Navi Mumbai, May 16 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal won the toss and opted to bowl in their Indian Premier League match against Delhi Capitals here on Monday.

Delhi Capitals made two changes with Khaleel Ahmed and Sarfaraz Khan coming in place of Chetan Sakariya and KS Bharat.

Punjab Kings fielded an unchanged side.

The Teams: Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (c/w), David Warner, Sarfaraz Khan, Mitchell Marsh, Lalit Yadav, Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed.

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

Also Read : Felt that season didn't really start for us till the first win: David

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) The similarities between PBKS and DC’s campaign is pretty much identical with 12 points in as many games. Neither of them have won two games on the bounce in IPL 2022, pointing to familiar inconsistency that both these franchises have faced this year. On the contrary both the teams will be on the back of resounding victories as PBKS dented Bangalore and their playoffs hopes, while Delhi stalled Rajasthan Royals march into top-two with an eight-wicket statement win

PBKS batting department has come off good in the last two matches as Jonny Bairstow has struck form after being moved to the top of the order, hitting fifties in the last two games. His blazing knock against Royal Challengers allowed Liam Livingstone to play himself in before going on an all-out attack,  Livingstone has the second-best strike rate of 180.75 in IPL 2022 and has hit the third-highest number of sixes (29), only behind Jos Buttler (37) and Andre Russell (32). Mayank Agarwal changed his batting position to number 4, but he hasn’t been able to score many runs for his franchise. In the bowling department, Rishi Dhawan has shown he can shoulder the responsibility of the fifth bowler, while the inclusion of Harpreet Brar has given them another spin option along with Rahul Chahar. Punjab's pace duo of Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada have the best economy of 9.9 in death overs this IPL even though the South African has done the bulk of wicket-taking in that phase.

DC last match rode on the brilliance of Mitchell Marsh and David Warner to win the match as  Marsh hit 89 off 62 balls, apart from picking up 2 for 25 from his three overs against RR. With 1005 runs in 22 innings and with 12 half-century knocks, Warner is the leading run-scorer against Punjab in the IPL. For DC there is some positive news as Prithvi Shaw will be back in the playing XI. In the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav's dwindling returns with just 5 wickets in the second half at an average of 37.2 as compared to the 13 in the first at 14.31, and his economy jumping to nearly 10 from 7.86 is a bit of worry for the DC management. Khaleel Ahmed missed the last match but he too has been in form and might replace Shardul Thakur who has had a very underwhelming season according to his high standards. Since the start of 2021, Liam Livingstones has the lowest average (17.66) against left-arm wrist spin, while the lowest strike rate (133.11) is against left-arm orthodox spin. 

Pitch and weather report: The DY Patil stadium has thrown in some mixed results as both bowlers and batters have got some joy on this pitch. Chasing has been a trend at this venue with the toss-winning captain opting to bat first just twice so far this IPL. 10 out of 18 games have been won by chasing sides. The temperature is going to hover around 31 degrees as no rain is expected today.

Interesting facts:

• PBKS have five 60+ Powerplay totals while DC has three such totals in IPL 2022
• With 1133 runs in 29 innings at an average of 47.2, Mitch Marsh is the top run-getter at one down  position in T20 cricket since 2021.
• Rabada is  on 97 wickets from just 61 IPL games, and could potentially overtake Lasith Malinga as the fastest to 100 tournament wickets who did it in 70 matches 
• Kagiso Rabada has got Warner out five times in 83 balls. But Warner has taken 124 off him, at a strike rate of 149.39.
• Kuldeep has the edge over Shikhar Dhawan as he has been dismissed twice in 37 balls while giving away only 34 runs.
• Mayank Agarwal has scored only 36 runs off 43 balls against Axar but has never been dismissed by him.

Also read: All-round RR humble LSG by 24 runs, inch closer to play-offs

Probable XI for PBKS:

1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh

Probable XI for DC:

1 David Warner, 2 Prithvi Shaw/KS Bharat, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Lalit Yadav, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Chetan Sakariya
 

Navi Mumbai, May 15 (Cricket News) Two teams struggling for consistency, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, will aim to outdo each other in a bid to keep their play-offs hopes alive in the Indian Premier League here on Monday.

Both teams are yet to string back-to-back wins this season but neither side can afford another defeat in their remaining league games.

Punjab are seventh on the points table with 12 points and a Net Run Rate of +0.023. The Capitals also have a dozen points and are fifth thanks to a healthy NRR of +0.210, which will benefit them if two or more teams end on the same number of points.

The Capitals head to the fixture high on confidence after an eight wicket-win over Rajasthan Royals while Punjab pummelled RCB in their previous game.

In Delhi skipper Rishbah Pant's words "it was close to a perfect game".

While opener David Warner continues to enjoy his purple patch, the second opening slot remains a cause of concern with Mandeep Singh and Srikar Bharat failing miserably in Prithvi Shaw's absence, who has also not fared well this season.

Although Shaw, who was down with typhoid, has been discharged from the hospital, it is to be seen if the youngster is fit enough to play the crucial game on Monday.

To DC's relief Mitchell Marsh finally joined the party. The big-hitting all-rounder shook off the rust to star with the bat and ball against RR. His and Warner's role will be crucial.

A lot will also rest on how Pant performs. The skipper looked in his element during his unconquered short 4-ball stay against RR as he whacked two sixes but hasn't played the match-winning innings he is capable of yet.

Rovman Powell has proven that hitting four and sixes comes easy to him and he can win matches with some assistance form the top order.

They will have to navigate through a bowling attack ably led by Kagiso Rabada, who is the highest wicket taker among pacers this season.

The ever-improving Arshdeep Singh has been brilliant for Punjab, especially in the death overs, landing yorkers at will while Rahul Chahar has been expensive.

The DC bowling department, on the other hand, was right on the mark against RR.

Young Chetan Sakaria bowled brilliantly in the absence of the Khaleel Ahmed, who injured his hamstring, while pace spearhead Anrich Nortje is also finding his rhythm.

However, the weakest link continues to be Shardul Thakur, who has been leaking runs and has few wickets to show for it.

Against the flamboyant Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, the Delhi bowlers will have their task cut out.

The English duo of Bairstow and Livingstone can tear apart any attack as it show against RCB.

Dhawan has been Punjab's leading-run getter with 400 plus and he will be expected rise to the occasion in a do-or-die game. Bairstow has found his groove after being promoted to the top alongside Dhawan and that is a big positive for the team.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who has impressed with his hitting ability, will need to do more than playing a flash in the pan sort of innings.

Skipper Mayank Agarwal, who has moved himself down the order, has been far from his best with the bat this season. With the team seeking survival, there will no better time for him to play a captain's knock on Monday.

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.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (C), Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

Match starts 7:30PM IST. 

Also Read : Why change something that's working: Moody happy to continue with Williamson as opener

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, May 14 (Cricket News) Many seniors including captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are all set to be rested for the upcoming five-match T20 series against South Africa, with an eye on the marquee tour of England in July.

Besides, the national selection committee is also set to excuse Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant from the engagements against the Proteas.

It is understood that veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has impressed one and all with his captaincy for Gujarat Titans in IPL-15, are in reckoning for the leadership role for both South Africa and the short two-match T20I series against Ireland.

The T20 rubber against the Proteas will start in the national capital on June 9 with the remaining matches being held at Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot and Bengaluru respectively.

The squad for the SA series is likely to be selected on May 22 -- the last day of the league phase of this edition of IPL -- in Mumbai.

The PTI has already reported that an out-of-form Virat Kohli will also be given a much-needed break but it is understood that for the selectors as well as the BCCI, the tour of England starting early July is paramount.

"All the senior India players will get at least three and half weeks of complete rest. Rohit, Virat, KL, Rishabh and Jasprit will all directly go to England for the 'fifth Test' following the white-ball series. We need all our key players to remain fresh for the England series," a senior BCCI source privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

As a part of workload management, all the senior all-format players will not be part of the next seven T20 Internationals.

Asked about captaincy, the source said: "The selectors have a couple of choices. Shikhar Dhawan, as he has already captained India in absence of Virat, Rohit and Rahul during last year's Sri Lanka series. But Hardik Pandya's impressive captaincy for Gujarat Titans hasn't gone unnoticed. So it will be a close call," he added.

Mohsin Khan could pip Umran Malik in SA squad ---------------------------------------------------- While Umran Malik has generated considerable excitement with his 150 kmph plus pace, there is a feeling that he is too raw and time with the India A team could help him develop better.

While he remains in the mix with death overs specialist Arshdeep Singh, the man who is emerging as a 'Dark Horse' is Lucknow Super Giants' left-armer Mohsin Khan.

"Our pace bowling department is set and selectors might not experiment too much," he said.

"But yes, Mohsin has impressed almost everyone with his pace, bounce and swing in this edition. He does have a chance. Having said that, not ruling out Umran or Arshdeep either, but Mohsin might just be slightly ahead," he added.

It is understood that most of the players who recently played in the T20 series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies are set to be retained irrespective of their current IPL form.

Obviously Suryakumar Yadav or Ravindra Jadeja's injury needs to be factored in and Deepak Chahar will also not be available.

The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda along with Dhawan and Hardik are set to form the core of the batting unit. Sanju Samson could also be retained and there could be at the max one left field selection in the squad.

In the pace bowling unit, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan are all certainties, along with the IPL's stellar spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. Kuldeep Yadav is also expected to make the cut. 

Also Read : Unrest in CSK? Rayudu backtracks after announcing 'IPL retirement'

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 13 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings buried Royal Challengers Bangalore under a deluge of runs as they kept their play-off hopes alive with 54-run victory, riding on superb half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone in an IPL match here on Friday.

Bairstow (66 off 29 balls) and Livingstone (70 off 42 balls) propelled Punjab Kings to 209 for 9 in a must-win game and the scoreboard was always going to be telling as RCB were restricted to 155 for 9 in 20 overs.

While Punjab remain in the mix with 12 points from as many games, the margin of victory considerably improved their net run-rate to +0.210 and RCB despite having 14 points from 13 games are at a -0.323.

RCB will have to win their final game and move to 16 points but also now need to have some rub of the green with a few favourable results going their way.

It was another day and another failure for Virat Kohli (20), who got a faint under-edge tickle on his gloves before it hit his thigh pad and bobbed up to short fine leg off a Kagiso Rabada (4-0-21-3) delivery.

Rabada was literally unplayable on the day as he worked good pace and hit the ideal fuller length for better part of his spell.

Rishi Dhawan (4-0-36-2), perhaps the weakest link in Punjab attack, then made up for his lack of pace by hitting immaculate length as Faf du Plessis edged one to Jitesh Sharma behind stumps and Mahipal Lomror's rasping pull shot was taken by Shikhar Dhawan.

Rajat Patidar (26) and Glenn Maxwell (35) did add 64 runs but they were never in the game with both departing in quick succession.

And when Dinesh Karthik (11) was snuffed out by the brilliant Arshdeep Singh (4-0-27-1) with a wide yorker and a catch by short third-man on the circle, RCB fizzled out in a jiffy.

Earlier, Bairstow's opening blitzkrieg found its ideal match in Livingstone's finishing carnage.

While Bairstow laid the foundation with a 29-ball-66, Livingstone was equally good in his 42-ball-70 as the RCB bowlers had a day which they would like to forget in a hurry.

Bairstow, who was rusty during the earlier phase of the tournament, was back in his element with as many as seven sixes and four boundaries during a knock where he literally went hell for leather.

Such was his dominance that by the time six overs of Powerplay ended, Bairstow had hit seven towering sixes and Shikhar Dhawan (21 off 15 balls) rubbed salt to the wound with another one which made it eight in all.

Punjab Kings, which had set the template of blazing Powerplay starts, got 83 in six overs with Glenn Maxwell (1/17 in 2 overs), Josh Hazlewood (0/64 in 4 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (0/36 in 2 overs) being treated with utter disdain.

While Maxwell did manage to get Dhawan, both Hazlewood and Siraj were guilty of bowling short on a pitch offering true bounce. Bairstow effortlessly pulled and flicked them into the stands and by the time, deliveries pitched up, they landed in the stands as well. It only helped that the boundary on one side was 66 metres only, which is a dream for any power-hitter.

Siraj had a forgettable first spell where he was hit for four sixes, while Hazlewood in his first over had gone for 22. The Australian had his worst IPL figures ever.

However post Powerplay, once Wanindu Hasaranga (2/15 in 4 overs) and Shahbaz Ahmed (1/40 in 4 overs) started operating, RCB stemmed the flow of runs with some tight wicket-to-wicket bowling.

Bengal left-arm spinner Shahbaz was rewarded for his tight lines as Bairstow finally mistimed one and Siraj did well to pouch the skier.

After 83 in the first six, there was a drastic dip in scoring as 22 came in between 7th and 10th overs.

Both Hasaranga and Shahbaz bowled wide outside the off-stump not letting Livingstone and Agarwal to charge down the track.

Still the Englishman managed a couple of sixes and a reverse swept boundary to continue his good form in the competition and then muscled into the stands towards the fag end even as Harshal Patel (4/34 in 4 overs) was exceptional at the death.

His fifty came off 35 balls and by the time he was out, he had four out of those 14 sixes in the Punjab innings. 

Also Read : Bairstow, Livingstone power Punjab to 209 for 9 against Royal Challengers Bangalore

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) A win for RCB would virtually guarantee them a place in the playoffs as they breach the magical 16 point mark for qualification. The equation for PBKS is pretty simple, they need to win their remaining games if they want to qualify for the playoffs.

PBKS have won 5 matches this season and seem to be paddling through a familiar storyline, with the team turning out to be inconsistent. To make matters worse, their NRR of -.231 isn't impressive either. In the batting department, Johnny Bairstow finally found form after being promoted to the top order as captain Mayank Agarwal continues his struggles with the bat, in the lower order Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma are playing the finisher roles in the team as their are masking Shahrukh Khan's modest form. In the bowling department, they have picked the second-fewest wickets in the middle overs of the innings and have the worst economy rate in the middle overs also. Once again they have to heavily depend upon Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar to strike crucial blows. Rabada has dismissed his former South African skipper Du Plessis thrice in T20 cricket.

RCB are a win away from virtually sealing their place in the top four but Faf Du Plessis and co will be worried about their poor net run rate which leaves them with less room to work with. The last 4 out of the 5 batters scored 30’s and helped them reach a mammoth total. One of the key players in the past few games has been Rajat Patidar, who was brought in belatedly as a replacement player but has been a revelation at the no 3 spot. Dinesh Karthik continued his fine form this season and will again be the key player against PBKS as he will be assigned with the job to finish the innings. In the bowling department, Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will be the key as Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan have been dismissed four times each against spin while Bairstow has fallen twice to spin in IPL 2022. Hasaranga also dismissed Mayank at the start of the tournament. 

Pitch and weather report: The Brabourne Stadium pitch has been on the slower side as batting becomes difficult with the older ball but the last match played on this venue was on 6th May as we can expect a new pitch for this game. Spinners will play a crucial role in the match. The temperature is going to hover around 30 degrees with no chance of rain as dew might play a factor in the second innings.

Interesting facts:

• Karthik, Livingstone, Rajapaksa and Jitesh have the highest strike rates for the first 10 balls faced, in IPL 2022
• Faf du Plessis has scored 702 runs in 13 innings against the PBKS
• Arshdeep has given away just five sixes off the 38 overs he has bowled this season, the least for a bowler this season
• Kohli has been dismissed in the first 15 balls on eight occasions in IPL 2022
• Rabada has taken 18 wickets which is  the most by a pacer in IPL 2022
• Virat Kohli needs  one more run to become the first player to 6500 runs in the IPL
• Mayank Agarwal needs seven more runs to reach 1500 runs for PBKS in the IPL. 

Also read: CSK's fast bowling stock will be strengthened next season, hints Dhoni

Probable XI for PBKS:

1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Rahul Chahar, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Probably XI for RCB:

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

Mumbai, May 12 (Cricket News) Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have found much-needed momentum towards the business end of IPL, will back themselves to ride past an inconsistent Punjab Kings and get closer to a play-off spot here on Friday.

Having put up complete performances in their last two games, RCB seemed to have figured out their best combination. Barring Virat Kohli, all of their batters are in top form with uncapped Rajat Patidar and Mahipal Lomror complementing seasoned pros like skipper Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik, who has been among the best finishers in the tournament alongside Gujarat's Rahul Tewatia.

The bowling packs a punch too in the presence of in-form pacers Josh Hazlewood and the ever-reliable Harshal Patel. Mohammad Siraj has not been at his best but trust him to deliver when the team wants it the most.

Maxwell has been handy with his off-spin, both in powerplay and middle overs, while Wanindu Hasaranga is among the leading wicket-takers in the tournament with 21 scalps including a five-wicket haul.

"What we are trying to get better as a team is making sure that one of those top-four creates a bit of a base. We have got some really strong hitters at the back. "The games where we didn't do so well, there was a big cluster of wickets in the powerplay. Obviously need some stability but at the same time you gonna make sure you don't go into defensive mode," said du Plessis after the massive win over SRH.

Kohli, who is in the middle of his worst IPL season, is due for an impact knock and that could come against Punjab. A win on Friday would take RCB to 16 points though 18 seems to be a safe number for a play-off berth.

Punjab, who have three games left, need to win all to have a shot at the top-four finish. They had started their campaign with a win over RCB and are on 10 points with five wins and six losses.

The fact that they have not been able to win two games in a row sums up their inconsistent run. Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa have delivered at the top, so has Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma in finishing the innings. Jonny Bairstow finally got runs after being promoted to open the innings alongside Dhawan.

Skipper Mayank Agarwal, who has moved himself down the order, needs to lead from the front.

On the bowling front, Sandeep Sharma has been tidy but could do with some wickets in the powerplay. Lead pacer Kagiso Rabada has done well to take 18 wickets but has gone for close to 9 runs per over.

Arshdeep Singh has been brilliant, especially in the death overs, and has impressed many with his ability to land yorkers at will.

Despite a solid squad at their disposal, Punjab have flattered to deceive and they must raise their game before it is too late yet again.

Teams (From): Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (C), 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, Siddharth Kaul.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (C), Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

Match starts 7:30PM IST. 

Also Read : It was communicated to me properly that I will be used higher up in batting order: Ashwin

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, May 7 (Cricket News) Jonny Bairstow signalled his return to form with a fine half-century before Jitesh Sharma's cameo propelled Punjab Kings to a sizeable 189 for 5 against Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match on Saturday.

On a day, when their leading run-getter Shikhar Dhawan (12 from 16b) struggled to get going, Bairstow (56 off 40 balls) looked effortless once he had settled down and reached his first IPL fifty this season, eighth overall, in 34 balls.

Bairstow however failed to convert it into a big one as Punjab lost three wickets for 30 runs in the middle overs with current 'Purple Cap' holder Yuzvendra Chahal denting their progress with his triple-strike (3/28).

Chahal, who had just two wickets from the last four matches, started to look threatening again, stalling their progress in the middle overs.

The leg-spinner had skipper Mayank Agarwal for the sixth time in 10 innings and went on to dismiss Punjab top-scorer Bairstow in the space of three deliveries.

But it was little known Jitesh who came up with his career-best IPL score and lit the stage on fire with his clean-hitting skills as Punjab scored 67 runs in the last five overs to prop up their total.

Promoted at No. 5 ahead of Liam Livingstone (22 off 14 balls), Jitesh clobbered four boundaries and two sixes in his unbeaten 38 from 18 balls.

Electing to bat, it was all about Bairstow early on. The English swashbuckler had managed just 80 runs from seven appearances this season, at a lacklustre strike rate of 105.26, which did raise questions avout his place in the playing eleven.

The Agarwal-led side kept their faith in Bairstow and the skipper even sacrificed his opening slot in their last match (vs Gujarat Titans).

It was a move that finally paid off against the Royals as he overcame an anxious start and took the Royal attack to the cleaners, smashing eight fours and one six in his 40-ball knock.

Dhawan looked impatient and conceded a maiden against Trent Boult early on and finally departed off a superb one-handed catch running backwards by Jos Buttler. 

Also Read : IPL: Punjab win toss, opt to bat against Rajasthan Royals

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

New Delhi, May 4 (Cricket News) Their current form may not inspire confidence but skipper Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will be indispensable in the Indian team during the T20 World Cup in Australia but a change in their batting order may be considered for the benefit of the side, say experts.

While IPL is an indicator of current form but the national selection committee under Chetan Sharma at this point is not even remotely harbouring any such thoughts, at least not for the time being.

However, one point that is being debated is whether skipper Rohit, his deputy Rahul and team's premier batter Kohli will occupy the top three slots in the batting order at the mega event, set to be played in Australia in October-November.

In the last World T20, their batting order didn't yield favourable results and the approach of the top three was mildly criticised as all of them employed pretty similar styles of first settling down and then going for attack.

Rohit since then has changed his approach and has been seen going hammer and tongs although big runs have eluded the India and MI captain. Rohit certainly would like to better his 155 runs from 9 games at a strike-rate of 123.

Kohli's woeful form has continued for way too long now and 186 runs in 10 games at a lowly strike-rate of 116 is neither indicative of former skipper's quality nor his calibre.

Rahul is playing the role of an anchor for LSG and with 451 runs at an average of 145, he has been in a league of his own.

However there is a worrying piece of statistic which skipper Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid will have to address before Team India hits road with some 15-odd T20Is lined up before World Cup.

The trio hasn't exactly set the Powerplay (first six overs) on fire.

Sample this.

In 10 games so far, Rahul has played 55 dots in Powerplay overs and has compiled a total of 141 off 126 balls in these overs across games with a strike-rate of 111.90. In those games in PP overs, he has hit 15 fours and four sixes.

Rohit in this period has played 56 dots in powerplays in 9 games, scoring 136 off 104 balls at 130.76 strike-rate.

In case of Kohli, he has batted in Powerplay in seven games and has played 16 dot balls but scored 61 runs in 55 balls during the period.

The numbers show that all three are taking their time in the first six overs and perhaps even all three are playing, at least one -- preferably Rahul can come down the batting order and allow a bit of rejig around Rohit and Virat.

So what do the experts think about the trio's batting order? Former chairman of selectors MSK Prasad and his colleague Devang Gandhi had slightly divergent views while analyst former India keeper Deep Dasgupta had a completely different take.

"These three are indispensable if fit. There is no way that you can leave anyone of them for the World T20. But yes, if I look at numbers, I might just try someone like Shikhar Dhawan at the opening slot and check Rahul out at No.4. He has a T20 hundred in Manchester some years back in middle-order, so why not," Prasad told PTI.

"But yes, I want Virat to take a significant break and before the Asia Cup, he should be fresh, up and running," Prasad said.

For Gandhi, in a big tournament like the T20 World Cup, he isn't too keen on experimentation and doesn't want to rock the boat.

"These are your proven performers and when they play for India, it is completely different from the roles they have for their franchises. Also when we talk about changes, we should know who are the replacements? Are they good enough and better than those three in pressure scenario during a Pakistan game? You need to factor in," Gandhi said.

For Dasgupta, T20 by nature is a game that warrants a different philosophy and guiding principles.

"In Tests or ODIs, we normally find players, check them out and accordingly assign roles to them. In T20, you need to do the reverse. You first decide roles and then fit in players.

"They can still play the trio as number 1, 2 and 3 but there has to be specific role which they should be told long before the tournament," Dasgupta said.

Asked in case, a change is required, Dasgupta feels that Dhawan or Prithvi Shaw should be kept in the set-up and may be tried out if necessary. 

Also Read : Coaches feel Sai Sudharsan has talent to go places

News Source : PTI

Navi Mumbai, May 4 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings pacer Sandeep Sharma said that the DY Patil track, which was "sticky" in the beginning helped their bowlers in the IPL game against Gujarat Titans, which they won by eight wickets.

First South African pacer Kagiso Rabada snared four wickets to restrict Gujarat Titans to a below-par 143 for eight and then Punjab rode on flamboyant opener Shikhar Dhawan's unbeaten 62 to chase the target with 24 balls to spare.

"Today the wicket (the track) also helped us. It was sticky in the beginning, which helped the new ball to move and the ball was holding on the wicket," Sharma, who returned with figures of 0/17, said at the post-match press conference. "We wanted to execute the plans that we had discussed with (head coach) Anil (Kumble) Sir and we were lucky that it happened today (last night)," said Sharma.

Sharma also felt that the Punjab bowlers came with the mindset of executing their plans and they bowled well throughout the innings.

"We bowled well in all the overs. We have very experienced bowlers in our team who have played in the league. So we wanted to execute the plans and if they got a partnership, we should stick to the plan in pressure moments," he said.

The win helped Punjab jump to the fifth spot and according to Sharma, the Mayank Agarwal-led team is focusing on one game at a time from now.

"Now all the matches are crucial for us. But more important is that we take one game at a time, like we mentally prepared for this match and came with a positive mindset and similarly we go into the next game. And we will try to execute the plans.

"Yes, we have a good team, we lost two close matches, had we won that, we would have been better on the points table. As a group, we have left that behind and are focusing on the next four games, one by one," he signed off.

Miller rues tumbling of regular wickets for loss and dew factor ====================================== Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans batter David Miller, who managed just 11 runs, rued the loss of regular wickets for the loss along with the dew factor. "It is difficult when you are losing wickets throughout. In the first 10 overs, we were under the pump and there were one or two brilliant moments from the Kings, with (Shubman) Gill getting run out with a direct hit," he said.

According to Miller, Gujarat Titans didn't score enough runs.

"We didn't put enough runs on the board. It was a tough loss but something that we are going to dissect and talk about as a team going forward," the left-handed batter added.

He also said that the bowlers wanted to take the game as deep as possible but Liam Livingstone turned the game on its head with his brutal hitting.

"There is obviously a lot of dew out there, so bowling with a wet ball and the ball does skid on in the evening, so it was quite challenging to defend that (score).

"But our plan towards bowling in the back end was to try and take the game as deep as possible, but (Liam) Livingstone came in and played that knock in one over, that changed the game," he added.

Livingstone, who made a brisk 30 went hammer and tongs on senior India speedster Mohammed Shami, hitting him for three sixes and two boundaries, that finished the game in the 16th over.

Also Read : We wanted to come out of our comfort zone: Hardik on batting first

News Source :  PTI

Navi Mumbai, May 3 (Cricket news) The decision to go against the trend and bat first did not pay off but it is something Gujarat Titans needed to do to get out of their comfort zone ahead of the bigger battles that await them in the IPL, said skipper Hardik Pandya.

Titans, who lead the IPL points table with eight wins from 10 games and are set to reach the play-offs, lost to Punjab by eight wickets here on Tuesday.

Titatns struggled to 143 for eight which Punjab chased down in 16 overs.

"We weren't even close to a par score. 170 would have been ideal, but we kept losing wickets regularly and never came anywhere near it. I backed ourselves with the bat, batting first wasn't a wrong call, we needed to come out of our comfort zone," said Hardik.

"We have chased well in this tournament, if required (later in the tournament), we had to know how to set targets. This is part of a learning curve, but this is all about learning to come out of our own comfort zone.

"We were always talking about getting better even when we were winning, we would talk about things that didn't go our way today and would look to come back better in the coming games." Punjab skipper Mayank Agarwal lauded his team after the much-needed win. He decided to drop himself down the order to accommodate Jonny Bairstow at the top alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

Explaining the move, he said: "We are trying to get the best out of Jonny. He's done well opening. I said, 'It's okay, I'll bat at four, I'll anchor the innings at four'. With Livi it was clear, Shikhar to bat through and Livi could go out and play the way he wants to play. It was nice the way he played, got the score quickly," said Agarwal.

He also said his team must gain some consistency as the race for a play-off spot gets more intense.

"We would like to string a few (wins), no better time than getting a few wins back-to-back." 

Also read : Punjab Kings beat Gujarat Titans by 8 wickets (IPL)

News Source : PTI

Navi Mumbai, May 3 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings defeated Gujarat Titans by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.

Gujarat Titans were restricted to 143 for eight by Punjab Kings after they opted to bat. Sai Sudharsan top-scored for the Titans with an unbeaten 65 off 50 balls.

In reply, Punjab Kings completed the chase with 24 balls to spare with opener Shikhar Dhawan making 62 off 53 balls.

Among PBKS bowlers, pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada finished with excellent figures of 4/33 in four overs. Sandeep Sharma conceded only 17 runs in his four overs, while Rishi Dhawan bagged a wicket for 26 runs in his full quota of four overs at the D Y Patil Stadium.

Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 143/8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 64 not out; Kagiso Rabada 4/33, Rishi Dhawan 1/26, Sandeep Sharma 0/17).

Punjab Kings: 145/2 in 16 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 62 not out, Liam Livingstone 30 not out, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 40). 

Also Read : Rabada takes four as Punjab Kings restrict Gujarat Titans to 143/8

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Gujarat Titans have hardly put a foot wrong in this year’s tournament, they are not just winning games in their first season of the Indian Premier League, they are defying odds, outplaying their oppositions collectively. On the other hand Punjab Kings are still yet to fire as a collective union, Mayank Agarwal and co will hope to find the midas touch and go on a winning run.

The Gujarat Titans are going into the match knowing that a victory will virtually seal their place in the top 4. "The way they are batting, it gives me the confidence that even our No. 8, 9 and 10 can win us the game," their captain Hardik Pandya said after the game against RCB, the batting trio of Miller, Tewatia and Rashid Khan have been phenomenal finishing games for them. If you look closely at their team, Shubman Gill has managed only 80 runs in Titans' last six games, at a strike rate of 98.76 and they are still yet to figure out who their best No. 3 batter.  Along with that the added uncertainty around Pandya's bowling fitness, they have been forced to play an extra bowler and compromise their batting but that has all been masked with a terrific bowling unit and their lower order. 

Punjab Kings are looking for some consistency in their performance in this year’s IPL as they are languishing at seventh on the points table. The major concern this year is that they haven't figured out their best XI. In the batting department Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone have scored the bulk of the runs as the rest haven’t really got going in this year's tournament. In the bowling department the PBKS spinners have struggled the most as Rahul Chahar has conceded 254 runs at an economy rate of over 8 but on the other hand Arshdeep and Rabada have been the key in the death overs. Kagiso Rabada will hold the key in today’s match as he has managed to keep Shubhman Gill in check, conceding only 20 runs in 32 balls, and dismissing the Titans' opener twice and he has kept David Miller quiet conceding only 30 runs in 32 balls and also dismissing his international teammate once.

Pitch and weather report: The DY Patil pitch has been a mixed bag as a lot of runs have been scored and lots of wickets have also fallen at this venue. We can expect ballers to hit the deck hard in the first 6 overs as the pitch might offer some swing. The longer boundaries will play a major role in this match. The temperature is going to hover around 30 degrees, with no chance of rain as dew may play a part in the second innings.

Interesting facts:

• Wriddhiman Saha has scored 91 runs at a SR of 142.18 in the powerplay without getting out
• Dhawan has taken Mohammed Shami for 108 runs off 69 balls without getting out.
• Liam Livingstone has scored 86 runs off 52 balls against Rashid but has also been dismissed four times.
• Miller and Tewatia have added 236 runs in six innings this season at an average of 59 and a run rate of 10.48.
• Titans have won five run chases in the last over, two of them off the last ball only CSK in 2018 saw more last over finishes

Also read: Has Kolkata Knight Riders' retention policy failed already?

Probable XI for GT:
1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Yash Dayal/Pradeep Sangwan.

Probable XI for PBKS:
1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Sandeep Sharma.
 

Navi Mumbai, May 2 (Cricket News) Gujarat Titans, who have been remarkable in bouncing back from adverse situations, would look to seal a spot in the Play-offs when they clash with inconsistent Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), here on Tuesday.

Gujarat, the IPL debutants, are clearly the team to beat in the competition having won eight out of nine games. A sixth consecutive win will make them the first side to enter the play-offs.

A big reason for Gujarat's stellar run has been their ability to come back from tough situations.

Whether it is Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Rashid Khan or skipper Hardik Pandya -- they all have produced match-winning efforts during the course of the tournament. If one has failed, the other has risen to the occasion.

"That's the beauty of this team, people coming in and showing what they can do in clutch situations is becoming quite a habit, something I don't mind happening. We always back them to do it, but they're defying odds time and again," Hardik's words after the win over RCB summed up his team's sprit aptly. The last time Gujarat and Punjab met, they produced a cracking finish with Tewatia bringing his team back from the dead by smashing two sixes off the last two balls of the game.

Punjab would hope to be on the right side of the result and that the game doesn't go deep. They are in the middle of another inconsistent campaign and with five losses in nine games and are running out of time.

Their senior batters, captain Mayank Agarwal himself, Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone have done well in patches but have not been consistent enough.

Barring pacer Arshdeep Singh, who seems to be getting better with every game, the bowling department can also do better. They did well in the previous game but the batters flopped to let the team down. For Titans, wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha has been a great replacement for a struggling Matthew Wade.

His opening partner Shubman Gill has had starts but of late the elegant right-handed batter hasn't been among the runs and considering his potential, he would be keen to get back to form.

The batting mainstay for Gujarat has been Hardik, who has played responsible knocks, and with 308 runs is the third highest run-scorer.

A rare failure in the last game against the RCB shouldn’t bother the flamboyant all-rounder.

Their weak link is number three B Sai Sudharsan and he needs to take more responsibility along with Miller, who has been playing the role of a finisher to perfection.

Miller has taken the team over the line and along with Tewatia, who can hit sixes at will, is a formidable batter to have at the business end of the innings.

Another important cog for Gujarat is all-rounder Rashid Khan, who has also displayed his six-hitting prowess, to go with his crafty bowling.

Miller, Tewatia and Rashid have together hit 28 sixes and will be expected to keep doing the job.

Gujarat also have one of the most lethal attacks in the IPL.

While Mohammed Shami can wreak havoc with the new ball, the big-hitters in the Punjab line-up would be wary of the pace and variety which Lockie Ferguson brings with him.

They can also continue with Pradeep Sangwan, who returned with fine figures in his first IPL game after four seasons.

Teams (from): Gujarat Titans: Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudharsan, 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.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : Washington injured his bowling hand again, losing him against CSK impacted our bowling: Moody

News Source :PTI

Pune, Apr 29 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bowl against Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.

Punjab did not make any changes from the previous game while Lucknow brought in Avesh Khan in place of Manish Pandey.

Teams: Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock (w), KL Rahul (c), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan.

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

Also Read : Delhi Capitals win toss, opt to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) In-form Lucknow SuperGiants will look to solidify their position in the top four with a victory over the inconsistent Punjab Kings. The protagonists of IPL's most successful partnership in the last season in the IPL, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal will face off for the first time this season with both their sides seeking consistency as the race to play-offs intensifies. 

Lucknow Supergiants are coming off the back of a fine victory over MI as KL Rahul slammed his second century of the tournament, Rahul has been the most successful run-getter for Punjab to date in IPL with an aggregate of 2548 and four successive 500+ seasons leading up to his switch to LSG and it will be an emotional return for the adopted son of Punjab.  With the likes of Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda in the XI, they have depth in batting as well as bowling. The only area of concern going into the match may be the number 3 position as Manish Pandey hasn’t scored too many runs, Gautam Gambhir and co would want some stability in that position. In terms of bowling,  LSG have only rarely used Marcus Stoinis the bowler in this IPL, but his stellar record against Mayank - two dismissals in three games might tempt Rahul into giving him some few overs in the powerplay. KL Rahul would see Ravi Bishnoi come into form as he has only picked up just two wickets in last four games at 9+ RPO.

PBKS batting has mostly been led by Liam Livingstone but over the few matches the Englishman had failed to replicate his previous form. Shikhar Dhawan’s 88 in the last match would be a confidence boost not only for him but for his franchise as well as the returning Bhanuka Rajapaksa added more firepower to Punjab's batting half. The form of Mayank Agarwal might be a bit concerning but if he manages to play the anchor role with Shikhar then he will soon get back amongst the runs. In the bowling department Kagiso Rabada will be the key as Manish Pandey averages only 7 against him and has been twice dismissed by the South African in all T20s. Mayank Agarwal can use Rahul Chahar in the powerplay considering his record Rahul is good, he has scored only 36 runs off 35 balls against Rahul Chahar with one dismissal.

Pitch and weather report: The MCA pitch last match saw a lot of pace and bounce as RR were able to defend the lowest total in this year's IPL. We saw Kuldeep Sen trouble the RCB batsman with his raw pace as the same looks to continue in today's match as well. The temperature is going to hover around 35 degrees with no chance of rain as the dew won't be a factor in the second innings.

Interesting facts:

• Mayank Agarwal has won only one out of eight tosses in IPL 2022
• Among regular captains this season, KL Rahul has scored the most runs (368) and has the highest average (61.33)
• Marcus Stoinis (986) and Deepak Hooda (978) are both 1000 IPL runs
• Arshdeep Singh has got Quinton De Kock out twice in 14 balls while giving away only 14 runs.
•  Arshdeep has the best economy (5.66) in the death overs
• KL Rahul has a strike rate of 145 against both spin and pace, which is subsequently the best 

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

Probable XI for LSG:

1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Avesh Khan/Mohsin Khan

Probable XI for PBKS:

1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Sandeep Sharma

Pune, Apr 28 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings would be keen to put brakes on Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul's rollicking batting form and notch up a win when the two sides clash in an IPL game here on Friday.

Lucknow are currently in fourth spot, having five wins and three losses from eight games, while Punjab are at sixth, with four wins and as many losses.

