Category: Sports

Categories
Sport Sports

RCB Finds Redemption

Kohli, Patidar fifties and Green’s all-round brilliance lead to 35-run victory over SRH after six losses…reports Asian Lite News

At the toss, Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Faf du Plessis said they wanted to put the in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad under scoreboard pressure in Match 41 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Thursday. His team did just that by posting a big total and taking early wickets to win the match.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru rode on contrasting half-centuries by Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar and a brilliant all-round performance by Cameron Green, who scored an unbeaten 37 and claimed 2-12, to hand Sunrisers Hyderabad a 35-run defeat and registered their first win after six successive defeats in IPL 2024.

Leg-spinner Karn Sharma (2-29) and Swapnil Singh (2-40) too claimed a double each on top of a superb bowling effort as SRH were restricted to 171/8 in 20 overs after a 37-ball fifty by Kohli and a blazing 19-ball half-century by Patidar propelled them to a challenging 206/7 after du Plessis chose to bat first on winning the toss.

Considering that SRH has scored two of the biggest totals this season, it was a chasable target for them but they failed to gain any momentum and slumped to their third defeat of IPL and remain in third position. RCB have now won their second match but remain at the bottom.

Sunrisers Hyderabad virtually lost the match in the Power-play as they suffered four setbacks — none more debilitating than the wicket of opener Travis Head for one run in the first over.

Du Plessis, who had boldly decided to bat first against an in-form SRH, continued with his fearless approach by opening the bowling with off-spinner Will Jacks. The move paid off as the 25-year-old Englishman struck gold on the last ball of the opening over when Head, who came in as an Impact Substitute, tried to hit him out of the park only to see the ball spin away and the top edge going straight to Karn Sharma on the off-side.

Fellow opener Abhishek Sharma, who has a strike rate of 200-plus just like Travis Head, hammered a 13-ball 31 studded with three boundaries and two sixes before he fell to Yash Dayal, attempting a pull but mishitting it and lobbing a slice in the air for keeper Dinesh Karthik to pouch a skier.

It became 41/3 in the fifth over when Markram completely missed a Swapnil Singh delivery to be trapped LBW for seven. And when a few deliveries later Klassen, after hitting Swapnil for a six, was out for seven off 3 balls, SRH slumped to 56/4 in the fifth over and their chase of 207 was in disarray. They ended the Power-play at 62/4, as compared to RCB’s 61/1 but the three extra wickets proved a huge stumbling block.

The dangerous Nitish Kumar Reddy was castled by Karn Sharma playing an ugly switch hit despite the difficult situation his team was in as SRH slumped to 69/5. Abdul Samad (10), who greeted Lockie Ferguson with a swat over long-on off his first delivery, chipped back to Karn, totally foxed by the leg spinner as he jumped out even before the ball was released.

Pat Cummins raised SRH hopes by hammering Swapnil Singh for back-to-back sixes in the 11th over and blasted Karn Sharma for a four and six off successive deliveries in the next over, fell to fellow Aussie Cameron Green, trying to hit a short, wide delivery to Mohd Siraj at short third man, beaten by lack of pace in the delivery.

He blazed to 31 off 15 balls, hitting one four and three sixes. SRH were 124/7 and the writing was clear on the wall. Green claimed one more wicket, sending back Bhuvneshwar Singh (13) as the run rate kept rising and SRH kept losing wickets.

Earlier, Patidar hammered a blazing fifty, his second in successive matches and Kohli scored his fourth half-century at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium as RCB recovered from a decelerating scoring rate after the Power-play to post a big total.

Kohli scored his fifty off 37 balls while Patidar hammered his half-century off just 19 balls as RCB posted another 200-plus score after skipper Faf du Plessis opted to bat first on a dual-paced pitch on which the slower one was quite effective.

Patidar blasted four sixes in an over off Mayank Markande to shore up the RCB scoring rate after Kohli struggled to break free. Jaydev Unadkat applied the brakes on the free-scoring RCB innings by claiming the key wickets of Patidar, Kohli and Mahipal Lomror for a fine haul of 3-30 off four overs in his 100th outing in IPL.

Earlier, skipper du Plessis (25) struck Bhuvneshwar Kumar for three boundaries in the second over, the pick of them being a four crashed through the covers off a fullish delivery outside the off stump. In the next over, he welcomed Pat Cummins with a superb six, scooping behind a delivery picked from around off-stump and planting him over the leg-side for the first six of the match. But the introduction of T. Natarajan brought his downfall when he holed out near the deep cover boundary trying to maintain the RCB scoring tempo in Power-play.

RCB raced to 61/1 in Power-play, Will Jacks was out for six after he played all over a slower one from spinner Mayank Markande to make it 65/2. Though Kohli’s strike rate went down, Patidar made for that with some brilliant strokes. Kohli, who started with a four off Abhishek Sharma’s first delivery, struck back-to-back fours off Pat Cummins and struck a four and six off Natarajan in between singles. He went on to complete a slow half-century off 37 deliveries, hitting four boundaries and one six. This was his fourth successive half-century at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Patidar more than made up for the slow going from Kohli with a blazing half-century off 19 deliveries. The highlight of Patidar’s sensational knock was the four sixes he blasted off successive deliveries against Markande, lofting, clobbering and pulling the leg-spinner as the over cost SRH 27 runs.

Kohli and Patidar raised 65 runs for the third wicket partnership with the latter doing the bulk of scoring. The half-century of their partnership came in 23 balls with Patidar scoring 45 off them.

However, SRH pulled things back a bit after Patidar fell by the sword, trying to play another big one but managed to flick the slow full toss from Jaydev Unadkat into the hands of Abdul Samad at deep square leg. Patidar’s 20-ball 50 was studded with two boundaries and five maximums.

Kohli completed his half-century off 37 balls, but Unadkat got him in the next over, getting him to hole out to Samad as the former RCB skipper failed to break free from the shackles. Mahipal Lomror was out cheaply but Cameron Green played a fine cameo and with the help of Dinesh Karthik (11 off 6) helped RCB reach a defendable total. Swapnil Singh struck a boundary and a six off the first two balls of the final over to help them cross the 200-run mark.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 206/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 51, Rajat Patidar 50, Cameron Green 37 not out; Jaydev Unadkat 3-30, T.Natarajan 2-39) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 171/8 in 20 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 40 not out, Abhishek Sharma 31, Pat Cummins 31; Cameron Green 2-12, Karn Sharma 2-29, Swapnil Singh 2-40) by 35 runs

ALSO READ-DC Edge Out GT in High-Octane Thriller

Categories
India News Sport Sports

DC Edge Out GT in High-Octane Thriller

GT had the upper hand after electing to bowl first, thanks to Sandeep Warrier’s triple strikes in power-play and leave DC in trouble…reports Asian Lite News

Captain Rishabh Pant enthralled the home crowd by slamming an unbeaten 88 off 43 balls, while Axar Patel hit a 43-ball 66 and impact player Rasikh Salam picked a three-fer as Delhi Capitals edged Gujarat Titans by four runs in a thrilling run-fest to secure their fourth win of the tournament at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.

