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Psl 2021 Preview Karachi Require To Fine Tune As Islamabad Focus On Playing Old Rhythm

PSL 2021 Preview: Karachi require to fine tune as Islamabad focus on playing old rhythm

Islamabad United will be taking on the Karachi Kings in Abu Dhabi on Monday in what could turn out to be an exciting clash. Karachi who were sitting at the top of the points table before the tournament was suspended due to a rise in Covid-19 cases within the franchises had a disappointing start when the tournament was resumed.

They lost the first match that they played after resumption to Multan Sultans. Well, the defeat didn’t really cause much of a problem to their place in the points table as they were still placed at helm position.

But the Kings need to find their way back in the tournament and this game against United might be that turning point for them in the competition.

The reason behind such a statement is that the Karachi Kings suffered a defeat against Islamabad United in the last encounter that the two sides played against each other. Despite a ton from opener Sharjeel Khan and half-century from Babar Azam, the Kings stood at the losing end eventually. The Imad Wasim-led side will be looking to take the revenge of this defeat.

On the other hand, Islamabad thumped Quetta Gladiators by 10 wickets but had a struggling start to the proceedings against Lahore Qalandars. Eventually, they went on to win the game by a huge margin of 28 runs to go to the top of the table, the top-order failed to leave a mark unlike their game against the Gladiators. Asif Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed have been rock solid, and the bowlers are in phenomenal form as well.

While Islamabad need to make some alterations regarding the top order, Karachi would be seeking to turn fortunes for themselves. Overall, a high-voltage drama is expected if both the teams play to their calibre and abilities.

Match Details

Match – Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings – 22nd match

Venue – Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Time – 09:30 PM IST, 04:00 PM IST

Pitch Report

The track in Abu Dhabi so far has been helpful for the spinners. While the chasing has been a bit of a problem so far in the tournament, the dew factor can still play a major role and help the sides chasing a target.

Maybe the trends haven’t favoured the teams batting second much but still the captain who wins the toss should bank upon going after a target.

Team News

Islamabad United: The Shadab Khan-led side suffered a huge blow on Sunday after fast bowler Hasan Ali opted out of the PSL 2021 citing personal reasons. "I want to say to all Islamabad United fans, unfortunately due to personal reasons I have to pull out of the remaining PSL matches," Hasan said. Though the skipper Shadab accepted Hasan’s decision but also said that it is a ”huge loss” for the team.

"We understand Hassan's situation right now, family always comes first. We wish Hassan the very best of luck. He will obviously be a huge loss to our team and the tournament, but some things are more important than cricket. At Islamabad United we have always looked after each other like a family and we will continue to do so," Shadab said.

While Unman Khawaja and Colin Munro played a huge role in Islamabad’s exciting win against Gladiators, the duo’s failure against Qalandars has become a cause of concern for the team’s think tank. These two opening batsmen would need to get back in form to produce some fruitful results for their side.

Karachi Kings: Karachi Kings would be looking towards opener Sharjeel Khan to unleash something similar that he did when these two sides locked horns with each other on the last occasion.

Apart from him, Babar Azam who is one of the finest batsmen of modern-day cricket needs to make a bit changes to his on ground planning when he is chasing a score.

In the last clash against Multan, Babar eventually failed to take his team over the line which cost his side two crucial points. A bit of a rejig in his run-scoring rate while chasing a target might be helpful for his team.

Karachi have a strong line up though especially the presence of Mohammad Amir in the ranks makes them well equipped as far as the fast bowling is concerned.

