IPL 2016 - Yusuf Powers KKR To Playoffs Thumping SRH

#IPL2016
#KKR v #SRH
#Kolkata

#KKR needing a MUST WIN match to progress toward #IPL2016 playoffs, played out of their skin to defeat (an already qualified) #SRH by 22 runs at #EdenGardens. On a tacky wicket that offered spin and bounce, they first posted a very competitive 171 (20 runs above par) and then their spinners strangled the SRH batsmen restricting them to 149 for 8.

Yusuf Pathan was undoubtedly the star of the show with his stoic innings. His role (as explained by #Gambhir in the match presentation) has been changed from brisk finisher to cool finisher. He takes his time, builds his innings and then explodes towards the end to guide his team through. He has done that a few times this season and this augurs well for #KKR as they head to the playoffs.

For #SRH, there are warning bells at the business end of the season. Their bowling (undoubtedly their better strength) looked jaded throughout, although they pulled it back in the last five overs. #Mustafizir is looking good, #Bhuvaneshwar and co. looked just OK and that's the area they need to watch out for. Batting remains a worry. Too much dependence on #Warner although #Dhawan did play a good knock today. Consistency seems to be lacking. #KaneWilliamson cannot explode but plays the holding game well. #Yuvraj has been on-off .. so bit of worry for #SRH and they need to really tighten up.

For #KKR, their #Spinners are coming good especially #SunilNarine who finished a fine spell today (3 for 26, his best this season so far). Others in #Piyush, #Yusuf playing their part well. Big loss in #Russell having to retire due to injury but all in all, they look in shape as they move to the qualifiers.

Man of the Match:
Yusuf Pathan

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IPL 2016 - Gujarat Lions Dim Mumbai Indians Chances To Qualify

#GL vs #MI
#IPL2016
#Kanpur, #GreenPark

Going into the last game of their respective campaigns, both teams had different agenda.
While #GujaratLions were seeking to top the table and go into Qualifier 1 (which gives them two shots at the Final), #MumbaiIndians were in a Must-Win situation to scrape through to the qualifiers by winning and hoping some results go their way. High stakes for both sides.

On a friendly deck at the #GreenPark, MI took first strike and suddenly found themselves in a hole.
After a brisk 30, captain #RohitSharma perished (huge blow in context of the game). He was soon followed by #Guptill and #KrunalPandya leaving Mumbai tottering at 45 for 3. #DhavalKulkarni and #DRSmith doing the damage for #GL.

Youngster #NitishRana and England batting mainstay #JosButtler then set about resurrecting the #MI innings. Rana was the aggressor surprisingly and his clean hitting was a pleasure to witness. Refreshing energy and audacious strokeplay made his innings very interesting but of priceless value for MI.

When Buttler fell for 33 off a brilliant c&b by #DJBravo, the scoreboard read 120 for 4, 13.4 overs.
An ideal launch pad for #Pollard to come in and take the game away from #GL. The well set Rana was going great guns as he smashed the Gujarat bowlers all over the place.

Rana was eventually out for a brilliant 70 (36 balls, 7 fours, 4 sixes). This eventually turned out to be the turning point in the game. Mumbai lost steam after that and last 3 overs only saw 19 runs accumulated. Pollard fell, Hardik Pandya couldn't hit a ball from the middle of the bat and Harbhajan's wild swings could only reach safe hands of long on. 

From a brilliant 153 for 5 in 17 overs, MI capitulated to 172 for 7 in 20 overs. 20 runs short. Massive in a #T20 game. Brilliant spells from Bravo and #PravinKumar minimized damage in the end overs.

It was upto Gujarat to lose the game since the target was well below par.
And their start was abysmal. #AaronFinch was out second ball trapped plumb in front by #VinayKumar. Captain #SureshRaina coming in 1-drop looked shaky upfront trying to move around the crease but unable to connect. The Big #Baz #McCullum wasn't looking comfortable either. However, #McClenaghan's over changed all that.  Raina smashed him for 3 fours and a six to change the momentum #GL way.

No looking back after that as Baz and Raina completed demoralized the MI bowlers, smashing them all over the park before McCullum was out with score on 96 in the 10th over. Comfortably placed.

#DineshKarthik got a rough caught behind decision while Raina's pyrotechnics to finish the game lobbed a straight one to the keeper made the game interesting. MI had a sniff. Or did they? Dr. Smith razed all their hopes biffing boundaries and sixes galore. #Jadeja finished the game with a heave over extra cover that eluded Guptill's outstretched hands for the winning single. Gujarat had won the match by 6 wickets.

