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Rohit’s Century in Vain as CSK Clinch Victory

It was Super Sunday, not for the hosts but for the visitors as they rode on brilliant half-centuries by Ruturaj Gaikwad (69) and Shivam Dube (66 not out) and a sensational four-ball 20 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni…reports Asian Lite News

Rohit Sharma struck his second century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but his brilliant effort went in vain as Chennai Super Kings rode on superb batting by Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and MS Dhoni and a four-fer by pacer Matheesha Pathirana to beat Mumbai Indians by 20 runs in Match 29 of IPL 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.

Rohit remained unbeaten on 105 off 62 balls — a brilliant second hundred for the former Mumbai Indians captain in 17 years in the T20 league as he hammered 11 boundaries and five sweetly-timed sixes. But Mumbai Indians failed to keep up with the mounting run rate as they lost wickets at crucial junctures after a brilliant start to lose their fourth match of IPL 2024.

It was Super Sunday, not for the hosts but for the visitors as they rode on brilliant half-centuries by Ruturaj Gaikwad (69) and Shivam Dube (66 not out) and a sensational four-ball 20 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni to post a challenging 206/4 in 20 overs. CSK then rode on a superb 4-28 by Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who came in as an Impact Substitute, to restrict Mumbai Indians to 186/6 in 20 overs. Ironically, it was this four-ball 20 by Dhoni that proved decisive as they lost the match by the same margin.

Rohit and Ishan Kishan shared another superb partnership to give Mumbai a good start as they raced to 63 runs in the Power-play.

Kishan started aggressively as he hit a four off Tushar Deshpande’s second delivery and followed that up with a six and four back-to-back off Shardul Thakur in the third over. Mustafizur Rahman got struck for a four too and though Ravindra Jadeja kept him quiet,

Matheesha Pathirana, who came in as an Impact Substitute, struck off his first delivery, as Kishan hit a full-length delivery on his pads straight to Shardul Thakur at midwicket for a regulation catch. Kishan scored 23 off 15 balls, hitting three fours and a six, to leave Mumbai at 70/1 in the eighth over.

Mumbai’s Impact Substitute Suryakuamr Yadav, who had blasted a 17-ball half-century in the previous match against RCB, went back for a two-ball duck, an uppercut off a short and wide delivery with extra pace was caught superbly by Mustafizur at the deep third-man boundary. From 70 for no loss, MI were down to 70/2 in three deliveries.

But Rohit Sharma continued with his brilliant batting, punishing the bowlers with trademark power-hitting as he raced to his half-century off 30 balls, hitting seven boundaries and two maximums. The India captain started with a four off his Mumbai teammate Deshpande off the fifth ball of his first over and meted out the same treatment to Mustafizur Rahman in the next over. Deshpande was knocked out of the ground with a fine pull while Mustafizur was treated to a four and six off successive deliveries in the fifth over, the massive six landing on the roof of the stadium.

Rohit also hammered Shadrul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja for a couple of boundaries each before blasting a four and six off Jadeja, Deshpande adding insult to the injury by dropping a slog-sweep over the boundary rope for the six.

He and Tilak Varma added 60 runs for the third-wicket partnership before Varma got out for a 20-ball 31 studded with five boundaries. Pathirana, who came into the side as an Impact substitute after an injury break, was brought into the attack and made an impact by removing Varma, with a slower one pitched on the back of the length that was hit straight to Thakur for a tumbling catch at mid-off.

With the run rate mounting, Mumbai lost the plot in the death overs as Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande bowled excellent overs, conceding three and two runs respectively

Hardik Pandya, who was hammered for a hat-trick of sixes by MS Dhoni in the final over, made his day worse by scoring two runs off six balls while Tim David could manage only 13 off six.

Rohit continued to score briskly from the other end, hitting Mustafizur Rahman a couple of lusty blows, including a six as he completed his century off 61 balls, hitting Pathirana for back-to-back boundaries in the final over.

Romario Shepherd was bowled by Pathirana for one run, leaving Mumbai needing 41 runs off 12 balls. A tall ask anyway and they eventually ended on 186/4, losing the match by 20 runs. Rohit Sharma remained not out on 105 but he did not get the support from the other end as Mumbai Indians succumbed to scoreboard pressure and some good bowling in the death overs by Chennai Super Kings. Pathirana was the best bowler of the lot with 4-28 in four overs that broke the back of Mumbai innings.

Earlier, Chennai Super Kings sprung a surprise by sending Ajinkya Rahane instead of skipper Gaikwad to open the innings with Rachin Ravindra. But the move did not yield the desired result with Rahane getting out for five at his home ground.

He swept Mohd Nabi over short fine leg for a boundary in the second over but fell to Gerald Coetzee in the next, mistiming a pull shot straight to Hardik Pandya at mid-on.

The stands appeared more yellow than the traditional blue, despite many fans, who were wearing yellow jerseys of CSK lining up to take free jerseys given by the home team, and families walking into the stadium with one member wearing yellow of the visiting team while another wearing the blue of the hosts.

In the middle too, CSK started prospering with Gaikwad hammering Coetzee for a massive six over long-on in the third over and following that up with four and six off successive balls in his next over, making room for a cut but managing only a thick inside edge past short fine-leg and backing away again on the next ball to uppercut a short one over third man for six.

CSK could still manage only 48/1 in the Power-play. However, with both Gaikwad and Ravindra helping themselves to a four each off Akash Madhwal and the New Zealand opener carting Shreyas Gopal for a six with a clean swing over long-on, they completed fifty of their partnership for the second wicket off 36 balls.

Gopal had his revenge on the next delivery as he induced a faint edge as Ravindra attempted to cut and missed. Keeper Ishan Kishan goes up in appeal and Mumbai Indians review it after it is turned down. Ultra edge shows a small spike as the ball passes the bat and Mumbai get their man. Ravindra got out for 21 off 16, hitting two fours and a six and CSK were down to 60/2 in the eighth over.

While Jasprit Bumrah kept things tight at one end by conceding only 10 runs in his first two overs, CSK continued to prosper from the other with Shivam Dube helping himself to three boundaries, two of them off successive deliveries, off Hardik Pandya’s first over, which cost Mumbai Indians 15 runs.

Gaikwad, who was dropped by Rohit Sharma off Madhwal when on 40, went on to smash a six each off Madhwal and Coetzee in successive overs to complete his half-century off 33 balls, hitting three fours and as many sixes. He and Dube also raised fifty runs in their partnership for the third wicket off 30 balls.

Dube, who started with three fours off Pandya, slapped and pulled Romario Shepherd for two boundaries and then in the 14th over, Shepherd for back-to-back sixes, two superb efforts that were followed by a boundary off a short ball past the deep midwicket which left the fans delirious in the stands. Gaikwad then scythed a low full toss off his wrists for another boundary as the over cost Mumbai Indians 22 runs. Dube bought fifty off 28 balls.

Gaikwad struck Madhwal for a six and four off successive balls, advancing down the wicket to blast a six off Madhwal despite the bowler going wide. With runs flowing easily, skipper Hardik Pandya brought himself into the attack and was rewarded for his courageous decision when he got his counterpart with an off-cutter, inducing a mishit that went straight to Nabi at long-on. Gaikwad’s superb innings produced 69 runs off 40 balls and was studded with five boundaries and as many sixes. He and Dube added 90 runs for the third wicket in quick time.

The crowd that was till then going “Rohit, Rohit”, started chanting the name of the Mumbai Indians skippers as Pandya got a wicket for two runs in that over.

Daryl Mitchell was out for 17 off 14 but Mahendra Singh Dhoni hammered Pandya for a hat-trick of sixes in the final over that cost 26 runs as CSK posted a par score of 206/4 in 20 overs. Shivam Dube remained unbeaten on 66 off 36 balls while Dhoni finished on 20 not out off four deliveries as CSK set Mumbai Indians a target of 207.

Though Bumrah was at his usual frugal self giving 27 runs in his four overs, Pandya ended with 2-43 courtesy of Dhoni’s three sixes.

