IPL 2021: 348 deaths in 24hrs, 90 thousand plus active Covid-19 cases, still Delhi leg to go as planned

IPL 2021 | MI vs PBKS: Hits & Flops as not so slow but steady Punjab Kings win the race

What a balance this game of glorious uncertainties has and how it feeds the fans with contrasting instances. A few months back there was a time when we were all glued to our TV sets witnessing a history being created. It was a clash between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab (now called Punjab Kings) which had gone into a second Super Over in Dubai. This was the first-ever occurrence of its kind in the history of the game. Well, let’s go back in time a little bit more to understand this concept of the second Super Over. Ahead of the World Cup 2019, the brains at the International Cricket Council (ICC) got together and introduced Super Over as the new addition for the semi-final and the final of the tournament. With the new entertainment quotient added the fans couldn’t have asked for a better final as the title clash. With the merriment of having made a revolutionary decision, the people of ICC celebrated, but briefly just. Despite the introduction of Super Over, the controversy laden World Cup final could not separate the two sides. Both England and New Zealand had the same scores but the home side were declared as the winners on the basis of the boundary count rule which stated that if the Super Over also ends in a tie then the team that has hit more boundaries in that particular match would be declared as the winner. The Eoin Morgan-led England were lucky enough to stand on the winner’s podium. The boundary count rule for unsurprising reasons received a lot of backlash later on and was eventually removed by the ICC. But there was a requirement of an alternate and that is where the idea of having two Super Overs walked in. The rule came into function in the IPL 2020 during this match between MI and KXIP. The Punjab-based franchise eventually won the nail-bitter but this thrilling encounter had everything for a cricket fan. There were of course two Super Overs, some fine piece of batting as well as decent bowling. Cut to 2021. Mumbai Indians were once again facing the Punjab franchise. The memories of that riveting clash from the last edition were still very fresh in everyone’s mind and somewhere there was an expectation of a close encounter as these two teams were locking horns again. But that didn’t really happen. It turned out to be a one-sided affair. Punjab thumped Mumbai by 9 wickets to get themselves back on track in this edition of the IPL. Chasing 132 on a slow track in Chennai, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal started off the proceedings and put up a stand of 53 runs for the first wicket in 7.2 overs. After setting the foundation for the chase, Agarwal departed for 25, caught in the deep by Suryakumar Yadav off Rahul Chahar. Next up was Chris Gayle who came in at number 3. Both Rahul and Gayle played cautiously at the start and then took on the bowlers after they got their eye in. Skipper Rahul remained unbeaten at 60 off 52 while Gayle scored 43 off 35 during the course. Earlier, MI rode on Rohit Sharma’s 52-ball 63 to post a defendable total of 131/6 in 20 overs. Let’s now take a look at the hits and flops from this very encounter. HITS KL Rahul For those who have followed KL Rahul before he made his debut for India in a Test match against Australia away from home, the swashbuckling right-hander was said to be one of the most complete batsmen in the Indian domestic circuit. He could pull a short ball with precision, he possessed quick hands that let him viciously cut a length ball outside off, and to complete the holy trinity, Rahul was an impeccable driver of the ball. He had been criticised for various things like not living up to his talent or at times not taking the onus on himself or giving away his wicket off a rash shot or not pacing his innings properly. But on Friday, the Punjab Kings captain KL showed glimpses of that old Rahul who was once said to be the most perfect yet dynamic batsman in the domestic arena. The right-handed batsman has been among the runs in the recent past which haven’t really done anything good to the team. But the tables turned on Friday when Rahul played what can be called as one of the finest knocks in his IPL career at least. This innings wasn’t one of the best because he scored a half-century, but the way he anchored his innings. This was surely a tricky track where KL stood up strong, took responsibility on himself and led his side to a victory. Rahul’s knock was still not a very brisk one but the way he stitched his innings was something to watch out for. While he was out there with Mayank in the initial phase of the chase, the right-hander looked a bit free with his strokes but as soon as Agarwal departed, he began to play cautiously and especially negotiated the spinners well barring few deliveries in the middle overs. He then put up an unbeaten stand of 79 runs for the second wicket with Gayle to take his team over the line. While Rahul was wary of his strokes, he did take his chances on the bad deliveries and deposited them out of the park as well. KL’s knock of 60* involved three maximums and as many boundaries. Chris Gayle The West Indies batsman Chris Gayle is generally known for his aggressive batting and he is just on a rampage on his day. But if you watch Gayle closely, he takes some 10-12 deliveries in the starting to get himself in before playing his strokes. Gayle did something similar in