NEWSLETTER
Follow UsWe have the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan vs New Zealand, Sri Lanka vs Ireland and the Asia Cup Qualifiers to report. Any other series or action missed is purely because, well, IPL is on, so who cares?
For those still interested in the happenings other than just the IPL you're at the right place.
But we will still start with the IPL. What? Never seen a hypocrite before?
LSG tee off
KL Rahul (12 off 9) played a key role in helping his side Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) rack up 257 for 5 - the second-highest total in IPL's history. While Shikhar Dhawan handed LSG the match on a platter by opting to bowl, his counterpart also showed key leadership skills by not sucking away too many deliveries and heading back to the pavillion on a high - after a beautifully timed over drive off Kagiso Rabada for a six!
For you stats enthusiasts, here's the breakdown:
KL Rahul 12 (9) - SR 133.33
Rest of the team 245 (111) - SR 220.72.
Somehow, this makes Rahul's innings even worse. Believe me, I tried my best to paint a good picture. Here's our statsman Anirudh Kasargod with some mind-boggling stats from the match.
Destructive Arshdeep
Were you fined for slow over-rate? Arshdeep Singh has figured out a way to to make some of it back. You just bowl toe-crushing yorkers and when the batters miss that, you breakthe stumps in half. Each stump with LED lights reportedly costs INR 30 lakh. So, that's 60 lakh Arshdeep is cost the IPL with just two deliveries. Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera of the Mumbai Indians who missed those two deliveries played their roles of a supporting character to perfection. Cheers to them for that. Here's Shubh Aggarwal with a colourful piece on the pacer and his path to redemption after an off-color period in T20 cricket
Double trouble
This week saw Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders complete a double over Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. This has received mixed reviews. While there was a lot of praise for the Royals for achieveing this feat given that CSK are hot-favourites this term, RCB losing to KKR for the second time this season was seen as a massive blow, given KKR went into this game at the back of four back-to-back losses. Furthermore, KKR have now won five consecutive IPL games at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium...and Kohli didn't mince his words at the presentation.
Rahane takes centrestage
Ajinkya Rahane played one of the most attacking innings in the IPL, finishing unbeaten on 71 off just 29 deliveries. With spinners operating, Rahane had managed just 13 runs off his first 10 deliveries. He did not hold back against the fast bowlers taking on Umesh Yadav, David Wiese, Andre Russell and Kulwant Khejroliya. It's a pity he did not get strike in the final over. In the mood he was in, it would not have been far-fetched to say that he could have potentially got to a hundred!
Rahane this season has 224 runs at 44.80. But that's not the astonishing part. He has scored these runs at a strike-rate of 190! That surely deserves a few words, doesn't it? Here's Anriudh Suresh weave his magic.
No more Wood?
LSG pacer Mark Wood could miss the latter stages of the IPL as he intends to fly home for the birth of his daughter. Wood, who has picked up 11 wickets so far this season, has already missed a few games due to a niggle and LSG might lose his services completely in the business end of the tournament. There you go, there's one LSG news that does not involve KL Rahul or his (over-rated) strike-rate.
Also, SRH lose Washington Sundar for the rest of the season due to an injury, while KKR's one-match wonder Litton Das flies home due to personal reasons.
What's happening in international cricket?
Jinx is back
You just can't keep Rahane out of the news, can you? A debate erupted across the cricket fraternity as Ajinkya Rahane was picked in the Indian squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. With Shreyas Iyer out injured and Suryakumar Yadav inexperienced at this level, India chose to go back to the 82-Test veteran. What happens to the in-form Sarfaraz Khan then? Does someone who averages nearly 80 in first-class cricket not deserve a place? Well he does. That's why we have a West Indies tour coming up right after this game.
Champan helps New Zealand draw level
Mark Champan scored his maiden T20I century to help the Blackcaps to level the five-match series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. His unbeaten 57-ball 104 pipped Mohammad Rizwan's 98* off 62 to win the fifth T20I by six wickets, chasing 194. Chapman and James Neesham (45*) put on a record-breaking 121* stand for the fifth wicket, after their side were reduced to 73 for 4 in the 10th over. Chapman's good show handed him a return to ODI cricket. Pakistan went 1-0 up in the series, thanks to a superb ton by Fakhar Zaman.