Mumbai Indians conceded too many runs in the middle overs as Gaikwad and Dube milked the bowling to help them score 101 runs from the 7th to 15th overs. Mumbai Indians skipper Pandya also left experts baffled as he did not give his full quota to Mohd Nabi who gave away only 19 runs in three overs while fellow spinner Shreyas Gopal got only one over in he took one wicket for nine runs. He took upon himself the responsibility to bowl the final over and was carted around by Dhoni.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 206/4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 69, Shivam Dube 66 not out, MS Dhoni 20 not out; Hardik Pandya 2-43) beat Mumbai Indians 186/6 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 105 not out, Tilak Varma 31; Matheesha Pathirana 4-28).

ALSO READ: Shimron Hetmyer’s Blitz Leads Rajasthan Royals to Thrilling Victory

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Shimron Hetmyer’s Blitz Leads Rajasthan Royals to Thrilling Victory

Rajasthan Royals faced a tough situation but Shimron Hetmyer’s quickfire 27 off 10 balls secured a thrilling three-wicket win against Punjab Kings, maintaining their top spot…reports Asian Lite News

Rajasthan Royals were in a tricky situation, but Shimron Hetmyer ensured he went bang-bang to slam an unbeaten 27 off 10 balls as the visitors beat Punjab Kings in a low-scoring thriller by three wickets to maintain their pole position in the points table at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Saturday evening.

After restricting PBKS to 147/8 on a slow pitch, RR were in trouble at 115/5. Under mounting pressure, Hetmyer, who barely got batting time this season, smashed a four and three sixes, including the winning shot, to get RR over the line with a ball to spare, as the side got its fifth win of the tournament, while PBKS were consigned to its fourth defeat.

He was also helped by Rovman Powell making a vital five-ball 11 to give RR a slim victory in yet another last-over encounter between the two teams.

Chasing 148, Tanush Kotian, playing as an opener for the first time in Jos Butter’s absence, got off the mark with a cut past backward point off Arshdeep Singh and would go on to pull the pacer for another boundary.

From the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal timed his flick and drove well to pick up a brace of fours. Though Kotian struggled to get going despite smashing Rabada over mid-on for four, Jaiswal cut off Sam Curran and was also helped by a misfield to take two boundaries as RR didn’t lose a wicket in power-play for the first time in IPL 2024.

Shortly after, Kotian tried to release dot-ball pressure with a big slog but was castled by Liam Livingstone. Sanju Samson injected positivity in RR’s chase by thumping Livingstone down the ground for six, followed by a pulled four. PBKS’ move to bring back Rabada worked as Jasiwal upper-cut a rising delivery to third man and trapped Samson lbw in his next over.

Arshdeep got PBKS ahead when he had Parag caught in the deep off a top-edge, followed by Harshal Patel having Jurel caught by Shashank Singh running in from deep mid-wicket to complete a stunning grab. With 30 runs needed off 14 balls, Hetmyer breathed life into the chase by muscling Harshal for four and pulling over backward square leg for six as 14 runs came off the 18th over.

Powell brought out back-to-back drives off Curran, before being bounced out by the pacer, who had Keshav Maharaj holing out to long-on in the 19th over. With ten runs needed off the final over, Arshdeep nailed back-to-back wide yorkers, before Hetmyer smashed a six straight to long-on cushion. After a brace to long-on, Hetmyer finished off the chase by walloping a high full toss over fine leg for six to seal a tight win for RR.

Earlier, Ashutosh Sharma exhibited his incredible ball-striking ability by making a 16-ball 31 to propel PBKS to a respectable 147/8. PBKS’ suffered a top-order meltdown as RR nailed their lengths and pace of deliveries very well and forced them to play poor shots, leading to their downfall. After Jitesh Sharma made 29, impact player Ashutosh brought some late fireworks for PBKS to amass 61 runs in the last five overs.

For RR, Maharaj took 2/23 in an impressive middle-overs spell while Avesh Khan also had two scalps to his name. Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult and Kuldeep Sen took a wicket each in a disciplined bowling performance for RR.

Pushed into batting first, PBKS couldn’t get going as Atharva Taide top-edged a pull-off Avesh and with both Kuldeep plus Sanju Samson in contention to take the catch, it was taken by the former despite a minor collision.

The rest of the power-play was a struggle for PBKS as they ended the power-play at 38/1, which continued in middle overs. Prabhsimran Singh tried to go big against Chahal but holed out to long-on. Jonny Bairstow tried to slap a Maharaj delivery, but spooned a catch to cover, giving the left-arm spinner his first IPL wicket. He then got his second scalp by having Curran pull straight to mid-wicket.

Jitesh finally got PBKS’ first boundary in middle overs by dancing down the pitch to hammer a four over Maharaj’s head while Shashank Singh drove off the spinner for another boundary. But Kuldeep had Shashank miscuing a pull to Jurel, who took his third catch of the match.

Jitesh injected some momentum in PBKS’ innings by lofting Chahal over extra cover for six and crunching Kuldeep for a loft down the ground to pick another maximum. Livingstone also found boundaries by heaving and swiping Kuldeep for four and six respectively.

But in a bid to go over mid-off, Jitesh miscued the shot and gave a catch to the fielder off Avesh. Livingstone wanted to go for a second run, but Ashutosh sent him back. By then, Samson had collected the under-arm throw from debutant Kotian and had Livingstone run out.

Ashutosh, dropped at nine due to a collision between Samson and Avesh for taking his catch, provided finishing touches by smashing three brutal sixes – two of them coming over long-on and firmly struck a four through extra cover before a top-edge on the pull caught by backward point led to his dismissal on last ball of the PBKS’ stop-start innings, which wasn’t enough to deny RR their second win away from home.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 147/8 in 20 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 31, Jitesh Sharma 29; Keshav Maharaj 2-23, Avesh Khan 2-34) lost to Rajasthan Royals 152/7 in 19.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 39, Shimron Hetmyer 27 not out; Kagiso Rabada 2-18, Sam Curran 2-25) by three wickets.

ALSO READ: Bumrah’s Five Ignites Mumbai’s Dominant Win

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Bumrah’s Five Ignites Mumbai’s Dominant Win

In a match in which five batters scored half-centuries, Bumrah was the only bowler to make an impression and eventually proved the difference for Mumbai Indians…reports Asian Lite News

Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar put up a brilliant display of power-hitting as they blazed to half-centuries after Jasprit Bumrah had claimed a sensational 5-21 as Mumbai Indians thrashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets with 27 balls to space in Match 25 of Indian Premier League 2024 on Thursday.

Kishan blasted a 23-ball half-century on his way to a 34-ball 69, raising 72 runs in the power-play and putting on a century partnership with Rohit Sharma (38) while Yadav stormed to a 17-ball fifty, the second fastest this season as Mumbai Indians raced to 199/3 in 15.3 overs after Bumrah had helped them restrict RCB to 196/8 in 20 overs despite superb half-centuries by Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik, who reach his half-century off 22 balls. This was the first instance of three batters slammed half-centuries and a bowler took a fifer in the same innings in T20 cricket.

On a Wankhede Stadium pitch full of runs on which the ball was sticking and stopping a bit, Bumrah bowled toe-crushing yorkers and slow, low full tosses to keep the batters guessing as he claimed two wickets off successive overs twice.

In a match in which five batters scored half-centuries, Bumrah was the only bowler to make an impression and eventually proved the difference for Mumbai Indians as he bagged his second five-wicket haul for sensational figures of 5-21 in four overs as Mumbai Indians won their second match of the season in five outings and 50th overall at the Wankhede Stadium to prove that they are finally getting back into the groove and will be a handful any opposition if their batters and bowlers performed to their optimum.

This was the ninth instance when Mumbai Indians successfully chased a target of 190-plus scores, the most by any team alongside Punjab Kings. This is also the 11th time that RCB has failed to defend a 190-plus score.

Mumbai got off to a sensational start with Ishan Kishan batting in whirlwind fashion, racing to 72 runs in the mandatory Power-play. They raced to fifty in 29 balls in the fifth over.

He started his assault on the RCB bowlers with a six off Mohammed Siraj, a fine flick off a full-length delivery. Reece Topley was flayed for a hat-trick of boundaries in the third over — flayed to backward point, next an edge past Glenn Maxwell as he failed to hold on to it at slip and then another flick through midwicket for his third four of the over.

