CRICKET NEWS

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi expressed his shock over the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)'s decision to re-appoint Babar Azam as captain of the national team. On Sunday, PCB re-appointed Babar as the captain of the white-ball teams. Babar has stepped down from his role after the ODI World Cup last year. PCB had named Shan Masood as Test captain, with pacer Shaheen Afridi taking over the mantle in the shortest format. The board, however, did not name a captain for the ODI side. Rumours of Babar's return had been rampast over the past few weeks and the PCB confirmed the development on Sunday. In a post, the Pakistan Cricket Board wrote: "Babar Azam appointed as white-ball captain. Following unanimous recommendation from the PCB's selection committee, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men's cricket team." Afridi, however, wasn't too content over PCB's decision to re-appoint ...

Comeback man Rishabh Pant hit a much-awaited fifty after David Warner's well-constructed 52 to set up Delhi Capitals' convincing 20-run win over Chennai Super Kings for whom veteran MS Dhoni's vintage knock was not enough to cross the line in their IPL match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Faced with a tough 192-run target, the Super Kings tried to scale it down through Ajinkya Rahane (45), Dhoni (37 not out) and Daryl Mitchell (34) but the Capitals carried far too many guns for them on the night. CSK ended up at 171 for six. In the first session, Warner and Prithvi Shaw (43) overcame a slow start to share a 93-run opening stand before Pant's 32-ball 51 powered DC to a competitive 191 for 5. Pant, who came into the tournament after recovering from a life-threatening road mishap in December 2022, belted four boundaries and three maximums for his first fifty in 15 months. Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (2/21) set the tone for DC's defence with his twin strikes in the Pow...

Lucknow Super Giants moved up to the fifth spot in the IPL 2024 points table with their first victory in this year's competition. Quinton De Kock, Krunal Pandya and Nicholas Pooran contributed with the bat while debutant Mayank Yadav impressed with the ball as LSG comprehensively defeated Punjab Kings by 21 runs. As a result of the defeat, PBKS are currently sixth with 2 points from 3 matches. Chennai Super Kings are the leaders followed by Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. India unearthed a new fast-bowling star in Mayank Yadav (3/27) who stole the limelight with his searing pace amid the usual flurry of monstrous hits as Lucknow Super Giants humbled Punjab Kings by 21 runs in the IPL here on Saturday. Asked to bat first, floater Krunal Pandya's late blitz powered LSG to a competitive 199/8. Opener Quinton de Kock top-scored for LSG with a 38-ball 54 but it was stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran's 21-ball 42, which infused life into h...

Apart from the match, there was an on-field incident during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders game. During one of the strategic timeout in the RCB innings, Gautam Gambhir shook hands with Virat Kohli . They also hugged. For the uninitiated, Kohli and Gambhir have had a troubled past. The two stars were involved in a highly-publicised on-field spat that also involved Naveen-ul-Haq at the IPL 2024. However, when Kohli and Gambhir came face-to-face on Friday, a different scene played out at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.  Former Indian cricket team star Irfan Pathan, who has played with both of Gambhir and Kohli, commented on the incident.   "Gautam Gambhir, the senior guy, actually came forward. Sometimes you cross the line but as soon as that thing has gone past, when you meet in the future, when you meet now, you meet nicely. This is what we saw," Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports. Talking about the game, With a scintillating batting display, the K...

A ruthless fifty by Venkatesh Iyer worked as the catalyst for Kolkata Knight Riders' smooth seven-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday. Venkatesh's 50 of 30 balls (3x4, 4x6) and stunning blitzes by openers Sunil Narine (47, 22b, 2x4, 5x6) and Phil Salt (30, 20b, 2x4, 2x6) propelled the Knight Riders past the 183-run target that the RCB set for them, which was built around Virat Kohli 's skilful unbeaten 83. The KKR batters never got bogged down either by a slow pitch or RCB bowlers as they hunted down the target in just 16.5 overs. Their approach on the night was best exemplified by Venkatesh, who is trying hard to regain his relevance in white ball formats, who added 75 runs for the third wicket with skipper Shreyas Iyer (39 not out). The left-hander found his range from the word go, as pacer Alzarri Joseph suffered the brunt of his aggressive intentions. He biffed the West Indian quick for 20 runs in...

