Luke Jongwe’s all-round effort goes in vain as Rizwan, Qadir shine in Pakistan victory

IPL 2021 | SRH vs PBKS: Hits and Flops as Sunrisers crack Chepauk code to punish listless Kings

The Sunrisers Hyderabad finally broke the chain of unbearable losses in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League against the Punjab Kings. Chasing a score of mere 121 runs, the ever so powerful top order comprising David Warner, Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson made light work of the chase and helped the team to get off the mark. The batting crises that have started to appear in the Punjab Kings setup did not relent in their fourth game of the season as well. They were hurt badly by the Sunrisers bowling attack that finally came to terms with the potential and expectations made of him before the commencement of the IPL this year. They suffered setback when Bhuvneshwar Kumar walked off the field after bowling only three overs but the new additions from the last few games such as Abhishek Sharma and Khaleel Ahmed put their hands up to restrict the Kings. Here, we’ll decipher the best and the worst performances of the game between the Sunrisers and the Kings in Chennai. Hits Abhishek Sharma Before the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League, Abhishek Sharma was in superb form both with the bat and the ball in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy held earlier this year. However, the presence of international all-rounders meant that the lad from Punjab had to miss out on the first few games. The result of the first three games did not go the Sunrisers way and they were forced to have a look in on Abhishek Sharma in hope of finding a perfect balance in the playing XI. Sharma, too, did not come to his best in the first game and perished. The second chance he got from the team against the Kings was his chase to step up and justify the backings. David Warner trusted him to start with the new ball against the two right-handers from the Kings and move almost paid a dividend but Rashid Khan dropped a tough chance. After a solitary over, he was held back as Chris Gayle came out to bat. He was brought back in the 10th over when the Kings had another right-handed pair in the middle. He started well again and conceded only six runs from the second over. Finally, after a long wait, his persistence and accuracy were rewarded as Deepak Hooda was caught back in the crease in order to force the issue. He coaxed Hooda into playing a shot from the backfoot after failing in attempts of sweeping. A success forced Warner to keep him in the attack and after conceding a four to Moises Henriques, he flummoxed another right-hander, but now with a flighted delivery that turned away from the batsman. A bowling figure of 4-0-24-2 was good enough to establish his credentials as a left-arm spinner while also repudiating his critics who doubt if he can deliver a four-over spell every game. Jonny Bairstow Jonny Bairstow has been the lone shining light for the Sunrisers Hyderabad albeit the team was having a tough time so far in the tournament. Hence, when the Sunrises back from a hattrick of losses, it was Bairstow who led the charge to win them the game. The bowling did play their role admirably after the games where they let the other team reach defendable scores. The batting order did not have a mountain to climb, but they had to get off to a good start to calm the nerves as when a side starts losing games they should have won, the habit of losing creeps in the system. Bairstow attacked from the outset whenever he was offered the chance to get at the top of the bowling line up. Left-arm spinner Fabian Allen offered him width and length to go over the top and Bairstow were up and running in the chase. He corrected his line but length provided Bairstow to get under it once again and the Sunrisers were on charge. There was no let-up this time from him and he remained not out to lead the Sunrisers to a big win over the Kings. Bairstow has been in good form coming into the IPL and he is making sure to utilise it to maximum advantage for the Sunrisers. On the day against the Punjab Kings, Bairstow needed to make sure the wickets were not falling from one end while also ensuring that a manageable required run rate to not get out of their hands. He batted beautifully, mixing aggression with a