EPL 2021 | Shahid Afridi arrives in Nepal to play for Kathmandu Kings XI

IPL 2021 | Hardik Pandya 'close to playing' but Mumbai Indians not looking to rush his return

The Mumbai Indians have dearly missed Hardik Pandya ower down the order but the bowling coach Shane Bond has asserted that the all-rounder will not be rushed back in the second phase of the Indian Premier League. He outlined that the franchise understands the need of Hardik both for their chances in the ongoing edition of the IPL and Team India’s chances in the T20 World Cup that will follow the IPL. However, in a positive sign, Bond said that Hardik is doing “pretty well” in training and is “close to playing”. He said that he can well be back in the Mumbai Indians team for the next game. "Hardik's training well. He's trained today. He's been close to playing. We're obviously balancing the needs of our team and the needs of team India as well. It's the one thing that this franchise does really well is look after its players with an eye not only to win this competition but an eye to the World Cup that's coming up as well. Hopefully, Hardik can be back for the next match and as I said he's trained today and he's going pretty well," Bond said in the post-match press conference after the game against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The defending champions Mumbai Indians have lost both their games in the second phase of the tournament and are now languishing in the lower half of the points table with just four wins out of nine played this season.

KKR Captain Eoin Morgan fined 100% match fees, players lose Rs 6 lakh over slow over-rate

While the Kolkata Knight Riders were celebrating a big win over the Mumbai Indians—their main tormentor in the IPL on September 23, they also have to lose a few of their earnings from the big game due to failure to maintain the stipulated over-rate. The Knight Riders have committed the offence for the second time and hence all the players have been penalised 25 per cent of their match fees while the skipper Eoin Morgan has been penalised all his match fees. Morgan has been charged Rs 24 lakh while all players have been charged Rs 6 lakh from their earnings from the last game. “As it was the team’s second offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan was fined Rs 24 lakhs. The rest of the members of the playing XI were each fined lesser of either Rs 6 lakhs or 25 percent of their individual match fee,” IPL governing council said in a statement. The Knight Riders swept their most formidable opponent in the history of the IPL by a big margin of seven wickets and by chasing a modest target of 156 runs with 29 balls to spare. The men in purple and gold jumped from the seventh position to the fourth position on the points table on the back of big wins over the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Mumbai Indians in two consecutive games.

IPL 2021 | MI vs KKR: What Experts Said after KKR unleash a 'terrific' performance

Kolkata Knight Riders rode on an emphatic batting display from Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi to etch a comfortable win against Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night. Chasing 156 in 20 overs, the KKR side went over the line at the start of the 16th over. Openers Shubman Gill and Iyer gave KKR a brisk start as the two batsmen put 40 runs on the board for the first wicket in just three overs. Gill departed for 13 off 9 deliveries while Iyer went on to notch up his maiden IPL fifty. On the other side, Rahul Tripathi who came in at number three unleashed an onslaught against the MI bowlers and chipped in with a 42-ball 74* that included three maximums and 8 fours during the course. For Mumbai, it was only Jasprit Bumrah who was among the wickets after he scalped a three-wicket haul but at the cost of 43 runs in 4 overs. Earlier, in the day, MI after batting first managed to put 155/6 in 20 overs. The Rohit Sharma-led side had a decent start after the skipper and wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock put up 78 runs for the first wicket. Rohit eventually departed for 33 off 30 while De Kock struck a half-century. But MI lost wickets at regular intervals at a later stage of the innings as the KKR bowlers pulled things back nicely. MI captain Rohit Sharma admitted that they did get a good start but lost the way in the middle. “Few areas (went wrong). We started really well but didn't get enough towards the back end. I thought it was a good pitch, we failed to capitalize on the start we got and we didn't bowl well at the start,” he said after the match. KKR skipper Eoin Morgan said that beating MI in a comprehensive manner will give them a lot of confidence. “Well it's been a long time coming. Since Baz (McCullum) has taken over last year, the way we have played in the last two games is the way our coach wants us to play. It suits our talent to play this way. To hold such a strong Mumbai Indians side to 155 and chase this down gives us confidence,” the left-handed batter said. Experts’ Opinion Commentator Harsha Bhogle lavished praise on KKR and even added that they are in contention for a play-off spot. “The KKR before the break were unrecognisable from this team. They are in serious contention now for a play-off spot,” he tweeted. Senior journalist Ayaz Memon lauded KKR for their patience despite MI’s positive start and the way the side fought their way back. “Terrific performance by revitalised KKR. Kept their nerve despite Rohit and de Kock running up fine opening partnership, fought back to restrict MI to 155, then chased target with sizzling aggression of Iyer & Tripathi. Not seen MI get hammered like this in a long time,” he wrote on Twitter. Former India batsman Aakash Chopra went on to say that he won’t be ‘surprised’ if MI don’t qualify for the play-offs. “And won’t be surprised if MI doesn’t qualify for the playoffs,” Chopra tweeted. Former India pacer RP Singh echoed what Harsha Bhogle said that KKR are surely in contention for a play-offs spot. “Suddenly, KKR is a serious contender for play-off after two wins in a row. But, it is unusual for MI to see that Suryakumar Yadav , Ishan Kishan and Pandya brothers not contributing enough,” he posted on Twitter. KKR will now take on CSK in Abu Dhabi while MI will play RCB in Dubai on Sunday.

IPL 2021 | MI vs KKR: Venkatesh Iyer hits maiden fifty off just 25 balls

Kolkata Knight Rider’s Venkatesh Iyer seems to have been the game-changer for the franchise as with his introduction to the playing XI, the team now is on its way to the second consecutive win in the Indian Premier League. Iyer hit his maiden fifty in the IPL against Mumbai Indians in KKR’s ninth IPL 2021 game. Having scored an unbeaten 41 in the first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Madhya Pradesh player, who made his debut only a match ago, hit his debut fifty in the world’s biggest cricket league against five-times champions Mumbai Indians and against the bowling lineup that has Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Adam Milne and Rahul Chahar. Iyer started in a fashion that he had left in the last match against the RCB, hitting world number one ODI bowler Trent boult for a six on the very first ball that he faced in the very first over of the KKR chase of 154. From there onwards there was no looking back for the 26-year-old left-hander who went on to complete his fifty in just 25 balls, hitting four fours and three sixes on the way. In the end, he was dismissed by Bumrah trying to hit one over the bowlers head, missing the ball completely. But by the time he got out, the team’s score read 128 in just the 12th over.