Category: Cricket

India captain Virat Kohli is the most complete cricketer across formats, England Test captain Joe Root has said.

Root said he didnt consider himself in the top bracket of batsmen, including Australia’s Steve Smith, and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.

“I try not to measure myself against other players. But I do watch a lot of how they go about constructing different types of innings across the three formats. You’re looking at three of the greatest players the game has seen,” Root was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“Virat is probably the most complete player out of the three of them across formats. His ability to chase things down in the limited-overs format and to pace it as well as he does as often as he does and be not out at the end is extraordinary. He’s got a very good all-round game but you wouldn’t say he’s weaker against spin or pace,” Root said.

The England captain said that Kohli had learnt from his past mistakes and had handled the pressure of being India captain well.

“He obviously struggled on his first tour to England, but he scored really heavily when he came back. And, similarly, elsewhere in the world, he’s put in massive performances. All that with the weight of India on his shoulders, as well,” said Root.

Root called his England team-mate Jos Buttler as the best white ball player the game has ever seen, though he felt that the world is yet to see the best of Buttler.

“The way he can play a number of different scenarios. He can just demoralise attacks and very quickly swing games massively in your favour,” he said.

Also Read: IPL First: Kohli plays 200 games for a single team

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya became the first player in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) to take a knee in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.

On Sunday, Pandya, who made a brilliant 21-ball 60, went down on a knee with his right arm raised after reaching his half-century off the penultimate ball of the innings against Rajasthan Royals. He signalled towards the Mumbai Indians dugout to which stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard responded with a raised right fist during the match which Rajasthan won at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

After the match, the all-rounder posted a picture of his gesture on his social media handles with the caption, “Black Lives Matter”.

Sportspersons have been coming out in open and speaking more about racism since the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police personnel in May earlier this year.

Cricket joined hands with the ‘BLM’ movement for the first time when both England and the West Indies teams, along with the match officials, took a knee earlier this summer during their three-match Test series.

Recently, Delhi Capitals pacer Kagiso Rabada stated that sportspersons should spread the message of racial equality.

“It is important for people not to feel inferior. Liberation of mind is the most important thing. I think this is the message you want to spread especially as a sportsman when you do have a platform to express this. Lot of people follow what you do, because that is the nature of sportsman — there’s nothing different if I compare myself with every other person who hasn’t played cricket — but I am on a stage where people can now listen to me,” Rabada had told reporters during an interaction.

West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder, who is playing for the SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL, also said to the Cricket Writers Club that he had not seen any discussion about BLM in the IPL which he found “sad.”

“I personally was a bit disappointed to see how the Pakistan and Australia tours, that went on after ours, that they were not showing their solidarity afterwards. It’s a hard challenge and a long hard road. It’s not an overnight fix but the most important thing is we need to come together and see each other as equal human beings,” he said.

The Women’s Big Bash League, which started on Sunday, also saw a team take the knee where the Sydney Thunder decided to show the gesture throughout the tournament.

The cricket fraternity on Friday took to social media to wish speedy recovery to 1983 World Cup-winning Indian captain Kapil Dev who has undergone an angioplasty.

“Please join me in sending prayers, strength and good wishes to Kapil and Romi Dev for his speedy recovery. Kapil was taken to the hospital in time as he complained of uneasiness. As per the doctors the procedure has been successful and he will be home soon,” tweeted Kapil’s former India teammate Madan Lal.

Sachin Tendulkar said: “Take care Kapil Dev! Praying for your quick recovery. Get well soon Paaji.”

“Praying for your speedy recovery. Get well soon paaji,” said Virat Kohli.

“Wishing great Kapil Dev a speedy recovery post his angioplasty, you have been a fighter always Paaji and you will come out of this fighting fit,” said Mohammad Kaif.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the greatest champion cricketer of our times…Guru MEHR Karehga..!Love Always Kapil…!” tweeted Bishan Singh Bedi.

“Get well soon Kapil Paaji. Wishing you a speedy recovery,” said VVS Laxman.

“Get well soon paji,” tweeted Harbhajan Singh.

“Dear paji! Praying for your speedy recovery! Get well soon please after cricket I still need some golfing lessons,” said Yuvraj Singh on the micro-blogging website.

“Wishing the big-hearted, mighty Kapil Dev a speedy recovery. So much more to do,” said Harsha Bhogle.

Kapil, 61, was operated upon on Thursday night at the Fortis-Escorts Hospital located in south Delhi.

Also Read: Kapil Dev undergoes angioplasty, now stable

India’s first World Cup-winning cricket captain Kapil Dev has undergone a successful angioplasty at a south Delhi hospital, a senior doctor confirmed on Friday.

The 61-year-old was operated upon on Thursday night, the Fortis-Escorts Hospital doctor said.

“He came to the hospital last night (Thursday) with an acute problem. His angioplasty has been done, and he is stable now. The angioplasty was done under local anaesthesia. Normal patients are kept in hospitals for 48 to 72 hours, before being discharged,” a senior doctor who did not want to be identified told IANS.