Premier India spinner R Ashwin reckons the IPL has grown so "huge" that at times cricket itself takes a backseat with players finding it hard to juggle between training and advertisement shoots. Ashwin spoke about the meteoric rise of the IPL since its inception in 2008 and how tough life on the road for a player can be over the course of the two-month long competition. "As a youngster coming into the IPL, I was only looking to learn from the big stars, I did not think about how the IPL would look 10 years down the line. I can say that, having been in the IPL for so many seasons, the IPL is huge," he said on Club Prairie Fire podcast. "Sometimes I wonder if IPL is even cricket, because sport takes a backstage (during IPL). It's so huge. We do end up practising in advertisement shoots and sets! That's where the IPL has gotten to," said Ashwin, who is an important member of the Rajasthan Royals squad. The 37-year-old, who recently completed 500 Test...

Mumbai Indians continue to miss their star batter Suryakumar Yadav , who is currently sidelined due to injury. Things have not gone well for MI in the absence of Suryakumar as they have lost their first two games in IPL 2024. Ahead of MI's second game, which was against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday, a fan pointed out how getting to face the Hardik Pandya -led side early in the tournament was good for SRH. "Important match today especially for SunRisers Hyderabad at home. Might be the best time to play Mumbai Indians this early. Players like Kishan look currently under cooked  for game time form & no Suryakumar Yadav yet , still  has ankle problem," wrote the user on X. "Little correction mate. Ankle plus I got operated for sports hernia," wrote Suryakumar. The comment has gone viral on social media. Little correction mate. Ankle plus I got operated for sports hernia — Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) March 27, ...

"Insane" was the only word that Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins could think of to sum up the six-hitting slugfest against Mumbai Indians in the IPL on Wednesday. It was a game of many firsts as SRH smashed 277 for three, the highest total in IPL history. Mumbai Indians kept themselves in the game before ending at 246 for five. For the first time, 500 runs were scored in a game, including a record 38 sixes. "That was insane. The ball was really pinging around. Not until we bowled, it got a bit too close for comfort. They found a boundary whenever they needed it, but we finished it off well," said Cummins at the post-match presentation. It was a batting beauty but Cummins did not envisage such a big total. "You never play for 270, but we wanted to be positive and be aggressive, take the game on. It was a good wicket, so we have to suck it up knowing we would go for a few boundaries. "What's important is to have clear plans with the ball. The...

Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 277-3 for the highest-ever Indian Premier League total and went on to beat Mumbai Indians by 31 runs in a six-hitting festival on Wednesday. Australia's Travis Head made a 24-ball 62 to lead the assault after Hyderabad batted first and went past the previous IPL best of 263-5 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013. Mumbai replied strongly in the match which witnessed 38 sixes for another IPL record, bettering the 33 hits over the fence clubbed three times in earlier seasons. Left-handed Tilak Varma stood out with his 64 in 34 balls for Mumbai but the effort was not enough on a batting-friendly pitch in veteran batsman Rohit Sharma's 200th IPL match. Rohit smashed a 12-ball 26 and fellow opener Ishan Kishan made 34 to give Mumbai a flying start but the innings lost momentum after 10 overs due to the ever-increasing asking rate. Tim David smashed an unbeaten 42 in a late charge but the chase was beyond reach as Mumbai ended on 246-5 -- the team's...

Former Indian cricket team batter Navjot Singh Sidhu had his say about Rohit Sharma playing under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after the much-talked-about change in captaincy. Hardik, who completed a sensational trade move from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians, replaced Rohit as the skipper ahead of IPL 2024 and the move has led to massive conversations among fans and experts. In a recent interaction, Sidhu said that Dhoni and Rohit are great players in their own right, and playing in a franchise team under another captain does not diminish their position. "I have played in an Indian team where five captains used to pay together. Kapil Dev , Dilip Vengsarkar, Sunil Gavaskar , Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Ravi Shastri . Pick up a brick and you will find a captain both above and below it. There were no issues because they were playing for their nation. The motivation was to play for your country. So, playing under Hardik does not make Roh...

Chennai Super Kings batters dazzled before the bowlers ran riot to choke Gujarat Titans in a comprehensive 63-run victory in their second IPL match on Tuesday. Ruturaj Gaikwad 's team has covered all its bases and it was evident as Rachin Ravindra prepared a platform with 20-ball-46 allowing Shivam Dube to unlock his beast mode with a 23-ball-51. In between, Gaikwad himself maintained the balance with 36-ball-46 as Chennai's 206 for 6 was a Herculean total in every sense. Titans in reply could manage only 143/8 as Chahar (2/28 in 4 overs), Mustafizur Rahman (2/30 in 4 overs), Tushar Deshpande (2/21) and Matheesha Pathirana (1/29 in 4 overs) one by one tightened the noose on Titans batting unit. If Gujarat needed to make a match of it, Shubman Gill needed to fire but his poor shot selection of a Deepak Chahar delivery, which wasn't as short as expected for a pull-shot, brought about his downfall. Once Shubman was gone, Gujarat didn't even have a chance in hell w...

