KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Mitchell Starc defends his numbers after his best spell in IPL 2024 – India TV

Danijones11 months ago04 mins

Image Source : BCCI/IPL Mitchell Starc during the MI vs KKR IPL 2024 post-match press conference at Wankhede Stadium on May 3, 2024 Kolkata Knight Riders produced an impressive all-round performance to end Mumbai Indians’ hopes to secure playoff qualification in the IPL 2024 on Friday. Venkatesh Iyer and Mitchell Starc emerged as heroes to help Kolkata further strengthen their second position in the points table with a 24-run win at Wankhede Stadium. Venkatesh Iyer claimed the Player of the Match award for his 70 runs off 52 balls innings but Starc stole the limelight with his late match-winning spell. The Australian pacer gave KKR a breakthrough with Ishan Kishan’s early wicket and then picked three wickets in the penultimate over to bowl out Mumbai on just 145. Starc’s four wickets for 33 figures significantly boosted his concerning numbers in the IPL 2024. Arriving at Eden Gardens with a record price stage of INR 24.75 crore, Starc managed to pick only two wickets in his first four innings but has made a stunning comeback with nine wickets in his last five innings. While answering media questions in the post-match presser, the 34-year-old left-arm pacer admitted that he wanted to impress from the beginning of the tournament but pointed out that he is not the only bowler struggling in the IPL. “As T20 cricket doesn’t always go the way you want it to go, and of course, I wanted to go a bit better at the start,” Mitchell Starc said after Kolkata’s win over Mumbai on Friday. “But I am not the only bowler going for runs. It is what it is. The fact that we sit second [on the points table] and are building towards the more important games at the back end and are playing some good cricket, hopefully, I can be a part of it too.” Starc also shared his thoughts on the impact substitute rule and how it is not doing any favour to bowlers. Teams have already managed to post 250-plus totals on a record eight times this season and bowlers are getting criticized for their expensive spells. “The Impact Player rule changes things a fair bit. Everyone gets to bat a lot deeper having a batting and a bowling XI. There’s a lot made of that rule throughout the tournament and there’s been a lot of high scores, which is the nature of the wickets and the grounds we play on here. When you have batters and batting allrounders come in at Nos. 8 or 9, it’s a long batting line-up,” Starc added. Starc has now picked 11 wickets in nine innings at an economy rate of 11.40 in the tournament and will next seen in action against Lucknow Super Ginats at Ekana Cricket Stadium on May 5.

‘KKR had no right to win…’: Former Aussie all-rounder makes bold statement | Cricket News

Danijones11 months ago04 mins

NEW DELHI: Following the Mumbai Indians’ clash with the Kolkata Knight Riders, Australian World Cup-winning all-rounder Shane Watson commented that the Kolkata-based franchise did not deserve to win the match due to their initial loss of five wickets in quick succession.KKR secured a 24-run victory against MI at the Wankhede Stadium, powered by an impressive 83-run partnership between Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey, complemented by Mitchell Starc‘s outstanding bowling performance, claiming figures of 4-33.This win marked Kolkata Knight Riders’ first victory at the Wankhede Stadium in 12 years, bringing them closer to the playoff spots in the tournament.The former Australian cricketer emphasized that the Knight Riders had little justification for winning the match after losing their first five wickets so quickly in their encounter against the five-time champions MI.“KKR had no right to win that game tonight after the position they were in five wickets down. It just shows the fight that they have and also just some of the things that happened. Some of the decisions that were made whether that was bowling changes or batting lineup deployment, some of those decisions were very baffling just to really give KKR the upper hand in a game that was just on a knife’s edge at certain times,” Watson said on Jio Cinema.The 42-year-old further mentioned that this victory would significantly boost the confidence of the Shreyas Iyer-led side.“Look that will give KKR so much confidence to know that they don’t have to be at their very best and be in a position where the game was nearly done and they’ve got the fight and determination to find their way to actually get on the right side of the result,” the two-time IPL champion added.Coming to the match, put to bat first, a solid partnership stand of 83 runs between Venkatesh Iyer (70 off 52) and Manish Pandey (42 off 31) guided KKR to 169. For MI, Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers at 3 for 18 in 3.5 overs with two wickets in one over.In reply, MI were bundled out for 145. Starc made a terrific comeback in the tournament returning with a figure of 4-33 in just 3.5 spells, handing KKR a 24-run victory. Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine both finished with identical figures of 2/22, including some big wickets in the first half of the chase which put KKR on top in the match.Following the win, KKR stand in second place on IPL 2024 standings with 14 points. Meanwhile, MI hold ninth place with 6 points by their name.KKR will next take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday.(With ANI inputs)

IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians can still qualify for playoffs – Here is how | Cricket News

Danijones11 months ago04 mins

NEW DELHI: Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians (MI) are currently struggling in the IPL 2024 standings, occupying the ninth position with six points and a net run rate of -0.356 after winning only three out of their eleven matches. Although their chances of finishing in the top three have diminished, they still have an opportunity to qualify for the playoffs.In their recent encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, MI suffered a 24-run defeat.To secure a playoff berth, Pandya’s team must win their remaining three matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), KKR, and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), accumulating 12 points from 14 matches.However, their qualification also depends on the results of other teams. MI cannot surpass Rajasthan Royals (RR) and KKR in the standings, as they have already amassed 16 and 14 points respectively after playing 10 matches each. Similarly, they will remain below SRH and LSG, who have already secured 12 points. MI’s only chance of finishing fourth is if LSG loses all their remaining four matches against KKR, SRH, Delhi Capitals (DC), and MI.Furthermore, MI will closely monitor the performance of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), DC, Gujarat Titans (GT), Punjab Kings (PBKS), and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), hoping that they do not exceed the 12-point mark and maintain a lower net run rate in IPL 2024.In the match between MI and KKR, Mumbai opted to field first. A strong partnership of 83 runs between Venkatesh Iyer (70 off 52) and Manish Pandey (42 off 31) propelled KKR to a total of 169. Jasprit Bumrah’s impressive spell of 3 for 18 in 3.5 overs, including a double-wicket over, was a highlight for MI. In response, MI were bowled out for 145. Starc made a remarkable comeback, claiming 4 wickets for 33 runs in just 3.5 overs, leading KKR to a 24-run victory. Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine also contributed with identical figures of 2/22, taking crucial wickets in the first half of the chase, which put KKR in a commanding position.Following their victory, KKR now hold the second position in the IPL 2024 standings with 14 points, while MI remain in ninth place with 6 points. MI’s next match is against SRH on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium.(Inputs from ANI)

IPL-17: LSG vs KKR | Playoffs hopeful Lucknow Super Giants wary of dominant Kolkata Knight Riders’ all-round firepower

Danijones11 months ago07 mins

Lucknow Super Giants will have to bring their ‘A’ game forward to prevail against a dominant Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams, marching towards IPL playoffs, clash in Lucknow on May 5. With an all-round win by 24 runs over Mumbai Indians propelling the second-placed KKR to 14 points — one more step closer to qualification — the pressure will be on KL Rahul’s LSG to find a way past the threat that Shreyas Iyer’s side poses. Lucknow Super Giants are placed just one rung below KKR at number three with 12 points from 10 matches with six wins and four defeats. With a rampant Sunrisers Hyderabad (12 points) hot on heir heels at fourth, followed by the dangerous Chennai Super Kings (10 points) and Delhi Capitals (10 points) on the points table, LSG will be under pressure to avoid getting into a mid-table battle as the race for the final-four has intensified. LSG were far from convincing in their previous assignment at Ekana Stadium here as they were made to work hard in a modest 145-run chase by Mumbai Indians, winning by just four wickets in the last over. Skipper Rahul and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis have been the key players for LSG and it remains to be seen if South Africa veteran Quinton de Kock is brought back in place of young Arshin Kulkarni, who opened the innings in the last game. Even though he has gone without a fifty since the first game, Nicholas Pooran has consistently notched up crucial scores but LSG’s overall finishing skills is under question following their struggles against Mumbai Indians. LSG seemed to have made heavy weather towards the end giving MI a real sniff by losing wickets in a flurry and completing their modest chase with some stutter. Ayush Badoni has had a subdued run in this IPL and the uncapped Indian player would be keen to shrug off the rustiness. LSG’s bowlers will also face a stern test with none of them making a real dent with individual brilliance in this IPL. LSG are also likely to be without express pacer Mayank Yadav. Having lost only three of their 11 matches so far, it has taken something out of the ordinary to stop KKR in their tracks. CSK used a spin-friendly surface to eke out a win in Chepauk, while RR’s all-round class helped them pip KKR in a high-scoring thriller. If anything, KKR’s bowling woes were exposed when Punjab Kings recorded IPL’s highest chase ever against them, but Iyer’s side has emerged strongly from that setback with two impressive wins. However, having trumped MI on a sluggish wicket which exposed their batting frailties, KKR will aim for a much improved performance with the bat. For the second time in this IPL, KKR batters struggled when the ball did not come on to the bat and they were forced to change gears in order to build a strong target. KKR slipped to 57 for five at one stage and ran the risk of being shot out for a paltry total, but Venkatesh Iyer (70) and Manish Pandey (42) came to the rescue with a fine 83-run stand. Iyer and Pandey were forced to soak pressure, curb their attacking game and look to farm the strike to build a recovery path for their side before the bowlers carried out a perfect job to secure a 24-run win. Teams (from): Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (c & wk), Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Shamar Joseph, Yash Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Prerak Mankad, Arshad Khan, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Matt Henry, Naveen-ul-Haq, Devdutt Padikkal, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mayank Yadav, Arshin Kulkarni. Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Allah Ghazanfar, Phil Salt. Match starts 7:30pm IST.

