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Ipl 2021 Its A New Challenge The Fact That Its A Day Game Simon Katich

IPL 2021: It’s a new challenge the fact that it’s a day game: Simon Katich

It has been a dream start for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Vivo IPL 14 as they are the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far after the completion of the first week of the extravaganza. They started off with a nail-biting victory against the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the curtain-raiser.

In the second encounter against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, they looked down and out for the major part of the match but the RCB bowlers held their nerves and delivered a killer punch in the last few overs as run-scoring became pretty difficult in the final phases of the second innings.

This has been the trend in this tournament so far and it will be interesting to see if it remains the same in the afternoon match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

In the lead-up to the mouth-watering clash, RCB posted a video of their last-minute preparation on their Twitter handle where one can see all the RCB outfit practicing hard ahead of the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Meanwhile RCB head coach, Simon Katich feels that although KKR lost their previous game against the Mumbai Indians from a winning position, they are still a very dangerous team and they will have to be on their toes to come out on the winning side.

“We know that KKR played two very good games. They didn't quite get the result in the second game. But they did a lot right, and they are a very dangerous team.

"We know they have a lot of quality with both bat and the ball. They will be keen to bounce back. We are keen to stay on a roll. We know there's still a lot of hard work that needs to be done in this tournament,” Katich said in the video posted by RCB on their Twitter handle.

Given that this will be the first day game of the season, both teams need to get their plans right and execute them well in the match. Katich feels that it is important for both teams to get acclimatised to the conditions. It won’t be easy for both teams to play a day match in the Chennai heat.

“It’s a new challenge the fact that it’s a day game. We know that the wicket has been hard work for the batsman at times. There's spin. It's been slow. It's a new challenge, but I know this group is truly hungry.” Katich further added.

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Jasprit Bumrah is one of the best death bowlers in the world: Trent Boult

Mumbai Indians fast bowler Trent Boult lavished praise on his teammate Jasprit Bumrah for his skills especially in the death overs. MI etched yet another win from the jaws of defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday in Chennai after bundling them out for 137 while chasing 151 in 20 overs. “It’s great to see a guy (Bumrah) like that operate. How clear he is with what he is doing with the ball throughout his whole spell,” Boult said after the contest. Bumrah just picked up on wicket during the clash against SRH but his economical bowling kept the David Warner-led side on the backfoot. Bumrah eventually returned with figures of 1/14 in his 4 overs. Talking about the death bowling, Boult hailed the Indian pacer. “I personally believe, he is one of the best death bowlers in the world. He makes my job a heck of a lot easier,” he added. The New Zealand cricketer himself picked up three wickets during the course while leg-spinner Rahul Chahar too scalped a three-wicket haul as MI won the match by 13 runs. SRH openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner had a decent start to the chase. Riding on Barstow’s onslaught, SRH put 67 on the board for the first wicket before the England batsman departed for 43 off 22. But Bairstow’s departure saw a fall of wickets at regular intervals and they were soon left struggling at 130/7 and were eventually bowled out. Earlier, MI managed to score 150/5 in 20 overs, courtesy a quick-fire 35* off 22 from Kieron Pollard.

It's very important to keep the dot-ball percentage low: VVS Laxman on defeat vs MI

Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman has said that it was the increase in the percentage of dot balls that pushed them on the backfoot against Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Saturday and the Hyderabad franchise eventually suffered a defeat by 13 runs. Chasing a target of 151 in 20 overs, SRH were bundled out for 137 despite starting off the proceedings in a decent manner. "That's (taking singles and twos) a very important skill especially on these kind of wickets because it is not easy to hit through the line. You can't rely on just boundaries and sixes," Laxman said at the post-match press conference. Laxman further suggested that keeping the dot-ball percentage low was the key to stay in the hunt. "It's very important to keep the dot-ball percentage low, and the only way you can do it is by manipulating the field by rotating the strike,” he added. SRH openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow put up 67 runs on the board in 7.2 overs before Bairstow departed for 43 off 22. The right-handed batsman’s departure saw fall of wickets at regular intervals for the Warner-led side. They were soon left tottering at 130/7 before getting bundled out for 137 in the last over. Trent Boult and Rahul Chahar scalped a three-wicket haul each. Earlier, MI managed to put 150/5 in 20 overs after a late surge from Kieron Pollard who chipped in with an unbeaten 22-ball 35. MI will now face Delhi Capitals in Chennai while SRH will lock horns with Punjab Kings at the same venue.