Ireland crushed
Sri Lanka continued from where they left off last week to beat Ireland by an innings and 10 runs in the second Test in Galle to win the series 2-0. However, there were plenty of positives from the Irish side, who put on 492 in the first innings, thanks to tons from Paul Stirling and Curtis Campher. However, their bowlers toiled hard...extremely hard, in fact, as the hosts went on to pile on 704 for 3. 205, 115, 245, 100* were the scores of Sri Lanka's top four. Despite a fighting 85 from Harry Tector, Ireland could not make Sri Lanka bat again.
However, there were a lot of positives for Ireland from the series and have a lot to be proud about their performaces in Tests this month alone, in which they have played as many as three Tests. Despite being at the wrong side of the result, they have shown they have what it takes to succeed. Here's yours truly write about that.
Jayasuriya-uday
Prabath Jayasuriya became the quickest to 50 Test wickets, achieving this feat in just his seventh Test. Overall, he is the second fastest to the milestone, getting there with the wicket of Paul Stirling in the second Test against Ireland in Galle. That's just great! Last thing we needed was another Sri Lankan named Jayasuriya breaking records.
India Women announce contracts
All-rounder Deepti Sharma was promoted to Grade A in BCCI's central contract, while fast bowler Shikha Pandey and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav missed out. Deepti has joined the side's captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana in the highest bracket. Wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia and Arundati Reddy are the other major exclusions from the contracts list. Renuka Thakur made a direct entry into Grade B, whlile there were also promotions for Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh.
To put things into perspective, KL Rahul makes double the money for playing one IPL match than what our national women cricketers get paid as part of their retention contract every year. Let that sink in for a bit!
Kane in India?
No, I am not talking about the big red machine. Kane Williamson was all but ruled out of the 2023 ODI world Cup after suffering an ACL injury in the IPL. However, head coach Gary Stead has suggested that he could fly to India for the World Cup as a team mentor. Basically, what this essentially means is, if New Zealand win, it's due to Williamson's brilliance, if they don't it's obviously Tom Latham's fault.
Who plays the Asia Cup?
Did you know, there is an Asia Cup Qualifier going on in Nepal at the moment? One of Nepal, Kuwait, UAE or Oman will join India and Pakistan in Group A for the multi-team event, scheduled to be held in Pakistan (?) in September this year. UAE have been absolutely dominant in the tournament and are hot favourites to go through. Mohammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind have scored runs for fun. In fact the duo combined to help UAE post a massive 471 against Singapore. Not to forget, their spinner Aayan Afzal Khan bowled one of the best spells in List A cricket, finishing with figures of 10-7-6-4 against Baharain at MCG - the Mulpani Cricket Ground, of course.
Articles in focus
Is there a good time to lose a wicket in T20s? If your answer is "duh, no" then think again. Why think, when you can read Rahul Singh's piece here. Weekend sorted?
We just cannot keep Bastab Parida out of action, can we? He's at it again as he analyses whether brand value is given more importance than the performance in IPL. A bit of both maybe? You'll have read this piece to get your answer.
Is Yashasvi Jaiswal's cap set to turn from pink to blue soon? Aakash Sivasubramaniam writes how his approach at the top could very well help selectors take notice of this young talent. Aakash can certainly do more than just put up a bunch of memes, you know! BTW, you can have a look at that masterpiece here.
Yes, LSG became only the second team in IPL to breach the 250-mark. Was it a case of stunning batting or ridiculiously poor bowling? I'll once again let Anirudh Suresh paint you a picture.
Moving on from one Anirudh to another, out statsman, Anirudh Kasargod digs out some interesting stats based on the questions from our readers. You too can get your queries answered on Twitter. Just ask your question and don't foeget to add #AskCDC in the end. If your queries aren't answered, reach out to me and I will provide you with his mobile number.
Watch: A visit to Karnataka and RCB pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar's house to speak with his parents:
