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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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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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
July 14,2020

New Delhi, Jul 14: Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who features in the list of A category players released by BCCI, has revealed his first-ever paycheck.

Bhuvneshwar was participating in a question and answer session on Twitter where he gave his take on fans' queries.

The 30-year-old bowler was asked about his first paycheck by a fan and Bhuvneshwar responded by saying, "It was for Rs 3000. I shopped and still managed to saved some."

During the question and answer session Bhuvneshwar picked Barcelona striker Lionel Messi over Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The right-arm bowler also revealed that football and badminton are his favourite sports other than cricket.

Earlier this year, Bhuvneshwar was named in the list A category of players. BCCI had released the list of centrally contracted players for the period from October 2019 to September 2020. Annually, A category players get Rs 5 crore.

The right-arm bowler would have been in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad if the Indian Premier League (IPL) had commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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