Today is Maha Navami – the final day of the Durga Puja. The festivities come to an end tomorrow when the idols would be immersed and we will bid Good-Bye to Maa Durga and start counting for the next year.Today is Maha Navami – the final day of the Durga Puja. The festivities come to an end tomorrow when the idols would be immersed and we will bid Good-Bye to Maa Durga and start counting for the next year.
As part of my Seven Part Series celebrating the Stree Shakti – here is my final homage to another Firebrand lady from Bengal – Matangini Hazra.
Matangini Hazra
Matangini Hazra got actively involved in the Indian Independence Movement in 1905 during the Bengal partition. She took part in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932 and was subsequently arrested. She was a Gandhian and used to spin her own Khadi. She was lovingly called Gandhi Buri.
She participated in the Quit India Movement. Matangini Hazra was 72 years old at that time when she led a procession of mostly women volunteers, with the purpose of taking over the Tamluk police station on 29th September 1942. When the procession reached the outskirts of the town, they were ordered to disband by the British police. When the police orders were not followed, firing started.
Even after the firing commenced, she continued to advance with the tri-color flag, leaving all the volunteers behind. The police shot her three times. She continued marching despite wounds to the forehead and both hands.
She kept chanting Vande Mataram & died with the tri-colour held high in her hands.
Here saluting her indomitable spirit – the true Nari Shakti as we celebrate Durga Puja during the tough times of Covid-19.
Stay Safe Everyone.
May Maa Durga bless us all and we hope next year we all will be able to celebrate Durga Puja like before once again.
Thanks for being with me through this Nari Shakti series which started here. I hope all of you enjoyed it.
IPL 2020 started with a match between the two most successful teams in IPL – Mumbai Indians and Chennai Superkings. Though Mumbai was expected to win – CSK won it quite easily. Over the last few weeks though things have changed dramatically. Mumbai Indians are in the top half of the table – whereas CSK is right at the bottom. When Mumbai Indians faced Chennai Superkings in the return leg yesterday – their only motto was to get back to the top of the table. So how did it go?
Here are my 5 points highlights from yesterday’s match held at Sharjah.
1. Trent Boult
Trent Boult is having the best IPL ever as a cricketer. He has picked up a wicket in the powerplays in almost all the matches. Giving a breakthrough right at the top of the innings meant Mumbai Indians always starting a match with a foot in the door of the opposition. Yesterday was once again no different but he went two steps further by not only picking up a wicket in the first over but finishing with 3 wickets within the power play. His bowling along with Bumrah’s left CSK tottering at 22/5 in 6 overs. His final bowling analysis was 4/18 in 4 overs and was rightly adjudged as the Man of the Match.
2. Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah has not been used in the power play by Rohit Sharma this year. But with Rohit sitting out due to injury, Pollard gave the new ball to Bumrah. Boult drew the first blood in the first over and Bumrah came in the second over and took 2 wickets in 2 balls to leave CSK tottering at 3/3. He along with Boult gave nothing away and CSK never recovered from that early jolt.
3. Rahul Chahar
The team of Mumbai Indians is like well-oiled machines. Everyone contributes at some point in time to help the team win. Rahul Chahar is one such player who has invariably bowled very well throughout the tournament though nobody has spoken much about him. Yesterday was no different. In the final analysis, all are talking about the initial burst by the fast bowlers but Chahar did his job as required by his team. 2/22 in 4 overs is a pretty good job in a T20 match. One of his scalps was MS Dhoni who had the capability to help CSK recover from the crisis but his wicket just nailed the fate of the team.
4. Sam Curran
Sam Curran is one of the bright spots for CSK this season. From the time he was promoted as an opener, it gave CSK a quick start. Yesterday CSK got him back to number 7. But as luck would have it he had to come within the powerplay with the scoreboard reading 22/5. I was looking at a below 100 score but it was Sam Curran who got my prediction wrong. He is a free-flowing player but he cut down on his instincts and tried to take the innings deep. He ended up scoring a half-century and he is the only reason why CSK reached 114 even after such a horror start.
5. Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has done well this IPL without putting the stage on fire. In his first match, he missed the century by a whisker and he played some useful knocks thereafter. Yesterday with Rohit not playing – he was asked to open the batting. Looked like he was waiting for the opportunity and was aggressive from the word go. Generally, Quinton De Kock is the aggressor but the way Kishan started, QDK allowed him to take over with himself playing second fiddle. None of the bowlers were treated with respect and he scored 68 from 37 balls. Interestingly Quinton De Kock also played 37 balls and scored 46 runs – just shows how aggressively Ishan Kishan played yesterday.
A massive 10 wicket win for Mumbai Indians took them back to the top of the table. It would be interesting to see who amongst the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and RCB take the top 2 spots in the table.
What do you think? Who will take the top 2 spots?
Today is Maha Ashtami, the most auspicious day in the Durga Puja festival. As we pray to Maa Durga (the symbol of Stree Shakti) – I pay my homage to another Bengali braveheart as part of my Stree Shakti series.
Today I am going to talk about Sarojini Naidu (born Sarojini Chattopadhyay).
Sarojini Naidu (nee Chattopadhyay)
Sarojini Chattopadhyay Naidu was born on 13th February 1879. She was born in a Bengali family in Hyderabad where her father was a principal in Nizam’s college. She was well-read and well educated having passed out from the University of Madras and later finished her higher studies at Cambridge University.
She joined the Indian Independence movement in wake of the Bengal partition in 1905. She joined Gandhiji’s Satyagraha movement and later went onto become the first Indian woman to become the president of the Indian National Congress in 1925. She was arrested by the British for participating in the Salt March.
Later she played significant roles in the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India movement and was subsequently arrested and jailed for 21 months.
Following India’s Independence, she was appointed as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh making her India’s first woman Governor. She remained in office till her death on 2nd March 1949.
She was a writer and a poet and some of her writings are, The Golden Threshold, The bird of time & The broken wing.
Her work as a poet earned her the name, “The Nightingale of India” by Mahatma Gandhi. Rabindranath Tagore called her “Bharat Kokila”.
Let’s salute this Great Lady who played a significant role in getting us independence from British rule.
Stay Safe Everyone.
May Maa Durga bless us all.
The final Part of this Seven Part Series will release tomorrow where we will discuss another firebrand Bengali lady who left an indelible mark in Indian history.
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals both are at the brink. They can’t afford to lose any matches otherwise they would be out of the top 4 race. But then when you meet each other – one has to win and one has to lose. Whoever loses goes out of the tournament. IPL 2020 has panned out in such a fashion that the middle portion of the table is completely clogged and few teams are all jostling among themselves for the 4th spot. One of these 2 teams had to lose when they met each other in Dubai yesterday. I expected a close encounter.
So how did it go?
Here are my 5 points highlights from yesterday’s match.
1. Sanju Samson
After a great start to the season, Sanju Samson like the previous years just fretted away. Unnecessary risky shots and before anyone knew it – he lost his form. It’s the same story always with this highly talented cricketer. With so much competition around for the wicketkeeper slot – one should always have a high price tag against his wicket but letting go of such opportunities is costing him, dear. Yesterday he came in at one drop and with Ben Stokes struggling – he took the onus on himself to keep the scoreboard moving. To his credit, he was successful to a certain extent. He built a partnership with Ben Stokes but too much adventurism led to the downfall and he got out after scoring 36 which came off just 26 balls. He was the highest scorer for Rajasthan but if he had batted till the end Rajasthan Royals would have scored much more than what they finally ended up with.
2. Jason Holder
Sunrisers Hyderabad was without the services of Kane Williamson who got injured in the last match. They did a smart swap by bringing in Jason Holder who is now a genuine allrounder in Test Cricket. Holder’s bowling has also improved over the past few years and though he is not fast – his line and lengths are good and he always gets a good bounce from any wicket due to his height. Yesterday he opened the bowling and also bowled towards death overs. He made a great impact in the match by returning figures of 3/33 in the 4 overs he bowled. His scalps included Sanju Samson and Steven Smith and he played a big role in keeping the Rajasthan Royals score below par.