He shivered and pulled Siraj for a six, and followed it up with a punch off the back foot to the cover boundary and put the icing on the cake, leaning back and slashing him for a brilliant six. Rohit Sharma helped himself to a six after Ishan ran for a single as Mahipal Lomror saved a certain four. Siraj conceded 23 runs off the over. When Maxwell was pressed into action, Kishan hammered him for a four and then a six and four off successive deliveries in the same sixth over as he raced to his half-century off 23 balls, becoming the third batter to score a half-century in Power-play for Mumbai Indians. This was the second time Kishan scored fifty in the Power-play.

Kishan was eventually out for 68 off 34 balls, caught by Virat Kohli at long-off as Akash Deep managed to fox him with a slow bouncer as the Mumbai Indians opener failed to time his shot. Ishan Kishan managed a strike rate of 200-plus in his innings and Rohit Sharma looked a slow coach with his strike rate of 150-odd as they raised 101 runs in nine overs for the first wicket partnership.

Suryakumar Yadav, who came in as an Impact Substitute in place of Akash Madhwal, continued with the carnage, proving once again why he is considered the best T20 batter in the world.

The Mumbai batter considered the best 360-degree batter the game has seen after AB de Villiers, put up a brilliant display of power-hitting, unleashing a range of shots that had the packed crowd mesmerised. Suryakuamr Yadav was out for a zero in his first match on return from injury but showed on Thursday that he is in brilliant form as he put up a sensational display of power-hitting to score a 17-ball half-century, the joint eighth-fastest half-century in IPL history. He joined Chris Gayle, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard as the fourth batter to score a half-century off 17 balls.

After a couple of doubles and a single, SKY waded into Akash Deep for three sixes and a four in the 11th over. Starting with a four followed by a dot ball, Surya hammered a slow knuckleball by Akash Deep for a massive six. The next ball, Glenn Maxwell dropped by Glenn Maxwell at backward point as he cut hard at a short and wide one. SKY rubbed salt into the wound when he hammered the next two deliveries for sixes to leave the RCB bowler shell-shocked.

In between Rohit departed to a sensational catch by Reece Topley off Will Jacks, his first wicket in his debut match as the former Mumbai Indians captain scored 38 off 24 balls.

Suryakumar Yadav continued to torment the RCB bowlers. A four and a six followed by two more boundaries off Topley in the 13th over as SKY sliced, scooped and flicked off his wrists as he stormed to his half-century off 17 balls.

He was finally out in the 14th over, finding the fielder off Vijaykumar Vyshak, scything it straight to deep point for Lomror to pick a fine catch.

Hardik Pandya, who was booed once again by the crowd but also had a section of the stands rooting for him, started with a six off Will Jacks off the first ball. He hammered Vyshak for a six in the 14th over before sealing victory with a six, a brilliant shot to end the match as Mumbai Indians chased down 197 in 15.3 overs, giving their Net Run Rate a much-needed boost after starting IPL 2024 with three successive defeat.

Earlier, Dinesh Karthik provided the perfect finishing touch to Royal Challenger Bengaluru’s innings after Du Plessis and Patidar had helped them recover from the early loss of Virat Kohli with a brilliant partnership of 82 runs. Du Plessis completed his half-century off 33 balls while Patidar raced to his fifty off 25 balls. Karthik then hammered 52 not out off 23 balls to help RCB put up what looked like a strong total.

RCB got off to a poor start as their inform-batter and former captain Virat Kohli succumbed early in the high-voltage clash on a hot and humid evening.

Kohli’s stay in the middle lasted nine balls and he got out for three runs even before he had got firing. The former RCB captain had survived a strong lbw appeal on the second ball of the third over bowled by Jasprit Bumrah.

However, Mumbai Indians’ best bowler this season so far had him man off the next delivery, Bumrah used his wide release angle to make the fullish length delivery to get into Kohli and the former India captain’s swipe at a ball going leg side kisses his bat and Ishan Kishan dived to his left and plucked a good catch. RCB down to 14/1.

It became 23/2 soon as debutant Will Jacks got out for eight off six balls as he was caught by Tim David off Akash Madhwal, failing to clear the mid-on fielder as the bowler banged it a bit short. Jacks, who struck Bumrah for a boundary off the second ball he faced, hit Madhwal for a boundary off the fourth delivery he faced in IPL and fell a ball later. RCB went on to make 44/2 in the Power-play.

However, they found their heroes in skipper Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar as the duo added 82 runs for the third wicket partnership as they took RCB past the 100-run mark. Both reached their half-centuries, Patidar blazing to his fifty off 26 balls, hitting three boundaries and four sixes.

Patidar started with a boundary off Madhwal and then repeated the act in the sixth over, swivelling and pulling over the fielder at midwicket a ball that pitched around good length around off. He hammered his first six of the day off leggie Shreyas Gopal, slogging it over cow corner a full-length ball around off. In the 10th over, he planted a delivery from Pandya into the second-tier over wide long-on as the Mumbai Indians skipper conceded 13 runs in his first over.

Patidar, who survived a DRS review for caught behind off Bumrah, hammered Gerald Coetzee for sixes off successive balls in the 12th over, flicking a knee-high full toss in front of square and following it up by flat-batting a pull in the same region. The second six brought in his half-century off 25 balls, studded with three fours and four sixes.

But the South African pacer had the last laugh as he banged it short and angled it into the batter, Patidar attempted to pull but gloved it to Ishan Kishan for a well-made fifty.

Glenn Maxwell failed once again but Du Plessis found a willing partner in Dinesh Karthik as they raised a crucial partnership.

Du Plessis continued in the same vein as he completed his half-century off 33 balls, hitting four boundaries and two maximums. The South African batter, who struck Mohd Nabi for a four off the last ball of the first over, picked fellow South African Coetzee from the good length and scooped the ball over the boundary shuffling to the off-side after his compatriot had nearly scythed through him with a delivery that jagged in sharply struck the RCB skipper on his body.

He struck a couple of boundaries off Romario Shepherd as he reached his 34th half-century in the Indian Premier League and 66th in T20s. He celebrated his fifty by planting Shreyas Gopal twenty rows back into the stands, backing away to a full delivery on the off.

Bumrah then turned things in Mumbai Indians’ favour, claiming two wickets off successive deliveries twice as he completed a well-deserved fifer.

He started the turnaround for Mumbai Indians by getting Du Plessis caught by Tim David, a shin-high full toss preventing the RCB skipper from getting under the ball to generate power. RCB fell to 153/5.

It became 153/6 as Bumrah trapped Mahipal Lomror for a first-ball duck with a superb toe-crusher. Replays confirmed that it would have clipped the outside of the leg stump.

Saurav Chauhan, who came in as an Impact Player, survived the hat-trick ball. But Bumrah was at it once again as he got Chauhan off the third delivery of the 18th over with a short one that the batter guided to midwicket and followed it up with his fifth wicket getting Vijaykumar Vyshak for a duck and ended with 5-21, bowling brilliantly on a pitch on which the ball was gripping a bit and other bowlers got hit for a few runs.

Dinesh Karthik, who watched the parade with his teammates from the other end, finished it in style, hitting Akash Madhwal for two sixes and a four in successive balls as they got 19 runs from the final over.

Karthik completed his half-century off 22 balls, hitting five boundaries and four sixes, essaying the finisher’s role to perfection as RCB fell just short of the 200-run mark.

But in the end, it proved insufficient as MI chased down the target easily thanks to brilliant stroke play by Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 196/8 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 61, Rajat Patidar 50, Dinesh Karthik 53 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 5-21) lost to Mumbai Indians 199/3 in 15.3 overs (Ishan Kishan 69, Suryakumar Yadav 52, Rohit Sharma 38; Will Jacks 1-24, Vijaykumar Vyshak 1-32) by seven wickets.

ALSO READ: Rashid Khan Spins Gujarat to IPL Thriller Victory

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Rashid Khan Spins Gujarat to IPL Thriller Victory

Rashid Khan’s Blitz, Shubman Gill’s Fifty Propel Gujarat Titans to Nail-biting Win Over Rajasthan Royals…reports Asian Lite News

Rashid Khan’s quick-fire of 24 runs after skipper Shubman Gill’s half-century helped Gujarat Titans win the match by three wickets in a last-over thriller against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, here on Wednesday.

