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Ipl 2021 Mohammed Shami Relishing His Return To Cricket After Long Lay Off

IPL 2021 | Mohammed Shami relishing his return to cricket after long lay off

The world came crashing down on Mohammed Shami after he was ruled out of the series against Australia having faced a blow on his hand against Pat Cummins. He was one of the main bowlers India were relying on in the series against Australia, and the injury proved to be tough to digest for Shami himself.

Discussing his mental state after the injury and return to India, Shami said that the tour ended on a very disappointing note, and more so frustratingly as it was not a physical injury that ruled him away from the game.

Rather, he was struck on his hand while batting and as it was the first instance of him facing such injury and it was tough for him to manage the consequences.

“Obviously it was disappointing to come back from the series. I had never come back before. It was difficult to understand. It never happened to me. I was injured while batting, if you see I was not physically injured. It was very difficult to make myself understand that but it’s part of the game. Anything can happen,” Shami said in a video released on the Punjab Kings Twitter timeline.

Mohammed Shami could not recover well in time to become part of the Indian team for the series against England that followed the tour of Australia. However, he used the extra time to prepare for the 14th edition of the IPL considering his progress of recovery was slow for him to make it to the England series.

Shami also said that the newly-renamed Punjab Kings side have become a well-oiled side having played the last season just four months back. Also, he said that the team is all in readiness to take on the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming battle.

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IPL 2021 | Anrich Nortje joins Delhi Capitals' team bubble

Delhi Capitals and South Africa paceman Anrich Nortje has joined the team bubble after testing negative thrice for consecutive tests in quarantine. The DC franchise confirmed that the pacer has joined the team in a tweet. “He's here. Our pace superstar is now out of quarantine. After a false-positive result for COVID-19, Anrich Nortje tested negative thrice, and is now part of our team bubble. We can't wait to see him in action,” the tweet read. According to ANI report earlier, Nortje had tested positive for COVID-19 during his time in quarantine. But the Proteas fast bowler had tested negative on his arrival in India but was found to be infected with the virus later on. Nortje missed out DC’s second match against RR where they suffered a defeat on Thursday in Mumbai. Chasing 149, RR rode on David Miller’s fifty and a late surge from Chris Morris who chipped in with an unbeaten 18-ball 36 to win the match by 3 wickets. The right-arm fast bowler played 16 matches for DC in the last season and picked up 22 wickets for the side. The Delhi franchise made it to the final of the tournament for the first time but lost to Mumbai Indians in the title clash.

Ishant Sharma suffering from heel niggle: Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has said that pacer Ishant Sharma is suffering from a heel niggle while praised the youngster Avesh Khan who has been impressive for the side so far in the competition. "Coming into the first game, Ishant Sharma obviously had a heel niggle that we have been trying to work through but Avesh grabbed his opportunity with both hands. He has been around with this franchise for a few years now and has not got the opportunity that he has been craving,” Ponting said. DC suffered a defeat against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on Thursday. RR who were left struggling at 40/5 while chasing 149 in 20 overs rode on some fine batting from South Africa’s David Miller and a late surge from the all-rounder Chris Morris during the course. Miller went on to score a half-century while Morris remained unbeaten at 36 off 18 to see his side home and hand them maiden points in the tournament. Talking about the defeat, the former Australian captain admitted that DC missed out on the trick after they didn’t bowl out R Aswhin. Ashwin returned with economical figures and just gave 14 runs in three overs that he bowled. "That's certainly something that we will talk about when I get a chance to sit down with the team. He had bowled beautifully. Three overs, none for 14. Hadn't even conceded a boundary,” Ponting said. DC will now play Punjab Kings in Mumbai on Sunday.

I am a slogger and I'm paid for that: Chris Morris

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Chris Morris played an incredible innings on Thursday against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai and led his side to a win by 7 wickets. RR were reeling at 40/5 when first David Miller took the charge and held the innings together while scoring a fifty for his team and then Morris chipped in with an unbeaten 18-ball 36 to eventually take his team over the line in the last over. Talking about his knock, Morris mentioned about his role with the bat in the team. "There are guys who get paid to bat and there are guys who get paid to slog, I know what I am. I am a slogger that swings everything I can, I play so much golf," he said. The right-handed batsman further expressed his delight on the win and said that the performance against DC has given the franchise confidence that the team can make a comeback from any stage. "If we had to chase 140-odd when we got here, we would have taken it, so happy to get over the line...it's quite nice to know that we can win a game from anywhere after being down in the dumps. That's T20 cricket," he added. Earlier, Delhi Capitals had managed to score 147/8 in 20 overs after riding on a fifty from skipper Rishabh Pant and a late partnership of 28 runs for the seventh wicket between Tom Curran and Chris Woakes. RR will now play CSK in Mumbai on Tuesday while DC will be up against Punjab Kings at the same venue on Monday.

Thought it was tough to chase the target after getting reduced to 40 for 5: Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals etched their first win in the IPL 2021 on Thursday, courtesy a half-century from South Africa’s David Miller and then a late surge from his Proteas teammate Chris Morris against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai. Chasing 148 in 20 overs, RR were reduced to 42/5 before Miller took the charge and got the side back on track while Morris played a match-winning innings at the end of the innings. Talking about the situation, RR captain Sanju Samson admitted that he had lost all hopes of winning the match after the side. “To be very honest, I thought that it was tough from 40 for 5. We had Miller and Morris, but I thought it was tough,” Samson said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “It’s about reading the conditions. It was a little sticky at the start. Taking pace off is the strength of our fast bowlers and that worked out,” he said. Samson further talked about how dew also played an important role in the later part of the game. “I think the dew plays a part here. I think they hit the length a lot better than we did and they got a lot of guys skying with the extra bounce. But we would have taken a chase of 140-odd.” Morris struck an unbeaten 18-ball 36 to take his team over the line by 3 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. Avesh Khan, Chris Woakes and Kagiso Rabada picked up some wickets for Delhi Capitals. While Woakes and Rabada had a couple of scalps to their name, Avesh bagged a three-fer for his side during the course. Earlier, the Capitals too had a disappointing start to the proceedings after they lost some early wickets to be left tottering at 37/4. Captain Rishabh Pant then came up for the rescue and notched up a fine half-century before getting run out for 51. Later, Tom Curran and Woakes chipped in with some runs in the death overs to take the total to 147/8 in 20 overs. DC will now play Punjab Kings in Mumbai on Sunday while RR will lock horns with CSK at the same venue on Monday.