The big-hitting David Miller blazed away to a 51-ball 94 as Gujarat Titans pulled off an incredible win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL on Sunday. Leading the side in the absence of an injured Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan supported Miller with a 21-ball 40 as GT recovered from 16 for three, and then 48 for four, to seal one the greatest comebacks in the history of IPL. GT were set a target of 170. Needing 48 in 18 balls after an excellent 17th over by Dwayne Bravo, Rashid hit Chris Jordan for three of his own maximums. GT collected 25 runs from the over to reduce the equation to 23 from 12 balls. More drama awaited as Bravo dismissed Rashid and Alzarri Joseph off successive balls in the penultimate over. CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja handed the ball to Jordan for the final over, hoping that his experience and ability would do the job for the yellow brigade. However, Miller had other ideas as he completed the job with a ball to spare. In all, Miller smashed eight boundaries and 6 sixes, while Rashid had three maximums and two fours to his name during a match-turning partnership of 70 runs.
Rajasthan Royals win a thriller
Rajasthan Royals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs at an IPL match in Mumbai on Monday. Put into bat, RR rode on Jos Buttler’s 61-ball 103 innings, which was studded with nine boundaries and five maximums, to post a challenging 217 for five. Sanju Samson (38 off 19 balls), Shimron Hetmyer (26 not out off 13 balls), and Devdutt Padikkal (24 off 18 balls) also chipped in with useful contributions. In reply, Shreyas Iyer blasted 85 off 51 balls and Aaron Finch scored 58 off 28 balls but KKR were eventually bowled out for 210 in 19. 4 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal was the most successful bowler for RR, claiming five wickets for 40 in his quota of four overs, while Obed McCoy (2/41) snapped two wickets in the decisive final over.
Malik’s heroics seal fourth victory for SRH
Young pace sensation Umran Malik's scorching final over proved to be the difference as Sunrisers Hyderabad slayed Punjab Kings by seven wickets for their fourth successive win in the IPL on Sunday. In top gear with Liam Livingstone's counter-attacking 60 off 30 balls, PBKS lost five wickets in seven balls with Malik (4/28) producing a perfect final over - a rare four-wicket maiden - to skittle out the opposition for a below-par 151. After Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/22) provided the key breakthrough of Livingstone, the 22-year-old uncapped pacer picked three wickets while the fourth came via run out to derail PBKS. In reply, Sunrisers Hyderabad did not have a perfect start and lost skipper Kane Williamson early in the fourth over with Kagiso Rabada drawing the first blood. The win took SRH to eight points, moving up from the middle-table rush to climb to fourth spot, while PBKS remained on seventh with six points from as many matches
Karthik leads Bangalore to victory
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis gave credit to Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed and his bowlers for their 16 runs win against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022 on Saturday. Karthik hammered 66 not out while Shahbaz contributed an unbeaten 32 and shared a 97-run partnership for the sixth wicket after Glenn Maxwell had set the platform with an attacking 55 as RCB posted 189/5 in 20 overs. Hazlewood (3/28) and Mohammed Siraj (2/31) then restricted Delhi Capitals to 173/7 in 20 overs to seal their fourth win in six matches. The Bangalore skipper was especially happy with his bowlers’ performance in conditions that were not at all conducive for bowling.
Mumbai sink to 6th defeat
Mumbai Indians (MI) sank to a record low by suffering their sixth defeat in as many matches with an 18-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). A century by skipper KL Rahul inspired the Lucknow-based franchise to a phenomenal victory at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium and ensured MI find themselves on the brink of elimination from the tournament. Rohit won the toss and chose to bowl first. MI made a change to their playing XI once again with West Indian all-rounder Fabian Allen making his debut for the franchise. After playing two games in a row without having four overseas players, MI played with their full quota of foreign players on Saturday. Rohit's decision to bowl first and put pressure on the LSG batting unit initially.
Rahul blitz singes KKR
After Delhi Capitals’ Kuldeep Yadav wrecked them in the last match picking up four wickets, it was Rahul Tripathi who led the foundation for Sunrisers Hyderabad’s seven-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday. The KKR top-order looked all at sea trying to negotiate the SRH pacers after being asked to bat first by skipper Kane Williamson on a greenish wicket. However, some judicious batting by Nitish Rana (54 off 36) and some big hits from Andre Russell (49 off 25) in the end saw KKR put up a fighting 175 for eight. Their bowlers made the right start picking up both the in-form SRH openers – Williamson and Abhishek Sharma inside the Powerplay. But then Tripathi stepped in and started playing his shots all over the park. The Maharashtra batter collected 18 runs, including two consecutive sixes off Varun Chakravarthy’s first over. It was a night to forget for Chakrvarthy, who ended up giving away 45 runs in his three overs.
