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, and the duo are certainties in the playing XI.

Their eight overs would be crucial in the overall context of a particular game and nothing would please skipper Samson if the duo can spin a web around the SRH batters.

Kiwi Trent Boult, earlier the spearhead of Mumbai Indians, would be leading the pace attack which includes the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Navdeep Saini.

For SRH, the experience of captain Kane Williamson, probably the best batter in the squad, would be vital. His contributions with the willow and as a leader could go a long way in determining the team's fortunes.

Williamson's compatriot Glenn Phillips can open the batting while hard-hitting West Indian Nicholas Pooran, Priyam Garg and Rahul Tripathi would be expected to shoulder responsibility in the middle order. Tripathi has also played significant knocks in the IPL but it is time he shows consistency.

If Williamson chooses to bat at No.3, then Ravikumar Samarth can open the batting while Abdul Samad, who has impressed many, can play the role of a finisher for the franchise.

The bowling attack will be led by pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, one of the finest death bowlers. But he would need to dish out consistent spells as would new pace sensation Umran Malik.

Left-arm pacer T Natarajan, on a comeback trail, will be hoping to get his yorkers right as he aims to work his way back into national team contention.

Washington Sundar, another T20 specialist, can play a key role for the Sunrisers and one among Shreyas Gopal or J Suchith may be tried out.

The Teams (From): Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shubham Garwal, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Kuldeep Sen, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, KC Kariappa, Jos Buttler, Rassie Van der Dussen, Nathan Coulter Nile, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (c), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Priyam Garg, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Washington Sundar, Romario Shepherd, Marco Jansen, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sean Abbott, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Tiwary, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : Punjab Kings stun Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets

News Source : PTI

Hamilton, Mar 22 (Cricket News) Yastika Bhatia hit a responsible fifty as India recovered from a mini-collapse to post a competitive 229 for 7 against Bangladesh in their must-win ICC Women's ODI World Cup league match here on Tuesday.

Opting to bat, Smriti Mandhana (30) and Shafali Verma (42) shared 74 runs for the opening wicket but India suffered a mini-collapse, losing both the openers in quick succession.

Skipper Mithali Raj (0) was also back in the hut after a first-ball duck as India slumped to 74 for 3 in 15.3 overs.

Vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur (14) too was run out by Fargana Hoque. Bhatia (50 off 80) and Richa Ghosh (26) then added 54 runs to take India past the 150-run score before the latter was sent packing by Nahida Akter. After completing her fifty, Bhatia too perished while trying for a paddle scoop, only to be caught by at short fine leg.

Pooja Vastrakar (30) and Sneh Rana (27) then added 48 off 38 balls to take India past the 200-run mark.

Earlier, India opted to replace pacer Meghna Singh with wrist spinner Poonam Yadav on a spin-friendly pitch, while Bangladesh brought in top-order batter Murshida Khatun and medium-pacer Lata Mondal for Shamima Sultana and Fariha Trisna respectively.

India have won two matches and lost three games, including back-to-back defeats against England and Australia, to be placed fourth in the overall standing with just four points. They need to win this game to stay in the mix for semifinals spot.

Brief Score: India: 229 for 7 in 50 overs (Yastika Bhatia 50, Shafali Verma 42; Nahida Akter 2/42, Ritu Moni 3/37). 

Also Read : Whenever I scored runs, there's someone else who scored better: Karun Nair

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Mar 21 (Cricekt News) He has had his moments in IPL but Karun Nair, one of the only two triple centurions for India in Test cricket, has not quite gone on to become a T20 mainstay.

Not that his Test career took off in the manner it was expected to after the monumental 303 against England in 2016.

As far as IPL is concerned, being asked to play different roles at different teams did not help his cause, Nair reasoned.

Despite having had a great start to his IPL career, scoring 330 runs for Rajasthan Royals at a strike rate of 142.24 in 2014, and having played for a few more franchises subsequently, Nair has been unlucky when it comes to establishing himself as a mainstay in T20 cricket.

Smiling, Nair on Monday explained why he could not attain a high degree of success in the shortest format.

"In my opinion, the reason behind that is that I've never been the kind of a main player in a team in T20 cricket. If you see, whenever I score runs, there's someone else who scores better in the same match (laughs)," Nair said in a press release issued by his IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals.

"...But I'm not really bothered about that at all -- all I care about and why I play matches is to help the team win." "On a more serious note, why people don't see me as a T20 specialist is because I've been asked to play different kind of roles over the years, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I'm hoping to have a great season with the Royals and just focus on whatever I'm told to do," Nair added.

Having had a strong relationship with Rajasthan Royals over the past few years, batter Nair is back in the RR camp for IPL 2022 and is looking forward to contributing to the team's success.

"Obviously a lot of things have changed since when I was here (at the Royals) first, but this team always feels like home to me. We have a well-balanced side, and I'm enjoying getting to know all the guys here.

"It's an exciting phase in the history of this franchise and I'm looking forward to playing an exciting brand of cricket, which I know the Royals always strive to do," said 30-year-old Nair, who has also recently become a father.

Having played with Royals' skipper Sanju Samson before in the IPL, Nair is excited to play with his "good friend".

"I've always loved playing with Sanju so I can't wait to reconnect with him on the ground. We've had some really good partnerships over the years and I'm really happy to know Sanju, along with Kumar (Sangakkara) and Zubin (Bharucha), have shown the faith in me to bring me back into the team." Nair's teammate at Rajasthan Royals, spinner KC Cariappa is also chuffed to be playing alongside the phenomenal Ravichandran Ashwin in the upcoming IPL, viewing it as an opportunity to learn as much as possible from the veteran tweaker.

This time at RR, Cariappa will also have India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for company.

Cariappa, who has spent the last two seasons with the franchise, is looking forward to working with two of India's leading spinners.

"I've known Yuzi for a long time and have enjoyed interacting with him over the years. Whereas, with a legend like Ashwin bhai in the team, it's a great thing for me to learn and improve my bowling by taking inputs from him," said Cariappa.

"It's obviously good to be back at the Royals -- my second home. There's a new feeling around the camp, which is obviously also down to the fact that we've got a solid team," added the 27-year-old from Karnataka. 

Also Read : Worked on few new shots during rehab at NCA, you might see few cheeky shots in IPL: Shubman Gill

News Source : PTI

Jaipur, Dec 18 (Cricket News) Karnataka, Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh would have a slight edge over their respective opponents in the three pre-quarterfinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to be played here on Sunday.

While the Faiz Fazal-led Vidarbha should go as favourites against minnows Tripura, it will be a clash of equals when Karnataka take on an equally upbeat Rajasthan at the KL Saini stadium.

The third quarter-final between two neighboring states – Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh -- also promises to be an exciting affair in which the former would be banking on the performance of Venkatesh Iyer, who shone in his debut T20 series against New Zealand and that could eventually be the difference between the two sides.

Coming to Vidarbha, they would rely on the performance of skipper Fazal, who has always delivered on the big stage and come Sunday, he would be eyeing for another big knock.

He, however, would need support from the likes of Athara Taide, Ganesh Satish, Yash Rathod and Akshay Wadkar to tame Tripura’s attack.

On the bowling front, young pacer Yash Thakur is among the wickets and is the second highest wicket-taker from the league stage with 14 scalps.

The role of his co-pacer Darshan Nalkande and seasoned off-spinner Akshay Wakhare and left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate would be key for their chances of making the last eight.

Tripura, who had won all their five matches in the Plate Group, would need to dish out a clinical show, to spring a surprise.

In the MP VS UP game, focus would be on the lanky southpaw Iyer, who has sizzled with the bat in the league stage. The left-handed opener, a revelation after last IPL season, can take any good attack to the cleaners and UP’s would not be an exception.

Iyer has so far amassed 349 runs from five matches. For MP, another important cog in the wheel is batsman Shubham Sharma, who has so far scored 335 runs in the league stage.

But the other batters would also need to play their parts to perfection against a quality UP attack, which boasts of seamers like Yash Dayal and Shivam Mavi.

For UP, who were the runners-up of the last season, they would be eager to go one step ahead. And for that to happen, opener Madhav Kaushik and wicket-keeper batter Aryan Juyal would need to come good and tame the MP attack led by Avesh Khan.

UP’s middle order also needs to come good.

The Rajasthan versus Karnataka clash could be touted as a battle of equals but Karnataka having had more experience of playing in the knockouts could have an advantage.

It will be a battle between Karnataka batters – Ravikumar Samarth, Rohan Kadam, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, up against the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Aniket Choudhary, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ravi Bishnoi and Shubham Sharma.

But if Rajasthan have to make the last 8, their batters would have to deliver, else Karnataka can romp home easily.

Fixtures: At Sawai Mansingh Stadium: Vidarbha vs Tripura, 9.00 AM At K L Saini stadium: Karnataka vs Rajasthan, 9.00 AM At: Jaipuriya Vidhyalaya Ground: Uttar Pradesh vs Madhya Pradesh, 9.00 AM. 

Also Read : England fined eight WTC points for over-rate offence in Brisbane, not five: ICC

News Source : PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 11 (Cricket News) Tamil Nadu continued their winning run as they thrashed Bengal by 146 runs in a Elite Group B match in the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament here on Saturday.

Sent into bat, Tamil Nadu piled up 295 for 8 in 50 overs, riding on half-centuries from the consistent B Indrajith (64), Dinesh Karthik (87) and J Kousik (50) and then bowled out the opponents for 149 in 39.1 overs for their third consecutive victory.

From 22 for 2 and 55 for 3 in the 18th over, the Tamil Nadu batters went on the overdrive with the experienced Karthik leading the charge, first in the company of Indrajith and then Kousik.

Indrajith and Karthik shared a 105-run stand for the fourth wicket before the veteran stumper-batter added 74 runs for the fifth wicket.

The last 13 overs yielded 135 runs as the Tamil Nadu batters went berserk, especially Kousik and M Shahrukh Khan (32 off 12).

In reply, Bengal was never in the hunt and kept losing wickets at regular intervals with medium-pacer R Silambarasan picking up four wickets including that of opener Shreevats Goswami (1).

Meanwhile, Karnataka humbled Mumbai by seven wickets as R Samarth scored a superb, unbeaten 96.

Mumbai's star batter Surya Kumar Yadav could not make much of an impression, falling for 8 to Pravin Dubey (4/29).

In another match, Bengal defeated Pondicherry by five wickets, making heavy weather of chasing a target of 83.

Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 295 for 8 in 50 overs (Dinesh Karthik 87, B Indrajith 64) beat Bengal 149 all out in 39.1 overs (Abhisek Das 30, R Silambarasan 4/28) by 146 runs.

Mumbai 208 for 9 in 50 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 61, Armaan Jaffer 43, Hardik Tamore 46, Pravin Dubey 4/29) lost to Karnataka 211 for 3 in 45.3 overs (R Samarth 96 not out, Rohan Kadam 44, Karun Nair 39 not out) by seven wickets.

Pondicherry 82 all out in 26.4 overs (Iqlas Naha 37, Dhruv Patel 3/4, L Meriwala 3/24) lost to Baroda 85 for 5 in 27.1 overs (Sagar P Udeshi 3/14) by five wickets. 

Also Read : Raut's fifer hands Odisha 3rd straight win in Vijay Hazare Trophy

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Dec 2 (Cricket news) Virat Kohli's return after a well-earned break couldn't have come in a more unenvious setting as he needs to tread the fine line between tough and prudent in his selection calls when India take on New Zealand in the second and final Test at the rain-soaked 'Maximum City' from Friday.

After an anti-climactic end to the first Test where New Zealand escaped with a creditable draw defying the Indian spinners on a slow turner, the home team under its regular captain would certainly go for a slight rejig in the combination.

Also, at the Wankhede, the hosts may only get four days to enforce a positive result due to heavy rains that could be a dampener on day one and the underlying moisture which will also bring an extra Black Caps pacer Neil Wagner into the equation.