“Are Hardik Pandya, Tim David That Bad?”: Virender Sehwag Fumes At MI, Demands Serious Actions

Danijones11 months ago04 mins

Former India batter Virender Sehwag questioned Mumbai Indians (MI)’s tactics during the 24-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2024 match on Friday. Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium. While analysing the match, Sehwag said he was “baffled” with captain Hardik Pandya and Tim David arriving at No.7 and 8 in the lineup, respectively. Sehwag also posed a similar question for KKR after star all-rounder Andre Russell batted down the order. “KKR saved Andre Russell; he played only two balls. Mumbai Indians saved Hardik Pandya and Tim David. What did you achieve by doing that? There were many deliveries left, and they all got out. You could’ve come earlier, or maybe you could’ve finished the game earlier, too. I don’t know what happens to them when they chase… Hardik Pandya at seven and Tim David at 8. I just don’t understand what they did. Are these players that bad that they will get out if they come earlier?” Sehwag told Cricbuzz. Sehwag also slammed Hardik for batting down the order for MI, and pointed out how the all-rounder used to bat in the top order for Gujarat Titans. He added that the MI owners should take serious actions against the players and management. “Hardik Pandya batted at 4 consistently when he was the GT captain. What has happened here? It baffles me that the experienced players are coming so low. “I’m baffled by this. Management needs to take severe action on players and ask them what’s happening. Or, players should speak up about why their batting positions are changed. The captain, batting coach, bowling coach, and support staff are at fault here. Owners need to ask strict questions,” he added. Speaking on the loss, Hardik said after the game that his team failed to form any needed partnerships, and there are a lot of questions that will take time to answer, but he has not much to say at the moment. “I mean obviously in the batting inning, we couldn’t form partnerships and kept losing wickets, in T20s if you don’t form partnerships, it will cost you. Not much, there are a lot of questions that will take some time to answer but for now, not much to say,” Pandya said in a post-match presentation. Topics mentioned in this article

Like Dad, Like Daughter: Suhana Khan’s Post On KKR Ending 12-Year Jinx Has Our Heart

Danijones11 months ago03 mins

File photo of Suhana Khan.© Instagram Suhana Khan, daughter of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, was over the moon after the team won their game against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Suhana came to support KKR in the absence of his father and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was banned in 2012 by Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) from entering the venue. While his five-year ban was lifted by the MCA in 2015, Shah Rukh Khan was nowhere to be seen on Friday. Nonetheless, KKR registered a memorable win over MI by 24 runs, ending a 12-year wait for a victory over the hosts at the Wankhede Stadium. Taking to Instagram, an elated Suhana posted a story after KKR’s win. She shared a few hearts with the Wankhede big screen showing, “KKR win by 24 runs.” Her post has gone viral on social media. Coming back to the match, Venkatesh Iyer’s brilliant fighting half-century topped a similar effort by Suryakumar Yadav as Mitchell Star’s four-fer helped KKR beat MI by 24 runs. In a match dominated by the bowlers, Iyer rescued KKR from a precarious 57/5 by scoring a valiant 52-ball 70 to help them reach a lowly 169. KKR’s spin twins, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, then claimed identical hauls of 4-22 in their four overs each to reduce Mumbai Indians to 61/4. MI were soon down to 71/6 before Suryakumar Yadav launched a valiant rescue attempt, hauling them to 120 in the company of Tim David before Andre Russell (2-30) and Mitchell Starc shared five wickets between them to end Mumbai Indians’ fightback. Starc claimed three wickets in the 19th over, two of them off successive deliveries as MI were bowled out for 145. KKR consolidated their second spot in the IPL 2024 points table, while MI are all but out after suffering their eighth loss in 11 matches. (With IANS Inputs) Topics mentioned in this article