3. Vijay Shankar
Vijay Shankar had created a lot of furor in Indian cricket circles when he was preferred over Ambati Rayudu for the Cricket World Cup. He is a genuine batsman and a goodish medium pace bowler. An allrounder was what India was looking for and that’s why he got the nod. But he never did justice to his selection. As a batsman, he has never put the field on fire and other than one match against Australia is bowling has generally have had no effect. Yesterday he bowled well (to his credit he bowled well against KKR too). His figures of 1/15 in 3 overs was a pretty good return especially when he took the wicket of Jos Buttler. With the bat, he came in when the team’s score was 16 in the third over with Jofra Archer breathing fire. But, he held on and took his time to settle in and played a good steady hand, and built a match-winning partnership with Manish Pandey. Scoring a half-century in a winning cause must give him a lot of satisfaction.
4. Jofra Archer
You can’t keep Jofra Archer out of the game, can you? Rajasthan Royals first off all didn’t score much and when Archer came into bat the scoreboard read 135/6 with 10 balls in hand. He played 7 off those 10 balls and scored a vital 16 runs. Though in the final equation it didn’t matter much at least he had some extra runs to defend for himself. With the ball, he was breathing fire right away. Both the openers – Warner and Bairstow were sent back to the pavilion in the first two overs. His figures after 2 overs read 2/5. Rajasthan Royals had a great chance if only they could go past Manish Pandey. And here Smith missed a trick and didn’t give Archer the third over. This turned out to be a costly mistake because by the time he came back to bowl both the batsmen had got their eye in.
5. Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey had a very important role to play yesterday because Kane Williamson was not playing. It became even more important when Sunrisers Hyderabad lost 2 wickets within the powerplay. A wicket at that stage would have exposed the brittle middle order of the team. But Manish Pandey was in his zone yesterday. He didn’t let go of his aggression and with Shankar, he got great support who held up one end. They never let the run rate to creep up because a boundary was hit every over and the target was always in sight. He scored 83 of 47 balls which included 8 sixes. Manish Pandey had not been scoring a lot of runs this season and this innings would give a lot of hope to Sunrisers Hyderabad who needs him to perform if they have to reach the top 4.
So finally an easy victory for Sunrisers Hyderabad and it takes them to the 5th position in the table.
For Rajasthan Royals, the campaign is virtually over and that’s pretty sad because they are always emotional favourites due to season 1 of IPL in 2008.
What do you think went wrong for Rajasthan Royals yesterday? Should they have given one moreover to Jofra Archer?
Do share your thoughts.
Today is Maha Saptami. Bathing of the navapatrika with holy water is done today to begin the Durga Puja rituals.
As we pay our respects to Maa Durga (symbol of Stree Shakti) – I pay my homage to another Bengali braveheart as part of my Stree Shakti series.
Today I am going to talk about Sucheta Kriplani (born Sucheta Majumdar).
Sucheta Kriplani (nee Majumdar)
Sucheta was born on 25th June 1908 in a Bengali Brahmo Family in Ambala. As a kid, she was highly influenced by hearing the stories of British atrocities. The incident that moved her the most was the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre.
As a student, her Bible class teacher once said some disparaging things about Hinduism. Furious, Sucheta and her sister went home and asked their father to help them out. He coached them on some religious teachings and, the next day, the girls confronted their teacher with quotes from the Bhagavad Gita. The teacher never referred to Hinduism in the class ever again!
She was a bright student and received her Master’s degree in History from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi. She joined Benaras Hindu University as a history professor thereafter.
Her patriotic feelings got her to join the Indian Freedom movement soon. She married Acharya Kriplani who was the then General Secretary of the Indian National Congress. Sucheta worked very closely with Mahatma Gandhi and he wrote on her as well – “a person of rare courage and character who brought credit to Indian womanhood“.
She was at the forefront of the Quit India Movement and also accompanied Gandhi Ji to Noakhali during the partition-infused riots.
She was part of the subcommittee that laid down the charter for the Constitution of India.
But Sucheta’s crowning moment came on 14th August 1947, not because freedom was finally here but because she played a significant role in delivering it to the people of India. She opened the independence session of parliament by singing Vande Mataram (our National Song) and concluded it by reciting Saare Jahan Se Accha and the Jana Gana Mana (Our National Anthem).
After independence, she played her part in politics and was the first woman Chief Minister in India when she led the Uttar Pradesh Government from 1963-67.