After Pant and Axar fifties, along with Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten 26 lift DC to a mammoth 224/4, GT were quick in their run-scoring, thanks to 65 from B Sai Sudarshan, followed by 55 from David Miller. But DC triumphed in the end to get those crucial two points in a proper run-fest.

GT had the upper hand after electing to bowl first, thanks to Sandeep Warrier’s triple strikes in power-play and leave DC in trouble. But Pant and Axar took their time, before launching a stunning onslaught against spinners to form a decisive 113-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Axar made his promotion to number three count by hitting five fours and four sixes in his eye-catchy knock at a strike-rate of 153.49. Pant, after being scratchy in his 44 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, was at his magnificent best in hitting eight sixes and five fours at a strike-rate of 204.6.

The duo being phenomenal with the bat meant GT spinners were rendered ineffective in middle overs and the visitors’ bowlers were promptly taken for cleaners in the death overs. Moreover, Warrier didn’t bowl out his final over, as DC took 97 runs in their final five overs.

Prithvi Shaw and Jake Fraser-McGurk hit six delightful boundaries as DC reached 34/0 in three overs. But Warrier bounced back in the fourth over after conceding 12 runs in his opening over.

The fast-bowler first had Fraser-McGurk flicking off the bottom edge to deep square leg, followed by getting Shaw to mistime a pull, with Noor Ahmad running in from deep square leg to take a diving catch. Warrier got his third power-play wicket when Shai Hope sliced away from his body and was caught at backward point, as DC ended the six-over phase with 44/3.

Axar got a move on by crashing a drive off Omarzai, before nailing a slog-sweep for six on a Rashid Khan googly. He and Pant took a pulled four each off Rashid’s short balls, followed by the latter slog-sweeping Noor Ahmad for a four and six each.

Axar continued to thrive against spinners – driving and cutting with ease for his boundaries, while Pant feasted on Mohit Sharma’s short balls by pulling and slicing to take a brace of fours. Axar lofted a drive off Shahrukh Khan for six, before reaching his fifty in 37 balls with a pulled four off Rashid.

Pant was delightful in the 16th over against Mohit – whipping off his pads and thumping a slower ball over long-off for a brace of sixes, before bringing up the century of the fourth-wicket stand. Axar then hammered Noor for back-to-back sixes in the 17th over before holing out to long-on to fall for a 43-ball 66.

Pant got his fifty in 34 balls by lofting a full-toss from Mohit over long-on for six, and was met with a grand applause from the crowd. GT brought in R Sai Kishore’s left-arm spin in the 19th over to counter right-handed Tristan Stubbs.

But the batter creamed the drives twice in the gap between extra-cover and long-off, followed by clubbing the spinner for two mammoth sixes over long-on in the 22-run over. In the last over, Pant managed to clear long-on for six and sliced a four despite losing balance against Mohit. He cut loose with his pull, loft and swivel fetching him maximums on last three balls of the innings to take 31 runs off the final over.

In chasing 225, Shubman Gill fell early in his 100th IPL game after mistiming the loft to mid-on off Anrich Nortje. Wriddhiman Saha and Sudharsan hit ten boundaries between themselves in the remainder of power-play, including taking 17 runs off Khaleel Ahmed in the third over.

Sudarshan had some luck on his side, after being dropped on 17 by Axar at mid-on on Rasikh’s bowling, as GT ended power-play at 67/1. Sudarshan was neat in cutting and glancing Axar for consecutive fours. But Kuldeep Yadav struck as Saha slashed hard and Axar jumped in the nick of time to pluck the catch out of thin air.

Sudarshan completed his fifty in 29 balls, but saw GT go from 94/1 to 98/3 as Axar had Omarzai caught by Fraser-McGurk rushing in and diving forward from deep mid-wicket to complete a sensational catch. Sudarshan and Miller would hit a boundary each, before the former holed out to long-off against Rasikh.

Rasikh then took out Shahrukh Khan, as Pant took a sharp catch after standing up to the stumps, followed by him taking Rahul Tewatia’s catch on Kuldeep’s last ball. With 73 runs needed off 24 balls, Miller feasted on Nortje’s short and full balls by hitting a four and three sixes before reaching his fifty in 21 balls with a brace as 24 runs came off the 17th over.

After Rashid was dropped by Abishek Porel on first ball of the 18th over, Miller glanced Mukesh for four, before clipping straight to deep backward square leg and fall for a 23-ball 55. With 37 runs needed off 12 balls, Rashid worked Rasikh for a boundary and Stubbs even saved a six of him, followed by Kishore keeping match alive with consecutive sixes, before being castled by the pacer.

The equation came down to 19 runs in the final over, and Rashid began by whipping Mukesh for a four in the gap between long-on and mid-wicket. When the pacer pitched it wide, Rashid was quick to slash over extra cover for a boundary.

After two dot balls, Rashid lofted a six over long-off. With three runs needed off the last ball, Rashid hit off a yorker, but the ball went one bounce to long-off, as DC held their nerve to get a tight win.

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 224/4 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 88 not out; Axar Patel 66; Sandeep Warrier 3-15) beat Gujarat Titans 220/8 in 20 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 65, David Miller 55; Rasikh Salam 3-44, Kuldeep Yadav 2-29) by four runs

ALSO READ: Highest IPL Chase as Lucknow Super Giants Stun CSK

Categories
India News Sport Sports

Highest IPL Chase as Lucknow Super Giants Stun CSK

Stoinis also broke the highest individual score in an IPL chase of Paul Valthaty’s 120* in 2011, also against CSK, after scoring 124 not out in 63 deliveries….reports Asian Lite News

After Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a century to propel Chennai Super Kings to a target of 210, Marcus Stoinis struck his maiden IPL century to single-handedly take Lucknow Super Giants to six wickets victory with nine balls to spare over Chennai Super Kings at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.

Stoinis also broke the highest individual score in an IPL chase of Paul Valthaty’s 120* in 2011, also against CSK, after scoring 124 not out in 63 deliveries. In three games before this, no team has come to Chepauk this season and beaten CSK. No team has come here and chased down 211. LSG did both in the same match, led by a magnificent hundred by Stoinis. The match-changing over was Shardul Thakur’s 16th over as LSG needed 74 in 30 deliveries. Nicholas Pooran and Stoinis knew they had to make it a big one because the remaining four were to be bowled by Mustafizur and Pathirana. Pooran made sure LSG didn’t miss out and smashed the first three balls for 6, 4, 6. In all, 20 runs came from it. LSG now needed 54 off 24 deliveries as the asking rate came down to 13.5.

