Virat Kohli becomes first player to reach 6000 IPL runs

Natarajan to miss remainder of IPL 2021 with knee injury, set to undergo surgery

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s ace pacer T Natarajan is set to miss the entire extent of the remaining IPL 2021 due to an aggravated knee injury that he had picked up in SRH’s match against Mumbai Indians. The pacer is to be monitored by National Cricket Academy Bangalore’s physio once he is released from the bubble. "We have not got the full report but we have been told that he has developed a strain in the knee. He will have to undergo rehab in the NCA," a BCCI and NCA source close to the development was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz. Earlier David Warner, the skipper of the SRH had raised concerns about the 30-year-old left-arm seamer’s injury saying that if he goes out of the bubble, it would become difficult to accommodate him later on. "He has obviously got a sore knee. Given the circumstance in these bubbles, if he goes and gets a scan, he obviously has to sit out for seven days. He has to get back in quarantine,” Warner had said during the team’s game against Punjab on Wednesday. “We are just monitoring him at the moment. The physios are doing their best to analyse from a face point of view but he obviously has to go out and get a scan at some point," the Australian had added. It would become clear in due course of time whether some replacement is granted for Natarajan or not. In the three games that he played so far, the Tamil Nadu born had failed to replicate the impact he had in the 2020 edition of the league.

IPL 2021 | PBKS vs MI: With backs to the wall, only way ahead for KL Rahul men’s is forward

The Punjab Kings have had a forgettable outing in the Indian Premier League so far, losing their last three games, since their victory in the opening game, a minute one against Rajasthan Royals. With their backs against the wall, Punjab Kings face Mumbai Indians, the most successful team in the IPL history, but for the Kings, a team that led to their ultimate comeback in the last season of the cash-rich tournament. It was against a Mumbai Indians side only where the Punjab Kings defeated them in the second super over eliminator. From there on, the Kings went on to win five consecutive matches, eventually losing to Chennai and getting knocked out of the playoffs race. With a Mumbai, that’s struggling with their batting order, it is going to be a matter of holding their own for the Punjab Kings and eking out a victory to get the momentum back. Punjab need to utilise its resources well After the mini-auction, everybody said that this Punjab team had all its flanks covered. With fast bowlers assembled in the form of Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson and getting Dawid Malan to go all out at the top, it was a team that looked fearsome at the outset. However, the resources of the team have not been managed well. Playing Chris Gayle in the four matches alongside Nicholas Pooran has yielded no results what so ever for the team. Now is the time for Anil Kumble and the management to make a decision and play their horses for courses. The likes of Malan, Meredith and Chris Jordan need to be backed and placed into the playing XI. If Moises Henriques has been backed as an all-round option then he at least needs to be given 2-3 games to prove himself. Ravi Bishnoi is another prospect that hasn’t been utilised well and if he can’t play in Chennai, then may God help Punjab. The fact that Shahrukh has always been left to bat with the tail is another problematic issue. It is with pertaining issues like these that Punjab would enter the arena at Chepauk once again. Will they able to resolve them or will they get entangled in it all over again, will be told by time only. Mumbai's middle-order mayhem The Mumbai Indians have had one of the most feared middle orders in IPL history. Over the last few years, the likes of Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers alongside Ishan Kishan or players late down the order have scored runs aplenty. But this season, the story is a bit different. In the four games so far, Hardik hasn’t been able to cross the 20-run margin. In fact, he has scored a combined total of just 35 runs in those four innings at a dismal average of below nine. What has made matters worse is the fact that he has always got out at the wrong time. Pollard, apart from his one knock in which he hit two sixes in the last two balls to get the Mumbai score past 150, hasn’t really achieved much either. He has scored just 49 runs in four innings with an average of about 17. And if Krunal’s tally of 26 runs is anything to go by, then the situation isn’t really bright. Mumbai’s top fast bowler, Trent Boult going on to ask the middle order to put runs on the board is as alarming a sound as it can get. Thus it is going to be the right time for the Blue and Gold to get their middle order in shape before it gets too late to wake up from slumber. Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians; Match Details Match Number-17 Date and Time: April 23, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Broadcast and Live Stream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report Chennai has so far produced wickets that are low scoring, apart from the one high scoring game involving KKR and RCB. thus expecting another low scoring turner with dual bounce would be a no brainer for anybody. The pitches have generally had help for spinners and if pacers are able to manipulate the ball with cross-seam well, the square is conducive enough to reel results. Weather and Toss Chepauk in the last game had so much dew that even local lad Ravichandran Ashwin was surprised by the amount. He reasoned that it was due to heavy grass that so much dew had accumulated. But with clouds passing by the ground, dew is going to be a phenomenon that captains must keep in mind. If dew increases with passing time, captains would most likely ball first after winning the toss. Team News Punjab Kings Going by the looks of it, Punjab Kings would most likely make changes and they should be the positive ones. Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran must make way for Dawid Malan and Riley Meredith. Similarly, either one between Arshdeep and Mohammed Shami should be dropped to get in Ravi Bishnoi. Since both Fabian Allen and Henriques could bat, they can be given an extended run. Strongest XI KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Arshdeep Singh Mumbai Indians Changing the XI might not be the right way to go forward for Mumbai, but dropping de Kock for Chris Lynn might not be a bad idea. Krunal Pandya could be benched to try out someone like Anukul Roy as well. Roy hasn’t got a shot but has performed exceedingly well for Jharkhand with both bat and ball and his fielding credentials are as good as anybody in the Mumbai lineup. Strongest XI Quinton de Kock (wk)/ Chris Lynn, Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya/Anukul Roy, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult Dream XI Predictions / Fantasy XI Suggestions Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar (vc)