She quit politics in 1971 and started writing her autobiography which unfortunately remained unfinished due to her health and she finally passed away in 1974.
Let’s salute another Great Lady who chartered her own course from teaching history to making history.
Stay Safe Everyone.
May Maa Durga bless us all.
The 6th Part of this Seven Part Series will release tomorrow where we will discuss another firebrand Bengali lady who left an indelible mark in Indian history.
Royal Challengers Bangalore have always underperformed as a team in IPL. They always had a great top-order but sometimes the weak middle order or a weak bowling outfit ensured that they never got a string of wins which is so important to win the tournament. Finally this year they got their line up corrected but then their selection for the first XI was skewed up. Things changed dramatically with Washington Sundar coming good and timely entry of Chris Morris.
Kolkata Knight Riders on the other hand are having a strange season. On paper, they have one of the weakest team and to that none of their foreign recruits are yet to come good. They have still found ways to win matches. They are at the 4th spot but with Kings XI Punjab breathing on their neck, it was important that they won against RCB when they met them at Abu Dhabi yesterday.
So how did it go?
Here are the high points from the match yesterday.
1. KKR top-order collapse
Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and decided to bat first. But all hell broke loose from the second over onwards. In a space of 12 balls, 4 batsmen were back in the pavilion and the innings lay in shatters. The scoreboard read 4/14 in the 4th over and KKR never recovered from that. You need quality batting technique to overcome genuine swing and KKR was found wanting with everyone getting out due to adventurous drives. Gill on his part has no control while facing short balls pitched outside the off-stump and this was the third time in IPL he got out to such a stroke.
2. Md. Siraj
Siraj was one of the worst economy rates in IPL. He bowls genuine quick balls but due to the length that he bowls he generally goes for a lot of runs. Yesterday was very different because he was pitching right at the spot from where the ball was swinging excessively. While Tripathi got out due to an expansive drive, Nitish Rana got a delivery which the best of the batsmen might have struggled. His figures after his first 2 overs read 3/0 – you read it right – that’s 3 wickets without a run conceded. 2 maiden overs in a row is a record in IPL. Yesterday a record was created in batting when Shikhar Dhawan scored two consecutive centuries and today we had 2 consecutive maiden overs. It felt like watching a test match with lots of misses by all batsmen as Siraj and his fellow bowlers made the ball talk. He finally ended with 3/8 in 4 overs.
3. Maidens in the match
Bowling a maiden over in a T20 match is a great achievement – yesterday we had 4 maiden overs bowled by the RCB bowlers. Two of them were bowled by Md. Siraj and the other two maiden overs were bowled by Chris Morris and Washington Sundar. When you bowl so many dot balls – it invariably means a sorry state for the batting team. That KKR didn’t get bowled out was an achievement in itself which was only possible due to the 9th wicket partnership between Kuldeep Yadav and Lockie Ferguson.
4. Yuzvendra Chahal
When the pace bowlers make inroads in the top order, it becomes easier for the spinners. We found the old guile of Chahal playing out yesterday. He kept fighting the ball and invited the batsmen to hit but because of the flight and the subsequent turn, it was not possible. Here is one leg spinner who invites you to hit and subsequently takes wickets. The classical leg spinner I must say. His figures of 2/15 in 4 overs was a job well done by Yuzvendra Chahal.
5. Walk in the park for RCB
With only 85 to chase, it was expected to be a walk in the park for RCB. KKR’s only hope was if they could pick up some early wickets. Quite inexplicably the best bowler in the last match – Lockie Ferguson was not brought on in the power play. RCB went about their job professionally and almost 50% of the runs were scored within the first 6 overs. Lockie came to bowl in the 7th over and immediately removed Aaron Finch and then Devdutt Padikkal got himself run out. He was the only bowler from KKR who looked dangerous and finished with 1/17 in 4 overs. Virat Kohli and Gurkeerat Singh didn’t allow pressure to build up and finished the match in 14th over.
A big win for RCB which helped them to reach the 2nd spot in the table. This win also helped them in their Net Run Rate.
But where does KKR goes from here? None of their batsmen seems to be in form and it would be extremely difficult for them to keep their place in the Top 4.
What do you think?