Pooran looked to take on Pathirana as well but ended up miscuing it to Thakur at long-off. Deepak Hooda was the new batter and smashed his second ball over deep square-leg for a six.

Stoinis, meanwhile, brought up his maiden IPL hundred, off 56 balls. LSG needed 32 off two overs. Hooda hammered Pathirana for two fours, to go with one from Stoinis to collect 15 from the penultimate over. They needed 17 from the last over and Mustafizur Rahaman was given the responsibility to defend that. But Stoinis launched the first ball over long-on before drilling the next one straight back for four.

Luck, too, favoured him as the next one raced to the right of the short third-man. Fizz had overstepped as well, which reduced the equation to two needed from four balls. On the next, Stoinis moved across and pulled the short ball over backward square leg to seal a 6-wicket victory with three balls remaining.

Chasing a target of 211, Lucknow Super Giants suffered an early strike as Quinton de Kock got out on duck. The batter went for a cut only to chop it back onto his stumps to the swinging delivery outside off. In the first four games of the season, KL Rahul scored at a strike rate of 125.49 in the Power-play. But after that, he smashed it at 185.11 in this phase.

He was looking dangerous once again. After an early wicket, Rahul and Marcus Stoinis kept LSG’s chase on track but Mustafizur Rahman pegged them back. Having hit a four earlier in the over, Rahul went for another big hit but failed to clear Gaikwad at extra cover. Rahut got out after scoring 16. LSG were 45/2 at the end of six overs as Stoinis continued ticking the scoreboard. Devdutt Padikkal came in as an Impact Player. He has struggled for runs this IPL, and it was the same story against CSK as he was on 12 off 16 balls.

Meanwhile, Stoinis has been keeping LSG in the contest almost singlehandedly. He brought up his fifty off 26 balls, with the help of six fours and two sixes. But it’s still an uphill task. LSG were 83/2 after 10 overs and needed 128 from the next ten. A length ball at 151.4 kph in the line of leg stump from Mateesha Pathirana and Padikkal had no answer to it. He backed away but was beaten by pace and had his leg stump uprooted. He departed for 13 off 19 balls. LSG were 88/3 after 11, needing 123 from nine overs.

The sole reason LSG opted to chase was the dew in the second half. And it seemed to be making a difference as a couple of overs ago, Tushar Deshpande bowled a high no-ball. If there was more evidence needed, a cutter into the pitch from Mustafizur came onto the bat nicely – Stoinis hit it straight off the back foot.

Earlier in the match, Ruturaj Gaikwad slammed his second century of the IPL career while Shivam Dube blazed to a blistering 66 off 27 deliveries, which took Chennai Super Kings to 210/4. Gaikwad scored 37 runs in the Power-play and had only twice scored more in this phase in T20s. Coincidentally, his best score in the Power-play (46) was also against LSG and at Chepauk. Gaikwad continued his rich batting form on a tricky pitch as he reached his third half-century of the season in 28 deliveries. CSK were 85/2 after 10 overs.

The in-form Shivam Dube walked to the crease and straightaway sent his fourth delivery for the first maximum of the innings, which came after 12.5 overs. Mohsin bowled one slightly full around off and Dube launched him down the ground for a maximum.

After hitting Stoinis for a six and a four across the allrounder’s two overs, Dube latched onto Yash Thakur and hammered him for three successive sixes in the 16th over. Dube moved to 37 off just 15 balls, and CSK were 154/3 after 16.

It was an excellent innings from Gaikwad – he slammed his sixth hundred in T20 cricket, which came off 56 balls, after a sequence of 6, 4, 4 against Yash Thakur. Gaikwad, at 27 years and 83 days, became the second-youngest captain to score a hundred in the IPL after Sanju Samson.

In the 19th over, Dube smashed two fours and a six against Mohsin and brought up his fifty off just 22 balls. Both batters added 104 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership in just 46 deliveries. Dube started the final over with a six off Stoinis but was run out for 66 off 27 with two balls left in the innings.

That brought MS Dhoni to the middle. Gaikwad took a single on the penultimate ball and Dhoni, as he has done throughout this season, finished off in style with a boundary. He moved towards the offside to a full delivery and muscled it over midwicket for four as CSK finished with 210/4. Skipper Gaikwad remained not out on 108 runs.

Brief score:

Chennai Super Kings 210/4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 108 not out, Shivam Dube 66; Matt Henry 1-28, Yash Thakur 1-47) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 213/4 in 19.3 overs (Marcus Stoinis 124 not out, Nicholas Pooran 34; Matheesa Pathirana 2-35, Deepak Chahar 1-11) by six wickets.

ALSO READ: Gukesh Makes History as Youngest-Ever FIDE Candidates Champion

Categories
Sport Sports

Gukesh Makes History as Youngest-Ever FIDE Candidates Champion

Gukesh scored 9/14 points to clinch the honour and become only the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to win the Candidates Tournament…reports Asian Lite News

The 17-year-old Grandmaster D Gukesh scripted history by becoming the youngest-ever player to win the FIDE Candidates tournament on Monday after his final round game with Hikaru Nakamura ended in a draw.

Gukesh scored 9/14 points to clinch the honour and become only the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to win the Candidates Tournament.

With this triumph, Gukesh will challenge the reigning World Champion Ding Liren of China in the World Chess Championship match. He is now the second Indian after Vishwanathan Anand to fight for the Classical World Championship title.

Anand won the title five times between 2000 and 2013 when he lost to challenger Magnus Carlsen, who has currently abdicated his crown and refused to participate in the Candidates 2024.

The World Championship Match consists of 14 games. The player who scores 7.5 points or more wins the match, and no further games are played. If the score after 14 games is equal, the winner is decided on a tiebreak.

“Congratulations to @DGukesh for becoming the youngest challenger. The @WacaChess family is so proud of what you have done. I’m personally very proud of how you played and handled tough situations. Enjoy the moment,” Anand congratulated the youngest Candidates champion.

In the other games of the day, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa defeated Nijat Abasov with the black pieces in the 14th and final round while Vidit Gujrathi played a draw against Alireza Firouzja.

In the women’s section, Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated Kateryna Lagno for her fifth win in a row after four successive losses. Humpy Koneru defeated Lei Tingjie.

Tan Zhongyi is the winner of the FIDE Women’s Candidates with a score of 9/14.

