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Chennai Super Kings – Profile
Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings are set to begin their IPL campaign this year against Delhi Capitals on April 10.
The three-time IPL champs will look to overcome their bad run last season in Dubai with a slightly changed squad.
With the highest win percentage in the leage (59.83%), the CSK are a strong contender to win the title this year.
CSK complete squad
MS Dhoni (Captain), Suresh Raina, Narayan Jagadeesabn, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, M.Harisankar Reddy, K.Bhagath Varma, Hari Nishaanth and Sai Kishore.
Players to watch out for:
Moeen Ali
England have secured Moeen Ali’s series in white-ball cricket for some time now for quite obvious reasons.
Not many players can bowl spin with a tight economy and play decent cameos with the bat as well.
This is what makes Ali’s inclusion a great bonus for the Chennai team.
He’s your go-to all-rounder in the shorter formats of cricket and he has proved that in the international arena on multiple occasions.
Sam Curran
Being an apprentice to CSK captain MS Dhoni has been fruitful for Sam Curran in the short time he has rubbed shoulders with the Indian cricket legend.
The 22-year-old Englishman enjoys being CSK’s pace spearhead as well as their reliable power-hitting batsman in the death overs.
Curran’s 95 not out in the losing cause against India in the recent ODI series-decider was a glimpse of his talent with the bat.
He has the X-Factor that could lead Dhoni’s troops to their fourth title win.
Shardul Thakur
Right-arm fast bowler Shardul Thakur will enter this year’s IPL on the back of great performances with the Indian team.
His off-cutters and pacey short balls are fruitful in T20 cricket and the Chennai management will be eager to start him the new ball this season.
Under Dhoni’s mentorship, the 29-year-old has developed himself as a reliable bowler in no time.
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad is a star in the making, whose batting temperament has been likened to India captain Virat Kohli.
The batting prodigy is likely to open with South Africa veteran Faf du Plessis in this IPL.
His ability to keep the scoreboard ticking and avoiding dot balls helps the opposition to exert pressure.
The 24-year-old will hope to continue where he left off last IPL, anchoring CSK to three consecutive wins with gritty fifties in the last three games.
MS Dhoni
The CSK skipper needs no introduction.
With 204 IPL games and 4,632 runs under his belt, Dhoni had stamped his authority in the league right from its inception.
The 39-year-old will have to look past his worst season that he had last year, scoring only 200 runs at an average of 25.
The world knows of the talent of the former Indian skipper and how often he can send the ball to the stands.
Cheteshwar Pujara
After a seven-year hiatus, Test cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara is elated to return to the IPL.
This year, fans should brace for a new version of Pujara that will be slamming the ball all over the park, something he is not famous for.
The right-handed batsman has been practicing power-hitting for a while in the pre-IPL nets sessions.
He was seen bringing a slight change in his technique by increasing his back-lift and making his downswing of the bat quicker than before.
This helps batters cream the ball harder and longer than the low back-lift.
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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024
RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.
It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain
Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.
It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.
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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window
Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.
It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.
Watch the viral video here –
ELLYSE PERRY HAS BROKE THE GLASS OF THE CAR…!!! 🤯
– The reaction of Perry was priceless!! pic.twitter.com/zaxiQLLN1r
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 4, 2024
Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.
RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief
As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.
On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.
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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy
Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.
Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.
The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).
‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar
“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.
Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.
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