Kings XI take on a resilient KKR in first qualifier

May 26, 2014

Kings XI  KKRKolkata, May 26: The most consistent team of this season will be up against the most resilient side of the current edition when Kings XI Punjab lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders in the first Qualifier clash of the IPL in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Previously known for being under-achievers, Kings XI Punjab have been the most outstanding team this season, and are at the top of the table thanks to a superlative batting show from Glenn Maxwell.

With two wins from first seven matches, Kolkata Knight Riders were written off midway into the tournament but they bounced back to seal a playoff berth.

Later, Yusuf Pathan’s hurricane 22-ball 72 fired them up to second spot on net run rate, and they are in the middle of a record seven-match winning streak.

The heavyweight tag would be with KXIP but at the same time they would be wary of KKR’s momentum and it would be quite a challenge for George Bailey’s men to breach their opponent’s fortress at the Eden.

Both the teams are two wins away from the glittering trophy but a loss in the first qualifier will not be the end of the road either. The losing team would survive to play the second qualifier in the battle to make the final.

Yusuf has shown how dangerous he can be when he is middling the ball as even world number one pacer Dale Steyn was no challenge for him.

Yusuf smacked the South African for 26 runs in an over in his explosive innings of five fours and seven sixes.

KKR were required to chase 161 in 15.2 overs to topple Chennai Super Kings from the second place and Yusuf’s blitz ensured they cruised to the target in 14.2 overs.

Such was the impact that Mumbai Indians eliminated Rajasthan Royals on net run rate taking a cue from Yusuf’s innings, with Corey Anderson playing the role of the big-hitter in his unbeaten 44-ball 95 in a second stunner in as many days.

Yusuf will be a threat in the ranks of KKR, quite the same way Maxwell is in the KXIP line-up, in what promises to be yet another run feast with both teams boasting of powerful batting line-ups.

The ground has been under cover since yesterday because of a downpour, and both the teams will keep their fingers crossed as rain has been forecast for tomorrow.

There is a reserve day on May 28, but both teams would be keen for a result tomorrow without stretching it too far.

Under overcast conditions, the slow bowlers could play a crucial role and the KKR camp would have an extra edge in mystery spinner Sunil Narine — who currently has the Purple Cap. They also have left-armer Shakib Al Hasan in a potent spin attack.

Maxwell was dismissed by leg-spinners six times in this IPL, and Shakib will surely look to exploit the weakness of the Aussie.

Maxwell, who was rested against Rajasthan, has scored 16 runs from the last three innings and was out for a duck in their 116-run chase against Delhi Daredevils last night.

Boasting of a strong middle-order in David Miller, Manan Vohra, skipper Bailey and Wriddhiman Saha, KXIP should not worry much about Maxwell’s lean patch.

What, however, would be a cause of concern for KXIP is their spin bowling, with the likes of Rishi Dhawan and Akshar Patel not making much inroads. It would be interesting if they bring in Murali Kartik in their line-up.

With Mitchell Johnson spearheading the pace department, KXIP pacers have most number of wickets (62) but at the same time, their spinners have the fewest (24).

In terms of batting, Shaun Marsh, who has been a consistent performer for KXIP with about 2000 runs, has been benched with Maxwell and Miller stealing the show.

KXIP have lost to KKR, the second team after Mumbai Indians to have beaten the table-toppers this season, and the home side would surely fancy their chances with a vociferous crowd behind them.

KKR look a more balanced side of the two both in batting and bowling.

Leading run-getter Robin Uthappa, who has the Orange Cap with 613 runs from 14 matches, has been instrumental in giving fine starts with skipper Gautam Gambhir, who too has been impressive with 311 from 14 matches.

The duo has been successfully giving the team fine starts before the likes of Shakib, Ryan ten Doeschate and Yusuf fire up in the middle-order, which has been the KKR’s story so far this season.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Chris Lynn, R Vinay Kumar, Manvinder Bisla, Debabrata Das, Kuldeep Yadav, Sayan Mondal and Veer Pratap Singh.

Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (captain), Virender Sehwag, Manan Vohra, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Akshar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Rishi Dhawan, Karanveer Singh, Parvinder Awana, Beuran Hendricks, Shaun Marsh, Thisara Perera, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Murali Kartik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sandeep Singh, Anureet Singh, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Mandeep Singh, Shivam Sharma and Shradul Thakur.

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News Network
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be finally reaching India late on Saturday after being stuck in Germany for over three months due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes.. Anand will be returning today," the chess maestro's wife Aruna told PTI on Saturday morning. Anand, who boarded an Air India flight (AI-120) from Frankfurt on Friday night will reach Bengaluru via Delhi.

He is expected to reach Bengaluru at 1.15 pm. The five-time world champion will undergo 14 days quarantine as per rules laid down by the Karnataka government.

"He will complete quarantine procedures and come to Chennai as per protocol," Aruna Anand said. The flights from Germany are only scheduled to land only in Delhi and Bengaluru.

The chess ace was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess league and was to return to India, but was forced to stay put after the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted sporting schedules across the globe, apart from restricting movement.

He was staying near Frankfurt and was doing online commentary for the Candidates tournament which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic and led the Indian team in the Online Nations Cup early this month.

Anand had been in touch with his family in Chennai on a regular basis via video calls and kept himself busy with chess-related work.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
April 30,2020

New Delhi, Apr 30: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday mourned the demise of veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, called his death 'unreal and unbelievable' loss.

"This is unreal and unbelievable. Yesterday Irrfan Khan and today Rishi Kapoor ji. It's hard to accept this as a legend passes away today. My condolences to the family and may his soul rest in peace," Kohli tweeted.

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan also expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
"It's shocking to hear about the sudden demise of #RishiKapoor ji. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace," Dhawan tweeted.

Earlier today, actor Amitabh Bachchan confirmed the news of the demise of the 67-year-old Rishi Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday.

In September 2019, the veteran actor returned to Mumbai after staying in New York for almost a year for cancer treatment.

He was last seen in the 2019 film 'The Body' alongside Emraan Hashmi and Shobita Sobhita Dhulipala.

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