Super Kings steal victory

April 14, 2013

Super_KingsChennai, Apr 14: Royal Challengers Bangalore relived their worst nightmare as Chennai Super Kings pulled off yet another stunning victory from the jaws of defeat under the most dramatic circumstances at the MA Chidambaram stadium here on a pleasant Saturday night.

Playing in front of a packed stadium, Chennai were struggling to scale down RCB’s 165 at several stages of the match but in the end a combined effort from their batsmen helped them notch their second win on the trot, this time off the final ball.

After Suresh Raina (30), Subramaniam Badrinath (34) and skipper MS Dhoni (33) had contributed in good measure, CSK required 16 runs to win off the final over. Ravindra Jadeja (38, 20b, 3x4, 1x6) edged a four and smacked a six off Rudra Pratap Singh in the first two balls to take the equation to six to win from four balls.

The left-arm pacer did well to bring it down to two to win off the final ball and when Jadeja edged the ball straight down the throat of Ravi Rampaul at third man it seemed like RCB had won.

But what RCB players hadn’t noticed amidst all the commotion was that umpire Anil Chowdhary had signalled a no-ball, handing CSK a four-wicket win.

Slow start

Earlier, Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal opened for RCB, and the West Indian left-hander started off slowly, seeing off the first five balls, and his four off the final delivery off Dirk Nannes, easing some nerves.

The burly left-hander looked to take on Chris Morris in the second over and the South African, spotting Gayle move to his left, bowled wide and the edge carried to Dhoni’s outstretched hands.

At six for one, Kohli walked in and forged a solid partnership with Mayank. The duo managed to keep the run-rate going by finding a boundary in almost every over and added 51 runs for the second wicket before the Mayank (24, 21b, 2x4, 1x6) fell to a brilliant ploy from Ashwin and Dhoni.

Fiery batting

Upon sighting Mayank step down the track, Ashwin fired a ball down the leg-side. Premeditating the line of the delivery, Dhoni slid to his left, collected the ball and whipped off the bails in a flash as Mayank looked on in disbelief.

But the arrival of AB?de Villiers (64, 32b, 8x4, 1x6) only added further momentum to RCB?innings, and Kohli was once again in his elements as they carted Super Kings bowlers to all areas of the park.

They added 82 in 49 balls to take RCB to a point (133/3 in 16.4 overs) from where they could accelerate further but the loss of Kohli in the 17th over to Morris dented their hopes. De Villiers, however, stood up to the test and was the primary reason behind RCB, reaching a good total even as the South African failed to find a solid partner towards the end.

Chasing a competitive total, Chennai got off to the worst start possible. For a mere ten runs – which took them four overs to get -- the hosts lost their opening pair of Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay to a clinical R Vinay Kumar and Ravi Rampaul respectively.

Following which, there was a period of stability in Raina and Badrinath as the duo joined hands and carried CSK to 64 for two in 10 overs – the same score RCB had achieved at that stage in their innings. Even as RCB’s bowlers and their fielders continued to shine under lights, CSK had too much firepower on the day as history repeated itself at the Chepauk.

score board

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Chris Gayle c Dhoni b Morris 4 (10b, 1x4), Mayank Agarwal st Dhoni b Ashwin 24 (21b, 2x4, 1x6), Virat Kohli c Dhoni b Morris 58 (47b, 2x4, 2x6), AB de Villiers c Bravo b Nannes 64 (32b, 8x4, 1x6), Daniel Christian c Raina b Morris 2 (2b), Ravi Rampaul c Dhoni b Bravo 0 (4b), Arun Karthik (not out) 5 (5b); Extras (LB-1, W-6, NB-1) 8; Total (for 6 wkts, 20 overs) 165.

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Gayle), 2-51 (Mayank), 3-133 (Kohli), 4-135 (Christian), 5-138 (Rampaul), 6-165 (de Villiers).

Bowling: Dirk Nannes 4-0-31-1 (w-1, nb-1), Chris Morris 4-0-40-3, Mohit Sharma 2-0-13-0, R Ashwin 4-0-28-1 (w-1), Ravindra Jadeja 2-0-20-0, Dwayne Bravo 4-0-32-1 (w-4).

