Gautam Gambhir urges media to stop comparing Rishabh Pant to MS Dhoni

West Indies' Rovman Powell eager to take on Kiwis in front of crowd

West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell has expressed his excitement on the prospect of the chance to perform in front of crowds in the upcoming series against the Kiwis after the New Zealand government has allowed the entry of fans into stadiums after effectively eliminating the virus. "It has been a while. I think it's the longest cricket has gone without playing in front of crowds. So it's good that New Zealand has dealt with their COVID situation the way they have so we will be able to play in front of crowds,” Powell said about the possible presence of cricket fans in the stadium during the upcoming series. West Indies cricketers who are not part of the ongoing Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates are counting down days as they are spending their quarantine period in New Zealand. They are set to face the host New Zealand for a three-match T20 series and two-match Test series starting November 27. Windies have tested negative for coronavirus upon their arrival in the country and will be released from isolation after another round of negative tests.

Jasprit Bumrah not thinking of wickets; happy at executing role given by team

Having judged the Man of the Match in the qualifier 1 against the Delhi Capitals, Jasprit Bumrah has said that he is not at all worried about the outcome of a game and rather being focussed on executing the plans in the best way possible. Bumrah was sensational with the ball and uprooted the Delhi Capitals’ batting order right from the start to the end. "I am okay with not getting wickets and winning the tournament, I have been given a role so I just want to execute that role. I am always ready when the captain wants me to bowl. I don't focus on the end result. When I have done that it's always gone downhill,” Bumrah said in the post-match presentation ceremony after helping his side in earning a spot in the IPL final. Bumrah was assigned a somewhat different task by Rohit Sharma in the Qualifier as he was being held back in the past game to control the momentum of the game in the middle overs. However, ending an in-form Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit decided to team up Bumrah with Boult with the new ball and it worked wonders for the team as the Delhi’s top order was down to the drain even before opening the score. Bumrah showed his impeccable presence of mind by bowling a fast and swinging yorker to Shikhar Dhawan who seemed to be late on the ball as he must have been expecting a fuller ball in on the off stump line. The fact that the yorker came out well on the night and it dismissed Dhawan left Bumrah pleased with his efforts. "Opening yorker was really important. I decided I will do that early in the game and when it comes off it's always nice," Bumrah said of his searing yorker to Dhawan in the second over of the Capitals’ chase. The Qualifier game was nothing short of sensational for both Bumrah and the Mumbai Indians as the two bowlers achieved an outstanding feat of double-wicket maidens. Trent Boult bowled the first over of the inning and scalped out the big wickets of Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane on consecutive balls followed by Bumrah’s efforts of a double-wicket maiden in the 16th over by dismissing Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams. It was the first time in the history of the IPL that two bowlers of the same team achieved double-wicket maidens in a game. It was a second double wicket-maiden for Bumrah for the season as the purple cap holder this year had already taken two wickets in an over without conceding any runs in a match against the Royals Challengers Bangalore.

Virat Kohli flags concerns on life in 'repetitive' bio-secure bubbles

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has flagged the concerns about the mental health of players in current situations when they are travelling from one biosecure bubble to another in order to play cricket in the covid-free environment. In a video interaction with his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, Kohli suggested that the longevity of the tour must be considered keeping the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent protocols imposed by it in the near future. However, he suggested that if the bunch of guys living together are comfortable and give good vibes to each other, the life inside a biosecure bubble is not that difficult. "It's repetitive, it's not as tough when the group of guys is amazing, which we have. Everyone part of that bio-bubble is really nice, the vibe has been so good. That's precisely why we've enjoyed playing together, just enjoyed our time in the bubble as well. But it does get difficult at times because it is repetitive," Kohli said to RCB’s Youtube channel. Kohli has been a vocal supporter for the discussion of the impact that too much of competitive cricket leaves on certain player’s mental capacity and hence the admission as the Indian team is all set to embark on the tour of Australia immediately after closure of IPL is a significant development.

