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Titans’ Rashid Khan making it a habit of proving his critics wrong

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3 years ago

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Gujarat Titans bowler Rashid Khan has made it a habit of proving his critics wrong by giving sterling performance, time and again. The 23-year-old Afghanistan cricketer was at the receiving end in IPL 2022 when he went wicket-less in just a couple of games, with experts saying that he had lost his winning touch, though he contributed handsomely with the bat on those occasions.

Against Mumabi Indians, the spinner came into his own, hitting back at his critics by taking two wickets for 24 runs in his four overs — the best bowling figures for Gujarat Titans in the game against the five-time champions at the Brabourne Stadium on May 6.

On Tuesday, against Lucknow Super Giants, Rashid was at his devastating best, snaring four wickets for just 24 runs as Gujarat Titans secured a playoffs berth with two games to spare.

“I think those couple of games which didn’t go well, it was all about my line and length,” said Rashid after the magical spell against LSG. “That was something I was missing in those games. The kind of pace I bowl and action I have, I cannot afford to lose my line and length and that was something I missed in two or three games. It was all about focusing on hitting the right area.”

With a bit of assistance from the wicket, and the bounce he got on Tuesday, Rashid turned the game on its head as the Titans managed to defend an easily gettable score of 144, restricting their opponents to just 82 runs for a 62-run win.

“The wicket was helping and there was bounce and turn but overall it was just about my length. I have to bowl the right area, right length, and I will be able to pick wickets and make the run rate go higher,” said Rashid.

Rashid’s utility for Gujarat Titans has never been in question. He can bowl amazing spells and can whack the ball at strike rates of 200 or beyond. Gujarat might have lost their way on a couple of occasions — like the game against Mumbai Indians — but the fact that he has helped pull off amazing chases earlier makes him one of the best all-rounders in IPL 2022.

While people thought Rashid had suddenly become ineffective, one look at his economy rate showed that he was busy choking rival batters and stemming the flow of runs, if not taking wickets. On Tuesday night, he took advantage of the platform provided by the pacers in the powerplay overs to completely demolish the opposition later on.

They (pacers) have given us a platform (in the powerplay). (Mohd) Shami the way he bowled, Yash (Dayal), Hardik (Pandya) and (Alzarri) Joseph, I think the way they bowled in the powerplay, they gave us a kind of platform where we can come and put the pressure up and up,” said Rashid.

He conceded that defending 144 was always going to be tough but with the seamers making early breakthroughs, the task to restrict the opponents was made easy.

“In a score like 140-145, you always need to have a good Powerplay and that was something the seamers gave us today. This is a very crucial part of the competition. The mistakes that we made in the games, whether we lost or won, it’s all about the process. We have to keep the same process. We keep getting better day by day and match by match. It’s not just about the result.

“If we keep learning and doing good things more and more, we have now qualified but the focus is on playing good cricket and enjoying the cricket. That is something we as a team will do and take it one day at a time. (Which wicket he enjoyed most) The wicket I got Jason Holder, that was a very crucial wicket at that time. We knew he’s someone who can take the game away. So his wicket is something, I had planned to bowl that leggie from middle stump and I was expecting it to go to slip but leg before was something. That wicket I enjoyed a lot,” he added.

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National

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

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1 week ago

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November 14, 2024

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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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National

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

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10 months ago

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January 18, 2024

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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

Published

11 months ago

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December 19, 2023

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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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