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Fear had gripped in during the first half of the tournament says KKR head coach Brendon McCullum

The second phase of IPL 2021 is set to begin from 19th September after the virus had breached through the bubbles during the first phase of the tournament forcing the authorities to suspend the tournament indefinitely. Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum stated that the team was paralysed by fear when covid affected the first half of the tournament. 

Varun Chakravarthy, the off-spinner who has become an integral part of the KKR set-up was the first one to test positive for the virus followed by fast bowler Sandeep Warrier. The tournament was eventually postponed indefinitely in May. 

The two-time champions, Kolkata Knight Riders had a forgettable time in the first half of the tournament and are currently occupying the 7th spot in the points table. They need to play out of their skin in the second half of the competition to harbour any hopes of making it through to the last four. 

“In regards to the tournament which is upcoming (second half of the IPL phase), we can end it right. We can take the game on and we’re in a situation where we need things to go our way,” McCullum was quoted as saying by the KKR website.

“We need to hit the ground running, challenge one another privately, support one another publicly and try and get the best out of one another in the next 4-5 weeks. Who knows where we can go with this.

“There were sometimes throughout the season when I just felt we were being paralysed a little bit by fear,” he further added.

India was going through tumultuous times during the first half of the tournament as the virus was sweeping away thousands across the country. McCullum who took IPL by storm back in 2008 during the inaugural season, feels that KKR can get rid of their disappointment from the first phase and come back stronger in UAE. 

“I wasn’t able to free the guys up enough to understand that and that’s sort of a challenge for me. But it is also a good challenge for the guys as well that they need to push the envelope of their own thinking as well.

“Hopefully we will be able to strip away a bit of the angst which had built up in the first part of the season, just go out there and try and enjoy ourselves.

“That’s the ambition that I have got for the franchise and hence why I am unapologetic and unrelenting in my belief that we need to play a braver style of play,” he said.

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The team has worked immensely on fitness and skills says Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana, the Indian women’s team opening batter has heaped praises on her side for improving massively since their shattering defeat at the hands of Australia in the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup final. She has stated that India will be more competitive during the upcoming multi-format series against the Australian colts which also includes their first pink-ball Test. The tour will comprise of three ODIs and as many T20Is besides that solitary Test match. The limited-overs series will kick off on September 21 while the Test match will be played from 30th September to 3rd October. When the two teams last contested against each other, it was the T20 World Cup final where the hosts produced a thoroughly dominating performance thrashing India by 85 runs. “The team has grown massively (since the T20 World Cup),” Mandhana told ‘The Scoop podcast’. Having finished their 14-day hard quarantine on Monday, the Indian women’s team is gearing up for the series. The Indian women’s didn’t play any matches whatsoever for close to a year which helped the players sort out their technical problems and come out stronger “COVID was a big break after the T20 World Cup and a lot of girls had a chance to go back and understand more about their games, where they lack as an individual and come back stronger,” Mandhana said. “The whole team has worked on their fitness and skills…we are still getting into a rhythm of playing matches continuously but the last five, six months we have been playing cricket and now we are getting back into the match mindset. Hopefully, the series goes well for the whole team” India reached Australia for the multi-format tour straight from England. Five of the Indian players also played in The Hundred tournament in June-July. Mandhana also featured in the tournament. The stylish left-hander said that Australia will be a difficult team to beat at home and the team needs to start enjoying batting on bouncy wickets. “We all love playing against Australia because they are one of the best teams in the world and quite competitive,” Mandhana said. “When it comes to Australia, you’re a bit more pumped because of the level of competitiveness the Australian team, it just rubs off on us and we also start being extra competitive.” Mandhana remains the only Indian woman batter to smash a century in Australia. The opening batsman smashed 102 in 2016 aged just 16 years old. Mandhana said that the bounce in Australia is true and feels everyone will loving batting in conditions Down Under. “Australian wickets have a true bounce and I think everyone loves batting in Australia. No one will tell you they don’t like batting in Australia,” Mandhana said.

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CPL 2021 | 2nd Semi-final Preview: Warriors, Patriots battle it out for a place in the final

Guyana Amazon Warriors will be up against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Wednesday in the second semi-final of the CPL 2021 in St Kitts. The Warriors ended the league stage at number two position after beating Jamaica Tallawahs in their last respective game. Patriots on the other side who had been in some form in the competition suffered a defeat in their last match against Trinbago Knight Riders and were pushed to number three spot in the points table. Though, both the sides that will be locking horns in the second semi-final match ended the league fixtures with the same number of wins and points but the Warriors had a better run-rate. Guyana are coming into this game on the back of a win against Jamaica after their bowlers rattled the Tallawahs batting line up and bundled them out for 128 while defending a target of 143. But the Warriors too struggled with the bat initially and it was Romario Shepherd who first chipped in with an unbeaten 72 off 31 and then scalped three wickets during the course to script a brilliant win for his side. The Guyana side needs to make some tweaks with their batting line up and the middle-order needs to be among some runs in the all important semi-final against SKNP. The Patriots on the other hand also struggled with their batting in the last match and were restricted to 147/7 in 20 overs. Later, the bowlers did try to restrict the opposition but TKR skipper Kieron Pollard took the game away from them after he notched up a 22-ball 51. Nevertheless, with the likes of Chris Gayle, Rutherford, Bravo in the line up, the Patriots do have some superb stroke players who can turn the game on its head on the give day. Rutherford had been in good touch for the team in the initial part of the tournament and the SKNP team management would want him to get back in the groove. Match Details Match: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, CPL 2021 2nd semi-final Date: September 14, Tuesday Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts Telecast: Star Sports Network Pitch Report The track might have something on offer for the bowlers, especially spinners in the initial part of the game. So, if you win the toss, elect to bowl first. Probable XI GAW: Brandon King, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Shoaib Malik, Nicholas Pooran (c), Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Anthony Bramble (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Naveen-ul-Haq, Imran Tahir SKNP: Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Joshua Da Silva(wk), Jonathan Carter, Sherfane Rutherford, Dwayne Bravo ( c ), Fabian Allen, Dominic Drakes, Jon Russ-Jaggesar, Sheldon Cottrell, Paul van Meekeran Fantasy XI Pooran, Hemraj, King, Lewis, Gayle, Rutherford (VC), Smith, Drakes, Tahir (C), Shepherd, Ahmed