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IPL: Delhi defeat Rajasthan to continue IPL domination
Delhi Capitals don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Despite an unimpressive performance in the first inning, DC managed to beat Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs.
The 155-run target seemed mediocre for the Rajasthan side, until the Delhi pace cartel began pulling their tricks out of the bag.
Rajasthan were restricted to only 121/6 with their openers returning early to the hut.
Middle-order rescues Delhi
It all came down to the middle-order batters’ contribution today for both sides.
Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan have been brilliant throughout the campaign as they bring an ice-fire combination to the table.
However, their early departure today meant that it was up to the middle order to deliver the goods.
Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh pant steadied the ship then.
When Pant departed for 24, Iyer kept the scoreboard ticking and played according to the pitch condition.
“Rishabh and I have been playing together for the last five years. It is good fun because he takes on bowlers as soon as he comes on,” Iyer said in the post-game interview.
As for Rajasthan, none of their middle-order batters rose to the occasion apart from the skipper.
Samson’s efforts in vain
Sanju Samson struck a brilliant half-century only to see his team slump to another defeat this campaign.
Leading the team for the first time in the IPL, his performance has been sublime so far.
However, lack of firepower and partnerships have consistently hurt them.
He stood head and shoulder above others, scoring 70* not out off 53 balls whereas the rest of the team scored 45 of 73.
Samson admitted that the target looked within reach, but losing partners from the other end never helped the cause.
“I thought the total was gettable but we lost too many wickets and weren’t able to get any momentum in our chase,” the RR captain explained.
“We might consider changes for the next game, but it is too early now. We have to remove all emotion before that.”
Nortje leads from the front
Get aside Kagiso Rabada and Avesh Khan, Delhi Capitals have a new pace spearhead!
Anrich Nortje has been bowling exceptionally well ever since he joined the DC camp in the UAE leg.
His pacy spells have been bamboozling the batters of every team.
Against Rajasthan Royals, he dismissed in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal early to mount pressure on Samson and co.
His 2/16 in the quota kept the RR batsmen on backfoot throughout the game.
Rabada and Avesh kept their lines inch-perfect as well. The pace cartel had already weaved a plan on how would they topple Royals early.
“It was quite slow, but Shreyas said it was difficult to hit straight. So we were trying to get them to hit straight. All the bowlers did a great job. We try and share ideas as much as we can, and then you make the most of it,” Nortje revealed after the game
One of Nortje’s go-to weapons in his fiery spells is yorker.
He has been using yorkers right in the blockholes, not allowing the batters to hit him at will.
“[On yorkers] Depends on who is batting, but it’s great when it works,” the right-arm speedster continued.
“We work quite hard on fitness. I don’t know when the season’s stopping, so you have to stay fit.”
Delhi Capitals 154 for 6 (Iyer 43, Hetmyer 28, Mustafizur 2-22) beat Rajasthan Royals 121 for 6 (Samson 70*, Nortje 2-18, Ashwin 1-20) by 33 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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