On a night of high-intensity, wildly swinging cricket, 22-year-old tearaway Umran Malik was one of the brightest stars. He claimed all five wickets Sunrisers Hyderabad took on the night, finishing with figures of 4-0-25-5 in a game in which both teams scored 190-plus. Here’s a run-through of his wickets. Chasing 196, Gujarat Titans are a comfortable 68 for 0 in seven overs, when Malik comes on. One single and three…
Gujarat Titans 199 for 5 (Saha 68, Tewatia 40*, Rashid 31*, Malik 5-25) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 195 for 6 (Abhishek 65, Markram 56, Shashank 25*, Shami 3-39) by five wickets A 21-year old and a 22-year old made the entire world sit up and take notice. Abhishek Sharma carved up Rashid Khan. Umran Malik roughed up Hardik Pandya. The new kids were gunning for the old pros. And it made…
The power vacuum at the top of English cricket looks set to extend throughout the home summer, after the ECB was forced to restart the recruitment process for its new chairman, amid reports that Ron Kalifa – the man leading the nominations committee – is set to be put himself forward for the role instead. And in a further blow to the ECB’s hopes of a smooth transition, Barry O’Brien…
Since getting retained by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 8 crore (40 times his previous salary), life in the IPL hasn’t been easy for Venkatesh Iyer. He’s batted eight times this season and has gone past 20 only once, and neither his average (18.00) nor his strike rate (102.43) make for pretty reading. After six games as opener, Knight Riders have moved him into the middle order, and that hasn’t…
Big Picture Things have not gone too well for Kolkata Knight Riders since their match against Delhi Capitals earlier this month. Entering that game with three wins in four games, they crumbled in a heap against former Knight Rider Kuldeep Yadav, chasing a huge total set up by David Warner and Prithvi Shaw. They have lost four matches in a row, and are only above Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai…
Apr 28: Delhi Capitals v Kolkata Knight Riders, 41st Match, Wankhede Stadium Safe XI: Rishabh Pant (vice-capt), David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell (capt), Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Tim Southee. Captain: Andre Russell The Jamaican allrounder is the only player to score in excess of 200 runs and take ten or more wickets this season. He is back to his best, scoring…
The leading fast bowlers on the county circuit are having their speeds tracked in the early stages of the Championship season as the ECB’s scouting and talent identification department look to improve the quality of data available before players are selected for England. While bowling coaches can use handheld guns that measure bowling speeds from a short distance away in training, it has historically been unusual for them to be…
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene believes there should a discussion on whether the relevant rule can be tweaked, allowing the third umpire to alert the on-field umpires for over-the-waist no-balls. Jayawardene’s view is significant, considering he also sits on the ICC’s Cricket Committee, the panel which oversees the playing conditions in international cricket. “Probably, the umpires did get it wrong, but the rules say that you can’t go to…
Sanju Samson can be extremely frustrating to watch. While the going’s good, he can be exhilarating. But all too often, the fun doesn’t last long enough to be the sort of impactful innings one expects from a premier batter. That’s not all. Samson “is wasting good form and good opportunity to score runs to press for an international recall,” according to Ian Bishop. Related Samson’s got talent; Rohit wants him…
Rajasthan Royals 144 for 8 (Parag 56*, Hazlewood 2-19, Hasaranga 2-23, Siraj 2-30) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 115 (Sen 4-20, Ashwin 3-17, Prasidh 2-23) by 29 runs Rajasthan Royals’ big three batters failed to fire, managing only a combined 38 off 37 balls. Their lack of batting depth was sorely tested – Trent Boult, a lifelong No. 11, walked in at No. 8 with 27 balls left in the innings….