Lucknow beat Mumbai Indians by 36 runs in their last game, while Punjab come into the game after defeating Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs.

Rahul has been in sublime form at the top of order and has already hit two hundreds -- both against Mumbai Indians -- and a fifty-plus score this season.

With 368 runs, he is the second highest run-getter so far this season, just behind Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler and has been the batting mainstay for his team.

Punjab’s balanced bowling attack, led by South African pacer Kasigo Rabada, would be keen to put the brakes on the stylish right-handed batter.

Rabada and the likes of Arshdeep Singh, who has been impressive in death overs, Sandeep Sharma, Rishi Dhawan and Rahul Chahar, would need to pose serious questions to Rahul at the MCA stadium, which has witnessed high-scoring thrillers. Leg-spinner Chahar is the leading wicket taker for Punjab with 10 scalps but he would need to step up even more to help his team's cause.

In the batting department, opener Shikhar Dhawan, who hit an unbeaten 88 in Punjab's previous matcg, is back among the runs and that is a big plus.

But the form of skipper Mayank Agarwal is a cause of concern. He has blown hot and cold with the willow, having a single fifty-plus score in the seven matches this season. He would be keen to find consistency and provide the thrust at the top with flamboyant Dhawan.

One-down Bhanuka Rajapaksa has played his part well against CSK the other night when he chipped in with 32-ball 42 and the Sri Lankan would be keen to put up another good show.

One of the top-order batters will need to come good again to set the stage for power-hitters like Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow if Punjab have to post or chase a big total.

For Lucknow, captain Rahul needs support from other batters, including his opening partner Quinton De Kock, who failed in the game against Mumbai as he was dismissed for 10.

De Kock, who has scored 225 runs so far, has not done full justice to his potential and needs to fire on all cylinders and add weight to the LSG batting.

Lucknow have depth in their batting with the experienced Manish Pandey, the hard-hitting duo of Marcus Stoinis and Krunal Pandya, reliable Deepak Hooda, rookie Ayush Badoni and West Indian Jason Holder, who is known to hit sixes at will, in their ranks.

The bowling department has also fared well, with Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera and Holder right on the money so far. The duo have shared 14 wickets among them and will need to continue with their good work to stop the attacking Punjab batting line-up.

The eight overs of spinners Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi can also become crucial and change the fate of a match.

The Teams (From): Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Quinton De Kock, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, 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.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : Take Umran Malik to England for one-off Test, limited-overs series: Gavaksar

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 25 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs in an IPL match here on Monday.

Invited to bat, Shikhar Dhawan hit an unbeaten 88 with the help of nine fours and two sixes to power Punjab Kings to 187 for 4.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa (42), Liam Livingstone (19) and Mayank Agarwal (18) also chipped in with useful contributions.

Defending the total, PBKS restricted CSK to 176 for six.

Ambati Rayudu was the top-scorer for Chennai as he hammered seven fours and six maximums during his 39-ball 78, while Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 30 off 27 at the top.

Kagiso Rabada (2/23) and Rishi Dhawan (2/39) were Punjab's most successful bowlers, while Arshdeep Singh (1/23) and Sandeep Sharma (1/40) scalped one each.

For CSK, Dwayne Bravo (2/42) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/32) were among wickets.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings: 187 for 4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 88; Dwayne Bravo 2/42).

Chennai Super Kings: 176 for 6 in 20 overs (Ambati Rayudu 78; Kagiso Rabada 2/23). 

Also Read : We are not getting good starts in first 6 overs: Ravindra Jadeja

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 25 (Cricket News) Chennai Super Kings skipper Ravindra Jadeja on Monday blamed his inept batting line-up for their poor result this IPL season, saying the inability to score runs in the first six overs was hurting the team.

CSK slumped to their sixth loss in eight games after going down by 11 runs to Punjab Kings in an IPL thriller here.

Chasing 188, CSK had a woeful start as they slipped to 40 for 3 in seven overs.

"We are not getting good starts in the first six overs, that's where we are lacking and hopefully we will come back stronger," Jadeja said after the match.

Ambati Rayudu's 39-ball 78 kept them in the hunt before they could manage 176 for 6 in 20 overs.

"He (Rayudu) was batting brilliantly, if we could've restricted them to under 175 it would've been good. We felt we gave away 10-15 runs extra at the end. We did not execute our plans very well," Jadeja said.

With three consecutive sixes and a four from the 16th over bowled by Sandeep Sharma (1/40), Rayudu had kept CSK afloat but Arshdeep Singh conceded just six runs in the next over and eight in the 19th to tilt the scale towards Punjab.

"I thought Arsh bowled exceedingly well, he has bowled the tough overs, he has been great for us. Even Rabada bowled well, to get Ruturaj and get Rayudu at that stage. These two have been great for us," Punjab skipper Mayank Agarwal said.

Rabada, who returned with figures of 2 for 23, also heaped praise on his pace colleague. "Arsh (Arshdeep) has been the best death bowler in the competition, that's what the stats say. He has got a lot of talent, drive and ambition. And he is just a good bloke. So nice to have him around. I know I am going to bowl at the death," he said.

"Arsh has been magnificent. He has been leading the way in that discipline." Shikhar Dhawan, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 88, said the focus was on saving wickets at the top as he was not able to connect the shots initially.

"The wicket was stopping a bit, I tried to go for the big shots, but I couldn't connect. But I kept my calm. Once I get set, I can get those boundaries, that's what I bank on," he said.

"While batting first it's about putting pressure on the bowers and getting boundaries. We don't have to lose too many wickets, that was our conscious effort." 

Also Read : Dhawan's 88 not out takes Punjab Kings to 187-4 against Chennai Super Kings

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 25 (Cricket News) Shikhar Dhawan hit 88 not out as Punjab Kings scored 187 for 4 against Chennai Super Kings in an IPL match here on Monday.

Dhawan's innings was studded with nine fours and two sixes, while Bhanuka Rajapaksa (42) and Liam Livingstone (19) also chipped in with useful contributions.

For CSK, Dwayne Bravo (2/42) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/32) were among wickets.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings: 187 for 4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 88 not out; Dwayne Bravo 2/42). 

Also Read : Former India opener Arun Lal to remain Bengal coach: Secretary Snehasish Ganguly

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 25 (Cricket News) Chennai Super Kings skipper Ravindra Jadeja won the toss and elected to bowl against Punjab Kings in an IPL game here on Monday.

CSK fielded the same playing XI that won the last game and Mumbai Indians, while PBKS made three changes, bringing in Sandeep Sharma, Rishi Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in place of Shahrukh Khan, Nathan Ellis and Vaibhav Arora.

CSK has won just two matches out of seven games, while PBKS has three wins against four defeats.

Teams: Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni(w), Mitchell Santner, Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Mukesh Choudhary and Maheesh Theekshana.

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

Also Read : Pant is showing few glimpses of Dhoni, says Kuldeep, enjoying his new found 'freedom of expression'

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Punjab Kings, who have managed just three victories out of the 7 matches they have played are hurtling towards an awkwardly familiar territory of having to treat every remaining game as a must-win in order to secure their first playoffs berth in eight editions. On the other hand for CSK every match from now on is a do or die match if they are to make the playoff berth.

PBKS season has been plagued with inconsistency with only Liam Livingstone scoring the bulk of runs (226 runs, 3 half-centuries), with the likes of Johnny Bairstow and Shah Rukh Khan failing quite badly in this year's edition. The major talking point has been the form of Johnny Bairstow who has just managed to score 41 runs, whereas his replacement Bhanuka Rajapaska was hammering the ball out of the park for fun before the Englishman arrived. Touted as PBKS' most apparent weak link, their bowling department has fared reasonably well in this years tournament led by veteran Kagiso Rabada and uncapped bowler Arshdeep Singh churning out economical spells even though he's not got enough wickets to show for it. Punjab's spinners have the least impressive economy rate in IPL 2022 of 8.65,  a weakness that the PBKS management need to figure out as spinners have been integral in this season’s IPL.

CSK will be high on confidence after a MS Dhoni masterclass but still have a long way to go in the tournament, if they are to make the playoffs. The batting for CSK off late has been better as Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa have given them decent enough starts. Shivam Dube has been the only bright spot throughout the tournament as he has conjured up 236 runs this season and is their highest run getter also. CSK's have also been better in the power play bowling in the last three games, not conceding more than 42 runs and taking a total of nine wickets in that phase. Rookie pacer Mukesh Choudhary has a lot to do with that improvement  having been backed despite an off-color start to the season, and lately has come good with the new ball. Mahesh Theekshana has been chipping in consistently with important wickets but CSK's major worry would be the form of their captain Ravindra Jadeja, who has failed to perform with bat as well as ball.

Pitch and weather report: The Wankhede pitch initially saw some good seam movement as batters found it difficult to get settled in but the last two matches have seen massive targets being posted as that is likely to continue. The temperature is going to hover around 32 degrees with no chance of rain as dew will play a factor in the second innings

Interesting facts:

• PBKS  pace bowlers have combined to take only 18 wickets so far in IPL 2022 
• CSK's top-three have a collective aggregate to just 436 runs so far in the season 
• Shikhar Dhawan averages nearly 42 after 27 innings against CSK,
• Shikhar needs 59 more to bring up a 1000 IPL runs against CSK
• Dhoni has scored five fifties and an overall 630 runs at an average of 52.5 against the PBKS
• Dwaine Pretorius has got Liam Livingstone out 4 times and has conceded only 87 runs
• Dwayne Bravo needs 9 runs to get to 1000 in the IPL.

Also read: RCB aim to stop Jos Buttler juggernaut against Rajasthan, Kohli's form in focus too

Probable XI for PBKS:

1 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Jonny Bairstow/Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Nathan Ellis/Odean Smith, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Arshdeep Singh

Probable XI for CSK:

1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja (capt), 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Dwaine Pretorius, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Mukesh Choudhary

Mumbai, Apr 21 (Cricket News) All-rounder Lalit Yadav, one of the blue-eyed boys of Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting, feels that a victory always creates a positive vibe despite the mistakes committed on the job.

The COVID-hit DC crushed Punjab Kings by nine wickets with 57 balls to spare. Lalit with figures of 2/11, which included the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan, contributed in the victory.

"It was a different vibe altogether. You know, when we win, everything seems to look positive, no matter how many mistakes we commit," Lalit said ahead of Capitals' next match against Rajasthan Royals on Friday.

"That's a really great thing for the team, especially when the next match is in two days. The momentum we've gained is really important, and we will go into the next game with confidence." With six positive COVID-19 cases in the DC camp, there was an element of uncertainty but Lalit said that players were all focussed on the game.

"We just discussed to enjoy the game and give our 100%. We were just focusing on the match. We also had one training session the other day, so it's not that we didn't have any practice at all.

"It's just that we didn't know whether the match will happen or not, but overall, we were confident about our abilities," he said.

Speaking about the next match, the all-rounder said, "They (RR) have been one of the most consistent teams in the tournament so far, and have been playing quality cricket. However, we will focus on ourselves, we will go with our plans and try to execute them." Having lost to RCB the other night, a comprehensive win was necessary to get the campaign back on track and that is precisely what happened against PBKS.

"We were looking for a momentum since the start, we've played good cricket so far but we were not consistent. In this game, we were consistent in all three departments, and that's what we were looking for. It has created a good atmosphere in the camp," he added. 

Also Read : Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit among Wisden's five 'Cricketers of the Year'

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 20 (Cricket News) A COVID-hit Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field against Punjab Kings in an IPL game here on Wednesday.

DC made one change, replacing COVID-hit Mitchell Marsh for Sarfaraz Khan while Punjab brought in Nathan Ellis for Odean Smith and skipper Mayank Agarwal returned in place of Prabhsimran Singh.

Teams: Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(wk), Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh.

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

Also Read : Tim Seifert tests positive for COVID-19, tonight's game against Punjab under doubt

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) DC look to avoid the mini covid scare they had in their camp as they take on PBKS. Mitchell Marsh and four members of the DC support staff had tested positive; a fourth round of RT-PCR tests was conducted on Tuesday morning but fortunately it returned with negative results. Further decisions will be made after another round of tests on the morning of the game. Both the sides haven’t had the best of starts this season as they will look to get their season back on track.

DC will be without Mitchell Marsh who was taken to the hospital after testing positive for covid. David Warner and Prithvi Shaw have given them valuable starts, but the middle order has failed to build on the foundation. Incidentally, the duo have added 67(45), 93(52) and 50(28) in their three outings so far. Their main problem this season has been filling up the number three void as Mitchell Marsh was supposed to occupy the position after his recovery from injury but Ricky Ponting and co have the same problem once again. Rovam Powell so far has been a major flop for the DC franchise and needs to show his worth to the team. In the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav has been taking majority of the wickets but his spin-bowling colleague Axar Patel has just one wicket to show from 17 overs this season. 

PBKS on the hand are the most aggressive side in the powerplay, scoring at 9.81 an over but are scoring at just 9.22 in the death overs, which is least by any IPL side this season. Barring Liam Livingstone, most other batters have struggled to keep momentum and end with a strong finish. He is PBKS  top-scorer with 224 runs, striking at 185.12, but their next-best is Shikhar Dhawan, who has 205 runs, but has been only striking at 128.93. Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith have particularly struggled to end with a flourish for their side. In the bowling Kagiso Rabada will hold the key,  he has dismissed David Warner five times in 13 innings across all competitions. Warner only averages 19.20 against Rabada, but has a record of scoring 11-plus fifty-run against PBKS. He has scored 945 runs in 21 innings at 49.74, so Punjab will really hope to see the back of him early in the contest.

Pitch and weather report: The Brabourne Stadium has been a high scoring venue like we saw in the last between RR and KKR where 427 runs were scored. The trend of winning the toss and electing to field first will continue as the dew plays a major role in the venue. The temperature is going to hover around 33 degrees with no chance of rain.

Interesting facts:

• The overseas trio of Rovman, Seifert and Marsh have hit 69 runs at an average of 8.63, SR of 93.24 and a highest of 21.
• David Warner needs to hit four more fours to become the second player after Shikhar to score 100 fours against Punjab Kings in the IPL
• Prithvi Shaw needs 19 runs to reach 1500 runs in IPL
• Shikhar Dhawan (5989) is 11 runs away from reaching  6000 runs in the IPL
• Khaleel Ahmed needs five wickets to reach 100 wickets in T20 matches

Also read: Du Plessis and Hazelwood take RCB over the line against LGS

Probable XI for DC:

1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Sarfaraz Khan/Yash Dhull/Tim Seifert, 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 PBKS:

 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Odean Smith/ Benny Howell/Rishi Dhawan/Raj Bawa, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Arshdeep Singh

Pune, Apr 19 (Cricket News) Delhi Capitals will need to put the COVID scare in their camp behind when they take on a hot and cold Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.

Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh had to be hospitalised after testing positive for COVID, taking the total count to four cases in the Capitals' camp. However, the other squad members returned negative tests on Monday and all IPL stakeholders will be hoping it stays that when another round of testing is conducted on Tuesday.

Warner, Prithvi Shaw and skipper Pant headline a powerful DC line up against a Punjab unit that boasts of Shikhar Dhawan, in-form Liam Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan.

As both teams eye a return to winning ways, the batting unit that does well could be the difference.

Punjab could be bolstered by the return of regular skipper Mayank Agarwal, who missed the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad due to a toe injury.

A flamboyant Dhawan was in his elements against Mumbai Indians, but consistency has been an issue for the senior opener.

The south-paw, who failed against SRH, will be looking to give the side a solid start along with Mayank, who too would be eager to take the varied Delhi bowling attack to cleaners.

The Punjab middle-order will need to take greater responsibility and find substantial runs.

Jitesh Sharma has already shown that he can become a good finisher. However, save for Livingstone, who made a brisk 33-ball 60, others faltered against SRH and the team management would expect more from them.

But the task for Dhawan and company won’t be an easy one as they would face the in-form Kuldeep Yadav, who has taken 11 wickets so far.

Axar Patel anbd pacer Shardul Thakur, who has four wickets, can also pose questions to them along with speedster Khaleel Ahmed.

However, Muztafizur Rahman, who leaked 48 runs against RCB, needs to redeem himself.

The Punjab bowlers led by Kagiso Rabada have fared well. But the likes of Vaibhav Arora , Arshdeep Singh along with Rahul Chahar, who has nine wickets, would need to be on the money. Also equally crucial will be the role of pace-bowling all-rounder Odean Smith, who has not been at his best so far in the IPL.

Punjab have three wins and as many losses from six games.

Meanwhile, this has been a mixed season for Delhi. The Pant-led side hasn’t looked too threatening and two wins from five games isn’t a testimony to their skills.

The role of Warner and Shaw will be extremely crucial.

Warner heads into the game on the back of a 38-ball 66 against RCB and has provided the team with flamboyance at the top.

Ditto for Shaw, who after back-to-back fifties, had a failure in the last game. The Capitals management would be hoping that the two fire in unison.

For Delhi, a lot will also rest on how Pant performs. He looked in his element when he made a 17-ball 34 against RCB, but a real big knock is yet to come.

Now in absence of Marsh, they would need to suitably find a number three and Mandeep Singh or Sarfaraz Khan could be an option.

Teams (From): Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

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, KS Bharat and Tim Seifert.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : Chahal showed why leg-spinners are considered match-winners in IPL, says Malinga

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their 4th consecutive win of the season. SRH defeated Punjab Kings by 7 wickets with 7 balls to spare. PBKS were led by Shikhar Dhawan as Mayank Agarwal was ruled out with a toe injury, he was replaced in the line-up by Prabhsimran Singh. SRH on the other hand were unchanged.

Batting first PBKS could only manage to put 151 runs on the board. Liam Livingston scored 60 off just 33 balls including 5 fours and 4 sixes. The all-rounder displayed some dynamic batting with his power strokes, elegance and also 360° shots. No other PBKS batter managed to play a big knock as Shahrukh Khan was the only other batter to cross the 20 run mark. Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his good form as he picked up 3 wickets while T Natarajan and Jagadeesha Suchit got a scalp each. Umran Malik was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 4 wickets for just 28 runs. His pace was too much for the Punjab batters to handle. After picking up a wicket in his first over he bowled a maiden last over in which he picked up 3 wickets and the last ball resulted in a run-out.

SRH chased down 152 runs comfortably thanks to cameos by Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markaram and Nicholas Pooran. Sharma's good form continued as he scored 31 off 25 balls as did Tripathi with a 22 ball 34. Pooran scored unbeaten 35 off 30 balls while Markaram was unbeaten at 41 off 27 balls. Rahul Chahar got two wickets while Kagiso Rabada got a scalp. PBKS at the end of the day just didn't have enough runs on the board. Hyderabad are starting to look like a complete squad with in-form players despite losing their first two games.

PBKS will be hoping to get skipper Mayank Agarwal back for their next game. Umran Malik well and truly stole the show and has guided all of the world's eyes on himself. He still may have to work on his consistency, control and variations but his performances till now at the mere age of 22 have been impressive. Once Washington Sundar returns from injury he will only improve this side. Aiden Markaram's return to form is also great news for the Orange army who have shown a lot of faith in him.

Also read: KKR are looking to bounce back against RR in match no 30

Navi Mumbai, Apr 17 (Cricket News) Sunrisers Hyderabad's seasoned seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Sunday praised his younger pace colleague Umran Malik, saying watching him bowl fast "is a joy".

Bhuvneshwar (3/22) and Umran (4/28) combined to bundle out Punjab Kings for 151 in their IPL game here, paving the way for their team's seven-wicket victory.

Asked about Umran, India seamer Bhuvneshwar said in a lighter vein, "More than (Umran) helping me, it means I am a target as batters think I'm slower.

"But watching him bowl fast and get wickets is a joy. Hope the others going after me leads to wickets and not boundaries (smiles)." Bhuvneshwar gave SRH a perfect start as he dismissed seasoned opener Shikhar Dhawan in the third over.

"There was no swing so I looked to hit back of a length. That was my plan against Shikhar as I knew he would step out and look for the boundary. I looked to hit a hard length and find the top edge and luckily that's what happened, I looked to play with my field as well.

"I try to bowl to the batter's weakness or to the ground's dimensions. The wicket and my skills are what I look at," Bhuvneshwar said.

Leading the team in the absence of regular skipper Mayank Agarwal, who missed the game due to a toe injury, Dhawan said losing early wickets hurt them.

"Mayank is better and he should be ready to be back. We were 30-40 runs short and lost too many early wickets which put us behind the game. The early wickets meant we had to hold wickets and that's where we had to mould our game," Dhawan said.

"There was a middle order recovery but the early wickets cost us. The wicket had extra-bounce to which we were late to adjust. The discussion with the batting will be to save wickets till the 13th-14th over, the bowlers are doing well.

"We need to put up complete performances and hopefully a 3-4 game turnaround which can change a season will come in," Dhawan said. 

Also Read : Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal doing better, ready to be back: Shikhar Dhawan

News Source : PTI

Navi Mumbai, Apr 17 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal, who missed their IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Sunday with a toe injury, is doing better and should be back soon, the team's opener Shikhar Dhawan said.

Agarwal injured his toe in training and in his absence, Dhawan led the side against SRH, which they lost by seven wickets.

"Mayank is better and he should be ready to be back," Dhawan told the host broadcasters in the post-match ceremony.

Liam Livingstone struck a brisk fifty after an early collapse but Sunrisers Hyderabad lost four wickets in the final over to be bundled out for a below-par 151.

"We were 30-40 runs short and lost too many early wickets which put us behind the game. The early wickets meant we had to hold wickets and that's where we had to mould our game. There was a middle order recovery but the early wickets cost us," Dhawan said.

Rising pacer Umran Malik produced a rare four-wicket maiden en route to his match-winning 4/28 and their South African batter Aiden Markram was all praise for the young bowler.

"He's been on fire, it's great to have in our armoury. Thankfully, I don't have to face him in the middle," Markram said.

"He's growing from game to game. Credit to his attitude, the work that he's doing with Dale Steyn, he gives his 125 per cent, also asks very good questions. I've got no doubt he will do well going forward." Punjab Kings take on Delhi Capitals in their next match on April 20. 

Also Read : Senior India batter Cheteshwar Pujara hits double ton in second innings on Sussex debut

News Source : PTI

Navi Mumbai, Apr 17 (Cricket News) Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bowl first against Punjab Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

Punjab will be without their skipper Mayank Agarwal, who has injured his toe while training on Saturday. Prabhsimran Singh replaced him in the playing eleven.

In Mayank's absence, Punjab will be led by Shikhar Dhawan.

SRH have fielded an unchanged side.

Teams: Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (c), Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, J Suchith, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, T Natarajan.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh. 

Also Read : I have been trying everything to be a part of Indian team: Dinesh Karthik

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Punjab Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by 12 runs which was the latters 5th defeat in their 5th match of the season. Mumbai Indians had won the toss and elected to bowl first as they made one change by bringing in Tymal Mills for Ramandeep Singh while PBKS was unchanged. MI once again left Tim David who they brought for 8.25 Cr on the bench. 

Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan gave PBKS a brilliant start as they added 97 runs in less than 10 overs. Skipper Agarwal scored 52 off 32 balls hitting 6 fours and 2 sixes while Shikhar Dhawan was a bit more conservative with 70 off 50 balls. Dhawan hit 5 boundaries and 3 maximums. Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh Khan produced some late fireworks to take PBKS to a total of 198/5. Sharma scored 30 off just 15 while Khan scored 15 off 6. Jasprit Bumrah, Murugan Ashwin and Jaydev Unadkat got a scalp each while Basil Thampi picked up 2 wickets. 

199 was definitely a chase-able total on the flat pitch but MI ended up 12 runs short. Dewald Brevis played an excellent knock of 49 off 35 balls as he hit 4 fours and 5 sixes. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma played good cameos but no one managed to play the big knock. Varma and Keiron Pollard were both run out at crucial times which changed the game. After a disappointing game against Gujarat Titans, Odean Smith came back as he picked up 4 wickets. Kagiso Rabada picked up 2 wickets while Vaibhav Arora got a scalp. Arshdeep Singh conceded just 28 runs in his 4 overs as he bowled really well in the death overs.

Mumbai's disappointing results are definitely down to their auction blunder. They spent 8.25 Cr on Tim David who isn't being backed by the team as they are playing with only 2 or 3 overseas players. MI may have spent too much money on Ishan Kishan which is the reason that their bowling unit is very weak. They also spent 8 Cr on Jofra Archer who is not going to play a single match this season. The Mumbai Indians will have to do something with what's available and the squad definitely has some wildcards that could be tried out.

Also read: I am not concerned about Rohit's form: Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene

Pune, Apr 13 (Cricket News) Five-time champions Mumbai Indians' winless run in the tournament continued as they slumped to 12-run loss against Punjab Kings to suffer their fifth straight defeat in the ongoing IPL here on Wednesday.

Chasing 199, MI could only muster 186 for nine to suffer yet another defeat.

Dewald Brevis top-scored for Mi with 49 off 25 balls, while Tilak Varma made 36 off 20 deliveries.

Odean Smith (4/30) shone bright with the ball for Punjab, Kagiso Rabada picked up two wickets for 29 runs.

Earlier, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal hit fine half-centuries to propel Punjab Kings to 198 for five. Dhawan (70) and Agarwal (52) shared 97 runs for the opening stand in 9.3 overs to lay the foundation for Punjab's total after being sent into bat.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings: 198 for 5 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 70, Mayank Agarwal 52; Basil Thampi 2/47).

Mumbai Indians: 186 for 9 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 49, Suryakumar Yadav 43; Odean Smith 4/30). 

Also Read : Agarwal, Dhawan on song as Punjab Kings score 198 for 5 vs Mumbai Indians

News Source : PTI

Pune, Apr 13 (Cricket news) Skipper Mayank Agarwal and veteran Shikhar Dhawan struck their first half-centuries of the season as Punjab Kings rode on a fine start from the openers to post a challenging 198 for five against Mumbai Indians in an IPL match here on Wednesday.

Punjab Kings have deployed "attack is the best form of defence" philosophy during this edition of the league and there was no shift in policy as they added 97 in less than 10 overs to provide a perfect launchpad but Jasprit Bumrah's (1/28 in 4 overs) brilliance kept the score below 200.

Bumrah's toe-crusher which yorked the dangerous Liam Livingstone helped MI to keep things under check with 99 runs coming of the last 10 overs.

Agarwal, who wasn't having a great run before this game, brought his customary square off the wicket shots on the off-side and straight lofts of spinners to score 52 off 32 balls.

Dhawan took his own time while playing the second fiddle but still kept up the tempo letting Agarwal go for the whole hog during their stand. But he did accelerate after that before getting out for 70 off 50 balls.

It was Mumbai's domestic bowlers like Basil Thampi (2/47 in 4 overs) and Murugan Ashwin (1/34 in 4 overs), who aren't measuring up match after match but skipper Rohit Sharma is helpless due the lack options.

Despite knowing Agarwal's propensity to make room and smash through off-side, he was fed with length balls outside the off-stump by Thampi and Tymal Mills. When they bowled short, the pace was used to good effect.

In case of Ashwin, the PBKS skipper would come down the track to loft him straight but he did get his man when Agarwal went for one shot too many.

Dhawan went onto his 45th IPL half-ton but the shot that showed his authority was a disdainful slog sweep off a 137 click delivery from Thampi.

Thampi did got his revenge by getting Dhawan holed in the deep before rookie Jitesh Sharma (30 no off 15 balls) smashed 23 off Jaydev Unadkat (1/44 in 4 overs) in the 18th over to get the momentum back which had slipped after a few dismissals. 

Also Read : I can't see why Umesh would not do well for India in T20 cricket: Tim Southee

News Source : PTI

Pune, Apr 13 (Cricket News) Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field against Punjab Kings in an IPL match on Wednesday.

For MI, pacer Tymal Mills is back in the playing eleven in place of Ramandeep Singh while Punjab Kings fielded an unchanged side.

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow(w), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Dewald Brevis, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Kieron Pollard, Jaydev Unadkat, Murugan Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi.

Also Read : Graeme Smith feels 'mental strain' of leading India may be taking toll on Rohit in IPL

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Winless Mumbai Indians take on the mighty Punjab Kings as the men from Mumbai will look to get their season back on track. MI are building a team for the future as players like Tilak Verma and Dewald Brevis are just 18 and are already facing the best bowlers in the world. It will take time but for them they need to take it one match at a time and hopefully get a victory which can kick start their season.

For MI, Rohit Sharma is on the verge of making history, he is 25 runs short of reaching 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. He will be the second Indian after Virat Kohli and seventh overall player to reach the landmark. However, Rohit Sharma is going through his worst phase of form in his MI career as he is enduring his second-longest run without an IPL fifty (12 innings) since moving to Mumbai in 2011. MI’s bowling over the years have been their strong suit but this season there bowlers have been all over the place, not bowling the correct line and length as there is too much pressure on Jasprit Bumrah to take wickets. With plenty of right-handed batters in the PBKS set-up, there could be a case to bring in Fabian Allen to partner alongside Murugan Ashwin and go with two proper spinners in the team.

PBKS will still have nightmares over their last ball defeat against the Gujarat Titans as Mayank Agarwal and co will hope for a different outcome. The Mayank Agarwal-led side have had their fair share of moments of brilliance and faltered with equal ease, not too different from their performances in the past season. Most of their worries have come in the bowling department as the bowlers as a collective unit are not clicking. Kagiso Rabada is the leader in the bowling department but he too has been sub par this season, Odeon Smith on the other hand has been exceptional with the bat but in terms of bowling he's been hit all around the park. The PBKS management might look to drop Smith and play an unknown quality in Benny Howell. With four right handers in the top six, Rahul Chahar becomes a key figure in the line as he could come in handy in the middle overs. PBKS hopes will again rest on Liam Livingstone who is currently in the form of his life. 

Pitch and weather report:  The weather is expected to be slightly hot as the temperature is going to hover around 30 degrees Celsius with low humidity, which could mean that dew shouldn't play as big a role. The Pune pitch has been a high scoring venue but slower ballers get assistance from the pitch because the pitch is a two paced wicket.

Interesting facts:

• Mumbai and Kings have the worst economy rates in the IPL conceding 9.41 and 9.13 rpo
• Since IPL 2017, Kieron Pollard has the highest strike rate (219) and the second-highest average (100.70) against the kings
• Kings have a run rate (10) in the powerplay and have only been scoring at 10.57 per over in the backend overs, which is the third-worst out of all teams.
• Shikhar Dhawan is 89 runs away from completing 6000 runs in IPL 
• Ishan Kishan will make his 50th appearance for MI
• Pollard is 4 catches away from becoming the second man after Suresh Raina to take 100 catches in the IPL

Also read: CSK bounce from 4 consecutive defeats with a win against RCB

Probable XI for MI:

1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Fabian Allen, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Tymal Mills, 11 Jaydev Unadkat/Basil Thampi

Probable XI for PBKS:

1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 3 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jitesh Sharma, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Odean Smith/Benny Howell, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Arshdeep Singh
 

Pune, Apr 12 (Cricket News) Winless after four games, Mumbai Indians will be desperate to reverse the trend when they face Punjab Kings in the IPL here on Wednesday.

It has been a nightmarish beginning for the five-time champions who are known for their slow starts.

A formidable all-round side over the years, MI have looked a pale shadow of themselves in the ongoing edition, and will need several things to fall in place if they are to arrest the slide and restore their campaign.

Apart from their batters' inability to go big, the below-par performance by the bowlers has made things hard.

The road to redemption looks difficult as they are placed ninth on the points table but skipper Rohit Sharma would be eager to turn things around, not just for the team but for himself, too.

Rohit has not been the influential batter that he normally is for his franchise and will have to lead from the front, even as the need to find the right combination rings out loud.

With two wins and as many losses, Punjab are lying seventh in the standings and come into the game on the back of a defeat against Gujarat Titans.

Rohit is very important at the top but the others, including his opening partner Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, will also need to rise to the occasion before it gets too late for MI to stage a comeback.

Also Dewald Brewis, known for his ability to play a wide range of strokes, is yet to announce himself in the league. The team management would be hoping that the batters are able to fire in unison.

One of the top three batters will definitely need to score big if Mumbai are to post a big total or chase down one.

"We want batters to bat deep. And if you get runs on the board, there's something for the bowlers to do," Rohit had said.

The weakest link for Mumbai is the indifferent form of veteran all-rounder Kieron Pollard. Pollard, who can single-handedly take games away, has been far from his best and the West Indian would be aiming to regain his mojo.

MI, though, will be up against a quality Punjab attack led by Kagiso Rabada and faces a tricky task against the likes of Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora or Arshdeep Singh.

The Mumbai bowlers, including Jasprit Bumrah, have been off the radar.

The current attack comprising leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin, Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat will have to support Bumrah, who will be keen to recreate his magic. The trio's 12 overs will be crucial if MI's fortunes are to change.

MI are up against a team comprising power-hitters like Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone and M Shahrukh Khan.

Teams (from): Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Captain), 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, Arshad Khan, Daniel Sams, Dewald Brevis, Fabian Allen, Kieron Pollard, Sanjay Yadav, Aryan Juyal and Ishan Kishan.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : Back injury rules Deepak Chahar out of Indian Premier League (IPL)-15

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Gujarat Titans got their third consecutive victory over the Punjab Kings in dramatic fashion as Rahul Tewatia hammered two sixes of the last two balls to lead his side to a very dramatic victory. Hardik Pandya won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bowl first as they made two changes bringing in Sai Sudarshan and Darshan Nalkande in place of Vijay Shankar and the injured Varun Aaron. On the other hand, Mayank Agarwal handed Jonny Bairstow his PBKS debut in place of Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

In the first innings, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who was the costliest foreign player this season made full use of a lucky catch which Hardik Pandya caught but was unfortunately touching the boundary ropes, to smash a second consecutive half century and help Punjab Kings post 189/9. Livingston smashed 64 off just 27 balls to score the bulk of the runs for them as he shared 52 runs partnership for the third wicket with opener Shikhar Dhawan (35) to revive the Punjab innings after they were 43 for 2 after the powerplay. Rashid Khan had a field day against the Punjab batsmans as he picked up three wickets and conceded only 27 runs. Darshan Nalkande had a good IPL debut as he finished with figures of 2/37.

In reply, Gujarat Titans had a poor start as they lost Matthew Wade early on but Shubam Gill and debutant Sai Sudharsan shared a 101 partnership to stabilise the innings, Surdharsan made a nice 35 off 30 balls to support Gill who was smacking the ball all around the park and it looked like GT would chase the target quite easily. The decisive moment came in the match when Rahul Chahar got Sudharsan in the 15th over as the scoring rate was brought down and put the opposition under pressure. In the penultimate over the pressure showed as Shubam Gill just missed out on a terrific century by 4 runs. The Titans needed 19 off the last over and all hopes of a victory were dashed when Hardik Pandya was run out on the first ball by Bairstow, but in stepped Rahul Tewatia to hit two massive sixes to edge out a victory from the clutches of a defeat. 

Pandya after the unlikely victory said: "The kind of ups and downs happen, I think I have now become used to it. It was a Kings' game; some sympathy for them losing this. Gill has been telling everybody that he is there. A lot of credit goes to Sai as well. Body is coping all right; I am getting tired obviously. As the games come, I'll be getting better."

Shubman Gill after his motm performance said, “It is important to keep the scoreboard ticking. It is important to hit those gaps because this outfield is rapid. It is just about execution. It was just one of those days where I was hitting the ball well and finding the gaps as well. I am hitting the ball hard, trust me. I am doing my level best to hit it hard, it might not look that way. As an opener, I have to bat through the innings, so that it is easier for the big-hitters to hit it in the end. Instead of not thinking in the nets, I try and work and reduce my dot balls as much as possible. Not sure about the celebrations now, it takes us one hour to reach the hotel”

Also read: CSK and SRH look for their first victory in match no 17

Mumbai, Apr 8 (Cricket News) Rahul Tewatia smashed a couple of sixes off the last two deliveries after the talented Shubman Gill's magnificent 96 off just 59 balls as Gujarat Titans pulled off a dramatic six-wicket win over Punjab Kings in their IPL match here on Friday.

Chasing 190 for a win, Gill was out in the 19th over after hitting 11 fours and a six, followed by his captain Hardik Pandya (27) in the final over as the Titans needed 12 runs from the last two balls.

Tewatia (13 not out off 3 balls), who has a reputation of hitting big sixes in crunch situations, sent the last two balls bowled by Odean Smith for maximums to hand the Titans their third win on the trot.

The Punjab side made a brilliant comeback at the death and they were on the verge of a victory only to be denied by Tewatia in a dramatic fashion.

Gill, who had hit 84 in the previous match against Delhi Capitals, was in imperious form as he cut, drove and smacked the Punjab bowlers to hold one end together. He shared 101 runs in 11.2 overs with debutant Sai Sudharsan (35 off 30 balls) to keep the Titans on course in the run chase.

It was not an easy chase though as the Titans needed more than 11 runs an over after Sudharsan was out off Rahul Chahar (1/41) in the 15th over.

Arshdeep Singh (0/31) bowled brilliantly in the 18th over, giving away just five runs, leaving the Titans to score 32 from the final two overs.

In a tense finish, Gill was out in the penultimate over after his captain had struck two fours off Kagiso Rabada (2/35).

The Titans needed 19 from the final over bowled by Smith (0/35) and 12 from the last two balls and Tewatia did the unthinkable.

