Regret losing the match, don't regret not getting double-century: Fakhar Zaman

IPL 2021: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly rules out any change in schedule

Amid the looming threat of increasing Covid-19 cases across the country, and especially in Mumbai where a considerable number of matches have been scheduled to be played, the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has ruled out any change in the schedule of the cash-rich league. "There will be no change (in the schedule)," Sportstar quoted Ganguly as saying. The 14th edition of the IPL is scheduled to start on April 9 in Chennai between the defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Notably, four IPL franchises such as the Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings are there in Mumbai training for the IPL edition. They are practising their drills at the Brabourne Stadium, Bandra Kurla Complex and at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Franchises have shown faith that the tournament will go as planned as any changes in schedule just days ahead of the tournament will lead to logistical issues. "We have not been informed anything about the change in venue. As franchises, we are taking all the measures and are following all the protocols. Hope the Mumbai leg goes ahead as per schedule. Last moment changes would lead to logistical issues," Sportstar quoted a franchise official as saying. There have been questions around the BCCI’s decision to host matches at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai— a city that has emerged as the worst hotspot for India in the second wave of novel coronavirus infection.

Senior Women’s One Day Trophy 2021: Railways reign supreme to lift record 12th title

Railways, the most dominant force in women’s cricket in India, once again showcased their prowess winning the 2021 edition of the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy. They defeated Jharkhand Women, a first-time finalist in the tournament’s 14-year-old history by seven wickets. Sneh Rana shone with the ball for the Mithali Raj led side at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot. Punam Raut and Sabbhineni Meghana were the heroes with the bat. Raj, the skipper of the side neither bowled nor batted in the entire game. Chasing a modest target of 168 to win, Railways lost wicketkeeper batswoman Nuzhat Parween pretty early in the form of a runout. But after that Raut and Meghna added 107 runs for the third wicket to break the back of the Jharkhand defence. Raut did get out, but not before completing her consecutive half-century (59) in the tournament. Meghna too was stumped off the bowling of Ravinder Devyani off 53, but it was too late for the women from the land of mines to stage a dynamic comeback. Sneh and Mona Meshram completed the proceedings to take Railway home by seven wickets in just 37 overs. Earlier in the day, Jharkhand skipper Niharika mani won the toss and decided to bat first. Apart from Mani herself (39*), only Indrani Roy (49) and Durga Murmu (31) showed any sort of resistance against the dominating Railways bowling. The team eventually got all out on the very last ball of the innings for 167.

Sanju Samson being appointed Royals captain is a great story: Jos Buttler

Sanju Samson was drafted into the Rajasthan Royals squad in 2013 at the age of 19. But he then turned to Delhi Daredevils in 2016, only to stay there for two seasons and return back in 2018 to the original home. Now it’s 2021 and that 19-year-old Kerala boy is a full-grown man ready to lead the Royals in his first season as skipper. Jos Buttler the marquee wicket-keeper batsman of the royals believe that Samson is a great story of development for the Royals. “I think it’s fantastic that Sanju is our captain this year,” Buttler, 30, said in a video uploaded by the Royals on their official Twitter account. “I am obviously excited to play under him. It’s obviously a great story for Sanju to have been with the Royals since he was 17 (actually 19) and now nearly 10 years (nine years) later to be appointed captain for this IPL season is hugely exciting,” he added. The video was a long one of more than five minutes, basically, a compilation of a Question and Answer (Q/A) session organised by the franchise for its fans to interact with their stars. On being which other trophy he would like to win a game away from cricket, Butter’s answer was an expected one from an Englishman, “The FIFA World Cup.” The somerset man went on to reveal his love for South Africa left-handed batsman Quinton de Kock, saying, “Quinton de Kock is my current favourite player.” “I just love the free spirit that he plays with. Left-handers always look stylish and better than right-handers,” he further joked, but without compromising on the real praises. One of the biggest six hitters in the modern era with a prolific bat flow, for Buttler no ground is big enough. Asked about which is the toughest ground to hit a six at, the Englishman chose the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur as his answer. “It is actually our home ground. It is one of the bigger grounds we play in the IPL. So we need to bring in the boundaries when we get back to playing at home,” he said. Buttler is also excited about seeing Indian all-rounder Shivam Dube as one of the newest entrants in the Royal camp.

SA v PAK: Left with too much to do, Fakhar Zaman plays innings of lifetime in lost cause

For the generation that couldn’t see Saeed Anwar bat, or were not lucky enough to see the best of Inzamam either and have been devoid of classy and brazenly attacking batting from Pakistan, this South Africa series is turning out to be a must-watch. First, it was Babar Azam with all his elegance and class and today Fakhar Zman decided to put on a show with his stellar batting performance at the Wanderers. It was the left hander’s best-ever innings in an ODI match or most probably in his life where he single-handedly took Men in Green to bang on doors of victory from an impossible situation. But before he could have the last banging, the gas went out of the propeller, the legs tired out, the brain gave up and it required a brilliant direct hit from a certain Aiden Markram stationed at long-off to get the zinger bells rolling at the striker’s end. Just seven short of what could have been the first double hundred in chase in ODIs, Zaman got run out. Pakistani hopes died out, but that did not let all the 12 players on the field give the 13th one a warm send-off, well maybe as warm as there could ever have been. Till the time he reached the dressing rooms the record holder for the highest individual score by a batsman in the second innings of an ODI game was cheered on, applauded and congratulated for the amazing effort in which he hit 18 fours and 10 sixes. Zaman was the only lighting in a dull Pakistani scorecard where only one other batter apart from the 30-year-old Pakistan Navy man could get past the 20 run mark and that was the skipper Babar Azam (31). Chasing a huge total of 343, Shaheens couldn’t get the start that they required. Lungi Ngidi removed Imam-Ul-Haq for just five. Babar and Zaman then put together 63 runs for the second wicket. But Anrich Nortje, the fiery fast bowler made a devastating impact removing two of Pakistan’s biggest hopes in Babar and Mohammad Rizwan in the same over. It took just 50 runs for the Pak side to lose four wickets. Zaman then tried to small partnerships, first with Asif Ali and then with Faheem Ashraf to get to 205 for seven. However, it was only after the fall of the seventh wicket that Zaman started shedding off the cautious approach and chasing the target, throwing the kitchen sink after it. In the next 43 balls, he scored 63 runs to take Pakistan to 273 in the 45th over. After losing Shaheen Afridi, Zaman made sure that he played almost all balls and out of the next 26 balls, he faced 21 of them and scored 34 runs. With 39 required off the last two, the match was still in some control of Zaman. But with a tight 49th over by Andile Phehlukwayo, in which he gave away just seven runs, it became almost impossible for a tired Zaman to pull of 32 off the last over. With three lusty blows from Mohammad Hasnain though, Pakistan ended their innings, only 17 runs behind the total set up by Temba Bavuma’s men. Earlier in the day, after being invited by Babar Azam to bat first once again, the South African team with the help of brilliant knocks from skipper Bavuma, senior pros Quinton de Kock (80 off 86), David Miller (50* off 27) and last match top scorer Rassie Van der Dussen’s (60 off 37) reached to 341-6. Bavuma missed his first hundred as skipper by only eight runs and top-scored in the innings. The last and deciding game of the series will take place at the Supersport Park, Centurion on April 7. Pakistan will have ample time to seize the opportunity and win only their second-ever bilateral ODI series against South Africa as the mainstays of the Proteas lineup including de Kock, Miller, Ngidi, Nortje and Rabada leaving for India to play for their respective IPL teams.