Probable Playing XI:

Islamabad United– Colin Munro, Usman Khawaja, Hussain Talat, Rohail Nazir (wk), Shadab Khan (c), Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Muhammad Musa, Ali Khan, Akif Javed, Mohammad Wasim Jr

Karachi Kings– Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Martin Guptill, Najibullah-Zadran, Chadwick Walton (wk), Thisara Perera, Imad Wasim (c), Qasim Akram, Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal, Waqas Maqsood

Fantasy XI

Colin Munro, Usman Khawaja, Shadab Khan (C), Asif Ali, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Martin Guptill, Thisara Perera, Imad Wasim (VC), Mohammad Amir, Akif Javed

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ICC inducts Kumar Sangakkara, Andy Flower, Vinoo Mankad, others of different eras in Hall of Fame

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has inducted 10 former greats of the game into the Hall of Fame. These 10 former players represent the five eras of the game marked by the ICC. Earlier this month, the ICC had announced that it will facilitate two greats of the game from each of the five different eras of the game. Early Cricket Era The ICC has marked the first era as the Early Cricket Era and inducted players who contributed to the game prior to 1918. Under this category, the global governing body has felicitated Aubrey Faulkner of South Africa and Monty Noble of Australia. Faulkner had featured in 25 Tests and amassed 1,754 runs at an average of 40.79, along with 82 wickets at 26.58 apiece while Noble played 42 Tests and scored 1,997 runs at an average of 30.25 and also picked up 121 wickets at an average of 25.00 Inter-War Era Under this category, the ICC paid tribute to players who played important roles in the overall development of the game in the period between 1918-1945. The ICC felicitated West Indies’ Sir Learie Constantine and Australia’s Stan McCabe. Sir Learie Constantine had played 18 Tests and took 58 wickets at 30.10 runs per wicket and scored 635 runs at 19.24 runs per innings while McCabe played 39 Tests and scored 2,748 runs at an average of 48.21 while also scalping 36 wickets at 42.86 runs per wicket. Post War Era The ICC considered players for the Hall of Fame recognition who made helped the game development with their greatest contributions between 1946 to 1970. Under this category, the ICC has inducted Ted Dexter of England and Vinoo Mankad of India into the Hall of Fame. Dexter played 62 Tests and scored 4,502 runs at an average of 47.89 and also took 66 wickets at 34.93 while Mankad played 44 Tests and scored 2,109 runs at 31.47 along with 162 wickets at 32.32. ODI Era The ICC marked players from the period between 1971 and 1995 under this category. Desmond Haynes of West Indies and Bob Willis of England earned the prestigious reckoning as Hall of Fame inductees of the ODI era. Desmond Haynes played 116 Tests and smashed 7,487 runs at 42.29 and made the iconic opening batting pair with Gordon Greenidge while Willis was a masterful swing bowler for England and picked up 325 wickets at 25.20 from his 90-Test long career. Modern Cricket Era The ICC picked players who were the legends of the game and changed the outcome of many matches on the back of their memorable performances in the period between 1996 and 2015. Along with that, they were also considered as great ambassadors of the game between 1996-2015. Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and Andy Flower of Zimbabwe earned places in the ICC Hall of Fame among players of this period. Sangakkara played 134 Tests and piled on 12,400 runs at a phenomenal average of 57.40 runs with the bat along with 182 catches and 20 stumpings with the wicketkeeping gloves. On the other hand, Andy Flower played 63 Tests and scored 4,794 runs at an average of 51.54 along with 151 catches and nine stumpings from behind the wicket.