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: Michael Hussey c Mayank b Vinay 6 (16b), Murali Vijay c Arun b Rampaul 2 (5b), Suresh Raina c Kartik b Mohammad 30 (22b, 5x4), S Badrinath c Mayank b Mohammad 34 (29b, 4x4), MS Dhoni c Arun b Rampaul 33 (23b, 1x4, 2x6), Ravindra Jadeja (not out) 38 (20b, 3x4, 1x6), Dwyane Bravo lbw Rampaul 8 (3b, 1x6), Chris Morris (not out) 7 (4b); Extras (LB-1, W-4, NB-3) 8; Total (for 6 wkts, 19.5 overs) 166.

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Vijay), 2-10 (Hussey), 3-66 (Raina), 4-78 (Badrinath), 5-137 (Dhoni), 6-146 (Bravo).

Bowling: Ravi Rampaul 4-0-31-3, Rudra Pratap Singh 3.5-0-41-0 (nb-2), R Vinay Kumar 4-0-36-1 (w-2), Christian 2-0-13-0 (nb-1), Kartik 3-0-29-0, Mohammad 3-0-15-2 (w-2).

Home ground advantage gives RR upper hand against KXIP

rajasthan_royals

Jaipur, Apr 14: There is something about the Pink City that brings out the best in Rajasthan Royal s. Even in the worst of times, they have invariably raised their game here.

This year too, they have started with a bang at home, beating defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. The result of their last match may not have gone their way, but Royals are always a different unit at home. They will be the clear favourites against Kings XI Punjab, who are coming after a no-show against Chennai Super Kings, on Sunday.

The Royals have struck all the right notes this season and with the next two encounters at home - they play Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, they have every chance to put some valuable points on board. Shane Watson and Shaun Tait did not play in the losing cause against Pune. But even without these two key players, Royals looked comfortable on the field. And that is where the Royals' strength lies.

They have strengthened their squad with the addition of the likes of James Faulkner, Fidel Edwards, and some domestic talents in Harmeet Singh and Rahul Shukla. Whether it is Kevon Cooper, Siddharth Trivedi, or newcomer Shukla, all have contributed to the cause. KKR had a taste of the effective Royals' bowling when they failed to get past a score of 144.

Captain Rahul Dravid has led with firm assurance. At 40, he is the top scorer for the Royals so far. Dravid will want others to bat around him. Ajinkya Rahane, Brad Hodge and Stuart Binny have done that job but he will expect more consistency from them.

For Kings XI Punjab, batting remains a big concern. They did win their opening match against Pune Warrriors, but it was because of their bowlers. They have the variety in bowling and seasoned campaigners in Ryan Harris, Azhar Mahmood and Praveen Kumar.

The batting, though, is heavily dependent on Adam Gilchrist and David Hussey. Youngsters Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra will need to play out of their skins if they hope to put up a fight against an opponent which loves to draw its strength from the home soil.

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News Network
May 25,2020

Karachi, May 25: Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq believes Babar Azam is destined to be a world-class player and is very close to being in the same league as India skipper Virat Kohli and Australia's Steve Smith.

"I don't like comparisons but Babar is currently very close to being in the same class as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith or Joe Root," Misbah said in an interview to Youtube channel, Cricket Baaz.

"He believes in the work ethic that if you want to better Kohli you have to work harder than him at your skills, fitness and game awareness."

The 25-year-old, who was named captain of the Pakistan T20 team ahead of the Australia series in October last year, was recently handed the reins of ODI team as well.

"Making him the T20 captain was a tester. We wanted to see how he will respond to this challenge. All of us agree that he has done a very good job and his biggest plus is that being among the worlds top players he leads by example," Misbah said.

"If you are a performer like Babar then it becomes easier for you to motivate the rest of the team and get things done.

"Even when I was made captain in 2010 my performances were here and there and I was in and out. But captaincy changed my game and mindset and I became a more hard-working and motivated cricketer."

Misbah said Babar always challenges himself and would get better as a captain with experience.

"He is in a zone of his own. He just doesn't want to be in the team. He just doesn't want to play for money. He wants to be the top performer for Pakistan. He is always pitting himself against other top batsmen like Kohli or Smith," he said.

"He loves challenges in the nets and on the field. He has really matured as a player and in time he will get better as a captain with experience."

Babar was the leading run-scorer of the T20I series against Australia last year. He also scored 210 runs, which included a hundred, at 52.50 in the Test series against the same opponents.

In the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka, Babar ended the series with 262 runs with an average of exactly 262.

Misbah feels Babar had changed as a batsman when he got runs in the Tests in Australia.

"Before that he was getting runs in tests but not consistently. In Australia and in the following tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he changed," he said.

