Sports

Mumbai, May 2 (IANS) London Olympic Games bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has pulled out of final selection trials for a place in the badminton competition for the Asian Games 2023.

Saina has withdrawn from the selection trials scheduled to be held from May 3 to 7 at the Jwala Gutta Academy of Excellence in Telangana.

As per the Badminton Association of India (BAI) rules, the top-ranked players P.V Sindhu (women's singles), H.S Prannoy (Men's singles), Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty (men's doubles) and Treesha Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand have already qualified to be part of the Indian squad for the Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 22 to October 8, 2023.

The rest of the 14 members to make up the 20-member Indian squad for the Asian Games will be selected through the final selection trials.

Saina's name is missing from the list of players that have confirmed their participation in the final selection trials. Her name was included in the initial list issued a few weeks back.

As per the circular issued by BAI for the trials, Aakarshi Kashyap, Malavika Bansod, Ashmita Chaliha, Aditi Bhat, Unnati Hooda, Alisha Naik, Shriyanshi Valishetty and Anupama Upadhyay will be competing for spots in women's singles competition.

Saina Nehwal has not been in great form of late. In what has been a stop-start season for her this year, the former world No. 1 has failed to progress beyond the second round in any of the four BWF World Tour 2023 tournaments she has competed in.

Recently, she had withdrawn from the Badminton Asia Championships in Dubai, which concluded on Sunday.

Besides Saina Nehwal, the men's doubles pair of Kushal Raj and Prakash Raj have also withdrawn from the trials.

Those in contention for spots for men's singles include Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Priyanshu Rajawat, Mithun Manjunath, B Sai Praneeth, Maisnam Meiraba, Bharat Raghav, Ansal Yadav, Siddharth Gupta.

--IANS

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Lucknow, April 16 (IANS) Though Punjab Kings missed the services of regular skipper and opener Shikhar Dhawan due to a niggle, Sikandar Raza stood up to hit his first IPL fifty while Shahrukh Khan applied finishing touches with a late cameo to take the side to a two-wicket triumph over Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

After stand-in captain Sam Curran picked 3-31, the best figures by a bowler on IPL captaincy debut while Kagiso Rabada to 2-34 to keep Lucknow to 159/8, Raza hit 57 off 41 balls to bring Punjab's chase on track on a tricky pitch. Shahrukh then slammed 23 not out off just 10 balls to ensure the side's third victory in the competition.

For Lucknow, who have faced their first loss at home in the ongoing season, questions will be raised over introducing leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi late in the attack, from the 15th over, as well as of captain K.L. Rahul making 74, but taking the anchor role for long in the middle overs.

Lucknow had a fiery start to their defence of 159 as debutant pacer Yudhvir Singh Charak. had Atharva Taide top-edging a pull to third man. On the second ball of his next over, he sent Prabhsimran Singh's off-stump on a cartwheel ride with a superb nip-backer.

Matthew Short was impressive in his 22-ball 34 -- pulling, driving, and flicking with ease against Avesh Khan while taking back-to-back fours on short balls from Yudhvir. He then dispatched an overpitched ball from K Gowtham with a lofted drive over long-on for six.

But the off-spinner had the last laugh as on the last ball of Power-play, Short punched straight to a reverse-cupping mid-off. From ther', Lucknow's bowlers kept things under control, as Harpreet Bhatia heaved straight to deep backward square leg off Krunal Pandya in the 11th over, despite surviving a direct-hit chance previously.

Raza injected momentum in the chase by lofting Gowtham down the ground for six, followed by hoicking two sixes and a four off short balls from Krunal through the mid-wicket region in the 13th over.

Though Curran and Jitesh Sharma fell cheaply, Raza marched forward to pull Mark Wood through the gap between deep square leg and fine leg to perfection for four and took a single through deep backward square leg to get his fifty in 34 balls.

With Shahrukh teeing off from the word go by smacking Wood over long-on for six, Raza crunched a drive off Avesh for four to bring the equation to 23 runs needed off 18 balls. But Bishnoi dismissed Raza for 57 after the right-handed batter swept straight to deep backward square leg.

Shahrukh got a top edge on six off Wood while Harpreet Brar drove him through extra cover for four. But the pacer bounced back by getting Brar to edge behind in the penultimate over. After taking two runs each on the first two balls, Shahrukh finished off the chase by hammering Bishnoi through long-off for four to seal the win.

