Royal triumph for Mumbai

October 7, 2013

Royal_triumph

New Delhi, Oct 7: Harbhajan Singh emerged the unlikely hero for Mumbai Indians on Sunday. The off-spinner, who was having a miserable run in the tournament, struck thrice in an over, and spurred his team to Champions League Twenty20 title at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday, giving a fitting farewell to Sachin Tendulkar.

Royals were aggressively pursuing Mumbai’s 202/6 in 20 overs but Harbhajan removed a well-set Ajinkya Rahane (65), Stuart Binny and Kevon Cooper in the 17th over to change the tone and tenor of the match and hand his team a 33-run victory.

The win spoiled the farewell of Royals’s skipper Rahul Dravid, who was playing his last cricket match in any format, but scripted a fairytale end for another legend, Sachin Tendular’s Twenty20 career. It was also Mumbai Indians’second Twenty20 title of the year, having being crown the 2013 IPL champions.

It was a tough chase for the Royals but they batted with such aggression that the small boundaries of Kotla appeared even more shrunken. Despite losing Kusal Periera by the fourth ball of the innings, Rahane and young Sanju Samson (60, 30b, 4x4, 4x6) treated Mumbai attack with such disdain that Royals could well imagine itself near the victory target.

The two spoiled the figures of Mumbai attack, raising 71 runs in the first powerplay, and their 100-run partnership came off 59 balls in just 42 minutes. Pragyan Ojha broke their 109-run stand when he got Samson caught at third man. Harbhajan did the rest.

Amidst the ruins, Dravid (1) walked in for one last time but his stay was cut short by Nathan Coulter-Nile, who yorked his leg stump in the second ball he faced. The crowd rose to give tribute to the legend, known for his solid defence. Royals folded up shortly in 18.5 overs and Mumbai was wrapped in a huddle amidst the haze of fireworks.

It was the batting that gave Mumbai the edge. Dwayne Smith (44) and Tendulkar were quick to set the ball rolling with the West Indian pulling a six off James Faulkner in the opening over. Tendulkar joined him with a cracking cover drive in Faulkner’s next.

Tendulkar’s 35 in the semifinals had generated hope of a bigger knock from the master and the crowd cheered his every move. The felicity with which Tendulkar hit Watson for two back-to-back boundaries in the fifth over only whetted the appetite to witness more of his craft. He clipped the first ball off the pads down to fine leg for four before piercing the mid-off with a vintage drive.

But Watson swiftly ended the euphoria. In his next ball, the third of the over, Tendulkar’s off-stump was somersaulting, the master looking to drive it straight and missing the line. The stadium rose to pay its tribute, his teammates rushing to give him a guard of honour. Tendulkar (15), still mulling about the dismissal, waved his bat to the crowd, who for years have indulged him with unabashed hero worship.

Praveen Tambe (2-19) and Cooper stifled Mumbai’s run-gleaning to 60/1 in 10 overs and seemed to have tightened the grasp when the leg-spinner, the best bowler for Royals, rocked Smith’s off stump.

But Rohit Sharma, replacing Smith, had other plans. The Mumbai skipper, one of the cleanest hitters of the ball, and in irrepressible form, regenerated Mumbai’s innings during his brutal 14 ball stay that contained three fours and two sixes.

Glenn Maxwell, with his own brand of power-hitting, provided the late blitz and whipped Royals to pieces, the last 10 overs producing 142 runs.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Gibraltar, Jan 28: Young Indian Grand Master R Praggnanandhaa pulled off a huge upset, beating former world champion Veselin Topalov in the sixth round of the 18th Gibraltar chess festival to record his fifth straight win here.

The 14-year-old Chennai lad needed just 33 moves to put it across the Bulgarian. He had started with a loss against compatriot P V Nandhidhaa but since then he has been on a winning spree.

Praggnanandhaa, who recently won the world under-18 title, said: "It was very tough to prepare against him."

He is in second spot on five points with six other players and will take on Chinese GM Wang Hao in the seventh round.

Seventeen-year-old Russian GM Andrey Esipenko jumped to sole lead with 5.5 points with a win over Georgia's Ivan Cheparinov

The Russian player would be unpaired in the seventh round as he decided to take a bye.

A bunch of players including Indians — B Adhiban, K Sasikiran, Shardul Gagare, Karthikeyan Murali, SL Narayanan — are in joint third place with 4.5 points.

Adhiban beat Gabriel Flom, while D Gukesh, the world's second youngest Grand Master ever, defeated Martin Percivaldi to move to four points.

Also winning were Karthikeyan Murali against Qi B Chen and Gagare over France's Maxime Lagarde.

Top-seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's moderate run continued as he was held to a draw by GM Aryan Chopra.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Former opener Gautam Gambhir is mighty impressed with the way K.L. Rahul batted during India's comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I and said it amazes him why the right-handed batsman can't play the same way in Tests. On Tuesday, Rahul top-scored with a 32-ball 45 as India chased down the meagre target of 143 with utmost ease at the Holkar Stadium.

"Rahul is in unbelievable form. It amazes me every time I see Rahul bat that why didn't he play the same way in Test cricket," Gambhir told the host broadcasters. "It's not about only white-ball cricket; it is about Test cricket too. He just got into a shell too much. With the kind of quality he posses, he is someone who can get you a 50-ball 100 in Test cricket as well. The kind of shots he has is superb," he added.

Shikhar Dhawan, who is making a return to the team after an injury lay-off, also contributed with a "rusty" 30-ball 32. Both Dhawan and Rahul are virtually playing for the second opener's slot for the World T20, with Rohit Sharma set to be one.

And Gambhir feels going by the current form, Rahul should be opening the batting alongside Rohit in Australia. "You can't compare IPL to international cricket. When you're playing for Delhi Capitals, you know there's no one waiting for the opportunity, but when you're playing for the country and you know there's someone who's actually can replace you, there'll always be pressure. And today it was shown who's in better form," Gambhir said.

The cricketer-turned-politician, however, exuded confidence that Dhawan will bounce back strongly in the next game. "Shikhar Dhawan looked rusty but it's a good thing that he got some runs under his belt. It will help him when he walks out to bat in the next game. Had he got out early, the pressure would have been more," he said.

India will play Sri Lanka in the final T20I in Pune on Friday before taking on Australia in a three-match ODI series beginning January 14 in Mumbai.

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News Network
May 28,2020

May 28: Former India captain and Kings XI Punjab head coach Anil Kumble is hopeful of the IPL happening this year and is not averse to the idea of conducting the cash-rich event without spectators due to the COVID-19 threat.

It is not official yet but there is speculation that the BCCI wants to hold the IPL in the October window after the tournament was postponed indefinitely earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes we are hopeful and optimistic that there is still a possibility (to hold IPL this year) if we can cram in the schedule," Kumble was quoted as saying by Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

"If we are going to have a stadium without spectators, then probably have 3 or 4 venues; there's still a possibility, we are all optimistic," said the former spinner, who is also the chairman of ICC's Cricket Committee.

Former India batsman VVS Laxman said the stakeholders can stage the league in cities which have multiple stadia to reduce travelling by players.

"Absolutely (there is chance to hold IPL this year), and also make sure that all the stakeholders have a say," he said.

"...you should identify one venue, which probably has 3 or 4 grounds; if at all you find that kind of a venue because travel is again going to be quite challenging," said the former stylish batsman.

"You don't know who's going to be where at the airports, so that I'm sure the franchises and the BCCI will be looking into."

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