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Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh’s bowling heartening, says CSK coach Fleming

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With the IPL 2022 season done and dusted for Chennai Super Kings, albeit prematurely, the team has hit the ‘experimentation mode’ and their chief coach Stephen Fleming is quite satisfied with the way the young bowlers are shaping up for the upcoming seasons.

On Thursday, defending a meagre 97 against Mumbai Indians — another team that has failed to live up to its billing this season — CSK gave the new ball to Mukesh Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh. Mukesh, the 25-year-old left-arm pacer from Bhilwara, Rajasthan, made an immediate impact with the new ball, taking three wickets for 23 runs in his four overs, while Simarjeet, the 24-year-old pacer from Delhi, took the wicket of Rohit Sharma and bowled a tidy four overs.

Fleming said he saw this as a positive sign for the franchise going forward.

“There are some really positive signs. I thought the new ball bowling from Simarjeet and Mukesh was outstanding. They have been developing, Mukesh all the way through the season, and for him to feel confident enough to bowl a spell like that and Simarjeet in four games and they have made some good gain. So, that is a positive with Deepak Chahar to come back into the side. They are some good options with the new ball.”

Pace bowler Chahar has not been able to play a single match for CSK this season because of the injury he sustained at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru while rehabilitating.

“I thought it was really impressive. They really gave us an opportunity and both of them bowled well. Mukesh in particular had the ball really swinging well and Simarjeet has got some deceptive pace, so we are really positive about that pairing going forward. It is just disappointing that we did not have more runs to play with, but out of the ashes came those two. So, it was a good way to look at it,” Fleming said.

“We are not far away, but we have got a couple of holes that seem to pop up at the wrong time. We are not as good as we need to be, we know that. We try to find some positive pieces when we move forward. Now that we are out of the competition, we have got an opportunity with two games to give some other guys an opportunity and hope we find something there as well.”

The head coach added that he was surprised by the way the pitch behaved.

“I think it took us by surprise, it looked very good at the start. And, we were never able to get any partnerships. We just seemed to nick everything down the leg side with no DRS, we didn’t get any momentum to post a score. We did get some assistance in the second innings with the ball, so I would say the expectations were of a high-scoring game and as it turned out, a score of 140 or 150 might have been competitive. So, we were a little surprised by the assistance that was on offer.

“Yes, we have got some work to do. We are really positive about the next two games to see if some guys will take the opportunity, which they will get and we just have to finish in the same way. Keep looking for the positives for the next season. We are still learning about our squad like most teams are, and hopefully we can learn over the next couple of games, and what I can say is there’s not much margin between having a great season and a not so great season. We’ve been through enough of these seasons to know that. We’re not going to tune too much over, but we do need to improve in some areas.”

Fleming said Super Kings were unlucky as there was no DRS in the initial stages of the match, but said it was a part of the game.

“It was a little bit unlucky that it happened at that time, yeah we are a little bit disappointed but it is a part of the game. A chain of events that were not in our favour but we should be better than that. It certainly was not a great start.”

National News

IND v AUS: Virat Kohli registers successive ducks in ODIs for the first time

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Adelaide, Oct 23: Batting stalwart Virat Kohli’s much-anticipated appearance at his favourite hunting around, the Adelaide Oval, ended in a disappointment on Thursday as the former India captain was dismissed for a four-ball duck in the ongoing second ODI against Australia.

After bagging a duck in the rain-hit first ODI in Perth, Kohli’s return to playing at the Adelaide Oval, where he has scored five international centuries – the most for any ground in his career – was expected to get him some runs under his belt, especially with a huge crowd of Indian fans present at the venue.

But all of that anticipation ended in the seventh over when an impressive Xavier Bartlett hit Kohli flush on the pad with a brilliant inswinger to trap him lbw. After failing to be in the line of the ball, Kohli opted to not go for the review after a brief chat with non-striker Rohit Sharma.

It was an incredible set up from Bartlett, who bowled three deliveries away outside off before getting one to nip back in and dismiss Kohli. It also marked the first time of Kohli being dismissed for consecutive ducks in ODIs.

As he walked off, the Adelaide crowd rose in a standing ovation, acknowledging the batter who has scored 976 runs at the venue – the most by any visiting player. In appreciation of the crowd giving him a standing ovation, Kohli made a gentle raise of his right hand as he walked towards the dressing room.

