Harmanpreet calls for women’s IPL to improve players' performances in pressure situation

Gautam Gambhir concedes past doubt about Faf du Plessis, but says right-hander exceeded expectations

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir showered praise on South African batter Faf du Plessis for his tremendous form in this IPL. Faf, who opens for CSK, has scored 546 runs in 14 matches with an outstanding average of 45.50. In a conversation with ESPNcricinfo Gambhir said, "I never thought he was that dangerous a T20 batter. Yes, he had got runs for CSK, but he's never had the impact someone like Shane Watson had. “He will score those 50 off 40 balls but he cannot hurt the opposition bowlers. He's not going to be an all-out match-winner. If Shane Watson gets runs, he'll get a 100 off 60 balls. So yeah, Faf has definitely exceeded all the expectations, not only of myself but of a lot of other people as well," he said. Gambhir also talked about Faf’s great form in Caribbean Premier League where he scored a magnificent century. “He was in good form even in the CPL. Those who are coming into the play after playing in some league have better chances to do well as IPL is a high-quality tournament. Runs under your belt is always important,” he said. CSK is going to play their first qualifier on 10th October against Delhi Capitals and they would want their star performer to continue his tremendous form.

Umran Malik to stay with Team India as net bowler during World T20: Report

Young pace sensation Umran Malik, who caught everyone’s attention in his brief appearance in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League has also attracted attention from the Indian team. As per a Cricbuzz report, Umran has been asked to stay back in the UAE as a net bowler for the Virat Kohli-led side during the T20 World Cup scheduled to start right after the IPL 2021. He was called up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad team as the replacement for T Natarajan, who had contracted Covid-19 before the UAE leg of the tournament. He rose to prominence with the raw pace and ability to extract bounce off the surface. He was rated very highly by the SRH management and international stars such as Kane Williamson and Jason Holder have already showered praise on him and called him “special talent”. After the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli too recognised his potential and highlighted the need to maximise it in the near future. "This tournament throws up talent every year, good to see a guy bowling at 150 clicks [on Umran Malik]. It is important to understand the progress of individuals from hereon. The pool of fast bowlers being strong is always a good sign for Indian cricket and whenever you see talent like this, you are going to have your eyes on them and make sure you maximise their potential which is already being seen at the IPL level," Kohli had said after the match. An entry into the Indian set up albeit as a net bowler augurs well for the Jammu Kashmir pacer as there can be numerous opportunities arising from nowhere in current circumstances with respect to Covid-19 and subsequent biosecure bubble provisions.

AUS W vs IND W | 3rd T20I Preview: Harmanpreet Kaur's women face uphill battle to salvage pride

The T20 International has been the best-suited format for Indian Women in the last few years but so has been the case for Australian Women and Harmanpreet Kaur’s women have had a harsh reality check so far in the ongoing series. Although they have not been terrible in the two matches of the series so far against Meg Lanning’s side, they have not been at the top of their game as well, and now face a do or die game in the final game of the series to avert another series defeat in the series. The tour had begun with the ODI series where the Indian Women took a longer time to adapt and come through the ranks than they would have liked and could win only one game of the series. They were excellent both with the bat and ball in the only Test that followed but at the same time they were timid in their approach and could not mount a challenge to the home side. In the first game of the T20I series, they were excellent with the bat and were helped by the usual suspects with the bat such as Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, who played outrageous shots to issue statements of intent. They lost their way midway through the game but were well on their way to score a big score that could have tested the larger than life batting unit of Australia, but rain played spoilsport. However, more than the results in the T20I series, it has been refreshing to see the aggressive approach adopted by the batting unit. They were quick to realise that reaching 150 runs won’t serve any purpose against an all-strength Australian batting and hence decided to throw caution to the wind. They were on a rapid stride in the first game and carried on till the rain halted the game and they tried a similar path in the second game albeit after losing a couple of early wickets. Australia Women would be wary of a disciplined Indian bowling attack that kept them on their toes throughout the innings before Tahlia McGrath imposed herself on the crease and sealed the deal for them. All in all, the final game of the series and the tour is perfectly set up to throw another set of enthralling contests inside a contest and the side winning most of those duels will come up trump against the other. Match Details Australia Women vs India Women Game: 3rd T20I Venue – Carrara Oval, Queensland Time – 14:10 PM IST, 18:40 PM Local Broadcast– Sony Sports Network Pitch Report The pitch at the Carra Oval has had something on offer to all sets of players be it batsmen, pacer or spinner and the trend is likely to be continued in the final game. There was a prodigious swing on offer under lights that was well established by the whooping inswinger bowled by Shikha Pandey and the team chasing will have to be mindful of the new ball threat. Probable XI Australia Women Alyssa Healy (WK), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (C), Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Hannah Darlington, Tayla Vlaeminck India Women Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Renuka Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad AUS W vs IND W: Fantasy XI Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning, Harmanpreet Kaur, Ashleigh Gardner, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Molineux, Tayla Vlaemick, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey Captain: Alyssa Healy (WK) Vice-Captain: Smriti Mandhana

Everest Premier League 2021 | Chitwan Tigers trounce Pokhara Rhinos to become champions

The Chitwan Tigers defeated the Pokhara Rhinos by four wickets in the final and won the fourth edition of the Everest Premier League in Kirtipur. Chasing a low target of 112 runs, the Tigers got off to a horrible start with Hasim Ansari and Karim Janat getting out for ducks. Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad tried to up the ante but his wicket on the last ball of the fourth over threatened to derail Tiger’s chances of winning the title. However, middle-order batsman Bhim Sharki brought his best to the table and powered the Tigers to the championship in partnership with Dilip Nath and Rajesh Pulami. None of those three batsmen could stay at the crease till the end though and the Tigers’ skipper Sompal Kami took the team home with a boundary on the only ball he needed to bat. Earlier in the day, the Tigers won the toss and asked the Rhinos to bat first. They got off to a decent start with the opening pair of Richard Levi and Bipin Rawal going hard at the bowlers. However, after the opening pair went back to the pavilion by the end of the fifth over, Sahan Arachchige and Rit Gautam went quickly to put the Rhinos under pressure before the skipper Binod Bhandari and Asela Gunaratne steadied the ship. Their partnership was followed by another collapse and the Rhinos were pushed to the brink by the end of the first half of the game. From the Tigers’ side, Nepal’s pacer Kamal Airee and Sri Lankan leg spinner Seekkuge Prasanna were the pick of the bowlers as they picked four and two wickets respectively. Both the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series went to the Tigers’ players as Kamal Aire was adjudged Man of the Match of the final while Sagar Dhakal was awarded the Man of the Series award.