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IPL: PBKS climb up the table, thrash KKR
Punjab Kings have secured the fifth spot in the points table following a clinical performance against Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders.
PBKS reached 166 with five wickets and three balls to spare.
After KL Rahul departed in the penultimate over to Venkatesh Iyer, Shahrukh Khan kept his nerves calm to take the team over the line.
KL Rahul reclaims the Orange Cap
With another half-century, KL Rahul led the charge for the PBKS from the start.
His 67 has helped him retain the Orange Cap.
The PBKS skipper applied a different approach in this contest.
In the powerplay, he was visibly struggling to make it big, but he did not panic.
Rahul kept his composure and aimed to bat deep. Although he batted at a mediocre strike rate of 121.82, it was enough to march on to another victory.
Iyer makes his mark
Venkatesh Iyer reached his highest score in the IPL in the game.
His 67-run knock showed how he is in the groove ever since he has begun opening the KKR batting with Shubman Gill.
After Gill departed cheaply, he kept the scoreboard ticking alongside Rahul Tripathi.
Iyer’s ability to play the ball late has helped him make his impact right away.
Iyer keeps his game plan. He respects good deliveries and spanks bad balls over the boundary cushions.
Although, his half-century ended in vain, but he has proved to the KKR management that he’s their go-to guy man in crunch situations.
Watching Brendon McCullum applauding Iyer like a proud coach showed that Iyer’s future is secured in the KKR huddle.
Punjab Kings 168 for 5 (Rahul 67, Agarwal 40, Chakravarthy 2-24) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 165 for 7 (Iyer 67, Tripathi 34, Arshdeep 3-32) by five wickets
Match preview – DC vs MI
Finalists of the last year’s IPL – Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians – will lock horns in first game of the double-header fixtures on Saturday.
The Sheikh Zayed Stadium will host the showdown that starts at 3:30 pm (IST). If Delhi win tomorrow, they will join Chennai Super Kings in the playoffs.
Probable best performers
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer has performed very well since his return from the gruesome shoulder injury.
With captaincy duties off his shoulders, the top-order star has been phenomenal in the middle overs.
He has already bagged a Man of the Match award in the three games he has featured.
Keeping Iyer’s bat quiet will be an uphill task for MI’s bowling cartel on Saturday.
Avesh Khan
Avesh’s 3/13 in Delhi’s last game showed he is still in form with the ball.
He had two quiet games in the UAE, but he is back on his hustle to snatch the Blue Cap from RCB’s Harshal Patel.
Being a gun powerplay bowler has allowed him to notch big wickets consistently, adding to his confidence.
Match prediction
When both sides bumped into one another last season, Rohit Sharma and co lifted the coveted IPL trophy.
But things have changed since then. Delhi have turned up with their A-game this season, whereas the reigning champions are languishing at the sixth spot in the points table.
Delhi lost their last game to Kolkata Knight Riders, but they are ranked second at the spot table for a reason.
They have performed well consistently, clicked in every department and confided in Rishabh Pant’s ability to lead the team.
DC are certainly the favourites to win the contest against Sharma’s men.
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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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