PSL 2018 will have 6 teams on the roster

More matches will be hosted in Pakistan in PSL 2018. 

 

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has seen prosperity in the first two editions. Despite the fact that it has been played on the lines of IPL and BBL, PSL still has some uniqueness to claim. In the first season, it lasted only 24 games across three weeks, unlike other T20 leagues that span across a month or so.

In the first two season of PSL, there were only 5 teams, but recent reports suggested that the 2018 edition will have an additional team on the roster. There will be 6 teams competing for the coveted trophy. However, the PSL working committee wanted to have the additional franchise in the 2017 edition itself, but due to some prior MoUs, they played with only five existing franchises. 

 

An extra team would have come in conflict with the interests of the existing teams as they had a two-year agreement of non-addition of the new teams. According to the previous set of rules, the profit was meant to be shared among five teams in the first two seasons of the tournament.

Now as the clause is no more valid, PCB has decided to add another team for the tournament next year. As per the reports in Cricbuzz, the interested parties for the new franchise are expected to send their proposals by May 30. The addition of new team will also increase the number of matches of the season to 34.

Moreover, the PSL chief Najam Sethi has expressed that they are looking to host 8 PSL matches in Pakistan. Earlier this year, the finals of PSL 2017 were held in Lahore that too under very high security. 

The current participating teams are Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi.

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Bumrah's super over wins Mumbai the tiebreaker

Gujarat Lions 153 for 9 (Kishan 48, Tye 25, K Pandya 3-14, Bumrah 2-32) tied with Mumbai Indians 153 (Parthiv 70, K Pandya 29, Thampi 3-29, Faulkner 2-34)
Super Over: Mumbai Indians 11 (Pollard 10, Faulkner 2-11) beat Gujarat Lions 6 for 0 (Bumrah 0-4) by 5 runs

Agarkar: Exceptional skill under pressure from Bumrah

In what became a street fight on a dry surface, Gujarat Lions produced some gun run-outs to force a tie, but in the tiebreaker, the top gun, Jasprit Bumrah bowled a sensational Super Over to defend 11 runs and give Mumbai Indians the joint lead at the top of the table, with Kolkata Knight Riders. For most parts, perhaps because of a slow pitch, this match was more about who wanted to lose it more badly, but in the final moments both sides raises their games to deliver a Twenty20 spectacle. 

In the absence of the injured Andrew Tye, James Faulkner deflated Mumbai's rollicking chase of 154 with his cutters to bring the target to 15 off two overs. Basil Thampi then produced two wickets in the 19th over to make it 12 required off six balls with three wickets in hand. The only man keeping his head for Mumbai until now was Krunal Pandya, who was on 19 off 16, after having registered his best T20 bowling figures earlier in the match. 

To the last ball of the 19th over, Mitchell McClenaghan played a ramp with fine leg back. He was always going to sacrifice his wicket to bring Krunal on strike for the first ball of the last over, but this stroke fell precariously short of the charging Irfan Pathan. Playing for his sixth IPL team, once again as a second thought as has been the case in the last three seasons, Irfan's first over had been butchered for 16 by Parthiv Patel, who scored 70 off 44. 

Irfan kept charging at the ball, which fell well short and spun away from him. Not only did he stick out his hand in the other direction to prevent the boundary, he also ran McClenaghan out with a direct hit from fine leg. Riding on that momentum, Irfan came in to bowl his second over, and started off with a half-volley first ball. Krunal, who had done all the hard work, smoked it for a straight six. 

With the game now looking done, with four required off four balls, Bumrah tapped one towards point and set off for what is a regulation single nowadays in the final overs. Ravindra Jadeja, though, had other ideas. He charged in, swooped on the ball, and knocked down the stumps at the bowler's end. Krunal had regained strike, and punched the next slower ball through the vacant third man region for a couple. He did the pragmatic thing by taking the single available on the fifth ball to tie the scores. 

Now Irfan bowled to Lasith Malinga. Aware the batsmen were going to run no matter what, a fielder stood by the stumps at the bowler's end as Irfan ran in. He bowled full, hit Malinga's pad, Krunal hared through, and Jadeja at point got the ball on the full. Instead of going at Malinga's end, he went to the striker's, and beat the dive of Krunal by a frame, hitting the only stump visible to him. Lions' fielding had forced a tie after they had dropped two catches.

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RCB crash to another miserable defeat

Rising Pune Supergiant 157 for 3 (Smith 45, Tiwary 44*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 96 for 9 (Kohli 55, Ferguson 2-7) by 61 runs

Hogg: RCB batting too reliant on big names

Utterly wasteful batting left Royal Challengers Bangalore closer to the brink than ever before in IPL 2017. They needed 158 to win the first of five games Virat Kohli said they had to win to make the play-offs. They did not need a scoreline that read 53 for 5 in the 10th over. But that is what they got. That, and a chastening, morale-killing 61-run defeat.

Rising Pune Supergiant were not complaining. They finally got to defend a total at home and safeguard their position at fourth place on the points table.

So what now for RCB? They can, mathematically, still make the final four, but can a team that fell to 49 all out, a team that will lose AB de Villiers in the coming weeks, a team that tops the charts in run-outs (7), single-digit scores (40) and scoring slowly in the Powerplay (6.64) stop the rot in time? 

The hitter

 

Rahul Tripathi has shouldered considerable responsibility in his first IPL season. He is expected to take advantage of fielding restrictions in the Powerplay, which by itself is not an unreasonable demand. But the 26-year old has also had to make up for his partner's struggles. Ajinkya Rahane's strike-rate of 123 is the lowest among openers with 100 or more runs in this IPL and today he fell early as well, sweeping a full toss to short fine leg.

RCB might have thought that gave them the advantage. After all, Tripathi did not even play the 2017 domestic T20 tournament. But on a grander stage, against tougher bowlers, he has now smashed six straight 30-plus scores - an unmatched tally - and specifically in the first six overs, he has 198 runs - another unmatched tally - hitting a boundary every 3.71 balls. 

