Twitter criticises Indian management for not playing Kuldeep Yadav in first Test

IPL 2021 | List of most expensive players in the tournament

The IPL 2021 mini auction is set to take place on February 18. The cash-rich league brings an opportunity for the players to showcase their talent and also fetch some good amount of money during the course. Here we take a look at the most expensive purchases from all the seasons. 2008- MS Dhoni (CSK) Chennai Super Kings and former India captain MS Dhoni was the most expensive buy of the inaugural season. Where several cities had their marquee players announced as captains, Chennai decided to invest the Indian T20 captain at the time. Dhoni received a hefty amount of Rs 9.5 crore. CSK had a decent tournament as they reached the final but lost to Rajasthan Royals in the summit clash. Dhoni has been leading CSK since the first season. The Chennai franchise has lifted the IPL trophy thrice so far. 2009- Kevin Pietersen (RCB), Andrew Flintoff (CSK) Former England cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were the most expensive picks in 2009 edition of the IPL. Both the players were picked for Rs 9.8 crore by the respective franchises. While Pietersen went to RCB, Flintoff became a part of the CSK side. RCB reached the final in that edition but lost to Deccan Chargers. Flintoff only played three matches and scored 62 runs and picked up two wickets. Pietersen scored 93 runs in 6 matches for RCB. 2010- Kieron Pollard (MI) West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard was snapped by Mumbai Indians franchise in 2010 season for Rs 3.5 crore. Pollard has been an integral part of the franchise since then. MI is the most successful side in the IPL so far winning the title five times. 2011- Gautam Gambhir (KKR) Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was bought by KKR in the 2011 edition for an amount of Rs 11.04 crore. Gambhir later KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014. 2012- Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) Known for his all-round abilities, Ravindra Jadeja was bought for Rs 12 crore by CSK in 2012 season. He turned out to be one of the most important players for CSK in the coming editions, forming a core with Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo. 2013- Glenn Maxwell (MI) Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been a part of the IPL for quite some time now. He has played for teams like Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. In 2013 edition, MI bought Maxwell for Rs 5.3 crore. 2014- Yuvraj Singh (RCB) Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh has etched his name in the record books after unfolding some fine knocks during his career. Whether it was his innings against England in the World T20 in 2007 where he smacked Stuart Broad for six sixes in one over or his 30-ball 70 against Australia in the semis of the same tournament. Coming back to IPL, Yuvraj has been a part of a number of franchises beginning his career with KXIP. He has donned the jersey of DD, MI, SRH, Pune Warriors India too. In 2014, RCB bought Yuvraj for an amount of Rs 14 crore. 2015- Yuvraj Singh (DD) In the next edition, Yuvraj Singh once again emerged as the costliest player taking away Rs 16 crore after he was bought by Delhi Daredevils. 2016- Shane Watson (RCB) Former Australia all-rounder fetched an amount of Rs 9.5 crore after he was bought by RCB in 2016. RCB finished as the runners-up in this season after losing to SRH in the final. 2017- Ben Stokes (RPS) Rising Pune Supergiant was one of the two teams apart from Gujarat Lions who came in the IPL for two years. RPS that had players like MS Dhoni, Steve Smith went for Ben Stokes in the auctions and paid Rs 14.5 crore in 2017 edition. 2018- Ben Stokes (RR) The England all-rounder Ben Stokes was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.5 crore in 2018 season. 2019- Jaydev Unadkat (RR), Varun Chakravarthy (KXIP), Rs 8.4 crore Left-arm fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat was bought by RR for rs 8.4 crore while Varun Chakravarthy was bought for the same amount by KXIP. 2020- Pat Cummins (KKR) Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins was bought by KKR for a hefty amount of Rs 15.5 crore becoming the costliest overseas player in the IPL. Being hosted at the UAE flat decks, Cummins performance divided opinions in the 2020 season. While many criticised Cummins for not delivering on the price tag, others defended Cummins stating that the top ranked Test bowler was plain unlucky.

Clash of the Titans: Scorchers face Sixers as the final hurdle in their dream run

