Indian Test specialists off to Dubai

IPL 2020 | SRH vs KXIP: Hits and Flops as Chris Jordan- Arshdeep Singh execute the biggest heist in the 13th edition of the league

You lose some games, you gift others and then there are games in which victory is just robbed off you in a perfect style- probably like a heist. And that’s exactly what happened in Dubai as the Sunrisers Hyderabad were robbed of a victory by the two Punjabi pace bowlers, Chris Jordan and Arshdeep Singh. Kings XI defended the lowest total of the season- 126 runs as they got their opponents all out for 114, who at one time were 100/3 in the 17th over. The roles played by the Punjabi players vary, however the ones played by the Hyderabad batsmen, who came after the fall of openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow have no variation at all, as all of them were moronically dismissed of length balls, trying to play glory shots. On that note, here is a look at the Hits and Flops of the game Hits #1 Chris Jordan Getting an inspiration from the game against Mumbai Indians in which he had delivered the second super over to win his team the match, Chris Jordan took it upon himself to do it again for the team. He bowled an immaculate 17th over picking the much-needed wicket of Manish Pandey and giving way just seven runs of it. But what was even more brilliant was the penultimate over that he bowled. Defending just 17 off 12 balls, Jordan bowled a perfect over, picking up the wickets of dangerous Jason Holder and Rashid Khan in consecutive deliveries and gave away just three runs off it, giving young Arshdeep an opportunity to win his team a game by defending 14 off the last over. #2 Arhsdeep Singh If Jordan was brilliant, the Sikh Swagger in Arshdeep was not behind either. He took it upon himself to win the game for the team, delivering three back to back brilliant overs, giving away just 13 runs, and picking up three crucial wickets as well, including the one of settled Vijay Shankar. His best however was seen in the last over as he refused to get bogged down by pressure and kept on bowling length deliveries that were sticking into the wicket. This performance made the belief of the team even stronger in him as he finally repaid the backing of the management. #3 Nicholas Pooran When all the batsmen of Punjab were getting out either by getting beaten by Rashid’s leggies or by the helplessness of not being able to connect the deliveries properly, there was one man, who stood till the last ball, to give Kings XI something to fight at on that bowler’s friendly wicket. Pooran made a struggling yet fruitful 32 off 28 balls to get Punjab to 126. In the hindsight, the 15 runs scored off the last two overs seem to be the most crucial in the entire Punjab innings. Flops #1 Manish Pandey The hero from the last game, Manish Pandey became the ultimate villain in this game, gobbling up deliveries and not being able to tickle the scorecard at the same time. Pandey made a painful 15 off 29 balls, which at best could be described as a horrendous attempt at chasing a small total. He along with Vijay Shankar, the other hero from the last game, used up 44 balls in the middle overs to make just 33 runs and then eventually get out when there was the needed to finally put the balls to the boundaries and win the game for the team. #2 Vijay Shankar The 3-D player as he is commonly known as, Shankar was praised in the last game a lot for his superb knock, which wasn’t really superb but an average knock in the light of many knocks played in this season of the game. However, so the superstar from the last game was yet again up for an opportunity to win yet another game for the team. But then what happened- well he failed and that too miserably. Shankar got out in the 18th over off Arshdeep trying to accelerate, which really wasn’t the need, all that was needed was of him to play till the last ball of the game and win it for the team. In total, he made 26 of 27 balls, slightly better from his partner Manish, yet not enough to lend his team a win. The next games are going to be crucial for both the teams, especially the Kings as they have a higher chance of q2ualifying for the Playoffs.