Earlier, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, this IPL's costliest foreign player, made full use of a lucky reprieve to smash a second consecutive half century and help Punjab Kings post 189 for 9.

Livingstone, who was bought for Rs 11.5 crore, smashed 64 off just 27 balls to score the bulk of the runs for Punjab Kings after being asked to bat first.

He shared 52 runs for the third wicket with opener Shikhar Dhawan (35) to revive the Punjab innings after they were 43 for 2 after the powerplay.

Livingstone, who had hit 60 off 32 balls against Chennai Super Kings in the previous match, survived by the skin of his teeth in the ninth over, when he was on 14, as Titans captain Hardik Pandya's foot touched the boundary ropes while trying to take a high catch off spinner Rashid Khan (3/22).

The Englishman took full advantage of the 'life' given to him as he reached to his fifty off 21 balls. In the end, he struck seven fours and four sixes in his quickfire knock.

The potent Gujarat Titans bowling attack made a brief comeback with debutant Darshan Nalkande (2/37) and the seasoned Rashid claiming wickets in quick succession.

Nalkande removed Jitesh Sharma (23) and Odean Smith (0) off consecutive balls in the 14th over, while the wily Rashid dismissed Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan (15) in the space of three balls in the 16th over, besides claiming the wicket of Dhawan earlier.

From 153 for 5 in the 16th over, Punjab were reduced to 162 for 9 but Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh stitched a valuable 27-run partnership for the unconquered last wicket to take their side to a stiff total.

Earleir, captain Mayank Agarwal (5) was out cheaply for the third time while star England batter Jonny Bairstow's debut match for Punjab Kings lasted eight balls for as many runs as both fell inside the powerplay overs.

Also Read : Livingstone's quickfire 64 takes Punjab Kings to 189 for 9 against Gujarat Titans

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 8 (Cricket News) England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, this IPL's costliest foreign player, made full use of a lucky reprieve to smash a second consecutive half century and help Punjab Kings post 189 for 9 against Gujarat Titans here on Friday.

Livingstone, who was bought for Rs 11.5 crore, smashed 64 off just 27 balls to score the bulk of the runs for Punjab Kings after being asked to bat first.

He shared 52 runs for the third wicket with opener Shikhar Dhawan (35) to revive the Punjab innings after they were 43 for 2 after the powerplay.

Livingstone, who had hit 60 off 32 balls against Chennai Super Kings in the previous match, survived by the skin of his teeth in the ninth over, when he was on 14, as Titans captain Hardik Pandya's foot touched the boundary ropes while trying to take a high catch off spinner Rashid Khan (3/22).

The Englishman took full advantage of the 'life' given to him as he reached to his fifty off 21 balls. In the end, he struck seven fours and four sixes in his quickfire knock.

The potent Gujarat Titans bowling attack made a brief comeback with debutant Darshan Nalkande (2/37) and the seasoned Rashid claiming wickets in quick succession.

Nalkande removed Jitesh Sharma (23) and Odean Smith (0) off consecutive balls in the 14th over, while the wily Rashid dismissed Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan (15) in the space of three balls in the 16th over, besides claiming the wicket of Dhawan earlier.

From 153 for 5 in the 16th over, Punjab were reduced to 162 for 9 but Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh stitched a valuable 27-run partnership for the unconquered last wicket to take their side to a stiff total. Earleir, captain Mayank Agarwal (5) was out cheaply for the third time while star England batter Jonny Bairstow's debut match for Punjab Kings lasted eight balls for as many runs as both fell inside the powerplay overs. 

Also Read : India to play warm-up games against Derbyshire, Northamptonshire ahead of England limited overs series

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 8 (Cricket News) Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl in their Indian Premier League match against Punjab Kings here on Friday.

GT made two changes with Sai Sudarshan and Darshan Nalkhande coming in for Vijay Shankar and Varun Aaron for their debut matches.

Jonny Bairstow is making his debut for Punjab Kings as he was brought in for Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

The Teams: Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh.

Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Darshan Nalkande. 

Also Read : England unveil new T20 kit in collaboration with Castore

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Both the teams heading into the match are in great form having won two consecutive matches. This battle could turn out to be the tastiest of this IPL as both sides provide different skills as one T20 side is full of big hitters and the other team's attack boasts of pace, seam, swing, spin and variations.

PBKS have showcased their big hitting form this season as the likes of Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith and Bhanuka Rajapaksa all have shown glimpses of their big hitting skills. For Mayank Agarwal and co, Johnny Bairstow is out of quarantine and set to make his PBKS debut but it will be an interesting watch to see which foreigner gets dropped. Kagiso Rabada will be the key in this match as his matchup against Shubam Gill will be an interesting watch, the GT opener has faced 23 balls, scored 12 runs and has 1 dismissal, this could be crucial for the Punjab Kings. PBKS boast the highest powerplay run rate of all teams this season of 10.94 as Mayank Agarwal and Shikar Dhawan have laid down a good platform for the rest of the big hitters to come and flourish. 

The Gujarat Titans have showcased why they have the best bowling line up in the league as  the fast bowlers have had a big say in both of their wins so far, but they now move to a venue which has been a very batting friendly track and the ground being smaller the bowlers face a challenge to keep the batter in check. On top of that they face a side that has been at its devastating best in the PowerPlay but GT's bowling potency in the PowerPlay (7 wickets so far) adds another edge to this potentially interesting battle in the powerplay. Liam Livingstone vs Rashid Khan could be a tense clash, with Rashid having dismissed the Englisman batsman thrice before but also has conceded 77 runs in 46 balls. Shubman Gill has faced 21 balls of spin this season and has scored 45 runs off them, without being dismissed at and a strike rate of 214 but he needs to be wary of the threat of Rahul Chahar who has the knack of picking up wickets at crucial junctures of the games.

Pitch and weather report: The Brabourne stadium has seen the most runs scored in this particular venue as history suggests that chasing targets in this small venue is easier but in the last match, PBKS quite comfortably defended a total despite dew playing a major part in it. The trends of winning the toss and bowling will likely continue as the temperature is going to hover around 31 degrees with no chance of rain,

Interesting facts:

• Kings have smashed 33 sixes so far this season, the second-most behind Rajasthan Royals' 36
• Hardik Pandya is one six away from reaching 100 sixes in the IPL
• Since 2021, Lockie Freguson has managed five wickets in 60 balls and an economy rate of 8.70 in the death overs.
• Rashid Khan has picked 18 wickets in 10 match against PBKS
• PBKS spinner Rahul Chahar has conceded just one four and one six in three games and has also picked six wickets.

Also read: Lucknow leave it late to get 6 wicket win over Delhi Capitals

Probable XI for PBKS:

1 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Johnny Bairstow, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Odean Smith, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Vaibhav Arora.

Probable XI for GT:

1 Shubman Gill, 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Vijay Shankar, 4 Abhinav Manohar, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 David Miller, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Varun Aaron/Yash Dayal/Darshan Nalkande/Pradeep Sangwan, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Mohammed Shami
 

(Cricket news) Chennai Super Kings were handed their 3rd defeat in as many games by Punjab Kings as they won by 54 runs. Ravindra Jadeja finally won a toss after losing the previous 2 and elected to bowl first. CSK made one change by replacing Tushar Deshpande with Chris Jordan while PBKS bought in Vaibhav Arora and Jitesh Sharma for Harpreet Brar and Raj Bawa. 

Batting first, PBKS put 180 runs on the board. Liam Livingston proved his worth with an incredible 60 off 32 balls. Debutant Jitesh Sharma and veteran Shikhar Dhawan played small cameos to get their side to a good total. Apart from Dhawan and Livingston's 3rd wicket stand, PBKS didn't have any other big partnerships but still kept scoring runs at a regular rate. For CSK, Chris Jordan and Dwaine Pretorius picked up two wickets each while Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo and Mukesh Choudhary got a scalp each.

Chasing 181 runs, the only CSK batter that looked in good touch was Shivam Dube who hit 57 off 30 balls. Other than him only MS Dhoni crossed the 20 run mark and that too when it was too late. Rahul Chahar was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 3/25 while Liam Livingston and Vaibhav Arora got two scalps each. Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Odean Smith chipped in with a wicket each as CSK were all-out for 126 runs. Stephen Fleming has a lot of thinking to do before the next game in terms of team combination and batting order.

Also read: Dravid will do remarkable job as India coach, says Ganguly

Mumbai, Apr 3 (Cricket News) Twenty20 nomad Liam Livingstone justified his Rs 11.50 crore price-tag with a smashing all-round show while rookie seamer Vaibhav Arora announced his arrival on the big stage during Punjab Kings' comfortable 54-run decimation of Chennai Super Kings in an IPL match here on Sunday.

Livingstone with a 32-ball-60 laid the platform but Chennai Super Kings bowlers made a brilliant comeback at the death, restricting Mayank Agarwal led side to 180 for 8 after 20 overs.

Later, little known Himachal Pradesh seam bowler Arora (4-0-21-2) performed as if he owned the stage, dismissing Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali with CSK managing only 126 in 18 overs at the end of the chase.

After his batting, Livingstone (3-0-25-2) then became man with a "golden wrist" as his leg breaks got him a couple of wickets and he also took the final catch to cap off a dream night.

This is CSK's third defeat in as many games and unless Deepak Chahar makes a speedy comeback, things aren't looking great for the 'Yellow Brigade' and its de-facto skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

A couple of more defeats could really put them under huge pressure and within a sniffing distance of point of no return.

Arora got good support from his former SD College Chandigarh teammate Arshdeep Singh (2/13 in 2 overs) during the initial period in which his skipper Agarwal bowled him out. Rahul Chahar (3/25 in 4 overs) was steady during back-10 and his three wickets included the wicket of Dhoni.

Arora didn't do anything fancy apart from pitching it fuller with the hint of away seam movement occasionally.

Uthappa tried a flick while Moeen without any distinct footwork dragged a delivery well outside the off onto his stumps. Skipper Ravindra Jadeja also met the same fate due to lack of feet movement.

In a jiffy, CSK were 36 for five before Dhoni (23 off 28 balls) joined Shivam Dube (57 off 30 balls), who did entertain the Brabourne crowd with lusty blows but it was always a game of catch-up for them.

Dhoni's oft-documented struggles didn't do any good for CSK either as Dube had too much to do in too little time.

Fittingly, it was Livingstone, who capped off a fine day, removing Dube with an away going delivery and then dived full stretched off his own bowling to remove Dwayne Bravo.

Before his exploits with the ball, Livingstone, one of the most destructive T20 batters across global leagues, finally came good with five fours and an equal number of sixes, sending the CSK bowlers on a leather-hunt during the initial overs.

Deepak Chahar's absence has severely handicapped Dhoni's (the 'real skipper') options as rookie left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary (4-0-52-1) paid dearly for his inexperience coupled with jangling nerves.

There were 100 metre plus sixes off length balls and Livingstone would often shimmy down the track to disturb the length as he did with the wily Bravo. Even the thick edges went for six with CSK bowlers looking clueless till he was there at the crease.

In fact, Bravo, under pressure, forced Dhoni to stand up to the stumps in order to prevent Livingstone from charging down the track but that hardly deterred him from playing his strokes.

What would disappoint Dhoni more is the fact that CSK gave away only 71 runs in the back-10 with a lot of credit going to their troika of overseas pacers -- Dwaine Pretorius (4-0-30-2), Dwayne Bravo (3-0-32-1) and Chris Jordan (4-0-23-2), who used variations to good effect.

In fact, bulk of the 55 dot balls came in the second half of the Punjab innings.

Livingstone and Shikhar Dhawan (33 off 24 balls) added 95 for the third wicket in just 8.4 overs and it seemed that another 200 plus total was on the cards.

By the time Dhawan was fooled by a Bravo slower, Punjab had laid the platform, scoring 109 in the first 10 overs, which sadly the later batters couldn't capitalise on.

But once Livingstone was out, the 'Reds' couldn't maintain the momentum although Vidarbha's Jitesh Sharma (26 off 17 balls) with his audacious strokeplay showed why he is so highly rated.

Also Read : Liam Livingstone scores 60 but CSK restrict PBKS to 180 for 8

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 3 (Cricket News) Twenty20 nomad Liam Livingstone justified his Rs 11.50 crore price-tag with a smashing 32-ball 60 but Chennai Super Kings came back strongly at the death to restrict Punjab Kings to 180 for 8 in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

CSK gave away only 71 runs in the back-10 with a lot of credit going to their troika of overseas pacers -- Dwaine Pretorius (4-0-30-2), Dwayne Bravo (3-0-32-1) and Chris Jordan (4-0-23-2), who used variations to good effect, stifling the opposition batters.

In fact, bulk of the 55 dot balls came in the second half of the Punjab innings.

Livingstone, one of the most destructive T20 batters across global leagues, finally came good with five fours and an equal number of sixes, sending the CSK bowlers on a leather-hunt during the initial overs.

Deepak Chahar's absence has severely handicapped 'de-facto' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's options as rookie left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary (4-0-52-1) paid dearly for his inexperience coupled with jangling nerves.

There were 100 metre plus sixes off length balls and Livingstone would often shimmy down the track to disturb the length as he did with the wily Bravo. Even the thick edges went for six with CSK bowlers looking clueless till he was there at the crease.

In fact, Bravo, under pressure, forced Dhoni to stand up to the stumps in order to prevent Livingstone from charging down the track.

'On paper' skipper Jadeja (4-0-34-1) finally got his man caught at short third-man but even he looked ordinary with no help from the flat Brabourne Stadium deck.

Livingstone and Shikhar Dhawan (33 off 24 balls) added 95 for the third wicket in just 8.4 overs and it seemed that another 200 plus total was on the cards.

By the time Dhawan was fooled by a Bravo slower, Punjab had laid the platform, scoring 109 in the first 10 overs, which sadly the later batters couldn't capitalise on.

But once Livingstone was out, the 'Reds' couldn't maintain the momentum although Vidarbha's Jitesh Sharma (26 off 17 balls) became the latest unheralded domestic talent to announce his arrival with some audacious strokeplay.

Shahrukh Khan (6 off 11 balls), who has bullied domestic bowlers for fun in national tournaments, has been studied well and is finding it difficult to get going at the bigger stage against better quality of bowlers.

Pretorius and Jordan kept deliveries wide and full outside the off-stump and at the base of bat, not allowing them anything in the arc. 

Also Read : Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar joins RCB as replacement for Luvnith Sisodia

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 3 (Cricket News) Chennai Super Kings won the toss and opted to bowl against Punjab Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

While PBKS brought in pacer Vaibhav Arora in place of left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar, keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma replaced all-rounder Raj Angad Bawa.

For CSK, Chris Jordan came in place of Tushar Deshpande.

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa(w), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Dwaine Pretorius, Mukesh Choudhary. 


Also Read : Didn't realise how good Moeen Ali was until he joined CSK: Mike Hussey.

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 2 (Cricket News) Chennai Super Kings have so far looked like anything but IPL's defending champions and to effect a turnaround, new skipper Ravindra Jadeja will seek improvements on multiple fronts against Punjab Kings here on Sunday.

CSK's title defense has begun on a disappointing note. After going down to Kolkata Knight Riders in the tournament opener, they lost to new entrants Lucknow Super Giants.

While the batting unit failed to fire in the opening game, heavy dew made life difficult for the bowlers as they failed to defend a target in excess of 200 runs.

The toss is already playing a significant role in the outcome of the games. With the second innings dew in mind, teams are opting to chase and CSK will hope to be better prepared to bowl with the wet ball.

“Dew will be the vital part in this edition. If you win the toss, you will look to bowl first. There was a lot of dew, the ball was not sticking to the hands, will have to practice with the wet ball,” Jadeja said after the loss to LSG.

The CSK bowling attack is also feeling the absence of pacers Deepak Chahar and Adam Milne and death-over specialist Chris Jordan.

They were forced to bowl all-rounder Shivam Dube in the penultimate over against Lucknow, which cost them 25 runs and took the match away from them.

The CSK bowlers need to tighten things up to keep the opposition batters in check. Tushar Desphande and rookie Mukesh Choudhary struggled against LSG and will have their task cut out against a strong Punjab line-up, especially at CCI, where bowling hasn't been easy.

Dwayne Bravo, now IPL's leading wicket-taker, has been the standout performer, but he needs support from others.

Skipper Jadeja has not been his usual self and needs to pull up his socks. After failing in the opening game, Chennai's batting clicked against Lucknow. A vintage Robin Uthappa, a clinical Mooen Ali and an equally hard-hitting Dube were seen and they would be more than keen to repeat their performances.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, last edition’s leading run scorer, needs to get runs under his belt. Mahendra Singh Dhoni can be expected to do the job in the middle-overs and can play the role of a finisher.

Punjab Kings, on the other hand, have quite a few big hitters in their ranks, but they faltered against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Smarting from a six-wicket defeat, they will be eager to return to winning ways and would expect the batters to step up.

With Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa at the top, Punjab can dominate the opposition attack with ease.

Odean Smith and Shahrukh Khan are also known to tonk the ball and will need to play the finisher's role on a more consistent basis.

Punjab, who added Kagiso Rabada to their attack, came up short against Andre Russell. They would quickly need to regroup and forget the hammering and bowl in the right areas.

The role of the two spinners Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar becomes crucial and could be a factor in deciding the outcome of the game.

Teams (from): Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (Captain), Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, 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.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

Match starts at 7.30 PM. 

Also Read : MI look for their first victory over the resurgent RR in match no 9

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Apr 1 (Cricket News) Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.

Both teams made a change each to their respective playing elevens. Punjab replaced Sandeep Sharma with Kagiso Rabada while KKR brought in Shivam Mavi in place of Sheldon Jackson. Sam Billings will keep wickets.

Teams: Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Raj Bawa, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Sam Billings (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy. 

Also Read : I am 'spin-fast' bowler who prefers bowling at 100 kmph rather than 75 kmph: Rashid Khan

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) KKR will look to bounce back after a disappointing loss to RCB but on the other hand Punjab Kings will be full of confidence after their swashbuckling batting display against RCB in the first match. PBKS management will welcome Kagiso Rabada in the playing XI as he could be the X-factor that their bowling line up was missing. 

KKR in the last match adopted a very strange game plan as each and every batsman lost their wicket to sceptical shots considering the match situation. Although the result didn't go in their favour, they stayed true to their playbook, hitting more boundaries than RCB. The one positive Brendon McCullum can take from the last match, was his side never giving up attitude as they almost defended a low score courtesy of Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee. Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum said that “the allrounder's shoulder was sore after he dived near the boundary”. If Russell doesn't recover in time, then KKR could instead call up Mohammad Nabi or Chamika Karunaratne.

PBKS will be high on confidence after their great batting display against RCB in the first match. They will be further boosted by Kagiso Rabada who is out of quarantine and trained with the team after having participated in the ODI series at home against Bangladesh on the other hand, Jonny Bairstow, is unavailable as he is yet to complete quarantine upon arrival from the Caribbean. Most of the eyes will be on an interesting sub plot will be Andre Russell vs Odeon Smith, Russell is still the gold standard of T20 cricket while Smith is the latest big-hitting allrounder from the Caribbean. Smith idolises Russell and has modelled his game on him and he recently won the T10 league with his idol at Deccan Gladiators in Abu Dhabi. If you see their head to head, Smith has bowled 13 balls to Russell in T20 cricket, keeping him to a mere eight runs while getting him out twice in three innings.

Pitch and weather report: There will be plenty of assistance for the bowlers and it will not be easy for the batters to come and straight away smash fours and sixes. Keeping wickets in hand will be the key to success. Again the dew factor can come into play as the trend of winning the toss and bowling first will continue. The temperature is going to hover around 30 degrees with no chance of rain.

Interesting facts:

• Russell has the edge over Rabada in T20s,he has scored 79 runs off 39 balls at a strike rate of over 200 while being dismissed just once.
• Umesh Yadav has 49 wickets in the powerplay in the IPL at an economy rate of 7.60. Only three bowlers have picked up more wickets than Umesh in the first six overs.
• Sunil Narine has a very strong record against Kings,he has picked up 31 wickets in 21 games at an average of 18.22 and economy rate of seven.
• Harpreet Brar had an economy rate of 6.04 in IPL 2021 which was the best among bowlers who had bowled more than ten overs last season.
• Mayank Agarwal  is 51 runs away from completing 4000 runs in T20 cricket . 
•  Ajinkya Rahane needs just 6 runs away from him to complete 4000 runs in IPL.

Probable XI for KKR:
1 Venkatesh Iyer, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Sam Billings, 6 Sheldon Jackson (wk), 7 Andre Russell/Chamika Karunaratne/Mohammad Nabi, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy

Probable XI for PBKS:
1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Raj Bawa, 6 M Shahrukh Khan, 7 Odean Smith, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Rahul Chahar

Also read: CSK lose 2nd game in a row while LSG open IPL account
 

(Cricket news) Two new IPL captains Mayank Agarwal for Punjab Kings and Faf du Plessis for Royal Challengers Bangalore walked out for the toss which the former won and elected to bowl first. Despite a slow start, RCB finished their innings at 205/2 thanks to a 57 ball 88 by du Plessis. The former South African skipper after a bumpy start really took on the bowling. He was initially supported by Anuj Rawat and later by Virat Kohli who surprisingly came to bat at number 3.

Dinesh Karthik came in to bat at number 4 with 3 overs to go and did what he does best. The gloveman scored 35 runs in double quick time which is exactly why he was bought by RCB. Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh picked up a wicket each. They were also the only bowlers who were somewhat economical for PBKS. Chasing the mammoth total, Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan gave their side a very good start by scoring 70 in 7 overs. Keeper Bhanuka Rajapaksa played a very important knock of 43 of 22 balls to set up a run chase.

Cameos from Liam Livingston, Shah Rukh Khan and especially Odean Smith helped PBKS chase down the total within 19 overs. RCB bowlers couldn't contain the runs at any point during the game as all the bowlers were expensive. Mohammed Siraj started off really sloppy by giving two four wides and a couple of looseners. He came back well by picking up two quick wickets. The biggest takeaway from this match was that RCB needed Josh Hazelwood back desperately.

Also read: MI lose yet another IPL opener as Kuldeep Yadav leads DC to victory

Navi Mumbai, Mar 27 (Cricket News) Newly-appointed skipper Faf du Plessis' scintillating 57-ball 88 went in vain as Punjab Kings produced a solid batting display to script a successful chase for a five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a thrilling IPL match here on Sunday.

While Du Plessis showed his six-hitting prowess, hammering seven maximums in his whirlwind knock, Virat Kohli also chipped in with an unbeaten 41 off 29 balls and Dinesh Karthik made a quick fire 32 not out as RCB posted a massive 205 for 2 after being invited to bat.

The chase was steep but not impossible and Punjab produced a sensational effort to overhaul the target, scoring 208 for 5 with an entire over to spare.

While Mayank Agarwal (32 off 24) and Shikhar Dhawan (43 off 29) added 71 for the first wicket to lay the foundation for the chase, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (43 off 22) also shone on his IPL debut but Punjab suffered a collapse to be down and out at 156 for 5.

However, Shahrukh Khan (24 not out off 20 balls) and Odean Smith (25 not out off 8 balls) then joined hands to complete the job in the end. The duo shared a 52-run unbroken stand off just 25 balls for the sixth wicket to take Punjab home.

Smith smashed three sixes and a four off Mohammed Siraj in the 18th over to accumulate 25 runs and bring down the equation to 11 from the final two overs.

Shahrukh, who hit one four and two maximums, finished the game with a boundary as Mayank Agarwal started his captaincy tenure with a win.

Earlier, RCB skipper du Plessis and Kohli added 118 runs for the second wicket after the former and Anuj Rawat (21) had laid the foundation with their 50 run-stand.

RCB amassed 11 ‘extra’ runs, off the second over off Arshdeep Singh. Du Plessis got his first boundary in the third, while in the same over, Rawat hit his first maximum, as RCB raced to 23/0.

Rawat hit successive boundaries in the sixth over, off Odean Smith. But leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (1/22) cut shot Rawat’s stay by cleaning him up in the seventh over.

Kohli came in and he took time to settle down.

After successive twos, Kohli’s first maximum came in the 10th over as RCB fetched 13 runs off it and at 70/1, the foundation was laid for a big total.

The former South Africa skipper, who got a ‘life’, made optimum use of it and then upped the ante, as the carnage started from the 12th over when he hammered a towering six off Liam Livingstone.

Du Plessis was brutal on Odean Smith, whom he hammered for a boundary and two successive sixes. He followed it up with two sixes off Harpreet Brar (0/38).

Kohli, who hit a four and two sixes, was also in his elements, as he played shots at will. He, however, played second fiddle to Du Plessis when the South African was in full flow.

Du Plessis was dismissed in the 18th over, but by then the damage had been done.

A quick-fire 32 from Karthik off just 14 balls, in which he smashed three sixes and as many fours, took RCB beyond the 200-run mark. 

Also Read : Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) post 205 for 2 against Punjab Kings

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Mar 27 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings' new skipper Mayank Agarwal won the toss and elected to bowl against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

RCB also have a new captain in Faf du Plessis for this season.

The Teams: Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Raj Bawa, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Sandeep Sharma, Rahul Chahar. 

Also Read : Kolkata Knight Riders beat CSK by six wickets in IPL opener

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) The festival of cricket, IPL is underway. Day two will have a double header, the first one will be between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. DC are in a bit of a pickle as they are without several key foreign players for the clash. Mumbai Indians on the other hand are expected to field their strongest XI led by the Indian captain Rohit Sharma.

Delhi don't even have enough players to fill the 4 foreign spots. This could give chances to young Indian players. The most prominent one is Under 19 World Cup winning captain Yash Dhull. The batter led India to the trophy before setting the Ranji Trophy stage on fire. His teammate Vicky Otswal could also be handed a debut. Mumbai Indians on the other hand might unleash Dewald Brevis also known as Baby AB. Tilak Varma is another youngster who is worth keeping an eye on.

The other match is between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, both of whom have two new IPL captains. RCB will be under the new leadership of Faf du Plessis who is expected to open the batting with Virat Kohli which will be a very interesting opening combination. On the other side will be the opening duo of new captain Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan. RCB will be without Josh Hazelwood and Glenn Maxwell while Jonny Bairstow will be unavailable for  PBKS.

In the initial matches, the majority ofteams will not be at full strength but these matches will set the tone for the rest of the tournament. The depth of the teams will be tested and players who were selected as backups will get their chance very early on in the tournament. The format is new and different which makes it difficult to predict anything this early on.

Also read: Takeaways from Australia's legendary Test series win in Pakistan

New Delhi, Mar 19 (Cricket News) Newly appointed Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal believes that the franchise has built a title-winning squad for the IPL beginning March 26.

After four seasons with the team, Agarwal has been given the leadership responsibility after the shift of his opening partner K L Rahul to the Lucknow franchise.

Agarwal amassed 400-plus runs in the last two seasons and formed one of the strongest opening pairings in the IPL alongside Rahul but the team failed to make the play-offs.

Punjab were praised for getting the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Odean Smith at the IPL auction. Apart from the other retained player in Arshdeep Singh, Punjab also bought back uncapped power-hitter Shahrukh Khan. The team has underperformed for years and their only final appearance came way back in 2014. The management has pinned hopes on its latest recruits to change the team's fortunes.

"We like to believe that we do have a title winning squad and now it is upon us as players to execute our skills under pressure and see what we can make out of it," Agarwal told PTI on Saturday.

"As a team we have done a good job at the auction. We were looking at few skill sets knowing that the tournament will be played in Mumbai and we have covered those bases. We are happy with the balance we have in the side." As captain, his role in the side increases massively but as a batter, he feels nothing changes.

"When I am batting I am just a batsman. We have a lot of leaders and experience in the team and that makes it easier for me. I want to excel as a batsman and do the things I have been doing. (On the captaincy front) we have made our plans to take the team forward," said the India Test opener.

Agarwal is expected to open the batting alongside Dhawan but he did not reveal much on the combination.

"I can't talk about the batting order as of now but I can definitely say that we are excited to have Shikhar on board. He is an absolute livewire, a great entertainer, a massive performer and a lot of the guys will feed off his energy. He is also in a great mind space." Agarwal said conversations over him leading the side went on for a while and he is just excited about the opportunity. He captained Punjab Kings briefly last season when Rahul was injured and he feels that experience will help him this season.

"It definitely does help (having captained the team before). I have had a taste of what it feels like," he said, adding there is no additional pressure of not having won the title ever.

Punjab have rejigged their support staff ahead of the 2022 season and roped in power-hitting specialist Julian Wood. Agarwal said Wood brings "something different" to the table. "Woody is a top guy. We have had couple of sessions together. He has got different ideas about the game, it is fantastic to work with him. He is quite flexible and is spending a lot of time with each batsman.

"He is not just talking about power hitting, he is analysing what their strengths are and try and then maximise their potential. He has been a great addition to the team and we look forward to executing the skills that he has been teaching us," he added. 

Also Read : Australia get comfortable win over India despite late fumble

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Mar 14 (Cricket News) Punjab Kings have hired former England first-class cricketer Julian Ross Wood as their batting consultant, with emphasis on power-hitting, ahead of the Indian Premier League beginning March 26.

Wood is considered a pioneer in power-hitting coaching having worked with players across IPL, the Big Bash League and other T20 leagues.

He has individually worked with the likes of Ben Stokes, Prithvi Shaw, Sam Billings and Carlos Brathwaite on the science of staying still and hitting the ball out of the park.

The 53-year-old will work on the Punjab batters alongside assistant coach Jonty Rhodes, who has been given the additional responsibility this season besides the fielding department.

"We are jubilant to announce Julian Ross Wood as our new batting consultant for #TATAIPL2022," the team wrote on social media.

The franchise had a fairly successful auction as they roped in the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada and Shahrukh Khan.

Punjab had Wood on their radar for the last two years but were finally able to secure his services last week.

Wood had been approached by other IPL teams in the past but the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to his late arrival in the world's biggest T20 league.

"We wanted him earlier as well but it did not materialise. We were tracking his work for the past two years and he teaches a must have skill to the batters," a Punjab Kings team source told PTI.

"We too have a bunch of power-hitters in the squad and they can also pick the brain of someone like Wood. It was Jonty who first spotted him and we are happy to have him on board," added the team source.

Punjab badly need a turnaround in their fortunes, having finished 6th out of 8 teams in the past three seasons. Their only final appearance came in 2014. 

Also Read : Iyer had big shoes to fill but he has done well: Rohit Sharma

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Mar 3 (Cricket News) South Africa's U-19 World Cup sensation Dewald Brevis says Sachin Tendulkar has always been an inspiration to him and he would like to implement a few things in his game from the batting icon as he looks to create his own identity in world cricket.

"The way he played was always an inspiration to me. My favourite innings of his is the ODI double-century, which happened to be against South Africa. I remember watching the match with my brother - it was an amazing innings," the 18-year-old told Mumbaindians.com.

"I read his autobiography 'Playing it My Way' and there are a lot of things from there that I'd like to implement in my game. One thing I learnt from him is that you have to be humble because pride can be your downfall." Brevis was picked up by five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians in the mega-auction recently.

Nicknamed 'Baby AB' for his uncanny resemblance to AB de Villiers' batting, Brevis said it is an honour to be compared to him but he would like to create his own identity and is relishing the prospects of sharing the dressing room with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

"It is an honour to be compared to him (AB De Villiers), but it is important for me to have my own identity. I want to be known as Dewald Brevis," he said.

"We went to the same school and played under the same coach so when I first met him, I could not get a word out. There were many things I wanted to ask him but I was star-struck," the right-handed batter remembered.

Brevis said he is now keen to pick the minds of de Villiers as he starts his IPL journey.

"I would say he (AB) is great to learn from - he makes time for you and that is something I really appreciate. I mean, he is AB de Villiers and he could be a very different guy but he is very humble. I plan to ask him about his knowledge of the IPL soon," he said.

Brevis scored 506 runs in the 2022 U-19 World Cup, the most in a single edition of the tournament, surpassing flamboyant India opener Shikhar Dhawan's record of 505 runs in the 2004 edition and also picked up seven wickets with his part-time leg-spin.

His exploits forced Mumbai Indians to shell out Rs 3 crore for him at the IPL mega-auction and Brevis said he is now looking forward to sharing the dressing room with India and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma, who is himself a white-ball exponent.

"I would love to share the dressing room with Rohit Sharma. He is a wonderful batter, smokes the bowlers and I have seen him rise through the ranks over the years," he said.

"I am grateful that both Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah are on the team. I think it will be tougher to face Bumrah, I have seen him bowl live at Supersport Park (in Centurion) for India against South Africa and it is surreal that I will be facing him in the nets soon." Brevis said it a dream come true moment for him but he never expected to play for Mumbai Indians.

"I did not expect it at all. I was playing for the Titans in the CSA T20 challenge during the auction and my name literally came up in the middle of the game. I remember Quinton de Kock asking me to come up to the TV to watch what was happening," he said.

"My parents were also really excited. They started crying in all that excitement because, we as a family, have followed the IPL and MI all through. My first memory of playing cricket was in our backyard and from replicating ‘IPL games’ there to actually playing for MI is a dream come true.

"It gives me a lot of confidence to be picked by the most successful IPL team and motivates me to add one more trophy to that cabinet. MI has always been one of my favourite teams." 

Also Read : Rohit Sharma to begin Test captaincy reign against Sri Lanka in Mohali

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) The 2022 IPL will be starting in a couple of weeks as the players get ready for the 15th edition. Punjab Kings spent over 70 crores at the auction table and retained two players into the squad. Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh will continue to represent the team as this time it will be Mayank Agarwal who will be leading the side. Mayank has been the vice captain in the past and did lead the team a few times but now has a tough assignment to complete when the event starts.

The 31 year old is looking at a side with a handful of experienced batter and bowlers as the rest of the team is filled with untapped talent. The team spent 11.5 crores on Liam Livingstone as the all rounder has some big shoes to fill, the English player is a hard hitter of the ball and can bowl both leg and off spin. With the absence of KL Rahul and Mohammad Shami, the bowling attack will be led by Kagiso Rabada who has been one of the best bowlers in the league since his debut. Sandeep Sharma will be looking to swing the ball in and out to the batter; his economy rate of 7.78 in 99 matches is proof that the bowler can keep the runs in check.

Nathan Ellis has proven to be a top wicket taker in the Big Bash League and will now need to do the same in India; the right arm medium has only played 3 matches so far and can expect to play more matches this season. Arshdeep Singh will need to repeat his last year’s performance with the team as he picked up 18 wickets along with a 5 wicket haul. Benny Howell will also look to make an impression in the side with his slower balls and has also proven to be a useful lower order batter in the Bangladesh Premier League. Teenager Raj Angad Bawa was bought for 2 crores as the all rounder has been one of the best bowlers in the under 19 Indian side. Ishan Porel and Vaibhav Arora have an economy rate under 7 in the domestic circuits in the format and it will be interesting to see how they fare against the international players.

Shikhar Dhawan will most probably be opening with Mayank as the left hander is a reliable batter in the format and can go for the big ones against the top bowlers. Jonny Bairstow’s inclusion into the side is definitely a positive sign as he can provide the match winning knocks. Shahrukh Khan will also be in the power packed batting department, although the 26 year old is yet to score a half century in the league so far he can be the key player in the death overs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa will be making his IPL debut this time and has an impressive track record in the format for Sri Lanka. Jitesh Sharma has been one of the top batters for the Vidarbha side, the wicketkeeper batter scored 214 runs in 8 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season and has a great opportunity to showcase his much needed batting skills.

Rahul Chahar will be leading the spin attack and can form a partnership with Harpreet Brar which can be a right - left combination. Although Chahar is expecting a heavy workload, the team will find its way after playing a few matches. Odean Smith will also try to work on his economy rate as it did not go well for the bowler against India in the recently concluded series.

Mayank will need to come up with a strategy to form a lethal batting attack as the squad has a few experienced players but the youngsters need to step in bowling and batting departments. Although the bowlers look more set in position, the team will need to bring in the runs with the batters.

Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odeon Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.

Also read: IPL teams to start training from March 14 or 15, five practice venues identified

New Delhi, Feb 23 (Cricket News) India batter Mayank Agarwal is likely to captain Punjab Kings in the upcoming Indian Premier League. Agarwal, who is part of the Indian Test team, was one of the two players retained by Punjab Kings alongside young pacer Arshdeep Singh ahead of the mega auction earlier this month.

A formal announcement is expected soon.

"In all likelihood, Mayank will captain the side. The announcement is expected later this week," an IPL source told PTI.

Punjab, who went into the auction with the maximum purse, made good use of the money by getting the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada and buying back left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar and explosive Tamil Nadu batter Shahrukh Khan.

Dhawan's name as captain was also doing the rounds but the management was keen on Agarwal as the leader even before the auction.

"Dhawan is a welcome addition to the side and was always on the radar at the auction. He is a champion player but it seems Punjab were keen on Mayank as captain ever since K L Rahul left the team," the source added.

Agarwal and Rahul formed one of the most prolific opening pairs in the IPL over the past couple of years. Rahul will lead Lucknow Super Giants this season.

Agarwal had captained the team briefly last year when Rahul was injured. Agarwal aggregated 400-plus runs in the past two seasons. He had made his IPL debut in 2011 and has so far played 100 games.

The 31-year-old has also played 19 Tests and five ODIs for India.

With a strong squad at their disposal, Punjab Kings are aiming to end their title drought in the IPL. Their only final appearance came way back in 2014. They finished sixth out of eight teams in last three editions. 

