IPL 2020: KKR pacer Ali Khan ruled out due to injury

Ashish Nehra, Banger bat for Rishabh Pant as MS Dhoni's replacement in Indian team

Former India cricketers Ashish Nehra and Sanjay Bangar have opined that Rishabh Pant would be an apt replacement for MS Dhoni in the national cricket team. Dhoni called time on his international career in August and the selectors will look to pick a promising addition to the team. Pant has been backed by Virat Kohli. However, uneven form and fumbles behind the stumps have derailed his bid for a permanent position. Some of the other contenders are Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik. Samson hasn’t received too many opportunities so far while Rahul might get picked as a batsman, considering his prolific show in limited overs cricket. Karthik has been out in the cold since the 2019 World Cup and age might not be on his side. “In terms of wicket-keeping, I think it would be Rishabh Pant. I think the way he started this year’s IPL and I think it is very important to have a left-hander as an option because for Team India when it comes to the middle order it helps to balance out the right-handers,” Bangar said Star Sports’ Cricket Connected. Nehra echoed Banger’s statement, saying that the think-tank should go ahead with Pant. The former pacer added that every player needs backing when it comes to cementing a place in the nationa side.

IPL 2020: We strive to play with power, says Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma was one happy man after his side’s clinical performance against Rajasthan Royals. The defending champions put on 193/4 on the board before setting up a 57-run win as Royals got bundled out for 136. Post the contest, Rohit stated that they have a quality side and added that the unit has ticked all the boxes in their latest game. Apart from strong batting and sharp bowling performance, the fielding was at its best. “We strive to play with power. We've got quality in this squad. We're given confidence to each one of them because we know they're very talented. The conditions are quite helpful [for our fast bowlers]. We were not sure how the pitches were going to be, whether it'd be helpful for our pace battery. But it was nipping around and it's good to have guys who can exploit those conditions. The fielding was brilliant, it's something we take pride in.” Rohit said. On Surya Kumar Yadav’s match-winning knock of unbeaten 79* off 47 balls, Rohit said that he saw it coming. Surya Kumar has been one of the consistent performers for Mumbai over the last few seasons. “It was coming [for SKY]. I spoke to him today before the match. He was batting really well all these games. It was all about shotmaking - today his shotmaking was perfect. All the innovative shots at the end came in handy.” he added.

IPL 2020: Steve Smith fined for over-rate offence against Mumbai Indians

Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith was slapped with a fine of INR 12 lakh for slow over-rate in the game against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday, October 6. The Royals took a beating against Rohit Sharma and Co. as they lost by 57 runs. Chasing 194, Royals were bowled out for 136 as the batters failed to fire apart from Jos Buttler. Smith had an off day with the bat; the Australian batter could manage mere six runs and was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed four wickets in the game. "As it was his team's first offence of the season under the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Mr. Smith was fined Rs 12 lakh," stated an IPL media release. The Royals are currently placed at the seventh spot with four points under their kitty. They face Delhi Capitals next on October 9. Buttler hit his first fifty of the season. A 44-ball 70, courtesy six maximums and four fours kept Royals in the hunt. However, he perished in the 14th over, all thanks to a spectacular catch by veteran Mumbai all-rounder Kieron Pollard. Mumbai are currently sitting at the top of the points table with eight points from six outings.

IPL 2020 | MI vs RR: 3 Reasons Why Mumbai manage clinical victory over Rajasthan

Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians are at the top of the table once again after defeating form-starved Rajasthan Royals in the 20th match of the Indian Premier League on Tuesday, 6 October. It was business as usual for Mumbai in Sharjah with the team firing in all departments and picking up a humongous 57-run victory to maintain their momentum. The pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, James Pattinson and Trent Boult stood out with the masterful control over the game and substitute fielder Anukual Roy took a blinder of a catch to make people stand and applaud from their homes. While all that happened in the second innings defending the massive 194 run target, earlier Suryakumar Yadav played the best match of his IPL career scoring an astonishing 79 off 47 balls. On that note, here are the three reasons why Mumbai Indians flat-batted the Rajasthan challenge and now are at the top of the Indian Premier League 2020. Suryakumar Yadav Within the first 5 balls of him coming into the crease, Mumbai must have felt that they were in for something special. His first boundary came from an on-drive with Yadav caressing the balls between the mid-on and the short mid-wicket. While runs kept coming, he faced an absolutely awful face height beamer from Jofra Archer that he could barely avoid. Getting hit by a bouncer later on, Yadav’s stood up and replied back with a six off the next delivery. He was the chief architect of the Mumbai innings ably supported by Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya who made important contributions to take the game out of Rajasthan’s reach. Jasprit Bumrah This man is slowly, but surely returning to his prime. After picking up 2 wickets in his last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jasprit Bumrah produced the best figures of his IPL career tonight picking up 4 wickets for just 20 runs. The MI pace bowling unit picked up a total of 8 wickets on the night and it again came to fore how much planning the Zaheer Khan-led MI thinktank does before coming into every game. Kiwi pacer spoke at the end of the game and said that while he would love to see the ball doing more at the beginning of the innings, but the fact the team is hunting in pack is something satisfying to watch. “I think the whole pack is working together. I think we have a pretty clear game plan. It's a good wicket, but the way we've managed to take wickets [has been good]. You're always challenged with quality players, intimidating you a bit. But I think I'd love to see the ball swing around a little more at the top. Hasn't been a huge feature of this tournament.” Rajasthan top order just cannot catch a break Despite making changes at the Rajasthan Royals’ top order things are not coming together for Steve Smith and his team. The top order has failed for three matches straight and Sanju Samson’s inconsistency debate once again has come to the fore. Smith himself has not spent a lot of time out there in the middle himself spending just 19 balls in his last three matches. With Ben Stokes set to join the team on 10th of this month, Rajasthan have to try and get their campaign back on track against probably the strongest side in this year’s IPL, the Delhi Capitals on Friday, 9 October. Speaking after the game, Smith said that they do not need to panic and rather implement their plans on the field better to get the desired results. He also said that they would like to build some momentum before Stokes comes in. “I don't think we need to panic too much. It's just about implementing our plans and playing good cricket for longer. Hasn't been a good last three games. Need to turn it around and get some momentum.”