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By K.R. Nayar Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja bravely step forward to show that Chennai Super Kings' fighting spirit is still alive The never say die spirit of Chennai Super Kings came to the fore again. Their 23-year-old opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, with an experience of just 21 first class matches, recorded his second consecutive half-century to announce that he is the future star of this team.  Ravindra Jadeja, eight years older to Gaikwad, and who is referred to as ‘Sir Jadeja', cracked a breezy 31 and a winning six off the last ball. The two hurt Kolkata Knight Riders, whose chances to reach the playoff now looks uncertain. Chennai showed why they’ve been among the most adored teams in the IPL  for years.  Their ability to produce exciting cricket, despite not at their best this season, still lives on. Gaikwad, who tested positive for coronavirus soon after his arrival in UAE for the IPL, stepped forward like a brave soldier for his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni wh...

By K.R. Nayar  Mumbai Indians' batting and bowling overcome the royal challenge from Bangalore Mumbai Indians stopped Royal Challengers Bangalore by creating a debate as to who deserved the player of the match award. Mumbai’s one-drop batsman Suryakumar Yadav played a classy unbeaten knock of 79 with shots worthy of being watched repeatedly while their pacer Jasprit Bumrah produced a splendid spell taking three valuable wickets at a crucial juncture of the game to tilt the match in Mumbai’s favour. Yadav was adjudged the player of the match for staying at the wicket with a body language of a determined man and steering his team to the target,  but it was Bumrah’s Boom Boom deliveries that put on the brakes to Bangalore’s run flow. Bangalore was smoothly sailing towards a big total after opener Devdutt Padikkal, the sensation of this IPL, gave a great start with Josh Philippe.  Through an opening partnership of 71, Bangalore was strongly placed at 95 for 1 when Bumrah ...

By K.R. Nayar  Sunrisers Hyderabad post a mammoth total through the Warner-Saha partnership as Khan strikes with a deadly spell Sunrisers Hyderabad’s crushing win over Delhi Capitals is a strong message to all the teams at the bottom half of the points table that teams at the top are vulnerable and can be pulled down. Delhi was talked about as the most balanced team in this IPL. They now find themselves as a team struggling to find their winning ways. There was a time they were walking tall with seven wins from nine matches. Now, after losing their third match in succession, they have slipped down the table to the third position. What went wrong with Delhi that was riding high, leading to an erosion of confidence in all the players, is something even their skipper Shreyas Iyer is unable to comprehend.  Their batting was considered among the best and bowling the strongest in the tournament. It seems as if the blistering knock from Hyderabad skipper Warner further dented the...

By K.R. Nayar Kings XI Punjab comeback show was another exhibition of a combined effort with a focus to win. Kings XI Punjab’s Chris Gayle converted the cricket ball into a rocket and created fireworks at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday night to down Kolkata Knight Riders. Gayle continued to lead Punjab’s stunning comeback through a quick 51 made with five sixes and two boundaries. Punjab’s comeback show is so inspiring that they would be creating envy among the other IPL teams.  It was another exhibition of how a combined effort can outplay any opponent.  In the process, they have silenced all the critics who had written them off when they were languishing at the bottom of the table. Egged by their shrewd coach Anil Kumble, the players have been performing well in the roles expected of them. Starting from Mandeep Singh, who cracked an unbeaten 66, one could see the commitment and focus in the players to win matches.  Singh had lost his father last Friday but ...

By K.R. Nayar Fancied team Mumbai bows to Stokes’ ton and Samson’s half-century, while young Gaikwad’s fifty stops Bangalore It was another Super Sunday in the Indian Premier League.  When teams on the verge of exit conquer fancied teams and end the match with their heads held high, it turns into one of the most exhilarating sights of the game. In the first game, Chennai Super Kings who enjoy reminding fans never to write them off, did exactly that to outplay Royal Challenger Bangalore. In the second game, Rajasthan Royals lifted their game to such heights that they virtually shook the might and confidence of the table toppers and defending champions Mumbai Indians. The spirit in both teams to strike back was so strong that both won by an identical eight wickets margin. If Chennai has the habit of bouncing back, Bangalore has the tendency to frequently falter. Both displayed their characteristics in this match. Chennai, who were written off as 'finished' after one of the ...