Historically, Indian cricket teams have never believed in a shake-up of the status quo and therein lies the problem that Kohli and new coach Rahul Dravid face with the current set-up. Two of the team's players have not been scoring runs.

Despite that Shreyas Iyer, who scored 105 and 65 under pressure in Kanpur, is not assured of a place despite a dream start to his career.

It happened with Karun Nair after a triple ton but one could argue that it came in an inconsequential fifth Test against a tired attack and the team wasn't under any pressure.

While the spotlight is on Ajinkya Rahane for all the wrong reasons after 12 successive failures in 2021, it is unlikely that the man, who was captain in the last match, will be dropped in the very next game due to lack of form.

And that too on his home turf.

But every extra chance given to him effectively means that criticism about not sending a strong signal would get louder.

The second cause of concern is Cheteshwar Pujara, who has time and again forgotten that cricket is not merely about survival. Every Test at home or abroad, every bowling attack -- formidable or run of the mill --, has been putting him in a spot.

He looked to have a changed mindset briefly in England but in Kanpur, he again got himself into a rut.

However, when the team travels to South Africa, Kohli knows that he has only one man, who can blunt the new Kookaburra against Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje.

So, Pujara and Rahane backers can rejoice as their favourite players aren't going anywhere for this game unless they are injured.

The Kohli baiters would then say that it's not just Rahane who hasn't been scoring for two years, even the Indian skipper hasn't had a three-figure mark against his name in any form for more than two years now.

And now with Dravid for company, someone famous for taking a middle of the road approach, one can certainly expect that Mayank Agarwal will be disposed off for perhaps being a low hanging fruit.

Shubman Gill scored an attacking fifty in the first innings and despite his not so great defensive technique with a yawning gap between bat and pad, he will be persisted with as he is being looked as a long-term middle-order solution.

Kohli will be a straight replacement for Agarwal. The question then arises on who will open alongside Gill.

It either has to be Cheteshwar Pujara or wicketkeeper batsman K S Bharat.

Pujara could turn out to be a poor choice given his current form, while Andhra man Bharat has the requisite experience at the first-class level with a highest score of 308.

Bharat replacing Wriddhiman Saha, who has been suffering from stiff neck, could actually save the team management from actually taking tough calls for the match.

For the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand, they missed Wagner badly in Kanpur where his presence could have spelt more trouble for India in the second innings. The rain and a pitch devoid of sunlight could mean that both pacers and spinners would be in equation.

New Zealand's three-pronged attack could spell trouble for India on a spiced up track and Will Somerville, who played a gutsy knock in Kanpur, might have to sit out.

India may bring in Mohammed Siraj into the equation with Ishant Sharma looking completely out of rhythm but with turn expected, three spinners may be persisted with.

Squad India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner Match Starts: 9:30 am. 

Also Read : Kohli's fate as ODI skipper set to be decided in next few days as SA squad to be named this week

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) The 1st Test match between India and New Zealand at Kanpur ended in a draw. Captain Virat Kohli was rested for the game and his replacement was debutant Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbai batter scored 105 runs in his debut innings and then went on to score 65 in the 2nd innings. 

Virat Kohli will be back for the 2nd and final Test in Mumbai which leaves Rahul Dravid with a big decision to make. In both the innings at Kanpur, India were in a difficult situation when Iyer walked in. The debutant showed incredible character and played according to the conditions to get his team to a winnable position. In hindsight, if Iyer had failed to perform, Kohli would've taken his place and there wouldn't be a discussion about it.

Kohli himself hasn't been in the best of form but being the captain and the fact that he is 'Virat Kohli' means that he has to play. The game will be very important for Virat Kohli on a personal level. A big innings in the match will set the tone for the Test series in South Africa where India has never won a red ball series before. The all-rounders Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin all did well in the match so dropping them is out of question.

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Shubhman Gill scored a half century in his first game after returning from injury. Which leaves Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Agarwal was dropped after disappointing performances in the first two Tests against Australia. He then batted in the middle at Gabba but scored only 38 and 9. He was first in line to replace Gill in the England series but concussion and KL Rahul's amazing performance kept him on the bench. He returned to the side at Kanpur but couldn't capitalise as he got 13 and 17 in the two innings. 

Rahane and Pujara have had a difficult two years or so with the Willow. Rahane scored a magnificent century at Melbourne after which he had only one fifty which was against England in Chennai and 49 against England at Lord's both of which were very crucial for the team's win. Pujara on the other hand scored two gritty fifties in Australia, one of which secured a draw in Sydney and the other inspired a legendary victory at the Gabba. Since then he also has had a very poor run. His only notable performances have been a 45 at Lord's, followed by a 91 at Headingley and a 61 at the Oval.

Indian fans fear that Shreyas Iyer could be given the same treatment that Karun Nair got. After hitting a triple century in only his 3rd Test, Nair was dropped in the very next Test match in favour of Ajinkya Rahane. He then gave underwhelming performances in two home Tests against Australia and never played for India again. The same could happen to Iyer as Dravid has already come out and said that Rahane may be just one or two big innings away from getting back into form. That added to him being the vice captain makes dropping him more difficult.

At this point in time, Ajinkya Rahane looks the obvious choice to make way for Virat Kohli. Team India needs to pick a side that will win the Test match and not think about the future or fairness or harshness. India needs to beat New Zealand. All the away Test series wins will be massively overlooked if India lose or draw a home series against New Zealand.

Kanpur, Nov 28 (Cricket news) Batting coach Vikram Rathour "understands" fully that Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are now India players living on borrowed time.

But the former opener on Sunday couldn't give a definitive answer as to who would sit out in order to accommodate skipper Virat Kohli's comeback in the next Test against New Zealand.

With Shreyas Iyer scoring 105 and 65 on debut, it would be almost criminal to drop the stylish Mumbaikar, and understandably, Rathour had to fend questions on Pujara and Rahane's form going into the Mumbai Test, starting on December 3.

"Of course, you want the top-order to contribute but cricketers (Pujara and Rahane) you mentioned they have played 80 (79 for Rahane) and 90 Tests (91 Test for Pujara).

"Of course, to play that many games, they must have done well for us," Rathour tried his best to defend the 2021 Test average of below 20 by the stand-in captain (19.57) and 30.42 by his deputy.

"We understand that both of them are going through a lean phase but we understand that they have both played very, very important knocks for us in the past. We are pretty sure that they are going to come back and play important knocks for us," Rathour's statement lacked conviction.

But what's the kind of long rope that one gives a senior player, who has been a past performer? Is it 15 or 20 Tests? The former Punjab opener, who played six Tests during the 1996-97 season, felt that it can't be quantified.

"I don't think you can put a number to that. It really depends on situation the team is in and what the team is required to do," he sidestepped the question.

The next question was even more straightforward: whom do you drop when Kohli takes his slot back in the Mumbai game? "Captain coming back in, that will happen in next game and we will get to that point when we reach Mumbai. The focus is on this game and there is a day to go and a game to be won. We will get to that point when we get in Mumbai," the opener of yesteryears dead-batted the query.

Can he, at the least, say with a degree of certainty that Iyer, after his dream debut, won't be dropped in the next game? There had been an instance when Karun Nair was left to cool his heels just after scoring a triple ton as an injured Rahane was making a comeback.

"Once we land in Mumbai, we will take that call, what our playing XI is going to be," he repeated.

It is going to be a tightrope walk for the Indian team management when its best batter comes back in the next game.

Even Pujara and Rahane know very well that one among the two could get the axe at least for the game although they are both expected to be selected for South Africa Tests if the tour goes on.

The problem in accommodating Pujara and Rahane is that the two juniors -- Shubman Gill and Iyer -- who would have been easily disposable after a singular failure have scored runs and done that with a lot of authority on a tacky, if not, unplayable surface.

One thing is for sure that Mayank Agarwal (13 and 17) will have to sit out in Mumbai after his twin failures and therein lies the problem.

There are two options by which one can still slot Pujara and Rahane for the next game. None are convincing but it's a way to show respect to two quality players, who deserve one more chance.

One is to ask Pujara to open the batting, which looks unlikely going by his confidence level at the moment.

The second option will be to look at either Wriddhiman Saha opening the innings alongside Gill and Iyer coming in at No. 6 instead of the No 5 that he batted in this game. This is provided Saha is completely fit from his stiff neck issue, which troubled him in this game.

In case Saha doesn't get fit, then Srikar Bharat, who has been a red ball opener with a triple hundred in first-class cricket, could be tried.

The third option is playing with four bowlers and expecting Iyer to at least give 10 overs of leg spin along with three other spinners while dropping one of the pacers.

This is a third option. Drop one among Pujara and Rahane straightaway, but in Indian cricket, the system of dealing with star players is slightly different compared to England and Australia.

Also Read : Target chaseable, batters need to take cue from India: Ronchi

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Nov 22 (Cricket news) M Shahrukh Khan smashed a dramatic last ball six to help Tamil Nadu defend the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 title with a thrilling four-wicket win over Karnataka in the summit clash here on Monday.

Needing 16 runs off the last over bowled by Prateek Jain, power-hitter Khan kept his cool under pressure to clobber the final delivery over deep-square leg to take Tamil Nadu to 153 for 6 and seal a famous win.

The burly 26-year-old right-hander remained not out on 33 (15 balls, 1 four, 3 sixes) while R Sai Kishore was 6 not out (3 balls, 1 four).

Tamil Nadu thus avenged their heart-breaking one-run loss to Karnataka in the 2019 final.

Earlier, Karnataka rode on some aggressive batting by Abhinav Manohar (46, 37 balls, 4X4, 2X6), Praveen Dubey (33, 25 balls, 3X4, 1X6) and J Suchith (18, 7 balls, 1X4, 1X6) to post 151 for 7.

Thanks to their aggressive batting, Karnataka recovered on time after their batters were stifled by some good work by left-arm spinner Sai Kishore (3/12) and other Tamil Nadu bowlers.

Karnataka slipped to 32 for 3 in the sixth over with Sai Kishore getting the big wickets of the consistent Rohan Kadam (0) and captain Manish Pandey (13, 15 balls, 2X4) while Sanjay Yadav nailed Karun Nair (18).

Tamil Nadu looked in control of proceedings and kept the opposition batters under check before some poor bowling by T Natarajan (1/44 from 4 overs), brought into the XI in place of P Saravana Kumar who took a fifer in the semi-finals, and Sandeep Warrier (1/34 in 4) gave away runs towards the end.

In their run chase, Tamil Nadu appeared to stutter after a bright start by opener C Hari Nishaanth (23, 12 balls, 1X4, 2X6) before he was run out. N Jagadeesan, the other opener, struggled to force the pace, making 41 from 46 balls as did skipper Vijay Shankar (18, 22 balls).

The two were dismissed by spinner K C Cariappa (2/23) to put TN in a spot of bother.

Tamil Nadu slipped to 95 for 4 when Khan walked in. He revived the chase with a quick 21-run fifth wicket stand with R Sanjay Yadav (5). Yadav too fell while going for a big shot.

Tamil Nadu needed 30 runs from the last two overs and Khan kept their hopes alive with a massive six off Vidyadhar Patil's final delivery of the 19th over.

In the final over, Sai Kishore hit a boundary off the first ball to ease the nerves. But the next four deliveries yielded seven runs, including two wides.

Jain, who was given the huge responsibility of bowling the last over of the final, could not prevent Khan from smashing a six from the last ball to take TN over the line.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, TN captain Vijay Shankar praised Shahrukh Khan for his brilliant innings.

"Overall, we played amazing cricket. Everyone fought really hard. This innings was due from Shahrukh. He stepped up and did very well," he said.

"Karnataka bowled really well in the middle overs. Really happy to be on the winning side. It was a fantastic effort from all the bowlers (throughout)," he added.

On his part, Khan said, "There were a lot of things running in my mind. The ball was soft and the wicket was rough. I got the room and cleared my leg. We believe in each other. Special thanks to M Mohammed, who has been an unsung hero for Tamil Nadu for the last three years.

