IPL 2021 | Chris Morris urge Rajasthan Royals to pull up socks, seize big moments

One of the key players of the Rajasthan Royals setup in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, Chris Morris, has conceded that his team have not been able to raise their game in “big moments” of a game and that have cost them several games this season.

He lamented failures in both batting and bowling departments to capitalize on small opportunities behind them winning just four out of the 10 games played this season.

He picked just one game against the Punjab Kings that they won in the last over as a perfect case scenario of them seizing a big moment but apart from that he accepted that the Royals have not been at their best. He urged his teammates to pull up their socks in order to fight long and hard battles if they have to go past the first round and into the playoffs of the tournament.

"Look, at the moment we are not performing in the big moments of the game, when the big moments come either we are batting or bowling, I don't think we are winning them," Morris said at the post-match press conference.

"There was a very big moment in our first game, which we won in the last over. But apart from that we haven't, by any means, played our best cricket. I thought our first half from the last game was really really good and we were outdone by Delhi bowling attack. We should pull up our socks a little-bit when big moments in the game (come).”

Morris himself has been abysmal with the ball in the second phase of the tournament. In the two matches, he has played so far in the UAE, he has conceded as many as 47 runs in four overs against the Punjab Kings while his three-over bowling effort in the last game against the Sunrisers cost the Royals 27 runs.

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AUS W vs IND W | Australia Women opener Rachael Haynes ruled out of only Test, T20I series

Just ahead of the start of the only Test, a day/night affair in Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast between Australia Women and India Women, Aussie opener Rachael Haynes has been ruled out for the rest of the series including only Test and three T20Is. It was reported that she suffered a right hamstring injury during Sunday's third ODI. "Unfortunately her hamstring is no good," Matthew Mott, Australian Women head coach was quoted as saying in an official press release. "She's devastated – obviously Test matches don't come around too often, she's a key member of our squad so our thoughts are with her at the moment,” he added. With the 34-year-old Haynes not playing, it might be a chance for either Georgia Redmayne to get her first crack at the red cherry. Another consideration might be of all-rounder Tahlia McGrath who has done exceptionally well with the bat and has been more than good enough with the ball in the series so far. In both cases, Beth Mooney would be asked to open. Mott was excited about leg-spinner Georgia Wareham getting back to her fit self and hoped that she will make the debut. "Georgia's ticking all the boxes for her return to play," he said. "She was very sensible around that – she felt something quite early, got treatment and has been doing everything she can to get it right. "So hopefully she gets the opportunity – she's done everything in her powers to be ready,” he said. The only Test begins on Thursday, September 30.

Junior players needed exposure to the ground: Trevor Bayliss on Warner’s absence from SRH squad

Former SRH captain David Warner was not seen at the ground in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s clash against the Rajasthan Royals in the 40th match of the Indian Premier League at the Dubai International Stadium. He was not part of the XI after not being able to perform in the first two matches of the UAE leg, but not even being at the ground made few eyebrows raise and naturally questions were asked to the management. Answering those questions, head coach Trevor Bayliss said, "We can't make the finals, so we made a decision to get the youngsters to experience not just the matches, but time around the ground and around the set-up. He wasn't the only experienced player that we'd left back at the hotel as Kedar Jadhav and Shahbaz Nadeem also didn’t travel with the team.” Saying that this policy might continue for a few more games, Bayliss added that the management will sit down in a day or two and pick a team and pick a squad of 18 that will travel for the remaining games. “Dave's obviously watching the game at the hotel and giving his support to the boys. Just like everyone else. We're all in this together,” said the 58-year-old. With Warner himself tweeting that he wouldn’t be seen at the ground in an SRH camp anymore (the tweet was later removed), it is expected that the 34-year-old, who has been the Orange Cap winner in 2015, 2017 and 2019 playing with the orange army and has scored a whopping 4014 in 95 games at 49.56 per game and a strike rate of 142.59, would be parting ways with the side in the next year’s mega auction. “This is the last year before the mega auction, those decisions will be made further down the line. He's been a great contributor to Hyderabad for a number of years now and he's very well-respected. And with the number of runs he's scored, I'm sure he's got a lot more runs in him in the IPL,” Bayliss said when asked about Warner’s future.

Pakistan great Inzamam-ul-Haq suffers heart attack, undergoes angioplasty in Lahore

Former Pakistan captain and a batting legend, Inzamam-ul-Haq underwent angioplasty surgery on Monday evening after he suffered a heart attack in Lahore. The surgery took place in a private hospital and his condition was said stable. As of Tuesday morning, doctors have kept him in observation as a stent has been successfully placed in Inzamam's heart. It was revealed that the 51-year-old had been complaining about chest pain over the last three days. Inzamam, a former captain and chief selector of the national team was currently appearing on TV News as an expert and has also been running his own Youtube channel. Pakistan's highest run-getter in ODIs with 11,701 runs in 375 matches, and the country's third-highest run-scorer in Tests with 8,829 runs from 119 matches under his belt, the charismatic sweeper of the ball and a natural six-hitter, Inzamam bid adieu to cricket after the 2007 World Cup. Later on, he worked as head coach of the Afghanistan national team and recently was appointed as a consultant to the Pakistan Super League side Peshawar ZalMI who made it to the finals of PSL 2021 in UAE.

IPL 2021 | David Warner all but confirms end of the road with Sunrisers Hyderabad

Out of form David Warner has more or less confirmed his separation from the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp amid the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. In reply to a comment posted by a fan on Instagram, Warner said that he will not take the field for the orange army anymore while asking for continued support for the side from his fans. Warner has been grappling with a serious dip in form and he has been dropped from the playing XI on two occasions in this edition. He has managed only 195 runs from eight innings at an abysmal average of 24.37 and strike rate of 107.73. Warner has been an iconic player and leader for the Sunrisers in their glorious past as he was the only captain to lead them to the championship in the 2015 edition. He also has been their most successful batsman with more than 500 runs in each of the last seven editions before the ongoing one that will see his departure from the orange army camp. Incidentally, he was stripped off from captaincy and the Sunriers first decided to think past him for the first time before the first round of the game against the Rajasthan Royals and his fate has all but ended before the second round of clash between the sides.