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IPL: RCB beat Rajasthan, inch closer to playoff
Royal Challengers Bangalore made full use of the batting paradise at the Dubai International Stadium against Rajasthan Royals to win the game by seven wickets on Wednesday night.
After stopping the Royals at 149, RCB reached the target with 17 balls to spare.
Virat Kohli’s men now maintain their third spot with 14 points, separating them from third-placed KKR with 10 points.
RR slumped to the seventh spot with eight points.
Lewis makes it big
Did Evin Lewis come to the Royals’ huddle too late?
The Caribbean juggernaut struck a fiery fifty as he opened for Rajasthan only the second time in the tournament.
Replacing Liam Livingston as the opener, Lewis put up a 77-run stand for the first wicket with Yashasvi Jaisal.
His 58 off 37 put the Royals on track to a big total, but fate had other plans.
RCB spinners deliver the goods
Shahbaz Ahmed and Yuzvendra Chahal changed the momentum of the game in the middle overs to put RCB into the driver’s seat.
Shahbaz’s 2/10 in two overs stunted the pace at which Royals were cruising.
Chahal finished his quota at 2/18 to remind everyone how significant his contribution is in the middle overs.
Maxwell hits another fifty
Glenn Maxwell (50*) capitalized on a great start that Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli provided in the powerplay.
His extended partnership with Srikara Bharat (44) meant that the RR were out of the contest before the game moves into final overs.
It was down to AB de Villiers to finish the game with a four.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 153 for 3 (Maxwell 50*, Bharat 44, Mustafizur 2-20) beat Rajasthan Royals 149 for 9 (Lewis 58, Jaiswal 31, Harshal 3-34, Shahbaz 2-10, Chahal 2-18) by seven wickets.
Match preview – SRH vs CSK
Chennai Super Kings will have the easiest task in their Indian Premier League campaign on Thursday when they take on low-spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Expected Man of the Match
Faf du Plessis
With an average of 49, Faf du Plessis is showing that he ages like a fine wine.
The former South African skipper is in the form of his life in IPL 2021, putting up hefty partnerships with his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Their opening stands have been instrumental throughout the season, providing the middle-order batters to build on the foundation they build in every game.
Du Plessis has been consistently utilizing powerplay overs, playing seamers all over the park.
With 394 runs in 10 games already, he will be a potent weapon for the CSK for the Thursday game.
Match prediction
Chennai Super Kings have two things on their side: the best net run rate (+1.069) and most number of points (16).
This has helped them dominate the points table in both legs of the campaign.
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni is yet to get in his usual groove, the World Cup winner has made phenomenal strategic decisions to maintain CSK’s dominance over other teams after a disappointing last season.
Hyderabad have, however, faced victories rarely.
With an ever-changing team, they haven’t yet found the momentum that is needed to thrash CSK in a big game.
Hence, the Super Kings should ease past the Sunrisers.
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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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