RCB take on resurgent Mumbai

May 14, 2012

sports-bangalore

Bangalore, May 14: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s campaign in the IPL?V?has been on an upswing after three successive victories, pushing them close to a berth in the play-offs.

They would, however, have to guard against complacency and hope the Law-of-Averages does not catch up with them when they run into an on-song Mumbai Indians at the M?Chinnaswamy stadium here on Monday.

The Harbhajan Singh-led team are third on the table currently, one behind second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders, grabbing 16 points from 13 matches with eight wins and five losses. The strengths and weaknesses of the squads too match up on some level, but RCB have won all three of their matches against sides from Maharashtra -- Indians and Pune Warriors -- this season, giving the hosts a certain psychological edge going into morrow’s game.

There are a few other significant factors that could shape RCB’s journey forward. After skipper Daniel Vettori rested himself, men in red and gold, led by Virat Kohli, have shown great promise. Vettori’s patchy form might not have been the only reason behind RCB not doing consistently well, but his self-imposed exile meant a place in the final eleven for a game-altering 40-year old.

Sri Lankan great Muralitharan has donned Bangalore colours in seven out of their 13 games and he has made a tangible impact. The highest wicket-taker in Test cricket is Royal Challengers’ second highest wicket-taker with 12 wickets, one wicket behind R?Vinay Kumar, who has played five games more, and the off-spin legend is also the most economical bowler for his team.

Muralitharan has given away a mere 170 runs in 28 overs at an economy of little-over six an over and has an amazing strike rate of 14.

Muralitharan was at his clinical best in the last three games, propelling RCB?to facile victories. Apart from Muralitharan, RCB?carries the Chris Gayle factor. Gayle’s pyrotechnics has been the centre of talk in all the T20 leagues he has played around the world, and his efforts for RCB?too were no exception. The Jamaican, who wears the Organge Cap for the top-scorer of the tournament at the moment, has scored 572 runs from 12 matches at 57.60 to carry RCB to strength. The Challengers’ middle-order seems to have found its range, and the form of AB?de Villiers has been quite encouraging as well.

With their batting and bowling unit striking the right chord, RCB?can look forward to another favourable result against the Mumbaikars, but that’s easier said than done. They have included Herschelle Gibbs in place of an out of sorts James Franklin, and the move fetched desired results as the Sohth African veteran made a fifty against the Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Saturday in Mumbai’s impressive win. Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma, who made a sparkling hundred against KKR, too have been in good rhythm, and add to it the form of Lasith Malinga.

The shaggy-haired Lankan has claimed 20 victims in ten matches, conceding just 216 runs at an 5.46. RCB had emerged comprehensive winner in their last meeting at the Wankhede Stadium a few days back, but the recent form of the Indians suggests a much more intense skirmish this time.

The rival teams (from):

Mumbai Indians: Harbhajan Singh (C), Sachin Tendulkar, Abu Nechim, Amitize Singh, Aiden Blizzard, James Franklin, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Y Chahal, Clint McKay, Herschelle Gibbs, Davy Jacobs, Richard Levi, Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Karthik, Dhawal Kulkarni, K Yadav, Lasith Malinga, Sushant Marathe, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Robin Peterson, Sujit Nayak, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jaydev Shah, Rudra Pratap Singh, T Suman, Pawan Suyal, Aditya Tare, Apporva Wankhede.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Daniel Vettori (C), Mayank Agarwal, KP Appanna, Prashanth Parameswaran, Arun Karthik, Raju Bhatkal, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Kaif, Abrar Kazi, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Charl Langeveldt, Andrew McDonald, Abhimanyu Mithun, Muttiah Muralitharan, Karun Nair, Dirk Nannes, M Gautam, Ryan Ninan, Asad Pathan, Luke Pomerscback, Harshal Patel, Asad Pathan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rilee Rossouw, Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad, S Thiyagarajan, Saurabh Tiwary, R Vinay Kumar, Vijay Zol.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Melbourne, Mar 7: Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup against Australia, India spinner Poonam Yadav said that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has given her a lot of support.

"Harmanpreet has been of immense support. When I got hit for a six in the first over, she came to me and said, 'Poonam, you're one of the most experienced players in the team, and we expect better of you'," Poonam said.

The 28-year-old experienced bowler has played 68 shortest format games for India and taken 94 wickets at an average of 22.66.

She has been in devastating form throughout the tournament and has bagged nine wickets so far.