Chasing the target of 197, Gujarat Titans went off to a slow start. Both the openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudarshan scored over a run a ball in their first four overs, and with 171 needed from the last 16 overs they needed a push. The Titans ended their powerplay at 44 for no loss.

Sai Sudharsan smashed two lovely fours at the start of the eighth over and off Yuzvendra Chahal’s first, by both back-foot punches, first to beat deep midwicket to his right, and the next to beat sweeper cover. The fourth ball of the over was another back-foot punch, but straight back to the bowler this time as it was a tough reflex catch, and it didn’t quite stick in Chahal’s hands.

Titans were reeling on 63 for no loss after eight overs. The openers were looking good without yet putting up the really big overs. Kuldeep Sen, introduced in the attack in the ninth over, gave the Royals their first breakthrough as he plumbed Sudarshan in front of the stump. RR went upstairs after the onfield call was not out and with three reds in Sudarshan had to depart scoring 35 off 29 deliveries.

After a short rain break, Sen struck again in his next over. In just ten legal deliveries Sen had struck three times. After breaking the opening partnership Sen went on to dismiss Mattew Wade for 4. Sen went hard at a short-of-length ball angling away from Wade, but it took the inside edge of his diagonal bat and clattered into the stumps.

In the fourth delivery of the over Sen went past Abhinav Mankhar’s defense to dismiss him for a single-digit score of 1. The Titans were 79 for 3 in 10.4 overs. Gill on the other hand completed his half-century off 35 balls, at the start of the 14th over of the Titans’ innings.

They still needed 93 off 41 deliveries. Gill managed to hit only two fours and two sixes and was not able to hit a boundary since the end of the 10th over. Vijay Shankar, who was struggling with his form went off to a good start before getting out of Yuzvendra Chahal’s googly at the score of 16. Rahul Tewatia walked into the crease with 84 needed off 36 balls. Titans collected 13 runs off Ashwin’s third over.

Right when Gill was trying to bring back the momentum to Titans’ favour, they lost their skipper after he smashed back-to-back boundaries to Chahal. Gill hit him for two off-side fours off the first two balls of the 16th over, and then stepped out to the third ball, looking for another boundary. Chahal saw him coming and bowled it even wider, a genuine wide, well out of his reach, and Samson completed the stumping. Gill went back to the pavilion for 72 off 44, and the Titans needed 64 in 28 balls. Chahal ended his spell with a figure of 2 for 43.

Ashwin in his last over of the spell bowled the second most expensive over of the inning after he got smashed for 17 runs by Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan and ended his spell with the figure of 40 for none.

Avesh Khan bowling the 18th over trapped Shahrukh Khan in front of the stumps for 14 off eight deliveries and Titans needing 40 off 15 balls. By the end of the 18th over the equation went down to 35 required of 12 deliveries. Sen, who was the star bowler for Royals so far was given the responsibility to bowl the 19th over of the inning. It was a nine-ball over. Both Tewatia and Rashid found the extra-cover boundary once each. There was also a wide outside off stump to the left-hander and a wide down the leg side to the right-hander from Kuldeep Sen.

There was a (tight) no-ball as well. The free hit produced a catch in the outfield, and Tewatia finished the over with a terrific hit, a one-bounce four over mid-off off a slower-length ball angling away from his arc. Avesh Khan was asked to bowl the final over, and the Royals with five minutes behind the targeted over rate, were with only four fielders outside the circle.

Avesh Khan bowled the final over with only four men out on the boundary and with Titans needing 15. A low full-toss that Rashid swiped to the leg-side boundary, nice yorker outside off, squeaked by Rashid past the diving Samson. The Titans needed four out of two when Tewatia misplayed a hit in the middle of the off. With Buttler pursuing them back towards the boundary, they attempted to run a third, but Tewatia was well short of the bowler’s end crease.

Titans now needed two runs off the final ball, and Rashid was on strike. With just four fielders back, Avesh doesn’t have many solid options. He went short, a little outside off, and Rashid slashed this through covers for a boundary to win the match for the Titans by three wickets.

Brief score:

Rajasthan Royals 196 for 3 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 68 not out, Riyan Parag 76; Rashid Khan 1-18, Umesh Yadav 1-47) lost to Gujarat Titans 199 for 7 (Shubman Gill 72, Sai Sudarshan 35; Kuldeep Sen 3-41, Yuzvendra Chahal 2-43) by three wickets.

ALSO READ: CSK Dominates with Jadeja’s Spell, Gaikwad’s Heroics

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CSK Dominates with Jadeja’s Spell, Gaikwad’s Heroics

Chennai Super Kings registered their third home win of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with a seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium…reports Asian Lite News

Ravindra Jadeja starred with a miserly spell of 3-18 to turn the game on its head, while captain Ruturaj Gaikwad made a welcome return to form through an unbeaten 67 off 58 balls as defending champions Chennai Super Kings registered their third home win of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with a seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

Jadeja maintained a stump-to-stump line and made subtle changes in pace and trajectory to rattle KKR’s big hitters in his four overs of a match-defining spell. Fast-bowlers Tushar Deshpande and a retuning Mustafizur Rahman bowled exceptional spells of great lines and lengths coupled with impeccable slower deliveries in the fag end to pick 3-33 and 2-22 respectively.

The trio’s efforts meant KKR were restricted to a below-par 137/9 on a sluggish pitch offering turn. Later, Gaikwad dazzled in front of the faithful home crowd with a flurry of delightful nine boundaries to carry his bat and complete the modest chase with 14 balls to spare.

Coming into this game, Gaikwad had scored 88 runs in four matches with a highest score of 46. But when it mattered, along with dew coming in, he stood up tall and relied on timing plus piercing the gaps to get a comfortable win for CSK. He was also supported by nice 20s from Daryl Mitchell and impact player Shivam Dube in snapping KKR’s unbeaten streak.

Electing to bowl first, Deshpande got a length ball to shape away from Phil Salt, who couldn’t keep it down and slashed to backward point for a golden duck. He also made the dangerous Sunil Narine play and miss a lot in the opening over, by not giving any room and bowling majorly on his hips. But Narine got going against Deshpande in the third over, whipping, thumping and flicking to collect two fours and a six. He then brought out the straight drive against Shardul Thakur for four and dispatched Maheesh Theekshana over long-on for six to bring up KKR’s 50.

From the other end, young Angkrish Raghuvanshi played four authoritative boundaries, including launching a six over Theekshana’s head as KKR ended the power-play at 56/1. But then Jadeja arrived to bring CSK back into the match by taking three wickets in eight balls.

Chennai: Chennai Super King’s MS Dhoni greets Kolkata Knight Rider’s captain Shreyas Iyer after won the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai, Monday, April 08, 2024.(IANS)

On his first ball, Jadeja trapped Raghuvanshi lbw, when the batter shaped up for a reverse sweep, and missed it to be out for 24. He had Narine miscuing to long-off and fall for 27, before returning to have Venkatesh Iyer pulling straight to mid-wicket. Ramandeep Singh was next to fall after being cast by a carrom ball from Theekshana.

With cutters ruling the roost, captain Shreyas Iyer struggled to get going despite collecting two boundaries. Rinku Singh looked scratchy and chopped onto his stumps off a wide, slower delivery from Deshpande. Andre Russell was kept quiet by wide slower balls, mainly from Mustafizur. After carving two fours in the off-side area, he holed out to long-on for run-a-ball 10 off a fuller slow delivery from Deshpande, despite being dropped by MS Dhoni.

Iyer’s struggle ended on 34 when he slogged to deep mid-wicket off a slower ball from Mustafizur, who also had Mitchell Starc pulling to deep square leg, as KKR made 38 runs in their last five overs, losing four wickets.

Chasing 138, Rachin Ravindra got moving with three fours coming via an on-drive, loft and heave off Starc in the third over. But in a bid to go over long-on, Ravindra miscued one to the fielder off Vaibhav Arora. From the other end, Gaikwad began by ramping Arora for four, followed by him taking three boundaries off left-arm spinner Anukul Roy, all of which had a silken touch. He backed away to create room for driving thrice in the packed off-side gap with exquisite timing and precision.