Raina's blitzkrieg innings earned him the man of the match award.
Some really ordinary fielding from MI contributed to their loss as well.

Gujarat now top of the league assured of  1 or 2 finish (depending of how #SRH finish after their match against #KKR). #SRH confirmed of qualification though. #MI will have to wait for #KKR v #SRH and #DD v #RCB game' results and hope to scrape through.

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IPL 2016 - Dhoni Proves He Is Still Force To Reckon With vs KXIP

#IPL2016
#RisingPuneSupergiants vs #KXIP
21st May 2016, Vizag

Billed as the "Battle for the Bottom Of Table" clash, this was an inconsequential rubber between two sides that struggled throughout the season (especially KXIP who couldn't raise the bar when needed while RPS couldn't deliver knockout punches in those closing moments).

#MuraliVijay has done wonders for his own form since promotion to captaincy (at the expense of David Miller) halfway through the season. He is playing like a dream and continued his brilliant run with yet another fluent half century. With the classy #Amla for company he gave #KXIP a great start adding 60 in 7 overs before Amla fell.

After #Saha fell cheaply, he got together with #Gurkeerat to push their team with another 58 run stand. Unfortunately, he was bowled by #RAshwin and that put brakes on their scoring too. A flurry of wickets for Ashwin (his best bowling performance after a long, long time and his poor form has led to RPS failing to qualify for the Qualifiers/Eliminator) meant the score read 172 for 7 in 20 overs. 15 runs short.

However, as they always say "Runs On the Board" always plays a vital role in crunch games when pressure is on. #Rahane and #Khawaja started well but #Sandeep snapped Rahane while #AxarPatel foxed #Bailey to pull things back. #SaurabhTiwary and Khawaja smashed a few but 3 wickets in 2 overs for addition of just 8 runs pushed Pune completely on the backfoot. From 78 for 2 they slumped to 85 for 5 in a blink of an eye.

Situation perfectly positioned for the "Greatest Finisher Of All Time" - #MSDhoni. He first steadied the landslide with #ThisaraPerera to get the game within his striking zone. His usual tactic of taking the game deep and building up pressure on the other side.

The equation 2 overs - 30 runs to win. Steep but right in the MS Zone...

The make things worse, Perera was out first ball of the 19th over caught behind off Mohit. A big blow since Perera;s lusty hits were crucial for RPS cause. R Ashwin joined him. Again he steadied himself that over with just 7 runs taking the game to the last over. Last overs are MS Dynasty.

Still 23 from 6 was a bit too much for Dhoni, who has not been in great form off-late in close matches.

Ball 1 - DOT BALL - Gold dust! Axar fires this one into #Dhoni who mistimes it mid-wicket.

Ball 2 - WIDE ... Pressure of bowling to #Dhoni!! Axar fires this down leg and Saha does well to gather that wide.

Ball 2 - CRASSSSH .... SIX over long on. #MS powers this with brute force.

Ball 3 - CRACK ... BUT WHAT A SAVE !!! ... Dhoni smashes this over cover and wants to enjoy that boundary. In flies superman #Amla and makes an unbelievable stop on the boundary. Big chance to snap two missed by Dhoni. Is this the moment?

Ball 4 - VHOOM .... Dhoni corrects his shot making line and smashes this one  over long off for a one bounce boundary. Well done. #Axar under tremendous pressure now to defend 12 from 2 balls.

Ball 5- SMASSSSH - Cows corner is beckoning and MS pulverizes that short delivery to deep midwicket. What calmness and power under pressure! #Axar the opposite - cringy and sweaty.

6  needed to win. 4 wont do. Has to be the maximum.

Ball 6 - HELICOPTER SHOT ! - Flicks this one in his inimitable style over mid-wicket once again! Better delivery from #Axar but #Dhoni is right upto it, clears his front leg and launches this one to finish an incredible game in the coolest way possible.

No expressions of joy on his face. Usual self. Coolly walks to his partner Ashwin and hugs him. No bellowing, hand gestures, angry face or relief. That's #CaptainCool #MSDhoni for you.

KXIP shouldn't be disappointed. They ran into the Finishing Machine who just turned it on tonight.

RPS ending their campaign in 7th place, KXIP in 8th on the points table. Both teams eliminated from the championship. But, owing to Dhoni ... RPS won the battle of honour.