ALSO READ-Gujarat Titans Edge Past Punjab Kings in IPL Nail-biter

Categories
India News Sport Sports

Jaiswal Century Propels Rajasthan to Victory

The Royals concluded their campaign in Jaipur with a seventh decisive victory in eight games, solidifying their position atop the table…reports Asian Lite News

Sandeep Sharma announced his comeback from an injury with brilliant figures of 5-18, the best by any bowler in this season’s IPL before Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to form with a 59-ball century as host Rajasthan Royals ended their home leg with a nine-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday night.

The Royals concluded their campaign in Jaipur with a seventh decisive victory in eight games, solidifying their position atop the table.

Jaiswal sealed the Rajasthan’s chase with a boundary after, Mumbai Indians set a middling target of 180 that hinged on a 99-run fifth-wicket stand between Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera. Prior to a 30-minute rain delay, Jaiswal had 31 from 18 balls and then converted his first fifty of a challenging season into a towering 104 not out from 60 balls.

With the in-form Jos Buttler (35 from 25) Jaiswal added 74 runs in eight overs and 109 in 65 deliveries with skipper Sanju Samson. Tim David’s horrendous reprieve at midwicket on 19 was the turning point for Mumbai. At 50, Jaiswal had also suffered a significant setback when, from deep cover, Wadhera missed a leading-edge swipe that went over the rope for six.

Mumbai’s two standout bowlers encapsulated their performance on Monday night. Gerald Coetzee bowled like the wind in his one Power-play over, clearly troubling Jaiswal with his pace of over 150 kph, especially with a top-edged draw that sailed over the keeper for four, after being worked up by a first-ball slap for six.

However, Hardik Pandya did not give him another over until late, by which time the match was already gone and he again got a well-set batter to falter.

Jasprit Bumrah was also kept back too late in the chase, and even though he bowled with unmatched vigour upfront—including a two-run opening over to curb Buttler’s early intentions, his comeback over was not successful. After a first ball no-ball and a second ball wide on height, Jaiswal blasted the rolled-over free hit for six to complete a 16-run over, which was Bumrah’s most costly of an outstanding season.

Earlier, Sandeep Sharma caused maximum damage in the Mumbai Indians’ innings and returned with stunning figures of 5-18–the best by an Indian bowler for the Royals, and on his return from injury too as Rajasthan restricted Mumbai to 179/9 after just nine runs came in the final two overs.

After early setbacks resulted in them being restricted to 45/3 in Power-play, Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera rebuilt the innings with a steady stand partnership as Ravichandran Ashwin completed his four overs for 31 runs and went wicketless once more having claimed just one in the tournament to date. Varma completed his fifty in 38 balls — and at 21 years and 166 days, he is the third youngest to reach 1000 runs in IPL.

Before that Yuzvendra Chahal reached the milestone of 200 wickets–first bowler in the history of IPL. Chahal’s third ball gripped on a good length as Mohammad Nabi closed the face on the front foot, and it was a simple lob catch back into his waiting hands that brought up his 200th IPL wicket.

Only two other men have previously reached 200 wickets in a T20 competition — Danny Briggs (219) and Samit Patel (208), both in England’s T20 Blast. Mumbai Indians were 72 for 4 after 10 overs.

Chahal came back with his third over of his spell and was taken into remand as Wadhera and Tilak hammered him for 20 runs (the most expensive of the inning). After Tilak’s first ball six, Wadhera took it upon himself to lead the celebrations with two more sixes in a very significant over. Mumbai were 151 for 4 after 16 overs.

Boult came back into attack for his last over of the spell and broke the big partnership of 99 runs between Wadhera and Verma. It was an attempted uppercut from Wadhera, looking to reach his own fifty, but the returning Trent Boult outfoxed him with the slower short ball.

Nehal Wadhera got out scoring 49 in 24 deliveries. It was a very timely strike from Avesh Khan, who aimed full and straight with Hardik Pandya shuffling to the off-side and nailed him plumb in front with the fast full-toss. Mumbai Indians’ captain got out for a run-a-ball 10.

It was a superb over from Avesh as just six runs came from it. Avesh nailed his length perfectly, and one ball later, Varma holed out to deep mid-on on the first ball of Sandeep’s final over. Varma got out after scoring 65 in 45 deliveries.

Brief scores:

Mumbai Indians 179/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 65, Nehal Wadhera 49; Sandeep Sharma 5-18, Trent Boult 2-32) lost to Rajasthan Royals 183/1 in 18.4 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 104 not out, Sanju Samson 38 not out; Piyush Chawla 33-1) by nine wickets.

ALSO READ: Gujarat Titans Edge Past Punjab Kings in IPL Nail-biter

Categories
Sport Sports

Gujarat Titans Edge Past Punjab Kings in IPL Nail-biter

After Azmatullah Omarzai, who came in for Spencer Johnson, bowled a two-run opening over, Prabhsimran hammered 21 runs off Sandeep Warrier’s first over, hitting him for three fours and a six off a waist-high no-ball…reports Asian Lite News

Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore came up with an outstanding bowling effort to claim a four-fer as Gujarat Titans caught Punjab Kings in a spin web and strangled their batters on their way to a comfortable three-wicket victory in Match 37 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

Electing to bat first after stand-in skipper Sam Curran had won the toss, Punjab Kings made a super start, reaching fifty in the Power-play before Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill unleashed his spinners. On a pitch that has been used more than once this season, the Gujarat spinners used the slow turn and low bounce to great effect as they destroyed the PBKS top and middle orders to reduce them to 99/7 in the 16th over.

Punjab Kings were eventually bowled out for 142 in 20 overs and Gujarat Titans survived some anxious moments before riding on a blinder of an innings by Rahul Tewatia, 36 not out off 18 balls, and patient knocks by skipper Gill (35) and Sai Sudharsan (31) to reach 146/7 in 19.1 overs and win the match with five balls to spare. Harshal Patel claimed 3-15 and Liam Livingstone (2-19) shared five wickets between them to create some stumbling blocks but GT eventually managed to survive the hiccups.

The win took GT to eight points as they moved to the sixth spot on the points table, trailing Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings on inferior net run rate. All three teams are on eight points. PBKS remained in the 9th spot with four points from eight matches.

It was Sai Kishore who made the win possible with sensational figures of 4-33 off four overs while Afghan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad claimed 2-20 and his senior colleague Rashid Khan bagged 1-15 as Punjab Kings landed in a spin web and never recovered.

After Azmatullah Omarzai, who came in for Spencer Johnson, bowled a two-run opening over, Prabhsimran hammered 21 runs off Sandeep Warrier’s first over, hitting him for three fours and a six off a waist-high no-ball.

With Stand-in skipper Sam Curran also hitting a couple of boundaries, PBKS raced to fifty in the sixth over. However, Prabhsimran’s promising knock was cut short as he jumped out to fullish ball outside off and edged back to the keeper. PBKS ended the Power-play at 56/1.

