For the last few matches, the bottom-ranked teams have suddenly come alive and have made the points table interesting. For 5 days in a row, the team ranked lower has been beating the higher-ranked team. So when Sunrisers Hyderabad met Delhi Capitals, it was expected to go the same way – the only reason being – these teams now have nothing to lose and have started playing fearless cricket. Delhi Capitals have been on a losing streak and wanted to come out of that yesterday in Dubai. So how did it go?

Here are my 5 points highlights of yesterday’s match

1. David Warner

David Warner had been having a very slow IPL as per his own standards. He was very tentative in the earlier matches which were dictated due to the brittle middle order of Sunrisers Hyderabad. But cometh the hour – cometh the man. Right from the word go Warner was in a different mood altogether. He attacked straight away against Rabada and Nortje. The Sunrisers reached the 50 run mark within the 4th over and Warner reached his 50 within the powerplay. With Wridhiman Saha he built a grand opening partnership which was thoroughly exciting to watch. 66 off 34 balls was the kind of start that Sunrisers needed badly and the captain delivered.

2. Wridhiman Saha

In the 2014 IPL finals, Kings XI Punjab scored 199 and it was only possible due to the heroics of Wridhiman Saha. He scored 115 off 55 balls to take Kings XI Punjab to the doorsteps of victory. That they didn’t win was a separate matter but that innings showed the prowess of Saha. He never got a consistent opportunity to bat at the top of the order and hence he remains one of the most under-rated players in Indian cricket. Yesterday, Sunrisers decided to open with him and all the frustration came out against the Delhi bowlers. He was extremely positive from the word go and there were no half measures as both the openers went hammer and tong against all the bowlers. He didn’t stop even after losing his partner, Warner. But, then suddenly he complained of a groin strain. He continued batting but he looked in a bit of discomfort which finally led to his downfall after scoring 87 runs off 45 balls.

3. Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey is a very dangerous player in the backend of the innings. He is like a right-handed Suresh Raina who doesn’t need time to get used to conditions – can start hitting the balls from the word go. He was the man who changed the fortunes of KKR in 2014 even after that Saha century – built a half-century stand with him yesterday. Yesterday with Sunrisers getting a fast start, it was important for him to play second fiddle though. But as Saha got tired, Manish Pandey took over. His innings was in no way devastating as the openers but 44 off 31 balls was good enough for Sunrisers because that helped the team reach 219 runs off 20 overs. Quite a big score under any conditions.

4. Kagiso Rabada

Rabada is the current purple cap holder and he was one of the top wicket-takers last year too. It’s been 25 matches on the trot that Rabada has picked a wicket. Each and every match across two seasons he has never gone wicketless. The spell had to be broken one day. Unfortunately for Delhi Capitals, it happened yesterday. On a day when all bowlers were being hit around the park – Delhi Capitals expected Rabada to give them a breather. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and he had one of his worst days in IPL. He went for 54 runs in his 4 overs and Delhi Capitals will hope that he will be back with a vengeance in the next encounter.

5. Rashid Khan

A few days back we saw Md. Siraj destroying KKR with his figures of 3/8 in 4 overs. This was a kind of a record that was expected to stand over time. Well, it didn’t even stand for 2 weeks as Rashid Khan bettered him. 3/7 in 4 overs with the opposition needing 220 to win was unbelievable. But then Rashid Khan belongs to a different league altogether. 

All things came together yesterday for Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

A heavy defeat for Delhi Capitals as another bottom-ranked team overcame them. 

With Mumbai Indians and RCB next will Delhi Capitals make it to the playoffs?

It’s getting exciting!

A couple of weeks ago, Kings XI Punjab was languishing at the bottom of the table and was almost written off. Then over the last 10-12 days, things changed as they started winning matches. Things came to such a stage that the match between KKR and Kings XI Punjab was being touted like a virtual knock out because a win would take them to the Top 4. So how did it go yesterday at Sharjah?

Here are my 5 points highlights of yesterday’s match.

1. Shubhman Gill

Shubhman Gill is being touted to be the next big thing in Indian Cricket after Virat Kohli. He has a very good technique and makes batting look very easy. He started well in the first 2 matches this year but then he started getting out to short deliveries which were pitched outside the off stump. His weakness of such deliveries was found out and he struggled. KKR invariably struggled with the bat because they never got a good enough start. Yesterday once again KKR was down in the dumps with the scoreboard reading 10/3 in the second over. Thankfully for them, Gill stitched a counter-attacking partnership with Eoin Morgan and helped the team reach a respective total. Morgan must be kicking himself to get out at that point because if that partnership lasted for another 2-3 overs KKR might have scored a far bigger total which could have made the final difference. For Gill, it was a back-in-form innings with a well-paced half-century.