Gautam Gambhir’s Left Fuming As Rinku Singh Fails In 1st Match After T20 World Cup Snub. Video

Danijones11 months ago03 mins

Rinku Singh scored just nine runs in eight balls, despite a promising start.© X (Twitter) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh failed to impress on his first outing after being left out of India’s 15-man T20 World Cup squad. Rinku’s exclusion from the team has sparked a debate with fans and experts suggesting that the explosive batter should’ve been part of the 15-man squad. Rinku is one of the four travelling reserves for the tournament in the West Indies and USA. The 26-year-old, however, had a horror outing in his first IPL match after the unfortunate T20 World Cup snub. On Friday, during KKR’s game against the Mumbai Indians (MI), Rinku scored just nine runs in eight balls, despite a promising start where he hit Hardik Pandya for two boundaries. However, he was dismissed by Piyush Chawla in the veteran’s first ball of the match. Chawla deceived the youngster with a wrong’un, with Rinku chipping the ball straight back to him. Rinku’s dismissal, however, left KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir visibly frustrated in the dug out. Watch: Rinku Singh’s dismissal leaves Gautam Gambhir fuming https://t.co/r3JFmqLhmO — VEDANT BLANCO (@MrTrequartista7) May 4, 2024 Coming back to the match, Mitchell Starc picked up four wickets as a disciplined bowling performance helped KKR beat MI for the first time in 12 years at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium. Suryakumar Yadav raised hopes with a 35-ball 56 but his dismissal in the 16th over tilted the scales in favour of Kolkata. Earlier, Kolkata lost five quick wickets including that of the prolific Phil Salt (five) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (six) after being put in to bat. Tottering at 57-5, Venkatesh Iyer (70) and impact sub Manish Pandey (42) steadied Kolkata with an 83-run stand and ensured a respectable total on the board. Iyer, who hit a century at the same ground last season, hit three sixes and six fours in his fighting 52-ball knock. (With AFP Inputs) Topics mentioned in this article

Mild back stiffness forced Rohit Sharma to play as impact sub in MI-KKR clash

Danijones11 months ago05 mins

KKR’s Coach Gautam Gambhir and MI’s Rohit Sharma during the practice session ahead of IPL game between KKR and Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI India captain and Mumbai Indians opener Rohit Sharma was forced to play as an impact sub in the IPL clash against Kolkata Knight Riders due to a “mild back stiffness”, said leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. Playing as an impact sub, Rohit managed just 11 runs in 12 balls in the second innings during their 24-run loss against KKR, which has nearly put the five-time champions out of the IPL this year. “He just had a mild back stiffness so it was just a precautionary thing,” Chawla told the media after the match here at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai’s defeat was their eighth in 11 matches, essentially shutting the doors on the Hardik Pandya-led side and Chawla too conceded that it is only “pride” that they are left with to play for. “For the pride and the reputation, because sometimes when you enter on the field, you don’t think whether you are going to qualify or you are not going to qualify,” he said. “You have to play for your name and that’s what we are playing for,” he added. Chawla pointed MI’s inability to attain momentum at any stage in this IPL as the reason behind their poor performance. “You must have often heard about that T20 is all about momentum and just that we didn’t get that momentum going this season and it can happen to any team,” he said. “It’s not like it’s happening to us for the first time or any other team for the second time. It can happen to anyone and it’s just that that momentum was not our way.” The 35-year-old Chawla became IPL’s second leading wicket-taker when he went past Dwayne Bravo on Friday to take 184 wickets. “It has been a beautiful journey because IPL started 17 years back and at that time nobody gave that much preference to the spinners, but now if you see that in top few wicket takers in India, especially all the spinners, Ashwin, Yuzhi, myself (are there), so it’s a good feeling,” he said. Chawla also praised Manish Pandey for delivering in a pressure situation while playing his first game this season. Pandey (42) added 83 runs for the sixth wicket with Venkatesh Iyer (70) as KKR posted 169 allout in 19.5 overs. “It was a good partnership and credit has to go to them because they batted beautifully. Well, T20 is something in which experience plays a big role, (which is) what we saw today. “When Manish walked in, maybe if somebody walks in who must have played few games, he would have panicked that runs are not coming. “But he read the situation and the way he handled the situation because if you see in starting, he was hardly going at run a ball. But later on, he knew that he has to stand there with Venky.”