Man of the Match: M S Dhoni

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IPL 2016 - Weak Bowling Teams Paying Heavy Price In Points Table

What is common between Rising Pune Super Giants led by MS Dhoni, Royal Challengers Bangalore led by Virat Kohli and Kings XI Punjab led by Murali Vijay (David Miller was dropped off his captaincy last week)?

They are lurking at the bottom of the IPL points table.

Reason??

Pretty simple. Ordinary bowling lineups.
All teams seem to be powerpacked with batting geniuses but their bowling has let them down so badly, they are already on their way out at the half way stage of the competition itself. T20 is funny and anything can happen ... but from the looks of it, none of these 3 teams deserve to make it to the top 4 on current form.

RCB - A batting warehouse this - Kohli, AB Devilliers, Gayle, Watson have been putting up scores in excess of 180 in almost every game. Yet their bowlers have not been able to defend them putting them at risk of early elimination.

RPS - Again batting heavy - Rahane, DuPlessis, Steve Smith, KP, Dhoni. They have been hurt with injuries to top batsmen but again, their bowlers have let them down each time. Mediocre really. Very surprising that MS Dhoni is captaining this side without having a say in the selection? With all due respect to Dinda, Ashwin twins, Perera ... they are looking jaded and almost done with the IPL already.

KXIP - Batting strong again - Vijay, Maxwell, Miller, Shaun Marsh. And although they have collectively failed, the bowling is the bigger weaklink for them too.

Teams will good bowling units are performing really well. Gujarat Lions, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad have all combined both arts to stay in the hunt. Looks like these 5 teams will battle it out for the four qualification spots (apart from a miracle when one of the lower teams stages a massive comeback).

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#WT20 West Indies Stun India Storm Into Finals

#IndvsWI
#Semifinal, #Wankhede, #Mumbai

West Indies have pulled out a rabbit out of the hat.
They trounced the favourites India, chasing 192 in a brilliant run chase.

After a poor start, loosing Gayle and Samuels under 3 overs for not too many, Johnston Charles and Lendl Simmons started a repair job. Charles took the initiative and attacked the spinners first to pull back the momentum in favour of the Windies.

Lendl Simmons rode his luck through his brilliant innings of 82 off 51 balls.
On 18, he was caught behind point by Bumrah off Ashwin. He trudged back only to see umpires call him back because Ashwin had overstepped! Not out and Free hit...

On 44, he was caught at covers by Ashwin off Pandya. He started walking back again and wait wait ... he was called back again. Pandya has overstepped. Not out and the ensuing Free Hit was dispatched for six over mid-wicket.

He got another life towards end of the match when he launched Bumrah towards mid-wicket where Jadeja held on to a catch near the rope and parried it back to Virat to complete the catch. Simmons started the walk back again but destiny, it seemed, wanted him to win it for the Windies Umpires checked with third umpire and replays showed Jadeja had touched the boundary rope when taking that catch. SIX!

Andre Russell came in and delivered the finishing punches to hand India defeat and power West Indies to the #WT20 Final at Kolkata. They will play England in Sunday's game. Incidentally, the Windies Women have also qualified for the Final and will take on Australia at the same venue early in the day.

For Dhoni's men, they will rue in all those no-balls on a belter of a pitch that had nothing for the bowlers. #Dew made it worse. Hence those No-ball wickets and missed opportunities will haunt them for a while. In hindsight, they will also rue the fact that they didn't go big early in their innings as Sammy correctly put it, India were 10 runs short and indeed that proved to be the case.

#LIVE #SCORE
India: 192 for 2, 20 overs
West Indies: 196 for 3, 19.4 overs

Man of the Match: Lendl Simmons (82 off 51 balls)
 
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WT20 Virat Ind Take On Gayle WI In Semifinal2

#IndvsWI #Semifinal #WT20
from Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Termed as battle between David and Goliath by Darren Sammy​ (WI skipper) but also warned public about who won that battle? Its going to be an intriguing game that will depend a lot of which WI team will land up on the pitch. They are too mercurial. On their day, they can blast any opposition away while on others, they can just capitulate against minnows (that loss to Afghanistan couple of days ago is a strong reminder)

Also pitted against each other are the batting powerhouses Chris Gayle-SPARTAN​ vs Virat Kohli​.
It could come down to their battle as well. Who performs well on the day may determine the outcome.

The Mumbai pitch being a batting paradise so far, gives Indian batsman a first opportunity to score a few runs. Their top order is woefully out of form and will look to redeem themselves. Ashwin was brutally dealt with in the last game and he'll look to make amends especially bowling to Gayle at the top.

