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

Agencies
April 4, 2019

Mumbai, Apr 4: Hardik Pandya was characteristically quirky as well as breathtaking and the highlight was the helicopter shot in front of its synonym, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as Mumbai Indians humbled Chennai Super Kings by 37 runs in the IPL on Wednesday.

Invited to bat on a track that offered good bounce, Mumbai creamed 29 runs in final over with Hardik doing the bulk of scoring, his eight-ball 25-run blitzkrieg bringing the high-flying visitors to earth.

Struggling at 50 for three at one point, Mumbai raked in 45 runs in the last two overs to post 170 for five and then halted their rivals at 133 for eight to post their second win in four games. This was Super Kings’ maiden defeat and they remained on top of the table with six points.

MI were indebted to a fine knock of 59 in 43 balls by Suryakumar Yadav, who hit eight fours and a six while putting on a half-century stand with Krunal Pandya (42 in 32 balls).

Towards the end, Hardik and Kieron Pollard (17 in 7 balls) struck big to remain unbeaten and boosted the total, with the former striking three sixes and one four and the latter hitting twice over the ropes.

The title holders made a poor start in the run chase by losing their top three batsmen — Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina within the power play period, with just 33 on the board.

Watson and Raina were both caught square off the wicket by big West Indian Kieron Pollard, the bowlers to benefit being Lasith Malinga and Jason Behrendorff.

Raina was caught off a full-blooded slash by Pollard who took a spectacular one-handed leaping catch just inside the boundary line to send back the free-stroking left-hander for 16 in 15 balls.

Kedar Jadhav, who looked good in making 58 in 54 balls, with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (12), repaired the damage with a stand of 54. Hardik struck big by having Dhoni caught at square leg and then sent back Ravindra Jadeja, too, in the same over to reduce Chennai to 89 for five in the 15th over.

The dismissals of Jadhav, who struck 8 fours and a six, and Dwayne Bravo in quick succession ended the slim hopes of the visitors.

For MI, Malinga and Hardik bagged three wickets apiece while Behrendorff secured two. Earlier, MI had a slow start and also lost the wicket of Quinton de Kock in the third over with only eight runs on the board.

The arrival of Yadav to the crease increased the run rate as he played handsome drives in front of the wicket on both sides off Deepak Chahar, who he hit for three fours in one over, and Shardul Thakur, who gave away three boundaries in his second over.

Thanks to the stroke-filled start by Yadav, MI ended with 40 on the board at the end of power play, but then lost skipper Rohit Sharma off the first ball of the 8th over, caught behind off Ravindra Jadeja for 13.

Yuvraj Singh, too, flopped, caught just inside the boundary line to leave MI at 50 for three in the 9th over before Yadav and Krunal revived the sagging innings with their half-century stand.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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Agencies
April 15,2020

Former Australia batsman Mike Hussey has heaped praise on MS Dhoni, saying the veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is the "greatest finisher" the game of cricket has ever seen.

"Dhoni is the greatest finisher of all time that the cricketing world has ever produced," Hussey said while speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNcricinfo's Videocast.

"Dhoni can keep his cool and make the opposition captain blink first. Dhoni also has unbelievable power. He knows that when he needs to clear the ropes, he can do it. He has that kind of self-belief. Honestly, I didn't have that kind of belief in myself," he added.

The former Australian batsman, who shared the dressing room with Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings, said the 38-year-old Indian believes in the philosophy that he who panics last, wins the game.

"I tried not to let it reach 12 or 13 runs an over," said Hussey while talking about his ability to finish the game without much hiccups.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"And I learnt this from MS Dhoni. He is incredible. He believes that he who panics last wins the game. So Dhoni would keep his cool, and keep it longer because the pressure is on the bowler as well," he added.

The 44-year-old believes that the greatest players of the game have a few common traits like "they don't hang on to a defeat for too long. If they lose, they move on quickly. They don't let a loss or a win hamper their thinking".

"They are always consistent, and level headed whether it's MS Dhoni or Ricky Ponting."

Hussey, who played 59 IPL matches for CSK, further revealed the secret about the franchise's success in the Indian Premier League.

"Supportive owners who let coach Stephen Fleming and captain Dhoni decide how to run the team, excellent chemistry between the coach and the captain, Dhoni's leadership and lastly the foresight of the owners, Fleming and Dhoni to pick the best players, particularly the good Indian players and then stick with them for as long as possible."

"This has built an excellent continuity in the team. And once you have continuity, you build relationships and trust that otherwise takes time to grow," he added.

Hussey also said that once Dhoni bids adieu to the game, CSK would probably like to start all over again.

"That's a 60-million-dollar question, and I am equally intrigued. I believe the owners would like to keep Dhoni involved in some way or the other," said Hussey.

"However, whenever the change of guard happens, CSK might want to start all over again, build a brand, new team, and use their existing philosophy as they enter the next decade of IPL. It is definitely going to be more challenging in current times," he added.

Dhoni was supposed to lead CSK in the 13th IPL edition which now stands postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.

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