A see-saw innings

 

Pune collected 43 runs in the Powerplay, but only 26 in the next five overs, hitting only one four. This was because they had to deal with a dry pitch and a set of RCB players swearing by their slower balls. Another thing that worked for Kohli was his use of Pawan Negi. The left-arm spinner has bowled 120 balls this season - 103 of them have been to right-handers. They have also contributed to seven of his eight wickets, Tripathi the latest to succumb for 37 off 28 balls. Negi finished with 1 for 18, equalling his most economical spell of four overs in IPL history.

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Washout diminishes RCB's playoff chance

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Sunrisers Hyderabad: Match abandoned without toss

Virat Kohli and RCB might have to win all their remaining six games to make the playoffs

On the heels of collapsing for the lowest total in IPL history, Royal Challengers Bangalore had to endure a washout at home, putting their hopes of making the playoffs in jeopardy.

They have only two wins from eight matches so far and might have to win each of their next six games to be among the top four on the points table. Should they pull off such a streak, they will have 17 points. Only four times in the IPL's past nine years have teams got through to the final four with less than 16 points.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, on the other hand, are already at third place, might well have enjoyed having an extra night off during a tournament so hectic. The weather soured approximately an hour and a half before the toss and though it was only a drizzle for the most part, it was persistent. The umpires finally called the game off at 11 pm, which meant David Warner's men continue searching for their first win away from home in 2017.

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27th match: Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore at Kolkata, Apr 23, 2017

Kohli labels RCB batting performance 'reckless'

Virat Kohli's wicket in the first over was the first domino to fall in a record low innings by Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli has been part of many historic feats, but all those have given him a lot of joy. The latest one, registered on Sunday evening, was one he said he wants to forget quickly. Four years to the day after registering the highest total in IPL history, Royal Challengers Bangalore embarrassed themselves by hitting the opposite end of the spectrum as they posted an IPL record low total, 49 all out against Kolkata Knight Riders.

"Our worst batting performance," Kohli said summing up the defeat. "It really hurts. After the kind of half that we had, we thought we could capitalise and chase it down. Reckless batting, I can't say anything at the moment. It was that bad. This is just not acceptable."

Nobody reached double-figures and there were three ducks recorded in the Royal Challengers' batting. One of them was Kohli, the first wicket to fall when he edged to second slip just three balls into the chase. Kohli was visibly disgruntled walking back as he gestured to show he had been distracted by some movement above the sight screen. "The sightscreen is very small here. One guy got up as the bowler was loading up, that distracted me. Still it wasn't a big deal. That was just one down. Nine guys could have done the job."

When asked if he would dwell on the nature of the defeat, Kohli said that the best thing for Royal Challengers is to focus on the next match rather than spend any significant time analysing how his side lost.

"There's nothing to review anything about the second half, it was that bad," Kohli said. "We need to forget it and move forward. We're a much better team. We got 200 plus in the last game. I'm sure everyone realizes what they've done wrong. You have to come out, show intent and back yourselves. I'm sure we won't bat like that again in the tournament."

This was Royal Challengers' fifth defeat as last year's runner-up slipped to the bottom of the points table with half their games complete. After losing to Rising Pune Supergiant at home on April 16, their third straight defeat, Kohli had said the franchise could not be expected to repeat last season's feat of winning their last four league matches to make the playoffs. However, they may require another hot run to end the season to have any chance of reaching the knockout stage based on the history of previous standings at the end of the league stage.

No team has reached the IPL playoffs with fewer than seven wins, though the fourth playoff spot in each of the past two seasons went to teams finishing on 16 points. With just four points from two victories, Kohli's team realistically needs to win at least five if not six of their remaining seven matches to make the playoffs this season but they haven't given up hope yet.

"We're going back home for a couple of games," Kohli said. "We've got back-to-back games, need to try and win those to get some momentum."

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Amla, Marsh continue impressive form in Kings XI win

Kings XI Punjab broke their four-game losing streak by defending 188 against Gujarat Lions, a total they built on a quickfire 70-run partnership between Shaun Marsh and Hashim Amla 

Hashim Amla continued his run of good form with 65 runs off 40 balls

Kings XI Punjab had lost four successive games after opening the season with two wins, and were yearning for a victory that took them out of the bottom half. After being put in by Gujarat Lions, Kings XI lost Manan Vohra, who recovered from an illness, in the second over. It was left to Hashim Amla and Shaun Marsh to consolidate and build a total they had a chance to defend.

Both batsmen found their timing and fluency from the outset. Amla laid anchor, but his strike-rate was still lofty. Marsh used his power and timing to accrue boundaries. Together, they added 70 runs in just 48 balls.

While Amla relied on his timing and his wrists to find gaps, Marsh was willing to go over fielders. Both batsmen struck 11 boundaries between them in the Powerplay, making use of the width offered by Gujarat Lions' bowlers. They set a strong base for Kings XI's 188, a total they defended by 26 runs. Amla continued his impressive form with an elegant 65.

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25th match: Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils at Mumbai - Apr 22, 2017

Have a sense of confidence, not arrogance - McClenaghan

After Mumbai Indians laboured to a sub-par 142 against a quality effort from Delhi Daredevils' bowlers, a lot had to go their way in their defense. Small dimensions of the field and the onset of dew late in the evening makes Wankhede Stadium a favourable ground for chasing - the last time a score of under 150 was defended in the IPL at this ground was in 2013.

Mumbai's defence began a lot better than they would have expected. Lateral movement and some shoddy decisions from Daredevils' batsmen gave a confident team a glimpse of an unlikely victory, and they caught Daredevils by the throat. Mumbai's bowlers, powered by Mitchell McClenaghan's three early wickets, reversed the momentum and confidence from the first innings by ripping Delhi's top six within 24 runs.

"When you think you have a sub-par score on a pretty good wicket, the tendency is to go out and be too aggressive with the ball and think you have to make things happen from the outset," McClenaghan said at the post-match press conference. "We worked hard with the analysts and got the right plans in place. We bowled with control, but with a nice presence. As you saw from Rohit's reaction on losing the toss, if the dew sets in, it can be incredibly hard to restrict guys who are chasing. It wasn't as dewy as the first games that were here.