Gaikwad then smashed Arora for two back-to-back fours –- a punched drive was followed by a fierce cut, as CSK made 52/1 in power-play. Mitchell kickstarted his promotion to three, with Ajinkya Rahane nursing a calf strain, by dancing down the pitch to loft Narine for six, followed by reverse-sweeping him for four more.

With Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy bowling a few tidy overs, Gaikwad and Mitchell didn’t take undue risks to keep the scoreboard moving. Gaikwad got his first fifty of the season with a brace off Chakaravarthy, but Narine broke the second wicket stand of 70 off 55 balls by castling an advancing Mitchell with flight and turn through the gate.

With the finish line in sight, Gaikwad and Dube took a pulled four each off Starc, before the latter whacked Chakaravarthy for powerful sixes down the ground and over long-off. Dube powerfully dispatched Arora for another six over deep mid-wicket, before the pacer flattened his off stump. After Dhoni took a single, Gaikwad finished off the chase by slapping Roy through cover for four to ensure CSK got its eighth win over KKR at Chepauk.

Brief scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders 137/9 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 34, Sunil Narine 27; Ravindra Jadeja 3-18, Tushar Deshpande 3-33) lost to Chennai Super Kings 141/3 in 17.4 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 67 not out, Shivam Dube 28; Vaibhav Arora 2-28, Sunil Narine 1-30) by seven wickets

ALSO READ: Lucknow Break Barrier

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Lucknow Break Barrier

This was his best IPL figure and also he became the first Indian to take five wickets for LSG. It was also the first win for Lucknow in five outings against Titans…reports Asian Lite News

Riding on Yash Thakur’s five for 30 and Krunal Pandya’s economical three wickets helped Lucknow Super Giants defeat Gujarat Titans, for the first time in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL), by 33 runs at Ekana Cricket Stadium, here on Sunday.

This was his best IPL figure and also he became the first Indian to take five wickets for LSG. It was also the first win for Lucknow in five outings against Titans

Chasing 164 to win, Lucknow had a steady start with Sai Sudarshan picking up a brace of boundaries in the second over off Naveen-ul-Haq. Mayank Yadav came to bowl the third over and left the field straightaway after completing his first over as he suffered a side strain.

Things aren’t going smoothly for LSG tonight and Sudarshan helps himself to two more fours – driven down the ground and whipped through midwicket – before Shubman Gill gets going with a ramp wide of deep third. Mayank’s pace barely got above 140kph in the first over as he left the field straight after completing his first over.

When it seemed like this chase would be simple, Yash Thakur fires one through Gill and into the timber. Full, straight, and cross-seam, it continued to skid as the captain of the Titans tried to flick across the line and got out at 19. Gill’s team was in a good position at 54 for 1 at the conclusion of the powerplay. M Siddharth struggled to bowl as he crossed the bowling line three times in his second and fifth over of the inning, but managed to give only 12 runs. Sudarshan appeared to be in excellent form as he scored 29 from 18 after the end of the seventh over.

LSG was still in the match, but Ravi Bishnoi had a great return catch to dismiss Titans’ impact sub, Kane Williamson, who chipped one back to the bowler and was out for one from four deliveries. Bishnoi leaped to his right and held out one arm, just hanging on as he banged into the turf. Williamson was undoubtedly the one targeted to lead a modest pursuit on a sticky surface, but he left on a cheap note.

This game took a radical turn as Sai Sudarshan and BS Sharath both holed out in Krunal Pandya’s opening over. Wicketkeeper Sharath, who came in place of Wriddhiman Saha top-edged a sweep to a deep backward square, Bishnoi took another catch, a much simpler catch was on the deep square boundary to remove Sudarshan. Sudarshan departed after scoring 31 off 23 deliveries and was the highest scorer of his side. Krunal ended with three for eleven.

With 72 needed in 36 balls, and with Yash Thakur’s golden arm, LSG were inching to close the match very quickly. After dismissing Gill early in the innings, he returned for his second over and had Rashid Khan (0) chip to cover a slower ball, and Vijay Shankar (17) was caught behind swiping at a short ball. Rahul Tewatia and Spencer Johnson added 24 runs in 17 deliveries for the ninth wicket but Thakur bowling his last over of the spell claimed a five-for giving away 30 runs in 3.5 overs dismissing Tewatia (30) and Noor Ahmad (0).

Earlier batting first on their home ground, Lucknow suffered an early setback as opener Quinton de Kock got out after opening his account with a six to Umesh Yadav. Not a start that Lucknow would have thought of as Umesh was all over the Lucknow batters in the powerplay.

Devdutt Padikkal, who came to bat at number three was the second wicket of Yadav. Umesh bowled a back of a length delivery in the channel, nipping away with the angle and Padikkal was enticed into wafting at it. Padikkal got a thick outside edge and Shankar snaffled it up at wide slip, low to his left. Padikkal got out after scoring 7 runs in 7 deliveries. LSG ended on 47 for 2 after the end of the powerplay as Stoinis and Rahul started building the innings.

Titans came with an attacking bowling plan on a damp pitch which saw an uneven bounce right from the start of the match. They bowled on the hard length and kept the ball away from both batters. Rahul, who loves to play cut and drive shots, suffered difficulties in scoring against Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Mohit Sharma on the other hand mixed his pace well without giving much room to score. It was a good display of bowling from the Titans’ bowlers as LSG after the end of ten overs scored 74 for two with Rahul and Stoinis finding difficulties in scoring boundaries.

From 18 for 2 in the third over, the third-wicket pairing of Rahul and Stoinis had bolted together a stocky partnership worth 73 from 62 balls – but LSG’s skipper departed trying to take on Darshan Nalkande, brought on at fourth change by Titans. Rahul was looking to hit down the ground but it didn’t come on to the bat and he was well held by Rahul Tewatia several yards in from the rope at long-on. A score of 33 off 31, with only three boundaries with a strike rate of 106.45.

Nalkande bowling his second over of the day was welcomed with a six and the fourth went the same way with another clean swing across the line by Stoinis who started changing his gear and scored his first IPL 2024 half-century in 40 deliveries. Nalkande stuck to his guns, however, and made his second breakthrough of the night as Stoinis top-edged a hoick straight up and departed scoring 58 off 43 deliveries. Titans successfully kept a lid on things. It was the second-slowest inning by Stoinis in all the IPL matches in which he has scored 50 or 50 plus.

Noor Ahmed conceded just one boundary from his four overs, which cost 22 runs – he should have had a wicket, too, with Stoinis dropped off a mishit on 43. At the end of 15 overs, LSG were 114 for four and with two new batters in the crease (Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni) it was difficult to reach a good total for LSG. Mohit Sharma conceded 17 runs in his second last over of the spell courtesy of a six by Poorand and back-to-back boundaries by Badoni.

It was Rashid Khan’s first wicket of the evening as after hitting two fours from Mohit Sharma in the previous over, Ayush Badoni attempted a slog-sweep but was only able to pick out deep midwicket. However, as Krunal Pandya was off strike, Pooran was able to finally lay a hand on the champion leg-spinner for the Titans, delivering a huge blow over the leg side. If Sai Sudharsan hadn’t done a great job with the long-on rope, he could have also scored another boundary against Rashid. LSG raised their 150 with an over to go and reached 163 for 7 in 20 overs.

Brief Score: Lucknow Super Giants 163 for 5 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 58, KL Rahul 33; Darshan Nalkande 2-21, Umesh Yadav 2-22) beat Gujarat Titans (Sai Sudarshan 31, Rahul Tewatia 30; Yash Thakur 5-30, Krunal Pandya 3-11) by 33 runs

ALSO READ: Buttler Shines in his 100th IPL Match as Royals Beat RCB

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Buttler Shines in his 100th IPL Match as Royals Beat RCB

Jaipur: Rajasthan Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler celebrates scoring a century and also the win over Royal Challengers Bangaluru during the IPL cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (Photo: IANS/BCCI)

Through his brilliant knock, Buttler has also become only the second batter to score a 100 in his 100th IPL match…reports Asian Lite News

Opener Jos Buttler announced his return to form in his 100th IPL match with a magnificent 58-ball century as he outshined Virat Kohli’s ton to help Rajasthan Royals make it four wins from four matches at IPL 2024 after beating Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

After Kohli brought out his vintage self to slam his eighth IPL century and ninth overall in T20 cricket via 113 not out off 72 balls to lift RCB to a competitive 183/3, Buttler weathered the early storm and then brought out the attacking play to perfection to hit exactly 100 runs off 58 balls, laced with nine fours and four sixes, in what was his sixth IPL century.

