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PSL: Munro and Khawaja destroy Quetta
Islamabad United chased down the meagre 134-run target against Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Quetta Gladiators without losing any wicket.
Shabad Khan’s troops were relentless in the contest that wasn’t expected to be such a one-sided one.
United chased down the target within 10 overs as if they mistook the clash for a T10 League game.
The Munro-Khawaja onslaught
Colin Munro is known to be a T20 expert but even he has never been able to blast off in such a way that he did tonight at the Dubai track.
The New Zealand star went berserk from the beginning.
His fiery half-century propelled the United to the 100-run mark in only the seventh over, something you don’t often get to see even in T20 cricket.
An unbeaten 90 off only 36 balls was too hot to handle for Quetta.
Munro struck 12 fours and six huge sixes to take the game away from the Gladiators within the powerplay.
All Usman Khawaja had to do from the other end was tap the ball for singles.
Nevertheless, the Australian star also got 40 runs for himself to get going in his maiden PSL stint.
Muhammad Wasim – one for the future
The PSL is not an unknown territory for local bowlers to make their mark.
After Shahnawaz Dhani, Muhammad Wasim seems to be the one who can make it big on the international stage for Pakistan.
Wasim has been consistent with his line, doesn’t allow the batsman to smack him for consecutive boundaries and looks like the finished article.
His pacey deliveries are not everyone’s piece of cake, just ask Quetta’s Faf du Plessis maybe.
The former South African captain was sent back to the hut by Wasim for just 5 who sent his stumps flying away.
Wasim ended his quota with two wickets and conceding just 22 runs.
Another bowling prodigy to keep an eye on is Wasim’s United colleague Akif Javed.
The 20-year-old Kohat-born lad was highly impressive tonight and picked a wicket and gave away 18 runs in 4 overs.
Quetta still clueless
From Faf du Plessis to Azam Khan, none of the Quetta batsmen seemed to have settled in the first innings.
One can argue that the United pace cartel was on fire, but the Gladiators never looked like fighting back.
Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has been Quetta’s top performer with the bat this season, could not get going either.
Newcomer Jake Weatherald looked for his gritty 43 off 35, but Akif Javed was quick to get the better of him.
Andre Russell looked in good shape after striking two clean sixes off right-arm pacer Musa Khan, but a concussion owing to a nasty Musa bouncer forced him to go out.
This has been Quetta’s misery all season long. They have not learnt from their mistakes and let the opposition take the game away from them early in the innings.
Nonetheless, United have now dethroned Karachi Kings from the second spot, notching another two points to propel the total tally to eight.
After six games played, Shadab Khan’s unit is just two points less of the first-placed Lahore Qalandars.
Islamabad United 137 for no loss (Munro 90*, Khawaja 41*) beat Quetta Gladiators 133 all out (Weatherald 43, Wasim 2-12) by ten wickets.
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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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