"This is the first six I have hit off the last ball." Karnataka skipper Manish Pandey said it was a bittersweet feeling to lose in the final.

"The boys did really well for us throughout the tournament. Tamil Nadu played really well. The top-order could have got a few more runs," he said.

Brief Scores: Karnataka 151 for 7 in 20 overs (Abhinav Manohar 46, Praveen Dubey 33; R Sai Kishore 3/12) lost to Tamil Nadu 153 for 6 in 20 overs (N Jagadeesan 41, Shahrukh Khan 33 not out; K C Cariappa 2/22) by 4 wickets.

Also Read : Ashwin is always an attacking option for a captain: Rohit

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Nov 21 (Cricket news) An upbeat Karnataka stand on the way of Tamil Nadu's bid to defend their title in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament here on Monday in an exciting Southern derby.

The 2021 final will be a repeat of the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali summit clash, which saw Karnataka edge out Tamil Nadu by one run in a thriller.

In the final of the delayed 2020-21 edition earlier this year, Tamil Nadu had defeated Baroda to lay their hands on the coveted trophy.

Come Monday at the Arun Jaitley stadium, Tamil Nadu will be aiming to exact revenge for their 2019 final loss and defend their title while Karnataka would be hoping to win a third SMA title.

And for that to happen, their opener Rohan Kadam, would need to come up with another big knock, like the one he played in the semi-final against Vidarbha.

He and skipper Manish Pandey would be hoping to tame the strong and varied Tamil Nadu attack and give the side a flying start.

The team would also be hoping that their middle-order clicks, as inconsistency has been an issue. Karun Nair has not been among the runs and he would like to make his presence felt.

The likes of in-form Abhinav Manohar, Aniruddha Joshi and BR Sharath will need to support the top order.

However, Karnataka would worry more about their bowling attack, especially the pace unit comprising Vidyadhar Patil (4 wickets so far), V Vyshak (7 wkts) and M B Darshan (6 wkts).

It is a rather inexperienced trio but they have done well under the circumstances and carried the team into the finale. They will have their role cut out in the summit clash against a formidable TN batting unit.

Though Karnataka will miss the experience and guile of K Gowtham (7 wickets) owing to his selection for the India 'A' team, the spin duo of KC Cariappa (10 wickets) and J Suchith (6 wkts) will be crucial to the team's prospects and their eight overs could have a bearing on the outcome.

Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, have been in good form in the tournament. It has been a team performance thus far with different players contributing at various stages.

Yet, a lot would depend on the start provided by the dynamic duo of N Jagadeesan (163 runs, 1 fifty) and C Hari Nishaanth (177) and how newbie B Sai Sudharsan (173 runs) can build on it.

Skipper Vijay Shankar leads the run-scoring charts for TN with 181 (1 fifty, 14 boundaries and 8 sixes from five matches). He can turn a match around with his batting abilities alone and will look to unleash some big ones to help the team defend the title.

Also, the power-hitting of M Shahrukh Khan has come in handy for the team at times and he will be one to watch out if the top-order fails to fire.

The team will be sweating over the availability of left-arm pacer T Natarajan, who missed the last two matches owing to a niggle.

However, Sandeep Warrier and P Saravana Kumar, who grabbed a fifer in the semifinal win over Hyderabad, have done a good job while the spinners -- R Sai Kishore, M Ashwin and R Sanjay Yadav -- have been superb, containing the scoring and also picking up wickets.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been involved in several interesting battles in the past and Monday's finale promises to be another one in that list.

Vijay Shankar and Co will be aware that the team's last win over their opponent in this tournament came in 2017 and they will be keen to set the record straight.

Match starts at Noon.

Also Read : Hopefully my last T20 will be in Chennai, says Dhoni

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Nov 20 (Cricket News) Karnataka defeated Vidarbha by four runs in a thrilling semifinal to enter the summit clash of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy national T20 tournament here on Saturday.

Asked to bat at the Arun Jaitley stadium, Karnataka rode on Rohan Kadam's blistering 87 off 56 balls to post a competitive 176 for seven and then restricted the opposition to 172 for six with right-arm pacer Vidyadhar Patil (1/29) holding his nerve in the final over.

Patil had to defend 14 runs and the speedster ensured that his side would face defending champions Tamil Nadu in the summit clash.

Karnataka openers Kadam and skipper Manish Pandey (54 off 42 balls) gave the side an aggressive start as they toyed with the Vidarbha attack.

The duo took on pacers Darshan Nalkande (4/28), Yash Thakur (1/35) and Lalit Yadav (2/36) to stitch 132 runs for the first wicket.

Kadam was the more aggressive one, while Pandey played the second fiddle as they brought up the team's fifty in just 5.1 overs.

Left-arm-orthodox spinner Akshay Karnewar, who has been economical, conceded five runs in his first over even as Karnataka raced to 53/0 after the power play.

While Kadam hammered seven fours and four maximums, Pandey struck two fours and three sixes as they took the Vidarbha attack to cleansers.

However, Lalit Yadav broke the stand after removing Kadam in the 16th over, but by then the damage had already been done.

Lalit struck again, this time removing Pandey, who was caught by Akshay Wakhare.

Karun Nair (5) also fell cheaply but a quick-fire 13-ball-27 by Abhinav Manohar propelled Karnataka past the 170-run mark.

Darshan Nalkande wreaked havoc in the middle-order by taking four wickets in fours balls in the final over, but it was too little and too late Chasing a formidable 177, Vidarbha openers Atharva Taide (32) and Ganesh Satish (31) added 43 for the first wicket.

But Karnataka pegged back the opposition by dismissing the top four batters to leave Vidarbha tottering at 103 for four.

Medium pacer Darshan MB then sent back Jitesh Sharma (12) as Vidarbha lost half its side for 122.

But some late hitting by Apoorv Wankhede (27 not out off 22 balls) and Karnewar (22 off 12 balls) meant Vidarbha needed 14 off the final over as they took the game deep.

But pacer Patil dashed Vidarbha's hopes, dismissing Karnewar in the first ball of the final over and then held his nerve to see his side home.

Brief Scores: Karnataka 176 for 7 in 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 87, Manish Pandey 54; Darshan Nalkande 4/28, Lalit Yadav 2/36) beat Vidarbha 172 for 6 in 20 overs (Atharva Taide 32, Ganesh Satish 31; KC Cariappa 2/27, Karun Nair 1/10) by four runs. 

Also Read : Angelo Mathews named in Sri Lanka squad in two Test series against West Indies

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Nov 19 (Cricket news) Unbeaten so far, Vidarbha would face their toughest challenge when they take on a resurgent Karnataka in the semifinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Saturday.

Vidarbha and Karnataka entered the last-four in contrasting fashions. While the Akshay Wakhare-led side decimated favourites Rajasthan by nine wickets, it was Manish Pandey's brilliance that helped Karnataka overcome Bengal via a Super Over in their quarter-final.

Vidarbha's in-form batters Atharva Taide, Ganesh Satish and skipper Wadkar would need to continue their good form to tame a formidable Karnataka attack at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

After the failure of Siddesh Wath, the Pritam Gandhe-coached Vidarbha opted to open with Ganesh Satish in the quarters and the move worked wonders.

But the top three would need equal support from Jitesh Sharma, Shubham Dubey and Apoorv Wankhede, if Vidarbha are to post or chase a big total.

Bowling has been key to Vidarbha's success so far in the national T20 championship, and again, the eight overs by left-arm orthodox spinner Akshay Karnewar and seasoned off-spinner Akshay Wakhare could decide the game's fate. Even Atharva Taide can roll his arm over for four overs.

Karnerwar has been a revelation and has bowled economical spells throughout the tournament.

Another important cog in the wheel is young right-arm pacer Yash Thakur, who has delivered so far. He would need support from pace colleagues Darshan Nalkande and Lalit Yadav.

For Karnataka, the biggest positive is Pandey regaining form.

Openers Rohan Kadam and BR Sharath and middle-order batters Karun Nair, Aniruddha Joshi and Abhinav Manohar would be more than keen to score big in the marque clash.

On their day, Karnataka can take any attack to cleansers and Vidarbha's won't be an exception.

Their bowlers, particularly spinners J Suchith and KC Carippa, and the pacers led by Vijaykumar Vyshak would also need to play a vital role if the team is to make it to the summit clash. Since it's a day game, dew would not be a factor at all.

Match starts at 1.30 PM.

Also Read : Mushtaq Ali: Hyderabad stun Gujarat by 30 runs, enter semifinals

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Nov 18 (Cricket news) Manish Pandey first got a brilliant direct hit to take their match against Bengal into Super Over and then hit a massive six to steer Karnataka into the semi-finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Thursday.

It was one of the best thrillers of National T20 meet in recent times with both teams locked at 160 each after 20 overs. Karnataka scored the required six runs with four Super Over deliveries to spare.

In a debatable decision, skipper Sudeep Chatterjee sent an off-colour Kaif Ahmed along with Ritwik Roy Chowdhury in the Super Over was baffling.

Ahmed had barely scratched to score 20 off 26 balls.

Surprisingly, Ritwik, who brought Bengal back in contention with 36 off 18 balls, did not take the strike in the Super Over.

The quarter-final match was a testimony as to why Bengal's cricketers are not at all sought after when it comes franchise interest.

A lot of it had to do with lack of sane cricketing sense and the manner in which some of the batters throw away their wickets.

Barring Writtick Chatterjee (51 off 40 balls), who tried to anchor the innings, others paid the price of indiscreet shot selection.

While Shreevats Goswami (22 off 10 balls) started with 20 off the first over of chase with three fours and a six off Vijay Kumar Vyshak (0/41 in 4 overs), his opening partner Abhishek Das with a career strike-rate of less than 90, tried to pull the very first delivery of the next over when all he needed to do was give his senior partner the strike.

Goswami, who looked in good touch, went for a non-existent second run and bowler KC Cariappa (0/21 in 4 overs) effected a fine run-out.

Skipper Sudeep Chatterjee couldn't clear the in-field off military medium bowler MB Darshan as the ball hit the toe-end of his bat.

Kaif Ahmed (20 off 26 balls) added 49 with Chatterjee before being bowled by left-arm spinner J Suchith (2/24 in 4 overs), who also accounted for Shahbaz Ahmed in the very next delivery.

However former India U-25 all-rounder Ritwik, showed some great temperament. He hit two huge sixes in the final over from Vidyadhar Patil and his partner Akash Deep hit a boundary to bring the equation of 19 from 6 balls to one run off final delivery.

Akash Deep, who was recruited by RCB, instead of trying an aerial route went for a non-existent single with fielders circling him and to his horror, it went to one of India's finest ever fielders Pandey, who picked and threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end in one action.

Pandey, who till then was having an ordinary day, then came in and hit Mukesh Kumar for a six to set up a semi-final date with Vidarbha.

Earlier, Karun Nair had scored 55 off 29 balls to take Karnataka to 160 for 5 which gave them a chance to fight.

Brief Scores: Karnataka 160/5 in 20 overs (Karun Nair 55 not out ).

Bengal 160/8 in 20 overs. (Writtick C 51, Ritwik RC 36, J Suchith 2/24).

Super Over: Bengal 6/2 in 0.4 overs. Karnataka 8/0 in 0.2 balls.

Also Read : TN beat Kerala by 5 wickets, storm into last four

News Source : PTI

Guwahati, Nov 4 (Cricket news) Karnataka stunned heavyweights Mumbai by nine runs despite Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane's 75 off 54 balls in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group B match on Thursday.

Leg-spinner KC Cariappa turned it around with two wickets in two balls to end with fine figures of 3/26, while off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham also contributed immensely with his 2/26 as Karnataka restricted Mumbai to 157/6, defending 167.

Opting to bowl, Mumbai skipper Rahane led their challenging chase with a fine half-century but the mystery spinner Cariappa removed the star Indian batsman and cleaned up another international Shivam Dube (3) with his very next ball to put brakes on their chase.