Through his brilliant knock, Buttler has also become only the second batter to score a 100 in his 100th IPL match, after K.L. Rahul. On a pitch where stroke play got better as the game progressed, Buttler was also well-supported by captain Sanju Samson making 69 off 42 balls as RR completed the chase with five balls to spare and was now on top of the points table.

It was the same old story for RCB, who lacked penetration with the ball and barring Reece Topley, the rest failed to put up a performance of note for the visitors. RR didn’t have an ideal start to the chase of 184 as Yashasvi Jaiswal pulled a short ball from Reece Topley to mid-off, falling for a two-ball duck.

Samson got going with three boundaries, before Buttler scooped a four over Dinesh Karthik’s head, followed by surviving a tough chance and surviving a run-out attempt in the fourth over bowled by Mohammed Siraj.

Buttler followed it up by hitting two off-side boundaries off Yash Dayal and proceeded to smack left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar for three fours and a six in an 18-run over as RR made 54/1 in six overs at the end of power-play.

Samson pulled leg-spinner Himanshu Sharma twice for fours, one of which Kohli couldn’t catch at mid-wicket. Buttler drove one on the up off Cameron Green, before reaching his fifty in 30 balls. Samson wowed everyone with an upper cut six off Siraj, before hitting two fours and a maximum off Dagar to reach his second fifty of the season in 33 balls.

Whenever RCB’s spinners missed their lengths, along with dew coming into play, Buttler and Samson were quick to dispatch it for boundaries. Buttler was impeccable with his timing -– seen from him flat-batting a slower short ball from Dayal over leaping long-off and then using the width from Topley to steer using his wrists for piercing the gap between backward point and deep cover point.

The 148-run partnership fell when Samson couldn’t time the pull well off Siraj and was caught at deep backward square leg. Though Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel fell in quick succession, Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer knocked off the remaining runs, with the former swivelling a six to the left of deep square leg to get his century and give RR a thrilling win in front of its faithful home fans.

Earlier, Kohli was pristine in hitting 12 fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 113, which is also his third century in his last seven IPL innings to level his highest score in the competition. He went hard in scoring against pace, making 67 off 39 balls while accumulating 46 off 33 balls against spin.

Kohli hit almost 62% runs of RCB’s total, while the rest of the batters made 59 runs from 48 balls. Interestingly, Kohli’s 67-ball ton is the joint-slowest century in IPL, levelling with a hundred made by Manish Pandey in same number of balls against DC in 2009.

Pushed into batting first, Kohli and Faf du Plessis hit four boundaries to help RCB amass 29/0 in three overs. Kohli hit the first six of the game by handsomely pulling Nandre Burger before du Plessis thumped a four over his head. The duo brought up the fifty of the opening stand in the sixth over to finish the powerplay at 53/0.

After Kohli became the first batter to breach the 7,500-run mark in IPL’s history, du Plessis launched a brace of sixes on short balls from Trent Boult to take 16 runs off the ninth over. Kohli whipped a Yuzvendra Chahal delivery for a six in the tenth over, followed by reaching his fifty when he hammered Riyan Parag for a six down the ground.

The century stand between Kohli and du Plessis was achieved in 11.2 overs, before the former got a life at 67 when Burger dropped a chance at point off Chahal. A few balls later, Boult dropped a regulation catch of du Plessis at cover to give the batter a second life on 42 off Chahal.

But du Plessis couldn’t capitalise on the reprieve as he holed out to long-on for 44 off 33 balls off the leg-spinner, followed by Burger rattling Glenn Maxwell’s stumps and Chahal taking out debutant Saurabh Chauhan.

Kohli signalled taking an acceleration route by smacking Avesh for three fours, before slog sweeping Chahal for six. He reached his century in 67 balls with a single to long-on off a low full toss from Burger. Kohli took three fours off Avesh in the final over and walked off to a standing ovation from his RCB teammates, as the visitors made 54 runs off the last five overs.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru 183/3 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 113 not out, Faf du Plessis 44; Yuzvendra Chahal 2-34, Nandre Burger 1-33) lost to Rajasthan Royals 189/4 in 19.1 overs (Jos Buttler 100 not out, Sanju Samson 69; Reece Topley 2-27, Mohammed Siraj 1-35) by six wickets

ALSO READ: KKR Go Ruthless on DC

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Punjab Kings Clinch Thriller

The star performer for Punjab was the debutant Shashank Singh who continued scoring boundaries and kept the visitors in the game…reports Asian Lite News

Shashank Singh’s breathtaking unbeaten 61 and Ashutosh Sharma’s rapid-fire knock of 31 runs helped Punjab Kings (PBKS) beat host Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets with one ball to spare in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Thursday.

Chasing the daunting target of 200, the Punjab Kings opener started on an aggressive note collecting 13 runs in the very first over of Azmatullah Omarzai. Bairstow known for his batting prowess cut the first delivery to backward point and then slapped through the covers for the boundary.

The Ahmedabad crowd roared in joy as Umesh Yadav rattled the in-form Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket off an inside edge. Skipper Dhawan got out for just one run. Prabhsimran Singh came at No.4 and got off the mark with a single through cover. The very eventful second over of the inning ended with a four as Prabhsimran stamped his authority through to sweeper cover for a boundary of Yadav’s pace delivery.

Yadav bowling the fourth and his second over of the inning got hammered for 12 runs as Prabhsimran collected a boundary and a maximum in the over.

Rashid Khan, who usually bowls in the middle overs, was introduced in the fifth over of the inning and ended with nine runs including a boundary. Bairstow looked attacking against the Pacers, hence skipper Gill brought spinners from both ends.

Left-arm Chinaman Noor Ahmad bagged the big wicket as he knocked out Bairstow’s middle-leg stump for 22. The home crowd roared once again as Noor tossed the ball up and landed it on a length outside leg. Bairstow completely missed the line of the ball and left a gap between the bat and the pad, and the ball sneaked through it and deflected off the back pad to rattle the stumps. Bairstow blasted 22 off 13 deliveries.

Prabhsimran Singh joined Sam Curran in the middle and continued collecting boundaries off loose deliveries, hammering 35 off 24 deliveries. Noor made things difficult for Punjab Kings once again by claiming a wicket for GT in his very next over.

Prabhsimran, who was looking solid at the crease, fell to poor shot selection. Noor tossed up the googly landing it around the middle and off, Prabhsimran was early into his shot and made up his mind to go across the line. All he managed was a top edge and Mohit Sharma, fielding at short third, hardly had to move his feet to complete the catch.

With two new batters (Sikandar Raza and Curran) on the crease, it was never easy for Punjab. Noor with two wickets in two overs mounted the pressure on the visitors. The Required Run Rate (RRR) has already increased to 11 runs per over. The onus was now on Curran, who had played the match-winning inning of 63 runs against Delhi Capitals in Punjab Kings’ first match IPL 2024.

The RRR pressure brought the big wicket of Curran as Omarzai, bowling his second over, got rid of him. Curran wanted to swivel and pull to exploit the space between deep square leg and long-on, but failed to get the elevation and hit it straight to Kane Williamson, fielding at short midwicket, and was out for 5 runs.

At the end of 10 overs, Punjab were 83 for 4 with Shashank Singh batting on 7 off 4 deliveries and Raza on 7 off 4 deliveries. Shashank thumped Noor for a maximum after collecting a single of his first delivery of the tenth over. The game was still wide open for both the teams as Punjab required 117 of the last 10 overs and the host needed six wickets.

Umesh Yadav was brought back into the attack and was taken to task as Shashank hammered him for 17 runs in the over. After three singles of the first three balls, the next three delivery fetched the batter 4, 6, 4. The Struggling Raza got out to Mohit Sharma trying to chip the full-length delivery over covers but only managed to get the thin edge to the wicketkeeper, scoring 15 runs.