"We've played a lot of games where we didn't think we were going to win. We have a nice sense of confidence, but not arrogance, which is nice in a group like this because you know you can back the skills of the bloke next to you and he's going to give his 100 percent for you."

Before his 3 for 24 against Daredevils, McClenaghan was struggling for control in this IPL. In six games, he had taken nine wickets at an economy rate of 9.12. That equates to an average of 36.48 runs conceded and 1.5 wickets per game. Such returns from one of the four overseas players is inferior for most franchises. Mumbai, though, persisted with McClenaghan and reaped the rewards of a confident bowler.

"Good leadership. Rohit [Sharma] has been fantastic on and off the field, understanding in terms of knowing a lot of bowlers, in this tournament in particular, have gone for runs," McClenaghan said. "He knows some days it may not be your day. He instills you with an incredible amount of confidence. You're never worried, you're never thinking 'If I don't bowl a good over, I'm going to get dropped."

Mumbai have made their best start in IPL history, winning six straight games after a loss in their tournament opener. With this record, Mumbai may not have to make a last-ditch effort to make the playoffs, but McClenaghan said they aren't taking any chances.

"As soon as you underestimate someone, that's when you're going to get kicked in the teeth," McClenaghan said. "We've got a very level management and a level team. Fresh start every time. The key for us is not to get too high or get too low. Be consistent because there are ups and downs in T20 cricket."

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24th match: Rising Pune Supergiant v Sunrisers Hyderabad at Pune, Apr 22, 2017

'Nobody can be a greater finisher' 

MS Dhoni was trending on Twitter after a finish that brought back memories of his best  

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Told the team this is where we restart - Raina

Our bowlers did a fantastic job - Kotak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Eden Gardens for their match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, captain Suresh Raina told his team that it was time for Gujarat Lions to 'restart', with his side floundering at eighth place on the table. He did exactly that, leading the way with a 46-ball 84 which gave his side a four-wicket victory and helped him become India's leading T20 run-getter.

In the previous match between the two teams earlier this season, Chris Lynn's systematic decimation of Lions' attack meant that Knight Riders had chased down 184 with ten wickets in hand and more than five overs to spare. Raina believed his team had played well in that game too, and wanted them to feed off the positive morale in the camp.

"Right from the moment I won the toss, I was getting a lot of positive vibes. I knew we had done well against them [KKR] in the previous game though the match got over in just 14 overs [14.5] when Chris Lynn hit us to all parts of the ground," Raina told iplt20.com. "That loss hurt the team and me. I addressed the team and told them this is the game where we restart and go all guns blazing. The team was high on morale when we walked out on the field and the result is there to be seen. I have been getting good support from Brad Hodge and Mohammad Kaif who have been spreading a lot of positive vibes in the team. It was a great team effort."

Lions' chase of 188 on Friday was hardly an easy one. Despite an aggressive start from openers Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum, the team was struggling at 122 for 5 in the 13th over, and went into the last seven overs needing 64. Raina negotiated the opposition's most effective bowlers - Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav - over the next few overs, eking out a boundary in every over. Once Sunil Narine's four overs were seen off, Raina went after Nathan Coulter-Nile, hammering the Australian fast bowler for two fours and a six in a 16-run over that brought the equation down to 17 runs off 18 balls.

Raina said that nearly a decade of watching and batting with MS Dhoni, in the India dressing room and at Chennai Super Kings, had helped him pick up lessons on keeping the required rate in check.

"I love batting in pressure situations and it is a challenge I relish," he said. "I have batted with him [Dhoni] for almost ten years now and always admired how he would finish games for the side. I have learnt how to cut down on asking rates from 9 per over to a 7 per over from him. The middle overs in a T20 game is very important and you need to take calculated risks. It is something that I did tonight and have learnt over the years. I was hitting the ball really well and looked to be positive throughout my innings though wickets were falling at the other end.

"When you are a captain, you are there to win a game and set examples for your side. It is something that I have learnt from Dhoni while playing with him for India and Chennai Super Kings."

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Buttler, Rana dominate Punjab in comprehensive win

Nitish Rana recorded his fourth fifty at number 3 and is now the highest scorer in the competition thus far

Nitish Rana with 255 runs, in the Indian Twenty20 competition this far, pips David Warner, Hashim Amla, Brendon McCullum and Manish Pandey as the highest scorer in the tournament

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jos Buttler and Nitish Rana's 85-run stand for the second wicket eclipsed Hashim Amla's first-innings ton and helped Mumbai consign Punjab to their fourth-straight loss in the Indian Twenty20 competition at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Thursday.

Rohit Sharma's decision to put Punjab in to bat first, on a batting-friendly surface, seemed to have backfired as an Amla-led ton, off just 59 balls, and a 18-ball 40 from Glenn Maxwell drove Pujnab to 198. Mumbai required to score at 9.90 runs from the onset, in order to register their fifth win of the tournament, and openers Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler drove their side to 81 runs in the first six overs. Buttler led the way by clubbing Sandeep Sharma for a massive six, over midwicket, in the first over itself. The duo smashed 14 boundaries in the 5.5 overs they batted together. Mumbai was still 118 runs away from the target when Patel departed.

An inform Rana joined Buttler and hit the fifth ball he faced for a six over long leg. It was the start of a partnership that would steer Mumbai closer to the sizeable target. Buttler, with a scratchy season thus far, had found form as he hammered seven fours and five sixes in his 37-ball 77, while Rana struck seven sixes in his unbeaten 62, making him this season's leading scorer. When Buttler eventually fell in the 14th over, Mumbai required 33 off 41 balls. Hardik Pandya and Rana, with a flurry of boundaries, ensured that they raced to the target with 27 balls remaining.

Jos Buttler and Nitish Rana's 85-run stand for the second wicket eclipsed Hashim Amla's first-innings ton and helped Mumbai consign Punjab to their fourth-straight loss in the Indian Twenty20 competition at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore on Thursday.