cautious approach to deny the Kings any chance to come back in the game. Khaleel Ahmed Khaleel Ahmed was brought in the team for an impressive T Natarajan, who has been excluded from the team on account of fitness. Hence, Ahmad was battling to keep his place in the team along with justifying his presence in the team. Ahmed had a terrible season last year and could feature only in eight games. The pressure could well have been daunting but the left arm came back with flying colours in the game the Kings. However, the start was not good and both Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle had punished him for poor balls before Rashid Khan helped him with a big wicket of Agarwal. He bowled two overs in his first spell and took the big wicket of Agarwal along with giving away only 13 runs. Warner kept two of his overs in the bank for the end overs and he offered his captain a chance to justify his own call by forcing a false shot from Fabian Allen. He came back to his fourth over and sent back Shahrukh Khan, who has turned out to be a rescue man for the Kings over the last few games. Shahrukh was in the mood to do what Kieron Pollard did against the Sunriesers by getting his side to a score that they could dare to defend. However, Khaleel was better than him and deceived him with a straighter slower one. He could well face an exit door if the move to exclude Natarajan is really related to his fitness and not performance. But, Khaleel has done enough to stake claim to his place in the playing XI. Flops KL Rahul KL Rahul has had a torrid time coming into the ongoing edition of the IPL but the first game showed signs that he was behind his struggles. He was not proactive with the bat but he managed to finish the game strong with the bat against the Rajasthan Royals. Then, bowlers stood up in pressure situations to defend a big score and both the Kings and Rahul himself were up and running. Rahul has been criticised for not showing intent with the bat and stats back the claim that his lack of appetite for risk for greater results has cost the Kings few games. Worryingly, for the Kings, he was batting with docile intent in Mumbai where teams have needed as many as they could get. His method would have worked perfectly in Chennai where teams have often needed an anchor who could hold one end up while others go for glory shots. However, he fell victim to enforcing the issue on a pitch that was not allowing balls to bounce higher. A dragged on pull shot found the field and Rahul failed to adapt to the conditions at the Chepauk and played right into the hands of the Sunrisers Hyderabad. KL Rahul needs to sort his head out before the next game and the Kings management should make him realise the key to running successful campaigns is adaptability, which both he and the team lacked big time against the Sunrisers. Chris Gayle Chris Gayle has not been able to come to the party in the 14th edition of the IPL and he is one of the prime concerns the Kings have found himself in the bubble of uncertainty. He has been assigned the task of leading the batting group from the number three position in the league to resurrect the Kings in case of failure of either Rahul or Agarwal. However, apart from one game, his bat has gone silent and so is the consistency of the Kings batting order. The batting order that has the trio of Rahul, Gayle and Agarwal has suffered two collapses out of four games this season while in another game against the Capitals, they could not capitalise on a good start by Agarwal. Against the Sunrisers, the early wicket of Rahul put the responsibility for taking the Kings to a defensible position but Gayle fell victim to the mastery of Rashid Khan. His wicket broke the back of Kings and the failure of other batsmen from the other end made sure they were always short of any chance of challenging the mighty top order of the Sunrisers. The Sunrisers will be ecstatic to get off the habit of losing with a clinical performance while on the other hand, the Kings will have to relook their tactics on slow and low pitches in Chennai. The Kings management needs to address the role of different players and make sure they should be aware of their responsibilities towards the team on the field. At the moment, the Kings are failing to play as a collective unit and the results are telling for them and everyone to see.