Former Indian cricket team spinner Murali Kartik faced a lot of criticism on social media for his on-air comments on Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Yash Dayal during the IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings on Monday. Dayal ended up conceding five sixes in five balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL - an unwanted feat that had an immense impact on the young cricketer. However, he was picked by RCB for Rs 5 crore at the IPL 2024 season and while speaking about the move, Kartik said - "Someone's trash is someone's treasure". The comment wasn't taken positively by many social media users. “How do you say someone's trash is someone's treasure? You just called Yash Dayal Trash on air! Like what even?,” comedian and television host Danish Sait posted on X (formerly Twitter). How do you say someone's trash is someone's treasure? You just called Yash Dayal Trash on air! Like what even? — Danish Sait (@DanishSait) March 25, 2024 The Royal Chal...

After a minor hiccup in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 204, Virat Kohli is back where he belongs. The same craftiness and class that Kohli has been known to exude was visible once again as he registered his 100th T20 fifty-plus score, becoming the first Indian and overall only third player to do so, in a match against Punjab Kings on Monday. He scored 77 runs in 49 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes. He scored his runs at a strike rate of over 157. RCB beat PBKS by four wickets, and Kohli played a major role. Kohli, who took a two-month paternity break, didn't forget to mention that whether it is cricket in the Olympic program or T20 World Cup in the USA, he is 'The Face'. In 378 appearances in T20s, Virat has scored 12,092 runs at an average of 41.26, with eight centuries and 92 fifties. His best score is 122*. Virat is India's leading T20 run-getter and overall sixth. Kohli's scintillating 77 came in the backdrop...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru registered their first victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and moved up to the sixth position in the points table. Virat Kohli was the top performer for RCB with a brilliant 77 while Dinesh Karthik finished it in style as the team bounced back from their loss against Chennai Super Kings in the opener. Rajasthan Royals are currently top of the table thanks to the best Net Run Rate (NRR) followed by CSK, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings. Virat Kohli produced a quality half-century on a slightly gummy pitch that took the Holi-day crowd on a joyride and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a four-wicket victory over Punjab Kings. The 177-run target wasn't a massively tough one, but needed a meticulous scaling down because of the deck's nature. Kohli (77, 49b, 11x4, 2x6) conducted it to near-perfection as RCB made 178 for six with four balls to spare to register their first win of this IPL. The Royal Challengers ne...

Former England cricket team batter Kevin Pietersen and legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar were extremely critical of Hardik Pandya 's decision to bowl the first over during the match between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024 on Sunday. The MI skipper decided to start proceedings with the new ball instead of choosing star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah - a choice that led to a lot of discussion in the commentary box. Things got worse as Hardik was taken to be the cleaners by GT openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha with the all-rounder conceding 20 runs in his first six deliveries. "Why Jasprit Bumrah is not opening the bowling? I don't understand this," Pietersen remarked. "Very good question. Very, very good question," Gavaskar replied on commentary. Even Irfan Pathan took to social media to have his say on the matter. “Where is Bumrah?” he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). Where is Bumrah? — Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) ...

An inexplicable batting strategy by Mumbai Indians at the death saw Shubman Gill make an auspicious debut as Gujarat Titans captain with a thrilling six-run victory in their opening IPL game in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Jasprit Bumrah (3/14) was at his absolute best in his first IPL game in two years, firing in his express yorkers at will to help Mumbai Indians restrict Gujarat Titans to 168/6. But Bumrah's effort was not enough as batters like Tilak Varma and skipper Hardik Pandya failed to complement his brilliance. MI ended at 162/9 as things went downhill when all they needed was 43 runs off last five overs with seven wickets in hand. MI thus failed to break their opening game jinx. The last time they won their IPL opener was against Chennai Super Kings way back in 2012. While spinners Rashid Khan (0/23 in 4 overs) and R Sai Kishore (1/24) gave very little with the ball despite the dew setting in, veteran Mohit Sharma (2/32) used his variations with different types of slower ...