Irfan Pathan’s Epic Rant Goes Viral. Conclusion: “MI’s Story Ends Here”

Danijones11 months ago04 mins

Following Mumbai Indians’ (MI) loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan suggested that there is a lack of respect in the dressing room for captain Hardik Pandya. With eight defeats in 11 matches, Hardik has endured a disastrous first season in IPL as MI captain. Irfan, who has been critical of Hardik since the start of the season, once again questioned the tactics of the MI captain. He pointed out how Hardik gave the ball to Naman Dhir when KKR were tottering at 57/5. Irfan said that Hardik’s decision allowed KKR to rebuild their innings with the help of Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey, who was playing his first game of the season. “Mumbai Indians’ story ends here. This team was so good on paper, but it wasn’t managed. The questions that were raised on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy were absolutely right. When you’ve restricted KKR to 57/5, you didn’t have to give Naman Dhir three successive overs. You had to bring your main bowlers, and you gave your sixth bowler three overs. Manish Pandey and Venkatesh Iyer posted a strong partnership. You could’ve bowled them out on 150 instead you let them score 170,” Irfan said in a viral video. Irfan Pathan exposes Hardik Pandya Captaincy – “Mumbai Indians solid team on paper not managed well by their captain again. This Complete team failure on this loss.” pic.twitter.com/oIdW97Chao — (@rushiii_12) May 3, 2024 Irfan further suggested that the MI players don’t respect Hardik as captain, which has further hampered the team this season. “Captaincy has a big impact in the game. Mumbai Indians don’t look like a united team, and management needs to consider this. Players need to respect and accept the captain, and we didn’t see that on-field. They have to improve in that aspect,” he added. The win helped KKR retain their second position in the table but now with 14 points to their credit from 10 games. Meanwhile, MI remained at the 9th spot with 6 points after playing 11 games. However, mathematically Mumbai Indians are still alive in the race to playoffs. They need to win their remaining three matches and hope for favourable results from other games to end at top 4. MI remaining games are against SRH, KKR and LSG on May 6, 11 and 17, respectively. Topics mentioned in this article

IPL 2024: Why Rohit Sharma played as an impact sub in Mumbai Indians-Kolkata Knight Riders clash | Cricket News

Danijones11 months ago05 mins

NEW DELHI: Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla stated that India captain and Mumbai Indians opener Rohit Sharma was compelled to play as an impact substitute in the IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders because of a “mild back stiffness”.IPL ORANGE CAP | IPL PURPLE CAP | IPL POINTS TABLETheir 24-run defeat against KKR, in which Rohit was an impact substitute, saw him score just 11 runs in 12 balls in the second innings. This loss almost saw the five-time winners eliminated from the IPL this year.“He just had a mild back stiffness so it was just a precautionary thing,” Chawla told the media after the match here at the Wankhede Stadium.Mumbai’s eighth loss in 11 games has put an end to the Hardik Pandya-led team, and Chawla also acknowledged that their only remaining motivation is “pride”. “For the pride and the reputation, because sometimes when you enter on the field, you don’t think whether you are going to qualify or you are not going to qualify,” he said.“You have to play for your name and that’s what we are playing for,” he added.MI’s lack of momentum throughout this IPL season, according to Chawla, is the cause of their subpar play.“You must have often heard about that T20 is all about momentum and just that we didn’t get that momentum going this season and it can happen to any team,” he said. “It’s not like it’s happening to us for the first time or any other team for the second time. It can happen to anyone and it’s just that that momentum was not our way.”On Friday, the 35-year-old Chawla overtook Dwayne Bravo to claim 184 wickets, becoming him the second-highest wicket-taker in the IPL.“It has been a beautiful journey because IPL started 17 years back and at that time nobody gave that much preference to the spinners, but now if you see that in top few wicket takers in India, especially all the spinners, Ashwin, Yuzhi, myself (are there), so it’s a good feeling,” he said. In addition, Chawla commended Manish Pandey for his performance in his first game of the season despite being under pressure. As KKR scored 169 all out in 19.5 overs, Pandey (42) and Venkatesh Iyer (70) shared 83 runs for the sixth wicket.“It was a good partnership and credit has to go to them because they batted beautifully. Well, T20 is something in which experience plays a big role, (which is) what we saw today.“When Manish walked in, maybe if somebody walks in who must have played few games, he would have panicked that runs are not coming.“But he read the situation and the way he handled the situation because if you see in starting, he was hardly going at run a ball. But later on, he knew that he has to stand there with Venky.” (With PTI inputs)