2. Md. Shami

The premier fast bowler of India has been a revelation this IPL. Another bowler who takes wickets within power plays. He sometimes goes for runs when he misses the length but that’s once in a while but even then he has a very happy knack for picking up wickets. Yesterday he picked up the wickets of Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik in his very first over to push back KKR. He then came back later and picked up the wicket of Gill – which didn’t allow KKR to build a sizeable total. 

3. Ravi Bishnoi

Very soon this young leggie will play for India. He will be a superstar. In each and every game he has bowled well. Even when you hit him for a six he comes back and picks you up. He is not one of those inexperienced bowlers who cringe after being hit. Yesterday Morgan was in the mood and went after Bishnoi but he came back flighting the ball and Morgan fell for it and got himself out. That one wicket made a huge difference for Kings XI because if Morgan would have continued – KKR had every opportunity of crossing 180 which would have been a winning total.

4. Mandeep Singh

A couple of days back Mandeep Singh lost his father. These are strange times and cricket is being played under the global pandemic that has befallen everyone. The last win against SRH was dedicated to his father by the team. And today Mandeep Singh gave a gift to his departed father by hitting a very well constructed 50. He carried the bat through by scoring 66 runs and guided Kings XI Punjab to victory.

5. Chris Gayle

From the time Chris Gayle has been selected in the playing XI – Kings XI Punjab is yet to lose a match. I wonder why was he not taken earlier. Kings XI from day one played well and has a very balanced team. That they were at the bottom of the table – was quite surprising. But from the time, Universe Boss came back – he has a made difference. His super-quick 30s have made chases very easy for the team. Yesterday too, the asking rate was close to 10 when he walked in but he changed everything. He was on 26 in 10 balls and the KKR shoulders dropped. He finished with 51 off 29 balls with 5 sixes and was rightly adjudicated as the man of the match because his innings made all the difference.

So, Kings XI Punjab gets to the 4th spot with that win against KKR.

Will they able to keep that spot? 

KKR is virtually out because they might not be able to reach the top 4 even after winning the rest of their matches. What changes does KKR need to do in the next auction?

Rajasthan Royals still has a mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs and for that to happen they needed to win all their matches with a good net run rate. When they met Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi yesterday “net run rate” was the last thing in their mind because winning against the tournament favorites was itself a big achievement. So how did it go yesterday?

Here are my 5 points highlights of yesterday’s encounter

1. Hardik Pandya

From the time Hardik has made a comeback to cricket after the back injury, he is yet to bowl. He is a genuine all-rounder and to have one of his major strengths out of the equation – Hardik needed to perform consistently with the bat. He showed his prowess in some of the matches and the cricket world was waiting for him to break free soon. Yesterday when he came into bat the scoreboard read 101/4 in 13 overs. In the next available 42 balls, Hardik played 21 of them and he scored 60 runs. It was the Hardik of old and he was in a hurry. He just demolished the bowling of Rajasthan Royals. 7 sixes and 2 fours punctuated his glorious knock yesterday and took Mumbai Indians to 195 which was supposed to be a winning total. I just loved the gesture after completing his half century – Black Lives Matter.

2. Jofra Archer

I am yet to see a match where Jofra Archer is hit around the park. It’s a very rare commodity when you have a bowler who can bowl at 150 Km/hour and that too without disturbing his line and length. Jofra Archer is like an insurance cover for his captain and his 4 overs are like pots of gold for the team. As it happens in every match he took a wicket within the power play and this time the victim was Quinton De Kock. The best part was when he came to bowl the 19th over with Hardik Pandya in devastating form. He just went for 3 runs and took the wicket of Saurabh Tiwary. Bowlers around him were being hammered for 27 runs in an over and here was a man who came and gave away just 3 runs. Jofra Archer is class apart and he just amplified it yesterday. Add to that the brilliant catch that he took at third man to dismiss a well set Ishan Kishan.

3. Shreyas Gopal

I have spoken about Gopal earlier too that here is a bowler who keeps performing but somehow he is not spoken about regularly. Yesterday also he did his job as a frontline spinner. 2/30 in 4 overs when the opposition scored 195 is a great job indeed. His scalps included a well set Surya Kumar Yadav and Keiron Pollard. If Shreyas Gopal keeps bowling consistently – the time is not far off when he will get his call to represent the Indian team.