MI vs DC: Hits & Flops as Bumrah-Surya shine in thumping victory over Capitals

As Mumbai fielded their full strength team after the loss against the Sunrisers in their last league game, it was a surety that they would be more than just a challenge for the Capitals; well they turned out to be more than that. With the help of the destructive batting from Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan along with the semblance provided by Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai posted 200 on the board. Delhi with their strong batting was supposed to present some challenge in the chase, but unfortunately, it turned out to be yet another dead game as the Capitals never recovered from their early shock when they lost three of their top batters at the score of zero. In the end, they could manage to score only 143 in their 20 overs losing the match by a mammoth 57 runs in Dubai. For Mumbai, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult were the chief architects of Delhi’s destruction. On this note, let us look at the Hits and Flops from the game. Hits #1 Jasprit Bumrah Bumrah was phenomenal today, as he has been in the entire tournament, barring few initial games. Taking the ball, he dismissed the most in-form Delhi batter in Shikhar Dhawan with the very first delivery, a perfect Yorker to which Dhawan had no answer. But he didn’t stop there as he got the all-important wicket of skipper Shreyas Iyer against the run of play as Iyer had hit a beautiful cover drive on the previous delivery. A partnership had developed between Axar Patel and Marcus Stoinis for the Capitals. They had started to look confident and his biggest asset, the Trump card was called in by Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma. Just the way he did in the previous spell, Bumrah picked another wicket with the first ball of his spell, this time Stoinis was at the receiving end. In his four overs, Bumrah finished with the best figures of his career giving away just 14 runs and taking four wickets. Bumrah was also adjudged Man of the match for this effort of his. He also took over as the purple cap owner from Kagiso Rabada for the time being. #2 Hardik Pandya When he came at the crease, Mumbai was 140-5 with 23 balls remaining in the innings and Kieron Pollard already in the dressing room. To get to 200 from there was something that only Pandya could have done. The man hit every bowler possible. Right from Daniel Sams to Rabada and to Andre Nortje, nobody was spared by the Baroda born. Pandya scored 37 of just 14 balls with the help of five colossal sixes in the death overs. He also built a 60 run partnership with Ishan Kishan for the 6th wicket. # Suryakumar Yadav After the fall of skipper Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar joined Quinton de Kock in the middle. Instead of taking the pressure, Suyrya counter-attacked and de Kock was also going the dame, it was these two that got Mumbai out from the hole it might have forced itself in because it happens in the knockout games that an early blow brings the morale of the entire team down. Surya scored 51 of 38 balls and his innings included six fours and two sixes. Flops #1 Shikhar Dhawan In a pressure match, in a knockout game, a team expects that its best people in form should and would perform. However, Dhawan, the man in form for Delhi, was bowled on the very first ball he faced. Frankly speaking, it was a brilliant Yorker to be the fi8rst ball for a batter, but to play the shot that he did was also not the right approach to the Yorker. The golden duck was not something that the fans or the team management would be expected of him. Even Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane got out for and probably of easier deliveries. But they are not on the list because not much was expected of them. #2 Kagiso Rabada The same is the case with Rabada. The man who has been picking up wickets throughout the tournament for his team has suddenly gone silent at the moment that matters the most. In this game too, he went for 42 runs but wasn’t able to pick even a single wicket. He didn’t even look threatening and that is a worrying sign. In fact, in the last five games, he has only been able to pick four wickets with an average of more than 46. Special Mention: Trent Boult and Ishan Kishan Both Trent Boult and Ishan Kishan played major roles in making sure that their team gets over the line. While Kishan has been phenomenal in the entire tournament, he showed his vigor in this game as well making 50 off just 30 balls with four fours and three sixes. The fact that he batted throughout the inning sfro0m the time he joined Surya in the middle and played the anchor’s role was even more pleasing for the Mumbai fans and the team management. Boult on the other hand gave Mumbai the impetus that it required by picking two early wickets, in fact, two very important wickets in the first over itself. He was outstanding with the new ball as hardly any of the batsmen were able to pick him. The Kiwi got injured and wasn’t able to bowl after the first two overs which was unfortunate. With this win, Mumbai has now moved to the finals while Delhi would have to win their next game against the winner of the eliminator to meet Mumbai again in the finals.