Pacer of Sikh origin dreams big to play for Pakistan against India

IPL 2020: R Ashwin issues 'Mankading alert' to batsmen

Ravichandran Ashwin and his widely contentious act of Mankading gathered pace again when the off-spinner almost ran Aaron Finch out for strolling out of the crease before he had delivered the ball. The act of Mankading and withdrawal just at the last moment with a wry warning left all including the Delhi Capitals' coach Ricky Ponting laughing while sitting in the dugout. Now, R Ashwin has issued an ultimatum to the batsmen who will be playing against him bowling in the coming days of the IPL 2020 and the year ahead. The off-spinner took to Twitter to issue a final warning to batsmen and asked them to follow the rule of the game and not to blame him if they end up on the wrong side of Ashwin’s Mankading. Cheekily, he almost mentioned Ricky Pontin in his tweet as the former Aussie captain had shared his plans to convince Ashwin to avoid Mankading in this season. Ashwin was also candid about his relationship with Aaron Finch whom he had served notice in the last game and said that the Aussie white-ball captain and he share a good bond of friendship between them. Ashwin got his name linked to Mankading after his dismissal of Jos Buttler in the last IPL that created a wider debate on the conflict between ethics and rules of the game.

IPL 2020 | RCB vs DC: Hits and Flops as Virat Kohli’s Challengers surrender to Delhi’s all-round performance

In a yet another one-sided affair in the IPL, the most balanced looking side Delhi Capitals defeated in form Royal Challengers Bangalore by a huge margin of 59 runs in Dubai. Touted to be one of the best clashes of the season, the game got off to a good start as Delhi’s openers, after being sent in to bat first made good use of the opportunity and made 67 runs in the first seven overs. From there on, RCB could only play the catching game as the Australian Marcus Stoinis in the batting and South African Kagiso Rabada in the bowling departments made sure that Delhi packs yet another punch to record their fourth win out of five games. In this segment called Hits and Flops of the game, Five big influence players would be discussed to give a wholesome analysis of what went wrong and right for both the teams. Hits: #1 Marcus Stoinis After a good start, Delhi had lost three quick wickets in an interval of just 22 runs which had come of 29 deliveries. The three wickets were of two set batsmen in Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan while the third one was of the captain Shreyas Iyer who had been in great form in the last game. In such a situation, when the runs were hard to come by and wickets were continuously falling, Stoinis started playing his natural counter-attacking game instead of going the usual way of playing few balls to understand the situation. This was the best ploy as he found an able partner in Pant and the duo added 91 runs off just 41 deliveries for the fifth wicket. But Stoinis didn’t just stop here. After Pant got out, he again combined with Shimron Hetmyer and took the total to 196. In his innings of 53* of 26 balls, Stoinis hit six boundaries and two maximums. #2 Kagiso Rabada While Stoinis turned out to be the real Ace for the Capitals in the batting department, the bowling hero was Kagiso Rabada. He not only got the opposition captain Virtat Kohli out at the right moment in the first over of his second spell but also took no time removing the tail-enders and ending the match soon. At the end of the game, Rabada had figures of 4/24 in his quota of overs and was one of the chief architects of the Capitals’ victory. #3 Rishabh Pant It was quite after some time that Rishabh Pant played an innings that was worth the wait. Although not explosive in his approach, Pant played second Fidel to Stoinis, making sure that many wickets do not fall. In his innings of 37 runs of 25 balls, Pant hit three fours and two sixes to make sure that the acceleration of the score was maintained. His balanced approach towards the game meant that he gave many strikes to Stoinis to face the balls. Flops: #1 AB de Villiers It doesn’t happen often that you see AB de Villiers in the list of flops as Mr. 360 degree couldn’t quite control his shot off the ball of countryman Anrich Nortje, giving an easy catch to Shikhar Dhawan in the slips. In his small halt at the crease, de Villiers faced problems as he was roaming did not announce his replacement. Arguably the number one batsman in T20s, made only 9 runs off six deliveries, failing to deliver in a match that he was supposed to lead. #2 Moeen Ali: The English all-rounder finally became a part of the playing 11. But that was not enough as firstly in bowling and then in batting, Ali couldn’t do much. While in bowling he gave away precious 21 runs in just two overs, he wasn’t successful in batting either. The 33-year-old Birmingham born scored just 11 runs off 13 balls in the game. With this win, Delhi has now reached the top spot on the points table and it would boost the confidence of the players who would be rejuvenated to face Rajasthan Royals on 9th October. RCB on the other hand would like to sort out the silly mistakes when they face in-form Super Kings on 10th October. Powered by Froala Editor

