Category: SPORTS

Mumbai Indians skipper Kieron Pollard was effusive in his praise for Suryakumar Yadav, who made quite a statement with a match-winning IPL knock after being overlooked for national duty, and said the batsman is driven by a “burning desire” to don the India blue. After restricting Royal Challengers Bangalore to 164/6, courtesy effective death bowling led by lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah (3/14), Mumbai Indians rode on a blistering unbeaten 79 off 43 balls by Yadav to chase down the target and record a five-wicket win on Wednesday night here. “It…

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Kings XI Punjab opener Mandeep Singh, who is grieving the loss of his father, was in awe of Chris Gayle’s power-hitting against Kolkata Knight Riders, and described the Jamaican as the “greatest T20 player” of the game. Casing 150 on Monday night, Gayle, who was overlooked and was also ill in the first phase of the IPL, showed why he is called the ‘Universe Boss’ during his innings of 51 off 29 balls. Gayle’s and Mandeep, who anchored the chase with an unbeaten 66 off 56 balls, shared 100 runs…

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Rajasthan Royals’ star England all-rounder Ben Stokes is hoping that his swashbuckling return to form with a hundred would not just rejuvenate his side but also give some happiness to his family as it copes with his father Ged’s battle with brain cancer. Rajasthan rode on a blistering 107 by Stokes and an equally aggressive 54 by Sanju Samson to overhaul a 196-run target set by defending champions Mumbai Indians with 10 balls to spare on Sunday. The duo forged an unbeaten 152-run stand for the second wicket. “It’s a…

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Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted his side failed to perform to its potential from the second game onwards as they suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians in a lop-sided IPL match here. With the loss, CSK are all but out of reckoning for a place in the play-offs with just six points from 11 matches. They remained rooted at the bottom place in the IPL points table. “What you need to see is what are the things that are going wrong. Specially…

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Disappointed with his team’s “timid approach” with the bat , Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum has admitted that the crushing defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore would definitely affect the morale of the side, but their destiny is still in their hands. He believes KKR can go all the way to the final, despite just hanging on to the fourth spot in the eight-team competition with 10 points from as many games. “This (loss) is going to affect a little bit in terms of our confidence. We need to…

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Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul was relieved to see his team finally get over the line comfortably but said the top-four batsmen must consistently close out games in the remainder of their IPL campaign. KXIP have often struggled to finish games from comfortable positions in this IPL. For a change, it was a straightforward chase for KXIP against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday despite a rare failure from their opening pair of K L Rahul (15) and Mayank Agarwal (5). Nicholas Pooran (53 off 28) came up with another blinder…

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The nail-biting win over defending champions Mumbai Indians was certainly a morale-lifter but the inconsistent Kings XI Punjab have another tough battle at hand when they take on table leaders Delhi Capitals in an IPL match here on Tuesday. Having lost two tight games they should have won at the start of the season, KXIP managed to get on the right side of the results in the last couple of games, although it was too close for comfort by their own admission. Needing seven off the last two overs with…

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Pakistan speedster Umar Gul on Saturday announced he will retire from all forms of cricket after the end of the ongoing National T20 Cup. The 36-year-old Gul, who played his last match for Pakistan — an ODI — in 2016, featured for Balochistan team in the National T20 Cup, which ends on Sunday. His side lost against Southern Punjab (Pakistan) in Rawalpindi on Friday to be out of reckoning for the semifinals. “With a very heavy heart and after a lot of thinking, i have decided to bid farewell to…

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An explosive batting line-up and a lethal-at-death bowling attack will give defending champions Mumbai Indians a definitive edge over Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams clash in an IPL game here on Friday. The defending champions are on a roll having won their last four games, while there are problems aplenty for KKR, who were decimated by the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 82 runs in their last game. Mumbai Indians are thus unlikely to tinker with their playing XI. For KKR, questions remain as to whether their key spinner…

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Relieved and ecstatic in equal measure, Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni lauded his team’s “close to perfect” show in the triumph over Sunrisers Hyderabad that infused fresh life into its faltering IPL campaign. CSK pulled off a 20-run victory on Tuesday while defending 167 against Sunrisers with almost every player making a contribution. It was only their third win in eight games. “Ultimately what really matters is you getting two points. What T20s have shown is that there are a few games that don’t go your way and…

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