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Ipl 2021 Playing Spin Is In My Blood Says Nitish Rana After Match Winning Performance

IPL 2021: Playing spin is in my blood says Nitish Rana after match-winning performance

It was a perfect start for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their Vivo IPL 14 campaign as they eased past Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs on the back of some exceptional batting from Nitish Rana and a good bowling effort by the majority of the bowlers. Rana scored a magnificent 80 of just 56 deliveries which were studded with 9 fours and 4 sixes. He looked in ominous touch and it was his brilliant knock that set the foundation for a big score of 187 runs. A total of 187 on that surface was always going to be a tough task for the opposition.

The southpaw won the Man of the Match Award for his knock and revealed that he just backed his instincts and it came out well today. Opening the innings with Shubman Gill, the duo shared a 52 runs stand before the dismissal of Gill but Rana continued and started taking the SRH bowlers part. He was eventually dismissed by Mohammad Nabi in the 18th over but by then he had laid a foundation for a big score.

The start was quite dramatic as Rana smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a boundary through the cover region in the very first ball of the match. He wasn’t to the pitch of the ball but let his hands do the talking. Relieving his knock at the post-match presentation ceremony, Rana said that he tried to hit boundaries whenever he got an opportunity.

“I thought the ball was in my slot so I went for it and luckily got four off my first ball. In my mind there's only one thing: play my shots if the ball is there. I was backing myself and looking to hit balls. I’ve been playing spin since childhood, so in a way, it’s in my blood,” said Rana.

KKR won the opening encounter quite convincingly in the end by 10 runs. A good partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey wasn’t enough as the KKR bowlers held their nerves and bagged wickets at crucial junctures of the match which didn’t allow SRH to chase the target down. Manish Pandey stayed there till the end but didn’t manage to get his side over the finishing line.

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Sanjay Manjrekar decodes the reasons behind Ashwin's struggles in white-ball cricket

Premier Indian spinner in the longest format, Ravichandran Ashwin has been out of the Indian limited-overs set-up since the series against West Indies back in 2017. Despite his impressive returns in the Indian Premier League (IPL) he hasn’t quite managed to break his way into the national side. With the Indian spinners going for plenty during the limited-overs series against England, many pundits have expressed their views of bringing back Ashwin in the scheme of things for limited-overs cricket. Ashwin had a great time with the ball during the tour Down-Under where he picked 12 wickets in 3 matches. His wicket tally of 32 in 4 matches against England at home paved way for a 3-1 series victory. However, his consistent performances in Tests weren’t enough to force his way back into the limited-overs team. Ashwin started off his IPL 14 campaign in a disappointing fashion. He ended up conceding 47 runs in 4 overs besides bagging a solitary wicket. Meanwhile, former Indian batsman turned commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar tried to break down as to why Ashwin was having a tough time in white-ball cricket. "For Amit Mishra, there isn't much change in how he bowls in Test and T20 cricket. He sticks to his strength and his intent is to get the ball to turn. Ashwin doesn't bowl the off-spinner. He hardly bowls the off-spinner in white-ball cricket," Manjrekar said. "In Test matches, that's his main delivery. In white-ball cricket, there's a lot of other stuff, the pause and the round-arm delivery and stuff like that which I don't really like too much," he added. "I think Ashwin when he gets into this white-ball circle, he's only thinking about not getting hit and he thinks the only way to escape punishment is to have all these kinds of variations and he goes away from his main strength which is him being this wonderful off-spinner. "So in return, you don't get much return off the pitch because he's not bowling any turning deliveries," Manjrekar added. "It wasn't a case of Ashwin bowling badly. I think both Raina and Moeen played some superb shots that put him off his length, they hit the good balls for sixes. "But this is the thing with Ashwin that we saw in the first game... a lot of people believe that he should be part of the white-ball format for India but the Ashwin that you see in Test matches is not who you see in white-ball cricket," Manjrekar concluded. With the Indian spin department coming under a bit of stick in the last few months, it will be interesting to see whether he is brought back to the Indian squad ahead of the T20 World Cup. While wrists spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have leaked runs, Ashwin’s inclusion might solve a few problems lingering in the mind of Kohli and Co.