The star performer for Punjab was the debutant Shashank Singh who continued scoring boundaries and kept the visitors in the game. Jitesh Sharma came at number seven and got off the mark with a single. However, the turning point of the game came in the last over of Rashid’s spell when Jitesh smashed back-to-back sixes before getting out on the very next delivery, scoring 16 off 8 deliveries. But still, Punjab had the edge with Shashank Singh timing the ball very well.

Punjab introduced their Impact Player Ashutosh Sharma, a debutant, in place of Arshdeep Singh. With 41 required off 18 deliveries, Sharma struck back-to-back boundaries to Omarzai and then collected a boundary on the last delivery. It was a big over that fetched 18 runs for Punjab, leaving them needing 25 off the last 12 deliveries. Shashank Singh scored his maiden IPL half-century in just 25 deliveries, and it came when it mattered the most.

Mohit Sharma, bowling his last over of the spell, was smoked for a maximum on the second delivery by Sharma. A double off the bat and off a leg bye took Punjab very close to the target. Sharma scored a single and then Shashank hammered a maximum on the last delivery of Mohit’s spell — Punjab now needed 7 runs in six balls to win the match.

The drama continued as Darshan Nalkande, bowling his first over of the match, claimed the prized wicket of Ashutosh Sharma with the batter chipping it straight to long-off. However, Shaskank maintained his calm and after a wide and a single from Harpreet Brar, won the match for Punjab Kings with a boundary.

Brief score:

Gujarat Giants 199/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 89 not out, Sai Sudarshan 33; Kagiso Rabada 2-44, Harpreet Brar 1-33) lose to Punjab Kings 200/7 in 19.5 overs (Shashank Singh 61 not out, Prabhsimran Singh 35; Noor Ahmad 2-32, Darshan Nalkande 1-6) by three wickets

ALSO READ-KKR Go Ruthless on DC

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KKR Go Ruthless on DC

It’s the first time that KKR have started an IPL season with three consecutive wins, setting themselves as potential title contenders…reports Asian Lite News

Last week, one didn’t think of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s record highest score of 277 being upstaged in IPL 2024. But Kolkata Knight Riders had other plans by unleashing a six-hitting carnage in Visakhapatnam, though they settled for 272, the second-highest score in the history of the competition.

Sunil Narine (85), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (54), Andre Russell (41) and Rinku Singh (26) produced blistering fireworks to set the base for KKR’s 106-run win over Delhi Capitals at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday evening. Captain Rishabh Pant and Tristan Stubbs scored entertaining fifties for DC in an but-obvious uphill chase of 273.

Pant continued to build up on his positive return to competitive cricket by hitting five sixes and four boundaries in a 25-ball 55, while Stubbs hit eight boundaries in his 32-ball 54 to help the hosts’ save some blushes, before being 166 all out in 17.2 overs.

Effective bowling from KKR, starting from Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora in power-play to Andre Russell, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, ensured that the visitors’ are now at top place on the points table. It’s also the first time that KKR have started an IPL season with three consecutive wins, setting themselves as potential title contenders.

On a placid pitch, KKR produced two hours of sensational carnage by hitting 22 fours and 18 sixes, with DC bowlers minus Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar bearing the brunt of ruthless big-hitting. Narine was quick in creating room and lofting with ease to collect runs for fun in what is now his highest T20 score ever coming off just 39 balls.

Young Raghuvanshi, a member of India’s 2022 U19 World Cup winning campaign, impressed with his wrist work and the ability take on DC’s bowlers by mixing innovation with copybook strokeplay to get his maiden IPL fifty. Russell and Rinku brought out their usual fireworks at the end to add more intensity to KKR’s stunning batting onslaught.

Electing to bat first, KKR got going with Phil Salt taking two fours off Ishant Sharma in the second over. Narine got into the act by slashing Khaleel Ahmed through the off-side for a boundary, before Salt joined in with two driven fours to take 15 runs off the third over.

Boundaries continued to flow for Narine as he smacked two sixes off Ishant – a length ball was lofted over mid-off and a short delivery pulled over deep square leg. He then guided the pacer through backward point for a boundary, carved drive over long-off for six and ended the over with a thick edge going for four to bring up KKR’s fifty at the end of fourth over.

Anrich Nortje made an immediate impact when Salt was caught at mid-off in the fifth over, but young Raghuvanshi pulled and punched off him to get two quick boundaries. Narine, who was lucky to survive on 24 when Rishabh Pant failed to take a review on a faint edge, hit Rasikh Salam for three fours and a six to complete a 21-ball fifty as KKR ended power-play at 88/1, going past 85/0 they made against RCB last week.

Post power-play, there was no respite for DC as Narine and Raghuvanshi continued to take runs aplenty against the bowlers. Narine nonchalantly hammered Axar Patel for two sixes, while Raghuvanshi was impressive in using wrists and fast bat-swing to smash boundaries, with a reverse-hit off Rasikh going over third man for six being the standout.

Narine moved to 80s with a flat-batted six over long-off against Nortje, also bringing up his 100-run stand with Raghuvanshi. But Mitchell Marsh took him out with a bouncer in the 13th over, which Narine looked to pull, but a faint nick went behind to Pant.

Raghuvanshi got his maiden IPL fifty off just 25 balls, but fell two balls later when he tried to ramp off Nortje and was caught at deep third man. Russell feasted on hit-me deliveries from Nortje and Salam to hit two fours and as many sixes before the second time-out.

Post interval, Russell smashed two sixes and a four, while captain Shreyas Iyer hammered two maximums, before getting a top-edge on a short ball from Khaleel to mid-on. Things went from bad to worse for DC as over-rate penalty was imposed for last two overs, allowing them to have only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle.

Rinku had some fun by using his strong bottom hand to smash Nortje for three sixes and a four, before toe-ending a slog to mid-on. Ishant produced a magical moment by having Russell floored with a menacing 144kmph inswinging yorker and had Ramandeep Singh caught at extra cover to keep KKR five short of breaking SRH’s record of 277.

The move of bringing Arora as an Impact Player paid off as he removed Prithvi Shaw, who was caught by mid-on taking an excellent low catch. Starc picked his first wicket of the season as Marsh nailed the square-drive, but hit straight to cover-point.

Arora was great in extracting movement off the pitch and was rewarded with his second wicket when Abishek Porel top-edged a pull to short fine leg. Starc also had his second scalp when David Warner chopped on to his stumps, leaving DC at 33/4.

Pant began to find his groove by flicking Starc for six, before bringing out a nice pick-up shot over deep square leg and pulling in the same region off Russell. Stubbs began with back-to-back fours off Arora and welcomed Chakaravarthy with a brace of sixes over mid-wicket and mid-on to bring up the fifty of the fifth-wicket stand with Pant.

Though spinners put brakes on DC’s scoring, Pant went berserk with his shot selection, power and usage of pace by taking 28 runs off part-timer Venkatesh Iyer. He brought out the trademark hook and pick-up shots for sixes, while flicking, slicing, whipping and slashing for four boundaries, including bringing up his fifty in 23 balls.

But Chakravarthy got the better of Pant when he mistimed his slog-sweep and gave a catch to cover, followed by the spinner taking out Axar Patel on the very next ball. Stubbs hit two sixes and a four to get his fifty, before being dismissed by Chakaravarthy. From there, Narine, Arora and Russell took the remaining three wickets each to seal a massive victory for KKR.

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 272/7 in 20 overs (Sunil Narine 85, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 54; Anrich Nortje 3-59, Ishant Sharma 2-43) beat Delhi Capitals 166 in 17.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 55, Tristan Stubbs 54, Vaibhav Arora 3-27, Varun Chakaravarthy 3-33) by 106 runs

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YSR family continues to dominate AP

If there is another leader after Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao who left a profound impact on Andhra Pradesh politics, it is Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a report by Mohammed Shafeeq

The politics of Andhra Pradesh revolves around the families of two former chief ministers, who left behind strong political legacies.