IPL 2020 |SRH vs KXIP: What Experts said as Sunrisers suffer a dramatic defeat

A game that shouldn’t have even entered the 20th over as per the Sunrisers Hyderabad, ended up gobbling them to lose it by 12 runs, in what would be the nth dramatic ending involving Kings XI Punjab this season. The Dubai wicket and Kings seemed to have a special connection as almost every match here (apart from one against CSK) has been one to remember for the Punjabis, no matter if they ended up on the winning side or not. In this one too, the fact that a team, that too Kings XI was able to defend 126 runs, even when the chasing team is at 100/4 in the 17th over. But the bowlers of the Kings not only won the game but also reinstated the faith in them that they can defend any target. Captains’ Viewpoint Reacting to the 4th consecutive victory, the winning captain KL Rahul seemed happy and relieved at the same time, he said, “Yes we are making it (close finishes) a habit. In the first half, we somehow couldn't make this a habit.” The 29-year-old further said, “I am just speechless right now, to be honest. I am very happy with the show from the boys.” Praising the teammates for the success, Rahul said that he was relieved that finally, the hard work put in by his players and the support staff was coming off. “The work done is always behind the scenes, not just the players, but the support staff. You can't change much in a player in two months but you can always make them mentally better and that's what coach Kumble, Andy, Charl, Jonty, and Wasim have done.” Assessing the wicket Rahul said that he had already known that it was not a high scoring ground. “After I and Mandeep played the first over we knew it's not a high scoring wicket. We were thinking of close to 160. They went hard in the first six. But I knew we could pull things back if we don't leak many runs in the powerplay as we have two leggies,” he said speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony. The Karnataka born further said that they planned for the defense of the total and he is happy that it worked out well. “We sat down and thought about the things that the bowlers would need in conditions like these and it's good to see the work paying off,” he said. David Warner, the losing captain in this game was frustrated to see the hard work put in by himself and his partner Jonny Bairstow along with the bowlers. Talking about the loss he said, “Yeah it does (hurt a lot).” The Australian then lauded his bowlers for doing a fantastic job with the ball in hand to restrict Punjab to as low as 126. “Our bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict them. After the start we got, we took our foot off the pedal. Felt on that wicket it was going to get tougher once the spin came into it,” he said. Trying to explain the planned chase, which failed miserably, Warner said, “For us, it was about trying to apply pressure up front, negate the swing bowling, but obviously we didn't get across the line.” “Today our bowlers executed the plans well, very happy with them. Just have to forget this game and move forward,” concluded the 33-year-old. Expert Opinion Most of the cricket experts were of the view that it wasn’t SRH’s match to lose and that the games which weren’t going in KXIP’s favour at the start of the tournament, were now all ending up in their favour, indicating that the fortunes are changing. Cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra, pointing out he faults in the Hyderabad based team said that they might have gone through to the playoffs last year with just 12 points, but this year, they looked rugged and it wasn't just possible for them to make it through even after having 14 points. Cricket analyst Boria Majumdar however took the opportunity to praise the two Indian batsmen Mandeep Singh (who lost his father) and Nitish Rana ( who lost his father-in-law) just before the game, saying that it took courage for then to play even in such conditions. For veteran cricket journalist Ayaz Memon, it was a horrid show from the Sunrisers and a perfect one at that by the Kings XI, so good that to him they looked like making it to the playoffs. Sambit Bal, another senior cricket journalist said that from now onwards, no one should stop watching the game involving the Kings XI because they are capable of turning it around from any position. Harsha Bhohgle, the world-famous cricket commentator and journalist took this opportunity to showcase his shock at such a huge falter from his hometown team. He further said that the 'tide' is turning in favour of the Punjab unit. KXIP now has three matches to play in which they need a maximum of three and a minimum of two wins to qualify. Their first test would be on the 26th of October against the Kolkata Knight Riders who are also in more or less similar situations. For SRH though, it looks like the game is almost over until and unless they win all their remaining games and then hope that the other teams lose as well.