IPL 2021 | SRH vs PBKS: What Experts said as Hyderabad get off the mark

Sunrisers Hyderabad have finally broken the losing streak in this IPL 2021 edition after they thumped Punjab Kings by 9 wickets in Chennai on Sunday. Chasing an easy target of 121, SRH went over the line pretty comprehensively with 8 balls to spare. Wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow who has been in sublime touch continued with his form and notched up 63* off 56 which included three maximums and as many boundaries during the course. While Bairstow looked for some good knick, captain David Warner too chipped in with a run-a-ball 37 during the chase. Bairstow and Warner gave a steady start to the proceedings as the two put 73 runs on the board for the first wicket before the Australian left-handed batsman departed. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson who played his first IPL match this year scored an unbeaten 16 off 19. Earlier, Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bat first on a wicket that seemed to be helpful for the batsmen. But David Warner’s fine piece of captaincy didn’t let the Punjab batsmen take the upper hand at any given stage of the match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed the skipper early for 4 after he was caught by Kedar Jadhav at short mid-wicket. The Punjab-based franchise witnessed a fall of wickets at regular intervals and were soon left tottering at 82/6 to eventually get bundled out for 120. While the SRH seamers Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed gave them a positive start, spinners Rashid Khan and Abhishek Sharma capitalised on it and didn’t let the Punjab batting line up to dominate. Khaleel eventually bagged a three-wicket haul while Abhishek and Khan returned with figures of 2/24 and 1/17 respectively. Both Sharma and Rashid spun the web around the batsman pretty well and resisted the run flow during the innings. Shahrukh Khan top-scored for Punjab with a 17-ball 22. Captain’s viewpoints Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul insisted that the team fell short of 10-15 runs while praising the bowlers for their hard work. “We knew what to expect here. Tried to get used to the conditions as quickly as we can. We were 10-15 short on this pitch. Bowlers tried very hard, but it's very hard coming into these conditions and adapting quickly. Hindsight is a beautiful thing. We knew they were going to come hard. It's tricky to have attacking fields. Was waiting for one of them to get out and then put pressure,” Rahul said. The right-handed batsman also said they wanted to take the game deep and were searching for wickets to break the shackles which didn’t really happen. “Wanted to take the game as deep as possible. Unfortunately we couldn't get wickets in the middle and that cost us. Every game is important for us and we've been in that position. It's not a bad position to be in. Hopefully learn from our mistakes and keep getting better,” KL added. SRH skipper David Warner hailed his bowlers and said that they did a fantastic job in restricting Punjab to a low score. “Very pleasing. Our bowlers did a fantastic job and reduced them to a low score. They executed well and we won batting second,” he said. Warner himself got out after miscuing a big shot off Fabian Allen and was caught in the deep by Mayank Agarwal who did take a stunner. Talking about his wicket, the left-hander admitted that he could have executed the stroke in a better way. “It was probably a mixture of both (mistimed and fatigue), I should have tried to hit it in the grandstand but that happens in cricket,” Warner added. Kane Williamson played his first match in this edition of the IPL on Wednesday. When asked about Williamson’s role, Warner said he is there to anchor the team and stay at the crease. “The game plan of having him (Williamson) there is obviously to anchor the game and he rotates strike so well. Against spin, he gets forward and gets back, he just knows his role and game plan. It's handy having him in the middle. I am really pleased we got across the line,” the Aussie batsman said. Warner also lavished praise on youngster Abhishek Sharma who kept things pretty tight while bowling and eventually picked up a couple of wickets during the course of the innings. “He (Abhishek Sharma) is a young guy coming through and he's exciting. We asked him to work on his bowling a lot more during the series this year and he did that. We have got one more game here. No surprises with this wicket, we got to bowl well. It's all about starting fresh again and taking the wicket out of it. Game plan - simple,” the SRH captain concluded. Expert Opinion Nicholas Pooran once again failed to leave a mark after he was run out by David Warner without even facing a ball against SRH. The cricket pundit and commentator Harsha Bhogle expressed his disappointment about Pooran’s lean patch and how the left-handed batsman has been failing. Punjab Kings made some changes to their line up but the result didn’t go their way. Vibrant Gupta pointed out the similar point after the final outcome of the game. Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan also hailed the Sunrisers Hyderabad for their first win in the tournament and congratulated Jonny Bairstow, Khaleel Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma for their performances. Punjab Kings will now face Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Friday while SRH will be up against Delhi Capitals on Sunday at the same venue.

Mohammad Amir signs for Kent for Vitality T20 Blast

One of the premier fast bowlers of the modern generation, Mohammad Amir has signed with Kent and will be seen playing for them in this year’s Vitality T20 Blast. The Pakistani speedster will travel to England for the second half of the competition after the completion of the Pakistan Super League. Amir will be available for a maximum of seven group games and also the knockouts if Kent manages to qualify. The 29-year-old fast bowler who called it quits from international cricket last year is a classy bowler in all formats. Having not played any cricket since 2019 might make him rusty but he is a seasoned campaigner. It was in England back in 2009 that Amir won the T20 World Cup with Pakistan. He also played in Vitality T20 Blast two seasons ago when he plied his trade for Essex. As per reports in ESPN Cricinfo, Amir should be available for the game against Essex. Kent is slated to travel to Chelmsford on 25th June and his involvement in the game will depend on the progress of Karachi Kings in the PSL. The PSL final will be played on 20th June in Karachi. Amir is likely to serve a quarantine period in England as he is on the red list of UK government travel. "I am excited to join a Kent team full of potential," Amir said. "I have always enjoyed playing at Canterbury, and I hope I will be able to help Kent win a trophy this year." Meanwhile Director of Cricket at Kent, Paul Downton stated that it’s a matter of delight for them to sign a player of Amir’s calibre. "We're delighted that a player of Amir's quality has agreed to join us for the later stages of the Vitality Blast this year. His skill and experience will be an invaluable addition to our bowling attack and I'm sure our members and supporters will share our enthusiasm in welcoming Amir to the club."