An inexplicable batting strategy by Mumbai Indians at the death saw Shubman Gill make an auspicious debut as Gujarat Titans captain with a thrilling six-run victory in their opening IPL game in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Jasprit Bumrah (3/14) was at his absolute best in his first IPL game in two years, firing in his express yorkers at will to help Mumbai Indians restrict Gujarat Titans to 168/6. But Bumrah's effort was not enough as batters like Tilak Varma and skipper Hardik Pandya failed to complement his brilliance. MI ended at 162/9 as things went downhill when all they needed was 43 runs off last five overs with seven wickets in hand. MI thus failed to break their opening game jinx. The last time they won their IPL opener was against Chennai Super Kings way back in 2012. After the game GT held the fourth spot in the IPL 2024 table with two points and an NRR of +0.300 while MI were at the 7th spot. Rajasthan Royals, who won their campaign opener against Lucknow Super Giants in...

The Indian women's cricket team received the 'Sports Performance Of The Year' award at the NDTV Indian Of The Year 2024 award ceremony held in New Delhi on Saturday. The team was represented by Shreyanka Patil , Shafali Verma , Sneh Rana and Radha Yadav . They were presented the award by tennis icon Sania Mirza. Shreyanka spoke about the change that women's cricket has seen in India over the past few years and thanked the BCCI for their support when it comes to opportunities and finances.  "Firstly thank you NDTV for having us here and presenting this wonderful award. Means a lot. To answer this question, I think it's changed thoroughly over the past few years. Women's cricketers are also given preference for being financially and it is also opportunity for us. It's been amazing and thank you BCCI for giving us an opportunity and also giving us financial support," Shreyanka said. Shreyanka was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side t...

He has had a rough one month leading up to the IPL but KKR captain Shreyas Iyer wants to put all those negative thoughts in the back-burner as he focuses on what's there in store for him. Iyer, who recently was axed from BCCI central contracts list for his apparent reluctance to play Ranji Trophy, did score 95 in the final for Mumbai with a recurring back injury. But the NCA has given him clearance to play IPL with a rider -- that he should be careful while lunging forward. The KKR skipper however feels that he is in best possible shape. "I don't want to think about what the doctor has said, what the injury was because, as I mentioned previously, when you over-think, put your focus on the injury, and in that moment, forget about what you're doing the best," Iyer told mediapersons ahead of team's opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. "So, I want to put all these things aside and focus on what's there for me on the plate," the skipper made hi...

Mustafizur Rahman set it up with his bagful of cerebral variations before Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube got the job done with their superlative finishing skills to script a comfortable six-wicket win for Chennai Super Kings over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL opener on Friday. CSK, who have not lost to RCB at home since 2008, thus kept their enviable record intact. Mustafizur, with his best ever IPL figures of 4/29 in four overs, was largely responsible for restricting RCB to 173 for six on a good batting track, where a 95-run sixth wicket stand off 50 balls between Anuj Rawat (48 off 25 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (38 not out off 26 balls) was the visitors' only saving grace. Jadeja (25 not out off 17 balls) brought his oodles of experience just when things could have got tricky in the run chase, hurrying a rusty Dube (34 off 28 balls) into completing some quick doubles to complete the chase in 18.4 overs. Dube also grew in confidence in Jadeja's company towards ...

Indian spin veteran Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday spoke on the bowling action of Sri Lanka and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Matheesha Pathirana and pointed out that the youngster puts his back under immense strain while bowling and "gets into awkward positions". The 21-year-old pacer was one of the standouts for CSK in their fifth-title-winning season last year, taking 19 wickets at an average of 19.52. The pacer recently suffered a hamstring injury during the second T20I against Bangladesh this month. He has played 12 ODIs and six T20Is for Sri Lanka. Speaking on his Youtube channel on Wednesday, Ashwin said that Pathirana has a lower angle of release, which puts his back under strain and his front leg "collapses" while releasing the ball. Comparing his action with Lankan pace legend Lasith Malinga, with whom the 21-year-old has drawn comparisons due to his slingy action, Ashwin said that Malinga has a "beautiful" side-on action which is much bette...

Former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu is back to cricket, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 being his new commentary assignment, years after he left the cricketing arena for politics. As the world gears up to hear Sidhu's anecdotes from the commentary box, the former all-rounder dropped a big statement just days before the start of the 17th season of the IPL. Speaking of some of the legends of Indian cricket, including Virat Kohl, MS Dhoni , Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar , Sidhu named the batter he rates the highest. During the pre-IPL chat, Sidhu was asked if he feels Virat Kohli should bat at the No. 3 spot for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sidhu wasn't in agreement with the idea, though he admitted that he is the greatest batter in the world. "I don't think so. It's what the team demands. You could be the greatest player in the world, which he is. But if your team is not winning, especially hasn't held the trophy once, then it's ...