Pandya's cameo guides Mumbai to 5-wicket win over Bangalore

Agencies
April 16, 2019

Mumbai, Apr 16: Hardik Pandya`s (37 unbeaten off 16) quickfire cameo down the order handed Royal Challengers Bangalore their seventh defeat this season as Mumbai Indians won their Indian Premier League (IPL) tie at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday by five wickets.

Despite a great start, Mumbai faltered during the slog overs but Pandya rescued his side as they clinched the contest with an over to spare.

Chasing a competitive 172 for victory, Rohit Sharma (28 off 19) and Quinton de Kock gave a perfect start to Mumbai`s innings, taking them to 52 for no loss in the initial five overs.

Moeen Ali was the first to strike as his off-break delivery clattered Sharma`s stumps, leaving Mumbai at 70/1 in the eighth over.

Just three balls later, Ali once again jolted the hosts as he picked de Kock (40 off 26) in front of the wickets.

Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav then forged a 33-run partnership as they repaired the major damage but Yuzvendra Chahal packed both of them back in short time to leave Mumbai reeling at 129/3 in the 16th over.

It seemed Mumbai would suffer a batting collapse but it was Pandya who made sure to help his team cross the line as the all-rounder and his brother Krunal Pandya (11 off 21) took Mumbai to 148 before the latter became a victim of Mohammed Siraj.

With 22 needed off the last couple of overs, Pandya showed his cameo with the bat as he smashed Pawan Negi for the required runs in just an over to help Mumbai register their fifth win this season.

For Bangalore, Chahal and Ali picked couple of wickets each.

Earlier, AB de Villiers` scintillating knock (75 off 51) with Ali`s 50 off 32 propelled Bangalore to 171/7.

Despite some early blows, de Villiers and Ali anchored Bangalore`s innings with a valiant 105-run partnership for the third wicket before Lasith Malinga (4/31) rattled the middle order.

The visitors lost their skipper Virat Kohli (8) with just 12 runs on board. Kohli was trying to force a Jason Behrendorff delivery through the off-side, got cramped, and ended up giving an inside edge to de Kock behind the wickets.

Parthiv Patel (28) showed some resistance, taking his side near the 50-run mark before he was sent back by Hardik Pandya in the seventh over. De Villiers was then joined by Ali and the duo denied the hosts any further wicket, anchored the innings and took the team past the 100 run mark.

Enroute, they also notched up their respective half-centuries with the team looking comfortable at 144/2 in 17 overs.

Malinga finally shattered the partnership by packing Ali back in the 18th over. The Sri Lankan pacer went on to rock the lower middle order, sending back Marcus Stoinis (0), Akshdeep Nath (2) and Negi (0) to the hut in quick succession.

De Villers finally departed trying to convert a single as he fell short of the crease. The South African superstar`s knock was laced with six boundaries and four maximums.

Behrendorff and Pandya also picked a wicket each.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians: 172/5 in 19 overs (Quinton de Kock 40, Hardik Pandya 37 not out; Moeen Ali 2/18) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore: 171/7 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 75, Moeen Ali 50; Lasith Maling 4/31) by 5 wickets.

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News Network
January 15,2020

Dubai, Jan 15: India skipper and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was on Wednesday named captain of the International Cricket Council's ODI and Test teams of the year, capping off a memorable season for the world No.1.

Apart from Kohli, there were four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

While the Test team featured double-centurion Mayank Agarwal, opener Rohit Sharma, speedster Mohammed Shami and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav found a place in the ODI side.

Kohli enjoyed a tremendous run in both the formats in 2019. The 31-year-old hit his seventh Test double hundred on the way to a career-best unbeaten 254 against South Africa in October last year.

It was a breakthrough year for opener Agarwal, who smashed two double tons, one century and went beyond the fifty-run mark twice. He hit a career-best score of 243 against Bangladesh in November.

Kuldeep, too, enjoyed a memorable year as he joined the golden list of bowlers with two hat-tricks. The chinaman claimed his second ODI hat-trick of his career against the West Indies last month.

In the absence of Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Shami rose to the occasion making the best in the business hop, skip and jump with his pace, swing and bounce through the season. He scalped 42 wickets in 21 ODIs over the last 12 months.

The ICC's Teams of the Year 2019:

ODI Team of the Year (in batting order): Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope, Virat Kohli (captain), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

Test Team of the Year (in batting order): Mayank Agarwal, Tom Latham, Marnus Labuschagne, Virat Kohli (captain), Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, BJ Watling (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Neil Wagner, Nathan Lyon.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Apr 13: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir says if IPL is not played this year, it will be difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to make a comeback to the Indian team.

Dhoni last played for India in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July last year.

Since then he hasn't played any competitive cricket and legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have already said that it's getting increasingly difficult for the Jharkhand dasher to make an international return after such a prolonged sabbatical.

He was expected to be seen in action at this year's IPL but the chances of T20 league being played are remote due to the COVID-19.

"If the IPL does not happen this year, then it will become very difficult for MS Dhoni to make a comeback. On what basis can he (Dhoni) be selected since he’s not been playing for the last one or one and a half year," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

The 38-year-old Gambhir picked KL Rahul, who has been keeping in ODIs, as an "apt replacement" for Dhoni.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

"Obviously his (Rahul's) keeping is not as good as Dhoni’s, but if you are looking at T20 cricket, Rahul's a utility player, can keep and bat at No. 3 or 4. If the IPL does not happen, then Dhoni’s chances for a comeback look dim.

"Ultimately, you are representing India, so whoever dishes out the best performance and can win the match for India should play for the team," added Gambhir.

The southpaw also felt that retirement was Dhoni's personal decision.

"As far as his retirement plans go by, that's his personal choice," said Gambhir.

However, his former teammate and test specialist VVS Laxman feels that Dhoni can continue playing IPL.

"Not only this IPL, he (Dhoni) will probably play in the next couple of IPLs, and then we will take a call about his future as a cricketer," Laxman said on the same show.

However, Laxman, a veteran of 134 Tests, said that the new selection committee, chaired by former spinner Sunil Joshi, will have to discuss Dhoni's future with him.

"Dhoni will be very clear, as far as his plans are concerned, I'm sure he must have communicated that with (captain) Virat Kohli, (coach) Ravi Shastri immediately after the 2019 World Cup in England," said Laxman.

"The new selection committee will have to sit down with MS Dhoni and understand his future, as far as Indian cricket is concerned. But MS Dhoni will continue to play for CSK and do well for CSK," said Laxman, who amassed 8,781 Test runs.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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