Rohit Sharma's decision to put Punjab in to bat first, on a batting-friendly surface, seemed to have backfired as an Amla-led ton, off just 59 balls, and a 18-ball 40 from Glenn Maxwell drove Pujnab to 198. Mumbai required to score at 9.90 runs from the onset, in order to register their fifth win of the tournament, and openers Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler drove their side to 81 runs in the first six overs. Buttler led the way by clubbing Sandeep Sharma for a massive six, over midwicket, in the first over itself. The duo smashed 14 boundaries in the 5.5 overs they batted together. Mumbai was still 118 runs away from the target when Patel departed.

An inform Rana joined Buttler and hit the fifth ball he faced for a six over long leg. It was the start of a partnership that would steer Mumbai closer to the sizeable target. Buttler, with a scratchy season thus far, had found form as he hammered seven fours and five sixes in his 37-ball 77, while Rana struck seven sixes in his unbeaten 62, making him this season's leading scorer. When Buttler eventually fell in the 14th over, Mumbai required 33 off 41 balls. Hardik Pandya and Rana, with a flurry of boundaries, ensured that they raced to the target with 27 balls remaining.

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El Clasico 2017: Messi's historic walk-off goal we will never forget for Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

Messi scored his 500th career goal for Barcelona in the 92nd minute of El Clasico to seal a walk-off win

 

Lionel Messi scored his 500th career goal for Barcelona, and what a way to do it. The Argentine striker scored a 92nd minute walk-off winner to beat Real Madrid in El Clasico 3-2 on Sunday to move Barca into first place in La Liga. On the counter and with one player more, Messi struck low first time on a ball in the box to beat Keylor Navas. 

That was his second goal of the game and one of the biggest of his career. What a moment for Barca, and the race in La Liga is deadlocked.  

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'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle Issues Warning to Other IPL Teams

 Rajkot: After powering Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a morale-boosting 21-run win over Gujarat Lions, self-proclaimed "UniverseBoss" Chris Gayle on Tuesday warned the other Indian Premier League (IPL) teams that "he is back".

The Jamaican returned to form with a flashy 38-ball 77, laced with seven massive sixes to help RCB reach 213/2 before leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's 3/31 restricted the hosts to 192/7.

Gayle, who also became the first T20 batsman on Tuesday to reach the 10,000-run landmark, said it could not have come at a better time than this.

"I like that name (UniverseBoss). He's back. Even better to be back in the field. Fans want to watch Chris Gayle, it's been fantastic," he said after being adjudged the Man of the Match.

"It all depends on how you feel, determination is important. Its a special occasion to reach 10,000 runs."

Commenting on his change of stance while taking guard, the 37-year-old said: "A lot of guys spoke to me about my stance. Even Shaun Pollock spoke to me about my stance. You're never too old to learn. People still looking out for Chris Gayle."

"The UniverseBoss is still here and alive." 

Elated at the performance of his side, RCB skipper Virat Kohli said: "Happy to get those two points. People told me it's just one run, but I won't change my attitude, I've played my cricket like that."

"Chris took his opportunity beautifully, with his kind of batting, it allows me to bat through the innings, and I can chip my way out. We thought we were 30 runs above par."

Hailing the young spin duo of Pawan Negi and Chahal, the 28-year-old said: "Negi was outstanding, very brave, not getting scared. Not many people believed in his abilities. Chahal is not scared, his biggest plus point is he always wants to take wickets."

 

 

 

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Bhuvneshwar keeps his head when others lose it

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 5 for 19 overcame a sensational 95 from Manan Vohra 

How Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung a thriller Sunrisers Hyderabad's way

The wow moment

 

When you see the kind of hitting Vohra was indulging in, when you see him dropped twice, you can tend to resign. Bhuvneshwar, though, came back stronger from that drop. He saw Vohra was in that rare zone where he was connecting even the slower ones sweetly - first ball of the 18th over for example, when he pulled Siddarth Kaul over long-on. Bhuvneshwar and David Warner planned in the next over. They decided they needed a dead-eye yorker. Give him a single and keep the other man on strike, or get him out. On the third ball, Bhuvneshwar came up with a good'un, swinging in late, and headed for the base of the middle stump. Vohra gone. Match gone.

Stats that matter

• This was Bhuvneshwar's maiden IPL five-for. He has taken 15 wickets in five matches so far
• Bhuvneshwar is a terror to new batsmen: he has removed five batsmen in single digits this IPL, behind only team-mate Rashid's six such strikes
• Bhuvneshwar's 5.4 an over is the third-best economy rate this IPL, and the best among quicks. Shahbaz Nadeem and Samuel Badree are the only ones stingier than him

What they said

 

"Look at Bhuvi. Fantastic death bowling. Upfront swing. Unbelievable. I could count on him. I back all my bowlers, but when you have Bhuvi in the shed, you have got to use him."
A grateful captain, David Warner

"Athletes often talk about believing in themselves. That is what I did. I have overcome that pressure. Because I have been doing this job for three-four years. I knew I had to bowl the 19th over."
Bhuvneshwar Kumar knows he is good

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Dissecting the Daredevils batting order

Aakash Chopra analyses the Delhi Daredevils batting order, and offers insight into some of the more curious events during their game against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Rishabh Pant is in terrific form, but doesn't bat up the order

 Why is Mathews batting ahead of Morris?

Daredevils' batting order has raised a few eyebrows. It's quite apparent that they are desperately trying to bring Karun Nair into form. While there's some rationale in keeping faith in Nair, it was surprising to see Angelo Mathews walking ahead of Chris Morris. If it wasn't for Pant's 38 off 16 balls, Daredevils wouldn't have managed even 150. 

Were Morris and Cummins held back too late?

 

At one stage Knight Riders were 21 for 3, and that's when you expect the bowling unit to exert more pressure and look for wickets. While Zaheer Khan did hunt for a wicket for a while, he went on the defensive in the middle overs. He seemed concerned about getting through Mohammaed Shami's overs and, with both Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan set, Amit Mishra's overs as well. The fielders he had in the circle were on the edge and weren't trying to stop singles, which allowed the partnership to grow.

