IPL9 - Sunrisers Hyderabad on a roll - beat Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets

Sunrisers Hyderabad are on a roll - they beat Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets and moved up the ladder of IPL points table - with this second successive win, they are now at the fourth position. This was possible by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/29) and Mustafizur Rahman (1/19) who bowled exceptionally well to restrict Gujarat Lions to just 135/8 Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
In reply, the SRH openers Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner shared an unbeaten 137 run stand to help their side notch up their second win on the trot.
This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 21 April 2016.

David Warner scored his 26th IPL fifty off 29 balls and his second successive too. He led from the front and played an unbeaten knock of 74 off 48 balls - it included nine fours. Shikhar Dhawan, his partner, scored a disciplined 40-ball half-century to guide his team. He hit five boundaries in his 41-ball 53 knock.
Earlier, sent in to bat first, skipper Suresh Raina hit a spirited knock of 75 off 51 balls that included nine boundaries and surprisingly not a single hit over the park. He along with Brendon McCullum added crucial 56 runs for the second wicket to build up the Lions innings before McCullum was dismissed by Bipul Sharma for 18 that came in 17 balls with the help of one four and a lone six. They raced to 50/1 after six overs of Powerplay.
But, their batsmen failed to counter the quality bowling attack of the Sunrisers - this is evident from the fact that they could score only 11 fours and one six in their innings and, only three batsmen managed to cross double-figure mark.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up three prize wickets in the form of Raina, Akshdeep Nath and Dale Steyn while Mustafizur bowled a superb 19th over, conceding only four runs.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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IPL9 - Gujarat Lions turn giant killers - beat Rising Pune Supergiants at Rajkot

Gujarat Lions captained by Suresh Raina turned giant killers when they defeated Rising Pune Supergiants captained by M S Dhoni by seven wickets with 2 overs to spare at Rajkot in their IPL9 match - it was the second win for GL in two matches.
This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 15 April 2016.

Winning the toss, Dhoni chose to bat first and, his decision did not give the results that he would have liked. Pune Supergiants succeeded in posting a total of 163 for 5 which was nver adequate. The early platform was laid by Faf du Plessis (69) and Kevin Pietersen (37), but it needed a blitzy 10-ball 22 from their captain to give them a total of respectability. They lost three quick wickets in the form of Pietersen, Du Plessis and Steven Smith and that left a deep dent. From 121 for 2 after 15 overs, they folded up for 166 - they could add only 20 runs in the next three overs, thanks to the bowling efforts of the hosts.
In reply, it became a sort of cakewalk for the Gujarat Lions because Aaron Finch continued his impressive form with a fine fifty, and, with Brendon McCullum, scored a fantastic 85-run opening stand off just 8.3 overs. That laid the base for the win. Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets giving away 18 runs in his four-over spell while Tambe took 2 wickets conceding 33 runs.
Aaron Finch received the second successive Man of the Match award and is, now, the proud owner of the orange cap.


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Gujarat Lions, new entrant in IPL9, debut with an emphatic win against KXIP

It was a dream debut in IPL9 for Gujarat Lions when they beat Kings XI Punjab emphatically by five wickets - KXIP scored 161 for 6 and GL replied with 162 for 5 in 17.4 overs. While doing so, Dwyane Bravo recorded his best IPL figures with a four-wicket haul and became the only player in IPL to have a combo of 1000 runs and 100 wickets.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 12 April 2016.

Gujarat Lions won the toss and decided to field. KXIP openers Murali Vijay (42) and Manan Vohra (38) put on 78 runs in 8.2 overs to lay a strong foundation for a big score but he later batsmen could not capitalize on the start. Ravindra Jadeja (2/30) removed both the openers and Dwayne Bravo (4/22) caused most damage by dismissing big-hitting David Miller and Glenn Maxwell in space of three balls in the 12th over.
Captain Suresh Raina (20) fell early but Finch was solid at the other end, rattling up a 65 stand for the third wicket Dinesh Karthik (41 off 26 balls). Aaron Finch hit 74 runs off 47 balls and was declared the Man of the Match.


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India evens ODI series 2-2 at Chennai – Virat Kohli hits a century

#INDvsSA #ViratKohli #abdevilliers #SureshRaina It was another interesting ODI at Chennai between South Africa and India – and, thanks to some useful batting, India managed to put up a score of 200 for 8. Virat Kohli scored a century, it was his 23rd, and that laid the foundation of a 35-run win for the home team.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 October 2015.

It was an innings that Virat Kohli will cherish because he was desperate to end a run of 12 completed innings without a century dating back to India's World Cup opener on March 15. It was his first against South Africa and, his 138 was key to India's series-levelling victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Suresh Raina also chipped in with a 53 and appeared to have returned to form after his failures in the earlier ODIs of the series.
However, AB de Villiers could have spoiled India’s show because he also hit a century and his awe-inspiring 112 threatened to seal the series for South Africa. But, the series is now level at 2-2, with the last ODI scheduled at Mumbai – it would be a contest worth looking forward to.
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India wins 3rd ODI at Mirpur – Bangladesh lose the chance of a whitewash

#INDvBAN #SureshRaina #ShikharDawan #ViratKohli #Mirpur Bangladesh could not do the whitewash and India beat the home team at Mirpur by 77 runs to win the 3rd ODI and but lose the series 2-1. If only they had played a proper game and had not been overconfident in the previous games, the result could have been different.
Bangladesh won the toss and asked India to bat first. India put up an impressive score of 317 for loss of 6 wickets and Bangladesh fell short by 77 runs.
This has been reported in hindustantimes.com dated 24 June 2015.