If there is another leader after Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao who left a profound impact on Andhra Pradesh politics, it is Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

If legendary actor-turned-politician NTR altered the politics of combined Andhra Pradesh by floating TDP on the plank of Telugu self-respect in early 1980s, YSR emerged as one of the most popular leaders with his revolutionary welfare schemes for farmers and poor.

Such is the domination of these two families on the politics of residuary Andhra Pradesh that their members head four major parties, including the ruling and the main opposition.

While NTR’s family has been dominating Andhra politics for four decades, the family of YSR remains central to the state politics even 15 years after his death.

Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, died in a helicopter crash on September 2, 2009, a few months after he led Congress party to power for a second consecutive term in combined Andhra Pradesh.

Popular for his pro-poor politics, YSR’s sudden death sent shock waves across. His son and Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was keen to succeed his father as the chief minister, defied Congress leadership to undertake ‘Odarpu yatra’ to console families of those who died of shock following YSR’s death.

In November 2010, Jagan Mohan Reddy along with his mother Vijayamma quit Congress, resigned as MP and MLA respectively and floated a new party — Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP).

Jagan emerged as inheritor of YSR’s political legacy as he won Kadapa Lok Sabha seat in 2011 by-election with a majority of over 5.45 lakh votes. His mother too retained Pulivendula Assembly seat with a huge majority.

In May 2012, Jagan was arrested by the CBI in a disproportionate assets case and sent to jail a few weeks before by-elections.

Though Jagan was in jail, his mother and sister Y.S. Sharmila carried the party campaign and YSRCP emerged as a key force by capturing Nellore Lok Sabha seat and 15 out of 18 Assembly seats in the bypolls.

Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 and the public anger in the residuary state wiped out Congress, and YSRCP emerged as the alternative. Though the TDP-BJP alliance came to power in 2014, Jagan’s party became a formidable force and he sustained the party banking on his father’s rich political legacy.

The big moment arrived for Jagan in 2019 as YSRCP stormed to power with a landslide majority. However, cracks appeared in the family with Jagan sidelining his sister Sharmila, who had actively campaigned for the party in 2014 and 2019 polls.

In 2021, Sharmila embarked on a new political journey by floating YSR Telangana Party to cash in on YSR legacy in Telangana. Despite her statewide padyatra and best efforts, the party failed to establish itself. Though she was ready to merge her party with the Congress ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls, the Telangana Congress leadership was not keen and advised her to lead the party in Andhra Pradesh. Stating that defeating KCR is her priority, Sharmila decided to stay away from Telangana polls to avoid a split of anti-BRS votes.

After the Congress party’s victory, Sharmila had no option but to return to Andhra Pradesh politics by joining Congress. The Gandhi family, which cleared her misunderstanding and told her that they will continue to have huge respect for YSR, succeeded in convincing her to take up the responsibility of reviving Congress in Andhra Pradesh.

Sharmila is now claiming herself to be the real successor of YSR’s political legacy. “YSR has been with Congress for his entire life. His dream was to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister. I will work to fulfil his dream,” she said while targeting her brother for mortgaging the state’s interests by becoming a tool in the hands of the BJP government at the Centre.

Sharmila is likely to enter the fray from the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, where her cousin Y.S. Avinash Reddy is seeking re-election for a third consecutive term as the YSRCP candidate.

Kadapa Lok Sabha seat has been YSR family’s pocket borough for nearly four decades. YSR was elected from here in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1998 and when he entered Assembly in 1999, YSR’s younger brother Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy was elected from Kadapa as a Congress candidate. In 2004, Vivekananda Reddy retained the seat.

After completing first term in power, YSR brought his young son into politics. The young businessman was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kadapa in 2009. However, within a few months the situation underwent a dramatic change with YSR’s tragic death.

Pulivendula, one of the Assembly segments under Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency, has been YSR family’s stronghold for 46 years.

YSR was first elected to the Assembly from here in 1978 and he won every election from here till he moved to the Lok Sabha in 1991. He returned to Pulivendula in 1999 to challenge the TDP government headed by Chandrababu Naidu. He finally succeeded in bringing Congress to power in 2004 after his famous ‘padayatra’ across the state.

YSR’s brothers Y.S. Purushotham Reddy and Vivekananda Reddy were elected from Pulivendula in 1991 and 1994 respectively.

YSR’s wife Vijayamma was elected unopposed in 2010 by-election following his death. She later won the seat in a by-election as YSRCP candidate.

Like his father, Jagan Mohan Reddy also became chief minister while representing Pulivendula.

It remains to be seen how the battle for YSR’s political legacy unfolds when Sharmila takes on Avinash Reddy in Kadapa.

As Avinash Reddy is named as an accused by the CBI in the murder of Vivekananda Reddy, Sharmila will also have the support of Vivekananda Reddy’s daughter Sunitha Reddy, who has been fighting for justice for five years and accusing Jagan of shielding the killers of her father.

Sharmila to take on cousin in Kadapa

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President Y. S. Sharmila Reddy will take on her cousin and sitting MP Y. S. Avinash Reddy in Kadapa constituency.

Sharmila, sister of Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party President Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, will make her electoral debut from Kadapa, which has been the stronghold of the YSR family for nearly four decades.

Sharmila’s name figures in the list of five Lok Sabha candidates announced by the Congress party on Tuesday for Andhra Pradesh.

The fight between cousins assumes significance in view of the allegations against Avinash Reddy in the murder of their uncle and former minister Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy.

Vivekananda Reddy’s daughter Sunitha Reddy, who has been fighting for justice for the last five years, has hailed Sharmila’s candidature. While thanking Sharmila for her support, Sunitha Reddy reiterated the allegation that Jagan Mohan Reddy knows who are the killers of her father but is still shielding them.

Sunitha Reddy said since it was her father’s wish that Sharmila contest the election from Kadapa, she welcomed her candidature. She has already appealed to people not to vote for killers and also for Jagan’s party which is protecting them.

Sunitha Reddy claimed on March 1 that the CBI investigations into her father’s murder has come to a standstill as there is pressure on the investigating agency.

Former minister and former MP, Vivekananda Reddy, younger brother of former Chief Minister late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), was murdered at his residence in Pulivendula town of Kadapa district on March 15, 2019, weeks before the elections. He was alone at his residence.

In April last year, the CBI arrested Vivekananda Reddy’s cousin Y. S. Bhaskar Reddy, father of YSRCP MP from Kadapa, Avinash Reddy.

The CBI claimed that both Avinash and Bhaskar Reddy conspired to eliminate Vivekananda Reddy because he was against fielding Avinash Reddy from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat and wanted Jagan Mohan Reddy to instead field his mother Vijayamma or sister Sharmila. However, the father-son duo denied the allegation.

Avinash Reddy was granted anticipatory bail by the Telangana High Court on May 31, 2023 but Sunitha has challenged the same in the Supreme Court.

Avinash Reddy was elected from Kadapa in 2014 and 2019 on YSRCP ticket and despite allegations against him, Jagan Mohan Reddy has again fielded him.

After joining Congress and taking over as the state party chief, Sharmila met Sunitha Reddy on January 29 and backed her fight.

Sharmila had last year said that Vivekananda Reddy was not murdered for his property as he had already written the entire property in the name of his daughter.

With Sunitha making serious allegations and Sharmila also backing her in her fight, Jagan Mohan Reddy while addressing an election rally in Kadapa district last week accused opposition parties of a role in the murder case and remarked that people should know who is behind the murder and shielding the culprits.

Jagan Mohan Reddy also stated that his sisters Sharmila and Sunitha are playing into the hands of his opponents.

YSR family has been representing Kadapa Lok Sabha since 1989 when YSR was first elected from here. He retained the seats in 1991, 1996 and 1998. When he moved to the Assembly in 1999, his brother Vivekananda Reddy was elected from Kadapa as the Congress candidate. Vivekananda Reddy retained the seat in 2004.

In 2009, YSR’s son Jagan Mohan Reddy made his electoral debut with a victory in the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat. After the death of his father and then Chief Minister YSR and subsequent developments in ruling Congress, he floated YSR Congress Party and retained the Kadapa seat with a record majority in 2011.

In 2014, Jagan started focusing on the Pulivendula Assembly seat, also a family stronghold and left the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat for cousin Avinash Reddy.

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