Hasan Ali demolishes Zimbabwe batting line up as Pakistan enforce follow-on

Mohammed Shami heaps praises on Virat Kohli, hails him for being a bowler's captain

All cricket lovers are well aware of Indian captain Virat Kohli’s affinity towards fast bowlers. Under his leadership, a huge crop of fast bowlers have emerged from every nooks and corner of the country. Led by Jasprit Bumrah, India’s fast bowling unit looks lethal and has the quality to dismantle any batting line-up on its own. Workhorse Ishant Sharma and a dynamic Mohammed Shami form one of the best if not the best bowling line-up in the world. With bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Natarajan still waiting in the fringes, the future of fast bowling looks in good hands. The emergence of a potent fast bowling unit has resulted in back to back Test series victories in Australia and rising through the ranks in places like England, New Zealand and South Africa. The performances of the fast bowling cartel in the last three years have been nothing short of phenomenal. Shami who is one of the integral parts of the Indian red ball setup feels that the consistency of their performance has gone up considerably due to the sort of confidence and freedom given to them by skipper Virat Kohli. "It is also indeed a phase which you can maybe attribute to the luck of this Indian team or hard work. But Virat has always been supportive of his fast bowlers while also giving us freedom on the ground. He only jumps in when our plans fail, otherwise, we're free as a bowling unit to do as we please. He has always been very supportive," Shami was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. While there has been a preconceived notion about Kohli being a bit too rude to his bowlers at time. However, Shami explained how the skipper of the national team never makes others feel like he is the captain of the team or he is above anyone in the team. He added that it is due to Kohli and the freedom which he gives them which keeps the mood light and jovial in the dressing room which in turn works for India on the field. “As far as our fast-bowling unit or I am concerned as an individual, he has never put any undue pressure on any of us. Usually, there's a doubt in a bowler's mind before he approaches his captain. That has never been the case with Virat. He has not air about himself. He jokes around with us, behaves as if he's our childhood friend," Shami quipped. "This leads to a lot of fun on the ground too. Sometimes there's fun banter, sometimes we also end up saying aggressive things to each other but we never mind it because it happens in the heat of the moment,” the fast bowler concluded. The fast bowling cartel will be crucial to India’s chances in the ICC World Test Championship final followed by the five-match Test series against England. India will meet New Zealand in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final starting 18th June at Southampton.

Mothers’ Day Special: Watch Mumbai Indians stars get emotional and thank their mother for all the sacrifices

“Only a mother’s love is unconditional. It is only her who at the end of the day asks you, ‘Have you eaten anything? Did you get a sound sleep?,” these were the words of Rahul Chahar, the Mumbai Indians leg spinner while wishing her mother on the occasion of International Mother’s day on May 9. The Mumbai based franchise released a video n twitter where the star players talk about the importance of a mother in their life and wish her on an important day. Apart from Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav, Kiwi bowlers Trent Boult and Adam Milne, South Africa's Quinton de Kock, India's Jayant Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary and the Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal featured in the video. While Boult and Milne thanked their mother for handling them, Surya got emotional talking about the sacrifices his mother made for him. “You can’t explain in it in words, the sacrifices that a mother makes for her child,” he said. “For me, it’s an emotional thing actually (talking about his mother), but I would like to wish her good health,” Surya said trying to gulp emotions down his throat, while they were clearly visible in his eyes. “And it’s my time now to give whatever little that I could for all she has done and to keep her happy and as close as possible to me,” added the 30-year-old, who made his India debut in February. The Haryana spinner, Jayant too was overwhelmed talking about the sacrifices his mother made for him to archives his dreams. “My mother is the best because of all the efforts and sacrifices she has put in raising three of us (him and his siblings) and making us the best versions of ourselves,” he said. Former Jharkhand skipper Saurabh Tiwary said that he understood the importance of his mother in his life only once he went out of his home for various tours and tournaments. Senior Pandya, Krunal too was emotional enumerating all that his mother has done for him and his brother to make them realise their dreams.

Host broadcaster Star India offers multiple reliefs to advertisers after Covid curtails IPL 2021

After the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League was indefinitely suspended following the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in various franchises, the host broadcaster Star India has given relief to all its advertisers. Star India has asked all its advertisers to pay only for the matches that could be completed in this edition and also given them the flexibility of walking out of deals whenever the tournament resumes later this year. “Given the unprecedented times, Star India has reached out to all their advertisers informing them and their agencies to the only bill for the inventory consumed so far. The contingency plan gives brands the first preference to continue the ad deals if and when BCCI decides to resume the league at a later stage,” PTI quoted an unnamed source as saying. As per the PTI report, the decision has been taken to limit the adverse impact of the suspension of the IPL 2021 on the advertisers and brands associated with the marquee league. “This will enable brands to capitalise on the second burst and the transparency will ensure a minimum adverse impact on their business objectives,” the source added. Notably, only 29 out of a total of 60 scheduled matches could take place this year before BCCI had to postpone the event in the aftermath of Covid-19 reaching its immediate doors. As per the same PTI report, Star Sports had signed deals with as many as 18 brands across various categories while its digital streaming platform Disney+Hotstar had 14 sponsors. Reportedly, the BCCI is planning to resume the remaining part of the IPL in September later this year either before or after the ICC World T20, which too is scheduled to take place in India as of now.

Rajasthan Royals pacer Chetan Sakariya's father succumbs to COVID-19

Rajasthan Royals latest recruit and pacer Chetan Sakariya’s father Kanjibhai passed away due to COVID-19 at a hospital in Gujarat's Bhavnagar on Sunday. The left-arm bowler’s father had tested positive and was hospitalised. There has been a sudden rise in the COVID-19 in the country which also led to the IPL 2021 getting postponed with immediate effect for an indefinite period after few players had tested positive among the franchise teams. In a conversation with The Indian Express earlier, Chetan had told that the payment that he has received for playing in the IPL has helped his family in these tough times. “I was lucky because I had received my part payment from Rajasthan Royals a few days ago. I straight away transferred money back home, and that is helping my family the most in my toughest time,” Sakariya said. He further went on to say that having IPL at this hour and the money that he has earned from the tournament has come as a helping hand. “People are saying stop IPL. I want to tell them something, I am the only bread earner in my family. Cricket is the only source of my earnings. I can give better treatment to my father because of the money I earned from IPL. Had this tournament not happened for a month, it would have been tougher for me. I come from a poor family, my father all his life drove tempo and because of IPL my whole life was about to change,” he said. The left-arm bowler was bought for a sum of Rs 1.20 Cr during the mini auctions held in Chennai in February by Rajasthan Royals and scalped seven wickets in as many matches the he played for the franchise.