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IPL 2021: All-round Kolkata deliver crushing win over Rajasthan

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 Strong performances with the bat and ball helped Kolkata Knight Riders deliver a crushing 86-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Match 54 of IPL 2021 here on Thursday. After scoring 171/4 in 20 overs, Kolkata applied pressure right from the start which resulted in Rajasthan crashing to 86 all out in 16.1 overs.

With this win, Kolkata have almost confirmed the last remaining spot for the playoffs. Apart from delivering the knockout punch to Rajasthan, Punjab Kings have been officially ousted from the tournament while Mumbai Indians’ chances are now left hanging by a very slim thread. There was nothing royal about Rajasthan, who fell like ninepins in their last league match of the tournament.

They were reduced to 17/4 in power-play as Kolkata effectively broke the back of the chase. Shakib Al Hasan struck on the third ball of the innings as Yashasvi Jaiswal went for a reverse sweep but missed it and was bowled. In the next over, Sanju Samson clipped Shivam Mavi’s first ball to mid-wicket. Lockie Ferguson’s double strike in the fourth over left Rajasthan in deep shambles.

Liam Livingstone top-edged a pull off a short ball to deep square leg. Two balls later, Anuj Rawat was beaten for pace and trapped plumb in front of the stumps. Glenn Phillips and Shivam Dube struck a six each off Sunil Narine. But in the next over, Phillips was hurried for pace and bowled by a straight delivery from Mavi. Three balls later, Mavi went past Dube’s attempted flick to hit the stumps. From there, it was a free fall for Rajasthan.

Rahul Tewatia’s three boundaries off Mavi in the tenth over helped Rajasthan avoid the ignominy of lowest-ever total in the IPL. The all-rounder continued to wage the lone battle, hitting boundaries against Chakravarthy, Ferguson and Narine despite running out of partners from the other end. Mavi put an end to Rajasthan’s misery as Tewatia bottom edged to his stumps, giving the right-arm pacer his fourth wicket of the match.

Earlier, Kolkata started slow but ended up registering the highest score at Sharjah in the tournament, thanks to Shubman Gill stylish 56. Kolkata had a sedate start with 34/0 in power-play, including four boundaries. Post that, Venkatesh Iyer hit Jaydev Unadkat for a four through short third man followed by sixes down the ground and over long-on.

Tewatia broke the 79-run opening stand in the 11th over as Iyer missed a straight delivery and was bowled through his legs. Nitish Rana welcomed Phillips with a four and six in the next over. But Phillips had the last laugh on the fifth ball as Rana was caught off the toe-end at long-off.

Rahul Tripathi tore into Dube, taking back-to-back boundaries in the 14th over. Amidst all this, Gill held one end while finding boundaries in between. Gill brought up his fifty with a boundary off Chetan Sakariya in the 15th over, his second of the season. Gill whipped Chris Morris for a boundary in the next over.

But a wide later, Gill mistimed a loft to cover, giving Morris his first wicket of the UAE leg. Sakariya returned in the 18th over to disturb a sweeping Tripathi’s stumps. Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan landed some lusty blows in the last few overs to take Kolkata to a total which was more than enough to seal their fifth win in the UAE leg of the tournament.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 171/4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 56, Venkatesh Iyer 38, Rahul Tewatia 1/11, Glenn Phillips 1/17) beat Rajasthan Royals 85 all out in 16.1 overs (Rahul Tewatia, 44, Shivam Dube 18, Shivam Mavi 4/21, Lockie Ferguson 3/18) by 86 runs.

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PV Sindhu Exits In Pre-Quarters Of Japan Masters, India’s Campaign Ends

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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.

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Suryakumar Yadav Watches India Beat Afghanistan In 3rd T20I From Hospital Bed After Groin Surgery In Germany

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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.

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IPL 2024 Auction: Mitchell Starc Becomes Most Expensive Player In History, Bought By KKR For ₹24.75 Crore

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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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