KXIP vs SRH: Arshdeep, Jordan at the heart of KXIP's stunning heist

Kings XI Punjab prevailed in a tug-of-war contest as Sunrisers Hyderabad jammed the self-destruct button while chasing a sheepish 127, ultimately falling short by a dozen. Cruising at 56 for none in the 7th over, okay let's fast forward to 100/3 in 16 overs, needing just 27 from 24 with 7 wickets in hand. Yes, SRH screwed up from that stage. Let that sink in. That's not to take a smidgen away from KL Rahul & Co, who assessed the conditions to the hilt and sucked every joule of energy from SRH's vigil. To win four games on the bounce with every game literally being a must-win scenario is one heck of an accomplishment. It wouldn't have been possible without Chris Jordan and Arshdeep Singh, who soaked up the pressure like a sponge and bagged three apiece. Don't jump the gun folks, KXIP are pretty much alive and kicking! Just another day at office for Warner-Bairstow In pursuit of a rather modest total, normal services resumed for David Warner and Jonny Bairstow. In case you're living under a rock, the left-right combination made a mockery of the fielding restrictions with their cold-blooded strokeplay besides sprinting ala Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake in pads. Fielders patrolling the square fences were intimidated in the quest of a brace, with the duo even putting their body on the line to ride home. Now you know why Warner dons a pair of fielding sleeves even while batting. Leggies at the helm of KXIP's riposte That KXIP still remain in contention for a berth in the play-offs is solely because of their never-say-die attitude. And the manner in which they turned the tables rubberstamped the fact. For all the credit due to the unflinching warriors, SRH aided a great deal in allowing them a foot in the door. Leggie Ravi Bishnoi halted the 56-run opening stand as Warner feathered behind for 35 in a bid to reverse sweep, an unorthodox shot which he could've done without at that juncture of the game, since they were head and shoulders above the asking rate. Here's a cool stat: This was the first instance of Warner failing to go past 50 in five successive innings in IPL since he started playing for SRH in 2014. Bairstow shuffled across and lined himself up to sweep against Murugan Ashwin only to be beaten all ends up and have his leg-stump clanged for 19. KL Rahul's ploy to bowl out Mohammed Shami under the 9th over itself worked wonders as Abdul Samad nailed a half-volley down mid-off's throat. A wicket or two from there on could've really spiced things up but the heroes from the other day, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar assuaged the nerves in the dressing room. The 33-run partnership kept the match delicately poised, in the not-here-not-there zone in which both the protagonists lick their lips, and Bishnoi producing figures of 4-0-13-1 was quite instrumental in subjecting SRH to that claustrophobic environment. SRH get a taste of their own medicine No prizes for guessing, there were twists in the tale. And rather nerve-wracking ones for that matter. Substitute fielder Jagdeesha Suchitha, manning the long-off hotspot, zinged off the blocks to pouch Pandey's timid gun-barrel straight loft eerily close to the boundary rope. With 20 required from the last three, Shankar copped a nasty blow on the helmet owing to a full-fledged shy at the sticks from Nicholas Pooran. Visibly hazed, Shankar bit the dust off Arshdeep Singh the very next ball, leaving the lower-middle order with an uphill task of gunning 17 from a dozen. Chris Jordan, the man who lives and breathes for such do-or-die moments, rose to the expectactions with a fantastic penultimate over, snuffing out Jason Holder and Rashid Khan off consecutive balls to inject life into a match which had no business staying alive whatsoever. Arshdeep hammers the final nail in SRH's coffin Franchises generally don't break a sweat at 14 off 6, but the surface lurking the demons of inertia and variable bounce made the job at hand a tedious proposition. Arshdeep Singh cracked the code, banging sluggish off-cutters into the deck to eradicate Sandeep Sharma and Priyam Garg yanking