Gowtham then triggered another collapse when he dismissed Siddhesh Lad (32) to break his 88-run partnership with Rahane.

Rahane steered the show after his dangerous opening partner Prithvi Shaw (4) fell cheaply, while talented Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) became Gowtham's first victim after the Powerplay.

Rahane's 54-ball knock was studded with six fours and three sixes as Mumbai were cruising with 125 for 2 in the 16th over before all hell broke loose.

Cariappa's magical bowling at the death meant Mumbai needed 24 runs off the final over with four wickets in hand as seamer Prasidh Krishna ensured that they fell short by nine runs.

Earlier Manish Pandey (84 from 64 balls; 7x4, 2x6) and Karun Nair (72 from 53 balls; 6x4, 2x6) put on a 149-run partnership to power Karnataka to a challenging 166/4.

Put on, Karnataka had a jittery start with debutant Mumbai seamer Mohit Avasthi taking two wickets in his first two overs en route to his 2/32.

India's back-up Test opener Mayank Agarwal was out for a golden duck, while the talented youngster Devdutt Padikkal (5) followed suit in the third over before Pandey and Nair took charge and stayed till the final over.

In the first match at the venue, a new look Bengal team began its campaign by thrashing Chhattisgarh by seven wickets.

Brief Scores Chhattisgarh 118/7; 20 overs (Akhil Herwadkar 73; Mukesh Kumar 2/26) lost to Bengal 119/3; 17 overs (Sudip Chatterjee 51 not out, Wriddhiman Saha 24; Ravi Kiran 2/24) by seven wickets.

Baroda 124/9; 20 overs (Bhanu Pania 55; Nitin Yadav 3/22) lost to Services 128/8; 20 overs (Diwesh Pathania 41 not out; Ninad Rathva 3/8, Krunal Pandya 2/12) by two wickets.

Karnataka 166/4; 20 oves (Manish Pandey 84, Karun Nair 72; Mohit Avasthi 2/32, Tushar Deshpande 2/38) b Mumbai 157/6; 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 75; KC Cariappa 3/26, Krishnappa Gowtham 2/26) by nine runs.

Also Read : Off-spinner Shivank Vashist takes five as Delhi make winning start against Uttarakhand

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Oct 14 (Cricket news) Mahendra Singh Dhoni's astute captaincy in canary yellow will be Chennai Super Kings' biggest weapon against a clinical Kolkata Knight Riders, whose troika of top-notch spinners promise to hold the aces in the high-octane Indian Premier League final here on Friday.

If numbers are anything to go by, then CSK, in their astonishing ninth final appearance in 12 editions (they were suspended in two), are certain to start favourites against Kolkata Knight Riders on 'Dussera' day but in terms of trophies, there isn't much of a difference.

CSK have three titles with five final defeats while KKR have won both their finals under the mercurial Gautam Gambhir. No team has mastered the art of reaching finals like Dhoni's CSK.

But KKR will definitely be in the hunt since they won one of the most exciting high-scoring summit clash back in 2012 where they chased a target of 190 with two balls to spare.

On Friday, CSK's chances of winning a fourth title will depend on how well they handle the 12 overs from KKR's spin trio of Varun Chakravarthy (economy rate 6.40), Shakib Al Hasan (ER:6.64) and Sunil Narine (ER:6.44), who have been outstanding in this tournament.

In fact, Shakib's all-round abilities have provided more balance to KKR during the business end once Andre Russell sustained a hamstring injury.

However, the final match comes with its own set of pressures and how these three perform when put under the pump will be the key against a team of battle-hardened "been there done that" professionals.

Dhoni's captaincy mantra is simple -- rely on experience as IPL is not a finishing school or place to groom youngsters however talented they may be.

He groomed Ruturaj Gaikwad when the pressure of qualification was off his back in 2020 and the Pune lad has played freely.

He has scored three half centuries and with his rise, Dhoni laid the groundwork for not just next year but many more to come fr his franchise.

It shouldn't surprise anyone if Gaikwad becomes the next CSK captain once Dhoni calls time on IPL, which could be next year or the year after that.

No one knows the drifts and patterns of IPL more than India's most revered white-ball captain.

He understands that for IPL consistency, one needs experienced players primarily along with one or two talented youngsters.

Therefore, the job that Suresh Raina used to do during his initial years, is now being done by the young Gaikwad, who has scored an astounding 600 plus runs in the tournament with a match to go.

Hell or high water, CSK's batting will revolve around Gaikwad, who if all goes well, will surely be one of the biggest all-format batting stars in the post Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma era.

There is abundant experience in the CSK ranks. The skipper himself is on the other side of 40 with Dwayne Bravo at 38, Faf du Plessis at 37, Ambati Rayudu (36) Robin Uthappa a few weeks short of his 36th birthday along with Moeen Ali (34) and Ravindra Jadeja (32).

Add to it, three mid-level experienced internationals like Josh Hazlewood, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, who understand the pressure situations well and CSK seem immune to big match pressure Dhoni is a master at maneuvering resources. An example of it this IPL was his "right-hand man" and a true-blue IPL legend Raina being dropped.

The former India player looked distinctly overweight and completely out of touch and the ruthless operator replaced him with Uthappa, who had a big role in winning the game against Delhi Capitals with that resounding start to the chase.

The Knight Riders, on the other hand, also have a captain who has won a World Cup and has been at the heart of England team's transformation as white ball captain.

Many believe that Russell the batter should replace Morgan, who has had an awful IPL with the willow.

Bur it's the leadership that has stood the test of time as he has marshalled his available resources well. He stuck with Shubman Gill as an opener and the youngster has had a decent run.

The faith shown in Venkatesh Iyer will also benefit the Indian white-ball team while Narine the bowler found his mojo under him with constant support after remodelled action.

Morgan is as quiet and as unexpressive as Dhoni even in testing times and it would be a contest of two ticking brains trying to gauge the next move in what promises to be a mouth-watering three-hour battle.

Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), 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, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.

Match Starts: 7:30 pm IST.

Also Read : We will dissect what happened in last four overs: Morgan

News Source : PTI

Sharjah, Oct 10 (Cricket news) It will be a test of Virat Kohli's tactical acumen against the ice-cool demeanour of Eoin Morgan when perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore clash with former champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL Eliminator here on Monday.

Kohli, who has decided to step down from captaincy after this edition, has led RCB to the finals in 2016 besides reaching the play-offs twice in 2015 and 2020, and he would like to end things on a high in his last hurray as captain.

For Morgan, it is about regaining the lost glory for KKR, a team which achieved great success under Gautam Gambhir, who had led them to two IPL titles in a space of three years in 2012 and 2014.

On paper, it would be a battle between two evenly-poised teams, but overall, KKR has a slight edge, having won 15 out of 28 matches they played over the years.

However, RCB will be brimming with confidence after securing a thrilling win over Delhi Capitals with a last-ball six in their final league match, finishing third in the standings with 18 points from 14 matches.

KKR, on the other hand, scripted a terrific turnaround, finishing fourth with 14 points after winning five of seven games in the UAE leg following a lacklustre performance in the first phase.

Morgan's men had notched up a massive 86-run win over Rajasthan Royals to seal their play-offs spot and would look to carry the momentum into the Eliminator.

But past records will count for little and it will boil down to winning small moments in the match, something which Kohli and Morgan would know pretty well. Both the captains have enough ammunition in their disposal and it will be all about managing the resources.

RCB possess a formidable batting line-up that includes AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell and Devdutt Padikkal apart from Kohli but they have failed to find a perfect combination so far.

While their top-order has given starts on most occasions, the middle-order looked unsure with the ploy to get Daniel Christian at number 3 backfiring. Also AB de Villiers has been wasted at number 5 but Srikar Bharat's emergence has been a big positive.

The wicketkeeper batsman scored a 52-ball 78 at number 3 and etched his name in the record books with a last-ball six for RCB in the last game. One man who has stood out for RCB is Glenn Maxwell. The Australian power-hitter has 498 runs and has been Kohli's go to man this season.

The RCB skipper, however, has misfired in the last two innings and would need to find his touch quickly.

In bowling, Harshal Patel has been simply sensational with 30 wickets in 14 games, which includes a hat-trick against Mumbai Indians. Mohammed Siraj and George Garton too have been impressive, while Yuzvendra Chahal has answered his critics with 16 wickets this season. KKR too has been served well by the bowlers, who has churned out some terrific performances.

While pace duo of Lockie Ferguson and Shivam Mavi have peaked at the right time, sharing seven wickets in their last match, the spinners led by Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Shakib Al Hasan too have been impressive. In batting, Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana hold the key and it will be interesting to see how they handle the variations of Patel and guile of Chahal at the slow Sharjah pitch.

Skipper Morgan has been woefully out of form and that remains a concern.

Teams (from): Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (C), Navdeep Saini, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Rajat Patidar, Dushmantha Chameera, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Sachin Baby, Wanindu Hasaranga, George Garton, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Kyle Jamieson, Suyash Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Tim David, Akash Deep, AB de Villiers.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Also Read : Quaifier 1: Experienced CSK hold edge over Delhi Capitals

News Source : PTI

Sharjah, Oct 6 (Cricket news) Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would strive for a handsome win over struggling Rajasthan Royals in their last round-robin game to stay ahead in the IPL play-offs race here on Thursday.

With 12 points from 13 matches, KKR are currently sitting at the fourth position in the pecking order, just ahead of defending champions Mumbai Indians on net run-rate.

MI too have 12 points from 13 games and still have a match to play against bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday.

If both KKR and MI win their last matches, then it will boil down to net run rate and that's where the Eoin Morgan-led side (0.294) would have an edge as it currently enjoys a positive run rate compared to the Mumbai outfit (-0.048).

KKR had a mixed bag in the second leg of the tournament so far, winning four and losing two games.

While KKR started the second phase with back-to-back wins over Royal Challengers Bangalore and MI before suffering a defeat to Chennai Super Kings, they came back to beat table toppers Delhi Capitals.

A defeat against Punjab Kings followed before they outplayed SRH by six wickets to keep their nose ahead in the race for the final play-offs spot.

KKR have been impressive in the second half and even their two defeats were narrow, where they lost in the last over.

In the batting department, Venkatesh Iyer has been the star performer in the second leg for KKR, while Rahul Tripathi too has been impressive this season.

Young Shubman Gill scored a fine half-century in KKR's last match, which holds good for the team. Nitish Rana, up in the batting order, has also done well but the form of skipper Morgan remains a cause for concern.

The induction of star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan in the last match for the first time in the second leg, has given a new dimension to the side.

In bowling, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been the team's go-to man while Sunil Narine too has been among the wickets.

In the absence of Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson, who missed a few games following injuries, Tim Southee and Shivam Mavi are the new pace bowling pair for KKR.

Pacer Prasidh Krishna did well to snap four wickets in the matches that he had played, before being dropped for conceding 22 runs in the 19th over, against CSK.

RR are out of the race, languishing at the seventh spot in the eight-team standings with 10 points from 13 games.

And come Thursday, RR would look to dent KKR's hopes and end their campaign on a positive note.

RR have been hit hard by the form of their Indian batsmen. Barring Yashahvi Jaiswal and, to some extent, skipper Sanju Samson, the team's Indian batsmen lacked intent.

With Mustafizur Rahaman as their most experienced overseas signing and young Chetan Sakariya in the ranks, RR's bowling is a bit thin on experience.

Teams (from): Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Liam Livingstone, Evin Lewis, David Miller, Chris Morris, Oshane Thomas, Mustafizur Rahaman, Tabraiz Shamsi, Glenn Phillips, Chetan Sakariya, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, KC Cariappa, Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldip Yadav, Mahipal Lomror.

Match starts at 7:30 PM.

Also Read : https://spogonews.com/cricket/csk-start-favourites-against-rr-aim-to-finish-in-top-two/

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Oct 2 (Cricket news) Out of the play-offs race, bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to dent Kolkata Knight Riders' chances of making it to the knockout stage when they face off in an IPL game here on Sunday.