Rilee Rossouw (9), Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (13), Liam Livingstone (6), Shashank Singh (8) and Ashutosh Sharma (3) fell in quick succession as PBKS slumped to 99/7 in the 16th overs as Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore spun a web around the batters, leaving them tottering.

Sai Kishore was struck for a six by Jitesh Sharma off his first ball, jumping out to club him over long-off. The 27-year-old left-arm spinner cut down on pace and dragged his length back and got success a couple of balls later when he deceived Jitesh Sharma with a delivery that turned across and went under the bat to disturb the furniture.

Though a vociferous appeal for LBW against Ashutosh Sharma was rejected by the on-field umpire as well as on review as the ball was sliding down the leg side, Sai Kishore got his man in the same 14th over when Ashutosh Sharma holed out to deep extra cover for three runs. In his next over, Sai Kishore had his third wicket when he accounted for the dangerous Shashank Singh, catching him off his own bowling, sending down a flat length ball and beating an on-rushing batter with a slower pace. Shashank, the best batter for PBKS so far, was out for eight off 12 balls and PBKS was tottering at 99/7 in the 16th over.

Harpreet Brar hit him for a couple of fours and a six into the sightscreen, Sai Kishore had the last laugh as Brar was caught by Shahrukh Khan inches inside the boundary rope off an overpitched delivery.

Later, Rahul Tewatia played a blazing cameo, hitting an unbeaten 36 off 18 balls as Gujarat Titans survived a few anxious moments to score a comfortable victory. Tewatia came in to bat with the Titans 97/4 chasing a modest target of 143 and flicked, reverse-swept and played some fine shots to race to 36 off 18 balls as he built on a patient knocks by Shubman Gill (35) and Sai Sudharsan (31) as they secured their fourth win of the season.

Chasing a modest target, the Titans got off to a poor start as Wriddhiman Saha fell for 13 (11 balls) with the team score reading 25 within the Power-play. Saha pulled Arshdeep Singh straight to Ashutosh Sharma as he was out after hitting a boundary during his brief stay. Titans skipper Gill and Sudharsan cautiously negotiated the Power-play and raised 41 runs for the second wicket partnership. Gill (35) swatted and flicked off his pads Kagiso Rabada for successive fours in the third over and also hammered a boundary each off Harshal Patel and Sam Curran during his vital knock.

The Gujarat skipper also crunched England spinner Liam Livingstone for a four in the eighth over before he was for 35 off 29 balls, jumping out to loft a delivery that was slower than expected and handed a comfortable catch to Rabada.

A couple of overs later, Livingstone struck another blow, castling David Miller with a tossed-up delivery that skidded past the big swing by Miller and crashed into the stumps. Gujarat Titans slumped from 66/1 to 77/3.

Sai Sudharsan (31 off 34), who by lashing Arshdeep through backward point for a four off the first ball he faced, kept going from the other end as he scored runs mostly in singles. He paddle swept Harpreet Brar for a four and flicked Sam Curran past fine leg when the skipper strayed off the line.

But Curran had his man when Sai Sudharsan chopped onto his stumps with Gujarat 97/4. Azmatullah Omarzai, who blasted the first six of Gujarat’s innings as late as the 13th over in scoring, fell cheaply for 13 but Rahul Tewatia guided Gujarat Titans to victory with an unbeaten 36 off 18 balls despite Harshal Patel claiming two late wickets by dismissing Shahrukh Khan (8) and Rashid Khan (3).

Tewatia blasted seven fours during his 18-ball knock, hitting three boundaries, two of them back-to-back off Rabada in the 18th over — the over cost PBKS 20 runs. Before that, he reverse-swept and hoicked Harpreet Brar to the boundary in the previous over as Gujarat recovered from a difficult situation and sauntered to a comfortable victory.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 142 all out in 20 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 35, Harpreet Brar 29; Sai Kishore 4-33, Noor Ahmad 2-20, Mohit Sharma 2-32) lost to Gujarat Titans 146/7 in 19.1 overs (Rahul Tewatia 36 not out, Shubman Gill 35; Harshal Patel 3-15, Liam Livingstone 2-19) by three wickets.

ALSO READ-CSK Crushes Gujarat Titans in IPL Stunner

Categories
Sport Sports

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Blistering Batting Seals 67-Run Victory Over Delhi Capitals

Head pulled Lalit Yadav for back-to-back backfoot sixes, before cutting hard and being helped by a misfield from Anrich Nortje to get a four, with Abhishek lofting inside-out for another boundary as 21 runs came off the second over…reports Asian Lite News

Sunrisers Hyderabad continued to set lofty standards of ultra-attacking batting in IPL 2024 as Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma brought an out-of-the-world hurricane of dazzling stroke-play to set the base for a 67-run win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday.

On a placid pitch, Head (82 off 39 balls) and Abhishek (46 off 12 balls) left everyone in the stands breathless and speechless with their flurry of impeccable strokeplay and establishing multiple records for fun to help SRH make 125-0 in power-play, thus setting a new record for the highest power-play score in T20 cricket, including in the IPL.

After being hammered in power-play, Kuldeep Yadav (4-55) and Axar Patel (1-29) helped DC come back in the match as SRH went from 131/0 to 151/4. Handy contributions from Shabhaz Ahmed (59 not out off 29 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (37 off 27 balls) ensured SRH posted a massive total yet again, while hitting 22 sixes and equalling their own record of most sixes hit in an IPL match.

In reply, Natarajan fired his yorkers well to pick a brilliant 4-19 as DC were bowled out for 199, with SRH now jumping to second place in points table. Their lone bright spot was young Jake Fraser-McGurk hitting fastest fifty of the season in 15 balls. Pushed into batting first, Head’s onslaught began by smashing a six and two fours on Khaleel Ahmed’s short balls, before Abhishek clipped one for another boundary in a 19-run opening over.

Head pulled Lalit Yadav for back-to-back backfoot sixes, before cutting hard and being helped by a misfield from Anrich Nortje to get a four, with Abhishek lofting inside-out for another boundary as 21 runs came off the second over.

Nortje was next to come in firing line, as Head hit him cleanly for four boundaries, before getting his fifty in just 16 balls, by whipping over deep mid-wicket for six, as 22 runs came off third over. It was also the third time Head reached half-century in power-play of IPL 2024, also the joint-fastest fifty by an SRH batter in IPL.

Abhishek pulled and smacked Lalit for two sixes, before Head slapped him down the ground for third six of the fourth over. Abhishek greeted Kuldeep with loft and pull to hit a brace of sixes, before ending the over by dancing down the pitch to hit another maximum, as SRH crossed 100 in just five overs, also the fastest century by a team in T20s.

