“I want to be myself, because that’s the best way I can get the best out of myself.” That has been Krunal Pandya‘s captaincy mantra since he was tasked with leading Lucknow Super Giants following KL Rahul’s injury. Under his captaincy, LSG have won two of their three completed matches, and have therefore ensured their fate is in their own hands as the race for the playoffs heats up. A…
Big picture Both Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals are in the same boat. Both teams are in the bottom half of the standings, with 12 points from 13 matches, and are desperately hoping not to capsize. Even if they win their final league fixture, they will need a number of other results to go their way if they’re to somehow reach the playoffs. Both sides have employed some debatable tactics…
Trigger warning for sexual assault and rape. Sri Lanka cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka has had three of his four sexual-assault charges dropped by the public prosecutor in his ongoing case in Australia. Gunathilaka, 32, was arrested in Sydney in early November last year, while he was with the Sri Lanka squad for the T20 World Cup. He has since been released on bail and had his bail conditions relaxed. The case…
The Delhi Capitals batting unit has struggled “to work out what the best total is” at their home venue this season because of “slow” and “inconsistent” pitches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, according to their captain David Warner. Warner was speaking after DC’s penultimate league game against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala, where his side scored their first 200-plus total of the season and won by 15 runs. “I think playing…
With just six games to go in the league stage of IPL 2023, there are still seven teams fighting for three spots. Here is a lowdown on the qualification prospects of each of them. Punjab Kings Played 13, Points 12, NRR -0.308Remaining: vs Rajasthan Royals (h) Punjab Kings’ defeat to Delhi Capitals significantly diminishes their qualification prospects as they can’t go beyond 14 points, but their situation might have been…
Delhi Capitals 213 for 2 (Rossouw 82*, Shaw 54, Curran 2-36) beat Punjab Kings 198 for 8 (Livingstone 94, Taide 55, Nortje 2-36, Ishant 2-36) by 15 runs A dazzling display of boundary hitting all around the ground from Rilee Rossouw in his unbeaten 82 off 37, combined with useful contributions from the other Delhi Capitals top-four batters, handed Punjab Kings a 15-run defeat and severely dented their playoff chances….
Shikhar Dhawan, the Punjab Kings captain now left hoping for other results to go their way to make the playoffs of IPL 2023, rued the lack of execution from his bowlers as they were bested by Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on Wednesday. In conditions that offered help for the quick bowlers, the Kings were unable to close out the powerplay properly. Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis…
Jonny Bairstow feared he would never walk again after breaking his left leg in three places last August. On Tuesday, Bairstow’s recovery from the horrific injury sustained while playing golf came full circle. After eight months on the sidelines, missing six Tests and England’s T20 World Cup win, the 33-year-old was recalled to England’s squad for the opening Test against Ireland ahead of the Ashes. The accident curtailed a stellar…
Dwayne Bravo will reunite with captain Kieron Pollard and head coach Phil Simmons at his home franchise Trinbago Knight Riders, having moved from St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, ahead of CPL 2023. Bravo will join an all-star TKR side that could include Pollard, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran. The quartet had played for TKR last season but couldn’t prevent them from finishing last on the points table. It…
Harry Tector has moved up to a career-best No. 7 spot, which is also the best for an Ireland batter, in the latest ICC men’s ODI batting rankings following his 206 runs during the three-match series against Bangladesh. Tector registered scores of 21*, 140 and 45 across three ODIs. While it wasn’t enough to prevent a 2-0 loss for Ireland, it saw him gain 72 rating points and take his…