Chennai against Mumbai Indians but in a different way. He did take his time before going for his shots. Gayle scored 43* off 35 out of which 32 came in boundaries and which included only two sixes during his innings. The stats clearly show that he did play a lot of dot balls not just in the beginning but also in the middle especially when the track began to offer some turn to the spinners. The left-handed batsman did take his chances and smacked a couple of deliveries that were in his slot out of the ground. Rahul needed someone out there in the middle with him who could compliment his batting style and Gayle probably was the best choice. The Caribbean batsman put in all his experience in dealing with the tricky surface in Chennai and overcame the tough situation pretty well. Overall, it was an innings about caution, patience and was surely an important one because a fall of wicket here and there would have caused some trouble for Punjab. Ravi Bishnoi You can call him a youngster but this 20-year-old kid has the brains of a spinner who probably has an experience of a decade. The one thing that makes him different from other spinners of his age is his reading of the pitch. Playing just his first match in this edition of the IPL, Bishnoi returned with figures of 2/21 in 4 overs. He removed Ishan Kishan who had been struggling to get any form in this IPL and then sent Suryakumar Yadav packing who is surely in some good knick for quite some time now. Two batsmen of different genres but Bishnoi’s arsenal was sufficient enough to see them perish. Ishan who had been struggling all day was thrown a googly that was pitched short inviting him to play his stroke and he did but only to edge it and get caught behind. Well, it was a painful stay for Ishan at the crease and his dismissal could have been a blessing in disguise as he had already used up 17 deliveries for his 6 runs. Next up was SKY. Going a month back, he is the same guy who started his international career with a six off Jofra Archer, courtesy an innovative shot. The right-hander has a big armoury as far as his strokes are concerned and he looked well set against Punjab Kings as well to notch up a big score. But Bishnoi seemed to have some different plans. Ravi bowled a top-spinner as SKY tried for a reverse sweep and only managed to get a top edge and was eventually caught by Gayle at short third man. Bishnoi had one of the most important wickets of the evening. Well, this was about his scalps and how trapped them with his spin web. But the consistency this kid has in his length is just remarkable. He continuously hit the good length and the back of good length areas around the off and middle stump channel to keep the batsmen on the backfoot and thoroughly dominated them. FLOPS Krunal Pandya Ever since his ODI debut for India, Krunal Pandya has looked a bit out of touch with both bat and bowl. Though, he stamped the authority with the bat when he first represented India in the one day international but hasn’t been in any form after that especially with the bat. The game against Punjab was nothing different. While he just managed to score 3 off 3, Krunal returned with figures of 0/31 in 3 overs. Talking about his bowling first, the left-arm spinner was first handed the ball in the power play. But KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal took advantage of the field restrictions as much as they could and began to score runs quickly. Looking at his bowling pattern, Krunal was either too short or too full with length to the right-handers during the clash against Punjab and to add to this misery was his line. He further bowled too quick on a gripping track that allowed the batsmen to take advantage of his poor lengths. Though he did get some turn in the middle overs when the ball was changed after Gayle had deposited one out, but that was too little too late at that point. There were instances when Rahul was beaten with pace and spin while Gayle too had to check his shots well before executing them but overall it was sheer lack of confidence from Krunal which led him to leak runs at a swift rate. Coming to his batting, the left-hander can still be given a let-off as he came down to bat at number seven and didn’t really have many options but to fetch as many runs as he could. Having said that, a batsman of his calibre is expected to score runs from the word go and this is what Rohit Sharma and MI team management would be seeking from him. Fabian Allen Fabian Allen had a forgettable day at the office after he was struck for 30 runs in 3 overs and failed to pick any wickets. His bowling figures were not that much cause of a concern but his lines and lengths were. The left-arm bowler continuously kept bowling at fuller length which let the batsmen cut loose against him and when he wanted to correct his course, he banged it short. And a short ball against someone like Rohit is a suicide in itself. Well, frankly the track in Chennai had something to offer to the spinners but it was lack of experience from Allen and some firepower hitting from Rohit and Suryakumar that kept him under pressure. The only tweak for that he can make for now is focusing on the length at which he bowls. With this win over Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings have moved to fifth spot while MI are at number four in the points table. The Punjab team will now fly to Ahmedabad and will take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday while MI will lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in Delhi on Thursday.