With nine defeats from 11 matches, SRH are languishing at the bottom, while KKR still have hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage as they are at fourth place with 10 points from 12 matches.

SRH have won just one match out of the four that they have played since the resumption of the IPL in the UAE.

While SRH had returned to winning ways after five losses on the trot with a convincing victory over Rajasthan Royals, they lost their last game by six wickets at Sharjah, allowing Chennai Super Kings to qualify for the play-offs.

The Sunrisers had dropped their only IPL-winning (2016) skipper David Warner after axing him from captaincy but that didn't change the fate of the team as Kane Williamson has not been able to revive the fortunes of the Orange Army.

For SRH, batting remains their weakest link, especially in the absence of Jonny Bairstow.

While English opener Jason Roy sizzled on his debut with a quickfire 60 and Williamson too scored a 51 in their successful chase of 165 against RR, both came a cropper against CSK in their last game.

Wriddhiman Shah held the innings together with a 46-ball 44 but SRH could not accelerate in the death overs and only managed 37 runs in the last five overs against CSK.

Their India players such as Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma and Abdul Samsad will have to step up if SRH are to salvage some pride and end the season on a positive note.

In the bowling department, Jason Holder has time and again given them the breakthroughs, but senior India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Siddarth Kaul have disappointed.

Leg-spinner Rashid Khan remains SRH's biggest weapon against any opposition, but he didn't have enough runs to play with most times.

For KKR, the UAE leg of the IPL has been a topsy-turvy affair as they have won three games, while losing two so far.

The two-time former champions have impressed with their performance in the second half, and even their two defeats were narrow, where they lost in the last over.

Venkatesh Iyer has been the star performer with the bat in the second leg for KKR, while Rahul Tripathi has scored the maximum runs for the team this season.

The decision to move Nitish Rana up the order has also paid dividends but Shubman Gill has not been able to capitalise on the starts.

In bowling, Varun Chakravarthy has been their go-to man as he picked up six wickets in the second leg, while Sunil Narine too has been among the wickets.

But they have concerns in the pace department with Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson missing games following injuries, forcing skipper Eoin Morgan to make changes.

Even the KKR captain needs to get some runs under his belt.

Tim Southee and Shivam Mavi is the new pace bowling pair for KKR and they will need to step up.

Pacer Prasidh Krishna did well to snap four wickets in the matches that he had played, before being dropped for conceding 22 runs in the 19th over, against CSK.

Teams (from): Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (captain), David Warner, Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Urman Malik, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abdul Samad, J Suchith, Jason Holder, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jason Roy. Match starts at 7:30PM IST.

Also Read : Royal Challengers Bangalore eye playoffs berth against Punjab Kings

News Source : PTI

Sharjah, Sep 27 (Cricket News) A dominant Delhi Capitals will fancy their chances of securing a play-off berth when they face Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

A cloud of uncertainty over KKR's injured all-rounder Andre Russell's participation gives Delhi more reasons to feel optimistic ahead of their afternoon match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Eyeing a maiden title triumph, DC are on a roll having dominated most of their opponents with an aggressive brand of cricket this season, and look pretty confident of not just making the play-offs but also doing one better than last year when they lost to Mumbai Indians in the summit showdown.

DC are placed second in the pecking order with eight wins and 16 points from 10 outings, while two-time winners KKR find themselves in the fourth position with four wins and six defeats.

While the Delhi Capitals are coming off a crushing win over Rajasthan Royals in the previous outing, KKR will enter the game after having suffered a reversal at the hands of Chennai Super Kings, despite setting a stiff target of 172 on Abu Dhabi's big ground.

KKR missed Russell towards the end after he walked off the field with a hamstring problem, having bowled three decent overs.

In his absence, Prasidh Krishna was given the responsibility of bowling the 19th over and even though he has impressed with his death bowling in the past, he had no answer to a marauding Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday.

Up against one of the in-form teams of this edition, KKR will have their task cut out when they take to the field against DC.

Eoin Morgan and his team know there will be very little margin for error as they head into a game which is more crucial from their point of view as far as keeping their play-offs prospects are concerned.

KKR will have to deliver on all fronts if they are to challenge the might of Delhi Capitals, who are led by the dynamic Rishabh Pant and flooded at the moment with in-form players.

The likes of Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill will have to fire in unison to ensure that the team is able to compete in batting.

Rahul Tripathi will enter the game with some confidence, having top-scored with a brisk 45 against CSK. Then, the bowlers will have to stick to the plans.

DC, on the other hand, are sitting pretty at the moment.

They put up a stellar display to beat Rajasthan Royals in the last outing and going by their form, DC are likely to continue in the same vein.

The likes of Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shimron Hetmyer form a very formidable group with the bat.

While in bowling, the guile of spin duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel is being complemented well by the pace and bounce of Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan.

Teams (from): Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimrom Hetmyar, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Ben Dwarshuis, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Meriwala, Pravin Dubey, Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Billings and Vishnu Vinod.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Match starts at 3.30PM IST.

Also Read : Selection not in my hand: Harshal on not making World Cup squad

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 25 (Cricket News) Varun Chakravarthy's extra bounce and unpredictable angles will keep the Chennai Super Kings batsmen on tenterhooks as they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in a high-octane Indian Premier League encounter here on Sunday.

On a roll post IPL's resumption, both Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders would look to continue their winning streak when the two most impressive sides of the tournament's second phase lock horns against each other in the second double header.

Both CSK and KKR have registered two wins out of as many games post IPL's resumption in the UAE, and the two sides would be desperate to outwit each other in their bid to register a hat-trick of victories.

However Chakravarthy, who had tormented the CSK batters during last season in UAE will like to once again ask probing questions to the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni on tracks where the ball would occasionally grip and come onto the bat slower than expected.

Another common factor post the tournament's resumption is that CSK and KKR have registered both their thumping wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore and defending champions Mumbai Indians.

While CSK beat MI and RCB by 20 runs and seven wickets respectively, KKR tamed RCB and MI by nine and seven wickets respectively.

But it is in the standings where CSK hold an edge over KKR. While the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side is atop the pecking order with 14 points from nine games, KKR is at the fourth spot with eight points from the same number of matches.

Young Gaikwad has been ominous form at the top. After scoring a match-winning unbeaten 88 off 58 balls against MI, he made quick 38 against RCB on Friday and in the company of Faf du Plessis provided a good start for the team while chasing 157. And Dhoni would want the youngster to continue in the same vein.

After an unimpressive outing against MI, CSK batters lifted their game with Du Plessis (31), Moeen Ali (23), Ambati Rayudu (32), Suresh Raina (17 not out), Dhoni (11) all getting starts.

But it is the performance of the bowling unit which should be lauded as the bowlers were upto their task for the second consecutive match to hand CSK its seventh win of the season.

Dwayne Bravo (3/24) was brilliant with the ball against RCB, while Shardul Thakur (2/29) and Deepak Chahar (1/35) provided good support to the West Indian.

KKR, on the other hand, had a dream start to the second leg after struggled in the first phase.

KKR is looking a completely different unit, in the manner in which they defeated RCB and MI.

Rookie Venketesh Iyer had impressed all and sundry with his stroke making in his first two IPL games. While he made a 27-ball 41 in KKR's 93-run chase against RCB, in the game against MI the opener made 53 off 30 balls.

Shubman Gill is also in fine form and with Rahul Tripathi (74 not out off 42) to coming good, KKR's batting looks in safe hands.

The tall opener Venkatesh will face a different kind of challenge when Deepak Chahar starts swinging the ball both ways which will also test his skills considering he doesn't have a distinct footwork whole playing the faster bowlers.

But skipper Eoin Morgan would be desperate to return among runs.

On the bowling front, Varun Chakravarthy, star all-rounder Andre Russell, Lockie Ferguson, Sunil Narine and Prasidh Krishna would hope to continue their fine show.

KKR will hope to continue playing in the aggressive fashion and win the title just like the 2014 edition when they notched nine victories in a row.

Teams (From): Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (Captain) Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Karn Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Jason Behrendorff, Krishnappa Gowtham, Mitchell Santner, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, Cheteshwar Pujara, KM Asif, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Match starts at 3:30 PM IST.

Also Read : Our players have understood their roles and responsibilities: Dhoni on turnaround 

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 22 (Cricket News) Defending champions Mumbai Indians would look for inspiration from skipper Rohit Sharma, who is set to return to action, when they take on a rejuvenated Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

Mumbai were without the services of Rohit and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya in their 20-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings on Sunday as both were rested as a precautionary measure due to having niggles. However, head coach Mahela Jayawardene has said Rohit should be fit and available for selection for the match against KKR.

KKR, on the other hand, have registered a dominating nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening game of the second leg of the league.

Mumbai, who are currently placed fourth in the table with eight points, began their second leg campaign in a typical slow manner but with only half the tournament left to play, the defending champions need to win to stay in the top half of the league table.

Rohit, who has been in fine touch of late, will be expected to continue in the same vein and help his side make amends of the inept batting performance against CSK. Apart from Saurabh Tewary, who hit an unbeaten half century, none of the other batsmen were able to capitalize on their starts against CSK, failing to chase down 156.

On the other hand, the comprehensive win would have boosted KKR’s confidence. Having struggled in the first leg, KKR looked a completely different unit, in the manner in which they defeated RCB.

The Eoin Morgan-led side, placed sixth in the points table, fired on all cylinders with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and star all-rounder Andre Russell wreaking havoc with the ball before openers Shubman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer chased down the 93-run target with 10 overs to spare.

Skipper Morgan had said that KKR would be dangerous opponents with nothing to lose in the second leg and the team certainly looked menacing against RCB. They will hope to continue playing in a similar aggressive fashion and win the title just like 2014 edition when they notched nine victories in a row.

They will also hold the edge over their rivals having already experienced the conditions at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium against RCB.

The Teams (from): Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain) Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Anukul Roy, Arjun Tendulkar, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, James Neesham, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Marco Jansen, Yudhvir Singh, Adam Milne, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohsin Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult.

Match starts at 7:30PM IST.

Also Read : Special to change game myself after watching others do it: Tyagi

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Jul 7 (Cricket news) The breakdown in communication between national selectors, led by chairman Chetan Sharma, and the team management comprising skipper Virat Kohli over Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran's contentious selection, is not the first such instance.

And it is certainly not going to be the last in Indian cricket which is replete with incidents when alpha male captains have locked horns with the wise men of "authoritarian reputation".

It's not a bad time to revisit a few selection conundrums that had gained legendary status over the years.

In the late 1960s till early 70s, Bengal had a wicketkeeper of Parsi origin named Rusi Jeejebhoy, a handsome man born and brought up in Kolkata. He played 46 first-class games and ended with a "horrifying" batting average of 10.46.

Even if one considers that batting wasn't a primary skill for keepers back then, Farokh Engineer was in a different league.

There was a slot for the third wicketkeeper for the historic 1971 tour of West Indies and there was a Duleep Trophy match where East was led by stylish Bihar batsman Ramesh Saxena and Daljit Singh (famous for being BCCI chief curator in later years) was supposed to keep. They were playing a Duleep Trophy game at the Brabourne Stadium sometime in 1970.

"The chairman of selection committee, late Vijay Merchant (an icon of Parsee community) just before the toss summoned Ramesh bhai, a nice gentleman.

"He instructed Ramesh bhai to play Daljeet as a batsman and pick Rusi as a keeper. If someone of Mr Merchant's stature would request, what could have Ramesh bhai done," an old-timer who was part of that match told PTI.

Jeejeebhoy's inclusion forced a former India and Mumbai great (his son was also a Test cricketer), known for his sharp sense of humour, to joke: "I only knew about Batliboi (Engineering company), now I am hearing about Jeejeebhoy!" Jeejeebhoy kept wickets and was selected for his first and last tour of West Indies and when he retired, his highest score was a mere 39 in 46 games. New skipper Ait Wadekar couldn't have argued with a living legend like Merchant.