Also Read : Jadeja and Bumrah set to return as India take on Hasaranga-less Sri Lanka

News Source : PTI

Kolkata, Feb 15 (Cricket News) Flush with exciting talent and focussed on the T20 World Cup in exactly eight months' time, the Rohit Sharma-led Team India would be aiming to get its combinations right when it takes on the West Indies in a three-match series beginning here on Wednesday.

India were the pre-tournament favourites but made a shocking group stage exit in the last T20 World Cup held in the UAE in October-November. The shambolic campaign exposed loopholes in the team combination and temperament, spoiling Virat Kohli's swansong as T20 skipper.

India will look to make amends and rebuild the side with a packed T20 calendar lined up ahead of the marquee event in Australia beginning October 16.

Rohit, under whom Mumbai Indians have won five IPL titles, would be looking to sort out issues such as the opening blues, the middle-lower order conundrum and also the bowling strategies.

And he will have a happy headache of plenty while trying to firm up the squad.

Just the other day at the IPL mega auction, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan hit the jackpot by landing a Rs 15.25 crore deal with Rohit's franchise Mumbai Indians.

In fact, 10 players from the current squad landed massive deals and all eyes would also be on the likes of Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders Rs 12.25 crore), Harshal Patel (Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rs 10.75 crore) and Shardul Thakur (Delhi Capitals, Rs 10.75 crore).

Opening puzzle ========== First up would be the opening combination and who would be ideal to partner the skipper in the shortest format with his regular KL Rahul out with a left hamstring strain.

Ishan opened in the first match of their preceding three-match ODI series against the Caribbean team in Ahmedabad but the skipper also tried out Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan.

While Ishan may be the preferred choice, Rohit also has options in Maharashtra run machine Ruturaj Gaikwad who has been in red hot form but has only been warming the bench.

Then there is Venkatesh Iyer, the KKR all-rounder who shot to prominence in the UAE leg of the last IPL as a big-hitting opener with 320 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 125. He was just behind Gaikwad who had more runs (407) in this period.

It will also be interesting if Virat Kohli comes out to open with Rohit to get among runs as he's been dealing with a lean patch. His last International century came at this very venue way back in November 2019 in the pink ball day/night Test against Bangladesh.

Middle and lower order conundrum ====================== India have a packed white ball calendar in the run up to their T20I World Cup opener against Pakistan on October 23.

So, it would not be a bad ploy for the think tank to give some much deserved rest to the dashing Pant as Ishan seems to be a confirmed selection in the side.

This will help Rohit try out both Shreyas Iyer and Surkyakumar Yadav in the same XI. The duo was in fine form in the recently-concluded ODI series.

Suryakumar was the top scorer in the ODI series with 104 runs at an average of 52.00, while Iyer scored a match-winning 80 in their 3-0 series sweeping win in the third ODI.

India also have some exciting options lower down the order with the likes of Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel.

Patel impressed with a fine cameo of 11-ball 18 to prop up India's total to a match-winning 184/7 from 140/6 in his only outing in the series against New Zealand just after the World Cup.

Bishnoi will fancy his chances =================== Fresh from a stupendous comeback series in the ODIs, Yuzvendra Chahal will be India's regular spin option but it remains to be seen if exciting Rajasthan leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi gets a maiden call up.

He was rewarded after an impressive run in the IPL and domestic circuit to be selected for the series.

With Washington Sundar ruled out of the series with a hamstring injury, it remains to be seen if the youngster from Jodhpur will get his maiden International cap.

West Indies aim for improvements ===================== Unlike their flop show in the ODI series, the Kieron Pollard-led West Indies would look to give a strong fight to the hosts in their favourite T20 format.

Boasting of T20 specialists, the Windies came here after beating England 3-2 at home in a thrilling five-match series.

They bat deep and with some aggressive hitters, the West Indies will hope to give India a tough fight.

Jason Holder has been in fine form for them and took four wickets in four balls in the final ODI against England to return with career-best figures of 5/27.

With some exciting all-round options in Odean Smith and Akeal Hosein, Pollard's men would look to make it count at a venue where they won the T20 World Cup in 2016.

Dew factor, a concern? ============== With the chill in the air, dew can be a concern for both the teams at the Eden.

The CAB has kept four pitches ready for the three matches to be played in five days.

SQUADS: India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav and Harpreet Brar.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Match starts: 7 pm IST. 

Also Read : The top bargain buys of this years 2022 IPL auction

News Source : PTI

Kolkata, Feb 14 (Cricket News) India batting coach Vikram Rathour on Monday said that Rishabh Pant can be utilised in a "better way lower down the order" and the team has not yet decided on an elevation for the keeper-batter after trying him as an opener in an ODI against the West Indies recently.

Rathour was roped in after the exit of Sanjay Bangar in late 2019, and he got an extension till the ODI World Cup in India next year despite the departure of old coaching staff under Ravi Shastri.

Asked whether the team management sees Pant as an opener in the white ball format in future, Rathour said the dashing big-hitter could be better utilised in the lower middle-order.

"It's too far ahead. I don't know whether I will be part of the side after 2023... As for Rishabh, he is a fantastic player, he can always bat up the order," Rathour said in a media interaction ahead of the T20 International series against the West Indies here beginning Wednesday.

"It will depend on the team's scenario at that point of time and what the team wants from him. I've no doubt that he will be an important member of the side beyond 2023.

"But we can utilise him in a better way lower down the order which can be really challenging as we don't have many options of a left hander in the middle-order. We will see at that point of time where he can be more useful." Pant opened the batting in the second ODI against the West Indies and then batted at number five in the third and final game after Shikhar Dhawan was back in the mix.

Asked if the team management would want to try Pant as an opener in the upcoming T20Is, he said: "We have not yet decided, we still have a couple of days to go (for the match).

"I understand KL (Rahul) is out but we still have Ishan (Kishan) and Ruturaj (Gaikwad) in the mix. We will see once we have a look at the surface here on Monday," he added. 

Also Read : Prasidh Krishna: India's next fast bowling prodigy with the red ball

News Source : PTI

Bengaluru, Feb 12 (Cricket News) Ishan Kishan and Deepak Chahar clinched the most eye-popping deals as India's battle-hardened T20 exponents laughed their way to the bank on the opening day of IPL mega-auction where the franchises saved their highest bids for home-grown talent.

Kishan's Rs 15.25 crore winning bid from Mumbai Indians pipped the Rs 14 crore figure that CSK offered to retain Deepak Chahar on Saturday. Franchises showed prudence in overall spending but didn't hesitate to loosen the purse strings for proven performers, especially Indians.

In terms of US Dollars, there were 20 million-plus buys, the biggest by far at any IPL auction with most of the beneficiaries being Indian T20 specialists.

It was a satisfying 'Pay Day' for all current India internationals with Shreyas Iyer getting a staggering Rs 12.25 crore deal from Kolkata Knight Riders and the multi-skilled Shardul Thakur making Delhi Capitals break the bank with a Rs 10.75 crore.

These two, along with Kishan and Chahar, were the top four buys of the day.

"I'm really excited to be back at MI. I know everyone has treated me there like a family so I am really happy to be there and I hope to give my best to the team. Thank you so much," said the 23-year-old Kishan in a video posted on his twitter handle.

The big-hitting Kishan made his India debut last year and has been a Mumbai Indians player all along, performing consistently well for the side.

Young pacer Prasidh Krishna (Rs 10 crore) was paid big by Rajasthan Royals for his timely Man of the Series performance against the West Indies while Washington Sundar, another India regular, got richer by Rs 8.75 crore.

One of the expected big buys was pacer Avesh Khan, who was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 10 crore, the highest in the history of IPL for uncapped players.

Yuzvendra Chahal would be a bit cross as he came late in the day and could only get Rs 6.5 crore from Rajasthan Royals.

Even Nitish Rana, not an Indian regular but an IPL performer, was retained for Rs 8 crore by KKR while the uncapped Rahul Tripathi, who has been consistent in the league, very deservingly crossed the million dollar mark at Rs 8.50 crore.

Shahrukh Khan, another formidable domestic T20 finisher but one with a base price of a mere Rs 20 lakh, was taken for a 'mic-drop' deal of Rs 9 crore by Punjab Kings.

Rajasthan's former one-season wonder Rahul Tewatia was lapped up by Gujarat Titans for a mind-boggling Rs 9 crore.

It wasn't an auction to remember for the old guard and only two 35 plus players -- Shikhar Dhawan (Rs 8.25 crore, Punjab Kings) and Ravichandran Ashwin (Rs 5 crore, Rajasthan Royals) -- got good deals.

Among other seniors Mohammed Shami was taken by Gujarat Titans for Rs 6.25 crore. His new ball partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar got Rs 4.6 crore from Sunrisers.

While this was the last mega auction, what was impressive was the discretion that franchises used while buying players as the focus was on top Indian players available in the market and currently playing white-ball cricket.

For Chennai Super Kings, the aim was to follow Mahendra Sigh Dhoni's template and retain their core base of players as much as possible as they waited to buy back Deepak, another multi-skilled cricketer on ascendancy for India.

KKR retained eight out of their top first 11 players from last season but are still looking short in the fast bowling department.

KKR didn't do too badly as they picked up Australian Test captain Pat Cummins at Rs 7.25 crore, which is less than half of what he was paid at last auction.

"To get back Pat Cummins at that price, we are very, very delighted. We thought he would go higher," KKR CEO Venky Mysore said.

"We could not be happier getting Cummins and Shreyas in the first round itself. Heart beats a bit more properly now, we can now have some fun looking at what else is going on," he added.

While Cummins is a captaincy candidate, he will not be available during the first two weeks even though Mysore didn't want to commit on captaincy.

"As far as captaincy is concerned, that's a decision our coach and the think-tank will take. Certainly, between Cummins and Shreyas, we have solid options for us. I'm sure the think-tank will make the right decisions," he added.

Franchises do their homework =================== In case of overseas recruits, the franchises focussed on those who have shown themselves to be consistent performers in previous IPLs and with a reputation of doing well on Indian tracks.

Like other years, none of the franchises got swayed by performances in Big Bash League, the Caribbean Premier League and the Pakistan Super League and concentrated solely on those who can bring value during the IPL.

So Wanindu Hasaranga, who is from Sri Lanka and currently the world's No. 1 T20 International bowler, fetched Rs 10.75 crore while West Indian Nicholas Pooran, despite a disastrous IPL the last time, got a similar amount from Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The same reason got England's keeper-batter Jonny Bairstow a Rs 6.75 crore bid from Punjab Kings.

It was a case of supply and demand and at what time of the auction one is placed as teams, save for CSK (Dhoni) and Delhi Capitals (Rishabh Pant), didn't have wicketkeepers.

Pooran is an optimistic buy considering that he can be destructive on his day.

The discretion was evident when one saw a David Warner going for Rs 6.25 crore.

It was a very good bargain buy for Delhi Capitals and same could be said about newcomers Lucknow Supergiants, who got a fabulous player like Quinton de Kock for Rs 6.75 crore.

"Absolutely excited to buy David Warner. I cannot believe that we got such a legend at Rs 6.25 crore. With Warner and Prithvi Shaw opening the batting, it will be an explosive start to every single Delhi Capitals innings," DC co-owner Parth Jindal said.

The paucity of all-rounders meant that Jason Holder (Rs 8.75 crore) and Shardul would have attracted solid bids.

"We are really excited to have Shardul as he can bowl in Powerplays and bowl at the death," Jindal said.

Their only dodgy buy is Mitchell Marsh, whose IPL career has been plagued by injuries and paying him Rs 6.50 crore could be a bit of an oversight considering he can't be played at No. 3, where he worked wonders for Australia.

Among domestic players, Riyan Parag's Rs 3.80 crore retention by Royals, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy performer Abhinav Manohar's Rs 2.60 crore deal with Gujarat Titans were eye-catching.

South Africa's U-19 World Cup star Dewald Brevis, known as 'Baby AB' for his batting style's resemblance to AB de Villiers, was brought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 3 crore.

Abhishek Sharma, a left-arm spinner and left-handed batter, who many term as 'Poor Man's Krunal Pandya' for similar skill sets got a whopping Rs 6.5 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Foreign fast bowlers in demand ====================he Trent Boult came in the marquee set and still fetched a million dollars (Rs 8 crore) for his good show in previous years for Mumbai Indians as Rajasthan Royals aggressively bid for him.

But when his New Zealand teammate and slightly pacier Lockie Ferguson arrived in fast bowler's set, he got the paddles raised at frequent intervals and Gujarat Titans, who didn't have a great first day, suddenly got activated and bought him for Rs 10 crore.

For CSK, Josh Hazlewood's exit will be a big deal as the Australian pacer will now play for RCB with a deal of Rs 7.75 crore.

Another speed demon Mark Wood of England got Rs 7.5 crore from Lucknow Supergiants Good bargain buys by Lucknow Supergiants ========================== While RCB got their opening issues and captaincy sorted with a Rs 7 crore bid for Faf Du Plessis, Lucknow Supergiants claimed Quinton de Kock for Rs 6.75 crore.

Also, a currently out-of-sorts Manish Pandey, for Rs 4.6 crore, wasn't a bad bargain either.

Lucknow, however, bid big for Krunal and clinched him for a cool Rs 8.25 crore. His former Baroda bete noire Deepak Hooda was also taken by Lucknow for Rs 5.75 crore.

It is now up to Lucknow mentor Gautam Gambhir, who knows a thing or two about volatile temperaments, to see that team spirit is not hampered by the warring duo.

Pujara, Rahane, Ishant don't come under hammer, Saha unsold ======================================= Three prominent Test specialists Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma didn't come under the hammer on the day and it is understood that franchises didn't want to spend on players who don't bring value to the table with their T20 game.

They might come back on Sunday at the accelerated bidding process if someone expresses interests. Wriddhiman Saha, who has been told that he won't be picked for Test matches went unsold as teams are looking beyond the soon-to-be 38 year-old Bengal stumper.

Umesh Yadav, for his inconsistent white ball record, also went unsold and one of IPL's bonafide legends Suresh Raina found out that just playing IPL to IPL wouldn't work as Chennai Super Kings didn't bid for him. Ditto for Steve Smith who went unsold as there were no takers. 

Also Read : After SRH snub, Warner looks to start afresh at where it all began in IPL

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) India won the ODI series against West Indies 3-0. This was the 1st time that India inflicted a whitewash on the West Indies and it was also the first time Rohit Sharma took charge of the team after becoming ODI captain. India recovered well after a disastrous tour of South Africa although it has to be said that the West Indies were very poor especially with the bat.

For the first time since 2017, Virat Kohli ended an ODI series without a single 50+ score. New skipper Rohit Sharma said that despite not getting a century, Kohli has batted well and the team management is not worried about his form. Kohli does have a century drought but by no means is he lacking runs as he is crossing the 50+ mark consistently. It is just a matter of before we see the best of Virat Kohli and the team management will be hoping that it comes in the T20I series.

India's middle order was the biggest positives as KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar all chipped in with crucial runs. The middle order of India usually doesn't get much batting time due to their top order's dominance. In this series, the middle order bailed the team out in difficult times. There is a lot of healthy competition for the middle order places which is very good for Indian cricket.

Indian seamers had a very good tournament with Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj leading the attack. Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur also chipped in with crucial wickets. With Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah rested the Indian pace battery showed it's depth. The performance is an indication that it will be very difficult for Bhuvneshwar Kumar to find his way back in the squad.

Even though the pacers were predominant due to the conditions, the spinners did chip in. Washington Sundar played really well in the first game but was just a tad bit off in the 2nd one even though he bowled a match winning over towards the end. Yuzvendra Chahal won the man of the match in the 1st game and bowled well in the 2nd one as well. Kuldeep Yadav played the 3rd game marking his international comeback. 

Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid still have a lot of things to sort out in terms of balance and personnel before the World Cup next year. Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are three players who will definitely be back in the mix hopefully in the Sri Lanka series. Healthy competition is always beneficial for the team but it is crucial for India to try out their best line-up before the World Cup a few times.

Also read: Iyer, Pant, Prasidh and Siraj star as India defeat dull West Indies by 96 runs

(Cricket news) India defeated the West Indies by 96 runs to complete the whitewash in the 3-match ODI series. Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first. India made 4 changes with Shikhar Dhawan, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav and Shreyas Iyer replacing KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal. West Indies on the other hand brought in Hayden Walsh Jr for Akeal Hossein as Kieron Pollard didn't recover in time.

Alzarri Joseph got the Windies off to a brilliant start as he got rid of Rohit Sharma in the 4th over and dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck in the same over. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant steadied the ship with their left and right hand combination. The pair added 110 runs and set the tone of the innings. Iyer fell at 80 runs while Pant was dismissed on 56. Washington Sundar and Deepak Chahar added some runs late on to get India to a total of 265 which was the highest total of the series. Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers as he took 4 wickets for 34 runs from his 8 overs. 

West Indies never looked like chasing the total. Apart from Nicholas Pooran and Odean Smith, no player got past the 30 run mark. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj both picked up 3 wickets each. Kuldeep Yadav on his international comeback picked up 2 wickets and so did Deepak Chahar. The track complimented the seamers really well and Kuldeep chipped in well with his wrist spin. Indian seamers got really good lateral movement and bounce off the surface which the Windies batters couldn't deal with. West Indies once again failed to bat for 50 overs as they have done all series.

 After a disappointing tour of South Africa, India came back well despite missing Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. India will now shift focus to the T20Is but it has been a very good start to the Rohit Sharma era. West Indies have a lot of work to do before the ODI World Cup but it doesn't look good for them at the moment.

Also read: Suzie Bates' ton helps New Zealand run over lackluster India

(Cricket news) Stylish India international Shreyas Iyer predictably became the highest paid player among the marquee set with Kolkata Knight Riders clinching him for a whopping Rs 12.25 crore after an intense bidding war at the Indian Premier League auction here on Saturday.

India seamer Harshal Patel, who was IPL's top wicket-taker last year, enjoyed a fantastic auction as Royal Challengers Bangalore retained him for Rs 10.75 crore.

Some of the veteran India players like Shikhar Dhawan, bought for Rs 8.25 crore by Punjab Kings, and Mohammed Shami, gone for Rs 6.25 crore to new entrants Gujarat Titans, also enjoyed a good pay day.

Even Ravichandran Ashwin had no reason to complain as he earned a Rs 5 crore deal from Rajasthan Royals.

The young turk who raked in the moolah during the opening session was young left-hander Devdutt Padikkal, who got a Rs 7.75 crore (over USD 1 million) deal with Rajasthan Royals.

Among the foreign players, T20 specialists like West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder (bought for Rs 8.75 crore by Lucknow Supergiants), South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada (bought for Rs 9.25 crore by Pubjab Kings) and hard-hitting Shimron Hetmyer (bought for Rs 8.5 crore by Rajasthan Royals) all breached the million dollar mark among overseas cricketers.

Iyer's entry in the KKR fold ensures a captaincy candidate for them while the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise also got back their Australian pace spearhead Pat Cummins for half the price at Rs 7.25 crore.

The KKR also managed to secure the services of another core player -- domestic giant and T20 specialist Nitish Rana -- for Rs 8 crore.

Cummins was bought for over Rs 15 crore last time and no wonder CEO Venky Mysore was very pleased with the outcome this time.

"To get back Pat Cummins at that price, we are very, very delighted. We thought he would go higher," Mysore said.

"We could not be happier getting Cummins and Shreyas in the first round itself. Heart beats a bit more properly now, we can now have some fun looking at what else is going on," the KKR CEO added.

While Cummins is a captaincy candidate, he will not be available during the first two weeks even though Mysore didn't want to commit on captaincy.

"As far as captaincy is concerned, that's a decision our coach and the think-tank will take. Certainly, between Cummins and Shreyas, we have solid options for us. I'm sure the think-tank will make the right decisions," he added.

There was lot of demand for Shikhar Dhawan, who has been a great IPL player of late for Delhi Capitals and even though his old franchise bid well, Punjab Kings got Mayank Agarwal's opening partner for the season.

"If you think Shikhar Dhawan is not a game-changer then you are making a big mistake. He is an outstanding player, we would also have been interested," Mohit Burman, co-owner PBKS, said.

"The way he plays at top of the order... if you see his stats and fitness I think he will keep going and going," he added.

CSK, MI hold their horses during first session ============================ While RCB got their opening issues and captaincy sorted with Faf Du Plessis' Rs 7 crore bid, Lucknow Supergiants had Quinton de Kock for Rs 6.75 crore.

Also, a currently out-of-sorts Manish Pandey for Rs 4.6 crore wasn't bad bargain either.

However, Chennai Super Kings, save for retaining MS Dhoni's trusted lieutenant Dwayne Bravo for Rs 4.40 crore and Robin Uthappa (for Rs 2 crore) didn't make any aggressive bids till Deepak Hooda came into the picture.

But Lucknow once again got the better of them them with a Rs 5.75 crore bid for one of the best performers of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy who is now an India player.

Mumbai Indians haven't yet made any big bids or bought anyone as they are probably waiting to retain Ishan Kishan.

Also read: Our middle-order batting in this series was good, says skipper Rohit

News source: PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 12 (Cricket News) India's middle-order issues in ODIs have been spoken about extensively for a long time but new captain Rohit Sharma was happy with the kind of effort put in by the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav in their 3-0 series win against the West Indies.

Surya was in fine nick in the first two games while Shreyas and Rishabh Pant came good in the final encounter in a relatively low scoring series on a difficult track where bowlers ruled the roost.

"What we were worried about was how we were challenged in the middle overs, but our middle order batting in this series was very good," Rohit said after the end of the series.

"We batted according to the conditions and we had spoken about it for a long time that middle order does not get too many opportunities because the top three bat, but in this series, middle order batted well and as per the situation, which was a positive," said Rohit.

While Rohit along with other two seniors Shikhar Dhawan and former skipper Virat Kohli have scored bulk of the runs during last 10 years, the middle-order has often caved in under pressure when it mattered.

"See I think, in ODI cricket, the four, five and six are very important numbers, some of the greats of India cricket have batted at that number, so it is a very crucial number.

"For us, it is important, whoever that four, five and six are, they get enough game-time and if we have a bowling option in those guys, nothing like it." For Rohit, it was paramount that every one got game time.

"But honestly for me, it is important for them to have as much game time as possible. We have got a lot of candidates for that number, but it is a good headache to have and good competition within themselves to come out and play and perform," the Mumbaikar added.

"It was important for them (middle order) to put up a performance like that, everyone in the middle-order whenever they got an opportunity to bat, they performed and got the runs and they batted in difficult situations as well, like the last two games, we were 40/3 odd and from there we had to build the innings, so both games, we managed to do that, so it is a good sign moving forward," he explained.

These were challenging pitches ======================= The skipper had no hesitation in admitting that the tracks on offer at the Narendra Modi Stadium were challenging for batters.

"These were challenging pitches, today was the highest score of the series, getting to 250 was a very difficult task, there was a lot of help in the pitch for seamers, spinners as well. So all in all, all three games we played had different challenges," the skipper said.

"Virat needs confidence? What are you saying man!" ================================ Virat Kohli's lack of hundreds might be a worry for general fans but the new captain just decided to nip in the bud, any concerns whatsoever expressed about his predecessor's form and lack of confidence.

"Virat Kohli ko confidence ki zaroorat hai? Kya baat kar rahe ho yaar," (Virat Kohli needs confidence? What are you saying man!?" Rohit just laughed it off. "It is a different matter that he did not get a hundred, but in the series against South Africa, he scored two half centuries in three games. I don't think there is anything wrong. The team management is not at all worried about that," he added.

Prasidh was great but won't talk about Test match prospects ===================================== Prasidh Krishna's ability to generate pace and bounce has impressed the skipper greatly but he doesn't wat to jump the gun if the Karnataka man is ready for rigours of Test cricket.

"Look, honestly I cannot tell you about Test cricket. But, certainly he (Prasidh) has impressed everyone with his bowling in this particular series," Rohit said.

But Prasidh with his hard lengths and dosconcerting bounce got nine wickets especially bowling well in the middle overs.

"We were looking for someone like him to come out and bowl those overs in the middle and get us those breakthroughs, and we saw that clearly, the way he bowled in the last two games, with a lot of pace. We could see that he was getting something out of the pitch as well," he said.

"From the team's perspective, it is a good sign that he was able to come out and do that. He is definitely a prospect for the future, no doubt about that, but honestly I cannot tell you about test cricket, that is not in my hands," he added.

Kuldeep bowled brilliantly =============== Kuldeep Yadav had lost his confidence completely under te last team management and on his international comeback looked decent although got some stick towards the end.

The new ODI captain was however very happy to see his variations in place.The skipper also praised Washington Sundar.

"He (Kuldeep) bowled brilliantly, he was bowling those googlies." "And not to forget Washy (Washington Sundar), he did the job in the first game, he was off today and game before, but that can happen. He is the guy for the future, bats pretty well. All-rounders are like gold in India at the moment, so we have to handle him (Washington) carefully," the skipper explained.

"The biggest positive was obviously our bowling unit. The bowling unit, if I have to differentiate, the fast bowlers and the spinners, they did a great job in this particular series," Rohit added.

He praised each and every member of the bowling unit.

"Along with Prasidh (Krishna), (Mohammed) Siraj was outstanding the way he bowled, with a lot of pace again, with the new ball and in the middle.

"Shardul (Thakur) played a couple of games, he bowled well in the middle and got one opportunity with the new ball and Deepak (Chahar), I was very impressed with his skills as well, like the way he swings the ball. Also Yuzvendra Chahal," he signed off. 

Also Read : Biggest positive was performance of bowling unit, reckons Rohit

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 11 (Cricket News) Rohit Sharma's tenure as India ODI captain began with a 3-0 demolition of the West Indies after the impressive hosts put up an all-round performance to win the third game by 96 runs here on Friday.

Shreyas Iyer’s responsible 80 coupled with Rishabh Pant’s aggressive 56 powered India to a challenging 265 in the inconsequential fixture.

The hosts then shot out their opponents for 169 in 37.1 overs as the visitors continued their dismal batting show.

With one eye on the 2023 ODI World Cup, the Indian team management gained plenty positives from their experiments in the third-match series including the emergence of pacer Prasidh Krishna as the strike bowler. He ended with nine wickets in the series. Deepak Hooda, who did not play the third ODI, showed promise as a middle-order batter while Suryakumar Yadav showed that he could curb his natural aggressive intent if such a situation arises.

The wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who made a return as a pairing, did not bowl together but did well individually.

An ordinary batting performance the West Indies batters also made the Indian bowlers' task easier throughout the series.

The away team was never in the chase and was blown away by another stellar show of fast bowling.

Pacer Deepak Chahar, playing his first game of the series, struck twice in the fifth over. First he sent back Brandon King (14), who edged to Suryakumar Yadav in the slip cordon and then on the last ball of the over, removed Shamarh Brooks (0), leaving the visitors at 25/3. West Indies could not recover from there on.

The ODI series will be followed by three T20 in Kolkata beginning February 16.

Earlier, Shreyas and the flamboyant Pant resurrected the India innings with their 110-run stand after India suffered a top-order collapse to be reeling at 42/3.

The duo toyed with the opposition attack even as the southpaw displayed his hard-hitting prowess, striking six fours and a six.

The Mumbaikar, who was playing his first game after COVID recovery, looked in his elements, as he mixed caution and aggression. He completed his ninth ODI fifty with a single to deep extra cover.

After his fifty, Shreyas upped the ante as he and Pant completed their 100-run stand in 112 balls.

Pant too notched up his fifth ODI 50 with a single. But in the 30th over, he perished, giving leggie Hayden Walsh (2/59) his first wicket and Suryakumar Yadav (6) followed suit, as India lost half their side for 164.

But a determined Shreyas played his shots at will before giving a sitter to Darren Bravo at long-off in the 38th over. In his 111-ball knock, he hit nine boundaries.

However, Chahar (38; 4x4; 2x6) and Washington Sundar (33, 2x4; 1x6) played their parts to perfection and forged 53 runs for seventh wicket. Their knocks propelled India past the 260-run mark.

After opting to bat, India lost opener Rohit Sharma (13) cheaply. Pacer Alzarri Joseph (2/54) pegged the hosts back, by first cleaning up Rohit on the third ball of the fourth over and then dismissed Virat Kohli (0) on the fifth ball to leave the hosts teetering at 16/2.

Kohli tried to flick a delivery that was going down the leg, but edged to Shai Hope in what was a soft dismissal, extending the wait for his 71st hundred in international cricket.

Shikhar Dhawan (10) and Shreyas tried to rally the innings but were able to add only 26 runs for the third wicket.

Dhawan, who too played his first game of the series after recovering from COVD, became pacer Odean Smith’s (1/36) first victim as he was caught by Jason Holder in the slip cordon. 

Also Read : We got whatever we wanted out of the series: Rohit

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 11 (Cricket News) Shreyas Iyer’s responsible 80 coupled with Rishabh Pant’s aggressive 56 powered India to a challenging 265 in the inconsequential third ODI against West Indies here on Friday.

Shreyas and the flamboyant Pant resurrected the innings with their 110-run stand after India suffered a top-order collapse to be reeling at 42/3.

The duo toyed with the opposition attack even as the southpaw displayed his hard-hitting prowess, striking six fours and a six. At 119/3 after 25 overs, the stage was set for a big total.

The Mumbaikar, who was playing his first game after COVID recovery, looked in his elements, as he mixed caution and aggression. He completed his ninth ODI fifty with a single to deep extra cover.

After his fifty, Shreyas upped the ante as he and Pant completed their 100-run stand in 112 balls.

Pant too notched up his fifth ODI 50 with a single. But in the 30th over, he perished, giving leggie Hayden Walsh (2/59) his first wicket and Suryakumar Yadav (6) followed suit, as India lost half their side for 164.

But a determined Shreyas played his shots at will before giving a sitter to Darren Bravo at long-off in the 38th over. In his 111-ball knock, he hit nine boundaries.

However, Deepak Chahar (38; 4x4; 2x6) and Washington Sundar (33, 2x4; 1x6) played their parts to perfection and forged 53 runs for seventh wicket. Their knocks propelled India past the 260-run mark.

After opting to bat, India lost opener Rohit Sharma (13) cheaply. Pacer Alzarri Joseph (2/54) pegged the hosts back, by first cleaning up Rohit on the third ball of the fourth over and then dismissed Virat Kohli (0) on the fifth ball to leave the hosts teetering at 16/2.

Kohli tried to flick a delivery that was going down the leg, but edged to Shai Hope in what was a soft dismissal.

Shikhar Dhawan (10) and Shreyas tried to rally the innings but were able to add only 26 runs for the third wicket.

Dhawan became pacer Odean Smith’s (1/36) first victim, as he was caught by Jason Holder in the slip cordon. 

Also Read : Williamson hoping to recover from elbow injury in time to play in IPL

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 11 (Cricket News) India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat against the West Indies in the third and final ODI here on Friday.

Continuing to experiment, India made four changes, bringing in Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar and Shikhar Dhawan in place of Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur and KL Rahul.

West Indies, on the other hand, replaced Akeal Hosein with Hayden Walsh in their playing XI.

India leads the series 2-0.

Teams: West Indies: Shai Hope(wk), Brandon King, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran(c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Hayden Walsh, Kemar Roach.

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(wk), Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. 

Also Read : Indian women aim to sort combination in ODI series against New Zealand with World Cup in focus

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After winning the first matches, India will now take on the West Indies for the 3rd and final ODI. India have an opportunity to inflict a whitewash but there is a strong possibility that we see the team make quite a few changes instead of going with the strongest team in search of a whitewash. In the presentation of the 2nd ODI, Rohit Sharma mentioned that he doesn't mind losing 1 or 2 games here and there to try out certain things.

India's possible playing XI:

Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul(wk), Surya Kumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Shikhar Dhawan will definitely come back into the side after recovering from Covid. Which batter to leave out is the big question and it could be Rishabh Pant with KL Rahul likely to don the gloves. One of the things Rohit Sharma said before the series was that wanted to try and get Kuldeep and Chahal back together and this match is the best chance to do so. It may finally be the time to hand a debut to Avesh Khan with Mohammed Siraj missing out.

West Indies possible playing XI:

Shai Hope(wk), Brandon King, Shamarah Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard(c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hossein, Odean Smith, Kemar Roach

Skipper Kieron Pollard missed the last game due to a niggle but should be back in the side. Darren Bravo is likely to be the one that makes way after Odean Smith's brilliant performance in the last game. West Indies have a very deep batting line-up but they don't seem to bat till the end. The middle order has to find a way to stick around which will then give them the opportunity to make use of their batting depth. India on the other hand have ticked all boxes. They did get lucky in the last match with no dew but they need to be prepared for it. The captain that wins the toss will once again look to ball first to take advantage of the possible dew which makes bowling difficult in the 2nd innings. The Windies need a win to carry forward the momentum into the T20Is.

Also read: Auction important as we will be preparing our base for next 5-6 years: RR skipper Samson

Ahmedabad, Feb 10 (Cricket News) India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had tested positive for COVID-19, has recovered and is out out of isolation.

However, with skipper Rohit Sharma already making it clear that senior opener Shikhar Dhawan will open the innings in the third ODI against West Indies here on Friday, the Maharashtra player is unlikely to be considered for the inconsequential match.

Ruturaj warmed the bench in the home T20 series against New Zealand and also did not get an opportunity to play against South Africa in the away ODI series.

He was found to be COVID positive just four days before the start of the West Indies series, practically ruling him out of the rubber.

Ruturaj hasn't been included in the T20 squad and, in all likelihood, will now turn out for his home state in the upcoming Ranji Trophy.

On February 2, a COVID-19 outbreak had hit the Indian cricket team as three players -- Dhawan, reserve opener Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer -- tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series.

Four other persons, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, had also tested positive for COVID-19. Saini was on the standby list. 

Also Read : ESPNcricinfo Awards: Pant wins 'Test Batting Award', Williamson is 'Captain of Year'

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Ahmedabad, Feb 10 (Cricket News) The returning Shikhar Dhawan will add more firepower to a ruthless India, who are faced with the problem of plenty, as they eye a clean sweep of West Indies in an inconsequential third ODI here on Friday.

Hosts India head into the final match of the series after having ticked almost all the boxes in the first two games, which they won comfortably.

Senior opener Dhawan was among the four players, including a reserve bowler, who had tested positive for COVID-19 just four days ahead of the start of the ODI leg.

But now that the southpaw is back, the Indian team could be forced to make few changes to its winning combination.

In his absence, the team management opened with Ishan Kishan in the first game and the flamboyant Rishabh Pant in the second.

After his side's 44-run win in the second game on Wednesday, India skipper Rohit Sharma made it clear that Dhawan will be back for the last match of the ODI series.

"We will get Shikhar back for next game, and he needs some game time. It is not always the results. We wanted to try it one game," Rohit had said.

This means that vice-captain KL Rahul would continue to bat in the middle-order along with former skipper Virat Kohli, whose search for his 71st international hundred continues.

The hosts, who were restricted to 237 for nine in the second game, would be keen to post a big score if they again bat first.

Skipper Rohit failed in the last game but it is common knowledge that he can take on any attack on his day, and so is the case with Dhawan.

Pant will go back to the middle-order alongside Suryakumar Yadav, who is likely to retain his place after emerging as the team's highest scorer in the second match following a top-order collapse.

In all probability, all-rounder Deepak Hooda would have to make way for Dhawan in the playing XI.

All the middle-order batters -- be it Pant, Suryakumar, Kohli or KL -- would be keen to get some more runs under their belt and end the ODI leg on a high.

It remains to be seen whether Shreyas Iyer, if available for selection, can make the playing XI or not.

The Indian bowlers dished out a clinical show in the two preceding matches, dismissing their opponents for 176 and 193, respectively.

And with the series sealed, the Indian team management can afford to make few changes and give opportunities to new players.

So, either left-arm orthodox spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who is making a comeback after recovering from an injury, or young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi could get a look-in.

This means that either Yuzvendra Chahal or Washington Sundar could be rested to make way for one of their teammates.

Also, Madhya Pradesh pacer Avesh Khan has been waiting in the wings, and the team management might also give him a game.

With pacer Prasidh Krishna taking four wickets in an excellent second game and Shardul Thakur also among the wickets, it is highly unlikely that the duo would be dropped.

So if Avesh is included, probably Mohammed Siraj would have to make way.

Meanwhile, the West Indies, who have already conceded the series, would be looking to put up an improvised show with the bat and regain some lost ground.

The second ODI was the 11th time in the last 17 games that the West Indies have failed to bat their quota of 50 overs.

Their batters, including skipper Kieron Pollard and senior all-rounder Jason Holder, must put a prize on their wickets.

Apart from the duo of Pollard and Holder, the likes of Shai Hope, Brandon King and the swashbuckling Nicolas Pooran, would also be looking to dig deep and get some runs under their belt.

On the bowling front, West Indies did well to restrict India in the second ODI and would want to continue from where they left.

Pacers Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Odean Smith hit the right length, but the role of spinners Fabian Allen and Akeal Hosein is also crucial from the visitors' point of view.

Teams (From): India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Shahrukh Khan.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Nicolas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Romario Shepard, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Match starts at 1.30 PM. 

Also Read : IPL: Here what DC, PBKS and RCB need to do in the auction

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) With the IPL mega auction coming up, let us take a look at what Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore need to do in the auction to win their first IPL trophy and break the trophy drought.