Today is Maha Sasthi. Today we welcome Maa Durga to the mortal world. As part of my seven-part series to celebrate the Stree Shakti, today – the 4th day of my series – I bring to you the story of another Indian Freedom Fighter – Pritilata Wadedar who gave up her life at a very young age fighting for her motherland.
Pritilata Wadedar
Pritilata Wadedar was born on 5th May 1911 in Chittagong. She was a meritorious student and stood first in her Intermediate Exams (Plus 2). In pursue of higher studies she came to Calcutta and got herself enrolled at Bethune College. In Calcutta, she enrolled herself at Chhatri Sangha (a semi-revolutionary organization that trained young ladies in using arms and ammunition) where Bina Das was also part of.
After her graduation (she never received the degree because the British withheld it due to her proximity with Bina Das – both she and Bina Das got their certificates posthumously in 2012) she traveled back to Chittagong and joined the revolutionary group of Master Da Surya Sen.
Master Da planned to attack the Pahartali European Club which had a signboard that read “Dogs and Indians not allowed”. Kalpana Dutta was given charge of the attack. But she got arrested seven days before the attack. Pritilata was then given the job to lead the group. On 24th September 1932, a group of 8 revolutionaries headed by Pritilata Wadedar went to the club and put it on fire. After the initial daze, the British retaliated and after an intense chase, Pritilata and her group were surrounded.
Realizing that there was no route to escape she thought of a plan that would help her fellow members to escape and she created a diversion for them. Then remaining true to her love for her country she swallowed a cyanide pill and committed suicide, rather than allowing herself to be captured by the British forces. She was only 21 when she chose death for her country.
As we celebrate Stree Shakti this week, let’s remember this braveheart who sacrificed her life at the age of 21 for our freedom.
Stay Safe Everyone.
May Maa Durga bless us all.
The 5th Part of this Seven Part Series will release tomorrow where we will discuss another firebrand Bengali lady who left an indelible mark in Indian history.
The first part of this series was released on 19th October and you can read it here: https://souravsinha.com/2020/10/18/durga-puja-special-stree-shakti-begum-rokeya/
The second part of this series was released on 20th October and you can read it here: https://souravsinha.com/2020/10/20/durga-puja-special-stree-shakti-bina-das/
The third part of this series was released on 21st October and you can read it here: https://souravsinha.com/2020/10/20/durga-puja-special-stree-shakti-kalpana-dutta/
After the high adrenaline match on Sunday, Kings XI Punjab has been flying high. And why wouldn’t they? They beat RCB a couple of days earlier and after beating Mumbai Indians, their confidence was sky high because they had beaten two top-ranked sides. Yesterday when Kings XI Punjab met the table toppers, Delhi Capitals, they had every reason to believe that they can beat them because the last time when these two teams met it was a tie. So how did it go?
Here are my 5 points highlights of yesterday’s match held in Dubai.
1. Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan has hit a purple patch. He was in very ordinary form in the first 6 matches. Then he hit a half-century carrying his bat through – a very slowish half-century but that innings changed everything for Shikhar Dhawan. From that day onwards he has not put a foot wrong. In the last match against CSK, he scored an unbeaten century to take Delhi Capitals to the top of the table. Sometimes lightning strikes twice and that’s what exactly happened yesterday because for the first time in IPL history we had a batsman who hit two centuries in a row. Dhawan remained not out too so basically he has now been batting for 40 overs (scoring 2 centuries) and is yet to get out. Quite an achievement in T20 cricket. Yesterday he faced 61 balls and scored 106 runs. The rest of the Delhi Capitals team faced 59 balls and scored 58 runs. The next highest scorer in his team was 14 runs. A huge gap that cost Delhi Capitals dearly because 164 was not a winning total. It was one of those rare matches where a player from the losing team won the Man of the Match award – that’s the kind of gulf that Dhawan created among all players in the field yesterday.
