IPL 2021: Andre Russell claims maiden five-wicket haul to restrict Mumbai Indians

Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell bagged his maiden fifer in the match against the Mumbai Indians in Chennai. Called into the bowl late in the 18th over, Russell was accurate with his tactics against every batsman of the Mumbai side.

He opened his account with the big wicket of Kieron Pollard on only the second delivery to push Mumbai on a downward curve. He followed it up with another wicket of Marco Jansen to put the men in blue on the brink.

Having conceded only five runs and taken two big wickets, Russell went on to better his first over. He picked up another big wicket of Krunal Pandya and also sent back Jasprit Burmah on the very next delivery. Then, he dismissed Rahul Chahar on the last ball of the innings to claim a five-wicket haul that literally took the life out of the MI’s batting line up. He became the only bowler in the IPL to take a five-wicket haul in a span of 12 balls.

Earlier in the evening, Eoin Morgan won the toss and asked the Mumbai Indians to bat first with the hope of restricting them to a below-par total. The bowling attack stuck to the task and ratified his call.

Knight Riders have already won a game this season, while the Mumbai side are yet to open their account in the 14th edition of the IPL.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar beats Rashid Khan, Sean Williams to win ICC Men’s Player of the Month award

Indian pacer Bhuvaneswhar Kumar has been awarded the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March for his excellent outings with the ball in the ODI and T20I series against England. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar was the instrumental architect of India’s win in both the series against the tourists. He picked up six wickets in the three-match long ODI series at an impressive average of 22.50 runs per wicket. In the five-match T20I series before the ODI series, Bhuvneshwar was terrific with the ball and picked up four wickets at an average of 28.75 runs per over. He bowled at all crucial situations and produced performances that turned the games in India’s favour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was coming into the squad after a long lay off due to an injury he incurred in the last edition of the Indian Premier League. He is representing the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing edition of the IPL. He was nominated for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March along with Zimbabwean skipper Sean Williams and Afghanistan’s spinner Rashid Khan. Williams was dominating with the bat in the two-match Test series against Afghanistan while Rashid Khan produced marathon spells in the second Test against Zimbabwe to help his team draw level the series.

Jofra Archer cleared to begin 'light training'

England pacer Jofra Archer has been cleared by his consultant to begin light training. The seamer underwent surgery on his right arm on March 29 to get a piece of glass removed from his hand. While he has been cleared to resume training, a decision on Archer’s return back to laying is yet to be made. "He will return to light training this week, working closely with the Sussex and England men's medical teams. It is hoped that he will be able to up his intensity with his bowling from next week," ECB said in a media release. Archer also sustained an injury on his right elbow during the India tour. "A further update on his elbow injury will be provided once he has returned to bowling to assess the effectiveness of his recent injection," the release noted. Archer who is a part of the Rajasthan Royals franchise is set to miss at least starting four matches. He had suffered a cut in his hand while cleaning at his home earlier in January. The ECB’s medical team had managed his injury at that point in time while the fast bowler was in India for the Test series. "They've operated and I think they found a small fragment of glass still in attendance. It obviously healed but there was part of the fish tank still in his finger," Ashley Giles, the ECB's director of cricket said earlier.

Kane Williamson wins fourth Sir Richard Hadlee Medal in six years; Devon Conway wins big as well

Kane Williamson and one of New Zealand's finest talents Devon Conway won big awards in the digitally held New Zealand Cricket Awards for the 2020-21 season. Williamson won the prestigious Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for a tremendous showing season with the bat in home conditions while Devon Conway has been awarded the ODI and T20I player of the year. With the latest award, Williamson has now won his fourth Sir Richard Hadlee Medal in the last six years for his tremendous performances with the bat in the Test format. He was at the top of his game in the home series against West Indies and Pakistan and amassed 639 runs at a whopping average of 159 runs per innings. On the other hand, Conway emerged as a force to reckon with on the back of 473 T20I runs at an average-strike rate combo and 59 and 151 respectively. He scored four half-centuries including the highest score of 99 not out. As per the New Zealand Cricket statement, Conway emerged victorious beating the credentials of Glenn Phillips, who had scored 366 runs at an average of 40.6 runs per innings, and the bowling duo of Tim Southee who took 21 wickets at 16.7 apiece and Ish Sodhi who scalped 20 wickets at 15.4 apiece. In the ODI format, Conway was equally dominant and accrued 225 runs from three innings in the series against Bangladesh.

This is a bad move for Mumbai Indians to pick up Marco Jansen right now: Scott Styris

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has said that Mumbai Indians’ Marco Jansen is a phenomenal bowler but the franchise has probably made a bad move in roping him in the side in this edition. “I think this is a bad move for Mumbai Indians to pick up Marco Jansen right now, because now, as we are doing, we are talking about it, everybody is talking about it. And with the possibility of a major auction next year, then I think Mumbai may have to suddenly pay up big bucks because they are not going to keep him," Styris said. The former CSK player though is of the opinion that Mi should have got him in the next year’s mega auctions. “I would suggest, to think a little bit long-term, maybe put him on the ice this year and Mumbai Indians could have swept in next year,” he added. Jansen returned with figures of 2/28 in four overs in his first outing for MI against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. MI had a disappointing start to the IPL 2021 campaign after suffering a defeat against RCB in Chennai. Batting, first MI just managed to score 159/9 in 20 overs. Chris Lynn top-scored for the side with 49. RCB’s Harshal Patel was the pick of the bowlers after he bagged a five-wicket haul during the course. Later, RCB had a decent start to the chase but lost few wickets in the middle overs to go on the back foot before AB de Villiers took charge and anchored the side to a win by 2 wickets. He scored 48 off 27. MI will now play KKR in Chennai on April 13.