Cricket

Wasim Akram sends ‘strict answer’ to ‘foreign ex-cricketers’ after Pietersen’s ‘Virat Kohli should leave RCB’ statement

Danijones8 months ago06 mins

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s wait for an IPL title continues after the side was eliminated earlier this week during its Eliminator match against Rajasthan Royals. The RCB had a stellar run in the second half of the season after winning only one of their first 8 matches; they registered six successive wins to qualify for the Playoffs, capping off a brilliant comeback with a dramatic win against Chennai Super Kings in their final league phase game. Virat Kohli plays a shot during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 eliminator cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals(AFP) Virat Kohli, RCB’ star batter, was yet again the side’s most consistent performer and has all but ensured an Orange Cap to his name; he scored 741 runs in 15 matches this season; no other batter has crossed the 600-run mark yet, with only one match remaining in the season. ‘ Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! Former England batter Kevin Pietersen had suggested after RCB’s loss that Kohli should consider changing his franchise to assure a chance of lifting the IPL title. “I have said it before and I will say it again — the greats of the game in other sports, have left teams to go and seek glory somewhere else. When he has tried and tried so hard — won the Orange Cap yet again and done so much yet again and the franchise fails again. I understand for the brand of the team and the commercial value he brings to the team… But Virat Kohli deserves a trophy. He deserves to play in a team that could help him to get that trophy,” he said, on Star Sports. However, Wasim Akram has now reacted strongly to Pietersen’s remark, stating that the decision to stay or leave should be left to Kohli alone. He insisted that if Kohli doesn’t want to leave, there’s no point having this conversation. “I’ve a very strict answer. Kevin is a very good friend of mine. All these foreign ex-players, who do the commentary, they tweet about everything related to India. I’m all for it… it’s probably right but it’s not a big deal for me. It’s a big deal for Kohli, maybe. He wants to win for RCB, what would changing the team do for him, then? He wants to win for RCB, that’s his call. That’s my opinion. I don’t want to speak on everything, that’s what I’ve learned,” Akram told Sportskeeda. Kohli, in an earlier interview with RCB, had said that he wanted to retire at the franchise. Auction picks need to be better Akram also commented on RCB’s consistent failures in IPL seasons, attributing their struggles to poor auction strategies. The former Pakistan captain said RCB lagged behind in their bowling attack= and expressed that he’s still surprised at the side’s decision to part ways with Yuzvendra Chahal. “It depends on which players they pick in auction. This season, their bowling wasn’t up to the standard, especially when they play at home. It’s a high-scoring venue. Their batting was fine, but their bowling… you let go of Chahal, I still can’t understand that decision,” Akram said. “Their coach (Mike Hesson) had said that they thought they would bought him back, but they didn’t have the money left. Make sure you had enough money to buy that player back. It cost them in the middle overs. Hopefully, next year, they will be better prepared with their bowling.”

Canada vs Nepal Match Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds

Vann Hiso8 months ago8 months ago04 mins

Get to Know Who will win CAN vs NEP, T20 World Cup Warm Up match and toss Prediction with Head to Head stats, CBTFJSK Tips, Pitch Report Prediction, Betting Rates, Live score & winning percentage. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 : Canada vs Nepal𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 : May 27, 2024𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 : 21:00 IST / 15:30 GMT𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄 : Grand Prairie Stadium – Dallas, United States 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 : T20 World Cup Warm Up 2024 Canada vs Nepal Betting Tips The top batter for Canada will be Aaron Johnson. He has an impressive average of 50.93 in 16 T20Is. Canada’s top bowler will be Kaleem Sana who has taken 27 wickets at an average of 12.48.Nepal’s top batter will be Dipendra Singh Airee for his 1500+ runs in the T20Is and an experience of 61 matches. In bowling, the top player will be Karan KC. He is 11 wickets away from reaching 100-wicket mark in the T20Is.Dipendra Singh Airee is a reliable batter from the Nepal line-up. We back him to score more than 35 runs in this match. Canada vs Nepal TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website. Canada vs Nepal Match Prediction & Betting Tips, T20 World Cup Warm Up 2024The T20 World Cup 2024 is in full preparations as the West Indies and the United States are going to host the ICC event. Canada is one of the teams which has qualified for the first time and they are set to kick-off the warm-up matches against Nepal. The 1st match of T20 World Cup Warm Up will take place between Canada and Nepal. The match is set to be held at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, US on 27th May 2024, starting at 9:00 PM IST. Saad Bin Zafar will lead the Canadian team while Nepal will be led by Rohit Paudel. Nepal is the only team which has crossed the 300-run mark in the T20Is and in the same match they also broke the record for fastest century and half century in T20Is. Canada vs Nepal, Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas Pitch ReportGrand Prairie Stadium in Dallas has been renovated into a cricket stadium from a baseball stadium after 2020. It was used in the Major League Cricket 2023 edition where we saw the surface was flat and offers a lot of runs so batters could have a good time here. In bowling, pacers will get some help with seam. The average innings score is around 165. Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for Canada vs Nepal, T20 World Cup Warm Up Match 2024

West Indies vs South Africa 3rd T20 Match Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds

Vann Hiso8 months ago8 months ago06 mins

Get to Know Who will win WI vs SA 3rd T20 match and toss Prediction with Head to Head stats, Playing 11, CBTFJSK Tips, Betting Rates, Live score & winning percentage. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 : West Indies vs South Africa𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 : May 27, 2024𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 : 12:30 IST / 5:00 GMT𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄 : Sabina Park – Kingston, Jamaica𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 : 3rd T20 2024 West Indies vs South Africa Betting Tips Reeza Hendicks has looked the best batter for South Africa and played a magnificent knock of 87 in the first game. He can be backed as top SA batter. Tabraiz Shamsi could be back in the South Africa team to bolster the attack. The spinners have done well on this pitch and Shamsi, given the quality he has, is likely to pick more than l.5 wickets in the game.For West Indies, Brandon King has been outstanding. He has scored over 100 runs across two matches and has been the best batter for his side. Back him as West Indies top batter. Gudakesh Motie has enjoyed the conditions, taking six wickets in two games. Back him as top Windies bowler.Both the games so far have seen at least one fifty being scored in the match and thus we there are great odds that a fifty will also be scored in the final game. West Indies vs South Africa TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website. West Indies vs South Africa 3rd T20 Match Prediction & Betting Tips West Indies will take on South Africa in the final T20I. The game will be played at the Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica and will start at 12:30 AM IST on May 27. WI have been comprehensive in the two T20Is of the series. They picked up a crushing 28 run win over SA in the first game and then backed it up with another 16 run win in the second game. The batters have fired for West Indies, allowing them to score 175 and 207 in the two innings. With the ball, the spinners have choked SA for runs. For SA, they were better in the second game and scored 191 in a chase of 208, however, the middle order seems to be out of touch as the players have failed to fire in both games. However, the team won’t be concerned as they are playing a second string team and main players are not available for the series. West Indies vs South Africa Match Toss PredictionTeam batting first has won both games and thus the captains would like to win the toss and opt to bat first in final game. Once a strong total has been posted, it will be tough to chase here. West Indies vs South Africa Pitch ReportThe surface at the Sabina Park has been on the slower side. The ball has gripped and turned and scoring against the spinners have been very tough. The pacers though have been taken for plenty of runs. With short boundaries, a score of around 180-200 is par here. Jamaica Weather ReportThere are a few showers expected during the game. The temperature will be around the 30 degree mark and humidity will be 68 per cent. The wind speed will be 21 km/h. Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for West Indies vs South Africa 3rd T20 2024

Two-Time Runner-Up Casper Ruud Dreams Of French Open Title

Danijones8 months ago05 mins

Casper Ruud said he would love to think 2024 is finally his year at the French Open, but added that Novak Djokovic remained his favourite to win the tournament, which starts on Sunday. Twice a runner-up in Paris, Ruud heads to Roland-Garros on a high after winning the Geneva Open title for a third time — but said Djokovic, the world number one and defending champion, remained top of the pecking order, despite a shaky season so far. Norwegian Ruud, the world number seven, beat 44th-ranked Czech Tomas Machac 7-5, 6-3 in Saturday’s final to add to the Geneva trophies he won in 2021 and 2022. Machac knocked out Djokovic in the Geneva semi-finals, with the 37-year-old Serb struggling to find his usual impeccable rhythm. Ruud, 25, has lost in the last two French Open finals — including last year to Djokovic. Asked if he thought this year could be the moment to go one better, Ruud said: “I would love to, and I would love to think that way, but I’m not really expecting that this year is the year I’m going to win it. “It’s so open these days and of course to me, even though Novak has had maybe a tougher year than usual, I would still consider him the favourite. He’s arriving there with 24 Grand Slams in the bag.” Rival contenders Besides Rafael Nadal, who has won a record 14 French Open titles, Ruud said “many have been talking about” Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for the title — while Alexander Zverev won in Rome and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo on the clay this year. Ruud, who won Barcelona on the clay, will face Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves in the first round at Roland-Garros. Ruud said he was targeting getting through the opening rounds, and taking it from there. “The goal, like any other Slam, is to reach the second week and from there, typically I’ve seen that things open up a little bit,” he said. “Maybe you play someone who’s tired. If you’re physically ready for the second week of a Slam, a lot of good things might happen.” Play ‘real matches’ The 28-man Geneva tournament serves as a warm-up before the French Open, the second of the year’s four Grand Slams. Ruud certainly got some practice in for the rigours of five-set Grand Slam matches. Rain delays meant he played two matches in one day on Saturday, first beating Italy’s in-form Flavio Cobolli 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) in a roller coaster semi-final before going on to defeat Machac. “I wanted to build up some momentum for Paris and I think I’ve been able to do that and hopefully I can bring it on to Paris,” Ruud said. “Physically it’s good preparation, and you look at all the other players in Paris, what do they do in training? They play matches. So why don’t you come here and play a real match instead of just practice matches? “It’s been a great week in terms of winning and also building up the form and the physical aspects for Paris.” (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article

ENG vs PAK 2nd T20I: Jos Buttler Helps England Take 1-0 Lead With Easy Win Over Pakistan

Danijones8 months ago04 mins

Jofra Archer claimed two wickets on his long-awaited return to international cricket as England beat Pakistan by 23 runs at Edgbaston to move 1-0 up in the four-match T20 series. England captain Jos Buttler won man-of-the-match after he smashed 84 off 51 balls to set the hosts a target of 184. But it was Archer’s return that caught the eye as he made a case for selection in next month’s T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies no harm. The fast bowler has been beset by elbow injuries since his starring role in helping England win the 50-over World Cup in 2019. On his first international appearance for 14 months, and first on home soil since 2020, Archer bounced back from an expensive first over, which went for 15 runs, to finish with two for 28. “I thought Jofra Archer was brilliant,” said Buttler. “You could see his emotion taking wickets for England again but we need to temper those expectations because he’s not going to be the same straight away. “I’m really pleased with the whole bowling group.” Muhammad Rizwan was removed in the first over by Moeen Ali and Reece Topley took three wickets for 41. Buttler was the star of the England batting with three sixes and eight fours. He was ably supported by 37 from Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow’s 21 but England failed to build on the platform given to them by their skipper. Five wickets fell for just 25 runs as Pakistan battled back with Shaheen Shah Afridi the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-36. “We got them to a par score, our bowlers bowled very well and we had our moments when we were batting,” said Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Fakhar Zaman’s 45 from 21 balls gave the Pakistan chase some impetus,but after he departed the pace of Archer, Topley and Chris Jordan ripped through the tourists’ tail with four balls to spare. “We didn’t finish well. We had a small partnership, myself and Fakhar but we didn’t get any other 40 or 50 partnerships that England did,” added Azam. England lead the four-match series 1-0 after the first match was washed out on Wednesday. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article

Indian women’s compound team clinches third consecutive Archery World Cup gold | More sports News

Danijones8 months ago04 mins

NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s compound archery team, comprising Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur, and Aditi Swami, achieved a remarkable feat by securing their third successive Archery World Cup gold medal at the stage two event. The trio demonstrated their dominance by defeating Turkey’s team of Hazal Burun, Ayse Bera Suzer, and Begum Yuva in a convincing fashion, finishing with a score of 232-226.The Indian team, ranked number one in the world, showcased their skill and consistency right from the start of the match. They maintained a steady six-point lead throughout the final, ensuring that Turkey never had a chance to close the gap. This victory marks the continuation of their winning streak, having previously claimed gold at the World Cup Stage 1 in Shanghai and at Stage 4 of the event in Paris last year.Mixed Team Silver for IndiaIn addition to the women’s team success, India also secured a silver medal in the compound mixed team event. Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Priyansh Jain competed in the final against the USA’s Olivia Dean and Sawyer Sullivan. Despite an early lead, the Indian duo could not maintain their momentum and eventually lost by two points, with a final score of 155-153.The match began promisingly for India, with Jyothi and Priyansh shooting a near-perfect 39 out of 40 in the first end, establishing a two-point lead. However, they struggled with consistency in the subsequent rounds. The USA pair managed to level the score by the halfway mark and edged out the Indians with a perfect score in the third end, ultimately securing the gold medal.Individual PerformancesIn the individual events, Prathamesh Fuge came close to securing a bronze medal but was narrowly defeated by world number one Mike Schloesser of the Netherlands in a shoot-off. Fuge had earlier upset world number six Nico Wiener of Austria in the quarterfinals. Despite overcoming a two-point deficit to force a tiebreaker, he lost in the shoot-off, missing out on his maiden World Cup individual medal.Fuge also competed in the compound men’s individual semifinal, where he was defeated by world number seven James Lutz of the USA with a score of 143-148.(Wit inputs from PTI)

England vs Pakistan Women 2nd ODI Match Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds

Vann Hiso8 months ago8 months ago03 mins

Get to Know Who will win ENG vs PAK Women 2nd ODI match and toss Prediction with Head to Head stats, CBTFJSK Tips, Pitch Report Prediction, Betting Rates, Live score & winning percentage. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 : England vs Pakistan Women 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 : May 26, 2024𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 : 15:30 IST / 10:00 GMT𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄 : The Cooper Associates County Ground – Taunton, England𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 : 2nd ODI 2024 England vs Pakistan Women Betting Tips Lauren Bell took 2/42 on Thursday and the opening bowler is our pick for England Women’s top wicket taker in this match.Heather Knight will want to lead from the front with the bat and she is well worth backing as England Women’s highest run scorer against Pakistan Women in Taunton.Captain Nida Dar took three wickets in the first WODI and the same in the last WT20I. She is our tip for Pakistan Women’s top wicket taker in this game. England vs Pakistan Women TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website. England vs Pakistan Women 2nd ODI Match Prediction & Betting TipsEngland Women will take on Pakistan Women at the County Ground, Taunton in the second WODI of the series. This game gets underway at 13:00 local time on Sunday 26th May 2024. England vs Pakistan Women 2nd ODI, The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Pitch ReportThe pitch in Taunton is often one which turns later in the summer but at this stage of the year we expect the quick bowlers to get the most assistance. A par score will be no higher than 280. Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for England vs Pakistan Women 2nd ODI Match 2024

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Today Match Prediction & Live Odds – Final IPL 2024

Vann Hiso8 months ago8 months ago06 mins

Get to Know Who will win Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Final IPL 2024 Match and toss Prediction with Head to Head stats, Playing 11,CBTFJSK Tips, Live score & winning percentage. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 : Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 : May 26, 2024𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 : 19:30 IST / 14:00 GMT𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄 : MA Chidambaram Stadium – Chennai, India 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 : Final IPL 2024 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Betting Tips With 482 runs across the tournament at the top of the order, Sunil Narine has been one of the most exciting players in this edition. The West Indian is our tip for KKR’s highest run scorer in the final. Varun Chakravarthy took 2/26 in the Qualifier 1 and the spinner will enjoy bowling in Chepauk. He is a strong choice for KKR’s top wicket taker on Sunday.Abhishek Sharma has been one of the star batters at the top of the order in this year’s competition. He has hit 482 runs at a strike-rate of 207.75 and he is our pick for Sunrisers Hyderabad’s highest run scorer against KKR. Shahbaz Ahmed took 3/23 on this same pitch as the final on Friday and the spinner is well worth backing as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s top wicket taker in this game.On a pitch which is likely to assist his bowling, we recommend selecting Varun Chakravarthy to take over 1.5 wickets in this match. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad T20 Match Prediction & Betting Tips, Final IPL 2024 The final of the 2024 Indian Premier League sees Kolkata Knight Riders take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on Sunday. These sides finished in the top two places of the group stage and also met in the Qualifier 1 last Tuesday which KKR won easily. Read on as we preview this match. The final begins at 19:30 local time. KKR have not lost a game since Match 42 of this tournament and confidence is very high around the group. Although they have seen their opening partnership interrupted by Phil Salt returning to the UK, they have an excellent replacement and will fancy their chances of winning this final. Sunrisers Hyderabad were well beaten in the Qualifier 1 on Tuesday but then produced an excellent performance here in Chepauk on Friday to qualify for the final. They play a fearless brand of cricket and they will be very hard to beat on Sunday. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Match Toss PredictionAfter we saw Sunrisers Hyderabad successfully defend a total in the Qualifier 2 at this venue on Friday, we expect that both captains will choose to bat first if they win the toss ahead of this final at the MA Chidambaram. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad Pitch ReportThe pitch at the MA Chidambaram is never the quickest in the IPL and that has been the case once again this season. As a result, scores of 250+ are unrealistic on a surface which is likely to assist the spinners. Slower balls will grip and batters will need to take advantage of the hard ball and the fielding restrictions during the powerplay. Chennai Weather ReportIt will be a cloudy evening in Chepauk and there is a slight chance of rain according to the forecast. However, it is only a slight chance and we can expect a temperature of 32 degrees throughout with high humidity. Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Final Indian Premier League 2024

