Sport
IPL: Mumbai Indians fall short by just six runs in Gujarat match
One doesn’t often see Rashid Khan thumped by a batsman in a T20 game, but on Sunday, in the Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Titans match, Deward Brevis did the unthinkable and smashed Rashid out of the park.
In doing so, he showed how confident he was while facing arguably the most dangerous T20 bowler in the world.
Shubman Gill meanwhile, in his first game as Gujarat Titans captain, was thrilled by how his bowlers pulled their heist against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians needed only 48 runs off the last six overs with seven wickets in hand but they fell six runs short.
Rashid didn’t take a wicket but went for only 23 in his four overs and it was towards the end of his spell that Mumbai began to flounder.
ESPNcricinfo reported that Rashid’s final over did indeed play out as unexpected.
Tim David lofted Rashid towards the deep midwicket boundary.
He and Tilak Varma could have run two if they pushed hard, but they settled for a single to bring the left-handed Tilak on strike.
Tilak then hit the next ball to deep midwicket but refused the single. Mumbai at this stage needed 38 off 21 balls and the pressure only increased after Rashid conceded only three runs in the 17th over.
Hardik’s response when he was asked if there had been a plan to keep David away from Rashid was ”not really”.
He went on to say: “I think Tilak felt that was a better idea at that point of time. I completely back him, not an issue, 13 games to go.”
Mohit Sharma, who was the second highest wicket-taker last season but had only played three competitive matches since then, followed up by dismissing David in the 18th over to return figures of 2 for 32.
However, Indian media are having a field day over Hardik’s return to Mumbai Indians, which they say started on a sour note.
The all-rounder rejoined MI last year before the auction in a sensational transfer, and also replaced Rohit Sharma as captain.
In 2022, Hardik was released by MI and picked up by Gujarat Titans, who immediately appointed him as captain.
He led GT to the title in their debut season, followed by a runners-up finish. So, as the Hindustan Times has stated, it was shocking for fans when he decided to rejoin MI as he was expected to be a long-term skipper for GT.
But Hardik’s return started off on a poor note after MI crashed to their six-run defeat.
There was also plenty of pre-match drama which got the fans worked up.
During the first innings, there was a moment which caught everyone’s attention. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik were caught up in an animated discussion, and just as Rohit arrived to join it, Hardik simply walked away.
In response, Bumrah could be seen taken aback by Hardik’s decision to just walk away.
This has led to fans questioning whether there is a divide in the team.
In the other match of the day, captain Sanju Samson’s powerful knock of 82*(52) coupled with some brilliant Powerplay and slog-overs bowling, helped Rajasthan Royals get off to a winning start as they beat Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs.
Today, Monday March 25, Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Punjab Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Anticipation is running high among fans as the star-studded Bengaluru side, perennial contenders for the trophy, seek redemption after a shaky start to the season.
Their opening encounter against defending champions Chennai ended in defeat, intensifying the pressure as they gear up to face Punjab on Monday.
Fans across the country can tune in to Ariana Television from 6.30pm to watch this match live. Fans can also stream the match live on Ariana Television’s website.
Click here for IPL 2024 schedule.
Afghanistan defeated Iraq 5-3 on Friday and moved closer to the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualification.
Afghanistan’s goals were scored by Akbar Kazemi (1), Farzad Mahmoodi (1), Mehran Ghulami (1), and Jawad Safari (2).
In the other match of playoff in Thailand on Friday, Kyrgyzstan beat Vietnam 3-2.
Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan will face off for a spot at the Futsal World Cup on Sunday at the Playoff final.
Rishabh Pant smashed an unbeaten 88 as he led Delhi Capitals to a tense IPL win over Gujarat Titans on Wednesday, boosting his chances of playing for India at the T20 World Cup.
Delhi posted 224-4 courtesy of a 113-run stand between Pant and fellow left-hander Axar Patel, who hit 66, after they slipped to 44-3 inside six overs at their home Arun Jaitley Stadium, AFP reported.
The hosts kept Gujarat down to 220-8 to win by four runs after David Miller’s 23-ball 55 and an unbeaten 21 off 11 deliveries by Rashid Khan.
Mukesh Kumar kept his nerve in the final over for Delhi’s fourth win in nine matches as they kept their playoff hopes alive in the T20 tournament.
Pant, 26, struck his third half-century of this season after 14 months away from top level cricket following a frightening car accident when his Mercedes rammed into a barrier, flipped and caught fire in December 2022.
Pant, a wicketkeeper-batsman, suffered multiple injuries and was rushed to hospital before being airlifted to Mumbai for further treatment and surgery.
“Everyday that I’m in the middle, I feel better,” man of the match Pant said after his 43-ball blitz studded with five fours and eight sixes.
“Every hour on the field matters, I love being on the field. I try to give it my 100 percent. I think the first six in the match gives me the confidence in a game.”
Pant has not only fired with the bat in the IPL but his sharp work behind the stumps prompted Delhi’s director of cricket Sourav Ganguly and coach Ricky Ponting to back the India star for making the national team for the World Cup in June, AFP reported.
– ‘Great fight’ –
Up and coming Australian batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk gave Delhi a strong start with his 14-ball 23 but medium-pace bowler Sandeep Warrier took three wickets including two in one over.
Patel, a bowling all-rounder promoted to number three in the batting, brought up his fifty with a boundary off Rashid before another Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad had him caught at long-on.
Pant reached his fifty in style with a six off Mohit Sharma and then hammered the medium-pace bowler in a 31-run 20th over when he finished with a six, four and three hits over the fence to raise the roof.
South African Tristan Stubbs watched the blitz from the other end after he smashed Sai Kishore in the 19th over, which went for 22 runs, for his unbeaten seven-ball 26.
In reply, Gujarat lost skipper Shubman Gill for six off Anrich Nortje before impact substitute Sai Sudarshan smashed 65 off 39 balls.
Gujarat lost regular wickets but the left-handed Miller smashed Nortje for three sixes and a four to give Delhi a scare before his departure in the 18th over.
Rashid kept up the fight till the end as Gujarat needed 19 off the final over and five on the last ball.
“I think we played some really good cricket, disappointing to lose in the end, but great character shown by everyone,” said Gill. “Great fight till the end and we never thought we were out of the game at any point.”
Attack Energy FC defeated Sorkh Poshan Khafi 1-0 in the 9th match of Afghanistan Champions League (ACL) in Kabul on Wednesday.
Hasib Ahadi scored the only goal and was named man of the match.
“I congratulate this victory to the Attack Energy team. It was a good game. There were some problems that, unfortunately, we couldn’t score in the first half of the match. Thank god we finally won the game,” said Ahadi.
In the 10th ACL match, played on Wednesday, Istiqlal Kabul FC beat Mawj Sahil FC 2-1.
Shadab Malikzada was named man of the match and awarded the trophy.
Tomorrow’s matches will see Khadim FC take on Maiwand FC at 1:00 PM, while Jawanan Wahedi FC face Adalat Farah FC at 3:30 PM.
The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television every day.
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