The 13th and 14th overs were bowled by Mathews and Zaheer, though Morris and Cummins had three and two left respectively. One could understand Zaheer wanting to save Morris for overs 15, 17 and 19, and Cummins for the 16th and 18th. But Pandey and Yusuf were aware of that too. They scored 26 in those two overs, bridging the gap between runs required and balls remaining.

 

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Overseas selections hamper RCB balance

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rising Pune Supergiant, IPL 2017, Bengaluru

Need to find the right balance in the XI - Vettori

While it's not quite all doom and gloom yet, Royal Challengers Bangalore are not far from the point of no-return on the league table. One win in five games leaves them with the prospect of having to win at least seven of the remaining nine games - five of which are away - to have a chance of securing a play-off berth. And the lack of balance when it comes to the selection of overseas players is giving coach Daniel Vettori sleepless nights.

After watching a match "snatched from under their nose" by Mumbai Indians - who recovered from 7 for 4 to chase down 143 - the team management strengthened their bowling by leaving out Chris Gayle for Shane Watson against Rising Pune Supergiant on Sunday. In addition, Adam Milne was brought in for his first game of the season at the expense of Tymal Mills. As a result, the batting order was shuffled around for the third time in as many matches, and the slow surface exposed Royal Challengers' struggles. They lost to Rising Pune by 27 runs.

"The thing is, in the IPL we're constantly searching for the right balance," Vettori said. "In the Mumbai game, we were down a bowler. Shane has been such a successful allrounder in T20 cricket for a long period of time. So we made the decision to back Shane because of his all-round contribution.

"It's tough for everyone in T20 cricket. A lot of domestic players have had to step in and perform after missing a few games or not being in their best form. We know Chris Gayle is a very good performer and we know if he can get on a roll than we can utilise Chris in a positive manner. At this stage we are just trying to find the right balance."

Vettori attributed the frequent changes in selection to being caught a little off guard by the kind of surfaces they've encountered at home, but insisted that wasn't an excuse to cover their shortcomings. "It's probably a case of dealing with a kind of wicket that we haven't played on before," he said. "It's obviously slightly slower. We are used to wickets that make it a lot easier for batsmen to hit the ball for six, hit the ball for four, to catch up with a few dot balls."

Chasing 162 against Rising Pune, Royal Challengers did not hit a single four and struck only one six between the fourth and 15th overs. The inability to adjust, Vettori felt, added to the pressure. "We are probably creating pressure on ourselves through dot balls, striking at below 100," he said. "Trying to catch that up in the back end on a slow wicket is incredibly difficult. I think in a lot of ways we need to be more proactive.

"I think the wickets are not batting-friendly, but that doesn't mean it's not a good T20 wicket. It's been exciting for the bowlers. All three games have been pretty entertaining and I think we have showed that we can compete on this wicket. It is different, we just need to adapt like we did in the Delhi game."

Without mincing words, Vettori was also clear about the problems with their batting. "We saw what the likes of KL (Rahul), Sachin Baby, all those roles players from last year performed," he said. "The expectation is on AB and Virat to excel, but we need the likes of Mandeep (Singh), Kedhar (Jadhav), Shane (Watson) and Stuart Binny to complement their performances. We haven't made it easy on Mandeep by chopping and changing the line-up. We are trying to find the right combination. Once we find the right combination we can get on a roll.

"I won't say drastic changes are required. We back the quality of our performance on our day and we know that we haven't had enough of those when we need consistent performances across the board. We have had little pockets of it. Aravind was exceptional today, Milne in his first game for RCB in a long time did a great job. We need more of those performances, we can't rely on one or two people and that's why we did so well last year. We need more performances from more people."

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Rana, Buttler consolidate Mumbai's top-of-the-table spot

An 85-run partnership between Nitish Rana and Jos Buttler helped Mumbai ace their chase of 177 against Gujarat, improving their position at the top of the table 

Jos Buttler's premeditated scoop over fine leg was the highlight of his innings

After being put in to bat, Gujarat had been reduced to 99 for 3 against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. However, a 26-ball 48 from Dinesh Karthik helped Gujarat plunder 77 off the last 38 balls. Then, off the second ball of Mumbai's innings, an outswinger from Praveen Kumar skewed off the outside half of Parthiv Patel's bat to backward point. Gujarat had all the momentum.

Mumbai persisted with Jos Buttler to at the top. The early wicket meant Nitish Rana was promoted to No. 3. Together, they struck an 85-run stand off just 54 balls, a partnership that eased Mumbai towards their target of 177. Rana's sublime timing - cuts, lofted cover drives and pulls - helped him race away to a 32-ball fifty, his second in four games, making him the highest run-getter of the season.

With Rana's pyrotechnics, Buttler was satisfied with strike rotation, but his contribution to the stand was no less significant. He hit one four and two sixes - a scoop over fine leg and a heave over long-on.

Soon after his fifty, Rana toe-ended a cut to the keeper on 53. His stand with Buttler had shifted the momentum towards Mumbai and put them on course for the 19th successful chase at the Wankhede Stadium in 21 games.

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Nadeem, Morris trip Punjab with impressive display

A strong all-round display helped Delhi to their second win in three matches in the Indian Twenty20 tournament. 

Shahbaz Nadeem made early inroads in the chase

Delhi's bowlers - Shahbaz Nadeem and Chris Morris in particular - consigned Punjab to their second-straight loss in the 2017 edition of the Indian Twenty20 competition, comprehensively outclassing their opponents by a 51-run margin at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on Sunday.

No team had ever successfully gunned down 189 to win a T20 match in the league at the Feroz Shah Kotla before, and when Delhi amassed the target, Punjab's batsmen knew that they required quick runs from the onset in a bid to eclipse the home team. Nadeem though made life difficult for Punjab's opener and he dismissed Manan Vohra off his fourth ball in the second over. He accounted for Wriddhiman Saha and over later. Punjab turned to their experienced duo, Hashim Amla and Eoin Morgan, to bail them out of trouble. But Morris dismissed Amla for 19 in the fifth over.