By K.R. Nayar Unknown IPL debutant Monu had played in UAE On Sunday, Chennai Super Kings introduced medium-pacer Monu Kumar Singh against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Not many have heard of Monu Kumar Singh, and not many people know that he had played in UAE when the Under-19 World Cup was held here in 2014. That was when he had bowled at the Dubai International cricket stadium. Singh had bagged three wickets to bowl out the Papua New Guinea Under19 team for 56 runs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and played in the quarterfinal in Dubai against England when India had lost that match. His teammates in that Under-19 team included Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer.  Hailing from Ranchi, like his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Monu has not progressed like his teammates but has been part of Chennai Super Kings since 2018. He is yet to play any first-class cricket but has featured in 23 Twenty20 matches for Jharkhand and bagged 25 wickets.   ‘Flatline’ Santner is a spe...

By K.R. Nayar Kolkata Knight Riders’ verve to bounce back and Kings XI Punjab’s show on defending a small total was inspiring Saturday’s doubleheaders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) are two inspiring lessons for the students of the game. The first match was a lesson on how a team bounces back from a defeat in their previous match to overpower a team that is high on the points table. Through an unexpected partnership between Nitish Rana and Sunil Narine, a not so well known leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s stunning five-wicket spell, and backed by their pacer Pat Cummins’s three wickets, Kolkata Knight Riders crushed Delhi Capitals and keep alive their hopes of making it to the playoff stage. The second match was a clear lesson on how a team with clear thinking and strategy, and a calm mind, can help defend a low total.  Kings XI Punjab pulled off a 12-run win by refusing to be demoralised at being restricted to 126 for 7 or be concerned about the quality of the batsmen in...

By K.R. Nayar  Hakim Jariwala has preserved  Javed Miandad’s last-ball six, Sachin Tendulkar’s sandstorm knock score sheets and  the 2014 IPL scorebook. He keeps records of matches backed by his wife Nafisa Scorer Hakim Jariwala with his wife Nafisa  The scorer at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium’s press box, Hakim Jariwala, is hoping that journalists be permitted to the stadium from the play-off stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Jariwala has been a part of this stadium’s history being the scorer in the press box for all matches at this venue from the early eighties.  Jariwala poses with the IPL score book he designed in 2014 with Ravi Shastri  Speaking to Gulf News, Jariwala said: “I have been the scorer for 260 One Day Internationals (ODI), 50 Twenty20 matches and 15 Test matches at Sharjah, for a total of 325 matches. I was the press box scorer for the 2014 IPL too, and no big event at this venue has passed off without me recording the match in my...

By K.R. Nayar    Mumbai Indians exposes the weaklings in Chennai Super Kings to inflict the biggest defeat on the team In sport, there is a history of teams that have reigned at the top to go on and lose their dominance with time.  Chennai Super Kings' crushing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians and helplessly being confined to the bottom of the table is a current instance.  On Friday, Chennai, which has consistently recorded many highs in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hit an all-time low with a thud. Never have they lost by 10 wickets in the history of the IPL. No one would have ever thought that their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, known as the captain with the Midas touch, will ever have to remark: “Captains can’t run away. So I’ll be playing in all the games.” It was never expected that Dhoni, as the losing captain, would ever have to make statements like “you need a bit of luck to go your way” and also that “this year hasn't been our year.” It...

  By K.R. Nayar Jofra Archer’s pace and Manish Pandey’s batting were a treat in the battle of the two teams to reach the playoff stage It was a clash between two teams at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday to keep alive their chances of reaching the play-off stage. And for that, both teams needed to give their best and rise to the challenge. Sunrisers Hyderabad rose to the occasion by producing a clinical performance to crush Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets. Rajasthan had a good start in their batting as well as in their bowling but paid the price for not able to sustain the momentum and push for a win. In the first ten overs, Rajasthan looked to be in control and cruising towards a good total. They were well placed at 74 for 1. But from the 11th to the 20 over, they could muster only 80 runs and lost five wickets in the process. Had their star allrounder Jofra Archer not hit the last ball of the innings for a six, they would not have crossed the 150 run-mark. Arch...

