IPL 7: For the Kings XI, it’s all Maxwell against CSK

May 8, 2014

Cuttack, May 8: KXIP 231-4 in 20 overs: Glenn Maxwell peppered fours and sixes in a stupendous exhibition of stroke-play as his 90 off just 38 balls took Kings XI Punjab to a mammoth total and a fantastic win.

Maxwell_against_CSKThe most prolific scorer this season continued his show of incredible batting prowess as he butchered Chennai's bowlers to submission and almost single-handedly took Punjab to the highest total of the IPL-7 so far.

Except for Mohit Sharma (2/15), all the Chennai bowlers were punished heavily with Ishwar Pandey (0/41), Dwayne Smith (1/36), Ravindra Jadeja (0/37) and R Ashwin (0/38) being at the receiving end as the 25-year-old Australian hit six fours and eight sixes.

He stitched up a partnership worth 135-runs with David Miller (47 off 32 balls) for the third wicket from just 10.4 overs after the duo came together in the sixth over at 38-2.

The duo added a phenomenal 88 runs in the five overs after the halfway mark, scoring 17, 14, 21, 18 and 14 each over with the 100-run partnership between Maxwell and Miller coming up in just 8.4 overs.

KXIP added an incredible 162 runs in the second half of their innings with captain George Bailey chipping in with a cameo — hammering 40 in just 13 balls.

Virender Sehwag (30) began with a bang by hitting the first ball of the innings but his opening partner Mandeep Singh was out for just three off the bowling of Mohit Sharma in the fifth over.

And just when it looked like Sehwag had returned to his explosive best, he got out in the next over off the bowling of Hilfenhaus.

The out-of-favour former India opener dabbed at a good length delivery with an angled blade and Hilfenhaus managed to nip it back enough to take the inside edge, hit the pads and cannon into the stumps.

Maxwell and Miller soon took over and the duo hit a flurry of fours and sixes with Ashwin being the receiving end of their fury. Maxwell smashed Ashwin for three sixes while Miller did the same once as the off-spinner conceded 38 runs from two overs.

CSK 187-6 in 20 overs: Mighty Chennai may have an excellent batting lineup, but chasing down such a mammoth target was a big ask of even them. Dwayne Smith wilted to the pressure sooner than expected — his only contribution a four off the first ball before he was caught at backward point.

With one of their top performers gone so soon, Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina started scoring at a brisk pace rather than going gung-ho. It worked for a while as they put up a 51-run partnership — but Raina fell in the eighth over as Miller ran in from long-off to take a fine catch. He made 35 off 27 balls with three fours and a six.

Raina was followed by Ravindra Jadeja (17 off eight, 3x4) who was sent in early to start the hitting but he didn't last too long. As Kings XI smelled blood, CSK's batsman looked resigned in the middle. McCullum (33 runs, 29b, 3x4) soon followed Jadeja to the dugout, undone by a fantastic direct-hit on the run from Mitchell Johnson.

Faf du Plessis and Dhoni came on at a time when CSK needed 134 runs from just 48 balls. KXIP were not taking anything for granted and squeezed the run-rate before Du Plessis decided to cut loose.

The South African clobbered five fours and a six in the 17th and 18th over on his way to a 25 ball 52, before scooping straight to short fine-leg. MS Dhoni had enough time to send a six over long-on before edging one to mid-wicket. The match was lost long back and Ashwin and Manhas merely saw off the remaining deliveries.

Turning point: Over number 13 in Kings XI's innings went for 21 runs — 20 off boundaries as Maxwell started his onslaught. From then on, there was no looking back. CSK's bowlers became nervous and Maxwell took full advantage of it.

Man of the match: This one's easy - Glenn Maxwell.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam is tired of his constant comparisons with India skipper Virat Kohli and says he would rather be compared to the greats at home.

Babar, six years younger to Kohli, has a long way to go in getting close to Kohli's staggering numbers across formats. The India skipper has 70 hundreds to his name and averages more than 50 in all three formats.

"I would be more happy if you compare to me say a Javed Miandad, Muhammad Yousuf or Younis Khan. Why compare me to Kohli or any Indian player?" asked the 25-year-old, who is in England with the national team, said in an online media interaction on Thursday.

Babar has scored 16 international hundreds and averages more than 50 in ODIs and T20s. In 26 Tests, he has scored 1850 runs at 45.12.

He also said that he is not targeting any English bowler for the series next month.

"I don’t see who the bowler is or his reputation. I just try to play each ball on merit. England no doubt has a top bowling attack and they have advantage of playing at home but this is a challenge I want to score runs in," he said.

Before the squad’s departure for England, Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan said that pacer Joffra Archer will be a handful for the Pakistani batsmen.

Babar said that he would try to play every English bowler on merit but conceded that after getting runs in Australia last year, he was keen to leave his footprint in the coming Test and T20 series in England.

Reminded that some former Test players had already written off Pakistan for the England series, Babar said they were entitled to their opinion.

"But we don’t have a bad team and already we have been enjoying our training. It is good to be back on the field after such a long lay-off. I think we have the bowlers to trouble them like Abbas, Naseem, Shaheen and others while we have some experience in our batting line-up."

Babar said he would love to get a triple century in a Test match.

"When you score a century, you naturally want to go on and convert that into a double or a triple century. This is something I would like to do during the Test series.

"I like to play my natural game but my selection of shots depends on the conditions and bowlers."

Babar also ruled out any problems in the Pakistan dressing room due to the presence of former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was sacked last year.

But he said that since Muhammad Rizwan had been playing in all formats for Pakistan in recent times, he would be the starting keeper in the Test series ahead of Sarfaraz.

"I think we first have to give Rizwan a proper chance and Sarfaraz is there as back up."

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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