INDW vs ENGW | One-off Test: Know your debutants

The Indian women’s team will be a part of a historic moment when the side will face England in Bristol in a one-off Test slated to begin on June 16. Earlier, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had confirmed the fixture along with three ODIs and as many T20Is with the tour concluding on July 15 in Chelmsford. The women’s team last featured in a Test in the year 2014/15 when they hosted South Africa while playing against England in 2014 in Wormsley. The Mithali Raj-led side won the match by 6 wickets eventually. Opening batter Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Mithali, Jhulan Goswami and Shikha Pandey are some of the faces who played in the last encounter against the English side seven years back. While there are a few known faces in the squad, there are players who haven’t played a Test for India. Here we take a look at the players who might be playing their first match for the country in a longer format. Priya Punia India batter Priya Punia made her T20I debut in February 2019 against New Zealand in Wellington and made her first appearance in the ODI format in the same year in October against South Africa. The right-hander has since played 7 ODIs and three T20Is respectively. Punia has notched up 225 runs in ODIs at an average of 37.50 which includes a couple of half-centuries. The Indian cricketer recently suffered a huge loss after her mother succumbed to Covid-19. Priya had earlier revealed that her mother was pretty excited about her selection and wanted her to play for the country. “My mother always wanted me to play for the country and she was really excited with my selection to the Indian team for the England tour. So, I will travel to Mumbai from Jaipur tomorrow and go into quarantine. These are tough times for sure, but my mom always wanted me to focus on my game, and I will do that even now,” the 24-year-old Punia told Sportstar. Deepti Sharma All-rounder Deepti Sharma has been a part of the Indian setup in the limited-overs format for quite sometime now. Deepti has played 58 ODIs and 51 T20Is respectively for the country. She made her ODI debut back in 2014 against South Africa while playing her first T20I against Australia a couple of years later in 2016. Sharma has been a consistent performer for the national side in both the formats. She has scored over 1400 runs at an average of 39.15 in ODIs and has scalped 65 wickets so far. In T20Is, Deepti has bagged 54 wickets at an economy of 6.06 and has 433 runs to her name so far. Sharma was involved in the highest ODI partnership in women’s cricket with Poonam Raut when the two added 320 runs for the first wicket against Ireland in 2017 in Potchefstroom. Deepti’s only ODI hundred came in this match after she scored 188 before getting out to Rachel Delaney. She later picked up a wicket as well in the match as India won the game by 249 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues Jemimah Rodrigues is probably one of the finest batters that the Indian team has in the present time. Rodrigues stroke-play has earned her good recognition especially in the shorter format of the game. The right-handed batter has played 47 T20I matches scoring 976 runs at a strike-rate of 111.16 including six half-centuries. Jemimah has also been capped 19 times in ODIs where she has notched up 382 runs. She became a part of ‘The Hundred’ recently and will play for Northern Superchargers in the competition. Shafali Verma Opening India batter Shafali Verma etched her name in the record book after she became the youngest Indian cricketer to score fifty in international cricket. She surpassed former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s 30-year-old record after scoring 73 runs in 49 balls against West Indies in a T20I in 2019. Shafali achieved the feat at 15 years and 285 days and went past Tendulkar’s who attained it at the age of 16 years and 214 days. Since her T20I debut in 2019, Verma has played 22 matches and has scored 617 runs at an impressive average of 29.38 and a strike-rate of over 148. Sneh Rana Sneh Rana has played 7 ODIs and 5 T20Is for the team. She has scored 27 runs in the five T20Is that she has featured in at an average of 27. Taniya Bhatia The wicket-keeper batter Taniya Bhatia is an experienced player when it comes to the shortest format of the game. Bhatia has been capped 50 times in T20Is and 15 times in ODIs. She has 44 stumpings and 23 catches to her name in the T20Is. Bhatia in a conversation with The Indian Express had said that she looks up to MS Dhoni and gets inspired by his wicket-keeping skills behind the stumps. “There is absolutely no comparison but it is flattering when people say they can see a glimpse of him in me. In fact, it inspires me to work harder. I look up to him and his hand-eye coordination is admirable,” she said. Indrani Roy Indrani Roy is another Indian player who cites MS Dhoni as her role model. Roy got an opportunity to get a few lessons from the former India captain during a training session in Ranchi. “During a training session in Ranchi sometime last year, I had a long conversation with Mahi Sir about how to improve my game and he had told me that I should ensure that I improve my reflexes and movement in the five-metre radius. For wicketkeepers, that’s a key thing and he advised me that I should try and get better. That actually helped me,” Indrani told Sportstar. She started her cricketing career at the age of 15 and played for Bengal U19 before getting signed by Jharkhand in 2014. In the 2020-21 domestic season, Indrani finished as the highest run-getter in Senior Women's One Day League. Pooja Vastrakar Pooja Vastrakar has featured in 20 T20Is and 6 ODIs for Indian women’s team. She has 16 wickets to her name in the shorter format of the game while has a half-century in ODIs. Pooja made headlines earlier this year after scoring two double tons on the trot in a One Day tournament organised by the MPCA. Arundhati Reddy Arundhati Reddy has played three T20Is for India where she has picked 17 wickets at an economy of 7.88. Radha Yadav A consistent performer in the T20I format of the game, Radha Yadav has donned the Indian jersey in 37 matches and has 51 wickets to her name. During the T20I series against South Africa Radha notched up a distinguished record when she became the player with a wicket in most consecutive innings in Women T20Is. With some talented young cricketers and experienced players in the ranks, India women’s team can have a successful run in England.

