Jofra Archer Birthday: Rajasthan Royals players wish Archer a special 'Happy Birthday'

New Zealand romp Bangladesh to complete 3-0 clean sweep win

RCB’s new recruit Finn Allen showed his impeccable hitting capabilities during New Zealand’s third and final T20I against Bangladesh in Auckland. A rain-affected match that was reduced to 10-over a side witnessed some fireworks from Allen and his opening partner Martin Guptill took the visitors to cleaners, sending them in a shell-shocked state. Allen took on the Bangladesh bowlers and hammered them all around the park to score 71 off 29 balls that included three maximums and 10 fours while Guptill struck 44 off 19 as the home side posted 141/4 in 10 overs. The visitors had a dismal start to the chase after losing a couple of early wickets before getting reduced to 60/7 and eventually getting bundled out for 76 to suffer the defeat by 65 runs. Todd Astle and captain Tim Southee ripped apart the Bangladesh batting line up as the two picked up a total of 7 wickets in the second half of the game. Only three Bangladesh batsmen managed to reach the double-figure mark with Mohammad Naim top-scoring with 19. The Blackcaps had earlier taken an unassailable lead after beating the Bangla Tigers in the first two T20Is. Allen who was adjudged Man of the Match for his brisk knock talked about his partnership with Guptill. “It was good fun and batting with Guptill is nice. Thought we'd give ourselves a bit of a chance and play our shots up front. It was excited to get out here, it's a bit intimidating, but it was fun to be talked through every ball and to watch Guptill hit everything out of the park,” he said. Bangladesh captain Liton Das expressed disappointment on a 0-3 loss and admitted that the batting and fielding haven’t been up to the mark and which costed the Bangladesh team the series. “First of all, our batting and fielding haven't been great. That has costed us. We need to think on how to play in bouncy tracks, gotta play smart cricket. We have played World Cups, so we aren't a young bunch,” Das said.

Top 5 Best batting performances from IPL 2020

The year 2020 brought a lot of struggle when the world came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 outburst. The sports activities were put to a halt but in the difficult times, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) managed to hold the Indian Premier League as soon as there were some relaxations. The IPL 2020 was held in UAE behind closed doors but the fans and spectators who were glued to the TV sets at their places got to witness some mind-blowing innings. From KL Rahul’s aggressive ton to Suryakumar Yadav’s match-winning knock, the fans saw it all. Here we take a look at the top five batting performances from the IPL 2020 edition. Suryakumar Yadav’s 79* vs RCB This contest was all about two passionate cricketers unfolding their tremendous zeal for the game on the field in their own manner. While RCB skipper Virat Kohli showed belligerence, MI’s Suryakumar Yadav kept his head calm in a gum-chewing swagger and anchored his side to a magnificent win eventually. Every one of us remembers Suryakumar’s gesture after he won the match for MI in Abu Dhabi, telling his teammates that nothing was impossible till he was there out in the middle. Chasing 165 in Abu Dhabi, MI were in a spot of bother when Krunal Pandya departed at 107. SKY was joined by another aggressive striker of the ball Hardik Pandya. The two batsmen then stitched a stand of 51 runs for the fifth wicket before Hardik was dismissed for 17 off 15 in the 19th over. MI though went over the line by 5 wickets and five balls to spare with SKY scoring an unbeaten 79 during the course. Well, all is good between the Indian skipper and SKY. He recently made his T20I debut for India and stamped authority straight away after scoring a fifty in the first innings that he played for the side against England at home. Surya was also named in the ODI squad against the English team but didn’t get any match in the three-match fixture that India the hosts won 2-1. Ishan Kishan’s 99 vs RCB MI wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan’s power-hitting ability is that one factor that makes him different from the rest of the lot. There have been instances at both domestic and IPL level when the left-handed batsman has unleashed some fireworks and one of these came against RCB in the last edition. Chasing 202 in 20 overs in Dubai, MI lost a couple of early wickets with the likes of captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav back in the hut and were eventually left tottering at 78/4 in the 12the over. While MI lost wickets at regular intervals, Ishan kept Mumbai's flickering candle alive from one end. He along with Kieron Pollard notched up a partnership of 119 runs for the fifth wicket before departing for a fine 99 off 58 that included nine maximums and a couple of boundaries. Pollard remained unbeaten at 60 off 24 but failed to win the match for his side as the contest ended in a tie and went into the Super Over as MI were restricted to 201/5 in 20 overs. RCB won the match later on in the Super Over but Ishan’s knock gathered praise from all around. The wicket-keeper also made his debut for India in the T20I series against England at home and scored a half-century in his first match itself. Rahul Tewatia’s 53 vs KXIP (Now Punjab Kings) It was a perfect Bollywood script for Rahul Tewatia and his batting where he turned the course of the match in his team’s favour at the end. Failing to even connect the ball properly for the first 19 deliveries that he played, the Haryana player unfolded what can be called as one of the finest batting performances in the IPL history. Tewatia who was playing for Rajasthan Royals scored 53 off 31 against the Punjab side and led his team to a win by 4 wickets as RR chased down a mammoth target of 224 with three balls to spare. The left-handed batsman wasn’t among runs in the major part of the innings but just five balls in the 18th over overturned the fortunes for him as well the Royals. He smacked five sixes in an over from Sheldon Cottrell to get his team back on track and nullify the slow-paced innings that he had played till now. Tewatia fetched 36 runs in the last 8 balls that he played. Earlier, the Punjab based team had rode on Mayank Agarwal’s ton and captain KL Rahul’s brisk half-century to post 223/2 in 20 overs. But their efforts went in vain as KXIP suffered a defeat. KL Rahul’s 132* vs RCB Playing against his former team RCB, KL Rahul hammered 132* off 69 that included seven sixes and 14 fours in Dubai. Batting first, KXIP posted 206/3 in 20 overs with Mayank Agarwal chipping in with 26 off 20. Chasing a huge total, RCB never looked in control. They lost wickets at regular intervals after Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi rattled the RCB batting to share 6 wickets among themselves. The Virat Kohli-led side was bundled out for 109 to face the defeat by 97 runs. Washington Sundar top-scored for RCB with 30 off 27. Shikhar Dhawan’s 101 vs CSK Shikhar - ‘The One’ is one of the finest left-handed openers that world cricket has ever seen. ‘Gabbar’ as they popularly call him has been involved in some of the brilliant chases for India as well as in the IPL. One of these came against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2020 in Sharjah when Dhawan anchored the Delhi Capitals to a five-wicket win. Chasing 180, DC lost wickets regularly but Dhawan stood strong at the other end to notch up 101* off 58 that included 14 boundaries and a six. Apart from the left-hander, Axar Patel played a cameo and scored a quick-fire 21* off 5 balls to take DC over the line. The Delhi-based franchise had the most successful season last year as they made it to the final for the first time. However, they lost the final to MI. Special mention: One of the innings didn’t make it to the list but left a major impact. Mayank Agarwal while playing for KXIP scored 89 off 60 deliveries and was the lone man standing while chasing 158 in 20 overs. Though Agarwal departed when his side just needed one run to win after he went for the aerial shot on the penultimate ball of the innings and was caught in the deep by Hetmyer off Stoinis. Punjab then lost another wicket on the last ball to end the match in a tie. The encounter went into the Super Over where DC emerged victorious.