Punjab stood at 31 for 3 at that stage and their hopes of stealing a win rested on their strong middle order comprising of David Miller and Glenn Maxwell, who had produced match-winning efforts earlier in the tournament. Amit Mishra used the Kotla surface well, and got rid of Maxwell for the fourth time in five innings. Punjab limped to just 137 in their 20 overs. Nadeem finished with figures of 2 for 13 in his two-over spell and Morris 3 for 23. Corey Anderson, who had blasted 39 from 22 balls for Delhi earlier, shone with the ball as well by finishing with figures of 1 for 23 in his three overs.

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Uthappa, Pandey help table-toppers Kolkata trump Hyderabad

Kolkata now have three wins in the 2017 season and pip Mumbai - with equal number of wins - for the top spot due to a better net run-rate.

Robin Uthappa marked his return to form with a quickfire 68 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A 77-run stand for the fourth wicket between Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey helped Kolkata - top the table - by overturning defending champions Hyderabad by 17 runs in the Indian Twenty20 competition at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.

Uthappa was off to a shaky start after he nicked his first ball to the keeper, but the umpire failed to spot it. He made the most of the reprieve by smashing a 39-ball 68, which held Kolkata's innings together along with Pandey who got 46 off 35 balls. Hyderabad dismissed the openers, Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Narine, in the first six overs. Their dismissal brought Uthappa and Pandey together. The duo went boundary less in the first two overs, before Uthappa swatted three sixes and a four in four overs. Uthappa went on to bring up a fifty off 27 balls. Pandey could have been dismissed for 8 had Naman Ojha not missed a stumping chance off left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma.

Uthappa struck five fours and four sixes in his quickfire knock, before he fell in the 15th over, at which stage Kolkata had amassed 117. Pandey fell three-over's later. The Uthappa-Pandey combine scored at 8.88 runs an over in the 8.4 overs they batted together. Their effort helped Kolkata score a respectable 172 in their innings and eventually overturn Hyderabad.

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IPL 10: Debutant Tye's five-for fashions Lions' first win

Gujarat Lions 172 for 3 (McCullum 49, Smith 47) beat Rising Pune Supergiant 171 for 8 (Smith 43, Tye 5-17) by seven wickets.

Gujarat Lions had picked up only one wicket in two matches this season. But Andrew Tye took five times as many - including a hat-trick, the second of the day - to record the best figures by an IPL debutant. His 5 for 17 was then followed by a typically brutal display of batting from the top order to ensure a perfect record against Rising Pune Supergiant after three matches so far.

Good length = bad length

In the space of this past week, Lions have put on their two worst performances in the Poweplay. They leaked 73 runs in the season opener against Kolkata Knight Riders last Friday and now they gave up 64 to Rising Pune Supergiant. Their bowling attack largely consists of medium-pacers who, unless there is some sideways movement, can be lined up. All seven fours in the first six overs came off length balls. Two of the three sixes came off length balls. Praveen Kumar was carted for 25 runs in the fifth over. It had been 10 years since he had been that expensive in the IPL.

The change up

Pune had just recorded their fastest fifty of the tournament - in 27 balls. They had to be slowed down and so Lions turned to the bowler with the best slower ball. A batsman can read the offcutter when the bowler's wrist breaks. Ditto the legcutter. The back-of-the-hand slower ball is difficult largely because of the way it misbehaves off the pitch. But the knuckle ball is slightly different for much of its potency lies in making sure the batsman doesn't pick it.

As a batsman, 22 yards in front, it is hard to read the change in Tye's grip and he doesn't give anything away in his run up. He took four of his five wickets with that knuckle ball, including the one that sealed his second hat-trick of 2017.

Tye's introduction brought Lions back from the brink. They allowed only five of the 48 deliveries that followed the Powerplay to get to the boundary and in the 14th over the returning Ravindra Jadeja dismissed MS Dhoni for the second time in the IPL. The wicketkeeper-batsman fell for 5 off eight balls, his third successive innings at a strike-rate below 100.

From 120 for 5, even a solid partnership of 47 runs in 29 balls between Manoj Tiwary and Ankit Sharma - one of six changes to the XI - could only take Pune to 171.

The top-order threat

Lions' specialist openers made 762 runs in 2016 - that's 30% of the team's total runs. Stopping them had to be Pune's best chance to defend 171. But, on a slow pitch, they fed Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith with fast bowling. It proved a costly mistake. Both of them were set by the time Imran Tahir came on to bowl and the legspinnner was smashed for 15 runs in his first over. He would be hit for 10 boundaries in his spell - the most he has conceded in all the matches he has played in the IPL and for South Africa.

With the main threat decimated, all Lions had to do was trust in their batting depth. They had pushed Aaron Finch down the order because among their four overseas openers he handles spin best - averaging 27.73 and striking at 129. He and Raina, the first man to play 150 IPL games, saw this one through to the finish.

Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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IPL 10: Virat Kohli hopes to be back with a bang

 

 Mumbai Indians won by 4 wickets 

Toss: Mumbai Indians,who chose to bowl first

Mumbai Indians 145/6 in 18.5 Overs

Royal Challengers Bangalore 142/5 (20) 

 

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli is fit, and is all set to return to action in the IPL after missing out on the earlier games. He is set to feature in the match against Mumbai Indians on April 14.

“Now with me coming back and all specialist batsmen playing, the thinking might change back again. Bangalore has generally been a ground where you can chase down high totals and tomorrow being a day game obviously that really matters a lot because the wicket is better during the day time," Kohli was quoted as saying in a PTI report.

Speaking about the team performance, Kohli added, "We know we play good cricket at home but last year we won some really good matches away from home and that is why we reached the final, so in order to do that, that is the most important thing factor in IPL; we need to win away games. That is something that we will focus on through the season if we want to make it to the play-offs."

Kohli went on to hint that while both De Villiers and Gayle could feature in the match on Friday, Kedar Jadhav might keep wickets.

"Chris has always been a priority for us in the past so many seasons. Last game was a scenario where AB came in, Watto came in and other two guys were bowling well. I think that is why Chris was left out in the last game, but yes what works for us in Bangalore, we would go with the strongest combination possible. Chris is the top contender for us to be playing the home games," Kohli added.

