Sport
IPL: Russell propels KKR to a thrilling 4-run win
Punjab Kings started off TATA IPL 2024 on a winning note as they edged Delhi Capitals by four wickets in Match 2 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday.
This was the first of two matches played Saturday.
The second match of the day, saw Kolkata Knight Riders edge Sunrisers Hyderabad in a thrilling four-run win.
Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers Hyderabad very nearly stole victory away from Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Saturday, but the 22-year-old Harshit Rana successfully defended 12 off the final over to take KKR over the line in a last-ball thriller.
With momentum on their side, Sunrisers had a dream start to the 20th over when Klaasen pulled Harshit for six over square leg. But the seamer followed it up with two singles, two wickets and one dot in the next five balls to seal the deal, ESPNcricinfo reported.
Earlier, it was Sunil Narine’s 1 for 19 in four overs on a batting-friendly surface – the spell included zero boundaries – which kept Sunrisers quiet through the middle overs.
His economy of 4.75 was a complete outlier on a surface where bowlers, whether experienced or not, went for a lot.
KKR also had Andre Russell, Phil Salt and Ramandeep Singh to thank for their first-innings score of 208. From 51 for 4, the hosts rebuilt courtesy Salt’s 40-ball 54 on KKR debut and a 17-ball 35 from Ramandeep.
Russell put the finishing touches to the KKR innings by smacking seven sixes in his 25-ball, unbeaten 64.
Meanwhile, the early match of the day saw Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone spoiling Rishabh Pant’s comeback as Punjab Kings started their IPL 2024 campaign with a four-wicket win at their new home ground in Mullanpur.
After being sent in, Delhi Capitals were 137 for 7 in the 18th over when they decided to bring in Abishek Porel as the Impact Player. Porel smashed 32 off just ten balls to lift them to 174 for 9.
But that also meant Capitals were going to be a bowler light during the chase. Ishant Sharma’s injury – he hurt his ankle after bowling just two overs – set them back further.
Playing his first competitive game in 15 months, after a road accident, the Mullanpur crowd welcomed Pant with a standing ovation. Despite looking a bit rusty, he was given a life on 4 when Harshal lost the ball in the sun at deep midwicket and ended up gifting a four.
As if to rub it in, Pant then drove Harshal for his second boundary. Two balls later, though, Harshal bowled a slower bouncer; Pant failed to spot it and ended up popping it to backward point. His first outing with bat on comeback ended on 18 off 13 balls.
How to watch
This year’s IPL is now well underway and thanks to Ariana Television Network (ATN), fans across the country need not miss a game as all matches will be broadcast live on Ariana Television and streamed live on www.arianatelevision.com.
Once again, two matches will be played Sunday, March 24.
The first of the day, Match 4, starts at 2.3pm Kabul time when Rajasthan Royals take on Lucknow Super Giants.
The second match of the day, Match 5, starts at 6.30pm when Mumbai Indians come up against Gujarat Titans.
Make sure to watch this space for schedule updates and news on the event.
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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