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IPL 2022: Shami, Tewatia shine as Gujarat Titans start campaign with 5-wicket win over Lucknow

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Gujarat Titans rode on brilliant pace bowling by Mohammad Shami as they started their campaign in IPL 2022 on a winning note, beating Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets in a clash between two debutants whose fate was decided in the first five overs.

Bowling brilliantly and in the channel, Shami sent back Lucknow skipper and his India teammate KL Rahul for a golden duck and then claimed two more wickets in quick succession for figures of 3-0-10-3 in his first spell.

He broke the backbone of Lucknow Super Giants’ batting as they were reduced to 29/4 in the fifth over with fellow pacer Varun Aaron chipping in with the wicket of West Indies batter Evin Lewis (10).

Though they recovered from a precarious 29/4 riding on half-centuries from experienced batter Depak Hooda (55) and debutant Ayush Badoni (54), the 158/6 they managed in their allotted 20 overs was below-par for this surface and the Gujarat Titans batting. Shami eventually finished with 25/3 from his four overs.

Chasing 159 for victory, Gujarat Titans overcame a few hiccups and reached 161/5 in 19.4 overs with skipper Hardik Pandya, who chose to field first on winning the toss, struck a 28-ball 33, David Miller scored 30 and Rahul Tewatia blasted a 24-ball 40 to help them start their IPL 2022 campaign with a five-wicket win.

Gujarat Titans, too, got off to a poor start as they were reduced to 15/2 in the third over as Shubman Gill (0) and Vijay Shankar (4) fell to Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera. Skipper Hardik Pandya and Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade raised 57 runs for the third wicket partnership but Hardik soon returned to the pavilion, when he holed out to Manish Pandey while trying to loft his brother over his head.

Hardik blasted a 28-ball 33 studded with five fours and a six. Gujarat further slumped into the bog when they lost opener Matthew Wade (30) with the score 78/4, castled by Hooda when he went for a slog sweep. With the asking rate rising steadily, David Miller and Rahul Tewatia rescued the Titans with a fine partnership, building up a partnership for the fifth wicket.

Miller scored 30 of 21 deliveries and Tewatia remained unbeaten on 40 as they reached 161/5 to register a five-wicket victory. Earlier, sent in to bat first, Lucknow Super Giants got off to a disastrous start as they lost skipper KL Rahul to a golden duck, edging behind an unplayable delivery bowled by Mohammad Shami first-up. Shami, bowling beautifully and always in the channel, sent back Lucknow’s other opener, Quinton de Kock (10), splitting the gap between the bat and pad with a peach of a delivery that was full and did a wee bit to fox the South African batter.

Varun Aaron then made it 20/3 when he extracted some bounce from the surface and West Indies’ Evin Lewis went for a pull but only managed to top edge towards square leg where Shubman Gill completed a fantastic catch. Lucknow’s troubles deepened when Shami removed Manish Pandey with one that moved just a bit to avoid the Karnataka batter’s tentative poke and hit the off stump. Lucknow had lost their fourth wicket for 29 runs and looked in deep trouble.

They crawled to 32/4 in the Powerplay as Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni, a 22-year-old from Delhi, repaired the innings. Then then took Delhi towards a respectable total with an 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Hooda, who blasted some superb boundaries, completed his fifty off 36 deliveries. Badoni blasted Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya for a six and two boundaries in his fourth and last over.

He got down to one knee and blasted Pandya over midwicket for a six and followed it up by lapping the second delivery over fine leg for a one-bounce four and then deliberately ran down to third man another fuller one with soft hands. Hooda then blasted the final delivery for a four as Pandya conceded 19 runs in his fourth over. Lucknow reached 100 off 14.2 overs with Hooda and Badoni looking dangerous.

Rashid Khan got Gujarat Titans the much-needed breakthrough, ending the 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket when he trapped Hooda plumb as the batter tried to sweep him away. Though Badoni kept the scoreboard ticking for a couple big overs, in the end Lucknow Super Giants could manage only a sub-par total in their first innings.

Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 158/6 in 20 overs (Deepak Hooda 55, Ayush Badoni 54, Krunal Pandya 21*; Mohd Shami 3/25, Varun Aaron 2/45) lost to Gujarat Titans 161/5 in 19.4 overs (Matthew Wade 30, Hardik Pandya 33, David Miller 30, Rahul Tewatia 40 not out; Dushmantha Chameera 2/22).

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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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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