IPL 2020 | RCB vs DC: What experts said as Kagiso Rabada inspired Delhi Capitals rout clueless Challengers from Bangalore

The Indian Premier League was back to its usual phenomenon of dull one-sided games as after the Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab game in Dubai last innings, Delhi Capitals too did a CSK on the Royal Challengers Bangalore, albeit in the reverse direction. While CSK had thrashed Punjab by 10 wickets, Delhi didn’t allow RCB to get into any kind of a groove, sending the Virat Kohli led side packing by a huge margin of 59 runs. Having won the toss, Kohli, inspired by Dhoni and his team’s brilliant chase, decided to field on a used wicket. But his decision didn’t quite go the way he would have liked as the Capitals put on 68 runs in the first seven overs courtesy some brilliant hitting by young Prithvi Shaw. Some quick wickets did give Challengers a chance to make amends in their approach. But as soon as they started trying, Marcus Stoinis (53* off26) and Rishabh Pant (37 off 25)put a blockade with their big-shots-induced counterattack leading to great recovery for Delhi who finally put of a more than competitive score of 196 on the board. The rest of the work was completed by DC bowlers as without letting anyone off the RCB batters settle, except maybe Kohli (who also struggled), they removed the big guns before sweeping through the lower middle and tail. Rabada was the pick of them as he returned with the figures of 4/24 in his four overs. Captains' Viewpoint: Reacting to the victory, Delhi captain Shreyas Iyer said, “Getting four out of five, I will take that any day. Kudos to the boys for the temperament shown in pressure situations.” Further, the Mumbai born revealed the strategy with which they take on any game. “Our strategy was to be fearless and play with full freedom. We have got good youngsters in our side, so we just need to go out and execute our talent and skills. I am very happy with the way things are going so far, and we need to keep up the momentum,” he said. Praising the hard work of the team over the last two games, Iyer said that they would like to utilize the rest day really well. “The boys have been working really hard and we have maintained our temperament really well. It is important for us to get a good recovery,” said the 25-year-old. “It isn't easy going back into the bio bubble, so we try to spend time with each other and that is working really well for us,” he added underscoring the importance of team spirit and bonding between the players. Speaki8ng about Amit Mishra getting ruled out of the competition, Iyer said, “It is saddening when a senior player who was doing amazingly well gets injured but we have got good replacements as well.” “Chopping and changing spoils the atmosphere in the team so we're trying to keep it really simple,” he concluded. Virat Kohli, known for not have a liking for losing games was critical in his analysis saying that his team let Delhi get off to good start. “I think they got off to a great start in the first six then we pulled it back in the next 8 overs and the last phase again got away from us,” he said. The captain lamented missed opportunities and said that dropping sitters in a league as competitive as that was not acceptable at all. “Those important chances in between we need to grab when the opportunity comes our way, it is not like we are dropping half chances, we are dropping sitters and those things hurt you.” “The execution with the ball towards the end could have been better and with the bat as well. Not a complete performance in any regard today,” he added. Praising his opponents for their skill and execution, Kohli said, “I think Prithvi took the game on and we expected that, we kept a catching position and even tried to pick a wicket with the spinner.” “We got into the game after the first six and then Stoinis batted really well in the end, we gave him a life, he took the game away from us,” he added. Hoping that Chriss Morris would be added to the squad in the next game, the 31-year-old said, “We have four days to the next game, once he comes back into the squad it is a different balance altogether.” “The good thing is we have won three out of five, we have lost two where we haven't played good cricket, so I think it is about rectifying those small mistakes,” Kohli concluded citing a positive from an otherwise forgettable game. Expert Opinion: The cricket experts and analysts too were full of praise for the clinical show put by the young Delhi Capitals team. Boria Majumdar, an experienced cricket analyst called Delhi the most balanced team saying that it seems to have a replacement for every player. Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar too praised the Capitals for being extremely talented and for being able to execute their skills in a great way. Getting focus on the finger spinners, veteran cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle rejoiced the fact that three-finger spinners in the game, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar not only picked three wickets for themselves but also gave away very few runs. The focus was further shifted by former India fast bowler and currently the coach of Goa's team in the Indian domestic circuit, Dodda Ganesh. He, standing in favour of Delhi spinner Ravi Ashwin said that he was absolutely right in warning Finch for a possible Mankad and the cricket community should speak on the issue. Then finally came Yuvraj Singh, who praised Rishabh Pant for playing a tremendous paddle, coining the term 'Nicker shot'. From here on, Delhi would now get a rest of two days before they come out all fresh to face the Royals from Rajasthan in the bowlers' graveyard at Sharjah. The Virat Kohli led team though would be up against Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings on 10th October at the same venue as today.