cross-batted splices to their own peril. The equation seeking 13 off 3, Khaleel Ahmed strolled into the cauldron with the lazy demeanour of a beach bum, raising the white flags with a couple of textboot defences. He wondered long and hard if taking out the effort to sneak a run on the latter was worth it, and when his brain responded in the affirmative, did the honors. But Ravi Bishnoi had no soft corner for such an episode of absolute lack, scratch that, void of commitment, smacking bullseye to cap off the mother of all heists. Mandeep overcomes personal tragedy to grit it out KL Rahul didn't spill the beans at the toss but an educated guess would reveal that Mayank Agarwal's absence was down to an injury, a twisted ankle picked up when he tumbled awkwardly during his run out against Delhi Capitals. In came Mandeep Singh, who showed a heart of steel to take field despite his father passing away earlier in the morning. All-rounder James Neesham too got swapped with his counterpart Chris Jordan while SRH replaced Shahbaz Nadeem with Khaleel Ahmed. Clinical SRH draw early blood Given the dew factor in the second innings, chasing was David Warner's best bet after spinning the coin in his favour. He marshalled his troops with great tactical nous as KXIP lost wickets at regular intervals. The dearth of boundaries inside the PowerPlay coerced Mandeep into an almighty hoick which took some catching, and Rashid Khan at deep square leg proved safe as houses. The beneficiary, Sandeep Sharma blew a kiss towards the heavens on the occasion of his 100th scalp in IPL history. No mean feat in a world where pinch-hitters eat military-medium seamers for breakfast. Con artist Rashid weaves his charm Chris Gayle set the ball rolling with a couple of nonchalant gems through the off-side before heading back to basics and slaughtering Rashid over cow corner. Jason Holder peppered the range-hitting typhoon with a barrage of yorkers as he finally ran out of patience, miscuing a wide tempter to long-on. Common logic might've suggested holding back the remaining two overs of Rashid for the likes of Nicholas Pooran or Glenn Maxwell, but Warner unleashed his trump card for a third at the halfway mark. And boy it was a coup de maître, with the leggie bamboozling Rahul with a wrong un' that would put the master of the trades to shame. Skiddier trajectory, pitched in the corridor of uncertainty as if via laser-guided mechanisms, and then poking fun at the opener's messed up decision-making to rattle the leg pole. SRH juggernaut drives on furiously Such was the orange army's proficiency that KXIP had no chance in hell of resurrection. Glenn Maxwell has looked a pale shadow of his beastly self in recent times, and tonight was just another chapter to his sustained mediocrity. Sandeep's burst in the middle phase saw him toe-edging a swat to long-on, where Warner demonstrated his athletic prowess to grab hold of a smart catch. Deepak Hooda was guilty of overbalancing after prodding forward for a nurdle as Jonny Bairstow chucked the bails within the blink of an eye. Holder layered more value to his bowling stocks with Chris Jordan's dismissal while Vijay Shankar conjured a direct hit from backward point to send Murugan Ashwin packing at the non-striker's end. Pooran elixir to KXIP's corpse Though Nicholas Pooran's 28-ball 32 bandaged the wounds to an extent, that a swashbuckler of his ability had to make ado with almost a run-a-ball knock was a testimony to SRH's vintage operation. Neither of the last ten overs afforded a run in excess of 9. In hindsight, Pooran's cameo was worth a king's ransom. What's next in store? KXIP's dream run now beckons a tasty clash on October 26 in Sharjah against Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR rest fourth with 12 points and KXIP are hot on their heels with 10 points, brimming with confidence on fifth. The winner of this crunch tie will be viewed as the favourite to seize that final playoff berth. SRH, on the flipside, can only gain a maximum of 14 points. And doing so is going to be no cakewalk as they locks horns with the top three teams next commencing with an encounter against Delhi Capitals on October 27.