1) Delhi Capitals

Retained: Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Anrich Nortje

The DC management did a wonderful job in the last auction as they purchased a plethora of talent and that is the reason why they have been one of the most consistent sides over the last three years. They go into the IPL mega auction with a purse of 47.5 crores. They have the lowest budget among all the teams and subsequently need to fill out 21 slots out of which seven are overseas slots. The DC camp might just go all in for Shikar Dhawan as he has scored 1726 runs in the last three years scoring 12 fifties and two hundreds in the meantime. If they can buy him back, he can fill a big part of that core given his experience of playing in the IPL. Dhawan can provide the much needed calmness and help Rishabh Pant in his captaincy.

One thing Delhi Capital needs to focus on is to buy an Indian fast bowler as they have plenty of options to pick from. The DC management might just target Prasidh Krishna especially after his wonderful start to his international career, they could also target Avesh Khan after his wonderful IPL season he had last year.

2) Punjab Kings 

Retained: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh

Punjab have retained the least amount of players and will enter the IPL auction with the largest purse amongst any other teams. The PBKS management will have to target a potential captain to lead this side and finally help this team reach the playoffs. The Punjab franchise over the years have been the most inconsistent side and need to have a good auction to stand any chance in making the playoffs. The Kings need to break their bank on David Warner as not only will he provide the much needed runs up to but also lead the side from the front and use his captain winning experience in the squad.

Steve Smith is most likely going to be low on the radar, especially in T20 cricket and this is a golden opportunity for a team like Punjab to get him as he can be a great candidate for the captaincy role. The Kings can also target Lockie Ferguson as the New Zealand fast bowler has express pace that can rattle the batters and has been impressive in the matches he has played for KKR. Punjab should look to get this player into the team and provide that extra injection of pace that this side has lacked over the years.

Also read: IPL: Here's what CSK, KKR and MI need to do in the auction

3) Royal Challengers Bangalore

Retained: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj

RCB is one more franchise that is in need of a captain after Virat Kohli decided to step down. They too might bid heavily for Shreyas Iyer or David Warner as potential candidates but according to rumours the RCB management want to go all out for Jason Holder and there is an outside possibility that the West Indian all rounder might be their new captain. Holder over the years has become the best all rounder in the world and with his captaincy experience he might be a value for money buy. The other area of focus should be getting a fast bowler who can hit the deck with his pace and a player like Pat Cummins might just fit the bill as he not only brings an abundance of experience but since the T20 World Cup he has been in exceptional form as he will look to bring the same form in the ipl

"For Holder, they have reserved ₹12 crore and another ₹8 crore for Rayudu and ₹7 crore for Parag. If they spend ₹27 crore approximately on these players, they would have another ₹28 crore left. The core with Kohli, Maxwell, Siraj, Holder, Rayudu and Parag will be set. Let's hope they can get two out of the preferred three," a source said.
 

(Cricket news) India defeated a Kieron Pollard-less West Indies by 44 runs to win the ODI series in the process. West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first purely because of the dew factor but luck shined on India as shockingly there was no dew at all in the 2nd innings. The Windies replaced Pollard with young gun Odean Smith while India welcomed back vice-captain KL Rahul in place of Ishan Kishan. 

Everyone including the West Indies side were shocked to see Rishabh Pant walk out to open the innings alongside his captain. Despite KL Rahul opening the innings in South Africa he was pushed down the order. Rohit Sharma clarified that Pant opening is just an experiment and not something permanent. The trick didn't work out that well as both Pant and Sharma were dismissed cheaply. Odean Smith and Kemar Roach gave the West Indies a perfect start as India were struggling for 43/3 after 12 overs.

KL Rahul and Surya Kumar Yadav came to the rescue and put together 101 runs to get out of a precarious situation. Rahul was run-out on 49 after a terrible misunderstanding but the innings was another proof that his future in ODIs lies batting in the middle order as his numbers have been extraordinary at that position. Surya Kumar Yadav played a crucial knock of 64 runs before being dismissed by Fabian Allen. Deepak Hooda played a nice little cameo and batted with the tail to get India to a respectable total. India finished at 237/9 with Odean Smith and Alzarri Joseph picking up 2 wickets while Jason Holder, Akeal Hossein, Kemar Roach and Fabian Allen got one scalp each.

Rohit Sharma once again came with a surprise as he decided to open the bowling with Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur and used Prasidh Krishna as the first change. That did the trick as West Indies openers had got off to a great start but Krishna came in to bowl and picked up 2 wickets in quick succession. He ended up with match winning figures of 4/12 off 9 overs and won the Player of the Match award. Shai Hope, Shamarah Brooks, Akeal Hossein and Odean Smith all played small cameos but none of them could play the big innings to win the game for their side.

In the end it was a 48-run victory but the match was a lot closer than that purely because of West Indies having batting till number 9. Indian management would be pleased to see the 6th bowler Deepak Hooda get some overs. Shardul Thakur bowled two excellent bouncers to get two wickets while Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda got a wicket each. With the series already won, India may look to give a few other players chances in the side. Rohit Sharma said in the presentation that Shikhar Dhawan needs some game time and will come back in the next game. Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan and Deepak Chahar are all waiting on the bench.

Also read: Would the selectors be right in dropping Wriddhiman Saha from the Test squad?

Ahmedabad, Feb 9 (Cricket News) India skipper Rohit Sharma says it was a one-off experiment to ask Rishabh Pant open the innings and not a permanent solution as his team is trying new combinations to sort out the batting order before the 2023 World Cup.

Regular opener Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal still not available, Pant scored 18 off 34 balls while batting alongside Rohit (5) in the second ODI against the West Indies.

"I have been asked to do different things, so this was different. People will be happy seeing Rishabh open then, but yeah it is not permanent," Rohit said at the post match presentation.

"We will get Shikhar back next game, and he needs some game time. It is not always the results. We wanted to try it one game.

"We don't mind losing a few games trying out a few things. Because it is important to look at the long term goals. We will see what works out well for the team combination." India posted 237 for 9 and then returned to dismiss West Indies for 193 in 46 overs to record a comfortable 44-run victory.

"Obviously winning the series is a good feeling. There were some challenges. The partnership between Rahul and Surya had a lot of maturity. "We got to a respectable total in the end. We knew we could fight it out. The entire unit came out and bowled superbly. It is important for these guys to bat under pressure and that is how you will judge their character.

"Surya had to take his time and understand what the team wants from him. KL also batted superbly as he is consistently up and down in the order." The Mumbaikar was awestruck by the sensational spell of Prasidh Krishna, who was adjudged Player of the Match for snapping four wickets for 12 just runs in his nine overs, which included three maidens.

"I have never seen a spell like that in India for a long time now. Bowled with a lot of pace and kept it going," Rohit said.

"The others complimented him. When you have five bowlers and Deepak being sixth, you always need to keep rotating the bowlers." Stand-in West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran admitted batting once again let the team down.

"With the bat, we didn't build partnerships. We kept losing wickets at regular intervals. We need to continue to be aggressive.

"Pollard is a tough and big guy. Smith is a strong guy. He is a little inexperienced but sky is the limit for him. We did a good job with the ball and hopefully we can do the same in the final game. And also do better with the bat." Ecstatic after his four-wicket haul, Krishna said he was rewarded for maintaining his line and length in seaming conditions.

"I have been striving hard to do this for a long time. So, I am very happy that we won. I was still looking to hit the good areas. When I came in to bat, I knew it was still seaming," he said I would have laughed it off (If someone would have told him he would finish with the figures he ended with today). I had seen the wicket in the last game.

"Experimenting wasn't possible as there was not much to defend. So, I stuck to good lines. I want to be as consistent as possible. The white ball cricket is a power game," he said. 

Also Read : Dhull named in Delhi Ranji squad, Ishant makes himself unavailable for selection

News Source : PTI

Bengaluru, Feb 9 (Cricket News) Delhi Capitals’ talent search head Saba Karim feels it's a level playing field in this year’s IPL auction as all teams will look for the right mix of capped, uncapped and overseas players leading to a “healthy atmosphere” for domestic cricketers.

The IPL auction is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. Two new teams -- Ahmedabad and Lucknow -- have also been included.

The Capitals reached the final in 2020 and the playoff last year. The team’s success in the past three seasons has come on the back of the Indian players' core, which included the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin.

"We need to be extremely fluid and flexible. To have that core factor involved not only helps Delhi Capitals but also other teams because you get seven domestic players in the eleven,” Karim was quoted a saying in a media release.

“You need to have right kind of mix between the capped and uncapped players, and on top of that, you have those four foreigners. It's a level playing field. All the teams would vie to spot the right kind of domestic talent.

"All this leads up to a very healthy atmosphere for domestic cricketers,” he added.

Delhi Capitals retained four players -- wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant, spinner Axar Patel, opener Prithvi Shaw and South African pacer Anrich Nortje.

Emphasising the key building blocks of an auction strategy, Karim said, "The four retained players form the base of our team, and in addition to that, we need to look at some more matchwinners, who can fill up the vacant slots and then overall we can have a complete kind of a side.

"We need to first have a strategy in terms of the core element, which is needed to become a successful side. But, before that, it is equally important to understand the composition of your eleven ... then accordingly you can fill in players with that kind of a role." Speaking about head coach Ricky Ponting and captain Pant's involvement in the mega auction process, the 54-year-old said, "Eventually, it is the captain and the coach who put up the side in the IPL.

“It's very important to have that kind of exchange of ideas with them because whatever we as a scouting team offer, will come in handy and become extremely effective if it has synergy with the head coach and the captain, so in that sense, it's been excellent.

"The kind of rapport we have with Ricky and Rishabh, I think that's a very conducive environment one can think of when you are trying to build a side," Karim said.

The former India wicketkeeper and national selector said DC "need to look at some potential match-winners".

"We need to look at some more investments, but overall, it's been a very healthy experience," he concluded. 

Also Read : Mandhana still in extended MIQ, misses T20I against NZ; unlikely to play first ODI

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 8 (Cricket News) Senior opener Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer, who had tested positive for COVID-19 last week, had a light training session here on Tuesday evening after recovering and completing their isolation period.

The duo was monitored by the BCCI medical team.

It is highly unlikely that they will be straight away drafted into the playing XI for the second ODI, which is scheduled to be held here on Wednesday.

On February 2, a COVID-19 outbreak had hit the Indian cricket team as three main players -- Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Iyer -- tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series.

Four other persons, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, have also tested positive for COVID-19. Saini was on the standby list.

Saini had also recovered from COVID-19 and had trained in the nets on Monday. 

Also Read : SL batter Kusal Mendis tests COVID-19 positive in Australia ahead of T20I series

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Navdeep Saini have joined Indian team training ahead of the 2nd ODI in Ahmedabad. India convincingly won the 1st and a similar performance would seal the series for them. West Indies on the other hand have to bat longer. The intent of their middle order batters in the last game was questionable.  

India's Possible Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Surya Kumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Vice captain KL Rahul will return to the side, the only question is what position will he bat at. Rahul may open the batting again as both Surya Kumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda played good knocks in the last match. Shardul Thakur went wicketless in the last game and could be dropped for this one. Deepak Chahar is the like for like replacement but considering the amount of turn the pitch had to offer India may play a 3rd spinner in Kuldeep Yadav. Avesh Khan, Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi and Sharudl Thakur complete the bench.

West Indies possible playing XI:

Shai Hope(wk), Brandon King, Darren Bravo, Shamarah Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard(c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hossein 

It wouldn't be a surprise to see West Indies retain the same line-up as the combination of the team is good but the performance has to improve. Their bowling was good in the last game considering the short target India had to chase. The middle order in particular needs to stick around for a lot longer even if the runs come at a slower rate.

Weather & Pitch report:

As seen in the last game there was a lot of turn on offer which may tempt India to add another wrist spinner in addition to Chahal. It will be a sunny day with temperature around 25° C. The dew will affect the game more than the pitch itself as bowling will be very difficult in the 2nd innings which makes the toss very important. The captain that wins the toss will definitely be bowling first to then try and chase against the bowlers who will be troubled by the dew. India are clear favourites but West Indies will look to come back strongly. India needs to capitalise on the game and not let this one slip. 

Also read: Australia name 18-man Test squad for Pakistan tour

Ahmedabad, Feb 8 (Cricket News) Focus will be on vice-captain K L Rahul's batting position on his return from a short break as a buoyant India aim for another demolition act against the West Indies in the second ODI to seal the three-match series here on Wednesday.

The India spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar ran riot as they shot out West Indies for a meagre 176 and then skipper Rohit Sharma bossed the chase with a blistering 60, as the hosts recorded an easy six-wicket win in the lung-opener at the Motera.

Infused with new energy under Rohit, India looked a completely overhauled unit after being whitewashed in South Africa and the team would certainly want to continue from where it left of on Sunday night.

The biggest positive for India is that Rohit, who had missed the South Africa series due to a hamstring injury, was in brilliant form on comeback.

He would be raring to take the listless West Indies attack to cleaners once again. Ditto for Ishan Kishan, who opened with Rohit in the first ODI, and did a decent job with a 36-ball 28.

But with Rahul being available from this game onwards, it remains to be seen whether the wristy Karnataka batter opens along with the skipper or plays in the middle order on a relatively slow track. Rahul skipped the first ODI for a personal engagement.

If he opens the batting, then Jharkhand dasher Kishan will have to make way for the senior batter.

If Rahul bats in the middle order then debutant Deepak Hooda, who played his part to perfection in the first game with an unbeaten 26 off 32 deliveries, might have to sit out as the team cannot afford to tinker with the rest of the middle-order comprising heavyweights Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav.

The game is also crucial for Kohli, who is enduring a lean patch and would like to get that 71st hundred that has been in waiting for over two years.

The hosts, if they bat first, would certainly also like to set a target, as they build up for next year's World Cup.

On the bowling front, India dished out a clinical show as the spin duo of Chahal and Washington ran through an unimpressive West Indies line-up.

The team management is unlikely to make any changes to the bowling attack.

But it remains to be seen if one of the two tweakers is dropped and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who is also waiting in the wings, makes his way into the playing XI.

The West Indies, on the other hand, will look to forget the hammering and eye improved show in an all the departments, especially batting.

Sunday was the 10th time in the last 16 games that West Indies failed to bat a full 50 overs.

The Kieron Pollard-led side needs to get that aspect sorted and as pointed out by experienced all-rounder Jason Holder, the batters need to put a bigger prize on their wicket.

"We got to dig deeper. I don't think we are too far off to be fair. Our top-order just needs to go a little deeper, put a heavier prize on their wicket, and just get themselves a really good chance," Holder had said.

The team from the Caribbean also possesses hard-hitters including Nicolas Pooran and Pollard and can take any good attack to the cleaners. They would be hoping that Wednesday would be that day.

Their bowlers, save Alzarri Joseph, were taken to task by the Indian batters, especially Rohit, and they would like to come afresh and bowl in the right areas.

Teams (From): India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Shahrukh Khan.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Nicolas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Romario Shepard, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Match starts at 1.30 PM. 

Also Read : Gillespie not interested in Australia head coach job, says Langer's exit was 'heartbreaking'

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Feb 7 (Cricket News) Dinesh Karthik is currently putting in the hard yards in Mumbai under the guidance of friend and mentor Abhishek Nayar, focussed on sharpening his finishing skills in the T20 format.

Not because the IPL auctions are around the corner. His plan is simple.

The 36-year-old, who last played for India in the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal, is committed to playing the game for "another 3-4 years" and is determined to make a national comeback in the shortest format.

The motivation to play for India remains as strong as ever, says Karthik who would also want his six-month old twin boys to see him playing at the highest level a couple of years down the line.

"T20s will be the starting point for me. Obviously with a tournament like the IPL, you play against the best in the world and you get an opportunity to showcase your skills. As a middle order batter I can try and create an impact," karthik told PTI.

Before being dropped from the shorter formats in the aftermath of an ill-fated World Cup campaign, Karthik had done reasonably well as a finisher in T20s with the highlight being his last over heroics in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy final.

With India continuing to try out players for the middle-order in limited overs cricket, Karthik senses an opportunity.

Citing the examples of Shikhar Dhawan, who is 36, and Pakistan's Shoaib Malik and the recently-retired Mohammad Hafeez, who both have touched 40, Karthik said age is not a criteria for selection anymore.

It is all about form, fitness and experience.

"Age is definitely not the thing that a lot of normal people look at it (for India comeback). Shikhar Dhawan was the highest run getter (in ODIs in South Africa) and we are the same age." He also believes that in the shortest format one tends to get better with age.

"People tend to figure out, understand their body, the amount of cricket they can play and all of those reasons, like a big example was the way you know Shoaib Malik and Hafeez were able to contribute to Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.

"Experience is a very important factor in multi-nation tournaments. You could see that very evidently in the last few tournaments that have been held." Talking about his T20-specific training with Abhishek, Karthik said he is working on skills that make him better at the start of the innings.

"After every tournament, we sit down and reassess. After the Vijay Hazare (domestic one-day event), we sat down and figured out a couple of areas that we need to improve upon in terms of shot making.

"As soon as I enter within the first five balls, what are the kind of scoring opportunities that I can create for myself. When a fast bowler obviously comes on and tries to bowl into you, what are the opportunities in terms of shot-making that you need to pick? "Another area is that if a spinner is bowling hard lengths and trying to take the ball away from you, then what are the kind of opportunities you can give yourself to score? "So I have taken a microscopic view to work on those areas," said Karthik, who is also regularly playing domestic cricket and did well in the one-dayers for Tamil Nadu.

Indian wicketkeeper-batters have usually been in demand in the IPL auction and Karthik, who is back in the auction after a long association with Kolkata Knight Riders, can once again land a lucrative deal.

He has played for as many six IPL franchises but not the team belonging to his hometown -- Chennai Super Kings.

Which team he would like to play for in 2022? "It's very hard for me to answer this question because it will be a very cliched answer. I'll try and do everything that I can, not only to do well for the franchisee I play for but for myself also." On the possible 'homecoming' with CSK, Karthik added: "Look, it's great if I can play for CSK. I'm from Chennai.

"But at the end of the day, what's important for me is whichever team that I get to play in, it will be an absolute honour because as I said, all this practice that I've been doing these days is to try and do well in a tournament like the IPL." Full time commentary can wait =================== Karthik the commentator became an instant hit with his debut in the UK during India's tour of England and the World Test Championship final.

While he still does a bit of media work in his free time, Karthik insists his commentary stint in the UK was a one off thing and all his focus is on the India comeback.

"I've done commentary only once and that was post IPL when I had two months break. I've realised that I enjoy it. But it's not something that I'm in any way pursuing for the next three years in a serious manner.

"For me playing the sport is the most important thing and I've set a target to play at least for the next three to four years.

"Most important thing for me would be to play the sport and do as well as I can because I can always be a commentator once I hang up my boots, but I can't keep playing for a long time," Karthik added. 

Also Read : Gilchrist slams CA for painting Langer as 'monster'

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) India defeated West Indies by 6 wickets with 22 runs to spare. The men in blue managed to mark India's 1000th ODI with a dominant victory. Yuzvendra Chahal was named the player of the match for his 4/49 in 9.5 overs. Chahal also took his 100th ODI wicket in the process. It was also the beginning of the Rohit Sharma era as he captained India for the first time as permanent ODI captain.

After winning the toss Rohit Sharma elected to bowl first mainly because of the dew factor which makes bowling very difficult in the 2nd innings. West Indies were bowled out for just 176 runs with only Jason Holder crossing the 50 run mark. Indian bowlers proved to be too good for them. Mohammed Siraj got the first wicket in the form of Shai Hope. Chahal picked up 4 wickets while Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna got 3 and 2 scalps each. 

Rohit Sharma captained the side exceedingly well as his bowling rotations and field placements worked out really well. His move to bring on Washington Sundar in the power play worked wonders as Sundar picked up 2 wickets in the 12th over itself. He also had 3 successful reviews which is always a positive sign. Virat Kohli pretty much looked involved in the game with his advice during DRS and with field changes as well which is incredible news for India.

The spinners were big positives in the innings. The pitch had a lot of turn even for Sundar who usually isn't a sharp turner of the ball. The finger spinner had a very successful comeback into the side but didn't get a chance to bat which will be a big part of his contributions in the future. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers and had a visible change in style. He bowled a lot quicker through the air and would often bowl side-on to get the extra pace which paid off. He bowled a wonderful googly to clean bowl Kieron Pollard on his very first ball.

The Windies batters never looked set on the crease apart from Holder who scored a 57 off 71. The skipper Pollard perhaps made the biggest error as he tried to hard through the covers on his very first ball and was clean bowled by Chahal's wrong one. Fabian Allen also showed that he can be useful with the Willow as his 68 run partnership with Holder put a respectable total on board.

Indian batting didn't have much pressure as the target was a small one. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan got off to a great start as the Indian skipper scored 60 runs off just 50 balls. Virat Kohli came in with the clear intention of scoring quick as he got 2 boundaries in his first 2 balls and crossed 5000 ODI runs in India in the process. He pulled the 4th ball and was caught at fine leg. Alzarri Joseph picked up the wickets of India's top 3 and also inflected Rishabh Pant's run-out. Surya Kumar Yadav and debutant Deepak Hooda were composed enough as they took India over the line.

India could wrap up the series in the next where there could be a few changes if any of the 3 COVID-19 positive players recovers. West Indies need to change their approach more than anything as they once again failed to bat 50 overs. The toss will once again be crucial because the dew in the 2nd innings will make the bowling extremely hard.
 

Also read: Langer says his respect for values might have been taken as 'too intense' by some

North Sound, Feb 6 (Cricket News) India's Yash Dhull has been chosen as the captain of ICC's 'Most Valuable Team' of the U-19 World Cup.

Overall, eight nations are represented in the 12-strong line up with champions India leading the way with three players included.

Pace is provided by the likes of Josh Boyden, Awais Ali and Ripon Mondol with all-rounders Tom Prest and Dunith Wellalage being the spin options alongside Vicky Ostwal.

South Africa’s Dewald Brevis was announced as the Player of the Tournament in West Indies for his record-breaking run haul.

The side was pulled together by a selection panel including commentators Samuel Badree, Natalie Germanos, ICC Match Referee Graeme Labrooy and journalist Sandipan Banerjee.

Dhull takes up his place at number four having hit 229 runs in the competition, including one century, and his deployment of his bowlers was crucial in leading his side to overall victory in the tournament.

His opposite number in the final, England's Tom Prest, sits one place below them in the batting order having hit 292 runs in six games, the third most of the competition.

Dewald Brevis, a right-handed batter, received the accolade of Player of the Tournament after crashing 506 runs across six matches to become only the second player to hit over 500 runs in tournament history.

In doing so, the 18-year-old passed Indian legend Shikhar Dhawan’s total for the most runs in a single tournament, hitting one more run than Dhawan managed in 2004.

Brevis also took seven wickets in the competition.

Raj Bawa is another all-rounder who has impressed throughout the World Cup, hitting a tournament-high 162 not out against Uganda, on his way to 252 runs for the competition.

Bawa was Player of the Match in the final against England as he grabbed five for 31 to put India in a strong position and took his wicket tally to nine.

Just below him in the line-up is teammate Vicky Ostwal who took 12 wickets across his six matches with his left-arm orthodox including five for 28 against South Africa.

England’s Josh Boyden earns his place for his extremely economical bowling, chalking up 15 wickets in the tournament with an economy of 3.21 and an average of 9.86, the best in the tournament for any bowler with seven wickets or more.

The team of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 (in batting order) is: Haseebullah Khan (WK, Pakistan), Teague Wyllie (Australia), Dewald Brevis (South Africa), Yash Dhull (Captain, India), Tom Prest (England), Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka), Raj Bawa (India), Vicky Ostwal (India), Ripon Mondol (Bangladesh) Awais Ali (Pakistan), Josh Boyden (England), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan). 

Also Read : VVS lauds BCCI and its structure after India's fifth U-19 World Cup triumph

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 5 (Cricket News) India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday said the team has not found a finisher since the international retirement of the peerless MS Dhoni and going into next year's ODI World Cup, they are hoping to find one.

Rohit was asked how he was looking at the finisher's role -- especially the No 6 and 7 in batting order -- where he admitted that they need to create more back-ups other than Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.

"Finisher's role in ODI is very important but since MS Dhoni's retirement we haven't got anyone who could fit in that role," Rohit said on the eve of the first ODI against the West Indies.

"We have tried Hardik, even Jadeja has played but we need to create more back-ups for that slot. The boys who will be getting chance in the series, hopefully, they will utilise those chances and consolidate their position in the team.

"A finisher bats at a crucial phase, and often, his contribution could be a game-changer," the skipper said.

So you want me and Shikhar dropped: Rohit has some fun ==================================== A reporter wanted to ask if Rohit would love to blood juniors but the way the question was framed, it allowed him to get a taste of the skipper's dry sense of humour.

Just like you and Shikhar were promoted as an opener in 2013 Champions Trophy, will you blood juniors as we have had a same pattern for years now? he asked, with a feel-good comment about how he has "encouraged juniors".

For someone who has encountered thousand such questions, the funny side was up there for everyone.

"Toh aap bol rahein ho main aur shikhar bahar ho jateein hai aur Ishan Kishan aur Ruturaj Gaikwad ko open kara de? (So you are saying, me and Shikhar should be dropped and we should have Ruturaj and Ishan open for India? Is that what you mean? he winked and smiled.

"No I am saying if one among you two make way we might get results like the way we got when you were elevated," the reporter pushed his luck.

"Yes, we got results. But if you are talking about the top three, they have been pretty consistent performers for years. So yes, the youngsters will get their share of chances and just like Ishan is getting a chance, they will keep getting chances," he said on a more serious note.

"We have a lot of matches in future so batters will get their fair share of chances. Shikhar Dhawan batted well in South Africa and now he is down with COVID, even Rutu has COVID, so Ishan is getting his chances, so youngsters will get chances but how they utilise is the actual thing." 

Also Read : Kishan, Shahrukh added to India’s ODI squad for first game against Windies

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 5 (Cricket News) India's new ODI captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday said that Ishan Kishan will open alongside him in the first ODI against the West Indies since the youngster is the only available option for the team with late entrant Mayank Agarwal serving mandatory quarantine period.

Kishan was drafted into the ODI squad after Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad tested positive for COVID-19 and are now in isolation.

"Ishan Kishan is the only option we have and he will open with me," Rohit said on the eve of the series-opener.

"Mayank was added to the squad and he is still in isolation. He came (joined) late and we have some rules in place. If someone is travelling, we have to put them in (mandatory 3-day) quarantine. He has still not finished his quarantine, so Ishan will open the innings.

"Unless there's an injury as we have a training today and there is nothing of that sort," he added.

Dhawan, Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer may miss ODIs ================================= Rohit also made it clear that the COVID positive trio of Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Gaikwad are still in isolation and they are still not sure when they would be available.

"I have no idea," Rohit said when asked when the trio would be available.

"At the moment the three guys are in isolation. They are doing pretty well and that's a good thing. But yeah, it's so uncertain. Last minute, you will see any one turning positive and you have to make a change and get someone else," Rohit said.

The skipper understands that a situation like this can disturb the balance of the team.

"Look, it is a tricky one (situation). With Covid, there is so much uncertainty and if it happens, how long it takes for recovery is different as every individual is different. Sometimes, it takes 7-8 days and sometimes, it can take 14 days," he said.

Post Covid-19 world, everyone needs to be flexible about roles ====================================== In COVID times, one might have to play in a position which isn't exactly his preferred one, said the captain, who expects his players to be flexible.

"But these are times that we live and boys in the team understand that. Opportunity can come at any point and they have to be ready for it. But for the team, they have to do it and this is something that we have spoken at length and made it clear with everyone that this is the possible situation," the skipper added.

"It can happen at anytime in these situations. So anyone coming in place of anyone should try and adapt quickly and get the game going on," he made it clear. 

Also Read : India look to bounce back from whitewash in South Africa against the West Indies

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After a disappointing 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series, India begin the white ball series at home against the West Indies. The Windies just defeated England 3-2 in a T20I series while they lost 2-1 in their last ODI series against Ireland. India desperately needs this victory but the Covid outbreak will make it more difficult. Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shikhar Dhawan have been tested positive along with a few members of the staff and stand by player Navdeep Saini. Mayank Agarwal and Ishan Kishan who were originally not a part of the squad were added.

India's Possible Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Surya Kumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.

The Covid outbreak leaves India short of options especially in the middle order. Despite the addition of Agarwal, Rohit Sharma confirmed in a press conference that Ishan Kishan will open the batting. Washington Sundar should bring the team much needed balance. Deepak Hooda will act as a very handy 6th bowling option. Kuldeep Yadav might have to wait a while for his return to the side. Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi and Sharudl Thakur complete the bench.

West Indies possible playing XI:
Shai Hope(wk), Brandon King, Shamarah Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard(c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hossein 

Jason Holder will have a very important role to play with both bat and ball. West Indies will try a new opening combination this series as Justin Greaves who opened against Ireland is not in the squad. The biggest advantage West Indies have is the amount of proper All-rounders they have. 

Weather and Pitch report:
In the infamous Test matches against England that were played in Motera stadium, the pitch was a rank turner. This time around it might not turn as much but it will turn for sure. It will be a clear sunny day with the weather being on the cooler side which makes it excellent conditions to play cricket. 

The home advantage makes India favourites but the Windies cannot be taken lightly. The Indian side have to win this series and the pressure is now on Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma. The visitors will definitely fancy their chances of a victory considering that India is neither at full strength nor in good form.
 

Also read: Hayden, Johnson slam players, Cricket Australia after Langer's resignation as head coach

Ahmedabad, Feb 5 (Cricket News) Rohit Sharma's presence as the new leader, with a fresh template to arrest the familiar 'middle-order muddle', is exactly what the Indian team needs while ushering in a new era, which will begin with the ODI series against the West Indies, beginning here on Sunday.

After a rude reality check against a weak South African side in the away series, India are now back in familiar settings with a new ODI captain in Rohit, who will team up with illustrious Rahul Dravid and strive to get India back to winning ways.

The series-opener is historic 1000th ODI for India, who would like to begin their preparations for the 2023 World Cup after failing to win the coveted trophy in 2015 and 2019, and the team will indeed look at a paradigm shift in strategy.

The 'Rohit-Dravid' duo over the course of the next few months will underline the 'Men in Blue's' philosophy in the 50-over format after it became clear that some rejigging is needed as a part of course correction.

Thus, the series beginning Sunday would be the perfect platform to focus on setting their struggling middle-order right.

Firstly, skipper Rohit, one of the finest white-ball exponents, will have to lead from the front.

With KL Rahul unavailable in the first game, and other specialist openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad both testing COVID-19 positive, it is in all likelihood that Mayank Agarwal, who was added to the squad, would open with Rohit.

However whether Agarwal will be straight be thrown into a match without training session due to quarantine is another question, specially when Ishan Kishan is also in the mix.

Rohit on his day can take any attack to cleaners and the West Indies', rather inexperienced one, would be no exception and ditto for Mayank.

In the series against South Africa, save Rishabh Pant's knock in the second game, the middle-order crumbled on all the three occasions and the need of the hour is to have impactful players in it.

With Shreyas Iyer not available for the series, there is a chance for aggressive Suryakumar Yadav and equally formidable Deepak Hooda, who has had a decent outing in the last Vijay Hazare Trophy, to impress the national selectors.

Apart from two, a lot will depend on how Virat Kohli performs.

India had tried rookie Venkatesh Iyer in an unfamiliar middle-order position in South Africa, but the experiment didn't work.

In terms of bowling, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, is back to the ODI squad, and would most probably be in the playing XI along with his seasoned partner Yuzvendra Chahal.

The 27-year-old Kuldeep played his last ODI against Sri Lanka in July 2021, and recently recovered after undergoing a surgery.

But the team management has included young Jodhpur-born googly bowler Ravi Bishnoi in the squad, and it would be interesting to see if he gets a game right away.

In the absence of key pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who have been rested, the bowling unit is expected to be led by 'Palghar Express' Shardul Thakur, who shone in the Johannesburg Test against South Africa.

It is the best chance for Thakur, whose prowess with the bat was on display in the ODI series against the Proteas, to cement his place in the side.

Also, along with him, the series provides a chance for young bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna and Avesh Khan to step up and stake a permanent claim with two years left for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, West Indies would come into the context after their confidence boosting T20 series win over England, although the format is entirely different.

The team from the Caribbean possess a power-hitter Nicholas Pooran, who can turn the game on its head. He would also look to impress the franchises before the IPL auction.

He would however need support from others.

Also, the role of skipper Kieron Pollard and experienced all-rounder Jason Holder could be the difference on a day.

Pollard and his men would be more than keen to spoil India's party in their marquee clash.

Teams (From): India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Fabian Allen, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Nicolas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Romario Shepard, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Match starts at 1.30 PM. 

Also Read : India need firepower in middle-order, finalise batting positions ahead of ODI world Cup: Agarkar 

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Feb 4 (Cricket News) The Indian team on Friday carried out its first extensive training session ahead of the three-match ODI series against the visiting West Indies.

On Thursday, the team had a light session where the players had been accompanied by trainers.

On Friday however, barring the trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer, all the players and support staff were present for training after testing negative for COVID-19.

The players practiced under lights and it was a full-fledged session.

It is understood that head coach Rahul Dravid introduced young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi to the players.

The likes of Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and others batted at the nets while the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav, who is making a comeback to the ODI team, and Yuzvendra Chahal rolled their arms overs.

Pacer Mohammad Siraj and all-rounder Shardul Thakur also bowled in the nets.

Opener Mayank Agarwal is in isolation for three days and will be an option for the opening game if KL Rahul isn't available.

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, who can also open the innings, was also added to the ODI squad.

A COVID-19 outbreak had hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday as three players -- senior opener Dhawan, reserve opener Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas -- had tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of the series.

Four more cricketers, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, had also tested positive for COVID-19. Saini is on the stand-by list.

The remaining three who tested positive for the virus are non-playing members -- fielding coach T Dilip, security liaison officer B Lokesh and masseur Rajeev Kumar.

The Indian team assembled in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the three ODIs against the West Indies.

The series starts in Ahmedabad on Sunday with India's 1000th ODI match but it is now a foregone conclusion that Dhawan, Ruturaj and Shreyas will be missing the rubber as they will have to undergo a week-long isolation and then return with two negative RT-PCR tests. 

Also Read : Andy Flower takes leave from PSL franchise to attend IPL mega auction

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) India will play the first ODI against West Indies on 6th February. The men in blue have had a Covid outbreak as Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer were tested positive along with 3 members of staff and standby player Navdeep Saini. India will field the team with the limited options they have. Officially only Mayank Agarwal has been added to the squad but there are reports about Ishan Kishan entering the bio bubble as well. Vice captain KL Rahul is unavailable for the 1st game but will be back for the 2nd and the 3rd.

India's ideal playing XI:

Rohit Sharma - The opening batter is fit and will play his first game as India's permanent ODI captain. India did miss his presence in the South Africa series. Rohit Sharma will be very crucial at the top of the order even more now that he is the captain.

Mayank Agarwal - Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad who were the two openers in the squad have tested positive for COVID-19. Mayank Agarwal was called in as a replacement and should open the batting. There have been reports of Ishan Kishan being added to the squad but there is no confirmation while Agarwal's addition is official. KL Rahul is unavailable for the 1st game but will be back for the 2nd so it would be safe to assume that whoever out of Agarwal and Kishan play is likely to be given just one opportunity.

Virat Kohl i- Even though Virat Kohli is said to be out of form he scored two half centuries against South Africa. The standards that he has set for himself demand more from him. Kohli looked good in patches against the Proteas but not his usual self. It is important for India to get Kohli back to his best and this series will be a big tester for the same.

Rishabh Pant - The Gloveman played a very good knock in the 2nd ODI against South Africa but then threw his wicket away in the 3rd match. Pant has a point to prove that he can convert starts into big knocks and finish the games. He could be pushed down the order in this series to switch things up.

Suryakumar Yadav - After sitting out the first two games against South Africa, Yadav came in for the 3rd. Although he only got 39, he is one player who deserves more chances in the 50 over format. With Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul out of contention Yadav's place in the side is pretty much guaranteed.

Deepak Hooda - Deepak Hooda is all set to make his international debut. After a tough year where he was banned by his state team of Baroda, the all-rounder switched alliances and had a good season playing for Rajasthan. Hooda is likely to bat lower down the order and his off spin will also come in very handy as the 6th bowling option. 

Washington Sundar - Sundar is back in the squad and with Jadeja's absence he should be brought straight back into the side. There is a chance that India play with either Shardul Thakur or Deepak Chahar, Sundar is definitely a better fit. He is definitely a 10 over bowler and can bat higher up the order if needed.

Deepak Chahar - Chahar should be rewarded for his performance in the last ODI in South Africa. It will be difficult for both Chahar and Shardul Thakur to play in the side together because of their similar traits but Chahar should be given the edge.

Mohammed Siraj - Siraj didn't get a single game in South Africa but now that Jasprit Bumrah is rested and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dropped, Siraj is ahead in the pecking order while Avesh Khan is the other option. Siraj is on the right path to make himself an all format bowler.

Prasidh Krishna - Prasidh got a chance to play in the last ODI against the Proteas and picked up 3 wickets. His performance in his debut ODI series against England was also a good one. The seamer is surely one to watch in the ODI formats and can slowly turn himself into an all format bowler.

