Mumbai's dominance at home continues

May 16, 2013

Mumbais_dominance

Mumbai, May 16: Mumbai Indians once again proved their invincibility at home as they successfully defended their impeccable home record with a comfortable 14-run win over Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.

Defending a total of 166 for eight, Mumbai made early inroads which proved decisive in the end as the Royals were restricted to 152 for seven. It was the last game for MI at the ‘Fort Wankhede’ which hasn’t been breached by any team this season.

The win took Mumbai to 22 points from 15 games but they pipped CSK to the top of the table by virtue of better run-rate.

As far as Royals are concerned, they are in the Play-Offs but might have just lost a golden opportunity to get two shots in the knock-outs by finishing among the top-two.

Stuart Binny (37 n.o.) and Brad Hodge (39, 7x4) added 56 runs for the seventh wicket after they were reduced to 58 for five within the first 10 overs.

23 runs off a final over from Lasith Malinga was a Herculean task and the script unfolded as the home team would have expected. Chasing a target of 167, Royals got to the worst possible start as they lost four wickets in the first five overs with only 28 on the board.

While Rahul Dravid (4) was very unhappy when he was adjudged caught behind off a short pitched delivery from Mitchell Johnson which he tried to pull. The TV replays were inconclusive.

James Faulkner (11) and Ajinkya Rahane (4) played poor shots to back of the length deliveries from Dhawal Kulkarni while Sanju Samson was done in by pace and bounce from Johnson.

Shane Watson (19), who had some verbal exchanges with Kieron Pollard pulled Malinga for a couple of sixes but played a rank bad shot off a Pragyan Ojha delivery. It was Pollard who caught Watson in the deep and then gave him a ‘Calypso style’ send-off.

At 58 for five, the onus was on Binny to resurrect the innings. Along with Dishant Yagnik (10), Binny added 30 runs before the former was cleaned up by Harbhajan Singh.

Veteran Hodge got four boundaries off Ojha in the 16th over to bring down the equation but that wasn’t enough in the end.

Earlier, young glovesman Aditya Tare hit an attacking half-century as Mumbai scored 166 for eight.

Tare, who replaced an injured Sachin Tendulkar, paid back for the faith showed in him by the team management, with a 37-ball-59 that was studded with eight boundaries and a six.

Warriors put an end to Kolkata's faint chances

Warriors

Ranchi, May 16: Pune Warriors snapped their nine-match losing streak and knocked Kolkata Knight Riders out of the Indian Premier League with a thrilling seven-run win, here on Wednesday.

Manish Pandey (66), skipper Aaron Finch (48) and Yuvraj Singh (30) guided Pune to a competitive 170/4 after being asked to bat.

Yusuf Pathan (72) cracked his first IPL half-century in three years and almost steered KKR home with splendid hitting but he got out in a bizarre fashion towards the end of the chase as he became the first batsman in IPL history to be given out for obstructing the field.

After managing to negotiate a yorker from Wayne Parnell, Pathan attempted a single. As Pathan ran, the bowler too tried to get close to the ball but Pathan pushed the ball with his foot, causing obstruction in the field.

The matter was refereed to third umpire and he was declared out. His dismissal in the 18th over was the turning point of the game as KKR did not have the batsmen to score the required 23 runs from 13 balls after that.

Pune restricted Kolkata to 163 for seven to complete their third win from 15 matches.

KKR’s chase was far from ideal as they lost the top three batsmen, including skipper Gautam Gambhir, inside five overs to be struggling at 30 for three.

Parnell trapped Manvinder Bisla (1) in the second over and then castled Jacques Kallis (1) in his next over.

Ishwar Pandey saw the back of the rival skipper when Gambhir ballooned one up high in the air while attempting a big shot and the top edge landed in the hands of Yuvraj Singh.

Pathan and Ryan Ten Doeschate (42 off 30) repaired the innings with a 98-run stand for the fourth wicket that put them on the way to win.

However, Pune struck twice in four balls to bring themselves back in the match. Doeschate’s run out ended his partnership with Yusuf and at that time KKR needed 44 off the last four overs.

From 30 for three in five overs, Pathan brought his side so close to the win but his strange dismissal nullified all the good work he did with the bat.

Earlier, Pandey, who has been struggling for form this season, faced 47 balls in his knock while Yuvraj took 20 balls for his 30 to help Pune raise a challenging total.

The duo shared a 65 runs for the third wicket in 40 balls. Pandey hit eight fours and a six before being run out in the final over. Yuvraj too was dismissed on the last ball after hitting three big sixes in his knock.

Pune got off to a steady start with openers Finch and Uthappa looking in good touch.

Uthappa hit Lakshmipathy Balaji for two sixes in the third over to complete his 400 runs in this edition of the IPL.

However, Uthappa’s innings did not last long as he was dismissed by Sri Lankan off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake for 25 off 21 deliveries. The duo put on a 41-run opening stand.

Finch, who shared 56 runs with Pandey for the second wicket, started to attack after nine overs when he hit Kallis for two consecutive sixes. Pune were 57 for one at that time.

Just when Finch seemed to have settled down to set up a platform for a big total, Balaji removed him for the individual score of 48 in 32 balls. His knock was laced with two fours and three sixes. Yuvraj looked sluggish at the start as he took six balls to get off the mark while Pandey was the aggressor.

For Knight Riders, Balaji, Senanayake and Kallis picked up a wicket each.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Rajkot, Jan 16: Skipper Virat Kohli is set to be back at his regular number three position after the strategy of coming two-down boomeranged in the lung-opener as India take on a resolute Australia in the must-win second ODI here on Friday.

India go into the game 0-1 down after Australia registered a 10-wicket win in the lung-opener at Mumbai, courtesy David Warner and Aaron Finch, who hit unbeaten hundreds.

In a bid to field all three in-form players -- Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul --, Kohli dropped himself down the order but the plan backfired spectacularly as he was unable to convert his start.

Opener Dhawan later said he was ready to bat at number three if asked to by the team management, but since Kohli has been successful at that position, the skipper would be more than willing to walk in one-down.

Kohli batting at three also provides stability to the middle-order.

With a concussed Rishabh Pant out of the second game, Rahul is a certainty as he will keep wickets.

So, like in the last game, Rohit and Dhawan, who made a dogged 74 off 91 balls in Wankhede, could open, and there could be a toss-up between Rahul and young Shreyas Iyer at number four. Iyer had a rare failure on Tuesday.

Pant's absence could pave the way for the inclusion of Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey, who made optimum use of the opportunity that he got in the third T20 against Sri Lanka in Pune.

It would also be interesting to see which among the experienced Kedar Jadhav and rookie Shivam Dube makes the squad.

Rohit, who had a phenomenal 2019, failed in the first game, but given the form he is in, the opener is expected to bounce back strongly here.

Ditto for Kohli, who is just one hundred short of equalling cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar's record of most hundreds on home soil for India.

The bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah had a forgettable outing at the Wankhede and they would be more than eager to make a strong comeback and prove their mettle.

Bumrah, since his comeback, has not been as effective as earlier and he would like to change the perception.

It would be interesting to see whether India play Delhi speedster Navdeep Saini or persist with Shardul Thakur, who gave away 43 runs in Mumbai.

Ravindra Jadeja looks a certainty and so the choice would be between chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who conceded 55 runs in the first ODI and Yuzvendra Chahal as the lead spinner.

On the other hand, a high on confidence Australia will be looking to seal the issue to register back to back series wins in India, a rare feat for any visiting team. The Finch-Warner combination will look forward to carry the momentum.

Their middle-order comprising the experienced Steve Smith, in-form Marnus Labuschange, Ashton Turner and Alex Carey looks more or less settled.

If all of them fire in unison, along with the openers, then it will hard for the opposition bowlers.

However, it will be quite a test of their middle-order at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium.

Australian bowlers also showed at the Wankhede, why they are considered among the best.

Led by pace spearhead Mitchell Starc, they bundled out India for a sub-par 255 and Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins would be raring to go once again.

Spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, not only contained the runs, but provided crucial breakthroughs and are expected to play a similar role again in the middle overs.

The track here is expected to be a belter and India can draw confidence from the home series against New Zealand in 2017, when they won 2-1 after losing the opener, co-incidentally in Mumbai.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, K L Rahul (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Aaron Finch (Captain), Alex Carey (Wicket-keeper), Patrick Cummins, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschange, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner and Adam Zampa.

Match starts at 1.30.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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News Network
April 30,2020

New Delhi, Apr 30: India and Delhi Capitals batsman Ajinkya Rahane won't mind playing the IPL in empty stadiums if it ensures the safety of the fans.

Speaking in an Instagram Live session arranged by Delhi Capitals, Rahane said: "COVID-19 pandemic has taught everyone that unexpected things can happen, therefore we need to be happy about what we are doing, and should value what we have.

"As for IPL or any other sport, I feel it could be played without spectators. All of us have played domestic cricket in almost empty stadiums, so that’s an experience all cricketers are used to."

"Of course we are nothing without our fans, and that’s why their safety is of utmost importance. Even if they get to watch some Live action from home, I am sure that will be an enjoyable experience as well. The safety of fans is key, and if we need to play in empty stadiums for that, we are open to do it,” Rahane said. IPL 2020 has been indefinitely postponed due the COVID-19 pandemic but there is a possibility that it is played behind closed doors in September.

Speaking on how he has been spending time during the nationwide lockdown, India's Test specialist said he is enjoying bonding with his wife and daughter.

"I'm trying to be as positive as possible during this lockdown, and staying at home with my wife and daughter. It's given me an opportunity to bond with them, and I am also able to help my wife in cooking and cleaning.

"I'm also trying to revive my karate skills, something that I pursued as a child. It definitely helps me in maintaining my agility and fitness, and I am enjoying it a lot," said the 31-year-old.

The experienced middle-order batsman was bought by Delhi Capitals last year before the IPL Auction, and says he is really excited about playing for the franchise.

"It is something I've really been eager about, and it has stemmed in because of the things I've heard about the team from the likes of Ishant, Shikhar, and Shreyas. They’ve told me that it's like a huge family where everyone is always backing each other, and enjoying each other's successes," he said.

Talking about his excitement on playing under head coach Ricky Ponting, Rahane said he has always admired the Australian legend.

"My idols growing up were definitely Rahul Sir and Sachin Sir, but I've always admired Ricky Sir also. I used to try to copy his batting and fielding styles. And therefore, I'm really looking forward to working under him. I'm sure he will help me immensely in my batting as well as overall leadership,” said the former captain of Rajasthan Royals.

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