IPL 2021 | MI vs SRH: KKR qualify for Playoffs as Hyderabad get past 64 against Mumbai Indians

Kolkata Knight Riders and its fans would have had a sigh of relief as Sunrisers Hyderabad got past the 64 run mark while chasing a humongous target of 236 against Mumbai Indians in their last league match of the Indian Premier League 2021. Getting to 64 was crucial from the point of view of KKR as their Playoffs qualification hopes depended on it.

Prior to the start of the match between Mumbai and Hyderabad, Mumbai needed to win it by a margin of at least 171 runs to topple KKR from the fourth position in the points table. Thus, when Mumbai scored 235, the target for KKR was to see SRH get past 64.

When the team from Kolkata won their last game against Rajasthan Royals by a huge margin of 86 runs on Thursday, October 07, they further pushed their net run rate ahead and made it difficult for Mumbai to catch up, who even if win their last game (ongoing) against SRH, would have a maximum of 14 points only, which would be equal to KKR’s.

But KKR’s net run rate of +0.587 is the best in the league among all teams and thus Mumbai who were on a net run rate of -0.048 before their last game, needed to win their last game by a margin of 171 runs or more. They did everything well to get as many runs as possible, but even 235 was not going to be enough.

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David Warner drops another hint of leaving Sunrisers Hyderabad camp

Opening batsman David Warner has all but confirmed his departure from the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp after the ongoing edition in an Instagram post. He expressed gratitude to his fans and recalled the memories he created with the men in orange whom he led to the IPL title in the 2016 edition of the league. “Thank You for the memories created. To all the fans, you have been a driving force for our team always to give 100%. I can’t thank you all enough for the support shown. It’s been a great ride. My family and I are going to miss you all!!,” Warner said on his Instagram account. Notably, he had made a similar point in reply to a query by fans saying that he was not to feature for the Sunrisers in future but later on retracted the comment. Warner went through a horror run of form with the bat at the top of the order before the Sunrisers decided to move on from him as the captain and as one of the overseas players. Warner was a force to reckon with the bat in all the IPL seasons before the ongoing one and carried the Sunrisers batting through some really tough phases in the league.

Ishan Kishan dismantles SRH; hits fastest 50 for Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan was on a roll in the last league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi. The left-handed batsman unleashed a brutal assault against the SRH bowlers and hammered the fastest fifty for MI and in this editions IPL. Mumbai who won the toss opted to bat first and Ishan and captain Rohit Sharma opened the innings for the franchise and the two batsmen struck 80 runs for the first wicket before Sharma departed for 18 off 13 while trying to accelerate. Spinner Rashid Khan scalped his wicket. Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul holds the record for the fastest half-century who achieved the feat in just 14 deliveries against Delhi team in 2018. Yusuf Pathan and Sunil Narine follow Rahul at number two and three respectively. While Pathan hit a fifty against SRH while playing for KKR in just 15 deliveries back in 2014, Narine notched up a half-century against RCB in same number of balls in the year 2017.

IPL 2021 | Manish Pandey captains Sunrisers for the first time as Williamson, Bhuvneshwar suffer injury

In what was a shocking revelation, Manish Pandey, who hasn’t been in the Playing XI for quite some time now, walked into the ground at the toss against Mumbai Indians in their last league game of the Indian PremierLeague. It is the first time that Manis is leading any side in the IPL, having been part of the league since 2009. At the toss, Pandya, who has also captained Karnataka at the domestic level, explained that he is into the squad as captain Kane Williamson and vice-captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar were out with injury. With West Indian Jason Holder still on the side with his wealth of experience as a captain, it was quite surprising that Pandey was given the opportunity to lead ahead of him. Mohammad Nabi, the Afghan all-rounder was drafted in the side as a replacement for Bhuvenshwar Kumar. Mumbai on the other hand did the first thing right by winning the toss as to keep their hopes of qualification alive, they needed to bat first. The side also sported changes in the form of Kruna Panday walking back into the XI in place of Saurabh Tiwary and veteran Piyush Chawala getting a place in the XI as a replacement for Jayant Yadav. This would be the debut match for Piyush Chawla as an MI player.

World T20 | Sarfaraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali included in Pakistan's final squad

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the final squad for the upcoming World T20 2021 in UAE and Oman. The selectors have made a few changes and three players, Haider Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Fakhar Zaman have been included in the final 15. Former captain Sarafaraz has come in place of Azam Khan while Haider has replaced Mohammad Hasnain. The opening batsman Zaman who was earlier picked up as the reserve player has swapped places with Khushdil Shah, the PCB said in a statement. “Sarfaraz Ahmed and Haider Ali have replaced Azam Khan and Mohammad Hasnain respectively, while Fakhar Zaman, who was originally named as a travel reserve, has swapped places with Khushdil Shah,” the statement read. The chief selector Muhammad Wasim said that the three players have been included in the squad on the basis of their performance in the National T20 tournament. "After reviewing player performances in the highly competitive National T20 and in consultation with the team management, we have decided to include Haider Ali, Fakhar Zaman and Sarfaraz Ahmed in the squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021," chief selector Muhammad Wasim said. Other than this, the decision on the inclusion of Sohaib Maqsood will be made on the basis of medical advice. “The decision on Sohaib Maqsood’s inclusion in the squad will be made following medical advice. The top-order batter underwent MRI scans for the lower back after the 6 October National T20 match against Northern and missed Thursday’s Punjab derby against Central Punjab,” the statement added. The side would be led by Babar Azam and Shadab Khan has been named his deputy. Apart from Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir will travel with the team as reserve players. Pakistan will begin the campaign against arch-rivals India in Dubai on October 24. SQUAD: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood. Traveling reserves - Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir