IPL 2024: Mohammed Siraj's good show for RCB a shot in the arm for Team India | Cricket News

IPL 2024: Mohammed Siraj’s good show for RCB a shot in the arm for Team India | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Mohammed Siraj‘s turn-around has been instrumental in Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s late-inning comeback in this IPL, and the pacer’s impressive form may have also helped calm Indian nerves ahead of the T20 World Cup next month.IPL ORANGE CAP | IPL PURPLE CAP | IPL POINTS TABLEIn the most recent manifestation of his transformation, Siraj destroyed the Gujarat Titans with a two-wicket burst in the Power Play, taking the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill.Siraj took an incredible 2-0-9-2 at that point, and as he is expected to share the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah in the ICC final, it is also a huge boost for the national side.After working with Siraj for the past five years, assistant coach Adam Griffith of the RCB attributed that change to him “swinging the ball again.”“He’s the leader of our group. He’s played a lot for India in the last few years and has done really well. It’s not just him bowling well. It’s his aggression, his body language, him taking the batters on to try and get wickets is such an important part of what we’re trying to do.“Having him up and going, swinging the ball again, bowling with good pace, and being aggressive is so important to us,” said Griffith in the post-match press meet in Bengaluru on Saturday after RCB defeated GT by four wickets. The bowling performance of the Royal Challengers, with a combined economy rate of 10.28 and 45 wickets, was the lowest in the IPL season.As the leader, it was Siraj’s job to sort of galvanize the others, and he raised his hand.Maybe the nine days off he received between April 12 and April 20 helped him refocus and become more alert.The Sunrisers Hyderabad game in Bengaluru, where they amassed an IPL record 287 for three, was the one he missed in the meantime.Griffith outlined the reasoning behind allowing Siraj some free time.“He’s like any other player when they are fatigued. It’s very important to give them that break. That’s just as important as the training component, sometimes even more important.“He is a rhythm bowler – his run-up is so important to what he does. So, we want him fresh and running in hard,” he said. Siraj participated in four games against the Kolkata Knight Riders, SRH, and two against GT after his comeback from the break. In a high-scoring game against the Knight Riders, RCB lost by one run, but they won the other three.In those three matches, Siraj had figures of 4-0-20-0, 4-0-34-1 and 4-0-29-2.Griffith said Siraj has found a good balance between off-time and preparation.“He knows his body really well. He knows what he needs to do to prepare and every now and then we might need to give him a little bit of a push in that direction.“I’ve been with him now for five or so years, so I can tell when he’s going well and when he needs a rest,” he added.This version of Siraj was a throwback to IPL 2023 when he picked up 19 wickets and 10 of them were in the Power Play.The energy of Siraj seemed to have percolated to other bowlers too as the young Yash Dayal dished out a frugal and productive spell upfront – 4-0-21-2.It meant that the Titans were restricted to the lowest Power Play score of this IPL season – 23/3.Griffith said the RCB bowlers have collectively managed to hit a better line as they notched up three wins on the bounce.“We’ve swung the ball all tournament upfront. We talked about bowling a lot straighter and attacking the stumps as much as we can to challenge the batters’ defence and make them play aggressive shots if they want to come at us.“That’s the challenge for them to do and the boys put them exactly where we wanted them (against GT),” he explained.(With PTI inputs)

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'Let's not get into that topic': Ashwin's blunt refusal on 'Sunil Narine' query while discussing Jasprit Bumrah's action

‘Let’s not get into that topic’: Ashwin’s blunt refusal on ‘Sunil Narine’ query while discussing Jasprit Bumrah’s action

Sunil Narine has been simply sensational for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024. He is their second-highest run-scorer with 380 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 179.24. During the ongoing campaign, he has also smacked a ton and two fifties. Even in the bowling department, batters have found it hard to deal with him this season, and is fifth in the Purple Cap race with 13 wickets in 10 matches, at an economy of 6.72. R Ashwin spoke about Jasprit Bumrah and Sunil Narine. This year, bowlers have found it tough to outperform batters and runs have come in plenty. In the leaderboard for the Purple Cap race, among the top-five wicket takers, only Jasprit Bumrah (6.25) and Narine have an economy less than 7. Bumrah is on top of the Purple Cap race with 17 dismissals in 11 games at an economy of 6.25. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! Speaking on YouTube, Rajasthan Royals star R Ashwin hailed Bumrah and Narine, but also took a slight dig at the former West Indies player’s bowling action, which has been questioned in the past and didn’t want to explain further. “Bumrah has a really good unique point – He has got a distinct advantage compared to other pacers due to his release point. I won’t talk about Sunil Narine. It’s wrong according to my policy. Narine was also getting hit 2-3 seasons ago. This season he’s been outstanding. But let’s not get into that topic,” he said. Wickets have rarely come for the India veteran this season and he has only managed two wickets in nine games, at an economy of 9.00. But he has proved to be key in important moments and RR are also on top of the IPL 2024 points table. Meanwhile, Bumrah’s sizzling form hasn’t resonated with Mumbai Indians’ performance this season. MI are bottom of the table with six points in 11 games. Meanwhile, Narine’s KKR are second with 14 points in 10 fixtures. News / Cricket News / ‘Let’s not get into that topic’: Ashwin’s blunt refusal on ‘Sunil Narine’ query while discussing Jasprit Bumrah’s action

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Mayank Yadav won't take any further part in IPL: Justin Langer | Cricket News

Mayank Yadav won’t take any further part in IPL: Justin Langer | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer confirmed on Saturday that pace sensation Mayank Yadav will miss the rest of the Indian Premier League due to a lower abdominal tear.The news of the 21-year-old Delhi man being ruled out of this IPL due to a grade 1 side strain was earlier reported on May 1, coinciding with his inclusion in the BCCI‘s pace bowling contract list.Asked about Mayank’s fitness status, Langer said, “No, we’ll be praying that he can play, hopefully, in the play-offs, but I am a realist as well. It’ll probably be difficult for him to get up for the back-end of the tournament.”Mayank, known for his thunderbolt deliveries clocking at 155 km/h, featured in four IPL matches, claiming seven wickets.However, in two of those games, he was unable to finish his allotted overs due to injury.During the first instance against Gujarat Titans, Mayank suffered a side strain after bowling just one over and had to leave the field.Following a four-week rehabilitation period, Mayank returned to play against Mumbai Indians. However, he suffered another breakdown after bowling 3.1 overs, resulting in strong criticism from Brett Lee, a former teammate of Langer.Langer informed the media that Mayank sustained a tear at the same area where he was injured earlier.“He’s (Mayank) had a scan. He’s got a small tear in a similar area to where his last one (injury) was. So, it’s very unfortunate. We saw the impact he had when he came back into the game,” the former Australia opener and head coach said.Langer said even the great Jasprit Bumrah has spoken about how fast bowlers will have to cope with injuries.“There will always be a lot of discussion about fast bowlers, and I know he spoke to [Jasprit] Bumrah after the game and he reassured him that if he’s going to be a fast bowler, a part of his journey as a young fast bowler, he’s going to get injuries.“So, in my experience, every young fast bowler, probably until they get to 25 or 26, is going to experience different injuries. It’s the most unfortunate. He’s got huge potential,” he said.While Lee had questioned LSG’s handling of Mayank’s injury, the head coach sounded different.“His rehabilitation was excellent. He went into the game [against MI], had a couple of bowls before the game.“He was completely pain free. So, it’s very sad for him and it’s disappointing for LSG as well that he might not play (the rest of the tournament).”(With PTI inputs)

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Mumbai Indians return to winning ways with thrilling victory over Punjab Kings – India TV

Mumbai Indians return to winning ways with thrilling victory over Punjab Kings – India TV

Image Source : BCCI/IPL Mumbai Indians players against Punjab Kings in the IPL game on April 18, 2024 Mumbai Indians recorded a thrilling nine-run victory over Punjab Kings to register their only third win of the IPL 2024 season on Thursday, April 18. Punjab Kings made a late comeback while chasing a 193-run target but Mumbai avoided a late scare to return to the winning ways at Mullanpur’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium. Coming into this game after a heavy loss against Chennai Super Kings, Hardik Pandy-led produced an impressive all-round performance. Suryakumar Yadav smashed 78 runs off 53 balls to help Mumbai post 192 total while batting first and pacers Gerald Coetzee and Jasprit Bumrah took early wickets to stumble Punjab to 14 for 4. But Punjab made a sensational comeback through Shashank Singh’s 41 off 25 balls and Ashutosh Sharma’s valiant 61 off just 28 balls. Mumbai managed to avoid a late scare by defending 12 runs in the last over and jumped to seventh place in the points table.  Meanwhile, Suryakumar’s second fifty of the season put Mumbai on track for a big total but the likes of Hardik Pandya and Tim David failed to finish. Tilak Varma smashed a crucial 34* off 18 balls and Rohit contributed with 36 runs. Harshal Patel took three wickets for 31 and stand-in skipper Sam Curran bagged two for Punjab Kings. Chasing a big total, Punjab suffered a disastrous start to their innings with top-four batters returning to the pavilion inside 2.1 overs. Both Coetzee and Bumrah took two wickets each in their powerplay spells to put Mumbai in favourites position to record a huge win. But Ashutosh Sharma and Harpreet Brar pulled off 57 runs for the eighth wicket to take the game to the wire. Ashutosh recorded his first fifty of the season by smashing 61 off 28 balls with the help of two fours and seven sixes.  Punjab Kings Playing XI: Rilee Rossouw, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh (substituted by Harpreet Bhatia). Mumbai Indians Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (substituted by Akash Madhwal), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah.

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'There is no one to actually support...': Brian Lara slams Mumbai Indians' bowling | Cricket News

‘There is no one to actually support…’: Brian Lara slams Mumbai Indians’ bowling | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: West Indian cricket legend Brian Lara and former England captain Kevin Pietersen offered insightful analysis after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by 20 runs in their IPL encounter.Lara pointed out MI’s bowling deficiencies, beyond the formidable Jasprit Bumrah. He emphasized the lack of support for Bumrah, stating, “Their bowling is poor. Beyond Jasprit Bumrah, there is no one to actually support them in that bowling attack, and the CSK batters took them apart.” The batting maestro highlighted MI’s reluctance to utilize spinners against Shivam Dube and emphasized the need for MI to strengthen their bowling lineup. He emphasized, “The spinners, they only bowled 4 overs after around 7 runs an over, but they weren’t trusted with Shivam Dube out there. So, MI will have to improve in that area, they’ve got to find a couple of bowlers, match-winning bowlers.” Meanwhile, Pietersen lauded Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana‘s exceptional performance, describing him as “very unorthodox.” Drawing comparisons with legendary bowler Lasith Malinga, Pietersen added, “It was something that Malinga had as well, it was reverse, but it wasn’t reverse in, it was reverse down, and that’s always going away from the angle of where you’re trying to hit the ball.”ALSO CHECK: IPL SCHEDULEPietersen emphasized the challenge posed by Pathirana’s deliveries, noting, “When you’ve got a bowler that’s coming at an angle, but it’s not coming on at a natural angle, it’s coming on at an angle that actually starts to dip on you, then you can’t actually play the sweep, you can’t play the ramp, because it’s going to get under your bat, and then it also makes it really hard to hit down the ground. It’s a gem for CSK, what a bowler.”(Inputs from PTI)

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Watch - MI vs CSK: Rivals on the field, friends off it | Cricket News

Watch – MI vs CSK: Rivals on the field, friends off it | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: There’s no bigger clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) than the one between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. It’s a classic rivalry to say the least.Both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are powerhouse teams, each having won the trophy five times. Whenever they clash, it’s not just a cricket match, but a showdown of talent, strategy, and nerves. Their matches are always highly anticipated and fiercely contested, with fans from both sides eagerly watching every ball.The MI vs CSK rivalry is characterized by competitiveness, high-quality cricket, and memorable moments, making it one of the most captivating matchups in the IPL.But regardless of the rivalry, the players of both the teams are friends and have mutual admiration for each other.On the eve of the clash between the two teams at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, the official X handle of CSK shared a video of players both the teams meeting and greeting each other.Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur who are from Mumbai play for CSK.In the video, Rohit Sharma was seen talking to Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja interacting with Tilak Verma. And the friends from the Caribbean, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were seen talking to CSK head coach Stephen Fleming.Bravo and Pollard have had numerous and memorable on-field clashes but their friendship has only grown stronger over the years.Shardul Thakur was also seen talking to Ishan Kishan, whose idol is the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni.The MI-CSK rivalry began in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. Since then, MI and CSK have faced each other numerous times in the league stage, playoffs, and finals, adding to the intensity of their rivalry.Both teams have had their moments of dominance. However, CSK has historically had a slight edge in head-to-head matches, particularly in the earlier seasons of the IPL. In recent years, MI have balanced the scales, making the rivalry even more compelling. MI and CSK have often met in crucial playoff matches and finals, elevating the stakes of their encounters. These matches have produced some thrilling moments and have been highly anticipated by fans of both teams.The rivalry is also fueled by the presence of star players in both teams. Players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah (MI) and MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) have played key roles in shaping the outcomes of matches between these teams over the years.MI and CSK have large and passionate fan bases, adding to the atmosphere and excitement whenever they face each other on the field. The support from fans further intensifies the rivalry.

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