Kolkata return to winning ways

May 4, 2013

Kolkata

Kolkata, May 4: Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets at the Eden Gardens on Friday to keep their hopes afloat in the Indian Premier League.

The struggling Yusuf Pathan reposed Gautam Gambhir’s faith as he finally returned to form with an unbeaten 49 (35 balls, 3x4, 3x6) -- his highest for the Knight Riders this season.

Pathan shared an unbroken 78-run third-wicket partnership with Jacques Kallis, who struck an unbeaten 33, as the duo settled the issue with 16 balls to spare.

Kallis struck Brad Hogg over his head for a boundary to finish the chase as Pathan remained stranded a run shy of a half-century but his coming to form ensured Knight Riders their fourth win from 11 matches.

Chasing a modest 133, the Knight Riders set the tone with Gambhir (12) and Manvinder Bisla (29) sharing a 41-run opening-wicket partnership that came off just 33 balls.

For the Royals, skipper Rahul Dravid’s decision to bat way down the order at No 7 did not help their cause as they were completely outplayed by the hosts.

Bisla stepped out to Chavan for a six over long-on in the third over, and in the next over, struck back-to-back boundaries off Watson as they raced to 35 for none in the fourth over.

Gambhir never seemed in a hurry as he was happy giving strike to Bisla. With the Royals desperate for a breakthrough, there was some heated exchange in the middle when Watson and Bisla engaged in a war of words as both the skippers joined in the middle.

A brilliant stumping of Gambhir by Dishant Yagnik, who stood up to Watson, broke the opening partnership. Bisla too followed suit which brought Pathan to the middle.

The burly right-hander from Baroda straightaway launched the counter attack, slamming Chavan for a huge six over the bowler’s head.

The misfiring Pathan grew in confidence as there were a flurry of sixes from him with little effect from the Royals’ spin duo of Brad Hogg and Chavan as they took the required rate to less than run-a-ball.

With Pathan taking on the Royals bowlers, Kallis was happy to take the singles as the duo put Knight Riders 19 runs shy of the target.

Earlier, a spin-reliant KKR took full use of the sluggish Eden surface to restrict Rajasthan Royals to a modest 132 for six.

Sanju Samson (40, 1x4, 2x6) was the top-scorer for Royals while Shane Watson made run-a-ball 35 as both shared 44-run third-wicket partnership after the visitors were reduced to 27 for two.

Knight Riders, playing with three spinners in Sachithra Senanayake (2/26), Sunil Narine (1/20) and Iqbal Abdulla (1/22), choked the Royals who could not break free with only 30 runs coming in the last five overs.

Opting to bat, Dravid too had some interesting strategy up his sleeve when he sent James Faulkner at No 3 after Ajinkya Rahane (6) was foxed by Senanayake in an attempt to step out. The move, however, did not work as Faulkner (1) was dismissed in the next over with the Royals pace spearhead becoming Abdulla’s first victim.

Watson remained at the crease as he alongwith Samson re-built their innings with the rookie Kerala youngster showing a positive temperament.

Fresh from a match-winning 63 against Royals Challengers Bangalore, Samson looked in fine nick and made his intentions clear, pulling Abdulla over midwicket for a maximum.

Just when the Royals looked in recovery mode, Knight Riders expectedly brought in their trump card Narine in the 11th over and, as always, the mystery spinner did not disappoint taking the prized scalp of Watson.

Right from the first ball, Narine troubled Watson with his line and length as the Aussie had an anxious outing for four balls before perishing when he was trapped in the middle-stump line.

Knight Riders had Royals in trouble at 83/4 in the 13th over when Yagnik (10) became Senanayake’s second victim.

Samson remained unfazed at the other end as he pulled the Lankan offie over midwicket, in an action replay of his previous six. At the same time, Samson was also sensible in his approach as he did not take any risk against Narine who was as usual tidy.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Sydney, Mar 3: Former Australia pacer Brett Lee foresees a "different" looking India making their maiden T20 Women's World Cup final and attributed their rise to the emergence of star players like 16-year-old Shafali Verma.

