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IPL 2022: Winning Start for Shreyas Iyer as KKR Beat Ravindra Jadeja’s CSK by Six Wickets in Season Opener

KKR beat CSK by 6 wickets to start the IPL 2022 on a high (IPL Image)

Shreyas Iyer’s leadership skills outshone Ravindra Jadeja’s in the season opener of IPL 2022 as Kolkata Knight Riders registered a comfortable six-wicket win over defending champions Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium. Ajinkya Rahane, who recently lost his place in India’s Test squad, silenced his critics with a crucial 44-run knock to set up the platform for his new franchise in a successful run chase. Shreyas hit the winning runs in his first match as KKR captain as his team chased down the 132-run target with 9 balls to spare.

Veteran Chennai Super Kings wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni turned back the clock to smash his first IPL century since 2019. Dhoni ended his century drought to pull his team to a fighting total of 131/5 after a very sluggish start against a high-quality KKR bowling attack.

Chasing the target of 132, KKR were off to a solid start as Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer shared a 43-run stand for the opening wicket. However, Dwayne Bravo got the better of Venkatesh (16) with a slower one as he edged that to Dhoni behind the stumps. Rahane was then joined by Nitish Rana who also scored crucial 21 runs before becoming the second victim of Bravo.

Rahane, who was looking in great touch, was dismissed by New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner. The veteran India batter tried to play a big shot over mid-wicket but missed the connection and got caught by Jadeja.

Source : https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/news/ipl-2022-winning-start-for-shreyas-iyer-as-kkr-beat-ravindra-jadejas-csk-by-six-wickets-in-season-opener-4912889.html

IPL 2022: Ravi Shastri gives verdict on Ravindra Jadeja’s captaincy in CSK’s opener against KKR

CSK lost by six wickets in Ravindra Jadeja’s first game as captain of the four-time IPL winning side.

Ravindra Jadeja did not have a perfect start to his captaincy period for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the defending champions lost by six wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders in the season opener of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). And following the game, former India head coach Ravi Shastri gave his verdict on Jadeja’s captaincy in the game.

MS Dhoni’s quickfire half-century, his first since 2019, and his unbeaten 70-run stand with Jadeja helped CSK bounce back from 61 for 5 in the 11th over to 131 for five at the end of 20 overs.

Chennai tried their best to defend the total and emulate the result the had achieved in the IPL 2021 final against the same side, but KKR wrapped up the chase with nine balls to spare.

Speaking to Star Sports at the end of the game, Shastri felt that Jadeja should have been more brave with his bowling decisions, exemplifying that Shivam Dube shouldn’t have bowled the eighth over and one between him or Mitchell Santner should have been used in the attack.

“Jadeja for me, as a captain, needs to be a little more braver when it comes to when to bowl. Sometimes as a captain, when you are a premier bowler you tend to hold yourself back. There has to be someone there to tell him you got to bowl and that you are good enough to get wickets. And I though they were over late. Instead of Shivam Dube in that overs it should have been an experienced bowler – Jadeja or Santner. Because when you are defending 130, one mistake can cost you, one over of 14 or 15 runs can cost you and the game will slip,” he said.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/ipl-2022-ravi-shastri-gives-verdict-on-ravindra-jadeja-s-captaincy-in-csk-s-opener-against-kkr-101648318711442.html?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ht_site

‘Lot of people initially thought that 7 is a lucky number for me’: MS Dhoni opens up on his iconic No. 7 jersey

There were calls to retire the iconic No.7 jersey as a mark of respect to MS Dhoni’s contribution to Indian cricket.

Former India skipper MS Dhoni(Getty Images)

MS Dhoni and No. 7 go hand in hand. The talismanic keeper-batter has been sporting the iconic No. 7 jersey since his international debut in 2007 and the number has eventually become synonymous with him. Dhoni may have retired from the biggest stage, but the former India skipper remains to be a crucial part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set-up.

Widely regarded among the most successful captains to have braced the sport, Dhoni opened up about the significance of the No. 7 jersey but ruled out any superstitious perspective to it. There were calls to retire the jersey digits as a mark of respect to Dhoni’s contribution to Indian cricket. And the 40-year-old Dhoni shared the “simple” reason behind selecting the number, saying his date of birth is emblematic of the digit.

“A lot of people initially thought that 7 is a lucky number for me and all of that. But I chose the number for a very simple reason. I was born on the 7th of July. So it’s the 7th day of the 7th month, that was the reason,” Dhoni told fans during a virtual interaction held by India Cements.

“Rather than getting to all the different things as to what number is a good number and all, I thought I will use my date of birth as the number. Then whenever people kept asking me, I kept adding to the answer. 81 was the year, 8-1 is again 7, 7 is a very neutral number. People actually kept telling me, I started absorbing it and I started telling it to others in the same way,” he further said.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/ms-dhoni-opens-up-on-his-iconic-no-7-jersey-lot-of-people-initially-thought-that-7-is-a-lucky-number-for-me-101647517491995.html?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ht_site

IND vs SL: Shreyas Iyer’s 92 features in list of unwanted record held by Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag

Iyer created an unimpressive record despite playing a match-defining knock.

India found themselves in a spot of bother having lost half their side early after winning the toss on Day one of the second Test against Sri Lanka at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Having been reduced to 148/6, the hosts could have been bundled out cheaply had it not been for Shreyas Iyer’s vital half-century that helped them in crossing the 250-run mark.

The middle-order sensation made it matter yet again just like he had during the three WI T20Is that preceded the Test series. Iyer scored 92 runs off 98 deliveries. While he did reach his fifty with a splendid six, the Mumbai cricketer also went on to create an unwanted record as he joined two of India and world cricket’s batting megastars after falling eight short of a deserving century.

After being stumped by Niroshan Dickwella off left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama for 92, Shreyas Iyer ended up creating an unwanted record held by batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and his former opening partner Virender Sehwag. In fact, he became the fourth batter to be stumped while batting in the 90s.

Source : https://www.crictracker.com/ind-vs-sl-shreyas-iyers-92-features-in-list-of-unwanted-record-held-by-sachin-tendulkar-virender-sehwag/

World Cups target, BCCI tells players to follow fitness plan during IPL too

As the BCCI moves to a centralised system, the NCA, headed by VVS Laxman, will play a more active role in scientific fitness monitoring of the cricketers who are part of the core group expected to play in the T20 World Cup later this year and the 50-over World Cup in 2023.

TO AVOID untimely injury breakdown and ensure optimum fitness with two World Cups scheduled in as many years, contracted Indian cricketers will have to follow a fitness plan designed by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) during the course of the IPL, which is set to begin March 26. Earlier, once players joined their IPL teams, they followed the regimen of their respective franchises.

The NCA-monitored fitness plan has been put in place after the BCCI and selectors were kept in the dark earlier about the fitness status of top cricketers during the IPL.

This season, physios and trainers of the NCA and head coach Rahul Dravid will be in touch with the country’s top cricketers to ensure they stick to the plan, with the focus on strength and conditioning. The BCCI has informed the IPL teams about the direct role the NCA will play in fitness management of players.

Source : https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/world-cups-target-bcci-tells-players-to-follow-fitness-plan-during-ipl-too-7817242/