IPL 2021: Kumar Sangakkara reveals that Jofra Archer won't be rushed to action

Rajasthan Royals team director Kumar Sangakkara has made it clear that speedster Jofra Archer won’t be rushed back from injury but he is still optimistic of the fact that the Caribbean b0rn fast bowler will play some role or the other during the ongoing edition of the IPL. Archer has been an integral part of the Rajasthan Royals setup and his absence will surely be a big blow for the champions of the inaugural edition. The fiery fast bowler underwent surgery last week on his right hand to remove a glass fragment from a tendon. It happened after an attempt to clean his fish tank wasn’t successful. Archer has sustained the injury at home back in January. It must also be noted that the operation was performed while Archer was undergoing treatment for a long-term elbow injury. "Not having him at the start is a big blow for us because a lot of our planning is centred around his availability," Sangakkara said in the lead-up to their opening encounter against the Punjab Kings slated to be played later today. "We are certainly hoping that he will be available for some part of the IPL but we have contingency plans in place now and no risks will be taken. "It's very important that Jofra gets fit, not just for the IPL, but importantly for his international career. "His value to world cricket and to England cricket is part of our decision and we will be guided by the experts in English cricket who look after Jofra." Archer was snapped up by the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 7.2 crores back in 2018 and have retained him ever since. Archer finished the previous edition of the tournament as the Most Valuable Player of the Season. He bagged 20 wickets and was instrumental in RR winning the matches they did. Despite the long term shoulder injury Archer was seen in action in both Tests and the limited-overs series against India and didn’t look his usual self. He was not steaming in and the break might just get him in a good shape going forward. With England slated to host India in a five-match Test series in July-August, the England team management will be hoping that Archer gets fit. He will also be a vital option for England in the T20 World Cup slated to be played in India later this year.

Ricky Skerritt re-elected as CWI President

Ricky Skerritt and Kishore Shallow have been re-elected as the President and Vice-President for Cricket West Indies respectively for a second term. Both of them will now serve a two-year term until March 2023. Anand Sanasie, and his running mate, Calvin Hope had withdrawn on April 1. “We have much unfinished work to do, and we renew our pledge to work untiringly to help achieve sustainable improvement, both on and off the field, for West Indies cricket," Skerritt said in a CWI media release following his confirmation as the president. Skerritt further added that he is honoured to be re-elected as the President of the CWI. "I am humbled and deeply honoured to be re-elected to serve as CWI President for a second term. I take the responsibility to lead the Board of this prestigious organization, most seriously. We have much unfinished work to do, and we renew our pledge to work untiringly to help achieve sustainable improvement, both on and off the field, for West Indies cricket," he further added. Skerritt’s deputy Shallow also commented on being re-elected and said that it was the victory of CWI. "It (being re-elected) is a victory for West Indies cricket as we continue on the path of growing the game across the region and achieving good outcomes on all fronts and at all levels," Shallow said.

England cricketers are willing to boycott social media: Stuart Broad

England pacer Stuart Broad has said that the team would be willing to boycott social media. “There are great positives to social media but if we have to lose those positives for a period of time to make a stand then I’d be well up for that,” he said. “If there was action it would come from the leaders in our dressing room and if the team felt like a change needed to happen we’ve got some really great people above us in the hierarchy who would be very open to what the team’s beliefs were,” he added. Recently, Bangladesh author Taslima Nasreen had made a controversial tweet on all-rounder Moeen Ali. She has said that Moeen would have joined ISIS if he was not playing cricket. “If Moeen Ali were not stuck with cricket, he would have gone to Syria to join ISIS," Taslima said in a tweet that was later deleted. The tweet didn’t really go well with the fans and other cricketers and Taslima did face backlash for the same. Scottish champions Rangers and English second-tier side Swansea City had last week said that they would boycott social media for a week after a number of players were racially abused.