Besides opener Shafali, experienced leg-spinner Poonam Yadav has been the other match-winner for India in the competition. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side topped the group stage with four wins in as many games and play their semifinal here on Thursday.

"They've never reached the final but this is a different India team from the one they’ve seen before. They've combined match-winners in Shafali Verma and Poonam Yadav with consistent players with both bat and ball," Lee was quoted as saying by ICC.

"We've always known they have some of the best players in the world but now Harmanpreet Kaur has a team around her that can support the big players, and fill in the gaps when they have an off day."

Only a special effort from their opponents can stop India from reaching their maiden final, feels Lee.

They'll go into the semi-finals full of confidence and it will take an excellent team to stop them from reaching the Final."

Talking more about Shafali, who has got 47, 46, 39, and 29 so far, Lee backed the teen sensation to make a bigger score in the semifinal.

"Shafali Verma has been excellent at the top of the order, she’s brought a fearless energy to India’s batting and been brilliant to watch.

"You feel she can go even bigger as well – she hasn't reached 50 yet, which is both exciting for those watching and worrying for the bowlers.

"We saw from the opener against Australia just how good India can be, and it’s no surprise they’ve continued that form to top Group A," he added.

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
July 22,2020

Derbyshire, Jul 22: Ahead of the upcoming Test series against England, Pakistan pacer Sohail Khan has credited bowling coach Waqar Younis for teaching him how to swing the ball late.

On the third day of the practice match between Azhar Ali's Team Green and Babar Azam's Team White, the 36-year-old Khan returned figures of five for 50 in 20.1 overs which saw the former fold for 181 in the first innings before they staged a comeback on the final day to win the match by six wickets.

Prior to the practice match, Sohail had a conversation with bowling coach Waqar Younis on the art of late swing. The pacer shared how the presence of the bowling legend in the support staff helped him gear up for the four-day match.

"The conditions in England are swing conducive so every fast bowler gets the ball to move. I asked Waqar bhai to teach me how to swing the ball late. It took him only two minutes to explain it to me. It is because of his tips that I took five wickets in the first innings," Khan said in a release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"I am eager to learn from Waqar Bhai. I follow him wherever he goes and speak to him about the art of bowling as he has an abundance of knowledge to share. A few days back I was struggling with something while bowling, I thought of reaching out to him and even before I spoke to him about it, he said he knew what I wanted to talk to him about and he explained it to me in a minute," he added.

During Pakistan's tour of England in 2016, Sohail played a crucial role in helping Pakistan secure a 2-2 Test series draw by returning two five-wicket hauls in as many matches.

In total, he picked up 13 wickets at 25 apiece and finished as the third-best wicket-taker.

"Definitely, it is an honour for me to return to the side. I had taken two fifers here against England in 2016 and now in the practice match, I have started off with five wickets so I am feeling very good. We had been at our homes for the past four months due to coronavirus so starting off on a high feels nice," Khan said.

Prior to Sohail's five wickets, 17-year-old Naseem Shah made a big impact when he took five wickets for Team Green. The strength of Pakistan's pace attack was further established as Mohammad Abbas and Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up three wickets each providing valuable support to Naseem and Sohail respectively.
Naseem and Shaheen finished the match with six and four wickets respectively.

Shedding light on the youngsters' performances, Sohail said: "It gives me immense pleasure to see Naseem Shah. He bowls consistently at 150kph. Just like him, Shaheen Shah Afridi is another good bowler. I like both of them."

"It gave me great happiness to see Naseem pick five wickets in the first innings. He is in rhythm and is looking great. What is astonishing is that he is playing in these conditions for the first time but still he is doing so well. Shaheen has also been phenomenal," he added.

Pakistan and England are slated to play three Tests and as many T20Is against each other. The first Test will be played at Manchester from August 5.

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