Talking about his experience as a head coach, Misbah said: "Having captained, it has helped me a lot. As captain I had to manage everything and also having played under top coaches ... I have seen closely their work ethics and how they managed things.

"It is a learning process. Having remained captain it is a big advantage for coaching because you know the players and their mood swings. You know which player will respond in a given situation,which player is feeling pressure in a scenario.

Misbah said it is not easy juggling between different roles.

"Most important thing as a coach is mentally and psychologically how you handle a group of players," the former skipper said.

"Sometimes captain and coach is different as you have to take tough decisions. Being chief selector makes it it a bit difficult but I had experience of creating and managing teams, I have been building teams since 2003. Till now it is going well."

Misbah feels in Pakistan cricket there were different parameters for judging foreign and local coaches.

"I don't know why it is like this why do we have different eye for locals and foreigners. Maybe we feel they have something special. It looks like every decision by a foreign coach is right. In contrast we tend to be very critical of local coaches no matter what decision they take," he said.

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Agencies
August 9,2020

Manchester, Aug 9: Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler played knocks of 84 and 75 respectively as England gained an improbable three-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test of the three-match series here at the Emirates Old Trafford.

England chased down a total of 277 on the fourth day of the first Test.

Chasing 277, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley put on 22 runs for the first wicket, but Mohammad Abbas finally provided the breakthrough to Pakistan as he had Burns (10) adjudged leg-before wicket in the 12th over.

Skipper Joe Root came to the crease next, and he along with Sibley ensured that the side does not lose any more wickets before the lunch break, and England went into the lunch break at 55/1.

Sibley and Root eventually put up a 64-run stand, but their partnership was finally brought to an end by Yasir Shah as he dismissed Sibley (36) in the 36th over. Soon after, skipper Root (42) was also sent back to the pavilion by Naseem Shah, reducing England to 96/3 in the 39th over.

All eyes were on all-rounder Ben Stokes (9), but Pakistan's Yasir Shah sent him back to the pavilion in the 42nd over, and England was left in a spot of bother. Shaheen Shah Afridi, then also got among the wicket-taking charts as he scalped the wicket of Ollie Pope (7), reducing England to 117/5 in the 45th over.

Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler then got together at the crease, and the duo played in an aggressive manner to retrieve the innings for England. The hosts went into the tea break at 167/5, still, 110 runs away from the target with five wickets in hand.

Buttler and Woakes continued their march to frustrate the Pakistan bowling attack and the duo brought the target within the grasp of England. Both batsmen put up a stand of 139 runs, however, with just 21 runs away from the target, England lost the key wicket of Buttler (75) as Yasir Shah had him trapped in front of the wicket.

With England just needing four more runs for the win, Yasir Shah dismissed Stuart Broad (4), but in the end, Woakes and Dom Bess ensured England's win by three wickets.

For Pakistan, Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets.

Earlier, resuming day four at 137/8, Yasir Shah (33) along with Mohammad Abbas (3*) and Naseem Shah (4) added 32 more runs to the overnight score to give England a target of 277 to win the first Test.

Stuart Broad was the pick of England bowlers as he scalped three wickets.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Feb 13: Veteran India batsman Suresh Raina feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the best captain India ever had.

Raina and Dhoni play for the same IPL franchise -- the Chennai Super Kings --, which is also led by the latter.

"I think we have the best captain who has changed the Indian team like anything. Now we have that same aura in our dressing room," Raina said on 'The Super Kings show' on Star Sports Tamil.

The 38-year-old Dhoni has retired from Test cricket but his future in the limited overs formats is a subject of intense speculation.

The two-time World Cup-winning former captain took a break from cricket after India's exit from the 2019 World Cup in England. He is set to be back in action at the IPL, where he will captain the CSK, starting March 23.

With three restricted stands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai finally being reopened, Raina urged the fans to fill the venue in every CSK home game.

"We have all the seats available. Hopefully, we'll have more fans now so that there is it will be more energy on the field," the 33-year-old Raina, a former India batsman, said.

Raina, who last played for India in 2018, also expressed his excitement about the prospect of playing with CSK's latest acquisitions.

"This year we have a lot of new talent in our team. Piyush (Chawla) is there, then we have Hazelwood, Sam Curran, Sai Kishore from Tamil Nadu, he has been bowling really well for them. So, I think we have a lot of mixture of youngsters and seniors."

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