Speaking about not travelling​ with the team in the first two games, Kohli explained, "Once you travel with the team, there is a lot happening and to focus on one guy is not fair. So you rather stay away and do your work. I just wanted to let the guys focus on their game and then do their work on the sidelines.”

--By A Cricket Correspondent

 

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IPL 10: Narine, Gambhir lead KKR to comprehensive win over Punjab

Kolkata Knight Riders won by 8 wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders, who chose to bowl

Kolkata Knight Riders 171/2 in 16.3 Overs

Kings XI Punjab 170/9 (20)

        And, once Gambhir and Narine had that blistering opening stand, the game was in KKR's bag.

A surprising all-round show from Sunil Narine and a sprightly half-century from Gautam Gambhir enabled Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.

Gambhir hit an unbeaten 72 off 49 balls as Kolkata chased down 171 in 16.3 overs. In a surprise move, Sunil Narine was sent at the top of the order and responded with 37 from 18 balls. Gambhir and Narine added 76 off 34 balls as KKR eased to victory.

Manish Pandey ended the game with a six and was unbeaten on 25 while Robin Uthappa made 26 to hand Punjab their first loss of the season. Earlier, Umesh Yadav claimed four wickets as Kolkata Knight Riders kept Kings XI Punjab down to 170/9.

Yadav struck thrice in his fourth over to turn the game. KXIP were 95/2 after 10 overs when Umesh dismissed opposition skipper Glenn Maxwell for 25 off 14.

Wriddhiman Saha (25 off 17) and David Miller (28 off 19) put on 57 runs in 32 balls to bring Kings back on track. KXIP were 145/4 in 17 overs when Umesh dismissed​ Miller, Saha and Axar Patel.

Punjab began well with Manan Vohra (28) and Hashim Amla (25) put on their second successive fifty-plus opening partnership. But, Piyush Chawla broke the momentum by dismissing Chawla.

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Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2017, Indore

Kings XI overcome de Villiers' one-man show

Kings XI Punjab 150 for 2 (Amla 58*, Maxwell 43*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 148 (De Villiers 89*, Aaron 2-21) by eight wickets

AB de Villiers, returning from a back injury and replacing Chris Gayle, made a jaw-dropping 89 off 46 balls, but the rest of Royal Challengers Bangalore was so woeful that Kings XI Punjab won with 33 balls to spare.
De Villiers arrived in the second over but by the end of the 15th, he had faced only 28 balls and scored 31 runs. Mandeep Singh and Stuart Binny had taken most of the strike and scored at less than a run a ball. In the last five overs, though, de Villiers faced 18 deliveries and scored 58 off them. He helped RCB double their 15-over score of 71 and was the sole reason they got 148.
A measure of how poor the rest of the RCB batsmen were, though, was how easily a collective effort from Kings XI overhauled the target. Manan Vohra, Hashim Amla and Glenn Maxwell timed the ball sublimely under lights and took the RCB seamers for more than ten runs an over. Kings XI's eight-wicket win was their second in two games, while RCB suffered their second defeat in three.
RCB strangled in the Powerplay
In their previous match against Rising Pune Supergiant at the same venue on Saturday, Kings XI bowled 14 dots in the Powerplay. Against RCB, Sandeep Sharma alone bowled 14. In all Kings XI sent down 22 dots, limiting RCB to 23 for 3; only four times in the past had RCB made a lower Powerplay score.
Before this match, Axar Patel had dismissed Shane Watson every time they had faced off in the IPL. So it made sense for Axar to take the new ball against Watson and he maintained his perfect record when Watson dragged an arm ball back onto the stumps. Sandeep sent down a volley of swinging deliveries but it was the short ball that coaxed a top edge from Vishnu Vinod.
De Villiers repairs damage
De Villiers rusty? You've got to be kidding. He deftly guided his first ball to the point boundary. He then watched his team-mates starve him of the strike, and fall into the hole Kings XI had dug for them. The pitch was quicker than the one used for the match against Rising Pune. Varun Aaron, picked in place of left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh, Axar, and Marcus Stoinis tucked RCB up, and ensured they did not score a boundary for 38 balls in the middle overs.
De Villiers then switched into super-batsman mode: carving near-yorkers for fours and launching length balls on to the roof - or over the roof - of the stadium. He even struck a six over cover despite being off balance and having to reach far away from his body. He hit eight sixes and a four in the last five overs of the innings.
Nailing the chase
Vohra likes pace on the ball. Before this match, he scored at 8.39 an over against pace in the IPL, and 6.78 against spin. He kick-started the chase with three fours in four balls off Watson. Amla also prospered, hitting on the up, as Kings XI shaved 50 off the target in five overs. Tymal Mills came into the attack next over and pinned Vohra lbw with a slower legcutter, but Amla progressed to a typically serene fifty. At the other end, Maxwell produced more unorthodox shots - ramps and golf-swings - and a chastening loss was inevitable for RCB.

 

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End of an era, end of a subculture

End of an era, end of a subculture

  

Pakistan will lose a whole lot of runs and experience when Misbah-ul-Haq and 

Younis Khan retire. Their biggest contribution, though, was the example they set,

showing young players what it meant to be professional sportsmen in Pakistan

Pakistan were blessed that two men as contrasting as Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq 

combined as coherently as peanut butter and jelly

Shan Masood was sitting next to Misbah-ul-Haq in the dressing room at the P
Sara Oval. It was the third day of the second Test and out in the middle, Ahmed Shehzad
and Azhar Ali were battling to salvage the mess they had contributed to in the first
innings, one that would eventually cost Pakistan the Test.Masood was caressing the
bruises that so many young Pakistan batsmen suffer early in their careers. He was
out of the Test XI, having been dropped three Tests after a 75 on debut against South
Africa. But he had worked his way closer, scoring runs in Sri Lanka on an A tour just
before this series and then in the warm-up game before the Tests. He had changed his
game,become more expansive, and felt he was hitting the ball better than ever.And now