Yuzvendra Chahal - The wrist spinner position has a lot of competition with Kuldeep Yadav back in the squad and Ravi Bishnoi getting his maiden call-up. India should stick with Chahal and back him at least in this series. It is difficult to see Kul-Cha return to the side without a fast bowling all-rounder but Chahal on his own could be dangerous as well.

Bench - Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan.
 

Also read: Here's why the return of Kul-Cha is more complicated than it seems at this point

Ahmedabad, Feb 3 (Cricket News) The Indian team's playing squad save the trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer started training at the Narendra Modi Stadium after their RT-PCR tests came negative on Thursday.

While Mayank Agarwal has joined the squad, he will only be available on the match day as his mandatory three-day quarantine has started, the team management has kept Ishan Kishan in scheme of things for the ODIs.

India is set to play a three-match ODI series against West Indies here, beginning February 6.

"Today is a light session where the players have been accompanied by trainers," a veteran official in know of things told PTI.

It is also learnt that wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan, who is a specialist opener, has been added to the ODI squad.

A COVID-19 outbreak had hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday as three main players -- senior opener Dhawan, reserve opener Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas had tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series.

Four other persons, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, have also tested positive for COVID-19. Saini is also on the standby list.

The remaining three who tested positive for the virus are non-playing members -- fielding coach T Dilip, security liaison officer B Lokesh and masseur Rajeev Kumar The Indian team assembled in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies and were going through a three-day isolation period post their break from the South Africa series.

The series starts in Ahmedabad on February 6 with India's 1000th ODI match but it is now a foregone conclusion that the trio – Dhawan, Ruturaj and Shreyas -- will be missing the series as they will have to undergo a week-long isolation and then return with two negative RT-PCR tests. 

Also Read : Australia Women win ODI and retain Women’s Ashes

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Feb 2 (Cricket News) A COVID-19 outbreak hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday as three players -- senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer -- tested positive for the virus along with at least three support staff during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series.

As per information received, seven people, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, have so far tested positive for COVID-19. Saini is also on standby list.

The Indian team assembled in Ahmedabad on January 31 for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies and were going through a three-day isolation period post their break from the South Africa series.

The series starts in Ahmedabad on February 6 with India's 1000th ODI match but it is now a foregone conclusion that the trio will be missing the series as they will have to undergo a week-long isolation and then return with two negative RT-PCR tests.

"Three players -- Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Shikhar Dhawan have tested positive. However there are multiple COVID positive cases among non-coaching administrative support staff. It could be between two to four people," a veteran BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

"The other names that can be confirmed are net bowler Navdeep Saini, masseur Rajiv Kumar. There are two other cases, one being part of team's security staff and the other is among the drivers," the source informed.

"The players are largely asymptomatic and hopefully will be fine by the end of the isolation period. You feel bad for Shikhar as he might have to miss the series and he is not a part of T20 squad," the official added.

Even more disappointing is young Ruturaj Gaikwad's case as this is the second time in one and a half years that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

"If you remember, Ruturaj had tested positive in UAE during the 2020 IPL and went through hell. He had a 14-day quarantine back then and missed first part of the season in the Emirates. This is the second time he has tested positive," the official said.

It is confirmed that captain Rohit Sharma, senior players like Virat Kohli and coach Rahul Dravid have all tested negative as of Wednesday.

"They have returned negative as of today." All those who tested negative will complete their mandatory isolation on Thursday. They will enter the bubble, if they test negative again on Thursday.

"The testing protocol set by BCCI medical team is for every day RT-PCR as RAT (Rapid Antigen Test) is often not conclusive. Although teams are supplied with RAT kits in case any player shows symptoms and wants to do a self test," the veteran official said.

It is expected that M Shahrukh Khan, R Sai Kishore, Rishi Dhawan, who are stand byes for the series, will now get a look-in to be in the squad.

As far as Rohit Sharma's opening partner is concerned, Venkatesh Iyer, a specialist opener in the T20 squad, or Jharkhand's Ishan Kishan could be tried out. 

Also Read : India opt to bat in U-19 WC semifinal against Australia 

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Feb 1 (Cricket News) Top Indian players, including senior opener Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer, along with overseas stars Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada have been bracketed in the Rs 2 crore highest base price category for the upcoming IPL auction.

The mega auction is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.

There will be 590 players who will go under the hammer during the two-day auction. The IPL announced the final auction list on Tuesday.

Among the 590 players, a total of 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped and seven belong to associate nations.

Senior India pacers Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikal, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and fast bowler Shardul Thankur are also in the top bracket.

The Australian duo of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith have also put themselves in top bracket with Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan. 

Also Read : U19 World Cup: Full-strength India, Australia face off in blockbuster semifinal

News Source : PTI

Coolidge (Antigua), Feb 1 (Cricket News) Heavyweights India and Australia will face off in a blockbuster Super League semifinal of the Under-19 World Cup here on Wednesday, having beaten their opponents on the field and COVID-19 off it, on way to the last four stage.

India's preparations for the age-group showpiece were impacted heavily by the virus, with hardly any national camps or tournaments in the last two years except the recent Asia Cup.

The four-time champions started the tournament on the right note, overcoming a good South Africa side by 45 runs, but soon ran into a situation where they were struggling to field a playing XI after multiple players were found to have contracted COVID-19 hours before their match against Ireland.

Five members of the squad were unavailable for their second group clash, against Ireland on January 19 after a COVID outbreak.

Captain Yash Dhull, his deputy Shaik Rasheed, Aaradhya Yadav, Manav Parakh and Siddarth Yadav were part of that group and missed both the Ireland and Uganda fixtures, forcing the BCCI to fly in reinforcements.

India were without many players for their match with Uganda and had to call in six reserves to play with the non-infected members of their squad.

But a spirited India got the better of all the challenges thrown at them and soundly defeated Ireland and Uganda before prevailing over Bangladesh by five wickets in a tricky chase in their quarterfinal match on a surface that was not conducive for playing strokes.

India are now back to full strength and in another good news, Nishant Sindhu has recovered from COVID-19 and will be available for selection for the all-important semifinal.

But if the match against Bangladesh was any indication, India would like to improve their finishing with bat.

However, before that, despite missing many first XI players, India put up huge totals against Ireland (307/5) and Uganda (405/), and registered their biggest ever victory terms of runs against the African team.

Now up against a formidable Australian side, India will take confidence from the fact that they made the semifinals with wins on the trot despite the challenges posed the virus.

This is the fourth time in a row that India will be appearing in the last-four stage of the competition.

India have a strong batting presence with the likes of Harnoor Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Raj Bawa, who broke Shikhar Dhawan's record for the highest individual score by an Indian batter at the U-19 World Cup with his 162 not out against Uganda, shouldering the responsibility, besides skipper Dhull and Rasheed.

In fact, it was Dhull who set the tone for the team with his soild 82 against South Africa in their tournament opener.

The bowling department is taken care of by left-arm pacer Ravi Kumar, who wreaked havoc in a five-over spell to leave Bangladesh struggling at 14/3, right-arm seamer Rajvardhan Hangargekar, spinners Vicky Ostwal and Kaushal Tambe, besides medium pacer Bawa.

As far as Australia are concerned, the two-time champions will be on a high after their convincing win over Pakistan in the quarters.

Australia have a superstar in the making in opener Teague Wyllie.

The 17-year-old has been one of the stars of the World Cup so far, showcasing his impressive array of shots and an attacking yet controlled temperament. And the Western Australian youngster has no shortage of self-confidence either, making him an all-round package with every chance of making it in the international game.

Wyllie was at his fluent best against Pakistan, helping his side get off to a terrific start as he stroked eight fours in an impressive 97-ball 71 India will be wary of him.

Tom Whitney (2/31) and William Salzmann (3/37) were the stand-out performers with the ball against Pakistan, and there's hardly any obvious weak link for India to exploit.

India had beaten Australia in the warm-up game.

Teams (from): India likely XI: Yash Dhull (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harnoor Singh, Raj Bawa, Kaushal Tambe, Dinesh Bana, Nishant Sindhu, Vicky Ostwal, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vasu Vats and Ravi Kumar.

Australia likely XI: Cooper Connolly (c), Campbell Kellaway, Teague Wyllie, Aidan Cahill, Corey Miller, Jack Sinfield, Tobias Snell, William Salzmann, Jack Nisbet, Lachlan Shaw and Tom Whitney.

Match starts at 6.30 PM IST. 

Also Read : CA quashes reports that meeting with Langer was 'fiery' and 'heated'

News Source : PTI

Ahmedabad, Jan 31 (Cricket News) Members of the Indian cricket team have arrived here for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies beginning on February 6.

All players entered the bio bubble between Sunday and Monday.

"They will undergo a three day quarantine," a BCCI official told PTI.

The series will be the first for Rohit Sharma as white-ball captain of the side. He could not travel to South Africa due to a hamstring injury.

Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had posted photo of his departure for Ahmedabad on Saturday. He was sitting in the aircraft alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

Spinner Kuldeep Yadav has made a comeback into the team while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has received a maiden call up.

Due to COVID-19 threat, the BCCI reduced the venues of three ODIs and as many T20s to two. The three T20s will be played in Kolkata.

Fresh from their home T20 series win against England, West Indies squad will land here later in the week. 

Also Read : SL pacer Nuwan Thushara tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of team's T20I tour of Australia

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After a disappointing whitewash against South Africa, India will now face West Indies in a 3 match ODI series. BCCI have named the 18-man squad for the series with major changes. All 3 matches will be played at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.  

Squad:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan.

This will be Rohit Sharma's first ODI series as the permanent captain. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have been rested to manage their workload. Ravindra Jadeja is unavailable due to injury, so is Axar Patel who will be back for the T20s. KL Rahul is unavailable for the 1st ODI but will be back for the 2nd. There has been a big overhaul to the squad that lost 3-0 against South Africa.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the obvious candidates to be dropped after a disappointing outing in South Africa. Jayant Yadav and Navdeep Saini who were injury replacements in South Africa have been dropped straight away. Ishan Kishan, who wasn't given a chance to play in South Africa has been dropped while Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is yet to make his debut finds a place in the team but is dropped from the T20Is.

Surprisingly Venkatesh Iyer hasn't been backed and is dropped. He was poor with the bat in the two games he played against South Africa and got to bowl only in the 2nd match. After playing just two ODIs, the Indian side looks to have moved on from Iyer or it could just be a temporary thing to try something different. The good news for Iyer is that he is a part of the T20I squad.

Washington Sundar, who missed the South Africa series due to Covid is back in the squad. Kuldeep Yadav is back in the ODI squad straight away after recovering from his knee injury. Avesh Khan, Deepak Hooda and Ravi Bishnoi earn their maiden ODI call-ups. Despite rumors, Rishi Dhawan is not in the squad. Dhawan was the 2nd highest run scorer and the 2nd highest wicket taker in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare trophy. He was also the captain of the eventual winners Himachal Pradesh. His selection would have made perfect sense as he is a proper fast bowling all rounder which India is missing. 

There are some very bold decisions in the squad which were needed considering the poor performance in South Africa. The series could see the return of spin twins Kul-Cha (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) at least for the time being.  

Also read: Big calls in India's T20I squad for West Indies series

New Delhi, Jan 26 (Cricket News) Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was on Wednesday rewarded with a maiden India call-up for the upcoming Twenty20 series against the West Indies, while senior wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also returned to the white-ball setup after a knee surgery.

Skipper Rohit Sharma on the day cleared his fitness test and as reported by PTI on January 17, was back in-charge for the series that starts with ODIs in Ahmedabad from February 6.

Among senior players, Ravichandran Ashwin has been dropped from the white-ball team, while Washington Sundar, who missed the South Africa series due to COVID-19, was back in the squad.

"Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami have been rested from the series," BCCI secetary Jay Shah was quoted as saying in a press release.

While Ashwin is believed to be injured and out for six weeks, BCCI statement didn't mention his injury status so it can be concluded that even if he is fit, he wouldn't have been picked after an indifferent white-ball series in South Africa.

The other notable comeback has been Baroda batter Deepak Hooda, who had changed states and did wonderfully well for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well as Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Hooda is being looked as a potential finisher in shorter formats and for now in the ODI team. He was part of the Nidahas Trophy squad in Sri Lanka four seasons back but didn't get a game.

"If you go and look at Hooda's performances in white-ball cricket this season, most of his runs have come when the team has been in trouble. That shows he can take pressure. The selectors would like to see more of M Shahrukh Khan, who is a good talent. There are a lot of matches and if he has a good IPL, who knows, he will be right there," a BCCI source informed PTI on condition of anonymity.

However it is understood that Himachal Pradesh captain Rishi Dhawan wasn't in consideration as his bowling is friendly medium pace and can't be seen as a finisher in white-ball cricket.

It is also learnt that vice-captain KL Rahul will be available from the second ODI onwards as he is set to miss the first 50-over game due to personal reasons.

"Ravindra Jadeja is undergoing his final stage of recovery post his knee injury and will not be available for the ODIs and T20Is. Axar Patel will be available for the T20Is," Shah added.

Bishnoi has been one of the finds of the Indian Premier League for the Punjab outfit and has been picked up by new franchise Lucknow Super Giants from the drafts for the next IPL. In 42 T20 games, he has 49 wickets at a great economy rate of 6.63. In 17 List A games, he has 24 wickets and an economy rate of 5.48.

He primarily bowls googlies which is his stock delivery and occasionally bowls leg-breaks. With Kuldeep, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bishnoi, India is again going back to the trusted formula of wrist spin which gave them lot of success between 2017 to 2019.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been dropped from the ODI squad but retained for the T20Is while former skipper Virat Kohli featured in both the teams.

It is understood that Kuldeep, who had lost his mojo in the Kohli-Ravi Shastri era, has been called back as the current team management and selectors feel that he has the X-factor to contribute to the team's cause.

He underwent a knee surgery in September last year.

Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel, who were part of the New Zealand T20 Internationals are predictably back as reported by PTI.

The six-match series against the West Indies will feature three ODIs starting in Ahmedabad from February 6, followed by as many T20 Internationals in Kolkata.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, the BCCI has curtailed the number of venues from six cities to two.

ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel. 

Also Read : Dravid will bring lot to table but it's more about man-management than coaching: Warne

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) A tie and super over is a regular feature in T-20 games. In ODIs it is rare but did decide the winner of the 2019 World Cup by the tiniest of margins. Before super over was a thing in one day internationals there was a match for the ages when India toured New Zealand in 2014 and played a thrilling tie in the 3rd ODI.

In the 5 match series, New Zealand won the first two games. In the 3rd ODI at Auckland, India were playing to save the series. M.S Dhoni won the toss and put New Zealand into bat. Martin Guptill scored 111 off 129 balls to anchor the innings as New Zealand were bowled out for 314. Both Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up a wicket each. 

Chasing 315, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got off to a decent start. India then lost Dhawan, Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane in quick succession. Suresh Raina's 31 and MS Dhoni's 50 got India closer but both of them lost their wickets and India were 184 for 6 in 35.4 overs. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who wasn't as good with the bat as he is now put together an 89 run partnership in less than 10 overs. Ashwin was dismissed after scoring 65 off just 46 balls.

Jadeja who came into bat at number 8 scored an unbeaten 66 off 45 balls. India needed 29 from 2 oves and had only 1 wicket in hand. In the last over India needed 18 runs. Jadeja hit two fours and a maximum off Corey Anderson. Needing two runs of the last ball the allrounder could only manage a single as the match ended in a tie.

The result kept the series alive as India could've been able to draw the series by winning the next two games. That didn't happen as New Zealand won the remaining two games and clinched the series 4-0. The match was one of the most thrilling draws in ODI history. It also alerted people of Jadeja's prowess with the willow which is now at its peak.

Also read: On this day a year ago, India conquered fortress Gabba against all the odds

(Cricket news) India lost the ODI series against South Africa 3-0. It was the first ODI series since Virat Kohli was sacked from captaincy. After the disappointment of losing a Test series, people expected India to come out all guns blazing. That didn't happen as India were completely toothless in the 3 games. Winning a series in South Africa is never easy as Virat Kohli is the only Indian captain to win an ODI series in South Africa. 

South Africa were brilliant in all 3 departments. Quinton de Kock was awarded the man of the series award. Rassie van der Dussen, Janeman Malan and skipper Temba Bavuma had a good series with the bat. Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Andile Phehlukwayo and Keshav Maharaj were exquisite with the ball picking up wickets at key moments in the game to break partnerships. South Africa were particularly exceptional in the middle overs where they dictated the pace while batting and bowling.

The Indian side was very imbalanced due to the absence of Jadeja which is worrying signs as over dependence on a player is always risky, especially when that player regularly plays all 3 formats. The only positive perhaps is the batting performances of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar down the order but that isn't something the two haven't done in the past. Ravichandran Ashwin's return to ODIs wasn't a good one. Yuzvendra Chahal looked like a shadow of the bowler that used to win India games on regular occasions.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's performance indicates that he might not play for India in the near future. Jasprit Bumrah had a decent series but lacked support from the other end. Venkatesh Iyer played the first two games and missed the last. He wasn't able to replicate his Vijay Hazare trophy form at the international stage and will need time to settle into the side. Virat Kohli is still waiting for his 71st century but he did score 2 half centuries in 3 games.

KL Rahul failed as an opener therefore it's safe to assume that he will have to bat in the middle order against West Indies where skipper Rohit Sharma will hopefully be back. Shreyas Iyer was also a big disappointment in the series as he failed to cross the 50 run mark. Rishabh Pant played a very good innings in the 2nd match but completely threw his wicket away recklessly in the 3rd. 

Despite being the top scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ruturaj Gaikwad wasn't given a chance even when India had already lost the series. One way to look at it is that Rahul Dravid and co. may be refraining to put him in the side straight away. The opener is still very young and could have to sit out a couple of years. India now shifts its focus on the 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against the West Indies at home where anything apart from a convincing win in both the series will be massive warning signs.


Also read: South Africa win see-saw thriller to inflict whitewash on lackluster India

(Cricket news) South Africa defeated India by just 4 runs in the last over to seal the series 3-0. India played much better than they did in the last two ODIs but it still wasn't enough. The game was a rollercoaster ride where the momentum was constantly shifting.

KL Rahul won the toss and put South Africa into bat. Quinton de Kock continued his great form and scored a magnificent 124 off 130 balls. Rassie van der Dussen chipped in with a 59 ball 52 as South Africa were bowled out for 287 runs. Prasidh Krishna picked up 3 wickets while Deepak Chahar and Jasprit Bumrah got 2 each. Yuzvendra Chahal got the crucial wicket of van der Dussen while Jayant Yadav went wicketless. Shreyas Iyer was used as a 6th bowler as he bowled 3 overs.

The target of 288 was definitely chase-able. Lungi Ngidi picked up KL Rahul's wicket early on. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan than had a partnership of 98 runs before Dhawan was out after a well made 61. Rishabh Pant stepped out and tried to slog the first ball and ended up throwing his wicket away in the first ball. Virat Kohli looked in good touch as he scored 65 off 84 balls but was once again dismissed by Keshav Maharaj. 

Shreyas Iyer and Surya Kumar scored 26 and 39 runs respectively but were dismissed as India looked to be out of the game. Deepak Chahar smashed a 34 ball 54 hitting 5 fours and 2 sixes to turn things around. He then threw his wicket away leaving India with 10 runs required off 17 balls with 2 wickets in hand. Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal were dismissed before India could chase down the total. 

Quinton de Kock was named the man of the match for his blistering century. The game would have been one for the ages if it was a series decider or the first had anything apart from pride on the line but because the series result was already decided it wouldn't reach the hype. India will now have to sort things out quickly as they host West Indies for 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs.

Also read: Smriti Mandhana wins ICC women's Cricketer of the Year

Cape Town, Jan 24 (Cricket News) India have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against South Africa in the third ODI here, the ICC said on Monday.

Match referee Andy Pycroft imposed the sanction after KL Rahul’s side was ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

“In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time,” the ICC said in a statement.

Rahul pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

On-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Bongani Jele, third umpire Allauhudien Palekar and fourth umpire Adrien Holdstock levelled the charge.

South Africa beat India by four runs in the third and final ODI to effect a clean sweep in the three-match series here on Sunday.

The Proteas were bowled out for 287 in the inconsequential final match, with star wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock hitting 124 and the in-form Rassie van der Dussen making 52.

India came agonisingly close to winning the game but fell short of the target depite half centuries from Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Deepak Chahar as the visiors were all out for 283 in the end. 

Also Read : Smriti Mandhana wins ICC women's Cricketer of the Year

News Source : PTI

Cape Town, Jan 23 (Cricket News) South Africa beat India by four runs in the final ODI to effect a clean sweep in the three-match series here on Sunday.

Sent into bat, South Africa were bowled out for 287 in the inconsequential final match, with star wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock hitting 124 off 130 balls and the in-form Rassie van der Dussen making 52 in 59 balls.

David Miller pitched in 39 to take South Africa closer to the 300-mark before the hosts were bowled out with one ball to spare.

In reply, India were all out for 283 in 49.2 overs despite half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Deepak Chahar.

For India, Prasidh Krishna (3/59) was the pick of the bowlers, while pacers Jasprit Bumrah (2/52) and Chahar (2/53) took two wickets apiece.

Brief Scores: South Africa: 287 all out in 49.5 overs (Quinton de Kock 124, Rassie van der Dussen 52; Prasidh Krishna 3/59, Jasprit Bumrah 2/52, Deepak Chahar 2/53) India: 283 all out in 49.2 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 61, Virat Kohli 65, Deepak Chahar 54). 

Also Read : Balance of ODI side an issue, accepts head coach Dravid, rues missing likes of Hardik and Jadeja

News Source : PTI

Cape Town, Jan 23 (Cricket News) India rallied to bowl out South Africa for 287 after opener Quinton de Kock struck an attacking century and Rassie van der Dussen continued his sublime form with a 52-run knock in the third and final ODI here on Sunday.

De Kock struck 124 off 130 balls and added 144 runs for the fourth wicket with van der Dussen before India put the brakes on the home team's scoring by sending back both the batters in quick succession. The home team has already taken a winning 2-0 lead in the series.

After that, David Miller contributed a 38-ball 39 before the innings ended with a ball to spare.

With his sixth ODI century, de Kock equalled AB de Villiers' record of scoring the most hundreds against India by a South African.

KL Rahul's decision to bowl first worked straightaway as Deepak Chahar (2/53) had opener Janneman Malan (1) caught behind with just eight runs on the board at the start of the third over.

It was a big wicket for the Indians as Malan came into the inconsequential final ODI on the back of a neat 91-run knock in the Proteas' series-clinching second ODI win at Paarl.

And credit for that must go to Chahar who got his fullish delivery to move away after angling it in, leaving Malan clueless.

A direct hit from India skipper KL Rahul from mid-off, ended his in-form counterpart Temba Bavuma's brief stay in the middle as the batter failed to reach the non-striker's end in time.

Bavuma making his way back to the dressing room for eight runs was another big break for India as the South Africa captain had scored a century in the opening fixture and also looked solid in the second outing.

After bagging two wickets in the powerplay, India seemed to be headed in the right direction when Aiden Markram's attempted pull shot failed to clear substitute fielder Ruturaj Gaikwad in the deep square leg region, leaving the hosts at 70 for three in the 13th over.

However, the duo of De Kock and Van der Dussen got together and forged an excellent partnership, mixing caution with aggression to deflate the Indian bowling attack.

De Kock moved into the 90s with two boundaries and then produced a flat-batted six straight over Prasidh Krishna's (3/59) head.

But he got stuck on 99 for a while before finally getting to the three-figure mark by driving Shreyas Iyer to the left of sweeper cover for two runs.

Van der Dussen hit Yuzvendra Chahal through mid-wicket for four, as the two upped the ante with their vast range of strokes on all sides of the wicket.

But just when it looked like the two batters were taking the game away form India, the visitors got rid of both of them.

De Kock got out to a Jasprit Bumrah (2/52) short ball, giving Shikhar Dhawan a simple catch at deep square leg, and then, Chahal had van der Dussen brilliant caught by Iyer in the deep.

Also Read : Rizwan named ICC T20 Cricketer of the Year

News Source : PTI

Cape Town, Jan 23 (Cricket News) India skipper KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl in the third and final ODI against South Africa here on Sunday.

Having already lost the series, India have made four changes with Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Deepak Chahar and Prasidh Krishna coming into the playing XI.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Venkatesh Iyer and Bhuvneshwar Kumar miss out.

For South Africa, Dwaine Pretorius comes in for Tabraiz Shamsi.

Hosts South Africa have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Teams: South Africa: Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock(wk), Temba Bavuma(c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Dwaine Pretorius, Lungi Ngidi, Sisanda Magala.

India: KL Rahul(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Jayant Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal. 

Also Read : Coach Dravid has to prove that he is not overrated: Shoaib Akhtar

News Source : PTI

Tarouba (Trinidad), Jan 23 (Cricket News) Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Raj Bawa smashed centuries as four-time champions India recorded a thumping 326-run win over minnows Uganda to top Group B in the U19 World Cup here.

The victory on Saturday was India’s largest win in tournament history.

The Hrishikesh Kanitkar-coached side thus ended the league stage with three wins in as many games, having earlier thrashed South Africa U19 (by 45 runs) and Ireland U19 (by 174 runs).

Put into bat at the picturesque Brian Lara stadium, India colts first rode on hundreds from Bawa (162 not out off 108 balls) and opener Raghuvanshi (144 off 120 balls) to post a mammoth 405/5, the highest total in this edition.

They then bundled out the opposition for a meager 79 in 19.4 overs to eke out an easy win in a lop-sided affair.

India play their quarterfinals against Bangladesh on January 29, allowing their COVID-19 infected players including skipper Yash Dhull enough time to recover.

Raghuvanshi and Bawa shared 206 runs for the third wicket to take the game away from Uganda.

It was raining boundaries and sixes as Raghuvanshi hit 22 fours and four sixes, while Bawa, who came in at number four, decorated his innings with 14 fours and as many as eight hits over the fence.

After Raghuvanshi's departure in the 38th over, Bawa continued with his attacking instinct and clobbered the Uganda bowlers to all parts of the ground.

It was a one-way traffic as the Uganda bowlers had no answers to the Indian onslaught and for the East African side.

Skipper Pascal Murungi picked up three wickets for 72 runs, even as all others were brutally taken to task.

Courtesy the hitting, India recorded their second highest score in the history of U-19 World Cup. For the record, India's highest score in the competition remains the 425 for three set against Scotland in 2004, while Australia hold the world record score of 480 for six against Kenya in 2002.

Bawa’s unbeaten 162 is now the highest individual score by an Indian in the U19 World Cup as he surpassed flamboyant opener Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 155 against Scotland in 2004.

Chasing an insurmountable 406, Uganda were teetering at 17/3 as one-down wicket-keeper Cyrus Kakuru (0), Brian Asaba (5) and Ronald Lutayaa (5) fell cheaply inside first four overs after opener Issac Ategeka (0) was retired out.

While inform pacer Rajvadhan Hangargekar (2/8) accounted for Kakuru’s and Asaba’s wickets, right-arm medium pacer Vasu Vats (1/18) removed Lutayaa, who was caught by Nishant Sindhu.

Stand-in-skipper Sindhu (4/19), himself a left-arm spinner, then castled Ronald Opio (11), to take his first, as Uganda lost their fourth wicket for 46.

Rival skipper Murungi (34 off 45 balls; 7x4) only delayed the inevitable as the writing on the wall was clear for Uganda, who always had an uphill task.

Brief Scores: India U19 405 for 5 in 50 overs (Raj Bawa 162 not out, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 144; Pascal Murungi 3/72) beat Uganda U19 79 in 19.4 overs (Pascal Murungi 34; Nishant Sindhu 4/19, Rajvardhan Hangargekar 2/8) by 326 runs. 

Also Read : IPL will start in last week of March, owners want matches in India: Jay Shah

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After convincingly losing the first two ODIs, India are staring down a whitewash. Things are not looking good for India ever since Virat Kohli gave up T20I captaincy. India need to win the 3rd ODI in order to end a disappointing tour with some positives.

India's Possible Playing XI:

KL Rahul(C), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Surya Kumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

India needs to make changes in the side to give opportunities to a few players. Surya Kumar Yadav and Mohammed Siraj are the two players who deserve it. It looks like Ruturaj Gaikwad will not get a chance to play in the side. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been very disappointing in the two games and is likely to be replaced by Mohammed Siraj.

South Africa Possible Playing XI:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Sisanda Magala, Tabraiz Shamsi, Wayne Parnell.

Lungi Ngidi has played all 3 Test matches and 2 ODIs and could be rested since the series is already won. Dwaine Pretorius could be given a chance ahead in the last ODI. South Africa might be looking to promote David Miller up the order as he has not got a chance to bat a lot in the series so far.

Pitch report: 

Cape Town has the most spin friendly pitch in South Africa. It could be the highest scoring game of the series as it is a batting friendly track. Both teams will not be looking to change their combinations much. The captain who wins the toss will once again be looking to bowl first.

India need to be better in the middle overs with the bat and bowl. The bowlers apart from Jasprit Bumrah have been very disappointing in the last two games. It is very evident that India needs changes in white ball cricket and the 3rd ODI will be a good chance to experiment. 

Also read: Hardik will be motivated to show what he is capable of as a leader: Ahmedabad team mentor Kirsten

Cape Town, Jan 22 (Cricket News) Indian team's strategy is expected to undergo paradigm shift with some players getting a subtle yet stern message to lift their games as they face an embarrassing possibility of a clean sweep against South Africa in the third ODI, here on Sunday.

India's strategy looked completely out of sync with modern day white ball game as the batters failed to keep the momentum in the middle overs and more importantly the bowlers, save Jasprit Bumrah, looked club class and without ideas of getting breakthroughs.

In two matches, India have been only able to pick up seven wickets -- four in the first game when Proteas batted first and only three in the second.

Ravichandran Ashwin and especially Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the two senior-most bowlers looked far from threatening and the young Proteas batters like Rassie van der Dussen, Janneman Malan along with seniors like Quinton de Kock have feasted on the pedestrian stuff dished out by them.

With the two having flopped completely, it needs to be seen whether Rahul Dravid, the man who is currently calling all the shots as far as tactics is concerned, takes a dim view and at least try out Jayant Yadav and Deepak Chahar in the next game which would lend some freshness to the attack.

Worse, the first two games were played on a Boland Park strip that didn't have a lot of pace and bounce and even skipper KL Rahul admitted that conditions were more familiar with what they get back home, compared to what they are used to getting in South Africa.

However at Newlands, there will be more pace and bounce on the track and the Indian team that has been perennially struggling would want to avoid the ignominy of a 0-3 loss.

For skipper Rahul, the whole tour, save his match-winning hundred in the first Test, has been a nightmare. Although he is being seen as a long-term future leader, there hasn't been any spark whatsoever in his leadership that would make anyone sit up and feel that he is the one cut out for the job.

There hasn't been any tactical improvisations in the two games so far which would inspire confidence in his leadership abilities.

Add to that, his own style of batting at the top of the order is outdated in modern ODIs and his inability to rotate the strike for the better part is also creating pressure on the later batters, who aren't as adept at maneuvering the strike.

It is a foregone conclusion that once Rohit Shara is back in action, Rahul will lose his spot at the top of the order with Shikhar Dhawan scoring runs and at a better clip compared to his younger partner.

Virat Kohli's energy missing in Rahul ================== Virat Kohli may have scored 51 in the first game but what is visible is his lack of energy on the field having been sacked from ODI captaincy.

He is doing his routines without getting too involved. While it is fair that he wants Rahul to grow into the job somewhere the infectious energy that he brings into the field and which normally rubs off on other younger players has been missing in the two games.

Rahul would do well to imbibe some of it from his former captain.

'Mr' and 'Mr' Iyer ============= The two Iyers -- Shreyas in batting and Venkatesh as an all-rounder haven't yet set the stage on fire and the main problem has been their inability to force the pace in the middle overs.

England became a solid ODI outfit by scoring consistently in the middle overs and this young South African team has also followed that template in the series which is missing in Indian game.

In all, massive improvement required in order to be competitive.

India: KL Rahul (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.

Match starts 2 PM IST. 

Also Read : Shreyas, Chahal, Warner expected to be top draws in IPL mega auction next month

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Jan 22 (Cricket News) India batter Shreyas Iyer and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal along with Australoan dasher David Warner are expected to be the top draws as over 1,200 players registered themselves for the Indian Premier League mega auction scheduled for next month.

Apart from Shreyas and Chahal, the 10 teams are likely to be involved in bidding war for Indian players like senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, batter Ishan Kishan, the pace duo of Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar, the top two wicket takers of the last edition Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan, spinner Rahul Chahar and all-rounder Washington Sundar.

The above bunch of Indian players is expected to attract anywhere between Rs 7 to 15 crores (between USD 1 to 2 million) Among foreign players, Warner, South African Kagiso Rabada are likely to fetch big bucks along with England's Mark Wood, Australia's Mitchell Marsh, New Zealand's Trent Boult and Pat Cummins. Veterans Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo could still keep their franchise Chennai Super Kings interested.

"Total of 1,214 players (896 Indian and 318 overseas players) have signed up to be part of the IPL 2022 Player Auction," the IPL said in a statement on Saturday.

The two-day mega auction is slated to be held in Bengaluru on the February 12 and 13.

This is the initial list of players. All 10 teams will be sent the following which will the franchises will revert with the names of the players they are interested in.

The list will then be pruned for the auction.

A total of 33 players have been retained/picked ahead of the Player Auction. The existing eight IPL Franchises have retained a total of 27 players, including MS Dhoni by Chennai Super Kings, Rohit Sharma by Mumbai Indians and Virat Kohli by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The two new IPL teams have picked six players with Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul being named captain of the Ahmedabad and Lucknow franchise respectively.

Some of other other big names retained include Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Kane Williamson, Jos Buttler and Glenn Maxwell to name a few.

The big names to miss out are Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Mitchell Strac, Sam Curran and Chris Gayle.

First player registeration from Bhutan ======================== More than 200 players who have registered are capped international players, while 62 uncapped foreign players have also thrown their hat into the ring.

An unnamed player from Bhutan has registered for the lucrative league while a record number of 14 cricketers from USA have signed up for the auction.

Australia tops the overseas list with 59 players while 48 cricketers from South African have also put forth their names.

West Indies (41), Sri Lanka (36), England (30), New Zealand (29) and Afghanistan (20) are some of the other countries from where numerous players have registered their names.

There is also representation from Namibia (5), Nepal (15), Netherlands (1), Oman (3), Scotland (1), Zimbabwe (2), Ireland (3) and UAE (1). 

Also Read : Indian bowlers disappoint once again as South Africa seal ODI series win

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) South Africa won the 2nd ODI by 7 wickets to win the series 2-0. The entire tour has been very disappointing for India who are clearly feeling the effects of Virat Kohli not being the captain anymore. The absence of Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja doesn't help either

KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bat first. After a decent start India lost Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli in quick succession. Rishabh Pant came in to bat and had a good partnership with KL Rahul as they put together 115 runs. Pant scored 85 off just 71 balls before Tabraiz Shamsi picked up his wicket. The gloveman was the aggressor as he hit 10 boundaries and 2 maximums to get his highest ODI score. KL Rahul on the other hand was watchfull as he took 79 balls to score 55 but lost his wicket to Sisanda Mangala. Late strikes from Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur got India to 287 runs in the first innings.

South Africa got off to a flying start as Quinton de Kock and Janeman Malan put together 132 runs for the 1st wicket. De Kock scored 78 off 66 before Shardul Thakur finally got the breakthrough. Janeman Malan was dismissed just 9 runs short of his hundred by Jasprit Bumrah. Yuzvendra Chahal also got the wicket of Temba Bavuma but it was too late. Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen finished the game with 11 balls to spare. It is safe to say that the bowlers cost India the match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar in particular was very poor as he gave away 67 runs in 8 overs. Venkatesh Iyer did get a chance to bowl but failed to pick up a wicket in 5 overs.

While Indian bowlers are single handedly winning them matches in Test cricket, white ball cricket needs some sort of a change. The days of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal dismantling opposition in the middle overs look long gone. India needs a better plan. Even though the series is just the start of India's preparation for the World Cup, there is a long road for India to find the right team and strategy for the 50 over format. India will have nothing but pride to play for in the next game. It is very important for them to prevent a whitewash and end what has been a disappointing tour on a good note.

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Paarl, Jan 21 (Cricket News) India skipper KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bat against South Africa in the second ODI at the Boland Park here on Friday.

India are fielding the same playing XI from the first ODI which they lost by 31 runs.

For South Africa, pacer Sisanda Magala comes in place of bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen.

South Africa are leading the three-match series 1-0.

The Teams: India: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (w), Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Sisanda Magala, Tabraiz Shamsi. 

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News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Jan 20 (Cricket News) Veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's position in group A of the BCCI central contracts could be up for deliberation when the board finalises its fresh list of contracted players for the upcoming season in a few days' time.

Another big question is whether the BCCI top brass is in a mood to upgrade two future captaincy contenders -- KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant -- alongside Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in the elite A+ category.

The BCCI has four categories -- A+, A, B and C -- which carry annual retainership of Rs 7 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively.

Normally, it is the three office-bearers, five selectors and the national head coach, who decide retainerships.

As of now, there won't be massive changes to the 28 names that featured in the last list but there could be some serious discussions about the composition of the current groups which were in place last year.

