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Richa Ghosh can’t wait to emulate MS Dhoni-like heroics for India against Australia

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India wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, one of the stars in the thrilling second T20I victory decided via Super Oval at the D.Y. Patil Stadium here, is itching to emulate MS Dhoni-like heroics as a crucial third T20I comes up against Australia at Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday evening.

While revealing in the pre-match presser that she idolized Dhoni in her growing-up years and saw him script great finishes for India, Richa also expressed her desire to meet him in the future.

“Since childhood, I’ve followed Dhoni and how he used to finish the game. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet him yet. There have been times when he would leave just before we were in for a camp or a match at a venue. Hopefully, I’ll meet him someday.”

Richa also credited her father for teaching her cricket and backing her dream of playing for India. “The rest I have learned from my dad. My family and father helped me a lot and he would always accompany me to my games. He could not play for long, so he backed me to chase my dreams.”

Richa produced some superb late hitting in her 26 not out off 13 balls, including three huge sixes, and even hit a six on the first ball of the Super Over against Heather Graham to set the base for India clinching a thrilling victory over the Alyssa Healy-led Australia in front of 45,238 fans in the stadium to leave the five-match series 1-1.

Richa called her performance in the second T20I her best knock. “Smriti didi (Mandhana) had told me ‘Khatam karke aana’ (get us over the line), so I just did that. We were just following our plan and I was trying to get as many runs in the middle (overs) so that helped us to achieve the target in the end.”

“Whenever I bat, I always think about how to help my team win a game. I have always focused on power-hitting. I worked hard on it and also focused on my mental toughness. It all went according to our plan.”

Both Richa and opening batter Shafali Verma will join up with India’s Under-19 squad later this month ahead of the inaugural U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup that will happen in South Africa from January 14-29. It means that the duo could miss the final T20I against Australia, but Richa insisted her focus is on the ongoing series against Australia.

“We are only thinking about this series for now. Once we join the Under 19 camp, we will focus on those things. It won’t be a problem to get used to that setup because both Shafali and I have known them for a while.”

Alyssa had a front-row seat to Richa’s magnificent display of power hitting in the second T20I and issued a warning to other teams ahead of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

While Ghosh struggled to make much of an impact during the 2021/22 WBBL in Australia, scoring only 162 runs in 14 innings at an average of 12.46, Alyssa believes the sky is the limit for the 19-year-old.

“She came over to the WBBL and probably did not have quite the impact as she is having in this series. It’s an interesting one for us, but the confidence that she is coming out and batting with is probably a little terrifying for a lot of Under 19 World Cup sides out there.”

National

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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National

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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National

IPL 2024 Auction: CSK Eyeing Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav & Jasprit Bumrah; Ready To Trade 2 Pacers To MI

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Renowned performance analyst Prasanna Agoram has dropped a massive hint ahead of the IPL 2024 auction set to take place on December 19th (Tuesday) in Dubai.

With Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin hosting Prasanna on his YouTube channel, the latter has hinted that two pacers from the Chennai Super Kings could be traded for a star batter or pacer from the Mumbai Indians.

According to reports, the star batters from the Mumbai Indians could either be Suryakumar Yadav or Rohit Sharma and the pacer might be Jasprit Bumrah. E

Either of their trades would be a massive coup, given their influential roles in Mumbai Indians’ dominance in tournament history since the 2013 edition.

CSK eyeing top MI stars ahead of IPL 2024

Since Rohit took charge of the Mumbai Indians’ captaincy from Ricky Ponting in 2013, he has turned the tables completely, leading them to five titles, the last of which came in 2020.

Suryakumar Yadav has amassed over 400 runs in the last 4 out of 6 seasons, while Bumrah started his career with the Mumbai Indians, picking up 145 wickets in 120 matches at 23.31 apiece.

Surya has also led the Indian T20I team in the absence of Rohit Sharma on the last two international assignments against Australia and South Africa therefore, he could also be looked at as a future leader of the CSK franchise after Dhoni retires from the league.Bumrah meanwhile, has been the backbone of the MI squad and the leader of its pace attack over the last few years. CSK are on the lookout for a top Indian bowler who could head their pace unit in IPL 2024.

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