David Hussey backs Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana to come good in 2nd leg of IPL

New Zealand players and support staff reach UAE, to fly out home in the course of next week

New Zealand cricket has defended its decision to abort the tour of Pakistan on the day of the scheduled start of the limited-overs series. It was just in the lead up to the opening ODI that NZC announced that they have cancelled their tour with immediate effect after a “specific and credible threat’. The players and the support staff arrived in Dubai in a special charter plane in the early hours of Sunday as per reports in the Cricbuzz. A team of 34 members which includes 21 players and support staff will undergo a mandatory 24 hour of quarantine in their Dubai hotel before leaving for home in the course of the next week. 21 of them will return home “as flights and Managed Isolation and Quarantine rooms become available” said New Zealand cricket in their official statement. Meanwhile, the remaining players will stay in UAE and join the New Zealand national T20 team with the T20 World Cup slated to be played in UAE and Oman from 17th October. Without divulging much about the nature of the security concern which New Zealand cricket received on the day of the start of the ODI series, NZC chief executive David White stated that “everything changed” instantaneously on Friday, just hours before the start of a historic series. White further stated that after hearing from the NZC’s security consultants who were present at the venue they were left with no choice but to abort the tour without playing a game. "We appreciate this has been a terribly difficult time for the PCB and wish to pass on our sincere thanks to chief executive Wasim Khan and his team for their professionalism and care," White stated. As per reports in the Cricbuzz, White further added that the intel was shared to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) but it was not possible to specify the details in public. "What I can say is that we were advised this was a specific and credible threat against the team. We had several conversations with New Zealand government officials before making the decision and it was after informing the PCB of our position that we understand a telephone discussion was conducted between the respective Prime Ministers. "Unfortunately, given the advice we'd received, there was no way we could stay in the country. Everything changed on Friday," White said. "The advice changed, the threat level changed and, as a consequence, we took the only responsible course of action possible,” he concluded.

T20 Blast | Semi Final 2: Kent set up final date with Somerset courtesy Bell-Drummond and bowlers

Riding on a brilliant knock of 82 by Daniel Bell-Drummond and exceptional bowling efforts by Fred Klassen and Matt Milnes, Kent set up a final date with Somerset in the final of the Vitality T20 Blast. It was a brilliant all-round performance that ensured that Kent defeated Sussex quite convincingly in the end by 21 runs. In conditions suited for the batters, it was the Kent skipper Sam Billings who won the toss and opted to bat. Drummond started off with some delightful shots and shared a 24 runs stand with his opening partner Zak Crawley in less than 3 overs before the dismissal of Crawley. Denly who joined Drummond at the fall of Crawley’s wicket looked a bit out of place and was dismissed for 3 after struggling for 8 deliveries. The middle-order couldn’t quite get going but Drummond at the other end continued his good work and kept ticking the scoreboard along and found the boundaries in crucial junctures of the game. There was a mini-collapse in the 11th over which saw Kent losing 3 wickets in 5 deliveries for the addition of a solitary run. However, Drummond set his foot forward and settled his nerves as he saw wickets falling in a cluster at the other end. Yet again it was the 45-year-old Darren Stevens who showed his class even at such a ripe age. Along with Drummond, he shared a crucial 42 runs stand in quick time to get Kent back into the game and after Drummond was dismissed on 82, it was Drummond who took the onus on hismelf to take Kent to a competitive score. Stevens eventually remained unbeaten on 48 of 27 deliveries as Kent posted 168 in their allotted 20 overs. The run chase began well for Sussex with Philip Salt smashing a couple of crisp boundaries in the first over. However, it was Fred Klassen, the most successful of the Kent bowlers who got the wicket of Salt. The innings never really took off as wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara, Delray Rawlins and David Wiese couldn’t quite get going and was dismissed cheaply. Bopara was the top run-scorer from the four scoring a fluent 22 while Harrison Ward chipped in with 21. With the score reading 57/5 and then 89/6, it was all down to George Garton to see his team through. He took on the Kent bowlers and struck 4 fours and 3 sixes during his exceptional knock of 41 of just 23 deliveries. Until he was there, Sussex still had hope. His wicket at an untimely time proved to be the final nail in the coffin for them as they were eventually skittled out in the final over for 147 runs, handing Kent a comprehensive 21 runs victory. Brief Scores Kent- 168/8 in 20 overs (Daniel Bell-Drummond 82, Daren Stevens 47, Tymal Mills 3/33) Sussex 147 all-out in 19.1 overs (George Garton 41, Fred Klassen 4/17, Matt Milnes 3/22) Kent won by 21 runs

PCB chief Ramiz Raja wants Pakistan team to channel their frustration into performance on field