"Obviously, Rohit, Kohli and Bumrah being the three indispensable players across formats would be in A plus category beyond doubt. But now Rahul and Pant are slowly establishing themselves as all-format regulars, so it needs to be seen whether the duo gets promotion or not," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

But what could be a more debatable issue is Pujara and Rahane's status after a year of consistent non-performance.

"The central contract is a performance indicator of where you stand as per your performance during the last season. If the BCCI and head coach (Rahul) Dravid decide to honour the duo and keep them in group A, then it's a different issue but under normal circumstances, they ideally won't feature in group A," the source said.

Ditto for Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya, who have both struggled due to injuries and lack of form throughout the season and could feature in group B.

Similarly, among the group B players of last season, only Shardul Thakur, who has had some impactful performances in Test matches, can be hopeful of a promotion to group A.

In current group C, Mohammed Siraj is one man, who has shown tremendous improvement while Shubman Gill is one for the future along with Hanuma Vihari, who would also be expecting an upgrade.

Among newcomers, the likes of Venkatesh Iyer and Harshal Patel could make their maiden cut.

Last Season's (2021) Contract List ================= Grade A+: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah Grade A: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Mohd. Shami, Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya Grade B: Wriddhiman Saha, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Agarwal Grade C: Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Md. Siraj. 

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News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After being completely outplayed by South Africa in the 1st ODI, India have a lot of problems to solve in the 2nd ODI which will also be played at the Boland Park. South Africa have a chance to wrap up the series. India will have to play much better than they did in the last match.

South Africa possible playing XI:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Janeman Malan,  Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj,  Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

South Africa has no reason to make changes in their side. The only change could be who bats at what position in the middle order which is extremely flexible. Bavuma used 6 bowlers in the last game and they all did their job well.

India possible playing XI:

KL Rahul(C), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Surya Kumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Shardul Thakur could miss out despite his half century in the last game due to his poor bowling performance as he gave away 72 runs and failed to pick up a wicket. Shreyas Iyer failed to make an impact in the last game and could make way for Surya Kumar Yadav. Indian batters need to convert their starts into big scores to have any chance of winning the match. It would be unfair to drop Venkatesh Iyer after just one game in which he wasn't given a chance to bowl but there is no point keeping him in the side if KL Rahul doesn't give him the ball.

The captain that wins the toss will once again look to bat first and get runs on the board as anything above 280 will be difficult to chase. The pitch is likely to be sluggish like the last game. Batting will be very difficult in the initial stages and runs won't come easy. India desperately needs the win to try and rescue what has been a very disappointing tour. At the moment South Africa even without their pace bowling heavyweights Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje look favorites to win the match which says a lot about the Indian side at the moment.


Also read: India outclassed in all three departments by South Africa in 1st ODI

Dubai, Jan 20 (Cricket News) The flamboyant Rohit Sharma featured as opener, Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper and R Ashwin as the lone specialist spinner in the ICC men's 'Test Team of the Year' but no Indian player was included in the global body's ODI XI for 2021.

After going unrepresented in the ICC men's 'T20 Team of the Year' due to a disastrous World Cup campaign in the UAE, it was no surprise to see the Indians miss out in the apex body's ODI side as well after playing just six matches, even as the list featured two players from minnows Ireland.

India, the world number one in Tests, however have three representatives in the year's best team for the game's longest format, with New Zealand talisman Kane Williamson as its skipper.

Overall, India played 14 Tests in 2021 and managed to win eight out of them. They lost three Tests last year, including the heart-breaking defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand.

Rohit, who was recently elevated as India's white-ball captain as Virat Kohli's successor, cracked 906 runs in the calendar year at an average of 47.68 with two centuries.

Both of Rohit's centuries were memorable knocks in contrasting conditions against England -- one in Chennai and the other in overcast conditions away from home at the Oval.

Pant, who established himself as India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in all the three formats, scored 748 runs in 12 matches at an average of 39.36 with one memorable ton against England at Ahmedabad. He also accounted for 39 dismissals in 23 innings, with his glovework continuing to improve.

The seasoned Ashwin scalped 54 wickets in nine matches at an average of 16.64, making a big impact in the home series against England and New Zealand. He also chipped in with 355 runs at an average of 25.35, which included a vital century against England in Chennai.

Besides the Indian trio and Williamson, the ICC Test team has one Sri Lankan in Dimuth Karunaratne, one Australian in Marnus Labuschagne, England captain Joe Root, New Zealand's Kyle Jamison and three Pakistanis in Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi.

Leading the 2021 ICC Test Team of the Year, Williamson was an influential captain for New Zealand, leading them to glory at the inaugural World Test Championship Final against India in Southampton.

He was also steady with the bat, scoring 395 runs in 4 matches at an average of 65.83 with one century.

Besides the absence of India players, the ODI team also doesn't have anyone from Australia, English, New Zealand or West Indies.

The team, which has Pakistan's Babar Azam as its captain, has two of his team-mates, including Fakhar Zaman.

South Africans Janneman Malan and Rassie van der Dussen, Bangladeshis Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahaman and Mushfiqur Rahim, who is also the designated wicketkeeper, Sri Lankans Wanindu Hasaranga and Dishmantha Chameera along with Irishmen Paul Stirling and Simi Singh form the rest of the squad.

India, in the year 2021, played six ODIs and won four while losing two.

The non-selection of Indian players in the XI is more to do with lack of matches rather than poor show since they have won both the series that they played in 2021.

The only Indian player who has played all the ODI matches in 2021 is veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan, who had 297 runs from six games.

The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma only played three ODIs in 2021 and ditto for premier bowlers, who also didn't play all the six games.

Buvneshwar Kumar was there in five of those six games with his tally of wickets not in double digits (9 from 5 matches).

In order to make it to the team of the year, there has to be enough impactful performances to earn points which Indians didn't have.

Ireland's Stirling had a whopping 705 runs in 14 ODIs in 2021 with an average of 79.66 which made him an automatic selection.

Proteas opener Janneman has scored 509 runs in 8 games with an average of nearly 85.

Babar, who has played least among the 11 players, also has 405 runs in six games with two hundreds while team-mate Zaman has 369 runs in the year. 

Also Read : ICC ODI men's Team of The Year: After T20s, no Indians in this one too

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Jan 20 (Cricket News) After going unrepresented in the ICC's men's 'T20 Team of the Year' due to a disastrous World Cup campaign in the UAE, no Indian player featured in the global body's 'ODI Team of the Year' which features two players from minnows Ireland.

Incidentally, the team also doesn't have any Australia, English, New Zealand or West Indies players.

The team, which has Pakistan's Babar Azam as its captain, has two Pakistanis including Fakhar Zaman.

South Africans Janneman Malan and Rassie van der Dussen, Bangladeshis Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahaman and Mushfiqur Rahim, who is also the designated wicketkeeper, Sri Lankans Wanindu Hasaranga and Dishmantha Chameera along with Irishmen Paul Stirling and Simi Singh form the rest of the squad.

India, in the year 2021, played six ODIs and won four losing two.

The two 50-over series that they played were against England at home, which they won 2-1, and the other was an away clash against Sri Lanka in the island nation which was also won by an identical margin.

The problem with non-selection of an Indian player in the XI is more to do with lack of matches rather than poor show since they have won both the series that they played in 2021.

The only Indian player, who has played all the ODI matches in 2021 is veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan, who had 297 runs from six games.

The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma only played three ODIs in 2021 and ditto for premier bowlers, who also didn't play all the six games.

Buvneshwar Kumar was there in five of those six games with his tally of wickets not in double digits (9 from 5 matches).

In order to make it to the team of the year, there have to be enough impactful performances to earn points which Indians didn't have.

For example, Ireland's Stirling had a whopping 705 runs in 14 ODIs in 2021 with an average of 79.66 which made him an automatic selection.

Proteas opener Janneman has scored 509 runs in 8 games with an average of nearly 85.

Babar, who has played least among the 11 players also has 405 runs in six games with two hundreds while country mate Zaman has 369 runs in the year.

In the middle-order, Rassie van der Dussen had an average of 57 in the year 2021 with 342 runs in eight games while Shakib was superb as an all-rounder with 277 runs and 17 wickets.

Mushfiqur Rahim had 400 plus tally along with stumpings and catches while Wanindu Hasaranga scored 356 run and picked 12 wickets.

The two pacers Mustafzur Rahaman and Duhmantha Chameera had 18 and 20 wickets respectively while off-spinner Simi had 19 scalps to his credit. 

Also Read : U-19 World Cup: Zimbabwe's Chirwa suspended from bowling in international cricket

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) South Africa won the 1st ODI against India by 31 runs. After winning the toss and electing to bat first the Proteas scored 296 runs thanks to centuries by skipper Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen. The pitch was on the slow side with uneven bounce. There was movement for the seamers with the new ball. Timing the ball was difficult but Bavuma and van der Dussen managed to stay on the crease long enough to get their team above the par score.

India started really well but the partnership proved to be very costly. They failed to take wickets in the middle overs and gave away too many runs towards the end. KL Rahul's captaincy came under the scanner as despite playing Venkatesh Iyer as a 6th bowling option he did not use him even though his other bowlers were having an average day. Questions were raised as to why didn't India play a pure batter instead of Iyer if he never planned on giving him the ball.

India's chase started well with Shikhar Dhawan playing his naturally aggressive game. The visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli got off to very good starts but couldn't convert it to big scores. India in the end fell 31 runs short despite Shardul Thakur's fifty towards the end. India would have chased the total if one of Dhawan, Kohli and Pant played a big knock. 

India's fielding was also not up to the mark as Shreyas Iyer dropped a catch. There were a lot of midfields and overthrows. KL Rahul's captaincy was also questionable. Throughout the South African innings the fielding was very orthodox and didn't look attacking. The true vulnerability for India is that apart from Ravindra Jadeja there is no other proper all-rounder in the side and that is the case not just in ODIs but across formats. There is no player in and around the squad who is capable of bowling 10 overs and contributing heavily with the bat apart from Ravindra Jadeja now that Hardik Pandya is not in contention. Washington Sundar may be that guy but he hasn't got a long run in the ODI format. The other big issue is that none of the batters is part time bowler. Virat Kohli doesn't bowl like he used to before and none of the other batters are capable of bowling 4-5 overs when needed.

India may look at a few changes in the 2nd ODI. Despite scoring a 50 Shardul Thakur was below par with the ball. India might be looking to give Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj or Prasidh Krishna a go in the side. Ruturaj Gaikwad has scored way too many runs recently to be sitting on the bench therefore KL Rahul might have to bat in the middle order after all to give Gaikwad a chance.

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Paarl (South Africa), Jan 20 (Cricket News) KL Rahul will have to show drastically improved leadership acumen when he leads India against a buoyant South African side in the second ODI on Thursday, with the three-match series and his long-term Test captaincy ambitions both at stake.

Rahul was at best mediocre in terms of "on-your-feet-thinking", something that's basic to art of captaincy, and also didn't look the part with the bat in a deflating 31-run defeat in the opening ODI where India were outplayed for the better part of the game.

The middle-order, which had been a problem since Virat Kohli's heady days as captain, is still sticking out like a sore thumb and no one knows what exactly the solution is.

Once again, it was a case of one opener -- Shikhar Dhawan on this occasion -- and the indomitable Kohli holding fort before the middle-order caved in on a slower pitch where there was turn and the ball gripped, making a run-of-the-mill seamer Andile Phehlukwayo look formidable.

South Africa crushed India both strategically as well as on skills and therein lay serious questions about Rahul's wares as captain.

The most dominant query was what exactly was Venkatesh Iyer doing in the team if he was not bowling at least four to five overs as the sixth bowler when Yuzvendra Chahal and Shardul Thakur were being taken to the cleaners by Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma? If Venkatesh is playing as a specialist batter at No.6 then why not use Suryakumar Yadav, who is more experienced with a better range of strokes under pressure? The next question that arose was whether Rahul spoke to Chahal or Ashwin when Van der Dussen and Bavuma started playing the sweep shots -- both conventional and reverse sweep on a good batting strip.

There wasn't a singular inspired bowling change unlike Proteas who introduced Aiden Markram's off-breaks first-up and bottled up the Indian skipper.

When India batted, the game was lost at the halfway stage once Dhawan and Kohli were out in quick succession following their 90-plus stand. Suddenly, the strip where batting looked easy became difficult.

Shreyas Iyer's well-documented struggles against the short ball were again exposed on the day and the Mumbaikar would know that a place in the Indian playing XI comes at a premium and he can't go on wasting chances like a millionaire.

But going by Rahul Dravid's template, he would get his share of chances.

On a slow track, where rotating the strike is a must, the likes of Rishabh Pant and the two Iyers will have to play a bigger role.

Similarly, Shardul Thakur, despite his fifty which came when the match as a contest was over and there was no pressure of a target, will have to measure up as a bowler which is his primary skill.

Going for 70 plus runs in his 10-over spell with too many loose balls didn't help the team's cause and even Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked insipid on his return to the national playing eleven after the tour of Sri Lanka.

The difference between the two sides was how the spinners fared -- Ashwin and Chahal in their combined 20 overs gave away 106 runs for a single wicket while Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj bowled 26 overs between them for 124 runs and snared four wickets between them.

"It was a sort of wicket that we get back home. It was not a typical South African wicket. There was turn (on offer) in the wicket, and the ball was also keeping straight, so it wasn't easy for the new batsmen to score runs," senior batter Dhawan had said after the match.

"The plan of the set batsmen was to take it deep, but unfortunately I got out on the ball which turned a lot and I didn't expect that, but yes that happens," he said.

Test captaincy is a different ball-game compared to white ball but Rahul only knows too well that when it comes to decision-making, the top brass will fall back on references they have.

And a series defeat against South Africa isn't going to do his case any good unless the head coach is bent on trying to make a leader out of him.

Squads India: KL Rahul (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.

Match starts 2 PM IST. 

Also Read : Tough times made me stronger but needed calm and clarity: Shikhar Dhawan

News Source : PTI

Paarl, Jan 20 (Cricket News) Shikhar Dhawan believes that every lean patch in his career has made him "stronger" but it is his clarity of mind and calmness that has enabled him to ride over rough times.

The oldest player in the Indian ODI set-up, there were lot of talks about Dhawan's poor form in domestic cricket but as it has been with the 36-year-old, he was back with a bang in his favourite blue shirt with a top-score of 79 off 84 balls, albeit in a losing cause in the first ODI against South Africa.

"I don't listen to the media or don't read newspapers or watch news, that way I don't take all that information," Dhawan said when asked how he keeps himself way from negativity.

For him, neither the bad patch has affected him for the first time nor is it going to be the last time but one needs to have the self belief in one's abilities.

"I have full confidence in myself that what my game is and I have clarity on that and I stay quite calm. And this is part of life, this happens in life, everyone's life has ups and downs, so it is nothing new and happening for the first time or for the last time in my career or my life, so it is alright, that only makes me stronger," said Dhawan.

Dhawan came into the series in the back of poor run of Hazzare Trophy scores --- 0, 12, 14, 18, 12 in five List A games.

But if one carefully looks at Dhawan's career, just when there has been calls to drop him, he has invariably responded with a big knock like he did in the first ODI, where he looked the best batter in his side.

"These talks (to drop him) always are there and I am used to it and I just know how to give my best and I always make sure that my preparation is quite good and process is good and then I leave it on God.

"....and I know that with my experience and my self-confidence, I'll do good and I am happy that I did well today," the flamboyant opener quipped.

His endeavour is to remain fit and healthy for the last part of his career.

"With my experience I'll keep scoring lots of runs and yeah till the time I keep playing cricket I stay healthy and happy and I score lot of runs," he said knowing well that he is reaching the business end of his career.

Not an easy wicket to play shots in middle overs ============================== Dhawan's assessment of his team's 31-run defeat against South Africa was struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs as the pitch got slower.

"We had a good start and I feel the wicket was slow, it was offering a bit of turn as well. So, when you are chasing (around) 300 runs, when the middle-order comes to bat, it is not easy to play shots.

"Our wickets fell in a heap and that had an impact on us as a batting unit," Dhawan reasoned.

Dhawan also praised the South African duo of Temba Bavuma (110 off 143) and Rassie van der Dussen (129 not out off 96) for their well crafted hundreds that laid the platform for a convincing win.

Asked what was the turning point of the game, he said, "I feel both the South African batsmen (batters) batted quite well and they took the innings quite deep." Younger batters need to mould game as per demands ================================= Dhawan believes that handling varied match situations comes with experience and the likes of Rishabh Pabt, the two Iyers -- Shreyas and Venkatesh will understand better as they play more games.

"This (discussion) we have that play according to the situation and what the situation demands, keep the team ahead and an individual's game is important.

"..... but at the same time be practical, how can you mould your game, so that when a partnership is needed, then it is necessary, all those things and I feel these gets refined with experience and time," noted the Delhi batter.

The southpaw was again asked how the middle order problems can be rectified, to which he said,"See our thought process as a unit or a team is that we are building our team for 2023 World Cup, so there are going to be few hiccups here and there, which is fine and we as a team analyze how we can get better." Rohit's absence is a factor ================= Dhawan believes that once regular white ball captain Rohit Sharma is back in te mix, the team will be stronger and the middle-order will also play better cricket.

"And I feel that now we all have good clarity that we have got this bunch of group and those will be there and how can they be refined.

"Now Rohit (Sharma) isn't there, once he comes back, an experienced player will come in and the middle-order (Rahul will go down) will get stronger. So, the youngsters who are getting a chance, they will gain from this experience.We are looking at bigger picture," he said. 

Also Read : Tried reverse sweeps to put pressure back on Indian spinners: Van Der Dussen

News Source : PTI

Paarl (South Africa), Jan 19 (Cricket News) South Africa defeated India by 31 runs in the first ODI to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series here on Wednesday.

Skipper Temba Bavuma scored 110 off 143 balls, while Rassie van der Dussen blasted an unbeaten 129 off 96 balls to lift South Africa from 68 for three to close to 296 for four.

The duo added 204 runs for the fourth wicket.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah (2/48) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/53) were among the wicket-takers.

India ended at 265 for eight with Shikhar Dhawan top-scoring with 79.

Brief Scores: South Africa: 296 for 4 in 50 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 129 not out, Temba Bavuma 110; Jasprit Bumrah 2/48).

India: 265 for 8 in 50 overs. (S Dhawan 79, V Kohli 51; Andile Phehlukawayo 2/26). 

Also Read : Harnoor, Angriksh strike half-centuries in India's 307/5 against Ireland

News Source : PTI

Paarl (South Africa), Jan 19 (Cricket News) South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat against India in the first One-day International here on Wednesday.

India handed debut to all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer.

Left-arm pacer Marco Jansen, who excelled in the Test series, made his debut for South Africa.

Teams: India: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma(c), David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi.

Also Read : Afghanistan to play ODI series against Netherlands in Qatar

News Source : PTI

Paarl (South Africa), Jan 18 (Cricket News) India skipper KL Rahul on Tuesday hinted that all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer is likely to be groomed as the additional pace bowling option that the team has lacked ever since Hardik Pandya's back injury while declaring that he will open alongside veteran Shikhar Dhawan in the first ODI against South Africa here.

Rahul's media interaction was a clear indication that Ruturaj Gaikwad might have to wait for his turn and the pitch at Boland Park might prompt the team management to play both specialist spinners -- Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal.

"In the past 12-15 months, I have batted in various positions because that is what the team needed of me then and now with Rohit (Sharma) not being there, I will bat at the top of the order," the skipper informed ahead of the opening game.

We are looking to develop Venkatesh as sixth bowling option ===================================== A sixth bowler, preferably seam or pace option, has been India's major headache for past two and half years due to Pandya's injury and now the team management is "excited" looking at what Venkatesh brings to the table with his multiple skill-sets.

"Yes, Venkatesh Iyer has been very exciting since the time he has played for KKR in the IPL and then he joined us for the T20 series against New Zealand and he did well," Raul said.

"Yes, fast bowling all-rounders are always an asset and we are always looking for fast bowling all-rounders as they balance the team out. It's a great opportunity for Venkatesh as he is looking good in the nets," the skipper added.

He made it clear that in coming days, the lanky MP man would be bowling a lot in white-ball games.

"We are trying to develop Venkatesh (as the sixth bowling option) and we will give him that chance. He has done decently and he gives us that option as the sixth bowler." Want Shikhar to remain in good head space =========================== Shikhar Dhawan currently plays only ODIs and it becomes difficult not to question his place in the side after a few failures but the stand-in captain wants the senior pro to remain in a good head space and play like only he can, by dominating the bowlers.

"He is a senior and experienced player and understands what is expected out of him. He is in a great space and has come out here and having fun, enjoying his cricket "...and I mean yeah as a captain, it will be about trying to keep him in that space and give him that confidence to go out there and do what he has been doing and just to enjoy his cricket and giving Team India the starts that he has done," Rahul was all praise for the oldest playing member of the touring party.

At a personal level, Rahul loves Dhawan's approach towards batting.

"I have personally been someone, who has enjoyed seeing Shikhar play in ODIs and how he takes down bowlers. and I just want him to continue doing what he has been doing," he said.

Might play both Ashwin and Chahal in first two games ================================= India have practised for two days and it seems that the track at the Boland Park will assist spinners more than the ones they they got during the Test series at the Centurion, Wanderers and Newlands.

Rahul wants to pick both spinners during the first two games.

"We have quality spinners and Ashwin is coming back into the ODI team, and we all know what quality he brings in," he said.

"Chahal has been doing it for years now and been a great performer for us for years now and it's been great and hopefully we can exploit that in the first two games, since the pitch looks like it will offer bit of spin so they both become very important." 

Also Read : Good to have Quinton back in team, he will have a point to prove: Bavuma

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) India will take South Africa in the 1st of 3 ODIs at Boland Park. The Test series loss was certainly a tough one to take for the Indian camp after which Virat Kohli gave up Test captaincy just a month after he was sacked from ODI captaincy. India will work towards the 2023 World Cup trying to build a strong team with a good core. 

India's possible playing XI:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul(C), Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Will KL Rahul open the batting or not is the big question mark. India's combination is also not set at this moment in time because Ravindra Jadeja is injured. The number 7 position is the one which is the one which will give Rahul Dravid headaches. Shardul Thakur and Venkatesh Iyer seem to be the two prominent contenders in this series. Ravichandran Ashwin is set to return to the ODI side for the first time since 2017.

South Africa possible playing XI:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma(C), Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

Only two out of Markram, de Kock and Malan can open the batting and it will be interesting to see who ends up doing it. Anrich Nortje's absence is a big blow Marco Jansen could make his debut at some point but there are people ahead of him in the pecking order. Temba Bavuma who had a good Test series will be very crucial as a batter and as a captain.

Pitch report:

Seamers will get that extra bounce in typical South African fashion. Spinners job will be to keep things tight in the middle overs as the pitch is batting friendly. The outfield at Boland Park is usually lightning quick which means that game is likely to be a high scoring one. The team winning the toss is likely to bat first and get a big total on the board.

Also read: Takeaways from Australia's dominant performance in the 4-0 Ashes win

Paarl (South Africa), Jan 18 (Cricket News) The mighty Virat Kohli's presence in the Indian playing eleven as a mere player for the first time in seven years will be keenly followed while his potential successor in red-ball cricket, K L Rahul, will be judged for his captaincy in the three-match ODI series against South Africa beginning here on Wednesday.

Whether he is batting in the middle or fielding at the boundary line, Kohli's every move is tracked but some of that attention will now have to be shared by Rahul.

More importantly, will he be at his usual animated best on the field or will the cricketing world see a rather subdued Kohli after his stunning resignation from Test captaincy brought an end to his innings as official leader of the team across formats? He did not want to leave ODI captaincy after relinquishing the role in the shortest format and it led to a war of words with the BCCI on how the entire matter was handled.

His supporters and Indian cricket in general will be hoping that Kohli has put his differences with the BCCI firmly behind him and come Wednesday, he starts a new innings with his willow doing most of the talking. A highly desired century after two years would be cherry on top.

Rahul, who is leading the side in the absence of an injured Rohit Sharma, is expected to turn to Kohli for advice during the series. Not only Kohli has a major role to play as a batter, but as vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah said on the eve of the series, the star "will always be a leader" in the team.

With the new leadership and support staff, India will look to win the series with one eye on preparations for the 2023 World Cup and also make up for the disappointment of unexpectedly going down in the Tests last week.

The last time a full strength India played an ODI series was at home against England in March before a second string squad travelled to Sri Lanka in July.

Rahul batted in the middle-order against England but it remains to be seen if he moves back to the top alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, who made the squad following an exceptional domestic season, might have to wait longer for his ODI debut.

It will be crucial three games for the seasoned Dhawan, who has already lost his place in the T20 side.

The southpaw has thrived under pressure in the past and will be looking to solidify his position as the first-choice opener alongside Rohit when the latter returns from injury.

Kohli will bat at his usual number three spot while there will be a toss-up between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer for the number four position.

Rishabh Pant is expected to come at number five while Venkatesh Iyer is likely to make his 50-over debut as the all-rounder at six, having shown promise in the T20s against New Zealand.

The two spinners likely to play are Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin, who has made a comeback after more than four years.

Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will share the load in the pace department while for the third pace option, the management could pick Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur or Prasidh Krishna.

Mohammad Siraj, who injured his hamstring during the Test series, is also fit as suggested by Bumrah on Monday.

On the previous tour, India hammered the hosts 5-1 in ODIs and they will draw confidence from that.

South Africa will be in high spirits after a memorable victory in the five-day format.

Skipper Temba Bavuma played a few crucial in the preceding Tests and he will carry that confidence into his batting as well as his leadership.

Quinton de Kock, who retired from Test cricket after the series opener against India, starts his life as a white-ball only player.

Tall left-arm pacer Marco Jansen, who excelled in his maiden Test series, is expected to trouble the Indian batters with his extra bounce and variations in the short format after earning a maiden call-up.

If Tests were any indication, the ODIs would be an intensely-fought affair.

Squads: India: KL Rahul (captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.

Match starts 2 PM IST. 

Also Read : Ben Stokes opts out of IPL auctions to stay fresh for English home summer: Reports

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After a disappointing 2-1 loss in the Test series, India will now gear up for the 3 match ODI series against South Africa. This will be India's first ODI series since the one March 2021 against England. KL Rahul will lead the side with Jasprit Bumrah as his deputy. Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are injured while Washington Sundar who was initially named in the squad picked up Covid. It goes without saying that the 2023 World Cup will be in the minds of the players and the coaching staff during the series. This will be the beginning of the experimental phase where the side is figuring out the best playing XI going forward.

Here's India's ideal playing XI:

Openers: Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaekwad

After his performance against England in the last ODI series, Dhawan is guaranteed to open the batting at least in the near future. Whether KL Rahul opens the batting remains to be seen. Rahul has batted primarily in the middle order in the ODIs. Gaekwad's performance in the Vijay Hazare where he was the highest run scorer along with his Orange cap winning IPL makes him too difficult to drop. Ishan Kishan is the other option in the opening spot.

Middle order: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Surya Kumar Yadav

Virat Kohli is a no contest selection to bat at number 3. Now that he isn't the captain in any format he will concentrate on his batting. The other way to look at it would be that now he has to perform with the bat to stay in the side. Having said that, sooner rather than later is bound to become the invincible batter who wins games single handedly. KL Rahul will have the added responsibility of being the skipper and should be comfortable batting at 4. Surya Kumar Yadav gets into the team with his flexibility being the biggest asset. He can bat anywhere between 3-7. Ishan Kishan, Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer are the other two options but these 3 would make the strongest middle order.

Wicket keeper: Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant is another must have player in the side. He will be high on confidence due to his ton in the last Test match along with his performance in the 3rd ODI against England. The gloveman could bat anywhere between 4-7 depending on the situation. The alternative would be Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul who can both keep wickets but if Pant is in the side he will be behind the stumps even and not in the outfield.

All-rounder: Venkatesh Iyer

Venkatesh Iyer is very likely to make his debut. He is possibly the only proper All-rounder in the team. The balance of this team is very tricky as none of the top 6 batters are handy with the ball like Kedar Jadhav was a couple of years back. If Iyer is going to bat at number 7 he will have to bowl 10 overs. He performed well with both the ball and the bat in the Vijay Hazare trophy which would boost his selection. The absence of Ravindra Jadeja is an opportunity for him to push into the side as Jadeja is likely to bat at number 7 once he is back. There is a chance that Shardul Thakur or Ravichandran Ashwin are selected to bat at 7 which would allow KL Rahul to have 5 pure bowlers but it would make the tail longer. Iyer would then have to fight for a spot in the top 6 as a batting All-rounder. How the team management uses Iyer is the big question mark going into the series.

Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin

If India are to play two spinners which would be likely, Chahal and Ashwin are the two. Jayant Yadav is the other option now that Washington Sundar is unavailable. It is unlikely for India to go in with one spinner especially when there isn't a bankable part time spinner in the squad. The combination of wrist and finger spin could be a deadly one. 

Seamers: Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Jasprit Bumrah is undroppable even more so now that he is the vice captain. Picking the other seamer would be the most difficult choice in this selection Bhuvneshwar Kumar was India's best bowler in theri last ODI series against England. Despite not having a good IPL his selection would be justified. Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini and Deepak Chahar are the other options. Mohammed Shami is rested for the series and he will be at the top of the pecking order once he is back. India clearly have a lot of options in the seam bowling department which might suggest that they will play 3 seamers once Ravindra Jadeja is back.

Also read: Takeaways from Australia's dominant performance in the 4-0 Ashes win

New Delhi, Jan 16 (Cricket News) "Your legacy as a captain will stand for the kind of benchmarks you have set," veteran spinner R Ashwin summarised Virat Kohli's spectacular Test captaincy stint as other members of the Indian cricket team also hailed the integrity and the vision of the talismanic leader.

Kohli, who took over from MS Dhoni midway through the Australian tour back in 2014-15, on Saturday announced his decision to quit Test captaincy.

The 33-year-old leaves as the most successful India captain in Test cricket with 40 wins from 68 matches with the highlight being the wins in Australia and England last year.

It was under Kohli that team India become a force to reckon with in all conditions and won overseas.

"Cricket captains will always be spoken about with respect to their records and the kind of triumphs they managed, but your legacy as a captain will stand for the kind of benchmarks you have set. There will be people who will talk about wins in Australia, England , Sl etc etc," Ashwin tweeted.

"Wins are just a result and the seeds are always sown well before the harvest! The seeds you managed to sow is the kind of standard you set for yourself and hence set the expectations straight with the rest of us.

"Well done @imVkohli on the headache you have left behind for your successor and that's my biggest takeaway from your stint as captain. We must leave a place at such an altitude that the future can only take it higher from there on," Ashwin added.

Senior India and Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma, who has played with Kohli since childhood, recalled a conversation during the 2017-18 tour of South Africa when Kohli had told him that India needs to start winning in overseas conditions.

"Thank you for all the memories I've shared with you in dressing room & on & off the field since childhood, where we never thought that you would be our captain & I'll play 100 test matches for India. All we did was just play cricket with all our heart & things worked out well.

"I still remember back 2017 in South Africa, where u told me it's high time to win series in these countries. Yes, we didn't win 2017-18 series in Africa, but we went to Australia & beat them in Australia. In England 2017-18 series we lost, but we know as team how close we came! "So cheers to your most successful Test Captaincy for India and thanks for the amazing memories as a Captain you have given us," Ishant wrote.

Kohl's decision to quit Test captaincy caught everyone by surprise and India's limited overs skipper Rohit Sharma was no different.

"Shocked?? But congratulations on a successful stint as Indian captain," Rohit wrote in his Instagram post while also wishing Kohli the best for the future.

India's fast bowling revolution in Tests began under Kohli, who always backed his pacers. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami were quick to thank the former skipper for his contributions.

"Integrity, insight and inclusivity. Your contribution to the team as captain is invaluable, you've been a great leader to this side. It's been a pleasure playing under you," Bumrah said.

"The epitome of leadership. The man who galvanised a team to win overseas Congratulations on a brilliant run as Team India captain. Looking forward to more from you with the bat - Go well Virat," Shami tweeted.

Openers Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal also congratulated Kohli on an illustrious captaincy stint.

Congratulations on taking the Indian team all the way to the top! Been a pleasure playing under your leadership, Virat!," Dhawan tweeted.

"A leader in every sense. Can't thank you enough for all that you've done, Skip," said Rahul.

"Congratulations Virat Kohli on a fantastic term as captain. It was an absolute honour playing under your leadership. Someone who led by example. You have created a winning mentality in everyone. Your passion and dedication towards the game is an inspiration. Thank you, Skips," Agarwal said. 

Also Read : Arindam steps down as East Bengal captain

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Jan 12 (Cricket News) Indian off-spinner Washington Sundar was on Wednesday ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa after testing positive for COVID-19 and Jayant Yadav was named as his replacement for the assignment starting January 19.

Pacer Navdeep Saini was also added to the ODI squad as a backup for pacer Mohammed Siraj, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.

"Team India off-spinner Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the forthcoming ODI series against South Africa after testing positive for COVID-19 during the camp in Bengaluru," the BCCI said in a statement.

"Sundar was supposed to travel to Cape Town with the ODI members on Wednesday and join the rest of the squad ahead of the ODI series starting January 19th," it added.

The five-member selection panel, headed by former India pacer Chetan Sharma, has named Jayant as Washington's replacement.

Siraj is still recovering from his hamstring injury that he sustained in the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.

The ODI series against South Africa begins in Paarl on January 19. The second ODI is scheduled at the same venue on January 21, following which the team will travel to Cape Town for the series-finale.

Squad: KL Rahul (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj, Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini. 

Also Read : South Africa reach 100/3 at lunch on day 2

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) India have announced their 18-man squad for the 3 ODIs against South Africa. The 3 matches will be played on 19th, 21st and 23rd January respectively. The series will be the first since Virat Kohli was removed from ODI captaincy. The series will start India's preparation for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

India's Squad:

KL Rahul (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj.

Takeaways from the squad:

The series was supposed to be the first one with Rohit Sharma as a permanent ODI captain but an injury has prevented that from happening. KL Rahul is set to lead the side in Rohit Sharma's absence while Jasprit Bumrah has been named the vice captain of the side ahead of the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. 

Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel aren't fully fit to be a part of the squad. Ravichandran Ashwin has returned to the squad for the first time since 2017. Mohammed Siraj is a part of the squad after impressive performances with the red ball. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer are called up after impressive performances in the Vijay Hazare trophy. Washington Sundar is also back in the squad after his injury. 

Mohammed Shami has been rested for the series while Prasidh Krishna keeps his place after a good series against England last time around. Shikhar Dhawan is likely to be the 1st choice opener in the 50-over format. KL Rahul has kept wickets and batted in the middle order in ODIs recently but he might open the innings in Rohit's absence. He is unlikely to keep wickets with Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant in the squad.

After all the talk about Virat Kohli's availability it turns out that he is in the squad. He will not lead the side even in Rohit Sharma's absence which will take some time to get used to. The series will be a great opportunity for Kohli to start the year well in white ball cricket. Indian fans will be hoping that the outside problems within the BCCI and Indian team camp doesn't affect the on field performances.

Also read: Sports in 2022: Here's what to look forward to

New Delhi, Dec 31 (Cricket News) Captain Rohit Sharma was on Friday ruled out of India's upcoming ODI series in South Africa due to a hamstring injury, forcing the selectors to appoint KL Rahul as skipper of an 18-member team for the white-ball leg of the tour.

All-rounder Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were also not selected as they were not fit while senior pacer Mohammed Shami, who is in the team for the ongoing Test series, was rested.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named as vice-captain of the team.

"Rohit is not fit, he is in rehab. We never wanted to take chance with him,' BCCI chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said.

"We are looking to groom KL Rahul. He has proved his leadership qualities. KL is the best one who can handle the side." The three ODIs will be played at Paarl and Cape Town on January 19, 21 and 23 respectively.

The Squad: KL Rahul (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Y Chahal, R Ashwin, W Sundar, J Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj. 

Also Read : Ireland players Paul Stirling and Shane Getkate test COVID positive

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Dec 27 (Cricket News) The BCCI has decided to delay the selection committee meeting for the ODIs in South Africa till the end of this month to get a clear picture on new white-ball captain Rohit Sharma's left-hamstring injury status.

Rohit has been doing his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) but it could still take some time for the Indian captain to regain full fitness.

"The team selection meeting will happen after the first Test. It could be on December 30 or 31st but the BCCI is yet to take a final call. Rohit is pulling all stops to get fit but hamstring injuries are a bit different from other injuries.

"It has been learnt that Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are unavailable for selection. About Rohit, a call will be taken closer to the selection date," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Jadeja and Axar's unavailability has opened the door for R Ashwin to make an ODI comeback after four years.

Earlier, the selection meeting was supposed to be held just after Hazare Trophy but it has been pushed back only to ensure that Rohit gets a chance to pass the fitness test.

In case Rohit is not fit in time for the the ODIs, KL Rahul will be leading India for the first time in a bilateral series.

"It could well happen that Rohit is not fit by the time of selection cut-off but then with the first ODI still three weeks away, he could get enough time to be with the team and regain full fitness closer to the date.

"In that case, he can be selected subject to fitness. These are things that chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma needs to check," the official said.

As of now, Venkatesh Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the two youngsters who will be part of the ODI squad on the basis of their performance in Vijay Hazare Trophy.

M Shahrukh Khan's name, who has impressed one and all as a finisher during the Hazare Trophy, might come up for discussion.

