Delhi Capitals look to prove a point in eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad

Agencies
May 8, 2019

May 8: The road to the final has become difficult but the Delhi Capitals have the means to drive their way through the obstacles, starting with the IPL eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Re-branded before the start of the 12th season of the Indian Premier League, Delhi Capitals have been one of the top sides in this edition, playing cricket never seen before from them.

It is a bit harsh on the Delhi Capitals that they are playing the do-or-die game despite securing 18 points after nine wins and five losses from 14 matches.

Despite winning three matches more than Hyderabad, severely weakened by the departure of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow for their World Cup national camps, DC find themselves in the same boat as SRH and a defeat will knock them out of the league.

The big loss to Chennai Super Kings hurt them a lot.

For a while before that drubbing, DC battled for the top spot with three-time winners Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians before finishing third at the end of league engagements.

Delhi Capitals have never reached the IPL final, never made the top-two, and ventured into the top-four for the first time since 2012.

Considering the results and consistency, it seemed DC's search for that elusive winning combination has finally ended, which brought the smiles back on the faces of fans after years of disappointment.

There have been the failures too. After a dominant start against Mumbai, Delhi went down to CSK, suffered one of their worst collapses ever against Kings XI Punjab and lost a home game to SRH.

Things turned around after the SRH game and Delhi emerged as one of the best teams on the road this season.

Picked in the trading window, India opener Shikhar Dhawan lived up to the expectations of the team management and franchise, scoring over 450 runs.

Along with the young Prithvi Shaw, the experienced Dhawan formed a fine opening combination and scored briskly in the powerplay overs.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer (over 400 runs) showed immense maturity while leading the side and also played some substantial knocks.

Ignored from the World Cup squad at the expense of Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant has proved his worth in the side with his handy cameos at crucial junctures.

Delhi were also helped by the presence of two of cricket's greatest brains Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly.

They will miss the services of pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada but DC have enough firepower in bowling to surprise SRH, who became the first team in IPL history to qualify for the playoffs with 12 points.

While the duo of Warner and Bairstow played a pivotal role in SRH's performances and dominated the powerplay better than other teams, the likes of Manish Pandey stepped in after they left to be with their respective national teams.

In bowling, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneswar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed have done just enough to help Sunrisers Hyderabad keep things.

In Kane Williamson, SRH have a dependable captain and he will expect a little more from his New Zealand team-mate, Martin Guptill.

It will be another opportunity for Vijay Shankar to make a mark before flying to the United Kingdom for the World Cup.

Teams (likely XI):

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Rishabh Pant, Colin Ingram, Sherfane Rutherford, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Trent Boult

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Wriddhiman Saha, Martin Guptill, Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (capt), Vijay Shankar, Yusuf Pathan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, K Khaleel Ahmed.

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News Network
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday called the 1983 World Cup win as the 'landscape' changing moment for the game of cricket in the country.

Today, India is celebrating the completion of the 37 years of the maiden World Cup triumph under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"Today 37 years ago, changed the cricketing landscape in India. Thank you @therealkapildev and team for making the game a career for many of us today. Deeply indebted," Ashwin tweeted.

In 1983, in the finals between India and West Indies, the latter won the toss and opted to bowl first.

The Kapil Dev-led side managed to score just 183 runs as Andy Roberts took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes picked up two wickets each.

Defending 183, India did a good job of keeping a check on the Windies run flow, reducing the side to 57/3.

Soon after, the team from the Caribbean was reduced to 76/6 and India was the favourites from there on to win the title.

Mohinder Amarnath took the final wicket of Michael Holding to give India their first-ever World Cup title win.

In the finals, West Indies was bowled out for 140, and as a result, India won the match by 43 runs.

Kapil Dev lifting the trophy at the balcony of Lord's Cricket Ground still remains an image to savour for all the Indian fans.

In the finals, Mohinder Amarnath was chosen as the Man of the Match as he scored 26 runs with the bat and also picked up three wickets with the ball.

India has been the regular participant in the World Cup from its beginning to the latest edition. The first edition was held in 1975 and from there on, it has taken place after a span of every four years.

West Indies won the first two World Cup titles (1975, 1979) and was the runner-up in 1983. India has won the title two times, in 1983 and in 2011.

MS Dhoni captained the 2011 team to win their second title after 28 years. Australia has won the tournament five times (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).

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News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday extended wishes to the "most prolific batsman of all time" Sachin Tendulkar on his 47th birthday.

ICC took to Twitter and wrote: "Happy birthday to Sachin Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman of all time! To celebrate, we will give you the opportunity to vote for his top ODI innings in a bracket challenge! Stay tuned to join the celebrations."

The Maharashtra-born player had an illustrious career in the game, creating several records.
Tendulkar made his debut in Test cricket on November 15, 1989. In the same year on December 18, he played his first ODI match.

The legendary cricketer has the most number of runs in the longest format of the game, amassing 15,921 runs. Along the way, Tendulkar scored 51 Test centuries, most by any player.

Things are no different in ODI cricket as Tendulkar atop the list of most runs in this format as well. He has accumulated 18,426 runs in ODI which includes 49 tons.

Tendulkar represented the country in six World Cups during his career that lasted for 24 years. He was the part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad.

This year, Master Blaster decided not to celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

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News Network
July 23,2020

New Delhi, Jul 23: With one year to go for the Olympic Games to begin in Tokyo on July 23, 2021, Indian women's hockey team skipper Rani Rampal on Thursday said the side has performed well against top teams in recent times and can do the same at the Olympics.

The Indian team has competed well against top teams in the recent past and has registered memorable victories at the FIH Series Finals and the FIH Olympic Qualifiers last year.

"We have competed against top teams in the recent past and we have shown that our team has the capability of winning a medal and making our country proud at the Olympics. We have a good group of experienced players, who are guiding the junior players very well. Our team has been getting better with each tournament we have played and we will definitely improve our game even further in the next one year," said the 25-year-old said in a statement.

Speaking about her participation at the Olympics, Rani said that the experience will help her make better decisions at the Tokyo Olympics.

"It was great to be a part of the Olympics in Rio. We made history by qualifying for the tournament after 36 years. It was a great feeling to be playing at the biggest of stages. Even though we didn't register the best of results, I have certainly learned a lot by playing the Olympic Games matches in 2016. I am sure all the players, who played in the 2016 Olympics, will make much better decisions on the pitch at the Tokyo Olympics, based on their experience in Rio," she said.

The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, while the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5, 2021.  

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