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IPL 2022: Axar, Lalit, Kuldeep shine as Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians by 4 wickets

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Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav’s fine knocks helped Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians by 4 wickets in their opening game in the IPL 2022 at the Brabourne stadium, here on Sunday.

A 70-run partnership in just 30 balls between Patel and Lalit Yadav enabled Delhi to chase down a competitive total of 177 runs in 18.2 overs.

However, Delhi started their innings in a hurry, losing wickets at regular intervals. Within the power-play Delhi lost three wickets in quick succession including their captain Rishabh Pant. Delhi were tottering at 32 for 3 in 4.2 overs.

But at the other end, Prithvi Shaw took sole charge to score runs. He smashed two consecutive fours off Daniel Sams and in the next overs of Jaspreet Bumrah, the right hand batter took 10 runs with the help of two fours.

After taking two quick wickets of Prithvi Shaw and Rovman Powell, it looked like Mumbai Indians have seized the initiative from Delhi. But Axar Patel who was not so impressive in his bowling, rescued the team. First he made a 32-run satnd with Shardul thakur for the sixth wicket and then made a 75-run 7th wicket partnership in just 30 balls with Lalit Yadav to guide Delhi home.

Axar made 38 runs in just 17 balls with the help of two fours and three towering sixes while Lalit Yadav made 48 runs in 38 balls.

Earlier, fine bowling performances by left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Khaleel Ahmad helped Delhi Capitals restrict Mumbai Indians to a par score of 177/5 in 20 overs.

Put into bat, Mumbai Indians’ openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan started the proceedings with ease as the duo smashed 10 runs in the very first over of Shardul Thakur.

The Mumbai Indian skipper Sharma was more aggressive in his approach than Kishan, trying to send out everything over the fence. Both batters were scoring runs freely as none of the Delhi Capitals’ bowlers including star spinner Axar Patel were effective enough to curtail the racing run rate. Patel was most expensive as he gave away 26 runs in just three overs.

After seeing their main bowlers’ ineffectiveness, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant brought Kuldeep Yadav into the attack in the 8th over. The 27-year-old left-arm spin bowler immediately gave a respite to the team when he scalped the dangerous Sharma.

Sharma made 41 off 32 with the help of two sixes and four fours. Sharma and Kishan made a 67 runs partnership in only 8.2 overs.

In his next over, Yadav who was part of the Indian team in the Sri Lanka series, gave another jolt to Mumbai Indian, taking Anmolpreet Singh’s wicket.

A right-handed batsman Anmolpreet, who made his IPL debut on September 19, 2021 against Chennai Super Kings in the last season, did not read Kuldeep well. He tried to slice it over the covers but miscued it towards long-off, where Lalit Yadav ran in from the deep to take a simple catch.

The departure of Anmolpreet brought the debutant 19-year-old, Tilak Verma. However, The Hyderabad Ranji player too did not stay long before getting out to Khaleel Ahmad. Though he made only 22 runs in 15 balls, he holds a lot of promise to be a good batter for MI.

After losing three wickets in quick succession, the scoring rate of Mumbai Indian slumped, but Kishan at the other end was making runs with odd boundaries.

When Mumbai were set to regain the momentum, Kuldeep once again provided a break, taking Kieron Pollard’s wicket.

A shorter one from Kuldeep caught Pollard off guard and the West Indies batter tried to pull it over the mid-wicket where Tim Seifert dived to his right to take a good overhead catch to end Pollard’s stay. It was Kuldeep Yadav’s third wicket in the match.

The fall of regular wickets did not deter Kishan at the other end as he continued to make runs, hitting the odd boundaries. He returned unbeaten 81 as Mumbai managed to post a competitive total of 177/5 in 20 overs.

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 177/5 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 81 not out , Rohit Sharma 41, Tilak Varma 22; Kuldeep Yadav 3/18, Khaleel Ahmed 2/27) v Delhi Capitals 179/6 in 18.2 overs. Lalit Yadav 48 not out, Axar Patel 38 not out, Prithvi Shaw 38; Basil Thampi 3/35) lost by 4 wickets

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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