It needs to be seen whether selectors pick him for this tour or keep him ready for the home series against Sri Lanka and West Indies as a T20 option.

Shikhar Dhawan, the veteran opener despite his poor run of form in the domestic event, might be retained. 

Also Read : Hope I can repeat my success in England and Australia in South Africa too: Shardul

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New Delhi, Dec 24 (Cricket News) Congratulatory messages poured in from the cricket fraternity, lauding Harbhajan Singh's contribution to the game after the former India spin veteran announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday.

Harbhajan, who last played for India in March 2016 in a T20 against UAE, had been contemplating bringing down the curtains on a highly successful international career for quite some time now.

During his 18-year stint in international cricket, he won two World Cups -- the inaugural ICC World T20 in 2007 and then the ODI World Cup in 2011. He took 417 wickets in 103 Tests, 269 wickets in 236 ODIs and 25 scalps in 28 T20Is.

"Congratulations on a wonderful career Pajhi Your contribution to cricket has been immense and it was a pleasure to play alongside you. Enjoyed our great moments together on and off the field. Wishing you luck for your next innings @harbhajan_singh," India opener Shikhar Dhawan tweeted.

NCA chief and former India batsman VVS Laxman also extended his he good wishes.

"Hearty congratulations to my great mate @harbhajan_singh on a remarkable career! A tremendous exponent of off-spin, a gifted batsman and a true competitor who fashioned many a wonderful Indian victory. Best wishes for the future, Bhajji, go well!" Former Indian pacer, S Sreeshath, who was in tears after Harbhajan had allegedly slapped him on-field during an IPL match in 2008, labelled the spinner as the best in the world.

"@harbhajan_singh Ur gonna be the one of the best ever played cricket not just for india but in world of cricket..it’s a huge honour to know u and to have played with you b bhajjipa ….will always cherish the lovely hugs (lucky for me) before my spells ) lots of love and respect." Following is the compilation of the reactions by other current and former players.

*KL Rahul: "He was a great spinner for India and youngsters like us came in the team, he was very supportive and welcomed us." *Kuldip Yadav: "A legend of the game and a match winner for our country Thank you @harbhajan_singh Paaji for your guidance and helping me with my game. You will be missed. Best wishes." *Parthiv Patel: "More than a truly great player, Bhajju Pa was always a big brother for all the juniors.@harbhajan_singh would make us laugh all the time and was someone who always made the dressing room like our home. Best wishes in your new innings. #harbhajansingh." *Pragyan Ojha: "Congratulations bhajju pa on a splendid career, something that the entire country is proud of. Wishing you the best for the future endeavours. Also a big thank you for being an inspiration to many budding young spinners. God bless you and the family!" *Umesh Yadav: "One of the finest to represent who won so many games for the nation. Best wishes Bhajju Paa on your retirement @harbhajan_singh." *Mayank Agarwal: Congratulations @harbhajan_singh for a wonderful career. I remember as a kid watching you take that hattrick against Australia in 2001. Thank you for the great memories Bhajji paa. I wish you best for the journey ahead." *Suresh Raina: "Your contribution to Indian cricket will always be cherished, @harbhajan_singh paaji wishing you all the best for your future." 

Also Read : Dhawan's all-round show takes HP to Vijay Hazare final, to face TN

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Dec 22 (Cricket News) The BCCI is planning to hold the two-day mega Indian Premier League auction on February 7 and 8 in Bengaluru, a senior BCCI official said on Wednesday.

It could well be the last mega auction that BCCI might conduct as most of the original IPL franchises want it to be discontinued.

"Unless the COVID-19 situation worsens, we will have the IPL mega auction in India. The two-day event will be held on February 7 and 8 and like other years, we plan to hold it in Bengaluru. Preparations are underway," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

There were reports that auction will be held in the UAE but as of now, BCCI has no such plans.

However with the emergence of Omicron variant of COVID-19 and cases on the rise, the situation will remain fluid but if there are restrictions with regards to overseas travel (unless all owners decide to use charter planes), conducting it in India will be less of a logistical nightmare.

This year's IPL will be a 10-team affair with Sanjiv Goenka owned Lucknow franchise along with venture capital firm CVC owned Ahmedabad making their debut in the cash rich league.

CVC is however waiting for its Letter of Intent from the BCCI but is expected to get an all clear in the next few weeks.

Both teams have time till Christmas to announce their three draft picks but BCCI might extend the dates for both as CVC is yet to get clearance.

Most of the franchise owners feel that mega auctions have passed their sell-by-date and a team's composition and balance gets severely compromised when there are auctions after every three years.

Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal had in fact said this on record how it is tough to release players after having put in effort to build a team.

"It is very sad to lose Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada and Ashwin. The auction process itself is something like this. Going forward, IPL should look at this because it’s not that you build a team, give chances to young players, groom them and get them opportunities from franchises, play for the country and then you lose them after three years," Jindal had said after players' retention was announced November 30. 

Also Read : Shreyas Iyer or Hanuma Vihari? Who should get a chance first in South Africa?

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New Delhi, Dec 12 (Cricket News) Shikhar Dhawan's poor run of form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy would keep the selectors worried but young turks Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer seems to have all but booked their tickets for the upcoming away three-match ODI series against South Africa in January.

While BCCI has announced Rohit Sharma as the next captain of the ODI side, the squad for the series is yet to be finalised.

It remain to be seen how many rookies do selectors take for the 50-over competition keeping bubble-life and workload management in mind.

The two names who are in the midst of a stellar Vijay Hazare Trophy season are Gaikwad and Iyer, who have now hit three and two hundreds respectively in the competition so far.

Iyer, on his part, has also taken some important wickets, making it amply clear that he is ready to push back Hardik Pandya for the time being as team's premier all-rounder.

It is understood that once it was clear that Iyer, who is a specialist opener will find it difficult to fit in at the top of the order in presence of KL Rahul and Rohit, he will have to improvise and perhaps bat at number five or six as a designated finisher.

Iyer has taken the role like a fish to water as he batted at number four against Kerala to score 112 off 84 balls and then pushed the envelope further scoring 71 off 49 balls batting at number five.

And on Sunday, he surpassed his earlier effort with a 151 off 113 balls that had no less than 10 sixes.

"Venkatesh is surely going to South Africa. He is bowling 9 or 10 overs in every game and with Hardik still recuperating, it is the best time to give him chance and get him battle ready for the bigger events ahead," a BCCI source privy to selection committee discussion told PTI on Sunday.

"The new team management absolutely did the right thing in advising him to bat in the middle order. As of now, if he doesn't get injured, Venkatesh is a certainty for the South Africa one dayers." Dhawan vs Ruturaj could be tricky affair ========================== Maharashtra captain Gaikwad has carried his IPL Orange Cap form into the Hazare Trophy with three back-to-back hundreds which will certainly put the selection committee under intense pressure to take him as the back-up opener.

Gaikwad had played two T20 Internationals in Sri Lanka but didn't get chance in the ODIs. Even in the three match T20 Internationals against New Zealand, he couldnt find a place with Rohit batting at the top and KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan being the two opening partners.

But now he has a string of big scores 136 versus MP, 154 not out vs Chattisgarh and 124 vs Kerala and will be difficult to ignore.

On the other hand, Dhawan's struggles have been pronounced with scores of 0, 12, 14, 18 and he hasn't ever looked in touch in any of the games.

But if one looks at the trend of how Rahul Dravid is handling senior players, just like Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma are getting a chance for the South Africa Tests, Dhawan may get the nod in the ODIs.

"Technically, last time India played 50-over series, Dhawan was leading India and also had a match-winning knock in Sri Lanka.

"He has the ability to score runs just when he has back to the wall. So while Gaikwad should be there in the squad, I think selectors might give one last chance to Dhawan, may be take him and give him a game or two," the source said. 

Also Read : Siddique grabs 6/39 in dream debut for Meghalaya

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Mohali, Dec 8 (Cricket news) Veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan failed to trouble the scorers but talented Himmat Singh anchored the chase with a fine century as Delhi easily beat Jharkhand by six wickets in a group C league game of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday.

Batting first, Jharkhand scored 263 for 8 with skipper Virat Singh contributing a patient 79 and Kaushal Singh chipping in with 69.

Delhi skipper Pradeep Sangwan scalped three for 46.

In reply, opener Dhawan, who is due to go to South Africa for the ODI series, was snapped by Anukul Roy off Varun Aaron's bowling.

But Dhruv Shorey (64 off 82 balls) and Himmat (113 not out off 124 balls) added 127 for the second wicket inside 25 overs to bring things under control.

While Shorey hit seven boundaries, Himmat, considered one of the best talents to have come out of Delhi stable, had 11 fours and a six to his credit.

Delhi did wobble a bit at 183 for 4 but Himmat had company from Khsitiz Sharma (43 not out off 39 balls) as their unbroken stand of 81 ensured that they reached home with as many as three overs to spare.

In other matches of the group, Saurashtra beat UP by 32 runs at Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh while Hyderabad beat Haryana by five wickets in the third game of the group in Mullanpur.

Brief Scores: Jharkhand 263/8 (Virat Singh 79, Kaushal Singh 69, Pradeep Sangwan 3/46) Delhi 264/4 in 47 overs (Himmat Singh 113, Dhruv Shorey 64, Shokhar Dhawan 0). Delhi won by 6 wickets.

Saurashtra 223 (Jaydev Unadkat 33, Shivam Mavi 4/26). UP 191 (Rinku Sigh 65, Chirag Jani 5/35). Saurasjtra won by 32 runs.

Haryana 162 (Yashu Sharma 68, Tilak Verma 4/23). Hyderabad 167/5 (Tanmay Agarwal 77). Hyderabad won by 5 wickets.

Also Read : Vijay Hazare Trophy: Shahrukh shines as TN outclasses Mumbai; big win for Karnataka

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(Cricket news) A lot of young cricketers along with seasoned players made their test debut this year. Few of them started their career with blistering performances as batters and bowlers, catching the eye of theirs in the team from their very first match. It is very rare that a player makes his debut in all the three formats in a short period of time as they need time to adapt between the formats, especially at the international level. The Test matches require a lot of time on the pitch, even if you are a bowler, batter or fielder and the format is the longest as well as the oldest in the game. While some did shine in their debut, the others have continued to perform well all year round. The top four test debuts of this season are given below.

Praveen Jayawickrama: Sri Lanka (6/92 and 5/86)

Jayawickrama was the talk of the series in Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka. The spinner made his debut in the 2nd test match and gave the team the breakthrough in the 26th over of the match as he took the wickets of openers in two continuous overs. One of the most senior players on the side, Tamim Iqbal missed a century and the most experienced player Mushfiqur Rahim was removed by the 23 year old as he took 6 wickets. In the second innings, he took a five wicket haul as he finished the innings with figures of 11/ 178 which was the 10th best by a bowler in his debut.

 It was the best in over a decade as only two players have taken more than 10 wickets in a match since 2000, Jason Krejza took 12 wickets against India in 2008. Jayawickrama also bowled 64 overs in two innings which was the most in the match for his side. He has made his debut in all the formats this year.

Devon Conway: New Zealand (200 and 23)

Conway had made his debut for the national team last year in a T20 game against West Indies. The left hander scored 200 runs on his Test debut against England, he opened with Tom Latham and was the last man to walk back to the dressing room as he got dismissed in the 123rd over. It was the 6th highest score by a batter on his debut and his score of 23 in the second innings gave him the 5th spot in most runs scored in a debut match. He batted for 9 and half hours which included 22 fours and a six. It was also the highest score by a debutant at Lord’s.

Shreyas Iyer: India (105 and 65)

Shreyas Iyer had made his debut for the national team four years ago in T20 and ODI. He had been waiting since then for a call in the longer format and walked in when India was in trouble at 145-4 against New Zealand but formed a century partnership with Ravindra Jadeja to reinstate the innings. Shreays Iyer became the 16th Indian to hit a century on debut and the third Indian to score more than 160 runs on his debut after Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.

Axar Patel: India ( 2/40 and 5/60)

Axar Patel had a longer wait than Shreyas Iyer, Patel had made his debut for the national team in an ODI against Bangladesh in 2014. 7 years later, he wore the whites and made sure it was memorable as he took 7 wickets in the match against England. The spinner took two wickets in the first innings which included the wicket of Joe Root who is the leading run scorer in the format this year and Moeen Ali. In the second innings, he took the wicket of opener Dominic Sibley in the 9th over and again took the wicket of Joe Root. Patel’s fifth wicket came in the 52nd over of the innings as Olly Stone missed and it hit in the pads for a leg before.

Also read: ICC Test Player ranking: Rohit, Kohli & Ashwin retain spots; Iyer enters batting chart

Kanpur, Nov 26 (Cricket News) Shreyas Iyer on Friday became the 16th Indian batter to make a hundred on his Test debut, joining an illustrious list which includes the legendary Lala Amarnath, Gundappa Viswanath, and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly among others.

The elegant right-hander, who hails from Mumbai's Worli area, achieved the feat in the ongoing first Test against New Zealand on the second day of the match at the Green Park Stadium here.

Iyer scored 105 off 171 balls, striking 13 fours and a couple of sixes during his brilliant effort. He was dismissed by Tim Southee.

He became the second batter after Viswanath to score a hundred on his Test debut at Kanpur. The 26-year-old is also the third Indian to score a hundred on debut against New Zealand.

Arjan Kripal Singh, who achieved the feat in 1955, and Surinder Amarnath, who scored a hundred against the Black Caps on his debut in 1976, are the other two Indians to have achieved the same.

Iyer is also the third Mumbai player after Rohit Sharma and Prithvi Shaw to slam a hundred on Test debut.

The illustrious list: 1. Lala Amarnath v England 1933 2. Deepak Shodhan v Pakistan 1952 3 Arjan Kripal Singh v New Zealand 1955 4. Abbas Ali Baig v England 1959 5. Hanumant Singh v England 1964 6. G Vishwanath v Australia 1969 7. Surinder Amarnath v New Zealand 1976 8. Mohd Azharuddin England 1984 9. Pravin Amre v South Africa 1992 10 Sourav Ganguly v England 1996 11. Virender Sehwag v South Africa 2001 12. Suresh Raina v Sri Lanka 2010 13. Shikhar Dhawan v Australia 2013 14. Rohit Sharma v West Indies 2013 15. Prithvi Shaw v West Indies 2018 16. Shreyas Iyer v New Zealand 2021. 

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Johannesburg, Nov 19 (Cricket news) Tributes poured in for AB de Villiers after the South African batter on Friday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, with Indian maestro Virat Kohli aptly summing up his greatness by calling him the "best player of our times".

One of contemporary cricket's greatest batters, de Villiers has brought an end to his glorious 17-year career in top-flight, stating the flame within "doesn't burn so brightly" anymore.

India's Test and ODI captain Kohli, who has shared the Royal Challengers Bangalore dressing room with de Villiers since 2011, has always been an ardent admirer of the versatile South African cricketer.

"To the best player of our times and the most inspirational person I've met, you can be very proud of what you've done and what you've given to RCB my brother. Our bond is beyond the game and will always be," Kohli tweeted.

"This hurts my heart but I know you've made the best decision for yourself and your family like you've always done. I love you," he added.

The 37-year-old de Villiers made the announcement on Twitter, ending an illustrious career, which saw him play 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is for the Proteas besides representing various franchises in T20 leagues across the world.

He walks into sunset after dominating the game for nearly two decades with his 360 degree batting.

"The best I've ever seen, and someone who I've always looked up to! Took the game to another level singlehandedly mr360," said England's wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings.

Billings' compatriot Jason Roy wrote, "What a player and what a man. Absolute genius and an even better human. Thanks for what you did for the game!" Seasoned India opener Shikhar Dhawan said, "Your contribution to cricket has been immense. A true legend of this beautiful game and a wonderful athlete. Good luck for whatever the future has in store for you." Former India batter VVS Laxman wrote, "Congratulations on a fabulous career. One of the true modern day greats and an inspiration for so many. Wish you the very best in your second innings." Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said, "Congratulations on a fabulous career.. brilliant guy on and off the field. Wishing you all the very best in your future. Pure class." De Villiers has played 156 matches for RCB and scored 4,491 runs.

He is the second all-time leading run scorer behind Kohli and holds the second and third-highest individual run total in RCB history with 133 not out against Mumbai Indians (in 2015) and 129 not out against Gujarat Lions (in 2016).

De Villiers had announced his retirement from international cricket in 2018.

"Thank you for the memories, the records broken and the entertainment. We salute your contribution to the game and wish you everything of the best for the future," Cricket South Africa (CSA) tweeted.

Former India player Wasim Jaffer too congratulated de Villiers on a "phenomenal" career.

"Congratulations on a phenomenal career. One of the most loved and admired cricketers of the modern era. Happy retirement legend," Jaffer tweeted.

De Villiers has scored 8,765 Test runs at an average of 50.66. He has also taken two Test wickets. His highest score was 278 not out and also has 22 centuries against his name.

Making his Test debut against England in 2004, de Villiers has been one of the star performers of South Africa.

He has been a 360 degree player in ODIs and T20 Internationals. De Villiers scored 9577 ODI runs at an impressive average of 53.50.

His highest score in ODIs was 176 at an strike rate of 101.09. He has scored 25 centuries in ODIs. He made his ODI debut in 2005 against England.

In 78 T20 internationals, he has scored 1672 runs at an average of 26.12. He made his T20 international debut in 2006 against Australia.

Also Read : AB de Villiers announces retirement from all forms of cricket

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Nov 15 (Sports news) CA Bhavani Devi, the first Indian fencer to participate at the Olympics, on Monday received her Arjuna Award from Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.

The 28-year-old Bhavani could not attend the sports awards ceremony on Saturday as she was participating in a competition in France.

However, on her return to the country, the fencer met Thakur who honoured her with the award.

"Holding the Arjuna Award was My Childhood Dream, and today, it happened. I am so much Emotional. Work Hard & Play for the Country. One day, the country will pay back. Thank YOU," Bhavani tweeted.

In the Tokyo Olympics in July this year, she won her round of 64 match against Tunisia's Nadia Ben Azizi 15-3 before going down to eventual bronze-medallist Manon Brunet of France in the round of 32.

In October, Bhavani won the Charleville National Competition in France, in the women's sabre individual event.

Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, India opener Shikhar Dhawan, veteran woman cricketer Mithali Raj and history-making Paralympic stars shared the spotlight as an unprecedented 12 sportspersons were presented with India's highest sporting honour -- the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna -- by President Ram Nath Kovind here on Saturday.

In a glittering function organised at the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the President also bestowed 35 sportspersons with the Arjuna award as he recognised the country's unparalleled Olympic and Paralympic performances this year.

Also Read : India honours its sporting best at dazzling National awards ceremony

News Source : PTI

If there’s one sport in India that has an extensive domestic involvement throughout the country, it’s undoubtedly cricket. The Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Duleep Trophy etc have been long-standing platforms for cricketers to impress selectors and make it into the national team. However, with the sheer competition to make it to the next level, domestic cricket remains an underappreciated aspect of the most popular sport in India.

In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Services cricketer Rahul Singh speaks about his journey in cricket, the players he looked up to growing up, toughest opponents, facing challenges in domestic cricket, getting support from BCCI and state cricket boards and his future goals.

Q 1) How old were you when you first started playing cricket and what got you interested in it?

My father was a wrestler and I too wanted to become like him, but when I was 12 years old I saw some of the boys playing gully cricket which sparked an interest in me. I then joined DAV school in Chandigarh and started playing cricket there.

Q 2) Who was your favourite player growing up and what did you like about him?

Sachin Tendulkar was my favourite player growing up and always used to watch him play. I like the fact that he joined the team at a young age and played many match winning knocks for the country which inspired me even more to play the game.

Q 3) Who is the toughest batsman to get out in the domestic circuit?

In the domestic circuit I have bowled to many greats like Virender Shewag and Gautam Gambhir but for me, getting Shikhar Dhawan out was one of the toughest things to do.

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Q 4) You've been playing domestic cricket since 2011, what are some of the challenges you have faced?

Problems are a part and parcel of the game, certain things like staying away from family, living independently, injuries and the most daunting task is when you have to take care of yourself when you're injured. In 2013, I had suffered a hamstring injury as it took me almost a year to recover from that and subsequently I had to miss the whole year of cricket, which affected me a lot mentally.

Q 5) Do domestic cricketers like yourself get adequate support from the BCCI or the state cricket boards?

Boards help us as much as they can from their side. Financially we get a lot of help and we don't have any problems related to the board. Wherever we go to play matches we get good accomodation and have never had a chance to complain. If you play Ranji trophy then financially the player is taken care of which is a very important thing.

Q 6) What are your future ambitions and what steps are you taking to achieve them?

I just finished playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. Unfortunately we couldn't qualify for the knockouts but my individual performance was good. Next month we have the Vijay Hazare trophy in Jharkhand. Our camp is starting on the 18th in Delhi. We will be working hard as usual and try to qualify for the knockouts. We have the Ranji trophy after that so we'll go step by step trying to do well.

Q 7) What would be your message to our readers?

Ever since I was a child I have worked very hard. Whatever I have achieved is because of my hard work. I now serve the Indian army and play cricket for services. I would like to tell everyone that only hard work can lead to success and nothing else.

New Delhi, Nov 6 (Cricket news) A mentor to scores of first-class and international cricketers, coach Tarak Sinha's death on Saturday was mourned by the cricketing fraternity, with his brightest ward Rishabh Pant saying the loss has left him devastated.

Sinha died on Saturday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 71.

Condoling his death, India's star wicketkeeper Pant, who is currently in the UAE for the ICC T20 World Cup, said he will carry him in his heart whenever he steps on to the field.

"My mentor, coach, motivator, my biggest critic and my greatest fan. You took care of me like your son, I am devastated. You will always be with me whenever I walk out onto the field. My heartfelt condolences & prayers. May your soul rest in peace, Tarak sir," tweeted Pant.

Pant was Sinha's one of the brightest pupils. He was actively coached by Sinha's longtime assistant Devender Sharma.

Sinha, who was reverentially referred to as "Ustad ji" by his disciples, was a father figure in Delhi's famous Sonnet Club, which has produced some of the country's finest cricketers, who ruled domestic and international cricket.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag said he was deeply pained by the loss.

"Feel a lot of pain on the demise of passing away of Ustaad ji #TarakSinha. He was one of the rare coaches who gave India more than a dozen Test Cricketers & the values he inculcated in his students helped Indian cricket immensely. Condolences to his family and students," he tweeted.

A lifetime Dronacharya Awardee, Sinha's list of students include stalwarts of Delhi cricket such as Surinder Khanna, Manoj Prabhakar, the late Raman Lamba, Ajay Sharma, Atul Wassan, Sanjiv Sharma -- some of whom also played for India.

In the post-90s, Sinha coached international players including Aakash Chopra, Anjum Chopra, all-rounder Rumeli Dhar along with pacer Ashish Nehra and Shikhar Dhawan.

"Ustaad Ji is no more. Dronacharya Awardee. Coach to over a dozen India Test cricketers. And scores of first-class cricketers. Both men and women. Without any institutional help. Your service to Indian cricket will be remembered, sir. May your soul R.I.P," Aakash Chopra tweeted.

Atul Wassan described it as a sad day for all the students of Sonnet Club.

"Sad day for me and all sonnetians as we have lost our ustaad ji today. Toiled for decades and shaped careers but never took centre stage . Cricket fraternity has lost a gem . God bless the departed soul. Rip," he wrote on his twitter handle.

Anjum Chopra, a former captain of India's national women's cricket team, wrote: "The Coach! Mr.Tarak Sinha. The nursery of Sonnet Cricket club has seen many international and domestic players (men and women) make their mark. The guide, mentor, coach … May you rest in peace sir."

Also Read : Tarak Sinha, one of India's most respected cricket coaches, is dead

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Nov 6 (Cricket news) Tarak Sinha, the Indian coach with most number of international and first-class cricketers as his disciples, died on Saturday morning after a prolonged illness.

Sinha was 71.

He was a bachelor and is survived by his sister and hundreds of students and well wishers, whose lives became better due to his positive presence.

Sinha was a father figure in Delhi's famous Sonnet Club, which has produced some of the country's finest cricketers, who ruled domestic and international cricket.

"It is with heavy heart we have to share this tragic news of Shri Tarak Sinha, the founder of Sonnet Club, has left us for heavenly abode at 3 am on Saturday after a brave battle with lung cancer for two months," the Sonnet Club said in a statement.

"Ustad ji", as his disciples reverentially referred to him, was not a grassroots level cricket coach. In nearly five decades, he nurtured, groomed and managed raw talent and through his club gave them a platform to perform and wings to fly.

That's the reason why some of his most distinguished students (they don't want to be named) were keeping a tab on his health and making necessary arrangements till his last day.

His longtime assistant Devender Sharma, who has actively coached the likes of Rishabh Pant, was by his side.

Just have a look at the names and one would know why conferring him with a lifetime Dronacharya Award as late as 2018 was a sacrilege.

His earlier students included the stalwarts of Delhi cricket. Surinder Khanna, Manoj Prabhakar, the late Raman Lamba, Ajay Sharma, Atul Wassan, Sanjiv Sharma all of whom ruled Delhi cricket and also played for India.

Then there were the domestic heavyweights like KP Bhaskar, the batting mainstays during the mid 1980s to early 90s.

The post-90s was the time he produced some of his better international players, which included Aakash Chopra, women cricketers including former national captain Anjum Chopra, all-rounder Rumeli Dhar along with pacer Ashish Nehra, Shikhar Dhawan, and possibly one of the brightest stars of Indian cricket, Rishabh Pant.

There were a lot of coaches across India but very few was like Ustad ji who was a true blue talent scout.

The BCCI never used his expertise save once when it appointed him as the women's national team coach. Then, he worked with a very young bunch of players that had Jhulan Goswami, Mithali Raj in its ranks.

For Sinha, Sonnet was family. Such was his devotion to cricket that he never thought of getting married.

In his mind it was always about unearthing the next best talent and seeing him in India colours.

Another aspect of his coaching was that he would never ever let any student ignore his academics.

Any student who would turn up for training during his annual school or college exams would be sent back immediately and not allowed to practice till exams are over.

Sinha knew that not all of them would go on to become a Dhawan, Pant or Nehra and academics would give them a Plan B.

A case in point is Pant, who was accompanied by his mother and spotted by Sinha's assistant Devender, who was then coaching in Rajasthan.

Sinha told him to watch the "boy" for a couple of weeks before he came back.

Pant's story of staying at Gurdwara (which he did on a couple of occasions) became a myth but it was Sinha, who arranged for Pant's education in a Delhi school, from where he gave his 10th and 12th board exams.

He also arranged for a rented accommodation where he could stay as he pursued his cricketing ambition.

Once during an interview with PTI, Pant's emotional answers struck a chord.

"Tarak sir is not like a father figure. He is a father to me," Pant had said.

He was supremely proud of what Pant has achieved in his international career so far but he would never express it.

Another story is about a middle-aged man arriving with his teenager son at the Venky's nets.

"I am from Rourkee, the city of Rishabh Pant. This is my son, please make him a cricketer like Rishabh. He is very passionate," the father had such expectation in his eye that would make one think that Sinha had some magic wand.

This correspondent remembers Sinha telling the father to come back after two hours and asked the boy to start doing physical drills.

"These parents are clueless. They don't even know what kind of talent Rishabh was when he came and what kind of maddening hard work he put in during those early teenage years," he had told a couple of reporters standing by his side.

His students loved him and he loved them back.

Aakash Chopra had beautiful handwriting and the scores that he used to keep during academy games were his treasured possession.

Similarly, another distinguished India international (he has warned his name can't be published) once came to know that he was leaving his rented accommodation as he had bought an apartment.

He didn't want his coach to be without his own home.

Sinha never became a businessman or corporate cricket coach, which is in vogue now, like gun for hire with different fancy theories of trying to work on mental set-up by confining people to 12x8 rooms with a bucket of water.

He was the old school coach who would give his ward a tight slap if the head tilted sideways and the batter lost his balance while driving.

His students loved him and will remember him with moist eyes and smile on their lips.

Go well, Ustad ji.

Also Read : India crush Scotland, pray for 'Sunday Sensation' from Afghans

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Oct 27 (Sports news) Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who became only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games, and silver medal-winning wrestler Ravi Dahiya were on Wednesday recommended for the Khel Ratna as an unprecedented 11 athletes were selected for the country's highest sporting honour.

Boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who won a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, seasoned hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and woman cricket Test skipper Mithali Raj were also recommended for the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna by the selection committee.

Iconic Sunil Chhetri also became the country's first footballer to be selected for the honour.

Last year, five athletes were picked for the award while four were selected after the 2016 Rio Games.

The announcement of the national sports awards was delayed in order to consider the performance of the para-athletes in the Tokyo Paralympics (August 24 to September 5).

Shooter Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal, javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shuttlers Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar, who all have won a gold each in the Tokyo Paralympics, completed the list of those recommended for the Khel Ratna. The committee also picked 35 athletes for the Arjuna award, eight more than last year's number of awardees.

Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, para TT player Bhavina Patel, para shuttler Suhas Yathiraj and high jumper Nishad Kumar are among those selected for the Arjuna award.

Members of the men's hockey team that won a historic bronze in the Olympics will also receive Arjuna award.

Also Read : Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and other Tokyo Games participants felicitated by JSW Sports

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) After the IPL, India played England in a warm up match for the World T20 and got enough match practice before the game against Pakistan on Sunday. India produced a clinical performance against a top side as they won by 7 wickets, a lot of positives can be taken out of the performance but a few areas of concern are also there that India can improve before the match against Pakistan.

KL Rahul will open with Rohit Sharma

Like we saw in the IPL, KL Rahul has just continued his immaculate form as he scored 51 runs off just 24 balls, he not only played with class and elegance but the main takeaway from yesterday's innings is that he took full advantage of the powerplay. This is a different kind of Rahul as he usually tends to take his time and build his innings, but if this same trend continues then that would mean Rahul will be the aggressor in the beginning and Rohit can take his time and build partnerships with others.

India's bench strength looks strong

A lot of talk was on whether they should drop Ishan Kishan for Shikhar Dhawan but yesterday he defined his selection after a blistering knock of 70 off 46 balls which included three sixes and seven boundaries. With Ishan, it proves that if in the tournament Ravi Shastri feels like going into the match with a left- right opening combination then he knows that Ishan Kishan will do a job out there. As for India’s bench options, they look pretty strong and most of the players look in good touch.

Suryakumar Yadav should bat at no 4

Yesterday we saw Rishabh Pant at no 4 as it looks more likely that he will bat in that position heading into the World Cup as he is the only left handed batsman in the top 6. The Indian team management need Suryakumar to fire in all cylinders as he's a type of player that can win you matches with unorthodox batting style but heading into the tournament his form in the IPL hasn’t been great. The coaches along with Virat Kohli need to send him up the order so that he takes some balls to settle into a groove which will help him get back to his best. 

Varun Chakaravarthy looks like the main spinner in the team

Rahul Chahar only picked up a wicket he conceded to many runs and gave away a lot of length balls as the batsman cherished the freebies. He was trying to get the ball to spin off the surface but wasn’t getting much assistance from it, on the other hand Ashwin bowled a straight line and kept the batsman in check. Varun didn’t play the match as he played the IPL final days a few ago but it won't be a surprise that he will get to bowl his full quota of overs against Australia in the next warm match. The reason Varun might get picked as the lead spinner is because he has the element of mystery in his balling which might cause the opposition batsmans some problems.

Also read: India looks to fix batting order in final T20 WC warm-up game Australia

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s form looks like an area of concern

An ever present name on the team sheet, Bhuvi might be struggling this calendar year especially since he hasn’t had a great IPL and it has greatly hampered his confidence. Bhuvi is India's most consistent bowler when it comes to line and length but yesterday he was all over the place as Johnny Bairstow and Moeen Ali took to the raptures as he conceded 54 runs at an economy of 13.5 runs per over. The Indian team management needs to take a decision whether they keep faith in him or replace him with Shardul Thakur or play an extra spinner in his place against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday.
 

(Cricket news) The clash between these two heavyweights will be an interesting match up as both teams at this moment are equally matched. With KKR scripting an amazing comeback story, DC on the other hand will be trying to avenge their last year's loss in the final against Mumbai Indians. With the match played at Sharjah, both sides will look to capitalize on the slowness of the pitch as the spinners of both the teams will be key

For KKR this might be the perfect occasion for them to reach their third final as they are playing a second successive knockout game in the same venue against a side that has lost two matches in a row. Eoin Morgan has hailed the ‘Baz-mantra’ of playing fearless cricket as KKR have completely turned their season around in the second half. Their game plan at this particular venue has been simple, to play with freedom and mostly taking advantage of the shorter boundaries by hitting straight down the ground, a trend which is going to continue. The KKR spinners hold the key to their success like we saw in the last match where Varun and Shakib choked the batsman for runs and Narine picked up the big wickets, the battle between the DC middle order batsman and KKR spinners will be crucial.

Prithvi Shaw averages 64 at a strike rate of 172 against KKR and his matchup against Lockie Ferguson and maybe Shakib in the powerplay will be an intriguing watch. On the other hand Nitish Rana holds a very good record against DC as has made 277 runs in 9 matches with a strike rate of 144 and also holds the upper hand over Ashwin, having scored 76 runs from 45 balls. The KKR batsman need to evade the threat of Avesh Khan as he has picked up six wickets in two matches at Sharjah also.

DC will likely assess the situation on Marcus Stonis’ injury as he might replace Tom Curran in the playing XI if he is fit. The DC pacers have grabbed the headlines but the DC spinners have done the job quietly as they have picked up the third most wickets behind KKR and RCB. Although Axar Patel has picked up 15 wickets this season, Ashwin has only managed 5 wickets and hasn’t even bowled his full quota of overs in the last two matches. One area for concern for DC will be the form of Kagiso Rabada as he hasn’t picked up a single wicket in the last 4 matches and not taking wickets has meant that he's on the expensive side in the death overs.

Anrich Nortje enjoys a good record against Narine as he has got him out twice in eight balls and if KKR decide to use Narine as a pinch hitter then he could be brought into the attack. The DC management need to find a solution for the death overs as they have conceded 10.20 rpo between 16 to 20 overs which is the second most in the IPL this year.

Pitch and Weather report: In terms of the pitch it is going to remain the same like the last match as the shiny new ball will come on for the batters in the powerplay but as soon as the ball turns a bit old the spinners will get a lot of assistance from the pitch. The trend of winning the toss and batting second will continue as 6 out of 9 games in this venue have been won by teams batting second. The temperature will hover around 35 degrees as it will gradually get less as the evening goes on, as of now there is no chance of rain.

Head to head: DC 12 - 15 KKR, last time they met KKR won by 3 wickets as they chased down 128 in 18 overs.

Interesting facts:

• KKR and DC are the only teams with an all Indian top 4
• Except Shivam Mavi all the KKR bowlers have gone under a run a ball in Sharjah.
• Capitals have hit the most number of fours (227) and the least number of sixes (60) for any team in IPL 2021. 
• KKR have played three matches at Sharjah and have not conceded a single sixes in two matches against DC and RCB
• In the IPL playoffs, including finals, Pant has scored 199 runs in six innings, at an average of 49.75 and a strike rate of 151.91.

Also read: Our bowlers have shown us the way, says KKR skipper Morgan

Probable XI for KKR:

1 Shubman Gill, 2 Venkatesh Iyer, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Eoin Morgan (capt), 7 Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Shivam Mavi

Probable XI for RCB:

1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Marcus Stoinis/Tom Curran, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Avesh Khan

(Cricket news) Chennai Super Kings will see two of its players reach milestones in terms of matches played. Ravindra Jadeja has so far played 199 matches at the Indian Premier League and will become the 6th player to play 200 or more matches. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina are the only other players in the team to cross the 200 matches mark.

Ravindra Jadeja has been part of IPL since its entry into cricket, he has picked up 125 wickets and has scored 2386 runs so far. He made his debut playing for Rajasthan Royals and has played for Gujarat Lions and Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the league. Jadeja scored 295 runs in the 2011 season which has been his highest ever since and in terms of wickets he picked up 19 wickets in the 2014 season.

Jadeja has so far scored 227 runs and picked up 11 wickets in fifteen matches. In the team’s fifth match, Jadeja smashed 5 sixes and a four in a single over bowled by Harshal Patel of Royal Challengers Bangalore. The match saw Jadeja record his highest score of 62* in the league and in the same match took three wickets for 13 runs in his four over spell which also included a direct hit run out of Dan Christian. He has bowled 95 dot balls this season and is currently one of the best all rounders in the game. Jadeja is also one of the best fielders in the team with a bullet throw.

Faf du Plessis is set to play his 100th match in the final and will become the 10th overseas player in history to reach the mark. He made his debut in IPL in 2012 scoring 398 runs for Chennai and this year had crossed the 500 run mark for the first time in a season. He has so far scored 547 runs this season and overall is 51 runs short of 2900 runs in IPL. Faf du Plessis is currently the fourth highest run getter this season with one more match to go and is only four runs behind Shikhar Dhawan of Delhi Capitals.

Faf du Plessis and Jadeja will look to play their milestone match in the best way possible as it has come at the perfect timing. Both the players have made their mark in the shorter format and will look to guide the team on 15th October.

Also read: Ruturaj Gaikwad leading the run chase for Chennai Super Kings, Orange cap in sight after eight years