By K.R. Nayar Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer who came up the hard way responds to those who snubbed him last year Through an unbelievable and devastating spell, Mohammad Siraj ensured it was his night and not that of Kolkata Knight Riders at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium. Kolkata had won the toss and promptly elected to bat unaware that this lanky pacer would destroy their top order through one of the deadliest spells in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Even Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli, who picked Siraj replacing  Shahbaz Ahmed, would not have expected such a show from this Hyderabad pacer. In his last match at Sharjah against Kings XI Punjab on October 15th, Siraj was hit for 44 runs in three overs and did not even pick a wicket. After dropping him for the match against Rajasthan Royals, Kohli opted to pick him again. As the son of an autorickshaw driver, Siraj, who came up in his career overcoming the toughest of challenges to make it to the Indi...

By K.R. Nayar From the bottom of the table, they have risen to beat the big three teams in the league, and are set for more A team with players determined to win and wanting to contribute together towards a victory will emerge triumphant whatever the opponent does. Kings XI Punjab’s impressive victory over table-toppers Delhi Capitals was the result of a united effort. Only a week ago, Punjab was at the bottom of the table with nearly everyone writing them off. They were seen as a team with stars that do not shine. Punjab seems to be now drafting an inspiring comeback script  They have beaten not only Delhi but defending champions Mumbai and the formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore. Even a century from Delhi’s opener Shikhar Dhawan, who created IPL history by becoming the first batsman to hit back to back centuries, could not stop them. Dhawan’s century went in vain purely due to the rest of the Delhi batsmen’s inability to bat around him. A team that was sitting pretty at 10...

  By K.R. Nayar Rajasthan Royals rise to the fifth-place pushing Chennai  Super Kings to the bottom of the table This Indian Premier League has seen many unexpected happenings.  Chennai Super Kings at the bottom of the table is one such case in point.  No one would ever have imagined that Chennai, who has always hovered at the top of the point table for many years, would slip to such a position.  It must be extremely painful for Chennai supporters as even their tag line ‘whistle podu’ to egg the team may not work this time, as their team is on the edge of a no return. Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, playing in his 200th IPL, saw all his plans crumble despite winning the toss. He realised that his experience as a player and captain was not enough if his players did not contribute to the process of winning matches. What has pulled Chennai down in this edition is a mystery. They have five solid batsmen such as Shane Watson, Faf Du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, ...

By K.R. Nayar UAE will be forever remembered for staging two tied matches with three super overs October 18, 2020, will forever be known as cricket’s Super Over day, and the UAE be long referred to as the country that staged the historic day in the annals of Indian Premier League (IPL). This day will always be recalled for producing two tied matches with three super overs and remain a special day in the T20 format. The Dream XI IPL is turning out to be a dream tournament for the fans. For fans in India, it was an IPL day that began on a Sunday and ended only on Monday as the match ended well past mid-night, keeping everyone awake and on the edge of their seats. Kolkata Knight Riders’ win over Sunrisers Hyderabad through a Super Over, and Kings XI Punjab’s triumph over Mumbai Indians after two Super Overs, will remain as a script from cricket worthy of a Bollywood thriller. The beauty of this script is that in these matches it wasn’t a one hero show but of many heroes. In the firs...

  By K.R. Nayar  Last over chase thrillers had no turning points but batsmen turn the match through superlative batting displays When targets are valiantly chased and amazingly achieved, contests turn memorable. AB De Villiers once again exhibited why he is cricket’s superman by steering Royal Challengers Bangalore to a target that looked unreachable, and sink Rajasthan Royals.  In the second match, Shikhar Dhawan, through a fabulous effort not only cracked his first IPL century but also batted the full 20 overs to remain unbeaten.  His effort helped Delhi conquer Chennai Super Kings and move to the top spot on the points table. The only difference between the two knocks was that De Villiers carried the team on his own to the target when a near-impossible 35 runs were needed off the last 12 balls. Hitting a hat-trick of sixes in the 19th over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat, De Villiers achieved it and remained unconquered at 55. Though Dhawan hit more than half the sco...