Head smacked Mukesh Kumar four straight boundaries, before ending the powerplay with a loft over long-off for six as SRH made 125/0, setting new record for highest-ever score in power-play of T20s. The carnage seemed to have no stopping once Abhishek lofted Kuldeep on the first ball post power-play.

But after that, the script flipped in favour of DC. Abhishek went for a drive off Kuldeep, but couldn’t keep it down and Axar made a dive at extra cover to take a sharp catch. One brought two for Kuldeep as Aiden Markram hit straight to Axar again.

Despite Klaasen smacking him for two sixes down the ground and over long-on, Kuldeep bounced back by having Head, who didn’t get much strike after power-play, heave to a running long-on, and dismiss him for 89 off 32 balls. Axar further pulled DC back in the match by castling Klaasen.

Nitish dazzled with a picture-perfect cover-drive off Khaleel and collectively hit four more pleasing boundaries with Shahbaz as SRH crossed 200 in 14.5 overs. Reddy would again dazzle with a reverse-scoop off Kuldeep for six, before holing out to long-on, giving the spinner incredible figures of 4-55.

Shahbaz swung cleanly to hit Khaleel for back-to-back sixes, while Samad also took a maximum off him as 20 runs came off the 19th over for SRH to raise their 250 for the third time in this season. Shahbaz then hit a four and six on last two balls of the innings to get his maiden IPL fifty, as SRH’s batting carnage finally ended.

Impact player Prithvi Shaw began DC’s chase by smashing Washington Sundar for four boundaries on first four balls. But Sundar had the last laugh as Shaw miscued a loft to cover. David Warner didn’t do much as a leading edge off Bhuvneshwar Kumar was caught by a diving Pat Cummins at mid-off.

Fraser-McGurk brought out his clean bat swing by whacking Sundar for three sixes and as many fours in the third over to collect 30 runs. With Abishek Porel hitting three boundaries from the other end, Fraser-McGurk backed away to drill Pat Cummins for four and then got down on one knee to hit a lofted drive over mid-on for six as 20 runs came off the fifth over.

After amassing 88/2 in power-play, Fraser-McGurk smashed a 15-ball fifty, also the fastest half-century by a DC batter in IPL, by launching a six over long-on off Mayank Markande. He would smoke two more sixes over long-off before miscuing a slog to point and fall for 18-ball 65, with the crowd giving him a standing ovation.

Porel launched a stunning assault against Shahbaz Ahmed, picking the lengths well to hit three fours and a six as 22 runs came off the eighth over. But Porel missed a wide delivery from Markande and was stumped for 22-ball 42.

Rishabh Pant got a rousing reception from his home crowd and he didn’t disappoint them by producing two dazzling flicks fetching him boundaries off Bhuvneshwar. But he struggled to find fluency big time, especially being beaten on pace by Cummins, which meant DC crumbled under pressure.

Tristan Stubbs succumbed to it by pulling to mid-wicket off Nitish Reddy, followed by Lalit’s leg-stump being sent on a cartwheel ride by Natarajan, who took out Axar, Nortje and Kuldeep in the 19th over. Though Pant collected four more boundaries, it was too late for DC to prevent themselves from slumping to their fifth defeat of the competition.

Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 266/7 in 20 overs (Travis Head 89, Shahbaz Ahmed 59 not out; Kuldeep Yadav 4-55, Axar Patel 1-29) beat Delhi Capitals 199 in 19.1 overs (Jake Fraser-McGurk 65, Rishabh Pant 44; T Natarajan 4-19, Nitish Reddy 2-19) by 67 runs

ALSO READ-MI Survives Sharma Assault for Thrilling Win

Categories
India News Sport Sports

MI Survives Sharma Assault for Thrilling Win

For MI, Gerald Coetzee and Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets each as the visitors’ managed to get a win despite a real scare from Ashutosh…reports Asian Lite News

Ashutosh Sharma almost single-handedly won Punjab Kings the game out of nowhere, but Mumbai Indians survived his stunning assault to win by nine runs in a thrilling match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Thursday evening.

PBKS were in real trouble of getting their net run rate being hit by a massive margin when they were 14/4 and later on at 77/6 in the chase of 193. After Shashank hit a 25-ball 41, Ashutosh continued dishing out good finishing knocks with a whirlwind 25-ball 61, also his first fifty in the IPL.

But once he fell, PBKS were eventually dismissed for 183 in 19.1 overs, as the hosts’ were consigned to their fourth defeat of the competition coming in the final over. For MI, Gerald Coetzee and Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets each as the visitors’ managed to get a win despite a real scare from Ashutosh, in what was a match fitting enough to celebrate the 17th birthday of IPL.

Chasing 193, PBKS were plunged into trouble from the word go. Prabhsimran Singh gloved a pull down the leg side to Ishan Kishan off Coetzee. Bumrah left Rilee Rossouw’s stumps in a mess with his trademark yorker, before strangling Sam Curran down leg on review.

Liam Livingstone miscued a pull, and on seeing that, Coetzee made a slide to his left to complete a low catch. Impact Player Harpreet Bhatia couldn’t keep the punch down and gave a caught-and-bowled dismissal to Shreyas Gopal. Jitesh Sharma missed a full toss from Akash Madhwal and was trapped lbw.

The first signs of counter-attack were shown by Shashank in punching fours off Coetzee and Madhwal, before swinging Gopal for six. He took a liking to Gopal’s bowling by cleanly striking him for sixes down the ground and over long-on, before being deceived by a slower ball from Bumrah.

From the other end, Ashutosh began by swinging Madhwal for six, before slashing and pulling Romario Shepherd for four and six respectively. When Hardik Pandya strayed down leg, Ashutosh was quick to whip it for six.

But the standout moment of his knock was Ashutosh staying low and sweeping a Bumrah yorker for a six over fine leg, followed by pulling Shepherd for another maximum. He would swing a Coetzee full toss for another four and with Harpreet Brar taking back-to-back fours off him, PBKS felt they were in the hunt to do the impossible.

Ashutosh reached his fifty in 23 balls by drilling Madhwal over mid-off for six, and then scooped a free-hit over the keeper for another maximum. Harpreet then hit Madhwal for six down the ground as PBKS now needed 28 runs off last four overs, with the crowd chanting Ashutosh’s name.

After Bumrah gave away only three runs in the 17th over, Ashutosh pulled the first ball of the 18th over from Coetzee straight to deep mid-wicket, falling for a whirlwind 28-ball 61. In the next over, Harpreet flicked to deep backward square leg off Hardik. Kagiso Rabada’s six made the equation 12 runs off the final over, but his run-out by Mohammad Nabi ensured relief for MI and heartbreak for PBKS.

Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav brought out his trademark shots to make a fine 78 in powering MI to a daunting 192/7. On a two-paced pitch, Suryakumar hit seven fours and three sixes, showing impeccable wrist-work and collecting boundaries behind the square to hit his highest IPL score against PBKS.

He was also supported by handy knocks of 36 and 34 not out from Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma respectively, as MI scored 77 runs in their last six overs. For PBKS, Harshal Patel and Curran were the pick of the bowlers with spells of 3-31 and 2-41 respectively.

Electing to bowl first, Kagiso Rabada drew first blood as Ishan Kishan slashed a short ball straight to backward point in the third over. Suryakumar got off the mark by using his wrists to flick and steer Rabada for back-to-back fours, followed by taking another boundary off Harshal with a whip.

Rohit brought out his trademark pull to hit an 80-m six off Arshdeep Singh, before being trapped lbw by a dipping slower delivery from Harshal. He took a very late review, with replays showing the ball missed the stumps, thus earning him a reprieve. Rohit and Suryakumar would take a four and six each off Curran as MI ended power-play at 54/1.

Curran continued to rotate his bowlers, which ensured MI weren’t let off the hook in the middle overs. But Suryakumar continued his shot-making spree by whipping, sweeping and lofting with elan to get his fifty in 23 balls. Rohit didn’t get much of the strike after power-play, despite hitting Harshal for a six down the ground, and was even struck on the helmet by Curran, needing a concussion test.

A ball later, he reached out to drive off a slower delivery from Curran, but sliced to backward point in the 12th over. PBKS dried up boundaries in the 12th, 13th and 14th overs, before Tilak broke the boundary drought by lofting and driving Arshdeep for successive fours. Suryakumar then drilled a drive through extra cover to collect another boundary as 15 runs came off the 15th over.

Suryakumar survived an lbw appeal off Rabada in the 16th over, and followed it up by lofting inside-out and scooping over keeper for four and six respectively. Tilak then came in to end the 18-run over with a pulled six off Rabada at deep mid-wicket. But Suryakumar fell in the next over, slicing to backward point off Curran and fell for 78 off 53 balls.

Pandya’s poor form continued as he muscled a slower short ball from Harshal to deep mid-wicket. Tim David injected some momentum by hitting two fours and a six in the 19th over yielding 18 runs. But Harshal had a solid final over, taking out David and Shepherd, with Mohammad Nabi being run-out on the final ball to keep MI eight short of 200, which was enough for them to get crucial two points.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 192/7 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 78, Rohit Sharma 36; Harshal Patel 3-31, Sam Curran 2-41) beat Punjab Kings 183 in 19.1 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 61, Shashank Singh 41; Jasprit Bumrah 3-21, Gerald Coetzee 3-32) by nine runs

ALSO READ: DC Rolls Over GT, Secures Win with Ease

Categories
India News Sport Sports

DC Rolls Over GT, Secures Win with Ease

The big victory at Ahmedabad sees DC jump from ninth to sixth place in points table and leapfrog GT in the process…reports Asian Lite News

Ishant Sharma took two crucial scalps in power-play while Mukesh Kumar shined with 3-14 to lead an impressive bowling show for Delhi Capitals to bowl out Gujarat Titans’ for just 89 and set up their six-wicket win at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.

On a black-soil pitch which was used for the first time in this season, the ball kept low, came slow on the batters and gripped a bit for spinners. All of this was ideal for DC bowlers to bowl economical spells and keep GT on a very tight leash. Barring Kuldeep Yadav, all bowlers were amongst the wickets, with Mukesh clinching his best-ever bowling figures in the IPL.

DC were also very sharp in their fielding, with captain Rishabh Pant, who giggled at the toss before electing to bowl first, using his bowlers very well and taking two catches plus as many effective stumpings in quick fashion. In reply, cameos from Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel and Shai Hope made short work of the chase to wrap it up in 8.5 overs.

The big victory at Ahmedabad sees DC jump from ninth to sixth place in points table and leapfrog GT in the process. GT being bundled out for 89 is now their lowest ever total since entering the IPL fold in 2022. Their previous lowest total in the IPL was 125, which co-incidentally also came against DC in Ahmedabad last year.

Ishant landed the first blow by getting Shubman Gill, who hit two crisp fours earlier, to drive straight to cover. Wriddhiman Saha tried to hoick across the line against Mukesh, but chopped on to uproot his middle-stump.

GT plunged into more trouble as Sai Sudharsan, who punched and creamed the drive off Khaleel Ahmed for back-to-back boundaries, was run-out by a brilliant direct hit from Sumit Kumar running in from short mid-wicket at the non-striker’s end despite making a desperate dive.

In the same over, David Miller got a slight inside-edge off Ishant and Pant dived full stretch to his left for taking a low catch, followed by getting the decision changed successfully on review. A maiden over from Khaleel followed as GT ended the power-play at 30/4.

It became 47/5 soon as Abhinav Manohar tried to push at an outside off-stump delivery from Tristan Stubbs and Pant, with a child-like smile, was quick to dislodge the bails for completing the stumping.

A ball later, impact player Shahrukh Khan stepped down the pitch to pull off Stubbs, but missed it and Pant, despite not gathering it cleanly, completed the stumping as the ball bounced off his gloves to hit the stumps.

Rahul Tewatia went for the slog-sweep against Axar Patel, but the ball turned in to trap the batter lbw. With umpire’s call showing the ball clipping side of leg-stump, Tewatia had to depart as GT continued to slide.

Mohit Sharma tried to break free, but holed out in the deep off Khaleel. Rashid Khan, who hit a four before the half-way mark, hit the first six of the innings by launching Kuldeep over extra cover for six. But in a bid to slash a short ball from Mukesh, Rashid gave a faint outside edge behind to Pant. A ball later, Mukesh castled Noor Ahmad to end GT’s innings in 17.3 overs.

Chasing a paltry 90, Fraser-McGurk got going from the word go by lofting Sandeep Warrier for six and four, before slashing twice off Spencer Johnson for the same result. His short yet cracking knock ended at 20 off 10 balls after flicking to mid-wicket off Johnson.

Warrier got his first scalp in the third over with a well-directed bouncer which Prithvi Shaw ballooned to short third man. Porel was delightful in punching, and pulling for a four and two sixes before being castled by Warrier.

Hope nailed his flicks, and flat-bat shots to pick three quick boundaries, before reverse-sweeping to backward point off Rashid. Pant continued his impressive time by flat-batting a drive off Noor Ahmed for four, before dancing down the pitch to clear long-off for six.

Sumit thumped Noor for a brace of fours, second of which came off a bottom-edge, which also turned out to be the winning runs for DC to complete the chase in 53 legal deliveries and see their net run-rate rise from -0.975 to -0.074.

Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 89 in 17.3 overs (Rashid Khan 31; Mukesh Kumar 3-14, Ishant Sharma 2-8) lost to Delhi Capitals 92/4 in 8.5 overs (Jake Fraser-McGurk 20; Sandeep Warrier 2-40) by six wickets

ALSO READ: Buttler Century Secures Nail-biting Victory for RR

Categories
India News Sport Sports

Buttler Century Secures Nail-biting Victory for RR

RR topped the table with this win, having won six, lost one and obtained 12 points. KKR is in the second spot, with four wins and two losses, giving them eight points…reports Asian Lite News

A sensational century from Jos Buttler and fiery cameos from Riyan Parag and Rovman Powell helped the Rajasthan Royals (RR) secure a pulsating two-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday.

RR topped the table with this win, having won six, lost one and obtained 12 points. KKR is in the second spot, with four wins and two losses, giving them eight points.

In the run chase of 224 runs, Rajasthan Royals was off to a decent start. Yashasvi Jaiswal hit Mitchell Starc for two fours and Vaibhav Arora for a six, but was caught by Venkatesh Iyer for 9-ball 19. Harshit Rana took his first wicket. RR was 22/1 in 1.5 overs.

Skipper Sanju Samson was the next up on the crease. The captain was looking good, smashing Vaibhav for two successive fours in the mid-on and mid-wicket region. However, he was trapped by Harshit Rana, who got him caught for 12 runs in eight balls with two fours. Sunil Narine got the catch at mid-on. RR was 47/2 in 4.2 overs.

50-run for RR was raised in 4.5 overs.

Riyan Parag and Jos Buttler ended RR’s powerplay on a high. They got 23 runs from Vaibhav’s over as Parag hit him for two fours and a six and Buttler launched him for a six over long-on. At the end of six overs, RR was 76/2, with Parag and Buttler unbeaten at 20* each.

Parag saved more beating for Rana, launching him for two sixes and a four. But the pacer got the last laugh as he got him caught by Andre Russell at deep midwicket for 34 in 14 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes. RR was 97/3 in 7.5 overs.

100-run was up for RR in 8.2 overs. Jurel was trapped leg-before-wicket by Narine for just two, continuing his poor IPL run. RR was 100/4 in 8.4 overs.

Halfway through the innings, RR was 109/4, with Buttler (32*) joined by Ravichandran Ashwin.

Just when Buttler and Ashwin started rebuilding, Varun Chakravarthy’s 13th over proved to be a game-changer. He first got Ravichandran Ashwin caught by Angkrish Raghuvanshi for just eight in 11 balls and Shimron Hetmyer caught by Shreyas Iyer at cover region in two balls. RR was 121/6 in 12.1 overs.

Buttler continued to shepherd the chase, bringing up his first fifty of the tournament in 36 balls, with five fours and a six. He smashed Chakravarthy for four boundaries in his 15th over. At the end of that over, RR was 145/6, with Buttler (58*) and Rovman Powell (2*) unbeaten.

Powell’s arrival brought back momentum in favour of RR. First, he hit Russell for two sixes, bringing 17 runs from his 16th over. Later, he bludgeoned Narine for a four and two sixes over long-on and deep square leg. However, Narine had the last laugh, trapping Powell lbw for 26 in 13 balls, with a four and three sixes. RR was 178/7 in 17 overs, needing 46 in 18 balls.

After this, the game became KKR vs Buttler essentially. Trent Boult was run out for a duck. RR was 186/8 in 17.3 overs. Starc ended his spell at 0/50 in four overs and RR needed 28 in the final two overs.

In the next over bowled by Harshit, Buttler smashed two sixes and a four. The equation came down to nine runs in the final over. Buttler reached his second century of IPL 2024 and seventh in the league’s history in just 55 balls, with nine fours and six sixes. RR ended the innings on a successful note at the last ball, with Buttler unbeaten at 107* in 60 balls, with nine fours and sis sixes.

Narine (2/30), Chakravarthy (2/27) and Harshit (2/45) were the pick of the bowlers for KKR.

Earlier, star bowling allrounder Sunil Narine’s blazing 109-run knock powered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 223/6 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match at the iconic Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

With his ton, Narine became the first cricketer to slam a century and take 100 wickets in the IPL. The Caribbean’s blitzkrieg knock helped KKR give a massive 224-run target to Rajasthan.

After winning the toss, the Hyderabad-based franchise sent KKR to bat first at Eden Gardens. However, Sanju Samson’s decision did not go in their favour, as they failed to take early wickets in the first inning.

Philip Salt (10 runs from 13 balls) and Sunil Narine (109 runs from 56 balls) opened for Kolkata and made a partnership of 21 runs. Salt failed to shine in the game and could smash only one four. However, the English wicketkeeper-batsman’s knock came to an end in the fourth over after Avesh Khan dismissed him.

After the first dismissal, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30 runs from 18 balls) built up a solid 25-run partnership with Narine, which helped KKR add some crucial runs to the scoreboard.

In the 11th, RR’s Kuldeep Sen came to rescue and removed Raghuvanshi from the crease. The 18-year-old batter slammed 5 fours at a strike rate of 166.67.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer (11 runs from 7 balls) replaced Raghuvanshi and slammed 1 four and six during his time on the crease.

Yuzvendra Chahal picked up his 199th wicket in the IPL after dismissing Iyer in the 13th over.

Andre Russell (13 runs from 10 balls) came onto the crease to replace the KKR skipper. Russell slammed 2 fours at a strike rate of 130.

Meanwhile, Narine’s stupendous knock came to an end in the 18th over after Trent Boult picked up the Caribbean’s wicket. The 35-year-old hit 13 fours and 6 sixes at a strike rate of 194.64. He also became the first KKR player to hit a century at the Eden Gardens in front of their home crowd.

After the dismissal of Narine, Rinku Singh (20 runs from 9 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (8 runs from 6 balls) took charge and added crucial runs at the end of the first inning.

However, Venkatesh was dismissed by Kuldeep in the last over of the first inning. He could slam just one four.

KKR’s Rinku and Ramandeep Singh (1 run from 1 ball) were on the crease during the end of the first inning.

Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Sen led the RR bowling attack after both players picked up two wickets in their respective spells. Meanwhile, Boult and Chahal scalped one wicket.

Brief score: Kolkata Knight Riders 223/6 (Sunil Narine 109, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 30, Rinku Singh 20*; Avesh Khan 2/35) lost to Rajasthan Royals: 224/8 (Jos Buttler 107*, Riyan Parag 34, Sunil Narine 2/30). (ANI)

ALSO READ: Karthik’s Blitz in Vain as Sunrisers Seal Thriller