Super start for Chennai

September 23, 2013

Super_startRanchi: Sep 23: Riding on a solid batting performance, the formidable Chennai Super Kings opened their Champions League Twenty20 campaign in style, defeating South Africa’s Titans by four wickets in a high-scoring encounter here on Sunday.

Michael Hussey (47) and Suresh Raina (47) clobbered the Titans bowlers to add 89 runs in just 44 balls for the second-wicket, which swung the match decisively in CSK’s favour.

Off the field, CSK supremo N Srinivasan might be facing a lot of trouble but on the field, his players did not have any discomfort in chasing down a daunting target of 186 with seven balls to spare. Dwayne Bravo too played an enterprising innings of 26-balls 38, laced with four fours and two sixes, as Chennai scored 187 for six in 18.5 overs. Hussey and Raina negated AB de Villiers’ whirlwind half-century for the Titans in the first innings as the CSK squeezed their way to a comprehensive win.

De Villiers would have thought the job was done after his 36-ball 77 helped the Titans post a daunting target for Chennai. However, Hussey and Raina made proficient use of an insipid line bowled by the Titan bowlers and stitched a match-winning partnership after the early loss of opener Murali Vijay (0), who was bowled by an arm ball by Roelof van der Merwe. The Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium again witnessed a brief power failure when one of the floodlights conked off and players left the arena. After a brief stoppage, players came back on the field and Merwe completed the first over.

Titan bowlers erred by feeding Hussey and Raina with short-pitched deliveries that were dispatched to the deep mid-wicket fence on most occasions. Both put on display their prolific shotmaking and quick running between the wickets as they brought the home crowd to their feet.

The pair was separated in the eighth over when Morkel caught Raina off David Wiese at mid-off. Raina’s 28-ball knock was laced with five fours and two sixes.

Hussey too made his way back to the pavillion after being caught by de Villiers at mid-off. Hussey faced 26 deliveries and hit seven fours and one six.

Dwayne Bravo and S Badrinath combined well for the fourth wicket and took Chennai from 114 for three in 10 overs to 172 for four. Bravo showed no mercy to Titans bowlers as he continued the onslaught and struck two sixes during his innings to take Chennai within sniffing distance of victory.

Just at the business end of the innings, Chennai lost three quick wickets in the form of Bravo, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (7) and Ravindra Jadeja (0) but Albie Morkel (4) and Badrinath ensured no more casualties.

Earlier, de Villiers’s hurricane knock and skipper Davids’ responsible 52 paved the way for Titans’ challenging total against the home favourites.

Sent in to bat, South African T20 runners-up Titans built on the 39-ball 76-run partnership between Davids and de Villiers for the second wicket to post a competitive total. De Villiers played a whirlwind knock and treated the CSK bowlers with disdain. The right-hander was at his destructive best and blasted as many as seven sixes and three fours during his brutal display of strokeplay.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Melbourne, Jun 20: If 15 teams can be allowed to enter Australia for the T20 World Cup then fans will not be stopped from watching live action from the stadiums, Cricket Australia's interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Saturday.

Hockley replaced under-fire Kevin Roberts, who recently got the boot from Cricket Australia, which is grappling with financial woes.

Different possibilities are being worked out for the T20 World to go ahead as scheduled later this year and one of them is to host the tournament before empty stands in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Hockley said crowds will be allowed, though, hosting 15 teams with players, officials and support staff is "complex" as of now, hinting that probably the ICC flagship event could be pushed back.

"The reality is, and we've got much more understanding about this in recent weeks, is crowds are most likely to come back before international travel. Our biggest challenge is getting 15 teams into the country," Hockley told cricket.com.au when asked if he would like to see the World Cup proceed without fans.

"If I compare it with the prospect of a bilateral tour, you're talking about bringing one team in and then playing individual matches. But the prospect of bringing 15 teams in and having six or seven teams in one city at the same time, it's a much more complex exercise."

When specifically asked whether crowds would be permitted by the time borders have opened to the point that 15 teams will be allowed to travel to Australia, Hockley replied in an affirmative.

"That's the current thinking, yes."

Hockley said it came as a shock when he was asked by Cricket Australia to replace Roberts.

"I've had very mixed emotions. I was very shocked to be asked. I didn't see it coming at all, so I probably haven't had time yet to process it. I feel very sad for Kev (Roberts). On the other hand, I feel this is a massive privilege to be asked, it's a massive responsibility and a massive opportunity even if it's only for the next few months," he said.

Hockey did not commit when asked if he would like to assume the role full time, but he did say that he would quit as CEO of the T20 World Cup Organising Committee.

"My approach throughout my entire career has been to focus on doing the best job I can with what I've been tasked with, and the future will look after itself. And I'll continue the same approach.

"That's (T20 World Cup) been a real priority over the last 48 hours. We're reasonably well progressed and we will be appointing an interim because you just can't do both," he said.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
August 3,2020

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will not end its partnership with Chinese companies. Vivo, the Chinese smartphone maker, is the main sponsor of the new IPL season as well. Apart from Vivo, PayTM and Dream 11 will also be at the helm of the 13th edition of the IPL. The IPL governing council meeting on Sunday decided to retain the old sponsors.

As soon as the IPL GC announced the decision of retaining the sponsors, a huge number of fans took to Twitter to slam the board for the same. #BoycottIPL started trending as the users urged others to boycott the tournament for the Chinese connection.

Earlier, the demand for exclusion of Chinese companies from the IPL was strong in the wake of the India-China border dispute. But the BCCI cannot abruptly end its collaboration with them. Because of the signed contract itself. And in this age of declining economy, it is difficult to find new sponsors quickly.

The current BCCI contract with Vivo is for five years. Vivo has invested Rs 2,199 crore to become the main sponsor of the IPL. The contract was signed in 2017. However, the BCCI’s move is paving the way for new discussions as calls are mounting across the country to boycott Chinese companies.

The BCCI announced other important decisions besides retaining sponsors. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10. The Indian government has given permission to the BCCI to hold the IPL in the UAE. With this, all obstacles in the way of organizing the tournament were removed.

The IPL matches will be played at 7.30 pm Indian time (6 pm UAE time). Most matches are about one match a day. There are a total of ten ‘double headers’ (two matches a day) in the tournament. Franchisees are allowed to appoint as many replacements as they want in the new season in view of the new health situation. At the same time, the maximum number of players a franchise can accommodate is 24. The BCCI is also planning to host a women’s IPL tournament.

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Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

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