Angioplasty is a procedure to restore blood flow through the artery.

The doctor also said that the legendary cricketer also has a long-standing sugar problem.

“In diabetic patients, the blood vessels have more calcium deposits. So, that is an issue that could happen to patients undergoing angioplasty. But he is stable,” he said.

At one time, the legendary pacer held the world Test record for most wickets (434) and retired from the game in 1994. He held the record for over six years, until it was broken by West Indies great Courtney Walsh.

The biggest achievement of Kapil is he lead India to the Wold Cup triumph in 1983, when India was considered minnows in limited overs cricket.

Kapil played 131 Tests and 225 One-day Internationals between 1978 and 1994.

Game changing half-centuries from Manish Pandey (83 not out off 47 balls) and Vijay Shankar (52 not out off 51) helped SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) register a clinical eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR), and keep their hopes of qualifying for the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs alive.

The win helped the David Warner-led SRH jump to the fifth spot on the points table with eight points while the Royals slipped to the seventh place, also with eight, due to the difference in the net run rate. Kings XI Punjab, too, have eight points are placed between the SRH and RR while Chennai Super Kings are at the bottom.

After restricting the Royals, who were asked to bat, to a moderate total, it was an unbeaten 140-run partnership between Pandey and Shankar that drove SRH home with 11 balls to spare. It was the first century partnership for the SRH involving two Indians.

Chasing the 155-run target, SRH were off to a shaky start, losing the services of skipper Warner (4) and opener Jonny Bairstow (10) cheaply, thanks to Jofra Archer (2/21) who struck twice.

However, the early hiccups didn’t bother Pandey and Shankar much as they put up a great display of grit and determination to help their side cross the line with ease.

Pandey’s unbeaten knock was laced with four boundaries and eight maximums while Shankar’s innings contained six fours.

Except Archer, the other Royals’ bowlers, especially Ben Stokes, Kartik Tyagi, and Ankit Rajpoot, not just leaked runs but also remained wicketless.

Earlier, some disciplined bowling by SRH bowlers, especially Jason Holder (3/33), restricted RR to a modest 154/6 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Barring the 56-run stand for the second wicket between Ben Stokes (30) and Sanju Samson (36), the other SRH batsmen failed to convert the starts and as a result, the 2008 IPL champions were deprived of a bigger total on the board.

Brief scores: RR: 154/6 wkts in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 36, Ben Stokes 30; Jason Holder 3/33) lost to SRH 156/2 wkts in 18.1 overs (Manish Pandey 83 not out, Vijay Shankar 52 not out) by 8 wickets

Also Read: IPL First: Kohli plays 200 games for a single team

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West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has requested Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans to keep supporting the team in what has turned out to be a forgettable season for the three-time champion in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) edition.

CSK have won just three out of the 10 matches they have played so far and their chances of qualifying for the playoffs are quite bleak. In addition to that, Bravo has been ruled out of the remaining matches of IPL 2020 following a groin injury.

“It’s a sad news, it’s sad to be leaving my team CSK. To all our CSK fans, I want you all to keep encouraging the team, keep supporting, all the true die-hard CSK fans,” Bravo said in a video message uploaded by CSK on their Twitter handle.

“This wasn’t a season we expected or our fans wanted, but we gave it our best. Sometimes, despite giving our best, the results don’t show. Keep supporting us and I can guarantee you we’re going to come back stronger and better like champions. One of the most successful franchises, I feel we should be proud to be members and fans of CSK,” he added.

CSK chief executive officer Kasi Viswanathan on Wednesday informed that Bravo has suffered a Grade 1 tear to his right groin and will miss the remaining matches. The 37-year-old featured for CSK in just six matches this season, scoring seven runs and picking up six wickets.

Currently placed at the bottom of the table, the three-time champions will next take on Mumbai Indians on Friday in Sharjah.

Also Read: Batting is a worry for CSK: Dhoni

Also Read: Kings XI Punjab back in race after hiccups

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday cruised to a facile eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Mohammed Siraj led the way with figures of 2/8 as RCB strangled KKR to 84/8 in their 20 overs. They chased down the target with a whopping 39 balls to spare.

The win takes RCB level on points with the top-placed Delhi Capitals at 14, from 10 matches. They remain second only on the basis of their inferior net run rate.

RCB openers Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal started the farcical chase with an opening stand of 46 runs. They played through the powerplay before Finch fell to Lockie Ferguson. Padikkal then departed after a mix-up with new batsman Gurkeerat Mann Singh landed both batsmen at the same end of the pitch.

Captain Virat Kohli then took his place with Gurkeerat and saw the team home with an unbeaten stand of 40 runs.

Earlier, pacer Siraj led the stranglehold for RCB, taking three wickest for eigth runs and bowling two maidens in four overs.

