Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Kings XI Punjab by 17 runs

April 25, 2019

Apr 25: AB de Villiers played a key role in Royal Challengers Bangalore's win over Kings XI Punjab by 17 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

Chasing 203, Punjab got off to a superb start with Chris Gayle and KL Rahul scoring back-to-back boundaries.

AB de Villiers became the game changer as he dismissed Gayle (23) at long-on off Umesh Yadav.

Mayank Agarwal and Rahul helped Punjab recover with their 59-run stand for the second wicket. Bangalore struck at this stage as Marcus Stoinis dismissed Mayank (35), who was caught by a tumbling Yuzvendra Chahal at midwicket.

In the next over, Moeen Ali got rid of Rahul (42) to put Punjab under pressure.

Nicholas Pooran and David Miller built a strong 68-run partnership to nearly take Punjab home but de Villiers denied the visitors.

Navdeep Saini dismissed Miller (24), who was caught by de Villiers at long-on.

The final over witnessed the dismissal of Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardus Viljoen, which resulted in Umesh Yadav picking three wickets and Punjab finishing on a score of 185/7.

Earlier, asked to bat, AB de Villiers and Marcus Stoinis powered Bangalore, especially in the death overs to post a daunting total of 202 for the loss of four wickets. At one stage even 160 seemed difficult as the hosts were down to 84/4 under 11 overs.

However, an unbeaten 121-run partnership between de Villiers and Stoinis gave the Bangalore bowlers something to defend. De Villiers smashed Mohammed Shami for 21 runs, including two sixes, and slapped another six to Hardus Viljoen in the final over before Stoinis whacked two sixes and as many sixes to score 27 runs from the last over.

De Villiers and Stoinis finished unbeaten on 82 and 46, respectively.

Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel attempted to display their attacking form but the attempt was short-lived. Kohli played a drive into the covers off Shami but Mandeep Singh dismissed him for 13, leaving the full house in silence.

Patel, too, faced a similar fate. Murugan Ashwin got a vital breakthrough as he dismissed Patel (43), who was caught by Ravichandran Ashwin at covers. Big hitter Moeen Ali (4) and Akshdeep Nath (3) returned to the dugout in quick succession without troubling the scoreboard much.

Bangalore will next play against Delhi Capitals on April 28, whereas Punjab will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 29.

Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 202/4 (de Villiers 82*, MP Stoinis 46*, R Ashwin 1-15) beat Kings XI Punjab 185/7 (N Pooran 46, KL Rahul 42, UT Yadav 3-36, NA Saini 2-33) by 17 runs.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Christchurch, Mar 2: India captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the under-fire Rishabh Pant has got a "lot of chances" but the team is not looking to try someone else in the youngster's place just yet as one player can't be singled out in a collective failure.

Pant has been under the scanner for the past one year because of his inconsistent run. His tally of 60 runs across four innings in the 0-2 Test series loss to New Zealand, which concluded here on Monday, has only amplified the debate whether it was prudent to leave out a keeper of Wriddhiman Saha's calibre and back Pant.

"...we have given him (Pant) a lot of chances in the home season as well starting from Australia. Then he was not playing for a bit. In turn he really worked hard on himself," Kohli came to Pant's defence after the series here.

"You need to figure out when is the right time to give someone else a chance. If you push people too early, they can lose confidence," he added.

"...collectively, we didn't perform. I don't believe in singling him out. We take the hit together as a group whether it's the batting group or as a team."

When asked if he believes Pant has taken his place in the side for granted, Kohli made it clear that the culture of this team doesn't encourage anyone to think along those lines.

"I don't see anyone taking his place for granted in this team. That's the culture we have set. People are told to take responsibilities and work hard. Whether it happens or not is a different thing. Then you can have a conversation with the players," he said.

"But no one has come here thinking I am going to play every game or I am indispensable," he added in no uncertain terms.

Kohli, just like head coach Ravi Shastri, made it clear that Pant can make a difference in overseas conditions and he won't like to deviate during future tours.

"The time that he didn't play, he really worked hard on his game. So we thought this is the right time because of his game and the way he plays because he can make a difference lower down the order.

"That was our planning behind it. We can't really fluctuate when it comes to what we planned," he added.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: 'Your character stood out for me than the number of runs you scored," said India skipper Virat Kohli while explaining his decision to give opening Mayank Agarwal a Test debut in the 2018-19 Australia series.

Mayank Agarwal had made his Test debut against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series.

Playing the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Agarwal managed to register a half-century in his very first innings in the longest format.

"I had seen you play for RCB, even then you played international bowlers with conviction and you would take them on. You were performing in first-class matches in a dominating way. That is something always stood out with you, I would say your character stood out for me than the number of runs. I knew you would be fearless without having any baggage," Kohli told Mayank Agarwal in a video posted on the official website of BCCI.

In the longest format of the game, Agarwal has managed to score 974 runs from 11 matches at an average of 57.29 with three centuries as an opening batsman.

The Indian skipper also explained as to what makes him notice in a player and added that it is important that guys in the team look to face new challenges and emerge triumphantly.

"For me, the biggest marker is how a person approaches the game, so for example when you opened and we made Vihari open with you. The first opportunity we presented Vihari to open the batting, he said yes to it and that matters me to the most," Kohli said.

"I opened in my first series for India, I said yes to this opportunity and things worked out fine for me. So, a guy who wants to get into tough situations will come out either holding his head high or learning from his mistakes," he added.

Kohli and Mayank would soon be seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab respectively in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting from September 19 in the UAE.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar keep on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

At present, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings. Kohli has so far played 86 Tests, scoring 7,240 runs with 27 centuries at an average of 53.62.

His knock of 254 against South Africa at Pune in 2019 remains his highest Test score to date. When it comes to ODIs, the current Indian skipper has played 248 matches and has 43 centuries.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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