West Indies vs South Africa 2nd T20 Match Prediction, Betting Tips & Odds

Vann Hiso8 months ago8 months ago05 mins

Get to Know Who will win WI vs SA 2nd T20 match and toss Prediction with Head to Head stats, CBTFJSK Tips, Dream11 Prediction, Betting Rates, Live score & winning percentage. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 : West Indies vs South Africa𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 : May 26, 2024𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 : 12:30 IST / 5:00 GMT𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄 : Sabina Park – Kingston, Jamaica 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 : 2nd T20 2024 West Indies vs South Africa Betting Tips Brandon King smashed 79 runs and he looked in positive form. We back him to be the top batter for the West Indies in this match. The top bowler will be Obed McCoy who finished with 2/15 in the first match.For South Africa, the top batter will be Quinton de Kock. He did not perform well in the first game but he is one of the best top order batters in T20s.The pitch gets slower as we saw in the first game so we do not expect a lot of big hits in this match. West Indies vs South Africa TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website. WI vs SA 2nd T20 Match Prediction & Betting Tips After a brilliant victory by the home team West Indies in the 1st match against South Africa, we move on to the next fixture. The 2nd T20 between WI and SA is scheduled to take place at Sabina Park in Jamaica on 25th May, starting at 12:30 AM (May 26) IST. South Africa was the favourite in the 1st match but West Indies turned the tables around with a comprehensive win. They look ready for the upcoming T20 World Cup which is slated to take place in the West Indies and the United States. Despite going without a full-strength squad, West Indies played brilliantly and handed South Africa a 28 run defeat. Take a look at the predictions and tips for the upcoming 2nd T20 between WI and SA. WI vs SA Match Toss PredictionThe toss winner will choose to bat first as the pitch gets slower in the later stages of the game. WI vs SA Pitch ReportWe saw both the sides struggling with the batting as in both the innings, only 3 players were able to reach double digit scores. Fast bowlers got good assistance as the Proteas pacers took all wickets in the first innings but then the pitch started getting slower and spinner Motie picked 3 wickets. We expect the same behaviour from the pitch in the 2nd game. The average innings score will be around 170. Jamaica Weather ReportThe weather report predicts cloudy day in Jamaica on Saturday. There is a slight chance of rain and the temperature will hover around 31-33°C. Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for West Indies vs South Africa 2nd T20 2024

Watch: Cake-smeared Shahbaz Ahmed leads celebrations in SRH camp after entering IPL final | Cricket News

Danijones8 months ago03 mins

Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma‘s combined effort of five-wickets led Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) entry into the final of IPL 2024 with a comprehensive 36-run win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday, and the duo deservingly cut the victory cake as the team returned to their hotel in Chennai.SRH had lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Qualifier 1 and will now face the same opponents in the title clash on Sunday.SRH previously won the title in 2016 while KKR have lifted the trophy twice before – in 2012 and 2014. IPL 2024 STANDINGS: Orange Cap | Purple Cap On Friday in Qualifier 2, SRH scored 175 for 9, thanks to Heinrich Klassen’s 34-ball 50. In chase, Rajasthan could only reach 139 for 7 as the two left-arm spinners Shahbaz (3 for 23) and Abhishek (2 for 24) tied the Royals’ batsmen into knots.Until Qualifier 2, it was Abhishek’s bat making most of the noise with 470 runs coming off his willow in 14 innings. While he could add only 12 more runs to it on Friday, it was his bowling spell of 2 for 24, which included wickets of Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson (10) and Shimron Hetmyer (4), that took SRH into the final.As the team entered the hotel lobby upon its return from the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the hotel staff had arranged for a cake, which was cut by the spin twins. But Shahbaz had no idea of what was coming next as one of his teammates took a big chunk from the cake and smeared it on Shahbaz’s face, much to the amusement of the rest of the squad watching on. Besides that fun, skipper Pat Cummins, Klaasen and Shahbaz also connected with the fans from the SRH dressing room after the win. WATCH VIDEOS OF SUNRISERS’ CELEBRATIONS