It seems that Pakistan Cricket has been badly hurt by the pulling out of the series by New Zealand, right ahead of the start of the first game between the two countries on September 17. Newly-elected Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, Ramiz Raja addressed the cricket fans and the national cricket team through a video upload by the PCB on its social media handles, saying that he shares the pain that players and fans are feeling at the moment. But at the same time, Raja said that he would like the national team to channel this frustration to performance on the field. “I just want to convey to the cricket team that whatever frustration you bore because of the cancellation of this series, take it out on the field. This is the best way out to show to the world that if you become the best team in the world, everybody would want to play with you,” said the former Pakistan captain. “We share the pain together and that’s why I have come to talk to you. It wasn’t good at all for Pakistan Cricket. You all have the idea as to what we were expecting and what actually transpired, it’s an unfortunate scenario,” he added while speaking about the unilateral cancellation o the tour. Raja went on to say that Pakistan cricket has recovered in past from such harrowing experiences and it is fully capable of doing it now as well. He enumerated the resilience and fighting spirit of Pakistanis that will turn the tide in the favour of his nation. “If it so happens that international cricket comes under pressure in Pakistan, then we will for sure get out of such situation and even if we are unable to, then on the basis of our domestic cricket, we are more than capable enough of becoming one of the most powerful cricket playing countries in the world,” he said. After the cancellation of the tour by New Zealand, England are supposed to make a final decision on their men’s and women’s teams’ tour to Pakistan in October this year.

IPL 2021 | KKR’s Road to UAE: Blowing hot and cold, captain Morgan’s troops need divine intervention

It has not been a good season for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and even after Morgan finally leading the side, he hasn’t really been to pull of the mastery he is generally known for. It has been a tough year for Morgan personally and the teams that he has been part of have performed dismally as well, be it Middlesex in the T20 Blast, London Spirit in The Hundred or KKR in the IPL. In 2021, the batting average of Morgan in 18 T20s has been 22 with a best of 47 while in the T20Is, he has played seven games and his average has worsened to 11 with the best score of 28. Thus, for KKR to come good, this time around, they not only need Morgan’s thinking cap on but also his form with the bat to be good. Well, more than KKR, England would be needing their charismatic captain to get back to form. But before the need for the changes come into place, a look at what has transpired for the Knight Riders so far would give an idea as to where things are headed. Journey so far The Knight Riders started the tournament in an incredible fashion, beating their nemesis from the last season, who threw them out of the Playoffs race, Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs in a close encounter. While Nitish Rana was the hero with the bat for KKR, Andre Russell saved the day with the ball. However, after winning a game from almost a losing position in the first game, they lost a game from a winning position against Mumbai Indians as they were unable to chase down 153, even after being 72-0 in the first nine overs at one point in time. This loss against Mumbai Indians started a series that could only end after three more consecutive losses. The first lost to RCB by a huge margin of 38 runs when AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell went on a rampage, unleashing the beast within in different stages of the innings, thereby propelling the Challenegsr to a total of over 200 and then KKr were no match to it. In the next game, the Knight Riders bowlers were once again taken for huge runs by the Chennai Super Kings. The Super Kings reached 220 courtesy of a 95 from Faf du Plessis and 64 from Ruturaj Gaikwad. Even after some immense hitting by Pat Cummins, Russell and Dinesh Karthik, Knight Riders could get to only 202 and eventually lost the game by 18 runs. Their last loss on the trot came gainer Rajasthan Royals where, for a change, the batting messed up. The men in purple were restricted for 133-9 in their 20 overs and the Royals chased it down comfortably to win the game by six wickets. After these humiliating losses, finally came a solitary win against fellow strugglers Punjab Kings. Morgan and Rahul Tripathi found form and chased down an easy 124 with five wickets intact after bowlers had done their work to reduce Kings to 123-9 in their 20 overs. However, the win did not follow another victory as the Knight Riders lost the plot and were defeated by the Delhi Capitals courtesy of a brilliant innings from Prithvi Shaw where he hit 82 off just 41 balls and took the game away from the Knight Riders. So Knight riders would be starting their second phase with seven matches in their kitty and requiring to win at least five of them to at least have a shot at the Playoffs. Tim Southee replaced Pat Cummins The only new signing for the Knight riders is Kiwi fast bowler Tim Southee, who comes in as a replacement for one of the key members of the Kolkata squad, Pat Cummins, who chose to remain with his young family and spend some time head of the T20 World Cup. Final Kolkata Knight Riders squad Batsmen Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Sheldon Jackson, Karun Nair, Venkatesh Iyer All-rounders Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shakib al Hasan, Ben Cutting, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Pawan Negi Bowlers Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee. What to expect in the UAE leg? For the Knight Riders to be able to achieve their goal of reaching the Playoffs first, certain players dearly need to click. Shubman Gill at the top alongside Rahul Tripathi needs to click. The management needs to establish whether Sunil Narine opens the innings or plays ta number eight because he certainly is not a middle-order player. Along with Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan need to find form as these three along with Dinesh Karthik are going t be crucial for KKR’s UAE adventures. Between the fast bowlers, mostly Lockie Ferguson would be part of the playing XI with an outside chance for Southee. The most important thing however would be to identify whether the team would want to go with Narine or Shakib. Once they are able to deal with that, the rest of the things would be sorted.