4. Sanju Samson

India is a land of batsmen. There are so many good batsmen on the horizon that for you to get selected in the Indian team you need to be very consistent. This is where Sanju Samson has failed time and time again. When the IPL started he was in supreme form and then he started gifting away his wickets. In the last match, he showed some of the old sparks but got himself out in the 30s. Yesterday he was determined though and built a well-constructed innings. He came in at 44/2 and carried his bat through without throwing away his wicket. He scored 54 of 31 balls and along with Ben Stokes built a match-winning partnership of 152 runs.

5. Ben Stokes

When you chase a score of 195 runs – you know you are already on the back foot. For the viewers though if the chasing team overhaul it – you can be pretty well sure that it would be a close finish. But it’s a rarity when chasing 195 the team reaches the score with 10 balls to spare. This happened yesterday only because Ben Stokes was in a different zone. He is today regarded as the best all-rounder in the world. He has won matches for England from quite tough situations over the last 3 years. He was in that kind of form yesterday. 107 runs in 60 balls just nailed it for Rajasthan Royals. Nobody expected such a chase against a very good bowling lineup of Mumbai Indians but no one was spared yesterday and together with Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes demolished the attack and took Rajasthan Royals to a well-deserved win.

So Rajasthan keeps hanging on by the thread though Mumbai Indians remain at the top of the table.

Can this be a turnaround for Rajasthan Royals or is it just a one-off blip? Will we see some more turnarounds in the final week?

Chennai Superkings have had an IPL to forget. Never have they been languishing at the bottom of the table at this stage of the tournament. T20 as a format is a youngsters game and the average age of the CSK team is way too high for such a fast-paced game. Yes, you need experience but then you need some talented youngsters too and this is where they failed as a team. But teams which languish at the bottom at this stage of the tournament are very dangerous for the higher-ranked teams because if on a good day they put it across the opposition then it derails the campaign of the higher-ranked teams. Royal Challengers Bangalore wanted to get into a safe zone by winning this match against CSK because that would have taken them to 16 points which would have been enough to take them to the playoffs. So how did it go yesterday in Dubai?

Here are my 5 points highlights of yesterday’s match.

1. Faf Du Plessis – the fielder

Faf Du Plessis is one of the best fielders in the world, especially as a boundary rider. Last year he had the maximum number of catches under his name with 12 catches with a couple of stunners. This is something that didn’t change in 2020 too. Yesterday he added another 2 in his kitty to move to 12 catches this season too. But what records book doesn’t show are the many catches that he relays through. Yesterday also we had a similar incident. Padikkal hit a ball high and it was in the gap. But Du Plessis made good ground but by the time he took the catch he was tumbling over and he smartly relayed the ball to Ruturaj Gaikwad who completed the catch. 

2. Sam Curran 

One bright spot for CSK this season has been the form of Sam Curran. The biggest positive has been his consistency. And a big plus with Sam Curran is his batting. CSK has used him in varied positions in the batting order and he has performed well. Yesterday of course his performance was with the ball. It remains a mystery though why the best bowler of the team was not allowed to bowl his full quota of 4 overs. He finished with 3/19 in 3 overs including a very big wicket of Virat Kohli. A job well done to keep RCB within a manageable score of 145.

3. The ABDV & Kohli partnership

RCB had a decent start and when AB De Villiers came to the crease to join Virat Kohli – the scoreboard read 46/2 in 6 overs. Everyone braced up for a long and brutal partnership. Credit must be given to the CSK bowlers who kept bowling length and gave no width. This made stroke-making very difficult and RCB couldn’t get any big overs. 72 runs in 11 overs was what this partnership delivered for RCB which just shows how well CSK bowlers bowled to 2 of the most dangerous batsmen in world cricket. Virat Kohli did complete his half-century but 50 off 43 balls always felt very slow and RCB never got the momentum that they were looking for.

4. Yuzvendra Chahal

With a pretty small total to defend, RCB needed wickets. Chahal was brought in to bowl in the powerplay overs but wickets didn’t come. He kept the flighting ball and he bowled them slowly to fox the batsmen but the batsmen made sure that they don’t take any undue risk against the premier leg-spinner. By the time he got the wicket of Rayudu – the match was almost in the bag for CSK. Chahal on his part bowled well and finished with 1/21 in 4 overs.

5. Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad has a stellar record in the domestic circuit and has done very well over the last 18 months with the India “A” team as well. He got two opportunities this season and both the times he was out for a duck. I on my part didn’t like the statement made by MSD a few days back when he said that he didn’t see any spark with the youngsters. I think it was a very wrong statement from a man who has been a product of many chances before establishing himself in the Indian team. Yesterday there was a sigh of relief when Gaikwad took his first single in IPL cricket. From there on end, he showed the “spark” that was needed to impress MSD. Gaikwad showed yesterday why he is regarded so high in the domestic circuit. His cover drives and his lofted straight drives have a hint of Virat Kohli written all over. He took the team home by scoring 65 off 51 balls and was rightly adjudicated as the man of the match. This must be the start of a long and successful CSK career for this highly talented opener.

This loss must be hurting RCB a lot because they have 2 matches next with the two top teams in this year’s IPL. They are yet to confirm their spot for the playoffs and a slip off against a bottom-ranked team can hurt their chances to finish in the top 2.

So what do you think? Will RCB remain in the Top 2?

Kings XI Punjab has been on the rise over the last couple of weeks. They defeated all the top 3 sides (Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Capitals) recently and are serious challengers for the 4th spot. They have an excellent team but somehow they found ways to lose winnable matches. But with the advent of Chris Gayle and Jordan getting some form it looks like a different outfit altogether. They needed to keep the momentum going because Sunrisers Hyderabad also had a chance to replace them as the challenger for the 4th spot. So when these 2 teams met in Dubai yesterday – I expected a close encounter. So how did it go?

Here are my 5 points highlights of the match.

1. Jason Holder

Jason Holder came as a replacement for Mitch Marsh midseason. And he had an impact straight away from the time he was drafted into the side. He is not one of those who is super quick but he is one man who will keep coming at you relentlessly. And with the height advantage, he gets a good bounce on any wicket. Chris Gayle on the other hand had an equal impact on Kings XI Punjab. From the time he has been drafted into the side – Kings XI’s fortunes have changed and they are yet to lose a match. So his wicket was very vital for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Jason Holder did the trick by picking him up. His final bowling analysis read 2/27 and that was a pretty good effort by the lanky pace bowler from West Indies.

2. Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan plays a very vital role in the Sunrisers’ set up. This year though he has not been able to pick up a lot of wickets because the teams have cut down on their shots when he is coming into bowl. That of course meant that he was able to keep things quiet and that’s good enough because Sunrisers is one team where the inexperienced bowlers have done well. Yesterday though Rashid Khan made a bigger impact because he picked up two vital wickets including one of KL Rahul. He finished with 2/14 in 4 overs and was instrumental in keeping Kings XI to only 126 which should have been an easy total to chase for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

3. Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh has been a revelation in this IPL. An absolutely unknown bowler has now become one of the main strike bowlers for Kings XI Punjab. He doesn’t have much pace but what he has is good line and length and he also bowls good yorkers outside the off-stump which makes it mighty difficult for batsmen to hit him. He just kept bowling that length consistently yesterday and wickets kept coming. In the middle overs, Shankar became the mainstay and his wicket at an important point turned out to be the real turning point at the end. Arshdeep finished with 3/23 and played a very big role in yesterday’s come from the behind victory for Kings XI Punjab.

4. Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi made quite a name for himself in the U-19 world cup. I have rarely seen a wrist spinner with so much accuracy in line and length. He hardly bowls hittable balls and hence it’s not so easy to hit him. At just 18 years old, this kid seems to be ready to play for India. Yesterday one man who was all set to take Sunrisers home was David Warner. No batsmen played with any authority yesterday other than David Warner. David Warner was batting on 35 off 19 balls when Ravi Bishnoi foxed him. With the team score above 50 runs in the 6th over – it looked like an easy victory for Sunrisers but that one wicket of Warner changed everything and somehow none of the batsmen thereafter came in terms to the slowness of the wicket. Bishnoi finished with 1/13 in 4 overs – a job well done.

5. Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan is regarded as a T20 specialist in International cricket but he has not been bowling to his potential and he had been missing his length way too much in the earlier matches. But we saw a different Jordan in the field yesterday. I guess the slowness of the pitch helped him and with other bowlers keeping their end tight he ended up taking some important wickets. This was not a big score to defend and with Shami bowled out early in the innings – the onus was on Jordan to take the team home. He did it with aplomb finishing with 3/17 in his 4 overs and guided his team to victory.

