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Hooda’s express innings derails RR
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson left the Punjab Kings think tank clueless with a blistering century, but just couldn’t clear the ropes on the last ball, leading to RR losing the opening game of the IPL 2021.
Royals were four runs short of what could have been one of the greatest chases in the IPL history, orchestrated by Samson at the top order.
Rajasthan were chasing a mammoth 222-run target against KL Rahul-led Punjab.
With five needed of the last ball and Samson on strike, fast-bowler Arshdeep Singh delivered the goods at a time when other bowlers were getting smacked for boundaries.
The pacer got the Royals skipper caught on the deep cover boundary and won the nail-biting contest for his captain who trusted him for the final over when Samson was in hulk-mode.
Samson scored 119 (63) that included seven gigantic sixes and 12 fours.
The Royals skipper got little to no support from the other hand. Jos Buttler and Riyan Parag scored 25 each in a jiffy but then returned to the pavilion.
As for the Kings’ pace cartel, Mohammad Shami and Arshdeep Singh stood head and shoulders above others.
While Shami sent back Ben Stokes for a duck in the first over, Singh kept Samson and co on the edge.
The Meredith-Richardson disappointment
Despite winning the contest, Punjab Kings have a snag to work with.
Rahul has to figure out how to settle in two 24-year-old Australian pacers – Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith. Both bowlers were creamed all over the park tonight as they ended up conceding a staggering 104 runs altogether.
They have the pace, length, and talent to deliver on the big stage, but none of that was visible tonight.
They kept bowling in the slot and Samson made the most of it.
The Punjab management has to get them into the rhythm as soon as they could so they can emulate their Big Bash League performances in the IPL as well.
Should the Royals reconsider the opening pair?
After days of speculation about who would be the two batsmen that will open for Rajasthan Royals, we got out answers on Monday.
The lefty-righty combo of Ben Stokes and Manan Vohra looked pleasing to the eye, but both failed to turn up on the night when the Royals needed a good start to the innings.
How the Kings almost dropped the match
Sanju Samson survived two catch scares and he almost made the Kings pay for it.
Rahul dropped a sitter while Mayank Agarwal let go of a simple catch as well.
One mistake that was happening quite often during Kings’ fielding was how none of their fielders were calling to claim the catch.
Rahul almost hurt himself as he collided with Shami to dismiss Stokes and Agarwal did the same with Shahrukh Khan. Even Jonty Rhodes was amazed by his side’s bizarre fielding display!
The Deepak Hooda show
After Rahul scored a brilliant 91 at the top, it was Deepak Hooda whose late blitz propelled the side to a big total.
The all-rounder smacked 64 runs off only 28 balls.
Coming into bat ahead of Nicholas Pooran, Hooda proved his worth as a power-hitter. He struck six big sixes and maintained a strike rate of almost 229 until Chris Morris claimed his scalp.
Rajasthan Royals 217 for 7 (Sanju Samson 119, Arshdeep Singh 3-35, Mohammad Shami 2-33) lost to Punjab Kings 221 for 6 (KL Rahul 91, Deepak Hooda 64, Chetan Sakariya 3-31) by four runs.
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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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