Chennai Super Kings demolish Delhi Daredevils

April 22, 2014

Kings_demolishAbu Dhabi, Apr 22: After their first loss against the Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings under the stewardship of the Indian skipper M S Dhoni wanted to win.

They wanted to win badly. And, Delhi Daredevils suffered as the formidable outfit batted, bowled and fielded brilliantly to massacre them by 93 runs, CSK’s biggest margin of victory in the Indian Premier League.

CSK’s batting line-up is the most ruthless among the teams in this tournament. Although Brendon McCullum lost his wicket early, everybody else in the top five chipped in. Suresh Raina, among the most reliable t20 batsmen in the Indian team, paced his knock really well to score 56 off 41 deliveries. Dwayne Smith (28) and Faf du Plessis (24) got starts, while Dhoni scored a superb 32 off 15 deliveries towards the end, an innings which will probably be best remembered for a booming straight drive against the bowling of speedster Jaidev Unadkat. Unadkat showed fantastic reflexes to get out of the ball’s way. Had he been fractionally slower, he might have been seriously injured.

CSK’s total of 177 for 7 was made possible largely due to the listless and wayward bowling of Mohammed Shami, who gave away 45 runs in his four overs. J P Duminy (0 for 26) who opened the bowling, Unadkat (3 for 32) and Jimmy Neesham (1 for 29) bowled well without being exceptional. Shahbaz Nadeem (1 for 29 in 3 overs) was expensive, and replacing him in the next match doesn’t appear to be beyond the realms of possibility.

DD’s response was a feeble one. The team was all out for 84, with only Jimmy Neesham (22) and skipper Dinesh Karthik managing to reach the 20s. CSK’s comprehensive win was helped by top class fielding, with not a single catch being spilled and Raina and du Plessis being particularly exceptional while holding on to the aerial balls that came their way. The inclusion of seamer Ben Hilfenhaus (1 for 9 in 2 overs) proved to be a worthy decision, and young Ishwar Pandey (2 for 23) who hit the deck and made the ball talk showed why he is being spoken of as a serious Indian prospect for sometime.

The solitary criticism of the CSK is why Dhoni isn’t coming up the batting order and giving himself more time before launching an assault on the bowlers. All said and done, however, the team won the match by a comprehensive margin. The facts of figures tell the story

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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