IPL 2019: Hardik stars as Mumbai Indians humble CSK by 37 runs

Hamilton, Feb 5: Talented Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India dished out a clinical batting effort to post 347 for four against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday.

Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton. Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.

Iyer's knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 runs in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.

This was after Tom Blundell featured his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.

It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe.

Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls for the opening stand.

But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India were reduced to 54 for 2.

Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).

It brought Kohli and Iyer together, and they dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.

Kohli fell against the run of play as a wrong one from Ish Sodhi (1/27) got through his defence to clip the leg stump.

Rahul though didn't let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours.

But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.

The centurion fell shortly afterwards, caught off Southee even as Rahul took control.

He reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.

Rahul's carnage meant that New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul.

Brief Scores:

India: 347 for 4 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88 not out, Virat Kohli 51; Tim Southee 2/85).

New Delhi, Jan 29: Badminton champion Saina Nehwal joined the ruling BJP today and is likely to campaign for the party ahead of the February 8 Delhi election.

"I have won medals for the country. I am a very hardworking and I love hardworking persons. I can see Prime Minister Narendra Modi does so much for the country, I want to do something for the country with him," the shuttler said, wearing the BJP scarf.

"I draw a lot of inspiration from Narendra sir".

Haryana-born Saina Nehwal, 29, is a major acquisition for the party in the middle of the Delhi poll campaign; she is one of the most popular sportspersons in India with a huge fan following and brand value. She is preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A former world number 1, she has been honoured with the country's top sporting awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award. She was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2016.

The Badminton player has won over 24 international titles. In the London Olympics, she won a bronze. She was world number two in 2009 and number one in 2015.

With her tweets praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saina Nehwal was widely seen to lean towards the BJP.

One of her tweets became controversial when it was found to be identical to several others in praise of a PM Modi speech last year. Saina was trolled on Twitter with screenshots of the identical tweets. She was also among the sportswomen who put up identical tweets on Diwali thanking PM Modi for his initiative to empower women, with the hashtag #bharatkilaxmi.

The BJP roped in many famous personalities last year, including cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who was elected MP from Delhi in the national election, and wrestler Babita Phogat. Just before the Haryana assembly polls, the party roped in wrestler Sushil Kumar, Babita Phogat and former Hockey team captain Sandeep Singh. Sandeep Singh won the election and was appointed minister.

New Delhi, Mar 5: Cricket's slow geographical expansion is turning out to be a blessing in disguise for the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) which looks set to beat the dreaded novel coronavirus threat and go ahead as scheduled.

At a time when the number of recorded deaths because of the deadly outbreak across the globe is touching 3500 with a plethora of international sporting events getting cancelled, the IPL seems to be in a parallel universe where "all is well".

And there are multiple practical reasons why the T20 extravaganza will be held as per schedule. A major reason is the small number of countries that play the game and an even smaller fraction of overseas players, who will compete in the world's richest cricket league starting March 29 in Mumbai.

Till Thursday, the reported number of positive COVID-19 cases in India stood at 29, including 16 Italian tourists. However, none of the overseas recruits of eight IPL franchises have expressed any apprehensions about travelling to India.

Just over 60 players from cricket nations such as Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the Caribbean islands comprise the elite foreign brigade and the reported positive cases of coronavirus in all these countries is next to none.

"The IOC is saying Olympics in Tokyo will be held as per schedule. In comparison, IPL is a minuscule tournament. If Olympics can be held, there's no reason why IPL can't be held," a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

STAR SPORTS FACTOR

The second and perhaps the biggest reason is broadcasters. Star Sports has bought the rights for Rs 16,347 crore (USD 2.55 billion) for a period of five years and their advertising revenues will take a huge hit if the tournament doesnt go ahead as planned. Former Delhi Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua explained the economics. "Look Star as well as BCCI has got everything insured. I don't know if there is any specific insurance cover for cancellation due to coronavirus but there is no chance of that happening if I read the situation properly," Dua told PTI.

GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES

The BCCI is also depending on the guidelines given by the government with regards to dealing with the health crisis.  "Every person availing international flights will be screened for coronavirus at the port of entry. That is the biggest health security measure. Obviously the BCCI will strictly adhere to any health advisory that government will issue," a Board official said.

But since there is an advisory that social gatherings are inadvisable at this point, won't it affect the league? "You will only come to know once the ticket sales start. If the stadiums are packed, that means people are coming but if stands are largely empty, then you can presume that people are wary.