Sambaran Banerjee, the only Bengal captain to win Ranji Trophy post independence, is an amazing raconteur. With an elephant's memory, he can just rattle off incidents both from his playing days and during his times as a national selector.

Banerjee recollected how he was literally told that he was going to England (1977-78) in 1979 along with Surinder Khanna, but it was Tamil Nadu's Bharat Reddy (career average of under 18), who eventually got the nod. Coincidentally, then India skipper S Venkataraghavan also hailed from Tamil Nadu.

"We knew Kiri (Syed Kirmani) would be dropped. A day before the team selection, few players came up and said, 'Sambaran we know you are in the squad, we need a treat.

"I must have spent around 400 bucks (quite a sum in those days) to take a few boys out for dinner and next day, the list had Reddy's name. I think he scored 30 odd runs in 4 Tests (38)," one could gauge the hurt in Banerjee's voice as he spoke.

Banerjee claims that while South Zone selector M L Jaisimha and North's Vijay Mehra was in his support, Dattu Phadkar, the East Zone selector, kept quiet and Venkataraghavan apparently got his choice of keeper.

In 1986, Manoj Prabhakar was in the Indian team and before the Leeds Test match, skipper Kapil Dev felt that he wasn't measuring up in the nets (years later it happened with Karun Nair in 2018).

"Jimmy Amarnath was entrusted with the duty to call up Madan Lal, who by then was semi-retired from Tests and playing club cricket in England and ask him to join the team. Prabhakar, till date, hasn't forgotten the snub from Kapil, who could convince selectors that Lal was better than Prabhakar." But Banerjee's greatest achievement was winning the battle of wits to get Sourav Ganguly in the Indian team for tour of England in 1996. Captain Mohammed Azharuddin was dead against Ganguly's inclusion, and so was then coach Sandeep Patil.

"I got support from Vishy (chairman of selectors Gundappa Viswanath) and Rungta (Central Zone) to get Sourav in as bowling all-rounder. Azhar was seething in rage but the simple 3-2 vote prevailed.

"I remember when Ganguly's name was announced by Vishy at Taj Palace, Delhi, some journalists started hooting but Vishy being the gentleman explained why he got the nod." During the 1997 Sahara Cup, one of the most hilarious selections happened. The then skipper Sachin Tendulkar and the team management wanted Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Jai Prakash (JP) Yadav in the team and convenor of selection committee, late Jyoti Bajpai of UP, conveniently sent his state's Jyoti Prakash (JP) Yadav to Toronto. Jyoti Prakash never got to play a match.

The historic 2001 Australia series was equally dramatic as skipper Ganguly went against the selection committee comprising Madan Lal and Ashok Malhotra, who wanted Sarandeep Singh in the team. Ganguly's choice was a young Harbhajan Singh. The rest is history.

In 2003-04, reporters sitting on the Chinnaswamy turf witnessed skipper Ganguly and then chairman of selectors Syed Kirmani having a long debate over who would be second keeper -- Karnataka's (Kirmani's state) Thilak Naidu or Bengal (Ganguly's state) Deep Dasgupta. The powerful skipper prevailed.

In 2011, Mahendra Singh Dhoni summoned his friend, Rudra Pratap Singh, then holidaying in Miami, to the Test team. RP's first ball went to the keeper on three drops. He never played Test cricket again.

Clearly, Indian cricket has not seen the last of the Abhimanyu Easwaran episode.

Also read: WT20Is: Cricketers Wyatt, Villiers back in England women's T20 squad against India

News source: PTI

New Delhi, Jun 11 Krishnappa Gowtham was nicknamed "Bhajji" by his teammates during his early years and he has adored Ravichandran Ashwin's cricketing philosophy but the all-rounder's skill-sets, including the "carrom ball", is his own customised version.

Gowtham is among the six uncapped players picked for India's white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, comprising three ODIs and three T-20 matches between July 13 and July 25.

"You live a dream for years and now it has come true and you can't be more happier," was Gowtham's first reaction when PTI caught up with him.

A consistent performer for a formidable Karnataka side, Gowtham hit the headlines when Chennai Super Kings broke the bank to win his services after an intense bidding war and now at 32, the lanky all-rounder has got his maiden India call-up.

"Starting off in my career I used to mimic Bhajji Paa (Harbhajan Singh) and my teammates would call me Bhajji," Gowtham recollected during the interaction.

So like Bhajji, does he also bowl the doosra? "No I don't bowl doosra but I bowl the carrom ball," Gowtham, who has 166 first-class, 70 List A and 42 T20 wickets, replied.

Has he developed the carrom ball watching its finest exponent Ravichandran Ashwin? "I developed it on my own. If you have to play at the highest level, you need to develop skills on your own. In my junior days, I have been coached by Erapalli Prasanna sir also.

"Obviously, you do look up to a legend like Ashwin. I love Ashwin's mindset and approach towards the game," the reticent cricketer answered.

Like his teammates from Karnataka, who have gone on to play for India, Gowtham also speaks with a lot of clarity even though his answers are short and precise.

With Moeen Ali starting off during CSK's IPL campaign, Gowtham didn't get a look-in but never did the pressure of Rs 9.25 crore bid price made it unnerving for him.

"I had no pressure going into the IPL. Absolutely not. In a tournament like IPL, you have to back yourself and not worry about the game. You play the game not the price tag," he was crisp in his reply.

From 'Captain Cool' Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the most precious advice that he got was to "enjoy his game", something that the former India skipper tells all his juniors.

"Mahi bhai had one key advice. You have to be in the present and enjoy the game. He told me to stick to my natural game and do it in the manner I know best." Gowtham also feels enriched after being part of the senior Indian team set-up during the home series against England earlier this year. He was one of the net bowlers during the four-Test series.

"It's always good to bowl to the best in the country and you get to learn a lot. Obviously it was a great experience being in the Indian set-up and bowling to quality players." With 12 five-wicket hauls in first-class cricket apart from impressive batting strike-rates of 141 plus (50 over) and nearly 160 (T20) in the white ball format, Gowtham's rise can also be attributed to the fact that he plays for one of the finest domestic teams, Karnataka.

"It really has helped that I have been a part of a very strong Karnataka unit. It's not just about strength but also the fact that it's a very happy unit.

"We all enjoy each other's company which I have always looked forward to and it's a privilege," Gowtham said about the team that in recent years has had Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, and Prasidh Krishna making the national team.

National Cricket Academy director Rahul Dravid is set to travel with the India white ball team as its head coach and having played for India A under "The Wall", Gowtham said his job would certainly be made easier by his presence.

"If you have played India A, you are aware about how Rahul sir is as a coach and what he would expect from you as a player. So that gives you a better chance of preparing well for the tour when you have earlier played under him. It will be a great learning experience," he signed off. New source PTI

Ahmedabad, Apr 28 Kolkata Knight Riders' floundering batting will be put to test once again as they look to build a winning momentum against a star-studded Delhi Capitals in their Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

KKR's batting woes emanate right from the top with the highly talented Shubman Gill continuing his poor run -- 89 runs from six outings.

While their bowling, especially the 'master-apprentice' spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, have done an excellent job in restricting the oppositions, KKR's top-order batting has hurt them the most.

Chasing an easy 124 against Punjab Kings in their last match, KKR's top-order cut a sorry figure to be at 17 for 3 inside three overs before skipper Eoin Morgan led from the front to snap their four-match losing streak.

Against a DC batting line-up boasting tournament's leading run getter Shikhar Dhawan (265 runs), Prithvi Shaw, Steve Smith and the dangerous Rishabh Pant, KKR can't afford any more slip-up if they want to continue their ascent in the IPL points table.

First-up, Morgan will have to fix the Gill conundrum. With scores of 15, 33, 21, 0, 11 and 9, the opener has failed to impress, extending his poor run of form from the England Test series.

It would not be a bad ploy to drop Gill down the order and bring back Narine to open with Rahul Tripathi, something that was suggested by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

The top-order reshuffle may be the way forward as the likes of Morgan, Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik looked to have found their mojo in the middle.

Thursday's clash will see a mini battle between the Caribbean duo of Russell and Shimron Hetmyer who will be anxious to do well after the Capitals suffered an agonising one-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Tuesday.

Chasing 172 for a win, the Capitals were struggling at 92 for 4 but Hetmyer upped the ante in company of his captain and another left-hander Pant as the duo smashed explosive half-centuries but only to go down in a last-ball thriller.

Russell too looked in his elements when he smashed Chennai Super Kings bowlers all around the park in his 22-ball 54 but only in a losing cause. It remains to be seen who among the Caribbean duo wins the battle on Thursday.

After Ravichandran Ashwin's pulling out, the Capitals' bowling got a boost from Ishant Sharma who cleaned up the in-form Devdutt Padikkal with a peach of a delivery en route to a tidy 1/26.

KKR batting will be put to test against the likes of Ishant, Kagiso Rabada and young gun Avesh Khan, while the spin duo of Amit Mishra and Axar Patel will also look to make an impact.

The Teams (From): Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c/w), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Woakes, Shams Mulani, Amit Mishra, Lalit Yadav, Pravin Dubey, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma, Avesh Khan, Steve Smith, Umesh Yadav, Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Meriwala, M Siddarth, Tom Curran, Sam Billings and Aniruddha Joshi.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi.

Match starts at 7.30pm IST. News Source : PTI 

Mumbai, Apr 23 Bolstered by Pat Cummins' late blitz against Chennai Super Kings, a pumped-up Kolkata Knight Riders will finally look to bring their campaign back on track after a hattrick of defeats when they face a beleaguered Rajasthan Royals in their IPL clash here on Saturday. Big on paper, KKR, led by England's World Cup winning skipper Eoin Morgan, have so far failed to come together as a unit and slipped to sixth in the table after starting the tournament on a high against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Facing bottom-placed Rajasthan Royals, who have been the most inconsistent team so far in the season, KKR will be desperate for a turnaround.The rise of Pat Cummins as a batsman in their 18-run defeat to CSK will provide a big boost but it can't paper over the failure of their star batsmen, who have floundered even while chasing even modest target. The seamers too have leaked runs in the death overs.Having struggled on Chepauk's slow surface, KKR had hoped to return to winning ways at the Wankhede but Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad took their attack to the cleaners and amassed a massive 220 for 3 in their previous match.If that was not all, their famed top-five, including Shubman Gill and Morgan, surrendered inside the Powerplay.Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik then revived the chase before Cummins produced some sensational powerhitting, slamming a 34-ball 66 not out before running out of partners as KKR finished on 202 after being 31/5 in 5.2 overs. "Everyone's pumped. I am sure if we get a win or two and we will be on our way and flying. I think there's a feeling that we can win from basically anywhere," Cummins had said. The other positive has been Russell's return to form. It was his 54 off 22 balls that had set the tone and it would not be a bad ploy for Morgan to promote the Jamaican up in the order, while Cummins provides late blitz. The skipper will himself look to get back among runs, while he will be equally concerned about Gill, who once again failed to convert his starts and he returned with a golden duck against CSK.Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, are coming into the match after a humiliating 10-wicket loss against RCB. Sanju Samson's men have failed to inspire after posting their only win of the tournament, against Delhi Capitals in their second match. Samson has fizzled out after a blazing 119 against Punjab Kings and the top and middle-order look brittle with Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra and David Miller enduring poor form. Bowling is also a big concern for the inaugural edition champions as their big buy Chris Morris and Mustafizur Rahman have struggled to check runs. They also have limited overseas options with Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes ruled out because of injuries, while Liam Livingstone have left citing bio-bubble fatigue. Squads: Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Jos Buttler, 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, Kuldip Yadav and Akash Singh. Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi. Match starts: 7.30pm IST. News Article : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 20 On a roll after back-to-back wins, the vintage Chennai Super Kings would look to extend their winning run when they clash with struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in their next IPL match here on Wednesday. After their abject campaign in UAE last year, the CSK started the season in an ominous fashion, losing to Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in a one-sided affair. But since then, the MS Dhoni-led side has come on its own with the 'Captain Cool' making the most of his resources at the batting-friendly Wankhede stadium. Deepak Chahar's brilliance handed them their first win of the season against Punjab Kings it's been a tale of two Englishmen -- Moeen Ali and Sam Curran for the CSK. Explosive all-rounder Ali has embraced the number three spot with knocks of 36 from 24 (vs Delhi Capitals), 46 off 31 (Punjab Kings) and 26 off 20 in his match-winning show against Rajasthan Royals on Monday. He is also quietly doing the job with his off-spin with Dhoni cleverly bringing him in the mix in the non-friendly conditions here. In their chase of 189, Jos Buttler had started to look ominous and sent a good-length ball from Ravindra Jadeja into the stands as the ball had to be replaced. Well aware that the dry ball would turn more than the dew-laden wet ball, Dhoni stepped up his attack with Jadeja and Ali from both ends. While Jadeja dismissed the dangerous looking Buttler and Shivam Dube in one over, Ali accounted for David Miller, Riyan Parag and Chris Morris in his match-turning 3/7. The only brightspot of their abysmal campaign in UAE, youngster Sam Curran has also made some impact both with the bat and ball. Be it his 15-ball 34 against in a losing cause to Delhi Capitals, or his bowling in the Powerplay, Curran is giving Dhoni many options. Against a side which will play its first match of the season at the Wankhede, smarting from two successive defeats, the Dhoni-led CSK will start as overwhelming favourites against KKR as Eoin Morgan is all set to ring in some changes to revive their campaign. After their emphatic start against Sunrisers Hyderabad, KKR have slipped to fifth spot with defeats to Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. And in both the defeats, the Morgan-led side had the upper hands but could not capitalise on their starts. Varun Chakravarthy had dismissed Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar in five balls to have RCB in a spot with 9/2 inside two overs. But in a bizarre decision, Morgan took the mystery spinner out of the attack and brought in Shakib-Al-Hasan as Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers powered them to 204/4. It remains to be seen if Morgan persists with Shakib or bring in seaming Aussie all-rounder Ben Cutting in the less spin-friendly conditions. Morgan also has persisted with the veteran Harbhajan Singh and gave him the opening overs in all the three matches. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav could be a better option. Head coach Brendon McCullum has already hinted of making some changes after their 38-run defeat to RCB. As for CSK, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is enduring a terrible form with scores of 5, 5 and 10 and it remains to be seen whether he is given a longer rope by Dhoni who is not known to tinker his XI much. Squads KKR: Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi. CSK: MS 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, Josh Hazlewood, R Sai Kishore, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Krishnappa Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M Harisankar Reddy, K Bhagath Varma and C Hari Nishaanth. Match starts: 7.30pm IST. News source: PTI