Shubman Gill reveals anecdotes with Rohit Sharma, Pat Cummins ahead of WTC final

India’s youngest batting star Shubman Gill has revealed some of his thinking about the game and many anecdotes in his short playing career. Gill made his Test debut against Australia late last year and rose in reputation after playing some quality innings to help India win the series down under. However, revealing about his batting and the game, Gill said that he has been a reluctant batsman to take the strike on the first ball of the innings. He said that first Mayank Agarwal and then Rohit Sharma stepped up to help him calm the nerves by taking the strike and allowing him a sighter from the non-striker’s end. "Never! (if he will ever take the strike on the first ball) I remember in my debut innings that Mayank was kind enough to say 'Okay, I know you are under pressure so I will take the strike' and he took the strike in both innings. And then in the next match, I was supposed to take the strike but Mayank didn't play, Rohit bhai played (chuckles). Rohit himself said: 'I know you are a youngster, so I will take the strike.' From there on, he took the strike every game until that match against England. I don't know why I told him that I will take the strike and obviously, that didn't work for me, I got out on the 3rd or 4th ball on a duck. But yes, that won't happen again anytime soon," Shubman Gill said on The Grade Cricketer's YouTube channel. Gill also opened up on the banter between him and the leader of the Australian bowling attack and his Kolkata Knight Riders teammate Pat Cummins. Discussing the point of their banter, Gill said that Cummins had during the IPL 2020 said that Australia would be ready with the chin music once India will come to play the Test series. However, when the table was turned at the end of the series with Indian clinching the trophy on the back of an explosive 91 from Gill, he reminded Cummins and his team of having the ‘dance moves’ ready for their ‘chin music.’ "So, I and Patty were there in KKR. We were teammates there and had a pretty good bond. I remember he gave an interview to the KKR management saying that ‘we’ll have the chin music going on’ or something like that. And then when I was batting, he was continuously trying to bounce me and I was leaving them," Gill added. "After the match, there was a press conference where I said ‘if they have their chin music, we know the moves to dance to that’. So the banter was going on and he would go ‘where are your dance moves now?" Gill could not replicate his performances in Australia in the series against England at home and in the IPL 2021 and he would be eager to get back among runs in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand.

Power-packed New Zealand trounce England at home, win first Test series since 1999

New Zealand made a light work of the only remaining wicket of England and the chase early on the fourth day to clinch the second Test and with that their first series win in the country after 1986. In the most fitting manner, New Zealand stand-in captain Tom Latham nudged a delivery from Stuart Broad to the off side and got deep into the silent euphoria of a big series win. The win must have been special for the Blackcaps as they have found it extremely tough to defeat England in their own backyard but the tide seems to be turning in the recent years as they have won the last two series between the side. The win would have been special for Latham as well, who was asked to lead a New Zealand side that made six changes from the last game including the big guns in Kane Williamson, BJ Watling, Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson. Only a magical performance from either Olly Stone or James Anderson could have provided England with some sort of a fighting chance but Trent Boult was in no mood to let the hosts go off the hook. Stone could not drag his bat away from an outgoing delivery and Tom Blundell did the rest. From the England side, Rory Burns was the lone bright spot and was rightly adjudged Man of the Series by the New Zealand coach Gary Stead while from New Zealand, Devon Conway won the Man of the Series award on the basis of the sheer weight of runs and the impact it had on the outcome of the series. England have been left with too many questions to answer after their first series loss at home since 2014 and Joe Root would be feeling serious pressure after a repetitive episode of batting failures. He conceded the Blackcaps outplayed his side throughout the second Test of the series.