Lendl Simmons’s magnificent ton helps Mumbai Indians trump Kings XI Punjab by 7 wickets in IPL 2014

May 22, 2014

Lendl SimmonsMohali, May 22: Lendl Simmons‘s magnificent century (100 not out) proved too good for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) as Mumbai Indians (MI) ran out with a comfortable victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 on May 21. Simmons trailblazing knock off 61 deliveries helped Mumbai chase down a moderate 157-run target at Mohali. The win also keeps their faint chances of qualifying for the IPL 7 play-offs. Simmons struck an incredible 14 fours and two six.

The win takes Mumbai to fifth in the IPL 7 Points Table. They have 10 points after 12 matches. Punjab have already qualified for the play-offs. They have 18 points after 12 matches.

Simmons and Michael Hussey began the run-chase for Mumbai. Sandeep Sharma bowled the first over. Simmons opened the scoring with a cut for a four in front of point. Simmons then came down the track and flat-batted one past mid-on for his second four. Simmons then drove one through wide mid-off for a four as 13 runs came from the first over.

Beuran Hendricks bowled the second over. He angled one down the leg side and the ball raced away for five wides. Sandeep then bowled one short and wide and Simmons sliced the ball towards third-man for his fourth four. Simmons then top-edged a short delivery behind for two runs.

Hendricks’s second over proved to be eventful. He was given an official warning by the umpire for running on the wicket. Simmons then lifted one over cover for a four. Hendricks seemed affected by it and then bowled a wayward bouncer far too wide on the off side. Simmons then tore into Hendricks with two fours. The second was a crunching pull over square-leg.

Simmons continued his charge against left-arm spinner Akshar Patel. He cut a wide delivery through point for a four. Simmons then cleared his front leg and hammered one down the ground for another four. That brought Mumbai their 50 in the fifth over. Simmons then seemed in agony while running two runs. It seemed as if he had twisted his ankle. That didn’t stop him from flicking one over backward square-leg for a four. He then got to his half-century with a push towards mid-off.

Simmons then threw his bat at a full delivery and edged it past short third-man for a four. Akshar then got the much-wanted breakthrough as his skidder breached Hussey’s defence and hit the stumps. Hussey was bowled for six runs off 13 deliveries. That brought an end to the 68-run opening stand. Simmons, though, cut a short delivery from off-spinner Shivam Sharma behind backward-point for a four.

Akshar bowled one on a good length and Simmons bent down and smacked one over the bowler for a four. Simmons then stepped down the track to Shivam Sharma and struck his first six over wide long-on. Mumbai got to their 100 in the 11th over. Simmons then cut a length delivery outside off-stump from Rishi Dhawan through backward-point for a four.

Dhawan, though, got the breakthrough as Ambati Rayudu drove one straight to Virender Sehwag at short extra-cover. He was out for 17 off 14 deliveries. Simmons then stunned the Mohali crowd as he danced down the track to Sandeep and smashed a six down the ground. Rohit Sharma joined in on the act with a pull in front of deep square-leg for a four.

Rohit then cut a wide delivery from Dhawan past point for another four. Hendricks bowled a short delivery from round the wicket and Rohit guided it towards third-man. Sandeep took the catch in the deep. Rohit was out for 18 off 20 deliveries. But no one could deny Simmons his century as he took a single in the 19th over. Kieron Pollard then hammered the last delivery in the 19th over over long-on for a six and won the match for Mumbai. They won by seven wickets.

Earlier, Punjab posted a total of 156 for eight in their 20 overs. Captain George Bailey top-scored with 39 off 30 deliveries. Manan Vohra scored 36 and Shaun Marsh added 30. Young leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was the pick of the bowlers as he took two wickets.

Brief scores:

Kings XI Punjab 156 for 8 in 20 overs (Manan Vohra 36, Shaun Marsh 30, George Bailey 39; Jasprit Bumrah 2 for 31, Shreyas Gopal 2 for 32) lost to Mumbai Indians 159 for 3 in 19 overs (Lendl Simmons 100*, Rohit Sharma 18) by 7 wickets.

Man of the Match: Lendl Simmons

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News Network
February 2,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 2: India registered a rare 5-0 whitewash against New Zealand after notching up a seven-run win in the fifth and final T20 International at Bay Oval here on Sunday.

Electing to bat, India posted 163 for three, riding on Rohit Sharma's 60 off 41 balls and a 33-ball 45 from K L Rahul.

The visitors then restricted the hosts to 156 for nine with Jasprit Bumrah claiming three wickets for 12 runs.

Chasing the target, the Black Caps were tottering at 17 for three in 3.2 overs.

Tim Seifert (50) and Ross Taylor (53) then added 99 runs for the fourth wicket as New Zealand recovered to 116.

Seifert clobbered a 30-ball 50 studded with five fours and three sixes, while Ross Taylor hit two sixes and five fours in his 47-ball 53-run innings.

However, once Seifert was dismissed in the 13th over, the hosts suffered a collapse, losing five wickets, including Taylor, for 25 runs to loss the plot in the end.

Brief Score:

India: 163 for 3 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 60; S Kuggeleijn 2/25)    

New Zealand: 156 for 9 in 20 overs (Ross Taylor 53, Tim Seifert 50; Jasprit Bumrah 3/12).

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News Network
July 2,2020

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

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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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