KKR vs DC: Hits & Flops as spinners combine to keep KKR’s playoffs chances alive

Kolkata Knight Riders coming on the back of a dismal performance in the last game made a dash of the Delhi Capitals, decimating them by 59 runs to keep their chances of making it to the playoffs alive. It was a complete match for the Knight Riders as both batting and bowling department found unexpected heroes as well as an unexpected all-round performance from their marquee player, Sunil Narine to seal the deal for the team in Abu Dhabi. It was the special combination of two spinners- Varun with the ball and Narine with the bat that turned out to be the game-changer for the Knight Riders. For Delhi, they were totally down and out in all departments as their ‘savior’ from the last two games, Shikhar Dhawan departed early, having scored back to back hundreds in his previous games. Rest, no other batsman apart from Iyer was able to give a fight. For KKR, batsman Nitish Rana, all-rounder Sunil Narine and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy were the main architects of the victory. For Delhi...well the entire team almost failed apart from probably the captain. On this note, here is the list of hits and flops from the first game on the double-header’s day. Hits #1 Varun Chakravarthy It was a dream game for the Tamil Nadu Premier League star, who didn’t just get a fifer but did it in a game that was a must-win for his side. Chakravarthy has been backed by his captains, first by Dinesh Karthik and then by Eoin Morgan to deliver, and he rapid the backing by winning them, probably the most crucial game of their campaign so far. The mystery spinner who can bowl both the off-spinner and the leggies with the same action, took out the most precious four wickets of Delhi’s chase in just two overs to break the back of the Capitals. Firstly he broke the partnership between Rishabh Pant and Iyer by dismissing Pant off 27. From there onwards, the flood gates were opened as he kept on taking wickets with two each in his next two overs. The 29-year-old finished with the best figures of 5/20 in his four overs and also bagged the Man of the Match award. #2 Nitish Rana Rana was also one of those players in the KKR team who was due for big innings in one game and what a time he chose to showcase his skills. Having seen three big stars in Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, and Dinesh Karthik walk back to the pavilion, it wouldn’t have been easy for the out of form batsman to stick there with another out of form all-rounder Sunil Narine. But as they say, the most difficult of situations, sometimes bring the best in you. This happened with Rana too as the Delhi born took the attack to the opposition and scoring the runs in the wheel, added 115 runs off just 56 balls with Narine. Rana himself scored a brilliant 81 off 53 balls, before getting out on the penultimate delivery of the KKR innings. But by the time he got out, the task had almost been completed as the team had reached 194 runs. The fact that Rana chose to play for his team after the sudden demise of his father in law, made this knock even more memorable. #3 Sunil Narine Sunil Narine, having faced the turmoil of getting a warning for objectionable action, to not being able to co0ntribute with the bat at the opening position, made a grand comeback, one that he truly deserved to make, by scoring a 32 ball 64 at an unbelievable strike rate of 200. He came to the crease ahead of the captain and more established batsman Eoin Morgan and also at a time when the chips were down for KKR at 42/3 in the 8th over. But as was destined, Narine took the bowlers to the cleaners. Surprisingly, he wasn’t much tested with the bouncer and was served spinners to savor upon. But that being said, credit must be given to him for scoring those runs and getting Kolkata to a total that was very much the need of the hour. He hit six fours and four sixes in his innings. Flops #1 Ajinkya Rahane It’s not every day that a certain Shikhar Dhawan would turn up and take charge of the batting. So on days that he gets out early; it is the responsibility of the other opener to at least play the anchor roles, if not of the destroyer right from the word go. However, Ajinkya Rahane, who replaced Prithvi Shaw as the regular opener of the team, wasn’t able to perform that role as he fell down for a golden duck himself. It was the least expected thing to have happened to Delhi in the second innings, thus Rahane is the number one flop. #2 Marcus Stoinis The shine is finally coming off it seems of Marcus Stoinis as the Australian hasn’t been able to perform the way people have got used to him in this IPL. Today’s match was also clear evidence of that as he got out of six runs off six balls to Chakravarthy. In the last six matches, he has generally been average apart from the one against Delhi Capitals. Even in bowling, he hasn’t really done well. It’s time that Delhi Capitals wake up from the slumber and start taking things in their control before it gets too hot to handle near the Playoffs. They now have three games in their hand and from those three games, they need at least one win, which they would be looking to get in the next game itself, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on 27th October.