Non-WTC Full Members & Associates might feature in more Tests in next calendar

The Full Members outside the World Test Championship (WTC) and Associates might have a structure for more Test cricket in next cricket calendar according to a report in the ESPNCricinfo. According to some sources, teams like Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe who are the Full members but are not part of the WTC while Associates with ODI status like Scotland, Netherlands and some others can be involved. "I know it's been mooted," an Associate administrator told ESPNcricinfo. "I think every nation and every governing body is trying to find ways to make the game better. We're here to deliver cricket and improve the standards of cricket globally." The Test commitments for the three members who are not a part of WTC is one of the major issues that needs to be resolved in the next calendar year. The three nations have only played ten Tests among themselves since the beginning of the WTC in 2019.Though they have a busier Test calendar during the second cycle of WTC, it is not by much. “What does it look like? Where would we want more cricket?,” said one administrator. “Would it achieve our ambitions? There’s a lot of things in the mix before you actually commit and dig deep into it. If it was kicking around, we’d certainly want to be in the conversation.” There has not been any Muti-day international cricket since the last edition of the Intercontinental Cup concluded in December 2017 for the three the non-WTC trio and the Associate members. Subsequently financial issues will be the biggest hurdle if such structure comes up. “It was a finance-driven issue,” said the administrator. “It was about affordability. Again, what does a new tournament look like? What is the cost of running it? You have to be able to fund it to do it properly. So until any detail is produced, you can’t make any informed decisions.”

I was heartbroken: Andre Russell on his dismissal against CSK

Kolkata Knight Riders were reeling at 31/5 while chasing a mammoth 221 in 20 overs against Chennai Super Kings in their encounter in the IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium. But what unleashed next was sheer masterclass from one of the finest strikers of the ball in world cricket, Andre Russell. The right-handed batsman took the charge in his hands and began to hammer the CSK bowlers all around the park. He scored a 22-ball 54 that included six sixes and just three boundaries. Russell was looking in great touch and set for a big score but a misjudgement of line and length from the West Indies all-rounder cost him his wicket. Sam Curran cleaned him up with a length ball which Russell thought would go for a wide down the leg side but instead the ball rattled the woodwork behind him. In the post-match presentation, captain Eoin Morgan said that he tends to stay away from Russell after he gets out to which the Caribbean batsman responded that he was very disappointed with that kind of dismissal. “Well, when you get out, and you know the job is not done, you tend to be angry and the HULK can come out. Last night was different. I was very emotional and disappointed. I wanted to take it home so badly. I was heartbroken,” Russell said. Apart from Russell, Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins also took on the CSK bowlers. Karthik scored a quick-fire 40 off 24 but Cummins caused the onslaught in the later part of the innings. The right-hander struck 66 runs off 34 deliveries that involved six maximums and four boundaries. KKR though fell short of the target and lost the match by 18 runs eventually.

ECB to stick with 'wickets' for dismissals during 'The Hundred'

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had earlier decided to replace the terminology ‘wickets’ with ‘outs’ for the tournament The Hundred. But now according to the London Evening Standard, the term ‘wickets’ will remain as is for the tournament. The decision has been taken to maintain the consistency with the other shorter and long format of the game. The ECB had proposed to tweak some terminologies like ‘batters’ replacing ‘batsmen’ for the tournament. But they received some criticism from the fans who slammed the ‘Americanised’ words. The board also received some criticism from the former players like Michael Vaughan, Brad Hogg. The former England captain had said that he does like the changes in cricket but calling ‘outs’ for wickets looks more gimmicky. ‘I like change in cricket but saying ‘outs’ instead of wickets makes The Hundred look even more gimmicky than it already is. I can understand batsmen changing to batters in this era but I don’t really get wickets to outs. That just looks like change for change’s sake. My only worry is, what next? Will cow corner be banned so as not to upset vegans?’ Vaughan had said earlier. Former Australia spinner Hogg suggested that calling ‘wickets’ as ‘outs’ is a “little more too much”. ‘The Hundred changing ‘wickets’ to ‘outs’ for dismissals is a little too much. Cricket is not baseball. It’s enough the changes in formats to tamper with the terminology!’, Hogg had tweeted. The ECB has collaborated with Jax Jones to produce a song called ‘Feels’ for the tournament.