2. Md. Shami
Shami is one of the top 5 pace bowlers in world cricket today. He always had the pace but what he lacked was consistency and he also lacked yorkers. He was way too focused on the length earlier in his career. But the last 2 years have been a revelation for him and his performance shows in the same. He has got extremely fit and he now has the ability to bowl 6 yorkers in 6 balls. He showed his skills to the whole world when he defended 5 runs in the super over against Mumbai Indians. Yesterday with Dhawan going great guns it was important that Kings XI Punjab don’t leak too many runs in the death. Shami didn’t miss the length even once and that was the primary reason why Delhi Capitals was kept at 164 runs only. His figures read 2/28 in 4 overs. The wickets of Stoinis and Hetmeyer in the death overs didn’t allow Delhi Capitals to get any momentum.
3. Kagiso Rabada
Rabada is the top bowler this IPL and he takes a wicket in each and every match. He doesn’t go wicketless and that’s something which has held Delhi Capitals in good stead. Yesterday Nortje didn’t take the field and hence Rabada had extra pressure. 164 was not a winning total and hence Rabada’s performance was very important and they needed him to pick up quick wickets. He couldn’t give them the breakthrough but he didn’t leak runs either. He did create a flutter by picking up the wickets of Pooran and Maxwell though and finished with 2/27 in 4 overs which was a very good performance.
4. Glenn Maxwell
Maxwell has never performed to his potential in IPL. This year has been no different. He always got out in the most inopportune moments and is yet to play a defining inning to take the team home. Rahul did a smart thing in bowling him because sometimes these players need to do something for the team to get their adrenaline flowing. Though he is yet to put the stage on fire he has kept things tight. He is now generally opening the bowling for Kings XI Punjab and it has now started to click. Yesterday he bowled his quota of 4 overs and returned with figures of 1/31 which was not bad for a part-time spinner. This confidence worked well when he came to bat. Kings XI got themselves into a bit of a hole with quick wickets and was reeling at 56/3. To their advantage though the run rate was good and that allowed Maxwell to not go after the bowling and he played himself in without taking undue risks. His running between the wickets was a bit dodgy though. He scored 32 off 24 balls and took his team to the doorsteps of victory. A good day at the office for Glenn Maxwell.
5. Nicholas Pooran
I have said this earlier and I am saying this again – Pooran is the best batsman to come out of West Indies after Brian Lara. His stance, his front foot play, and his back foot play all remind you about the great West Indians of the past. He is a hybrid of Richards and Lara and I expect some great things from him in the future. Yesterday he came in at the fall of Chris Gayle’s wicket. Chris Gayle had hit 26 off 10 balls to keep the asking run rate at very manageable levels. But a cardinal calling mistake got Mayank Agarwal run out and that spurred on Pooran. He was in a different zone thereafter and all bowlers were hit around the park. You could see the anger writhed on his face as he batted on. 53 off 28 balls is what he scored yesterday and by the time he got out the asking run rate was below 5 runs an over.
Kings XI Punjab is on the rise and now is breathing down the neck of KKR for the 4th spot. They have now beaten the top 3 sides in the tournament in 3 consecutive games and the entry of Chris Gayle has done wonders for the team.
So will Kings XI Punjab make it to the playoffs? What do you think?
Do share your views!
As part of my seven-part series to celebrate the women’s spirit, today I bring to you the story of another Indian Freedom Fighter – Kalpana Dutta.
Kalpana Dutta
Kalpana Dutta was born on 27th August 1913 in the Chittagong District (which is now a part of Bangladesh). For her graduation, she came to Calcutta, and there she joined Chhatri Sangha – a revolutionary organisation that used to train young girls in arms and ammunition.
She joined the revolutionary group led by Surya Sen in 1931 and was entrusted with a role to attack the Pahartali European Club. But she was arrested while recceing the area. She got bail and promptly went underground. On 17th February 1933 the police found out the hiding place of the revolutionaries and Surya Sen was arrested but once again Kalpana Dutta was able to escape. She was finally caught in September and was jailed.
She was released in 1939 after which she joined the communist party and immersed herself in social work and relief activities during the Bengal famine in 1943 and the partition of 1947.
She married Puran Chand Joshi in 1943 who was at that time the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India. She wrote a book on the Chittagong Armoury Raid: “Chittagong Armoury Raiders: Reminiscences”.
Her daughter-in-law, Manini Chatterjee wrote a book called “Do and Die: The Chattagram Uprising” which was later adapted as a movie called “Khele hum Jee Jaan Se” – Deepika Padukone played the character of Kalpana Dutta.