A pretty easy chase turned into a nightmare for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their brittle middle order was exposed again. They are now virtually out of the tournament. 

For Kings XI Punjab though it was 4 wins on the trot and they are very well placed to take down KKR.

What do you think – will Kings XI Punjab defeat KKR in the next match?

Kolkata Knight Riders are one team that has not been able to play to their true potential but still somehow hung on to the 4th spot in the table. With Kings XI Punjab breathing down the neck it was vital for KKR to beat Delhi Capitals more so because they have had no wins against the top 3 teams in this IPL. Delhi Capitals has the best bowling attack in this IPL and it was expected to be another walk in the park for them when they met KKR in Abu Dhabi yesterday. So how did it go?

Here are my 5 points highlights of this match.

1. Nitish Rana

Losing a near one is very traumatic and nobody knows that better than me – I lost my mother in August this year – but 2020 is such that most have lost some near and dear one. But playing right after the death of a near one must be very difficult. Nitish Rana lost his Father-In-Law just 24 hours before the match and it must have been very difficult for him to start the match. KKR on their part did the right thing to make him open so that he can put his mind away from the tragedy right from the word go. Nitish Raa with all his talent is another cricketer who is not consistent at all. But everything came together yesterday and nothing could stop him. KKR once again didn’t start well and were tottering at 44/3 in the 8th over. But after Sunil Naraine came in and started belting the bowlers – Rana’s confidence was back and slowly but surely he helped KKR out of the rut. He finished with 81 off 53 balls with 13 boundaries. I really loved the way he paid his homage to his late Father-In-Law after hitting the half-century.

2. Sunil Naraine

Sunil Naraine with the bat has been a failure this year. He has a big problem with bouncers in his body and all bowlers sorted him out. KKR did the right thing today to send him in when the slow bowlers were bowling. KKR was already struggling at 44/3 and another wicket would have doomed them. But Naraine started hitting the ball cleanly and all the slow bowlers were taken to the task. in the space of the next 8 overs, KKR scored more than 100 runs and the momentum completely shifted from one team to the other. By the time Naraine got out, KKR reached 157 with 3 overs still to go. He scored 64 off just 32 balls and helped KKR reach 194 which was too big a score for any team to chase in Abu Dhabi.

3. Anrich Nortje

The Nortje – Rabada bowling partnership has been the most fearful bowling partnership this IPL. They have bowled with pace and have taken buckets full of wickets throughout the tournament. Nortje once again took out 2 vital wickets at the top of the order sending back Shubhman Gill and Rahul Tripathi. KKR was tottering at 42 for 3 due to the heroics of Nortje and Rabada. Nortje finished with 2/27 in his 4 overs and if you look at the final score of KKR – 194 – it was a very good bowling analysis. 

4. Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins has been pretty economical in the powerplay throughout the season. Other than 2 matches out of the 10 that KKR played before this match – he has been extremely economical. But the problem is that KKR has too many inexperienced bowlers in their line up. Add to it – Kuldeep and Naraine are no longer the force they used to be. So with Cummins not picking up top-order wickets – KKR has struggled to rein in the opposition. Yesterday something changed and Cummins didn’t give a single hittable ball. He took the wicket of Rahane on the very first ball and he was relentless. He ended with 3/17 in 4 overs and KKR will hope that he continues with this form in the coming matches.

5. Varun Chakravarthy

When the IPL started this season, Varun was the backup spinner but very soon he became the primary spinner and he was the lone spinner in many of the matches that KKR played this season. Quite an achievement considering that KKR has Kuldeep Yadav and Sunil Naraine within their ranks. In multiple matches this season he has given consistent performance and has bowled with aplomb in both powerplay overs as well as in the death overs. Yesterday with Pat Cummins giving a good start, Varun was kept on hold till the 12th Over. When he came into bowl, Delhi Capitals was very much in the race with Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer building a good partnership. He broke the partnership straightaway by picking the wicket of Pant and for the next 4 overs kept pegging back the Delhi Capitals team. He ended up picking 5 wickets – the first time it has happened this IPL. He finished with 5/20 in his 4 overs and was rightly adjudicated as the Man of the Match.

This was a vital win for KKR because they had not beaten any top-ranked side this season. It’s now a race to the finish between KKR and Kings XI Punjab for the coveted 4th spot.

What do you think? Will KKR make it to the top 4?

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.

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