IPL 2020 | RCB vs DC: Marcus Stoinis & Kagiso Rabada humble Bangalore as Capitals regain top spot

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 196/4 in 20 overs (Marcus Stoinis 53*, Prithvi Shaw 42; Mohammed Siraj 2/34) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 137/9 (Virat Kohli 43, Washington Sundar 17; Kagiso Rabada 4/24) by 59 runs. Barring the odd groundwork lapses, Delhi Capitals furnished an absolutely perfect game of cricket to elbow a queasy Royal Challengers Bangalore by 59 runs in the nineteenth match of the Indian Premier League. Marcus Stoinis' truculent 53* and Kagiso Rabada's 4/24 grabbed the honours as DC soar to the zenith of the points table on Monday, October 5 at Dubai. Each ball a spectacle in RCB's PowerPlay Safe to say, DC's defence blenched on a tragicomic note. Aaron Finch checked his front foot block as the return chance looped at a comfortable height to Rabada, who misjudged the pace and let slip the undisputed king of dollies. Shikhar Dhawan then shelled one at first slip before Ravichandran Ashwin curtailed his bowling action midway to warn the overambitious non-striker, Finch for a potential Mankad. Though coach Ricky Ponting's hard-talk might have forbid the premier off-break from clipping the bails, none could prevent him from doing what he does best. Devdutt Padikkal got entangled in his spin web as a toe-edged hoick landed in cow corner's palms. Axar Patel wasted little time in taking Finch out of the equation, nicked behind to a regulation darter which turned away a smidgen. Ashwin couldn't produce a direct hit to nab big fish Virat, though AB de Villiers skying a jab high in the air proved heavy compensation. DC plonk their foot on the opposition's throat The scoreboard pressure now bottling up, Moeen Ali too bit the dust in an attempt to hoist Patel's full-toss into the stands. The flame kept gleaming till Kohli occupied the crease, but an undercut settling into Rishabh Pant's mitts extinguished it once and for all. The gulf between runs needed and balls left cleaved to an improbable 82 off 24, and with no miracle maker in tow, RCB had all but raised the white flags. Washington Sundar, Shivam Dubey and Isuru Udana fell victims to Rabada's razor-sharp thunderbolts while Anrich Nortje castled Mohammed Siraj in DC's coup de grâce en route a hostile triumph, which also did their NRR a world of good. Shaw-Dhawan ping DC off to a flier RCB upholstered their bowling resources, with offie Moeen Ali replacing an unfit Adam Zampa while Mohammed Siraj cracking the nod ahead of Gurkeerat Singh Mann. Albeit, Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan were least bothered about the names on the sheet. The left-right combo forged their third 50+ partnership of the campaign, tossing DC to a spry 63 for no loss as PowerPlay drew to a close. The shoulders had only just begun to droop when Siraj bounced out Shaw to lend RCB a new vigour. Dhawan followed suit, yanking Isuru Udana's knuckleball straight down long-on's throat. In merely a span of three overs, DC went from riches to rags courtesy the dismissals of the well-set openers who left the job half done, yet again. RCB's death muddle in spotlight as Stoinis goes berserk Moeen Ali trumpeted his arrival into the attack with the prized scalp of Shreyas Iyer as Devdutt Padikkal held his nerve on the square-leg rope to contrive another boundary-juggling effort. Navdeep Saini's 15th over was quite an eventful one in the context of the match. Marcus Stoinis did ransack 17 for starters, but Yuzvendra Chahal gobbling a sitter on the mid-wicket fence denied the quick an opportunity to salvage pride. Rishabh Pant discovering his mojo coincided with RCB entering the precarious territory of death operation. Despite the left-hander perishing for an abrasive 37, a flurry of innovative jewels from Stoinis greased DC towards an above-par total. What's next in store? Leading the pack with eight points in five games, Delhi Capitals will look forward to riding on the wave and trouncing Rajasthan Royals in their next clash on Friday, October 9. Beaten down to size tonight, RCB will aim course correction versus Chennai Super Kings a day later in what should be a monster of a weekend tie.