"So, that kind of stirred something within me. I told myself if my captain has that much faith in me, I should be able to make a comeback," she said.

"I took a wicket in the very next ball, and didn't look back since. Now when I look back at that moment, it means so much in the context of my individual performance and run to the final," she added.

In the opening game against Australia at Sydney Showground, Poonam came within a whisker of the third hat-trick in Women's T20 World Cup history, dismissing Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry before Jess Jonassen was dropped.

The final of the tournament will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on March 8 -- International Women's Day.

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Virat Kohli's natural talent makes him a cricketing equivalent of Roger Federer while Steve Smith's mental fortitude matches that of Rafael Nadal, said South African swashbuckler AB de Villiers comparing the two contemporary greats.

In an instagram chat with former Zimbabwe seamer Pommie Mbangwa, de Villiers spoke about the two batsmen, who are easily the game's biggest crowd-pullers right now.

"It's a difficult one, but Virat is definitely the more natural ball-striker, there's no doubt about that," de Villiers said during his interaction on 'Sports Hurricane'.

"In tennis terms, I'd say he's more like a (Roger) Federer whereas Smith is like a (Rafael) Nadal. Smith is mentally very strong and figures out a way of scoring runs - he doesn't look natural, but he ends up writing records and doing amazing things at the crease.

"I think mentally, Smith is one of the best I have ever seen. Virat has also scored runs all over the world and won games under pressure," de Villiers,himself a modern day great, said.

De Villiers also felt that when it comes to chasing, Kohli is a shade ahead of Tendulkar.

"Sachin is a role model for both of us (him and Kohli). The way he stood out in his era, the things he achieved and with the grace he did all that is a great example for everyone," de Villiers said.

"And I think Virat will also say that he set the standards for us to follow.

"But personally, in a chase, I'd say Virat is the best I've seen in my life. Sachin was amazing in all formats and all situations, but Virat comes out on top while chasing."

The world knows Kohli as a prolific cricketer but for de Villiers, he is a friend, who has interests beyond cricket and is spiritual at one level.

"He's much deeper than just a cricket player...I think most people realise after a while that there's more to life than just cricket," de Villiers said.

"...Virat's always been a thinker, he experiments (with) a lot of things, he loves trying new things out - gym wise, what he puts in his mouth. He thinks a lot about life after life - what's to come, the different religions, we talk about everything."

De Villiers said that he also shares a great bond with Indian captain's actor wife Anushka Sharma, conversing on a lot of issues including family life.

"We go pretty deep and his missus as well, Anushka, we have very deep conversations, which is fantastic. We talk about children and family. We're waiting for that first little Kohli to come.

"It's a good friendship and we always find a way to talk about cricket as well, but 90 per cent of the time we talk about other stuff. It's refreshing and in the middle of a very intense IPL tournament," he shared.

IPL, for de Villiers, is not just a tournament but also about friendships that he cherishes.

"Obviously, when it comes to the IPL in India, it's been more than friendship," De Villiers said, when asked who his best friends in cricket are.

"Virat obviously - not only during the IPL, we chat throughout the year, which means it's different than just the IPL or cricketing friendship.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday condoled the demise of India's super cricket fan, 87-year-old Charulata Patel.

"#TeamIndia's Superfan Charulata Patel Ji will always remain in our hearts and her passion for the game will keep motivating us. May her soul rest in peace," BCCI tweeted.

Patel had made herself a household name after turning up for India's matches during the 2019 World Cup.

She went on to storm social media after she was seen cheering for the Men in Blue during their World Cup clash against Bangladesh.

After the match, the entire Indian side went to meet Patel and both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were seen meeting the octogenarian fan.

"I am a very religious person and have so much trust in God. So, when I pray, it comes true and I am saying that India is going to get the World Cup, definitely," Patel had told ANI during the World Cup.

The 87-year old had caught everyone's eyes when she was ardently cheering for the Indian team when they were batting.

Patel had also stated that she was there in the stadium when India lifted their first World Cup, back in 1983, under the leadership of former cricket Kapil Dev.

"I have been there. When they won the World Cup, I was so proud, I started dancing. And today also, I told my granddaughter that when India is going to defeat Bangladesh, I am going to dance," she had said.

"I have been watching cricket for decades. When I was in Africa, I used to watch it, then I came to this country in 1975. Here I had work because of which I did not get time to watch but I used to watch it on TV. But nowadays as I am not working, so I have the interest and I am very lucky that I get a chance to watch cricket," she added. 

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