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Sundar's triple strike and Dhoni's cameo take Pune into final

[email protected] (Agencies)
May 17, 2017

Mumbai, May 17: When it was decided that R Ashwin would not be able to participate in the IPL after the sports hernia he suffered as a result of bowling endless overs in India's grand Test home season, Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) were wondering who could replace him.

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Little did they realise that a 17-year-old kid from Chennai, who answers to the unique name of Washington Sundar, would perform that role with the same poise that the star Indian off-spinner usually shows. Sundar has been a phenomenon for RPS as skipper Steve Smith has trusted him with the difficult job of bowling in the powerplays.

He entrusted him with that role again on Tuesday as RPS took on Mumbai Indians in the first Qualifier of IPL 10. Sundar vindicated his skipper's faith and broke the back of MI's top-order as he prised out the wickets of skipper Rohit Sharma (2), Ambati Rayudu (0) and Kieron Pollard (7) to rock the hosts in their chase of 162. Sundar's figures were a surreal 4-0-16-3.

Rohit was out lbw attempting a sweep to a straight delivery and Rayudu and Pollard were caught at mid-wicket by Steve Smith.

Those three strikes and a hectic finish by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who rediscovered his six-appeal while belting 40 (26 balls, 5x6) and useful half-centuries by Manoj Tiwary 58 (48 balls, 4x4, 2x6) and Ajinkya Rahane 56 (43 balls, 5x4, 1x6) enabled RPS to beat MI by 20 runs and score their third win over MI this season and advance to the final in Hyderabad to be played on May 21.

RPS will meet the winners of the second qualifier and it could well be MI again. The two-time champs, who ended with 142/9, chasing RPS' 162/4, will travel to Bengaluru now and get another crack at the final and get a chance to avenge their three losses to RPS if they manage to win the game against the winner of the eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders today.

MI play their second Qualifier on Friday.

Rohit may be third on the list of highest scorers in the IPL with 4157 runs. But in the play-offs, he has scored just 130 runs in ten games. Rayudu, Pollard and the two Pandya brothers played forgettable strokes after Lendl Simmons was run out in an unfortunate fashion at the non-striker's end while backing up too far and Shardul Thakur's deflection off a Parthiv Patel straight drive hit the stumps.

Thakur also bowled well, using the slower ones to good effect to dismiss Krunal Pandya and Patel in the 15th over to snuff out any hopes of a revival. Patel though showed his value at the top by playing a lone but classy hand of 52 (40 balls, 3x4, 3x6).

MI would be excused in thinking that Tuesday's was a contest that got away from them. Their bowlers had kept things in check till the 18th over despite the polish shown by Rahane.

At the end of the 18th over, RPS were 121 for 3 with Dhoni struggling to middle the ball and Tiwary unable to find the boundaries consistently but Mitchell McClenaghan's fourth over and the 19th of the innings went for 26 as Dhoni hit him for two sixes and Tiwary hit him for another. McClenaghan also bowled a no ball and two wides in the same over.

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March 21,2020

London, Mar 21: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended all professional cricket till May 28, delaying the start of the new season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ECB took the decision following discussions with the First-Class Counties, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).

"It was agreed that, given the current information available, a seven-week delay to the start of the season is the most appropriate approach," an ECB media statement said.

The Board also announced that it is working on three new options, including the three-Test series against West Indies, the T20 Cup and the women's schedule against India, for a possible start in June, July or August.

"Close liaison with the Government will continue, with discussions on the potential of starting the season behind closed doors and giving sports fans the opportunity to live broadcast action," the statement said on Friday.

"The potential for reduced versions of competitions, should the season become further truncated, will also be discussed."

The ECB said it will meet as needed to review the position and make further decisions as the UK situation unfolds.

"During this period of deep uncertainty it is the ECB’s first priority to protect the wellbeing of everyone within the cricket family, from players, to fans and colleagues across the game,’’ ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said.

"The decision to delay the start of the season has been essential, given the circumstances the nation faces. I am reassured by the collaborative effort from across the game that together, we will make the very best of whatever length of season we are able to safely schedule in the coming months," he added.