Chennai, Apr 17 The misfiring Kolkata Knight Riders will look to bring their campaign back on track when they take on table-toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL here on Sunday. In the battle between the world's two best white-ball captains, Eoin Morgan and Virat Kohli, the Bengaluru franchise will hold a slight edge over Kolkata after its two wins from as many outings. Known for his tactical nous and man-management skills, the World Cup-winning English skipper will be keen to bring KKR back on track after a familiar middle-order collapse cost them the game against Mumbai Indians. After two ordinary seasons, the purple brigade started its campaign in an emphatic fashion, ticking all the boxes against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But against their nemesis MI, KKR middle-order collapsed in an inexplicable fashion to suffer their 12th loss from 13 matches. Morgan's astute captaincy in using his bowling resources was the highlight as KKR had bowled out MI for a modest 152. In his new role of bowling at the death, Andre Russell has taken six wickets at an impressive average of 7.83, but has failed to deliver with the bat. With 14 runs from two matches, the big-hitting Jamaican has looked a shadow of his past. Vice-captain Dinesh Karthik, too, will be under pressure to deliver after his painstaking stay in the middle in the last game. While Nitish Rana has impressed the most in batting, their star opener Shubman Gill has faltered after impressive starts, and KKR would hope the youngster fires in the coming days. On a slow Chepauk deck where batting at the death has been a concern, KKR's bowling has been a revelation with Morgan cleverly using his resources. Against the star-studded RCB who are yet to fire in unison this season, KKR's bowling would once again look to make an impact. It would not be a bad idea to bring in left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in place of veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has bowled just the opening over in each of the two matches. Boasting a famed batting line-up in Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell and the talented youngster Devdutt Padikkal, RCB are yet to perform to their full potential. But it did not matter much as RCB have won both their matches with new signing Maxwell holding fort in the middle and the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed and Harshal Patel making the difference in bowling. Bought for Rs 14.25 crore in the 2021 auction, Maxwell has bounced back from a poor last season in the UAE. On a difficult batting wicket, Maxwell's 59 -- his first IPL half-century since 2016 -- was the cornerstone before Bengal left-arm spinner Shahbaz turned it around against SRH in the 17th over, taking three wickets for one run. In their first match, Harshal Patel's five-for set it up before de Villiers' 48 sealed a two-wicket win over defending champions MI. Kohli will be keen that his star-studded batting fires in unison against KKR. Teams (from): Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Joshua Philippe, Shahbaz Ahamad, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Dan Christian, KS Bharat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Daniel Sams and Harshal Patel. Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (capt), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi. Match Starts: 3.30pm. News source: PTI

Chennai, Apr 12 (PTI) Fresh from their clinical display against Sunrisers Hyderabad, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to set the record straight against nemesis Mumbai Indians in their second IPL match here on Tuesday. Having missed the last two playoffs, KKR looked a completely different unit, in the manner in which they defeated SRH by 10 runs in their IPL opener here on Sunday. Be it the aggression shown by the top-order or the explosive finish by Dinesh Karthik, KKR's displayed a fearless approach under skipper Eoin Morgan. Morgan's intent was evident right at the toss when he chose to leave out their most-trusted lieutenant, Sunil Narine. The left-right opening combination of Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill started to attack right from the first ball, clearly indicating that the new approach had Morgan's success mantra written all over it. Boasting of a solid middle-order in Andre Russell, Karthik and Morgan, 2020 was a season of promise for KKR but some rudderless planning did not help their cause. This time KKR have further bolstered their middle-order by adding Bangladesh superstar Shakib Al Hasan, while Morgan, in his full season as skipper, gives a new dimension to the side. Rana's deft wrist work and brute power was on full display on Sunday and it ensured that they stayed ahead despite Rashid Khan's twin blows in the form of Gill and Russell. After Rana's 56-ball 80, it was underfire Karthik who hit an unbeaten 22-run cameo from nine balls to propel KKR to a winning total of 187 for 6. And KKR would look to come out all guns blazing against the five-time champions on Tuesday. They have won just once in their last 12 games against MI, and have an overall lopsided 6-21 head-to-head record. But eventually it will all boil down to battle of wits between Morgan and Rohit Sharma, under whose captaincy MI has won a record fifth IPL title last season in UAE. MI will pose real challenge for KKR as the title hoders would be desperate to secure their first win of the season after their two-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener on Friday. KRR found it easy against SRH bowlers, which lacked firepower but in Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, MI attack will be a completely different proposition. Gill's struggle to bat at T20 pace has been a concern for KKR and it will be interesting to see the young opener's approach against the finest in the business. Often known as slow starters, MI lost the other day due to individual brilliance of RCB's Harshal Patel and AB de Villiers on a two-paced wicket here. In his debut match for MI, Chris Lynn was their top-scorer, albeit with some stroke of luck as he survived some edges and mishits. If Quinton de Kock is still in quarantine, MI may have to persist with Lynn at the top, otherwise they may go back to their preferred left-right opening combination of Rohit and de Kock. MI's explosive middle-order consisting Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and the Pandya brothers -- Hardik and Krunal -- also failed to fire to be restricted to 159 for nine. Squads (from): Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Mohsin Khan, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Aditya Tare, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar. Match starts: 7.30pm IST.

Chennai, Apr 10 (PTI) Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan on Saturday backed under-fire all-rounder Sunil Narine to deliver in the ongoing IPL and said the Trinidadian is no different from their latest acquisition, Shakib-Al-Hasan. His exploits with the bat and ball had given KKR multiple options in the past but the West Indian was far from his best in 2020 and was also called for suspect action. Heading into his ninth season, Narine faces some heat as KKR seemed to have got his back-up in the form of Bangladesh's star all-rounder Shakib. But the KKR skipper thinks differently and said: "Shakib and Sunil are no different." "In big moments of the game, particularly last year, you would throw Sunil the ball or you would get him in with the bat because he has been in that situation over and over again. "He believes in himself and in the team to go and get through and win that situation," Morgan said, strongly backing Narine on the eve of their IPL opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In this year's mini auction, KKR made some interesting acquisitions, bringing back Shakib while picking seasoned campaigners in Ben Cutting and Harbhajan Singh. "Given that we have a bit more travel this year and we go from venue to venue, it's important to have strength and depth in the squad. Shakib Al Hasan gives us a different dynamic in the team. "Given that we play at different venues where the conditions change quite a lot, you have a spin bowling all-rounder who had success in international cricket and IPL at different stages. If called upon, he can definitely deliver," Morgan said. The other five buys of the auction included Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi, and Morgan believed they were smart in plugging the "holes". "I think considering the possible holes we had in our squad last year, we had a very good auction this year, made some good recruitment decisions, and managed to get people on board with a small budget, giving us a lot more depth around the squad," Morgan said. Morgan took over the reins from Dinesh Karthik midway into last season and he said the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is a big support to him. "DK offers a lot with the bat and behind the stumps. He has been in fine form, and he is always one of those players who if you watch him train and particularly bat, he times the ball beautifully and hits the ball further than most of the guys. "He offers a huge amount of support to me on the pitch and off the field as well. Very grateful that he is in good form and in our team," he said. Morgan further said that he's looking forward to their top-order batsman Shubman Gill, after his spectacular debut Test series Down Under. "Gill, coming on the back of winning an away Test match series in Australia, is a huge achievement early in your career. And, to have him in your squad on the back of that win, is fantastic," Morgan said.

Chennai, Apr 10 (PTI) Former champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to strike a perfect balance under the astute leadership of Eoin Morgan when they open their IPL campaign against a consistent Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Sunday.One of the best in business in the white-ball format, Morgan took charge of an ordinary-looking KKR under Dinesh Karthik midway into the last season held in the UAE.Running against time, Morgan-led side finished on same points with SRH and RCB but the two teams advanced on better run-rate as KKR missed the playoffs for the second time in succession.In his first stint as full time captain, all eyes would be on the ODI World Cup-winning English skipper who will look to transform the misfiring army of cricketers and bring back the glorious days of two-time IPL champions. In Shubman Gill, they have a fantastic young top-order batsman who can easily shift gears, while the likes of Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and veteran Karthik, who's free from the captaincy burden, can form the core of their Indian batting.Then there is the skipper Morgan who will look to bat through the overs while hoping that 2019 MVP Andre Russell gets back his explosive touch after a quiet season.Russell had the worst season by his standards averaging 13 in nine innings without a single match-winning performance as the over-dependency on the Jamaican cost KKR dear last season.Another West Indian who flopped big time in the UAE was Sunil Narine.Whether it was his suspect bowling action or his failing against the short ball, Narine, who was instrumental in their twin triumphs in 2012 and 2014, looked a pale shadow of his past.It's time that they think beyond the Trinidadian and try out Shakib Al Hasan, their buy in this year's auction.On the slow Chepauk strip, all eyes would be on the new 'Knight' and 40-year-old Harbhajan Singh, who will aim to make maximum impact in what could be his last IPL.They also have a mystery spinner in Varun Chakravarthy who struck it rich in absence of Narine last year but his fitness remains a concern.One of the more consistent sides of IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost before the final hurdle, going down to runners-up Delhi Capitals in the Qualifier 2 last year.SRH will be bolstered by the return of senior India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar who played just four games in last year's IPL in the UAE due to a hip injury.Fresh from his fine form during the white-ball leg of the England series at home, Bhuvneshwar will spearhead their attack with yorker specialist T Natrajan by his side.Add Afghan star spinner Rashid Khan to the bowling lineup and the 'Orange Army' looks pretty balanced in their attack.But the real strength of SRH will be their destructive top-order with the duo of David Warner and in-form Jonny Bairstow. They also have Kane Williamson and Manish Pandey, forming a solid top four.Wriddhiman Saha also opened for SRH last year as the wicketkeeper-batsman and will look to prove a point after being sidelined because of Rishabh Pant's heroics in the national team.Buit remains to be seen who will play the role of the finisher for the SRH as they seem to lack muscle power teams badly need in the last five overs.KKR have a slight edge head-to-head as the Purple Brigade lead 12-7 against the Orange Army and last year they won both their matches against them.Squads KKR: Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi.SRH: David Warner (C), Kane Williamson, Virat Singh, Manish Pandey, Priyam Garg, Wriddhiman Saha, Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Sreevats Goswami, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Kedar Jadhav, J Suchit, Jason Holder, Abhishek Sharma, Abdul Samad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, T Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Basil Thampi, Shahbaz Nadeem and Mujeeb ur Rahman.Match starts: 7.30pm IST.