here he was, on the inside but still far enough outside to require looking in. Two
Tests were gone and this could easily become another series he missed altogether,
and what was worse was that he wasn't actually playing at all, and thus not cashing
in on some good form. And next to him was sitting the man who would have
played a big part in the decision that was eating away at him.Misbah asked him
how old he was.Twenty-five."You know what I was doing when I was 25?" Masood
recalls Misbah saying. "I was graduating out of college and I hadn't played first-class
cricket. I started playing for Pakistan when I was 27. I played in Sharjah, got out on
a flat wicket to Brett Lee and Andy Bichel. You've already started your career, have
4000 runs at first-class level, made your debut against the world No. 1 side, you
scored 75 there, what are you worrying about? You have your best years ahead of you.
What are you worried about?""Maybe he's right," Masood thought.Masood was
pickedfor the next Test in Pallekele. Younis Khan - of whom Masood is fan, pupil,
mentee and friend - made sure that Masood's spot in the dressing room would be
right next to his own. Masood was leg-before in the first innings for 13, a call that
could have gone either way and made none the easier by the fact that he felt he was
batting well.Later in that innings, Younis called Masood over. A year earlier,
Masood had widened his stance on Younis' advice. Younis felt that Masood's
height necessitated a broader base.
Now in Pallekele, he reassured Masood that it was still a good idea but that he
had maybe gone a little too wide. Younis stressed that he could see Masood was
hitting the ball really well, and that he only really needed to make minor adjustments,
to stand a little more upright, be more open-chested, and it would be okay.In the
second innings, Masood scored his first - and so far only - Test hundred, setting
up Pakistan's highest-ever successful run chase. He made 125 out of 382 and
242 runs of the target were made in company withYounis.Masood is out of the 
side again currently. He may never have another Pallekele again, or become 
the Test opener Pakistan have craved for so long, but what a time to have been 
young and batting in the Pakistan side.

 

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M.HAFEEZ BREAKS THE RECORD OF INDIAN CRICKETER........

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FINALLY ANNOUNCED

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THE BPL WAS DECIDED BY THE PLAYERS?

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World Cup 2019: Interesting scenario ahead for Pakistan

KARACHI: Will Pakistan directly qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup? Or will they be forced to play the qualifiers?
The answer to this question is interesting and a little complicated. And it does not involve Pakistan only as West Indies, Bangladesh and possibly Sri Lanka are also facing a similar situation. A little look into the table shows that Pakistan with 89 points, are currently placed at 8th position in the ICC ODI ranking and are scheduled to play at least nine more ODIs before the cut-off date, which is September 30th, 2017.
Top seven teams on ICC rankings, along with the host England, will qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on the cutoff date. Whereas, the bottom of the table teams will join associate teams in qualifiers to be played in Bangladesh next year for remaining two berths to the World Cup.
The present ICC ranking shows an exciting competition between three teams for finishing among top 8th before the cut-off date. Bangladesh at 7th with 92 points, Pakistan at 8th with 89 points and West Indies at 9th with 84 points. Sri Lanka look a little bit comfortable at 6th with 98 points.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three-match ODI series against West Indies, starting this week. A 3-0 win against West Indies will put Pakistan to 7th position with 92 points, a little above Bangladesh on decimal points.
On other hand, Bangladesh are scheduled to play Ireland and New Zealand next month before Champions Trophy and even one loss against lower-ranked Ireland would create problems for Bangladesh.
But before the tri-series, there will be an annual update of ICC ranking where Pakistan’s poor record of 2013-14 will get eliminated from ranking calculations (currently it carries 50% of weightage) and not-so-good results of 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 will have weightage reduced to half.
Pakistan lost 16 out of 23 ODIs during the period 2014-2015, which also includes Pakistan’s series loss at the hand of Bangladesh soon after the World Cup 2015. Weighing down that result means, Bangladesh would also lose points it got from winning the series against Pakistan.
The baggage of defeats by Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia will also be halved from Pakistan’s shoulder in ranking calculations.
But, simultaneously, West Indies – that lost 10 out of 18 ODIs in the same period will also have similar advantage as of Pakistan, it will also lose the baggage of losing all games in 2013/2014 period.
Sri Lanka will also lose some points that it carried after winning 18 ODIs, includes the run in the ICC World Cup 2015, all will be halved from Sri Lanka’s account, which is likely to dent its position.
The calculations from matches of 2015/16 will cut to half weightage, West Indies during that period played just three ODIs and lost all of them, against Sri Lanka. Pakistan played 17, lost 8 and won 8, the defeat includes one ODI loss against Zimbabwe. So, after the annual update, the weight of that infamous defeat will cut to half.
Matches played after May 1, 2016 will have full impact on rankings. Pakistan have so far, won 6 out of 14. Bangladesh have won 4 out of 12, Sri Lanka have won 7 out of 25 and West Indies winning just 4 out of 17 matches.
So, the annual update is likely to benefit Pakistan, but will bring mix fortunes for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies making the run to world cup qualification more interesting.
Before the cut-off date, Pakistan are scheduled to play nine ODIs and all against better-ranked teams (provided if Bangladesh also keeps ranking better than Pakistan), winning against better-ranked teams is always beneficial in such scenario, while losing to them would not have such a grave impact on the team in rankings.
West Indies are scheduled to play 13 ODIs. Five each against England and India while three against Pakistan. Matches against India and England would provide West Indies with an opportunity to better their rankings by positive results against better-ranked teams.
Bangladesh are also scheduled to play nine matches, including three against Pakistan, but two matches are against Ireland and if Ireland manages to upset Bangladesh, then defeat by a lowly ranked team would be alarming for Bangladesh team. Sri Lanka are also scheduled to play 11 matches.
With ICC annual update around the corner and enough matches remaining for all the teams, the scenario for World Cup 2019 qualification on basis of ranking looks exciting and complicated which will keep fans from at least four teams on their toes for next few months.
According to possible scenarios, Sri Lanka and West Indies will get five points deducted from its current tally after the annual update, Bangladesh and Pakistan will get between 1.5 to 2 points deducted from its present calculation.

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