If this was indeed Kohli’s final outing at the iconic ground, it ended not with a flourish but with a poignant wave to fans who have witnessed some of his finest innings here.

Kohli will now have the third ODI in Sydney, set to happen on Saturday, to have some runs and sign off from the Australia tour on a high.

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National News

WPL 2026: Mega auction set to be held in last week of November in New Delhi

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New Delhi, Oct 22: The Women’s Premier League (WPL) mega auction ahead of the 2026 season is set to be held in the last week of November in New Delhi, tournament sources told media on Wednesday.

Media understands that there was a toss-up between New Delhi and Goa as the WPL mega auction venue in the aforementioned window. But in the end, New Delhi emerged as the top choice as the hosts for the mega auction set to be held in the WPL for the first time.

The same has been communicated by the WPL committee to the five franchises – two-time winners Mumbai Indians, 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru, three-time runners-up Delhi Capitals, UP Warriorz and Gujarat Giants.

“It is most likely during the last week of November that the WPL mega auction will happen. But nothing has been confirmed on the exact date of the auction and its expected to be finalised in some time from now. Once its done, the same will be communicated to the teams,” further said sources.

It is also understood that the auction proceedings will be completed in just one day, considering the number of teams in the competition. As per a previous intimation in October, the retention deadline is November 5, with five players to be retained per team.

Each franchise will be allowed to retain a maximum of three capped Indian players, two overseas players, and two uncapped Indian players. If a team chooses to retain five players, at least one must be an uncapped Indian player.

The auction purse has been set at rs 15 crore. Retention slabs have been defined as follows: Rs 3.5 crore for Player 1, Rs 2.5 crore for Player 2, Rs 1.75 crore for Player 3, Rs 1 crore for Player 4, and Rs 50 lakh for Player 5. The Right to Match (RTM) option will enable franchises to buy back players who were part of their 2025 WPL squads, with a cap of five RTMs per team.

Depending on the number of retained players, the corresponding deductions from the purse will be: Rs 9.25 crore for five players, Rs 8.75 crore for four, Rs 7.75 crore for three, Rs 6 crore for two, and INR 3.5 crore for one. The number of RTMs available will vary accordingly – franchises retaining fewer players will have more RTMs at their disposal. Teams using all five retentions will forfeit the RTM option entirely.

After the retention deadline, franchises will submit players who will head into the auction on November 7, while the final date for the mega auction’s player registration is November 18 and final list of players in the auction will be released on November 20.

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National News

Don’t be a stranger, mate: Adelaide welcomes ‘one of cricket’s true icons’ Virat Kohli ahead of second ODI

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New Delhi, Oct 22: As Virat Kohli returned to his favourite hunting ground in Adelaide for the second ODI against Australia, the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) greeted the batting stalwart with a heartfelt message on social media.

Kohli, who had retired from T20Is and Test cricket, returned to international cricket in the first ODI against Australia, seven months after the Champions Trophy victory.

For Kohli, Adelaide has been a successful hunting ground over the years. His first Test hundred came at the same venue during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of 2011-12. He holds an impressive record at the ground, having scored 975 runs in just 12 international matches, the most by an Indian at this venue.

As Kohli stepped onto the field for the practice session, SACA shared a video of him entering the ground with Kohli’s previous post-match speech as a background score.

After this series, India won’t return to Australia for one-day internationals before the 2027 World Cup, meaning this series is expected to be the last time Kohli plays down under.

“One of cricket’s true icons, Virat Kohli returns to his beloved ground — training here for what may be his final appearance in international colours at Adelaide Oval,” SACA shared on X.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to welcome one of the greatest to ever grace the game over many years. Thank you, Virat, for the memories, the magic, and the moments that will live on in the hearts of South Australians and cricket fans around the world.

“You’ll always be welcome at Adelaide Oval. Don’t be a stranger, mate,” the post read.

Although the charismatic batter failed to make an impact with the bat, registering his first-ever duck on Australian soil, he will be aiming to uphold his impressive record at Adelaide in the second ODI, scheduled for Thursday.

When Kohli comes out to bat on Thursday, he will have the opportunity to surpass former skipper MS Dhoni’s record for the most runs scored by an Indian batter in the 50-over format at Adelaide Oval on October 23.

Dhoni has scored 262 runs in six games he played at Adelaide Oval, and Kohli has 244 runs in four games. He needs 19 runs to become the leading scorer at the venue in 50-over matches.

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