IPL 2021 | Nitish Rana rerturns Covid negative; to resume training soon

Soon after multiple reports stated that batsman Nitish Rana was tested Covid-19 positive in quarantine, the Kolkata Knight Riders quashed all rumours by releasing their official statement. The franchise on their official website stated that Rana arrived at KKR's facility in Mumbai on 19 March and had gone into quarantine with a negative report. He later tested positive on March 22 and was asymptomatic as per the official release. As per protocol, he kept himself in self-isolation and on his scheduled test on 1 April returned negative. KKR expect him to be fully fit ahead of the season. Rana, in general, bats at the number three or four positions for the KKR in IPL. He was not so successful with the bat in the last season and could muster only 254 runs from 14 matches. However, he has tasted success in the league over the past few years after making his debut for the Mumbai Indians in the 206 editions. The 14the edition of the IPL will commence on April 9 while the KKR will begin their campaign on April 11 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

NZ vs BAN | 3rd T20I: Finn Allen punishes Bangladesh bowlers with maiden 18-ball fifty

Young New Zealand opener Finn Allen blasted his way to an 18-ball fifty in the third and final T20I of the series against Bangladesh in Auckland. In a rain-curtailed 10-over game, Allen got to face bowling only from the third over and he went berserk from the second ball of his innings after Bangladesh decided to filed first winning the toss. He got going with three back to back fours and a six off spinner Nasum Ahmed. Another back to back boundaries off Shoriful Islam propelled him to 30 runs from a mere 11 ball-long innings. The onslaught kept on getting severe with each passing over even when he lost his opening partner Martin Guptill in the process. He finally perished in the process of decimating Bangladesh bowling attack to all parts of the ground having scored 71 runs from 29 balls to set up a big score for New Zealand. After his dismissal, broadcaster Spark Sport caught up with him and he said, “ We wanted to start as if we were having a 20-over match, give us a couple of balls to get in but once we hit a few, we decided every ball has to go. They may have missed a trick by bowling too full, we'll take that on board.” New Zealand set Bangladesh a steep target of 142 in a rain-affected game.