The Perth Scorchers have literally had a dream run-up to the final, as they, after not being able to win even a single of their first four games, went on to win eight out of their next nine to cement their place in the BBL Finals. The only team that they were not being able to win in their nine-game run was the Sixers only and again they lost to the Sixers in the Qualifier as well. However, they fought back and won the Challenger against an in-form Heat comprehensively to put the pressure back on the Sixers as it is the Sixers who are favourites, playing at their home ground, the SCG. The Sydney team have had a good time of their winning nine out of their 14 league games and topping the league table before beating Scorchers in the Qualifier. Thus, the final is going to be a real clash of the titans in all sense. Dynamic Perth batting, a cause of concern for Sixers The one thing that Perth did for their revival in the tournament was the spike in their bowling form. Jhye Richardson was in particular the leader of the pack and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he bowled Perth back into the tournament. Similarly, there was also a slow revival in the batting fortunes of the Scorchers with the veterans, Colin Munro and Josh Inglis leading the charge. So far Munro has scored 441 runs while 391 runs have been scored by Inglis and it is the solid background and backup that these guys have that has given the freedom to the likes of Liam Livingstone, Mitchell Marsh, and Jason Roy to go for the kill right from the word go. Perth would like the two to continue being reliable. And at the same time, the team would also want their three quicks in Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, and Andrew Tye to go on as they have been doing in the tournament so far. If all these things fall in place, Perth is surely in with a good chance. Josh Philippe and Ben Dwarshuis: Two men who matter the most for Sixers In this entire campaign, the two players that have performed consistently for the Sixers are Josh Philippe with the bat and Ben Dwarshuis with the ball. The two have been able to guide the Sixers ship towards the shore more often than not. While Philippe has 499 runs from 15 innings, Dwarshuis has 21 wickets in this year’s BBL so far. Philippe is going to be the anchor while Sixers bat and then the likes of Dan Christin, James Vince, and Moises Henriques can then free their arms to get the desired results while batting. Similarly, with Steve O’Keefe, Carlos Brathwaite, and Jackson Bird in the ranks, Dwarshuis’ role is going to be that of the key wicket-taker, and if he fulfills that the rest of the players can contribute as well. Sixers vs Scorchers: Match Details Match: Final Date and Time: 06th Feb, 02:10 pm IST, 07:40 pm Local, 08:40 am GMT Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony SIX and Sony LIV Pitch Report This is going to be the first game at the SCG in this year’s BBL. The only match played at the SCG was the Test between Australia and India which ended in a draw. Usually a bit on the slower side, the SCG would hopefully have a bit more spike in the wicket to offer some assistance to pacers and make sure that the ball comes on to the bat real nice. As previous encounters are concerned any total between 160-185 is going to be challenging on this wicket. Weather and Bat Flip The rain has been predicted in the evening of the 06th in Sydney. With 94% cloud cover and rain in the offing, any skipper winning the bat flip would look to bowl first keeping Duckworth-Lewis in mind. Although a reserve day has been announced by CA if the match gets washed away on Saturday, even after that the choice to bowl first is an obvious one. Sixers Strongest XI Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Jordan Silk, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Steve OKeefe, Jackson Bird Scorchers Strongest XI Liam Livingstone, Cameron Bancroft, Colin Munro, Josh Inglis (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Turner (c), Aaron Hardie, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff, Fawad Ahmed

The dream and goal is to play for Australia: Josh Philippe

Sydney Sixers Josh Philippe who was crowned BBL 10 Player of the tournament has said that he wants to establish himself as a red-ball cricketer. "It looks like I'll miss the next half of the Shield season," Philippe told reporters. "This season there's not much I can do about it. I just hope next season there is an opportunity there for me, fingers crossed.” "The dream as a kid has always been to get a Baggy Green. I definitely want to try and establish myself at first-class level." The dream and goal is to play for Australia, so whatever that role looks like I'll be ready," Philippe said. "I feel like I'm hitting the ball better than ever ... some of the technical stuff, I've really tried to iron out the creases during the pre-season. "I've definitely tried to overthink less and just back my ability this season." Talking about upcoming IPL and the COVID-19 restrictions, Philippe suggested that he was “pretty happy” the way things went in the last season. "With COVID and what happens, we never seem to find anything out until the last minute," Philippe said. "Going over last year and seeing how it was run and all the COVID protocols I was very happy and felt very safe.” "I've got no doubt, wherever it is held, that it will be the same."

Started from the bottom now we're here: Scorchers roll over Heat to reach BBL finals

"Started from the bottom now we're here", this has exactly been the story of the Perth Scorcher, who won eight out of their last nine league games to make it to the BBL Finals. Today also they put in an exemplary performance with both bat and ball, defeating Brisbane Heat by a huge margin of 49 runs in a rain-curtailed affair at the Manuka Oval. Liam Livingstone was the hero with the bat for the Scorchers while Jason Behrendorff gave early jolts to the Heat. With this win, the Scorchers go to the SCG in Sydney where they will face the Sixers who defeated them in the Qualifiers early on at the manuka oval. Chasing a huge target of 200 in just 18 overs, as the target was changed because of the Duckworth-Lewis scenario, the Scorchers couldn’t get the desired result as skipper Chris Lynn got out early, without putting an impactful performance as was expected from him. Eventually, the entire team came falling as the pressure of scoring at such a high rate from the very first ball got big on them. Joe Burns tried his best to keep a fight going, but it was too much to ask of him as soon as heroes from the previous games like Jimmy Peirson and Marnus Labuschagne got out under the pressure. Burns’ 38 of 24 being the highest score of the heta while chasing 200 tells us a sorry tale of the chase. Behrendorff took two early wickets and the was helped by the likes of Aaron Hardie and Andrew Tye in cleaning up the tail as they both took three and two wickets respectively. Earlier in the day, Heat won the toss and put Scorchers to bat first. The Scorchers made the most of that opportunity as they built a great opening partnership of 114 runs with Livingstone hitting 77 off just 39 balls to destroy the Heat bowling attack, which has been the USP of the Lynn led side in the finals. Neither of the spinners in Mitchell Swepson and Labushagne could get going, rather Labuschagne was taken for the cleaners as he conceded 36 in his two overs. Mitchell Marsh followed in Livingstone’s footsteps as he too scored a quickfire 49* off just 28 balls to get Perth to 189-1 in 18.1 overs. Cameron Bancroft, Livingstone’s opening partner played the anchor role scoring 58*, while the former was awarded the Man of the Match for this performance of his brilliant performance. Speaking on his performance, Livingstone said, “I have been working hard but haven't had the best of the tournament, so nice to get some runs under the belt and now looking forward to the final.” Not being able to play their Challengers at home, Livingstone said that the team would look to win the Trophy and bring it home for the fans who missed the game due to covid-19 restrictions. “There will be a bit of spice (against the Sixers) especially after what happened in the Qualifier. It will be good to play in front of a full crowd again. Hopefully, we can bring it home on Saturday,” he said.