Some long partnerships helped India go past the 300 run mark. There was Dhoni's 93-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ambati Rayudu (44 off 49) and Dhawan's 75-run partnership for the second wicket with Virat Kohli (25 off 35).
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (69 runs off 77 balls) and opener Shikhar Dhawan (75 off 73) played to their potentials.
Man of the Match was Suresh Raina who had put an all-round effort with both the bat and the ball – he scored 38 before ending with career-best figures of three for 45.
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IPL8 – Chennai beats Bangalore and enters the finals, Dhoni does it again

#IPL8 #CSKvsRCB #MikeHussey #AshishNehra Chennai Super Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore at Ranchi to move ahead to the finals and their opponent now will be the Mumbai Indians – they will clash at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 May 2015.

Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first and Ashish Nehra took three of the prize wickets of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Dinesh Karthik to put RCB on the back foot. Hard hitting Chris Gayle hit Suresh Raina for two consecutive sixes and then gave a return catch to Raina to ensure that RCB does not get to a too big score.
It was a game more of holding ones nerves and there were dropped catches and misfielding on both side. The tension was evident from the facial expressions.
Finally the RCB could score 139 runs and it was left to CSK to score 140 to win and move on to the finals which should have been an easy task but proved difficult and dragged on to the last ball of the innings. Mike Hussey top scored with 56 runs and Dhoni added 26 runs.
Ashish Nehra was adjudged the Man of the Match.
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BCCI says ‘No’ to Dhoni and Kohli – they have to go to Bangladesh

There were rumors that M S Dhoni and Virat Kohli wanted to take a break and not go to Bangladesh but BCCI has not agreed. The players announced for the tour include both of them – while Kohli would be captain of the test squad, Dhoni would be captain of the ODI matches.
This has been reported in zeenews.com dated 21 May 2015.

Mashrafe Mortaza, the captain of the Bangladesh team, is a happy man because India has announced full-strength squads for its tour next month. During last year’s Bangladesh tour, India had rested both Dhoni and Kohli and the team was led by Suresh Raina.
Mohammad Shami has been left out due to injuries and Harbhajan Singh has been recalled after a gap of two years. As per this year’s itinerary, the Indians would arrive in Bangladesh for a Test and three ODIs on June 7. There would be only one test match and it would be played at Fatullah’s Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium. It will begin on June 10. The day-night ODIs will be held at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on June 18, 21 and 24.
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IPL8 – Chennai defeats Punjab at Mohali to retain the top of the table position

#IPL8 #CSKvsKXIP #fafduplessis #pawannegi #sureshraina Chennai Super Kings retained their winning momentum and defeated Kings XI Punjab convincingly to remain on top of the points table scoring 18 points in 14 matches. KXIP won the toss and elected to bat first and Wriddhiman Saha (15) quickly hit a six and a four but fell to the guiles of diminutive left-arm spinner Pawan Negi.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 May 2015.

It was the spinners Pawan Negi (2/25 in 4 overs), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/14 in 4 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/18 in 3 overs) who gave away a total of only 57 runs to capture 4 wickets.
CSK managed to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 130/7 in 20 overs and getting it was like chicken feed to CSK batsmen. Faf du Plessis (55, 41 balls) and Suresh Raina (41 no, 34 balls) added 92 runs for the third wicket to lay the foundation of a victory that was achieved in just 16.5 overs.
By finishing on top of the table, CSK will play the first qualifier and, in case they lose, will get another chance when they will face the winner of the 'Eliminator' between teams placed third and fourth.
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IPL8 – CSK shows its mettle, defends a modest total to leave RCB floundering

#IPL8 #CSKvsRCB #SureshRaina #Dhoni It was a hot afternoon with the temperature in the region of 40 degrees Celsius and Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat. But, his batsmen could not plunder the runs as Dhoni would have liked them to because of a strong bowling attack of RCB. Therefore, at the end of the day, it was a modest total of 148 runs that CSK had to defend.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 4 May 2015.

And, that is why CSK is held in awe by all teams of IPL - they can do wonders and can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. That is what they had to do and they did it with aplomb by defeating the RCB by 24 runs.
Of course, the turning point was, undoubtedly, the run out of Virat Kolhli and the sudden collapse of the RCB batsmen after Kohli left.
CSK bowlers Ashish Nehra (3/19 in four overs) and Dwayne Bravo (2/19 in 3.4 overs) wreaked havoc, especially in the death overs to bowl out RCB for 124 in 19.4 overs. The strength of CSK bowling can be understood from the fact that RCB lost seven wickets for 27 runs in only 5.5 overs.
Suresh Raina (52 runs) was the Man of the Match and, with this win, CSK regains the No 1 position on the points table.

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#IPL8 #SureshRaina #AshishNehra #CSKvsRCB #Bangalore It was another wonderful offering of T20 cricket on view at the Chinnasawmi Stadium in Bangalore when the Chennai Super Kings got the better of the Royal Challengers Bangalore by beating them by 27 runs. This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 23 April 2015.

Batting first, CSK posted a total of 181 runs with a huge contribution of Suresh Raina who belted 62 runs before holing out. Dwayne Smith and Faf du Plessis also contributed while captain M S Dhoni looked to be out of form. The aggressiveness he is known for in the death overs was missing. Among CSK batsmen, Brendon McCullum failed again as did Ravinder Jadeja.
However, with the never-say-die attitude one usually associates with CSK, they took to defending the apparently chaseable total. However, with Ashish Nehra in top form, RCB was denied the chance of tasting success at home ground from CSK. Nehra returned figures of 4 for 10 runs in his allotted 4 overs!! However, Suresh Raina was adjudged Man of the Match.
Captain Virat Kohli of RCB top scored with 54 and the whole team folded up for 154 runs – thus, CSK won by 27 runs.

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