National
IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans crush Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets, consolidate position on table
Gujarat Titans clinched a commanding nine-wicket victory against Rajasthan Royals in a one-sided Indian Premier League match held in Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Rajasthan Royals were only able to set a target of 119 runs, which Gujarat Titans easily chased in just 13.5 overs, winning with 37 balls to spare. The match resulted in Gujarat Titans consolidating their position at the top of the points table while handing Rajasthan Royals their fourth defeat in the last five meetings.
Gill and Saha’s Opening Stand
Gujarat Titans’ win was established through a 71-run opening stand between Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha. Saha remained unbeaten at 41 off 34 balls, while Gill scored 36 runs off 35 balls. Both batsmen played aggressively against RR pacer Trent Boult, hitting the left-arm for a couple of fours each inside the powerplay, at the end of which Gujarat Titans were 49 for no loss.
Hardik Pandya’s brisk batting
Hardik Pandya’s brisk 15-ball 39 not out (3x4s, 3x6s) helped Gujarat Titans achieve the target with ease. Pandya was severe on RR’s Adam Zampa, hitting the Australian leg-spinner for three sixes and a four to collect 24 runs in the 11th over and hasten the process.
Rajasthan Royals’ batting blunder
Rajasthan Royals surrendered to the duo of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad to be bundled out for a meager total of 118 runs. The Afghan spinners shared five wickets, with Rashid returning 4-0-14-3 and Noor registering 3-0-25-2. Rajasthan Royals’ decision to bat after winning the toss backfired as their batting crumbled against Rashid, who sparked a collapse, and Noor.
The pair of Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal tried providing RR with momentum, but their 36-run second-wicket stand was broken in the final over of the powerplay. Rashid broke the stumps with Jaiswal far out from the crease. Samson, who looked promising at 30 off 20 balls (3x4s, 1x6s), got out to Rashid as he moved across the line to play on the on-side but could only get a leading edge, collected by Pandya as the RR skipper looked at the surface in disbelief.
Rashid then outgunned his counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin for the majority of the eighth over, dismantling his off-stump on the final ball. Riyan Parag continued to disappoint as he failed to read the Afghan leggie’s googly in the 10th over and appealed unsuccessfully against the umpire’s leg-before call.
At the halfway mark, Rajasthan Royals were stuttering at 72 for five. Noor got into the act to keep RR under the pump, castling the left-handed Devdutt Padikkal in the 12th over and trapping the dangerous Dhruv Jurel leg-before in his next. Rashid returned in the 15th over to dismiss Shimron Hetmyer leg-before, with the Caribbean batter’s horrendous run continuing in this IPL.
National
PV Sindhu Exits In Pre-Quarters Of Japan Masters, India’s Campaign Ends
India’s campaign came to a premature end as double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals of the Kumamoto Masters Japan Super 500 badminton tournament here on Thursday.
World no. 20 Sindhu was the lone Indian in contention after the exits of Lakshya Sen and women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
Sindhu squandered a game lead to lose 21-17 16-21 17-21 against Canada’s Michelle Li, ranked 23rd in the world, in a women’s singles match that lasted one hour and 15 minutes.
It was neck and neck between the two shuttlers in the first game before Sindhu took a marginal 11-8 lead and from there on kept her nose just ahead to take early advantage.
Trailing, Li came out attacking in the second game and raced to a 8-3 lead before Sindhu clawed back as the scoreline read 16-16 at one time.
But Li then upped her game and pocketed five straight points to draw parity in the contest.
The decider witnessed a close battle between the two shuttlers till 17 points when Li forced the pace, pocketing four straight points to wrap up the match. The Canadian was also helped by Sindhu’s unforced errors.
Li will play Siouth Korea’s Yu Jin Sim in the quarterfinals.
National
Suryakumar Yadav Watches India Beat Afghanistan In 3rd T20I From Hospital Bed After Groin Surgery In Germany
India batter Suryakumar Yadav may not be a part of the recent T20I series winning squad against Afghanistan but he made sure to catch up on all the matches even from his hospital bed in Germany.
Surya underwent a successful groin surgery on Wednesday after which he watched India win the 3rd T20I in Bengaluru.
The No.1-ranked T20I batter went under the knife for a sports hernia, a condition for which KL Rahul was also operated upon, co-incidentally in Germany last year.”Surgery done. I want to thank everyone for their concerns and well wishes for my health, and I am happy to tell you all that I will be back very soon,” Surya said in a post on his social media accounts after the surgery.The 33-year-old batsman has been inactive since suffering a left ankle injury while fielding in the third T20I against South Africa at Johannesburg last month, shortly after achieving a century in 56 balls.
Subsequently, he was seen walking with a moonboot, indicating the severity of the injury. Numerous reports have also suggested that Suryakumar underwent surgery on the injured ankle.
Following this, he underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru before traveling to Germany for a groin operation.
It remains uncertain whether Suryakumar will recover in time for the start of IPL 2024, scheduled to commence possibly from the third week of March.In the IPL, Suryakumar has been a key player for the five-time champions Mumbai Indians. His availability will be crucial for the Indian team as they prepare for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled from June 1 to 29 in the USA and the West Indies.
National
IPL 2024 Auction: Mitchell Starc Becomes Most Expensive Player In History, Bought By KKR For ₹24.75 Crore
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc broke the all-time record for the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League after he was bought for a whopping ₹24.75 Crore by Kolkata Knight Riders at the auction in Dubai.
Starc broke the record for the highest bid in IPL auction history just minutes after his Australia captain Pat Cummins was sold for ₹20.50 crore to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The left-arm pacer drew the maximum eyeballs when his name came up in the auction. The 33-year-old has not played in the IPL since 2015 after making his debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014.
KKR justify Starc’s price tag
“The entire salary cap for franchises when IPL started in 2008 was ₹20 crore. Things have changed.
“But our view is, when the auction is over all the 10 teams are going to walk out of the auction having spent ₹100 crores. And each team decides to slice it differently.”So what you have paid to somebody, up or down, is a matter of perspective. Ultimately we are all spending the same amount of money,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore justified the amount paid for Starc.
Notable Acquisitions in the IPL 2024 Auction
In addition to the significant acquisition of Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) secured the services of Travis Head, the hero of the World Cup final, for a substantial sum of Rs 6.80 crore.
Harshal Patel, previously with Royal Challengers Bangalore, emerged as a sought-after player, fetching a lucrative deal from Punjab Kings, who invested Rs 11.75 crore in the out-of-favor Indian pacer.
Daryl Mitchell, following his impressive performance in the ODI World Cup, enjoyed a substantial payday as Chennai Super Kings splurged Rs 14 crore to secure the services of the New Zealand batter.
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