Kolkata, Apr 2 (PTI) Two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be striving for consistency in its bid to recreate old magic which has been lost during a difficult phase of rebuilding, post Gautam Gambhir's departure. Be it the opening combination, middle-order or finding a finisher, KKR struggled for stability in the last edition in the UAE, while a change of captaincy at the halfway stage did not help them either. Add the floundering forms of their two biggest Caribbean stars -- a half-fit Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who is not even half the bowler after being repeatedly called for suspect action, KKR missed the playoffs for a second time in a row in the Gambhir era. Here's is a SWOT analysis of the side that will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their season-opener in Chennai on April 11. STRENGTHS: In Eoin Morgan, his first stint as full-time KKR captain, the Purple Brigade have got one of the most astute brains of the white-ball format. The English World Cup-winning skipper, who took over the role after seven games last season, was one of the brightspots for the team in 2020. The left-hander struck 418 runs in 14 innings at an average of 41.80 and also hit the most sixes (24), giving impetus in the death overs with his cameos. KKR have made some smart additions to their squad in the mini-auction, apart from retaining their core of the side -- 17 players -- despite a disappointing season. By bringing back Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan and signing 2016 IPL Final man-of-the-match Ben Cutting, they have got the much-needed back-ups for the Windies duo of Narine and Russell, who failed to fire last season. KKR will also be buoyed by the smash-hit international debut of Prasidh Krishna, who took 4/54 in the first ODI against England in the recently-concluded series. This would also mean KKR would have a settled pace attack spearheaded by Aussie superstar Pat Cummins with Lockie Ferguson as the back-up option. WEAKNESSES: Once their strength, KKR of late has struggled in the spin department. Left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is a shadow of his past and retuned with just one wicket in five matches, of which he was not given the ball in one. One of the architects of their twin triumphs in 2012 and 2014 under Gambhir, Sunil Narine is also floundering. Narine's action once again came to haunt him in 2020 as he was warned of suspect action and went on to miss four matches. Before that he had to be pulled out of CPL final for Trinbago Knight Riders as he was found chucking. It was another mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy a Tamil Naud architect-turned-cricketer who took up the responsibility in Narine's absence to finish with most wickets -- 17 -- for KKR. But Chakravarthy's fitness has come under the scanner time and again as it remains to be seen how he shapes up for the IPL. OPPORTUNITIES: Having decided to step away from being captain to "focus on his batting", Dinesh Karthik too will look to make amends in 2021. Then there are the seasoned duo of Shakib-Al-Hasan and veteran Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh who too will look to make most of the limited opportunities that come their way on slow tracks on offer in Delhi and Chennai. KKR have two interesting uncapped new signings in Venkatesh Iyer and Vaibhav Arora, who too will look to grab their opportunities. Left-hand Madhya Pradesh batsman Iyer is fresh from a blistering 146-ball 198 against Punjab in the Vijay Harare Trophy. Himachal Pradesh medium-pacer Arora is in the form of his life after taking a hat-trick on debut against Maharashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. THREATS: KKR would need good start from opener Shubman Gill to give better starts this year in the Powerplay overs. Gill consumed a lot of deliveries upfront in most games which did create pressure on middle-order. The Morgan-led side would look to ensure that they get a winning combination, something that eluded them last time as they would be desperate to make the cut. KKR Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Sandeep Warrier, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer and Pawan Negi.

Kolkata, Mar 31 (PTI) Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's inclusion may have raised quite a few eyebrows but Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan on Wednesday said it has boosted their spin force keeping in mind of Chennai's slow turners in the upcoming IPL. The 40-year-old, who skipped the IPL in Dubai last year, was bought by the two-time IPL champions at his base price of Rs 2 crore after he had gone unsold in the first round. He will join the likes of Sunil Narine, Shakib-al-Hasan, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy in KKR's spin department. "Adding Harbhajan to our squad has strengthened us in a really good way. When you look at our spin department as a whole, on paper, it's one of the best in the tournament and that's factual," the KKR skipper said in a virtual media conference. Owing to the pandemic, IPL 2021 will be held across six venues from April 9-May 30 with no team getting to play at home. The tournament will kick-start in Chennai where 10 matches will be held. "If you look at the options that we have and the conditions that we might play in probably particularly in Chennai, which notoriously can turn or at least raise the eyebrows of our spinners which is hard to do. "It's an area that if we play well in the tournament I think our spinners will have bowled well and contributed in that regard," the World Cup winning English skipper said. Morgan, who was appointed skipper midway into their dwindling campaign last season, said this time the squad is well-rounded and the biggest strength would be their middle-order. "The one positive, amongst others last year was the versatility within our middle order and the flexibility to either promote Sunil or promote myself or DK. "The strength within the middle order is, if we play well, there's a lot of teams who will not enjoy playing against us. It is one of the strengths of our side, we need to make the right call in when to play the best hand. And that's one of the things that we learned from last year," he said. KKR missed the playoffs for a second successive time last year, missing out on net run-rate as this year they have retained most of the players. Their two big foreign recruits have been Shakib-al-Hasan and Ben Cutting, while also adding Harbhajan and an out-of-form Karun Nair apart from a number of young Indian talents. Morgan said they have a good bench strength this season to deal with the challenges of injury and illness. "The IPL is the biggest tournament in the world that has the best players. It is highly competitive. One of the challenges for a successful campaign is the battle with injury and illness along the way, whether you like it or not it does happen throughout a season, so planning needs to be put in place in order to strengthen your squad in all areas. "We did that this year at the auction, which we're hoping will best position ourselves to both have quite a versatile team when it comes to selection, but also have strength and depth if needed." Morgan, who missed the last two ODIs against India due to a split-webbing, said he's all set to be back in action after removing the stitches on Thursday. "The stitches will be removed tomorrow and then I'll progress my batting in the coming days and then fielding at the back of the end of that. Given the time frame that is available for me it's looking very good," he added.

Chennai, Feb 18 (PTI) IPL's perennial under-performer Glenn Maxwell once again fetched big money at the players auction with Royal Challengers Bangalore bidding a whopping Rs 14.25 crore to secure his services here on Friday. England all-rounder Moeen Ali also went for a high price of Rs 7 crore to Chennai Super Kings. Both Maxwell and Moeen had base prices of Rs 2 crore. In contrast, Australian Steve Smith, who was released by Rajasthan Royals, was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 2.20 crore, only Rs 20 lakh more than his base price. KKR made the opening bid for Maxwell but it eventually became a two-way bidding war between Chennai Super Kings and RCB before the Virat Kohli-led team won him with a bid which came to USD 1.96 million. Punjab Kings, who had paid Rs 10.75 crore for Maxwell in the previous auction, had released the 32-year-old following the 2020 edition in which he made 108 runs in 13 games at 15.42. In 82 IPL games, Maxwell has made 1505 runs at a modest average of 22.13. In the first hour of the auction, the players who went unsold were Karun Nair, Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Kedar Jadhav and Aaron Finch among others.

Chennai, Feb 18 (PTI) Chris Morris on Friday surpassed Yuvraj Singh to become the most expensive buy in the IPL auction history with Rajasthan Royals shelling out Rs 16.25 crore for the South African all-rounder here. Morris' big pay day came after another all-rounder and perennial under-performer, Australian Glenn Maxwell, once again managed to attract a winning Rs 14.25 crore bid from Royal Challengers Bangalore. Morris, who came with a base price of Rs 75 lakh, generated bids from four teams before it became a battle between Royals and Punjab Kings. Royals eventually sealed it with a record bid which made Morris the costliest buy at the auction ever, surpassing Yuvraj Singh, who was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 16 crore in 2015. The costliest player in the IPL remains Virat Kohli, retained for Rs 17 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore. In 70 IPL games, Morris has scored 551 runs at 23.95 and taken 80 wickets at 23.98. Earlier, KKR made the opening bid for Maxwell but it eventually became a two-way war between Chennai Super Kings and RCB before the Virat Kohli-led team won him with a bid which came to USD 1.96 million. "We wanted to get an X-factor player and we are delighted to get Maxwell," RCB Director of Cricket Mike Hesson said. Punjab Kings, who had paid Rs 10.75 crore for Maxwell in the previous auction, had released the 32-year-old following the 2020 edition in which he made 108 runs in 13 games at 15.42. In 82 IPL games, Maxwell has made 1505 runs at a modest average of 22.13. England all-rounder Moeen Ali also went for a high price of Rs 7 crore to Chennai Super Kings. Both Maxwell and Moeen had base prices of Rs 2 crore. Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan was lapped up by KKR for Rs 3.2 crore. He missed the IPL last year as he was serving a ban for failing to report a corrupt approach. Australian Steve Smith, who was released by Rajasthan Royals, was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 2.20 crore, only Rs 20 lakh more than his base price. In the first hour of the auction, the players who went unsold were Hanuma Vihari, Karun Nair, Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Kedar Jadhav and Aaron Finch among others.

Ahmedabad, Jan 26 (PTI) Punjab knocked defending champions Karnataka out from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as their bowlers set up a comfortable nine-wicket win in the first quarter-final, here on Tuesday. Punjab first dismissed Karnataka for meagre 87 and then overhauled the target in 12.4 overs in what turned out to be a lopsided contest at the Sardar Patel stadium. Pacers Siddharth Kaul (3/15) and Sandeep Sharma (2/17) ran through the Karnataka top-order after they were sent in to bat. Karnataka was reeling at 26 for three, after openers Karun Nair (12) and Devdutt Padikkal (11) fell cheaply. Pavan Deshpande (0) was dismissed off his second ball, as Mayank Markande took a diving catch. Kaul dismissed both Padikkal and Deshpande in the fourth over. It soon became 26 for four, as young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (2/16) dismissed B R Sharath (2), who was caught in the slip cordon. All-rounder Shreyas Gopal (13), who has often come to Karnataka's rescue too could not convert his start as he edged to wicket-keeper Prabhsimran Singh off pacer Ramandeep Singh (2/22) as Karnataka lost its half side for 51. Ramandeep got his second wicket when he sent back J Suchith (8) to leave Karnataka at 72 for six. Leggie Mayank Markande (1/12) then got into the act as he cleaned up a well-set Anirudh Joshi (27). Punjab continued their dominance over their opposition and ran through their lower order. Punjab lost opener Abhishek Sharma (4) early but Prabhsimran Singh (49 not out off 37 balls) and Mandeep Singh (35 not out ) ensured that the chase was walk in the park with their 85-run unbeaten stand for the second wicket. Prabhsimran, who took on the listless Karnataka attack, fittingly finished the game with a six. Brief Scores: Karnataka 87 all out (Aniruddha Joshi 27, Shreyas Gopal 13; Siddharth Kaul 3/15, Arshdeep Singh 2/16) lost to Punjab 89/1 (Prabhsimran Singh 49 not out, Mandeep Singh 35 not out; A Mithun 1/11) by 9 wickets.