Siraj and his new ball partner Navdeep Saini tore into the top half for the KKR batting order in the powerplay overs. While Siraj dismissed opener Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Tom Banton, Saini got Tripathi’s openng partner Shubman Gill.

Captain Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik tried to steady the ship by holding on to their wickets between the fourth and eighth over. Karthik finally departed, falling to Yuzvendra Chahal in the ninth over, having made four runs from 14 balls. An eighth wicket partnership of 27 runs between Lockie Ferguson and Kuldeep Yadav was KKR’s highest.

Record Night For Siraj

RCB speedster Mohammed Siraj became the first bowler in the 13-year history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to bowl two maiden overs in an innings.

The Hyderabadi right-armer’s first two overs were maidens, and took all his three wickets during those overs.

Siraj’s spell of 4-2-8-3 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday night is also the most economical this year. No one has conceded runs at two an over this season like Siraj did.

Siraj’s 16 dot balls are also the second most dot balls bowled in an innings in this year’s IPL, behind CSK player Deepak Chahar’s 17. SunRisers Hyderabad’s Rashid Khan and Siraj’s RCB teammate Navdeep Saini too have bowled 16 dot balls in a spell this season.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ total of 84 of eight is the lowest by a team that hasn’t been bowled out in the IPL history.

This surpasses the 92 for eight by Kings XI Punjab against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Durban in 2009.

Brief scores: KKR 84/8 wkts in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan 30, Lockie Ferguson 19; Mohammed Siraj 3/8) lost to RCB 85/2 in 13.3 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 25, Gurkeerat Mann Singh 21; Lockie Ferguson 1/17) by eigth wickets

Among the many patterns set in the first half of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) was the struggles of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) to replicate their initial success.

While RR started their campaign in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and KXIP, they went on to lose the next four matches on the trot. The situation in the KXIP camp was even more worrisome.

KXIP lost their first match to Delhi Capitals only in the Super Over before captain KL Rahul’s record 132 not out and a clinical performance from their bowlers helped the trump Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their second game by 97 runs.

After that, however, they went on to lose five games on the trot, most of them being heavy defeats.

Both teams have shown a tendency to depend upon their top order to provide the goods in batting. While Rahul Tewatia has proven to be a handy player in the lower order since he burst into the collective conscience of those that follow the tournament with his match-winning knock against KXIP, RR’s initial success was centred around Sanju Samson’s extraordinary form in the first three matches.

He scored 74 and 85 in the first two matches but since, he has managed two-digit scores only twice in eight matches.

The same has been the case for captain Steve Smith, who struggled to reach double digit scores in six innings before he scored 57 against Royal Challengers Bangalore on October 17. RR lost that match because they came across a purring AB de Villiers later in the day.

The addition of Jos Buttler has been a help, although the wisdom in moving him into the lower order and sticking with Ben Stokes in the opening slot along with Robin Uthappa is debatable. In RR’s last match, however, Buttler looked at home wherever he is asked to bat, leading them to victory over the beleaguered CSK with an unbeaten 70 after coming in at No.5.

The win against CSK was the one of the few times that RR’s batsmen matched up to the performance put in by their bowling lineup led by the fiery Jofra Archer. A theme of RR’s run of defeats in the first half of the league stage was the batsmen woefully underperforming compared to the efforts put in by the bowlers.

For KXIP, openers Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been overdrive this season. Both have scored a century each this season and while Mayank has scored 398 runs at an average of 39.8, Rahul has smashed 540 at an average of 67.5.

A feature of their three wins in the last three matches has been that the openers have been backed by the rest of the players in the team, whether it be the batsmen that come after them or their bowlers. In what was his first game of the season, Chris Gayle scored 53 coming at No.3 against RCB.

The fact that KXIP had to win that match – their first since their win against the same team in their second match – off the last ball, despite needing just two runs from the last over showed where they were mentally.

It would be more angst for Rahul in their next match against the dominant Mumbai Indians (MI) which could be decided in their favour only after two Super Overs. It featured a brilliant effort from Mohammed Shami to deny MI six runs in their Super Over to force the second eliminator in which Chris Jordan limited MI to 11 runs. Gayle and Mayank finished the chase in four balls.

Their win against Delhi Capitals (DC) would have been what Rahul and coach Anil Kumble wanted to see all season. DC were pushed to 164/5 because of opener Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 106. For once, Rahul and Mayank failed to fire and Gayle left after scoring 29 off 13. It was Nicholas Pooran (53 off 28 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (32 off 24) who led the effort from the middle order to complete a five-wicket win for KXIP.

Both KXIP and RR have made promising starts to the second-half of the league stage, the former more so than the 2008 champions. As the race for the top four heats up, the team managements would be hoping that individuals who haven’t been firing can step up and provide the balance that the two sides would need to make the most of the season.

Also Read: Rajasthan Royals back in the race with easy win over CSK

Also Read: Batting is a worry for CSK: Dhoni