Royal Challengers Bangalore just about manage to beat Chennai Super Kings in a thriller

Agencies
April 22, 2019

Apr 22: Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the umpteenth time was in line to pull off another incredible chase but finally ran out of luck as Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to beat Chennai Super Kings by one run in another last-ball IPL thriller on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 162, CSK needed a near-impossible 26 off the last over bowled by Umesh Yadav, and Dhoni with 84 runs off 48 deliveries in an innings that had seven sixes showed that nothing is indeed impossible.

Only that Dhoni was at the crease and having consumed dot balls off the previous over, he had to go for the big hits and boy he did it with three sixes and a four.

With two needed off the last ball and Umesh looking increasingly helpless, he managed to bowl a slower delivery and Dhoni missed it only for Parthiv Patel to complete a run-out with non-striker Shardul Thakur inches out of his crease.

In the end, it was Dhoni who lost to RCB, who eked out their third win of the tournament.

It could have been an easy win following the manner in which Dale Steyn (2/29) who has brought the necessary zing that was lacking in RCB's bowling effort bowled a perfect outswinger, to get rid of Shane Watson who was caught by Marcus Stoinis at the slips.

He followed it up with a perfect yorker against an out-of-form Suresh Raina (0), who has always been found wanting against quality fast bowling.

Umesh Yadav despite the odd loose delivery produced extra pace and bounce to get rid of Faf du Plessis (5) and Kedar Jadhav (9) as CSK were left tottering at 28 for 4.

The trusted pair of Ambati Rayudu (29 off 29 balls) and Dhoni started resurrecting the innings. Dhoni hit Stoinis for a six and Rayudu having struggled for long finally found some touch as he pulled Umesh over deep mid-wicket for a six and then hit a boundary over extra cover.

They had a 55-run stand before Rayudu got one from Yuzvendra Chahal (1/24 in 4 overs) angled into his pads. He missed the line and the ball hit the pads and then onto the stumps leaving Dhoni with an onerous task.

Once Jadeja was run-out for 11, CSK were in deep trouble at 108 for 6 but Dhoni carried the fight till the end.

Earlier, Parthiv Patel's attacking half-century and Moeen Ali's final flourish wasn't enough as Royal Challengers Bangalore put up a sub-par 161 for 7 after being put into bat.

Parthiv smashed 53 runs off 37 balls but didn't get a lot of support from the other end until Moeen Ali used the long handle to hit 26 off 16 balls even as AB de Villiers (25 off 19 balls) and Akshdeep Nath (24 off 20 balls) delivered little after promising a lot.

Deepak Chahar (2/25 in 4 overs) was impressive as usual while Ravindra Jadeja's (2/29 in 4 overs) twin breakthroughs were also important in the context of the innings. Dwayne Bravo (2/34 in 4 overs) also chipped in with a couple of wickets in the end.

Virat Kohli (9) hit a couple of boundaries before a thickish edge off a Chahar outswinger brought about his downfall. Mahendra Singh Dhoni took a nice catch behind the stumps.

However, Parthiv and AB de Villiers (25 off 19 balls) added 47 runs in only 4.2 overs with the former South African skipper looking in fine touch.

De Villiers smashed Chahar over square leg while Parthiv also flicked Shardul Thakur (0/40 in 4 overs) for a couple of sixes.

Having scored 16 runs off the final powerplay over, RCB looked in control before De Villiers went for a big shot off a Jadeja delivery only to be dismissed by Faf du Plessis at long-off.

Parthiv was joined by the burly Akshdeep Nath (24, 20 balls), who hit a six off Jadeja, added 41 runs with his senior partner before being caught by Du Plessis off Jadeja's bowling at the stroke of the team's 100-run mark.

The baby-faced Parthiv, whose form has been inconsistent during the tournament so far, was ready to punish the loose balls on the day as he sent a Jadeja half-tracker soaring into the stands for his third six and hit Imran Tahir for a fourth one.

He reached his half-century by pulling Bravo in-front of square but was out the very next ball. Parthiv's innings had two fours and four sixes.

Just when 150 was looking a bit dicey, Moeen hit five boundaries to take RCB past the 160-run mark.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Jun 10: "It is never too late to fight for the right cause," said opening batsman Chris Gayle as he came out in support of former T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy. The debate around racism in sport has kickstarted once again after former Windies T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy alleged racism during his stint with SunRisers Hyderabad in the 2014 Indian Premier League. Taking note of Sammy's revelation, Gayle tweeted: "It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game".

Earlier, Gayle had also revealed that he too has been a victim of racism, and added that racism is something that has been bothering cricket as well.

On Tuesday, Sammy had released a video specifying that the racial slurs against him were used within the SunRisers camp.

"I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people," Sammy said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

"This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for SunRisers Hyderabad, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people," he added.

Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn't know the meaning, and his team-mates used to laugh every time after calling him by that name.

"I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny," Sammy said.

The former Windies skipper has been a vocal supporter of the protests that are currently going on in the United States over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd.

Sammy had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against social injustice and racism.

Ever since the demise of Floyd, protests erupted from the demonstrations in cities from San Francisco to Boston.

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Agencies
April 25,2020

London, Apr 25: Former Australian cricketer Graeme Watson who was fighting cancer, has died at the age of 75.

Primarily a middle-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler, he featured in five Tests from 1967 to 1972 and two ODIs in 1972, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The all-rounder earned the national call during the 1966-67 tour of Rhodesia and South Africa. Watson slammed a half-century in the first innings of the second Test of the series.

However, the medium-pace bowler was ruled of the next test after suffering an ankle injury. He returned for the fourth Test in Johannesburg where scalped his career-best 2 for 67 but failed to leave a mark with the bat as Kangaroos lost the series.

In 1971-72 he moved to Western Australia and played a major role in their Sheffield-Shield win in 1971-72, 1972-73, and 1974-75 seasons.

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Agencies
January 5,2020

Mumbai, Jan 5: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.

The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.

He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.

The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.

He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.

It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).

He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.

He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.

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