By K.R. Nayar Trouncing Kolkata Knight Riders and recording their fifth consecutive win, Mumbai is living up to the role of the defending champion The Mumbai juggernaut seems unstoppable, squashing all opponents in their way. They trounced Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets on Friday and are living up to the role of the champions. What is it that makes them look like the mighty team of this IPL? They are a team that knows what it takes to be the champion. They are not only the defending champions but have emerged winners four times. On Friday, it was a performance that can create envy in others. To win with 19 balls to spare was a clinical performance. The stunning first catch of the day by Mumbai’s Suryakumar Yadav to dismiss Kolkata’s opener Rahul Tripathi set the tone. Sometimes a superlative act by a team member can lift the spirits of the entire team.  Before the amazement for the catch faded away, Kolkata was reduced to 61 for 5. The mantle of lifting Kolkata then f...

By K.R. Nayar Chris Gayle lifts Kings XI Punjab from the abyss of despair to announce that keeping him out was a blunder Chris Gayle loves to be called the Universal Boss, and he has been universally accepted as the Boss of limited over cricket. Kings XI Punjab’s must have realised on Thursday that the decision to keep him out of the eleven until Thursday, especially when he can boss over any bowler, was a blunder. In the first opportunity he was given in this edition, he smashed 53 runs and ensured his team a victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Virat Kohli’s men had arrived at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with the hope of winning the match over Punjab who is at the bottom of the points table and clinch the top spot. Gayle’s knock was like lifting the team from an abyss of despair. He had watched his team from the dug-out losing matches one after the other. To add to his misery, a bout of food poising hit him as well. But on Thursday, at the batting crease, he looked stronger th...

By K.R. Nayar  My IPL diary on  Mayank Agarwal and  Chris Morris Kings XI Punjab’s Mayank Agarwal performance on Thursday that fetched him the Player of the Match award against Royal Challengers Bangalore has made those in the UAE from Bangalore's Bishop Cotton Boys' School proud. Agarwal is a product of that school, and those from that school call themselves 'Cottonians'. Brijesh Patel, Chairman of the IPL, is also a Cottonian. Among the great cricketers who are a product of that school is England’s legendary batsman Colin Cowdrey, who became the first cricketer to play 100 Test matches. Indian footballer Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who plays as a midfielder for East Bengal, is also from this school.  Agarwal is said to have picked the brains of Indian greats like Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid.  He was even talked about as the next Sehwag and has taken a lot of tips from him, but it was Dravid who helped him focus his mind on the game after he got dropped from the ...

By K.R. Nayar Rajasthan skipper Smith's failure with the bat continues as his team loses five out of the eight matches. It was a beautiful sight when the fast bowlers were trying to better each other. The clash between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday had all the fast bowlers deliver their best, but Delhi walked away the winners. The pacers' show began with Rajasthan’s pacer Jofra Archer clean bowling Delhi Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw with the very first ball of the match.  He also dismissed the one-drop batsman Ajinkya Rahane and then went on to bowl brilliantly in the death overs. As a result, Delhi could muster only 32 runs off the last five overs, which was the worst last-five overs for any team batting first in this IPL, and they got restricted to just 161 runs. Rajasthan began their chase with their opener Ben Stokes hitting the first ball of the innings for a boundary.  While it was a great start for Rajasthan, very soon they realized that all that ...

By K.R. Nayar  The fate of the match was decided in 46 balls of the Bangalore innings through a 100-runs partnership between Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers It was nothing but an AB De Villiers explosion at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.  That explosion shattered all plans that Kolkata Knight Riders had for this match. Everything was calm till De Villiers walked into the middle with his team struggling to score runs. He realised that his skipper Virat Kohli was also not able to stroke freely on a wicket which was slow and tough for the batsmen. Very few may know that there was a reason why De Villiers thrashed the attack. It’s a well-known fact that a hurt or humiliated De Villiers is a dangerous man. Kolkata may not have realised that in Bangalore’s last match against Chennai Super Kings, De Villiers was dismissed for a duck, and he will now want to prove a point.  Unfortunately, the Kolkata bowlers happened to be at the receiving end. The bowlers had no clue ...