Queensland crowned Sheffield Shield champions after convincing win over New South Wales

Queensland were crowned the winners of the Sheffield Shield in this edition after they defeated New South Wales in the final by an innings and 33 runs of the tournament in Brisbane. After batting first NSW were bundled out for 143 in the first innings, courtesy a fifer from Michael Nesser and a four-wicket haul from Jack Wildermuth. Captain Kurtis Patterson top-scored for the side with 43 in the innings. In reply, Queensland thoroughly dominated the NSW bowling attack as they posted 389 on the board. Marnus Labuschagne showed his class once again and struck 192 during the course. Sean Abbott and Nathan Lyon shared 7 wickets among themselves. Abbott picked up a four-for while Lyon scalped three wickets in the innings for NSW. The Patterson-led NSW side were trailing by a mammoth margin of 243 and had a uphill task to nullify the deficit. Though, they started off in a decent manner after openers Daniel Hughes and Mathhew Gikes put 64 for the first wicket on the board but Hughes departure for 40 saw falling of wickets at regular intervals for NSW. They were soon left struggling at 142/6 before getting bundled out for 213 and lose the final. Mitchell Swepson, Xavier Bartlett and Brendan Doggett picked up three wickets apiece. Labuschagne expressed delight on the win and the way he stitched his innings. "I felt like it was one of the better innings I've played,” Labuschagne said. "I felt like I stayed a bit more patient than I have been usually. It was good to get the team in a good position and to finish off the win today,” he further added. Queensland skipper Unman Khawaja won his first title as the skipper and hailed the team for their efforts. "We've got an excellent dynamic (in the team)," Khawaja said. "It wasn't a very easy wicket on the first day, it was hard to drive, but you still have to execute, and our bowlers did it beautifully. They did exactly what I asked of them and it put plenty of pressure on the Blues boys,” he said.

It's easy for the captain if bowlers are executing plans well: Rohit Sharma

Mumbai Indians once again stole victory in a match from a critical situation against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Saturday. MI were defending 151 in 20 overs and SRH were looking pretty solid as the openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow had put 67 on the board for the first wicket. But it was then the captaincy skills of Rohit Sharma, execution of plans from the bowlers and some good fielding efforts from the team that handed the side yet another win from the jaws of defeat. Hailing the efforts of his bowlers especially Rahul Chahar and Trent Boult, Sharma said that it becomes easy for the skipper when the bowling units executes the plans in such a manner. “It was a great effort from the bowling unit. We knew it was not going to be easy and when you have a pitch like that and the bowlers are executing the plans, it makes it easy for the captain to manoeuvre the field and keep having those options of your bowling changes,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation. The MI captain also appreciated the fielding efforts by his team. “I thought our fielding was pretty good today, those two runs-outs, few catches, that is something we take a lot of pride in,” he said. MI were restricted to 150/5 in 20 overs earlier. According to Sharma, it was a decent total on a kind of pitch they got in Chennai on Saturday. “I thought it was a good score on that pitch and the way we came out and bowled and showed that attitude on the field was very important, it was great team performance,” Rohit said. While the Mumbai franchise grabbed their second win on the trot in the tournament, SRH suffered third straight defeat during the course. After beginning the chase in a steady manner, SRH lost wickets at regular intervals to left tottering at 130/7 and were eventually bundled out for 137 to lose the match by 13 runs. Bairstow top-scored for them with 43 off 22. For MI, Boult and Chahar scalped three wickets each.