Workload management not allowing emergence of all-rounders like Kapil Dev, feels VVS Laxman

Former Indian legend VVS Laxman feels that too much workload on players is not allowing the country to witness another Kapil Dev. Unlike the World-Cup winning skipper, most of the other all-rounders in the recent past have not managed their workload properly which has resulted in either injury or concentrating on either batting or bowling. Constant comparisons between Kapil Dev and Hardik Pandya became a regular feature in any discussion but Laxman feels that the amount of workload doesn’t allow the players of the modern generation to follow the footsteps of Kapil Dev. Speaking at a Youtube book-launch session at the “Tata Literature Live Sports Yatras”, Laxman said, "It's a very difficult role being an all-rounder. Kapil paaji was someone who could take wickets and score runs. He was the ultimate match-winner for India. But with the amount of workload nowadays, it's very, very difficult." Laxman didn’t take anyone’s name but he might have indirectly indicated Hardik Pandya when he said that there are glimpses of Kapil Dev in certain players. "There were some glimpses from some players, because they were focusing a lot on both the skills, ultimately with the amount of workload and matches the Indian team plays in three formats, it's very difficult to manage,” Laxman said. That player who has the ability to become a genuine all-rounder unfortunately gets injured and he has to compromise or he has to take a decision on either batting or bowling," added the stylish batsman from Hyderabad. Hardik Pandya is coming off a big break following a back surgery. He didn’t bowl for the Mumbai Indians for the whole of the IPL last season. Hardik bowled five overs in total during the ODI series in Australia. He got enough time to rest during the Test series Down Under and the one against England at home. He bowled in all matches of the T20I series against England but didn’t bowl in the first two matches of the ODI series. So far, Hardik hasn’t bowled for the Mumbai Indians in this edition and it will be interesting to see whether he gets the ball in some part of the tournament or not. Meanwhile, Laxman said that it was “not right to compare any sort of all-rounder with the legendary Kapil”. "I just feel that there can be only one Kapil. It (comparison) will put undue pressure on the player. There can be only one MS Dhoni, or one Sunil Gavaskar," he added. Meanwhile, he also backed Rishabh Pant to be India’s first-choice wicket-keeper batsman for the T20 World Cup slated to be held in October-November. "India is spoilt for choices. The way Sanju Samson has batted, kept and led Rajasthan Royals (in ongoing IPL), even though he did not have too much of experience (in captaining) a side," he said. Then there's Ishan Kishan. KL Rahul has done well whenever he got the gloves, and batted either top of the order or in the middle. But somehow I just feel Rishabh Pant is the player whom you should pick for the wicketkeeper-batsman slot. I will definitely go for Pant," Laxman added. "Not only that he's really improved and impressed everyone with his keeping abilities, but as a left-handed batsman, he's someone who can take away the game from any opposition in any situation in the middle overs," Laxman signed off.

IPL 2021: Kiran More set to join MI bio-bubble having recovered fully from COVID-19

Former India wicket-keeper and currently a Mumbai Indians’ talent scout, Kiran More has fully recovered from COVID-19 and is expected to join his team’s bio-bubble pretty soon. The news was announced by the official Twitter handle of the Mumbai Indians and it will be interesting to see when More returns to the bubble. Meanwhile, it must be noted that More is not only the talent scout but also a wicket-keeping consultant for the five-time champions. More who is a former chief selector had tested positive for the deadly virus back on April 6. "Kiran More has recovered from COVID-19 and has completed medically supervised isolation. More has tested negative in three RT-PCR tests. #Mumbai Indians #MI #OneFamily," Mumbai Indians tweeted. "Our medical team in consultation with BCCI have determined Kiran More fit to rejoin the MI bio-bubble in adherence with BCCI guidelines," the franchise said in another tweet. The second wave of the COVID-19 has forced the organisers to hold the 14th edition of the tournament behind closed doors. The tournament was taken to UAE last year and was also held behind closed doors. The teams are in a bio-bubble are not allowed to go anywhere barring the hotel rooms and ground. Mumbai Indians are currently based in Chennai where they have played all their four games so far. While they have won a couple, the defending champions have lost against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Capitals.