IPL 2021 | RCB vs RR: Ferocious Challengers face struggling Samson and Co. on their winning trail

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been so far been phenomenal in their approach to this Indian Premier League. However as their caravan moves from Chennai to somewhat familiar territory in Mumbai, they have their first opponents lining up in the form of Rajasthan Royals. Royals have all sorts of problems lined up for them as, after Ben Stokes’ broken hand, Liam Livingstone has made his return back to England as well. Virat Kohli’s side though have no such problem as they are buzzing with all sorts of talented players putting their hands up to perform. It is in such contrasting situations that the two teams collide. Samson must lead by example Samson, 26, showed in the very first game how he could be the go-to man with the bat and can lead the side in the field. While his leadership hasn’t been that great in terms of attacking mindset, but it is his batting that has got worse and is causing problems for the team. If the Royals are to have any chance of challenging other teams, especially in the absence of Stokes, certain men, which includes the skipper Samson, need to take charge. In the previous eight seasons that he has played, Samson has been inconsistent only. Starting the season on a high, the Keralite has always waned as the seasons progressed. With more than 2700 runs under his kitty in more than 110 matches, Sanju must now take into account the responsibility that has been put on his shoulders. Along with Samson, the likes of Jos Buttler, David Miller and Chris Morris, the senior statesmen of the team need to make sure that men in Pink are also in the pink of their health form-wise and turn it around for themselves against the best team in the tournament so far. Hard to believe, but RCB need not change anything Virat Kohli’s men have found their mojo with Glenn Maxwell and Ab de Villiers, their two best foreign imports in top form. Along with it, their death bowling, which used to be the biggest weak link in every season has finally been resolved with Harshal Patel and Kyle Jamieson hitting the right lengths. In fact, 24, 27 and 40 have been the number of runs conceded in the last four of their last three games respectively. Patel, 30, has been the pick of the bowlers with nine wickets in three games, including a five-for. Jamieson on the other hand has been brilliant with five scalps as well. It is between these two and Mohammed Siraj that Kohli has found a trio that can sail RCB through death. Along with these impactful players, the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar and Devdutt Padikkal become crucial for RCB going ahead as well. Thus If Kohli himself could get back to form, then it would be brilliant, otherwise, he doesn’t need to change a thing in the team so far. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals: Match Details Match Number- 16 Date and Time: April 22, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 pm GMT Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The Pitch at Wankhede has played notoriously in the past two games especially with a dry ball. It offered a huge turn to Chennai Super Kings bowlers while both Rajasthan and Chennai utilised the ball well in the first innings against Delhi Capitals and Punjab respectively. Thus high total games are no more certainty on that wicket. Weather and Toss Intermittent clouds at the time of the game are predicted meaning that the amount of dew would increase. This increased dew would force the captains to go for the chase after winning the toss. Team News Royal Challengers Bangalore RCB played with only three overseas in their last games and went with an extra batting cushion of Rajat Patidar. At Wankhede, they wouldn’t be requiring that extra cushion and thus Daniel Sams becomes an obvious choice in the side if he is fully fit. Strongest XI Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Rajasthan Royals Both Jaydev Unadkat and Shivam Dube haven’t been able to do anything extra-ordinary for the team so far. Rahul Tewatia and Ryan Parag haven’t been that great either. Thus it is the right time to bring in Kratik Tyagi and Mahipal Lomoror in the mix. Both these players have done well in their past assignments (SMAT for Lomror and Australia tour and Vijay Hazare for Kartik Tyagi) and thus deserve a chance in the IPL. Strongest XI Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (c & wk), David Miller, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman Dream XI Predictions / Fantasy XI Suggestions AB de Villiers, Jos Buttler (wk/vc), Virat Kohli, David Miller, Ryan Parag, Glenn Maxwell (c), Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya