Bravo! CSK make grand return

Agencies
April 8, 2018

Mumbai Apr 8: Dwayne Bravo batted like a champion as Chennai Super Kings made a dream comeback to the Indian Premier League with a thrilling one-wicket victory with one ball to spare against defending champions Mumbai Indians, here on Saturday.

Needing seven off the last over, an injured Kedar Jadhav (24 n.o), unable to run due to a hamstring problem, played three dot balls before playing lap shot over fine leg off Mustafizur Rahaman followed by a cover drive to end the match on a winning note.

Chasing a tricky target of 166 on a track that had seam movement and bounce, CSK were down in the dumps but Bravo's incredible 68 off 30 balls with seven sixes turned it in favour of the 'Canary Yellow' brigade. The 18th and 19th overs bowled by Mitchell McLenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah were taken for 20 each including five sixes as Bravo once again showed why MS Dhoni values him so much.

Hardik Pandya (3/24) bowled through considerable pain while rookie leg-spinner Mayank Markande (3/23) was brilliant on his debut but Bravo changed it all.

IPL's highest ever run-accumulator Suresh Raina (4) didn't stay long as the India all-rounder got one to climb up from back of the length with the left-hander giving an easy catch to Krunal Pandya stationed at the edge of the 30-yard circle at mid-on.

Leg-spinner Markande then came into action. He removed Ambati Rayudu (22) with a googly as he tried an ambitious slog sweep.

Then came the prized wicket of MS Dhoni (5) as the skipper failed to read the rookie leg-break bowler's wrong 'un, trying to defend him off the backfoot. The result was a plumb leg-before decision leaving CSK reeling at 51 for 4.

Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar and Harbhajan Singh departed in quick succession but Bravo came and conquered.

Krunal shines

Earlier, all-rounder Krunal smashed a quickfire 41 off 22 balls as Mumbai Indians recovered from a poor start to post a challenging 165 for 4. Mumbai were struggling at 20 for 2 after openers Evin Lewis (0) and skipper Rohit Sharma (15) were dismissed cheaply on a track that assisted seamers early on.

A 78-run-third wicket stand between Suryakumar Yadav (43 in 29 balls) and Ishan Kishan (40 off 29 balls) put MI back on track before Pandya brothers Krunal and Hardik added 52 in 5.2 overs to take their team past 160-run mark.

For CSK, veteran Watson (2-29) was the pick of the bowlers.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Jun 20: Bengaluru FC (BFC) have signed Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva for a one-year deal, the ISL club said in a statement on Saturday.

As per the agreement, BFC have the option of extending Silva's contract for another year.

The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent the better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China.

Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League.

His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club.

The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn't materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move.

"I've signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city," said Silva.

Silva, thus, became BFC's first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals with Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu.

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva's addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring.

"Cleiton has a proven track record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we're looking forward to working with him," he said.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels there are a lot of similarities between the Virat Kohli-led Team India and the Pakistan team when Imran Khan had led it as both captains instill strong self-belief in their respective teams.

Manjrekar also said that Pakistan under Imran had found different ways of winning matches even when it seemed all was lost.

"India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self belief is strong," Manjrekar tweeted.

The cricketer turned commentator expressed his opinion after India completed a rare 5-0 whitewash with a seven-run victory over New Zealand in the final T20 International in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Manjrekar also lauded KL Rahul, now also shouldering wicket-keeping duty, for his impressive showing in recent times.

"Samson & Pant... the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat's batting 'smarts' (mind) into their game," Manjrekar wrote.

The victory at the Bay Oval saw India stretch their record for most successive T20I wins.

This was their eighth win in a row, bettering the previous three instances when they won seven successive matches.

Kohli is the most successful Test captain in Indian cricket history, winning 11 consecutive series at home and are on top of the ICC rankings.

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