Later on, Kalpana Dutta joined Indian Statistical Insititute and worked there till her retirement. She passed away on 8th February 1995 in Calcutta.
As we celebrate Stree Shakti this week, let’s remember this firebrand lady whom Master Da Surya Sen fondly called “Agni Kanya”.
Stay Safe Everyone. Let’s celebrate Durga Puja from home.
May Maa Durga bless us all.
The 4th Part of this Seven Part Series will release tomorrow where we will discuss another firebrand Bengali lady who left an indelible mark in Indian history.
The first part of the Stree Shakti series can be read here: https://souravsinha.com/2020/10/18/durga-puja-special-stree-shakti-begum-rokeya/ and the second part can be read here: https://souravsinha.com/2020/10/20/durga-puja-special-stree-shakti-bina-das/
All the bottom 4 teams are tied together at 6 points and we have reached a state from where any loss for any of these teams would lead to an end to their IPL hopes for the season. Under this context, Rajasthan Royals met Chennai Superkings in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Both the teams needed to win and that built up the expectation of a tight contest. So how did it go?
Here are my 5 points highlights of yesterday’s match.
1. Jofra Archer
When you have Archer on your side you have an insurance cover of 4 overs. Especially for a team like Rajasthan Royals who do not have any other real quick bowler in the side. He generally gives you breakthroughs and if he can’t he won’t go for runs. Yesterday was no different and in his second over he picked up the wicket of Faf Du Plessis – the only consistent batsman for CSK this season. He then came back at the death and didn’t provide a single delivery which could be hit. Jofra Archer has bowled 120 dot balls this season so far. No wonder he is one of the best pace bowlers in the world today. His fielding yesterday was quite comical though but as luck would have it – he affected a run out even with a misfield.
2. Shreyas Gopal
Shreyas Gopal is one of those players who will perform consistently day in and day out. Multiple times while playing Ranji Trophy he has bailed out Karnataka with either bat or ball. That he doesn’t take a bucket of wickets has gone against him and he has been ignored in selection meetings. Very few leg spinners are comfortable to bowl in the powerplays but Gopal does it consistently for Rajasthan Royals. Leg Spinners are known for getting hit and taking wickets but it’s not so easy to hit Gopal out of the park because of the length that he bowls. Yesterday he had a stranglehold on the CSK batsmen and returned with figures of 1/14 in his 4 overs. A job well done, I must say.
3. Rahul Tewatia
Rahul Tewatia’s stocks have been on the rise in this year’s IPL. He was drafted into the side as a bowling allrounder but he became a household name due to his death over batting heroics. Cricket is a game of confidence – with the confidence garnered in batting his bowling improved as well. Now he is regularly bowling his quota of 4 overs. Yesterday he bowled like a regular leg spinner and didn’t allow the batsmen to break free. In tandem with Gopal, he kept things tight. 1/18 in 4 overs amplifies this fact. The number 7 in the Rajasthan Royals line up is locked up now with Rahul Tewatia.
4. Deepak Chahar
Deepak Chahar is one of the best swing bowlers in India today. Invariably he will make the ball talk early in the innings. Yesterday with a very small score to defend, CSK needed him to perform exceedingly well. And he delivered. 2/18 in 4 overs with one maiden put the breaks on the Rajasthan Royals chase. His performance made me feel that we might have a close contest but unfortunately, no other bowler supported him other than Hazlewood, and Rajasthan Royals ran away with the match.
5. Jos Buttler
It was 28/3 in the 5th over when Jos Buttler came to the crease. It didn’t look very good for Rajasthan but Steve Smith and Jos Buttler are class players. Steve Smith struggled but Jos Buttler played like the way he can. He was circumspect initially but he got into his zone soon. 70 off 48 balls in a chase of 126 shows the difference between him and the other players. CSK had no answers to his batting yesterday and Rajasthan Royals won with 15 balls to spare.
Yesterday’s loss ensured that for the first time, CSK won’t make the playoffs. Time to rebuild the team from scratch I should say. They need younger and fitter players in the team. Dhoni’s swan song has not been a pleasant one.
What do you think should CSK do from here on? Can Rajasthan Royals make the playoffs?
Please do share your views.