WI bowlers have done well too. Bravo's end over bankability, Badree's spin and Russell's pace seem to be doing the job at the moment but will be tested by this Indian batting lineup.

As for their batting, WI look better at the top with Charleston and Samuels looking solid while their powerhouses Fletcher, Gayle, Sammy and Russell could do a lot of damage all through.

However, the biggest deciding factor in the game seems to be MS Dhoni's cool captaincy.
He's just taken that to another level and can win games on his cool attitude alone.
Lets see how it goes? Odds in favour of India but their performances have revolved around Virat and that has hidden some big flaws in their batting top order. Also, with Yuvraj Singh​ out due to an ankle injury some forced changes seem inevitable. No injury worries for WI but their only worry would be how would they handle the 78000 Indian fans. Its 15 vs 78000.

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WT20 - Virat Masterclass Against Aus Propels India In Semis

‪#‎IND‬ v ‪#‎AUS‬

Group 2 Match, Mohali

An absolute superlative batting performance from Virat Kohli ensured India beating Australia's challenging total of 160 to book a semi-final berth at ‪#‎WT20‬. It was almost surreal batting from Virat after India were rocked earlier and struggling at 50 for 3 in 8 overs.

Firstly, along with Yuvraj he steadied things before Yuvraj sprained his ankle and got out soon after. Once MS Dhoni joined him, they started pushing the Aussie fielders and ran wonderfully between the wickets to get the target in sight.

However it was still daunting to score 39 in 3 overs.
This is when Virat unleashed his astonishing mental and batting skills to cruise through to the target. He first smashed 19 runs off Faulkner's 18th over and then 16 in Coulter-Nile's 19th over to set up just 4 in the final over. Dhoni finished the game in his customary smash over midwicket for a boundary.

Stunning win for Indian Cricket Team
They will now play West Indies in the second semifinal of #WT20 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. NZ play England in the first semis at Kotla, New Delhi.

‪#‎LIVE‬ ‪#‎SCORE‬
Aus: 160 for 6, 20 overs
Ind: 161 for 4, 19.1 overs

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli (82 off 51 balls)

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WT20 - Hunt for Fourth Semifinalist - Ind v Aus

#Ind v #Aus
#WT20, Group 2 Match
#Mohali

New Zealand, West Indies, England - 3 semi final spots booked.
Fourth spot = ??? India or Australia?

Its all come down to this last game in Group 2 to decide who would take that fourth spot in #WT20 2016. The script couldn't have been better. Expect another cracker of a game between these two fierce opponents (almost like two bulls locking horns to show who's the boss?) whose cricketing rivalry has reached unparalleled levels over the last few years in the limited over formats.

On paper, India will have the upper hand in this game.
India is currently ranked #1 in T20, Australia are at #6.
Playing at home will give India an immense advantage with the pitch, conditions, crowds. Their spinners' strength will test out the fragile-to-spin Australian batting.

But, you count out Australia at your own peril.
Their batting is exemplary in most conditions and having played #IPL most of their players are fairly adapted to these Indian conditions. (by the way ... IPL starts a week after this #WT20 so fasten your seat belts for that one too!)

Their bowlers, though inexperienced, always show true Aussie grit and aggression when bowling against any side or situation. Their fielding is world class and way ahead of their Indian counterparts.

Will it be a pure cricketing skill contest when they meet today? 
Not sure ... both teams have had a history of going at each other verbally on the field and therefore expect a #Sledgefest at Mohali. One thing is for sure, Ind v Aus games are not for the faint hearted or purists. They are more like a brawl... and that's what we can expect today.

May the best team win. I dare predict that winner of this match will eventually go and claim the #WT20 trophy as well!

India strengths: MS Dhoni's superlative brain and cool in tight situations, Virat Kohli's superlative form, Ashwin and Jadeja's spin exploits, Bumrah's death bowling.

India weaknesses: Fragile top order - none of Rohit, Dhawan or Raina have got going, Even more fragile middle order after Kohli - Yuvraj, Dhoni, Pandya and Jadeja haven't been too consistent to invoke confidence, Fifth bowler options look limited.

Australia strengths: Top order looks solid - Khawaja's form, Finch's reliability and Warner's destructive nature, Firepower down the line - Big Show Maxwell, Watson and Faulkner can provide fireworks towards end of their innings, Steady bowling attack

Australia weaknesses: Fragile against spin in this conditions, no batsman has runaway with games on his own - its been fits and starts, inexperienced spinners and seamers in a huge crunch match will need a lot nerves and mental strength.  

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