He said this would give the ECB time to keep pace with a fast-moving situation and continue to plan for how a revised season might look.

"Critically, we can also remain as flexible and adaptable as possible, within the obvious restrictions we face."

Last week, England's tour of Sri Lanka was called off mid tournament in view of the rising threat of the pandemic.

"Securing the future of the game will be a primary focus as we plot a revised schedule with an emphasis on the most financially important forms of the game for the counties across international and domestic cricket," Harrison said.

The COVID-19 global death toll has climbed past 11,000 with more than 250,000 infected. In UK, close to 4000 have tested positive so far and 177 died.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Jul 2: Cricket Australia has decided to not use the Dukes ball from this summer's Sheffield Shield, having used it alongside Kookaburra for four seasons.

CA has confirmed that the Kookaburra ball will be used for the entire 2020-21 first-class season.

Australia has been using Dukes ball since the 2016-17 season in Shield matches with an aim to help its cricketers prepare for the hostile English conditions.

CA's Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, said the decision to axe the Dukes was the right call. "The introduction of the Dukes ball has been a worthwhile exercise, particularly in the lead up to overseas Ashes series where the Dukes is used so well by our English opponents," Roach said.

"We have been happy with how the ball has performed when used in Australian conditions over the past four seasons. We do, however, feel that reverting to one ball for 2020-21 will provide the consistent examination of our players over a full season that CA and the states are presently seeking. The Kookaburra is the ball used for international cricket in Australia and many parts of the world and we see benefits this season of maximising our use of it," he added.

Roach said the ineffectiveness of spinners in first-class cricket in recent times played a role in CA's decision to do away with the Dukes. "We have noted that spin bowlers in the Sheffield Shield have been playing less of a role in recent seasons, most notably in games when the Dukes ball is in use. We need spinners bowling in first-class cricket and we need our batters facing spin. We hope that the change to one ball will have a positive benefit here," he said.

The CA official, however, didn't rule out the possibility of re-introducing it later.

"We see a definite opportunity to reintroduce the Dukes ball at some stage in the future."

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Islamabad, Aug 7: Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, known for his blistering deliveries on the cricket field, recently baffled many with a deadly off-field bouncer by claiming he is willing to eat grass if it enabled an increase in budget for his country's Army!

"If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army," said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.

The 'Rawalpindi Express', considered the fastest bowler in history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.

"I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only," the once feared fast-bowler said.

Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been strained in the recent months over several issues, the latest being Pakistan's attempt to broach in the UNSC the issue of Kashmir on the first anniversary of the India's move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and to split the erstwhile state into two union territories .

Pakistan also has not been in a good financial position and under prime minister Imran Khan, himself an all rounder cricketer, has added nearly USD 22 billion, that is 35 per cent to the nation's international debt pile in the last two years, according to an Asia Times report in July.

While Pakistan recently received USD 1.39 billion from the IMF to cushion the economic shocks caused due to COVID-19 outbreak, Akthar had a few months ago proposed that a joint cricket match be played between India and Pakistan to raise funds to fight the coronavirus. The suggestion that was put down by cricketers in India.

Meanwhile the 'Pindi boy' whose deadly pace and bounce was once dreaded by batsmen had recently taken to Twitter to deny former India cricketer Virender Sehwag's claim of sledging him.

Sehwag along with other Indian crickerters such as Harbhajan Singh and even Rahul Dravid had been at the receiving end of Akthar's sledging and antics during their playing days.

"Yes, totally self made story by him. Mujhe yeh bol k bach k jana kidhar tha us nay," Akthar tweeted to a report in which Sehwag claimed that he had sledged the 'Rawalpindi Express' by telling him that Sachin Tendulkar was his father.

During an awards ceremony Sehwag had recounted that fed up with Akthar's sledging and retaliated by telling him to say the same things to Tendulkar, who smashed the 'Pindi boy' for a six. Sehwag quipped that he told Akthar then that "Baap baap hota hai".

In the recent ARY interview, asked about the allegation made against him by former India cricketer Virendra Sehwag that he makes pro-India comments for greater following on social media channels, Akhtar said, "I cannot talk on the basis of hate." 

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