Earlier, captain K.L. Rahul top-scored with 74 off 56 balls in Lucknow's strange innings. The hosts were at 49/0 in Power-play but made only 62/4 in the middle overs and faltered in the end as Punjab picked four wickets while conceding only 48 runs in the last five overs.

Kyle Mayers began by sweeping Short for a six over deep backward square leg, while Raul hit a stunning lofted inside-out drive over extra cover for four off Rabada. Mayers hit sixes off Curran and Rabada over deep mid-wicket but holed out to deep backward square leg off Brar post-Power-play. Deepak Hooda was then trapped lbw by a skiddy delivery from Raza.

Rahul went for strike-rotation alongside Krunal while cutting off Curran past short third and slapping Arshdeep over mid-on to collect a brace of boundaries. He got his fifty in 40 balls with a lofted drive over Rahul Chahar's head for four.

But Krunal fell in the 15th over to Rabada, miscuing a pull and Shahrukh at deep mid-wicket flicked the ball in the air, went outside and took the catch on the rebound. The fast bowler then had Nicholas Pooran holing out to deep mid-wicket, falling for a golden duck.

Marcus Stoinis teed off by smacking Chahar for consecutive sixes, but Curran took him out in the 18th over by taking a review on the batter trying to glance through fine leg, and replays showed the ball taking a glove edge behind to the keeper.

Rahul then holed out to long-on off Arshdeep in the 19th over, before Curran had Impact Player Gowtham and Yudhvir holing out to fielders in the deep on consecutive deliveries in the final over to keep Lucknow to one short of 160.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 159/8 in 20 overs (K.L. Rahul 74, Kyle Mayers 29; Sam Curran 3-31, Kagiso Rabada 2-34) lost to Punjab Kings 161/8 in 19.3 overs (Sikandar Raza 57, Matthew Short 34; Ravi Bishnoi 2-18, Yudhvir Singh Charak 2-19) by two wickets

--IANS

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Lahore, April 16 (IANS) Babar Azam notched up a fine T20I hundred in his 101st T20I to put Pakistan in the driving seat after he opted to bat first on winning the toss.

The Pakistan skipper put on a 99-run opening stand with Mohammad Rizwan, before the wicketkeeper was dismissed in the 11th over of the innings. Matt Henry, fresh off a hat-trick last game, sent back Fakhar Zaman next ball to dent Pakistan further. Pakistan went on to post 192/4 in their 20 overs.

Babar, however, continued in the same vein, getting to his half-century off 36 balls. He stepped on the pedal thereafter, slamming 51 runs off the next 22 balls, including 36 runs off the last three overs.

He completed his century off the final ball of the innings, smashing James Neesham for two fours and a six in the last over.

The 58-ball ton was Babar's third T20I ton. Notably, he is the only Pakistan batter with more than one hundred in the format. The hundred puts Babar close to the top of the list of batters with most T20I tons.

Rohit Sharma with four T20I hundreds tops the list with five other batters, including Babar now, on three hundreds. Notably, both Babar and Rohit have 33 scores of fity or more in T20Is, second only to Virat Kohli, who has 38 such scores.

Pakistan posted 192/4 on board with Babar remaining unbeaten on 101. He shared an unbeaten 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed (33 not out off 19 balls) to lead Pakistan's surge in the late overs.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 192/4 in 20 overs (Babar azam 101, Mohammad Rizwan 50, Iftikhar Ahmed 33 not out; Matt Henry 2-29).

--IANS

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Lucknow, April 15 (IANS) Though Punjab Kings missed the services of regular skipper and opener Shikhar Dhawan due to a niggle, Sikandar Raza stood up to hit his first IPL fifty while Shahrukh Khan applied finishing touches with a late cameo to take the side to a two-wicket triumph over Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

After stand-in captain Sam Curran and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada picked 3-31 and 2-34 respectively to keep Lucknow Super Giants to 159/8, Raza hit 57 off 41 balls to bring Punjab's chase on track, followed by Shahrukh slamming 23 not out to ensure the side's third victory of the competition.

For Lucknow, who have faced their first loss at home in the ongoing season, questions will be raised over introducing Ravi Bishnoi late in the attack, from the 15th over, as well as of captain K.L. Rahul making 74, but not attacking much in the middle overs.

Lucknow had a fiery start to their defence of 159 through debutant pacer Yudhvir Singh Charak. He rushed Atharva Taide for pace and on the third ball, he had the batter top-edging a pull to the third man.

On the second ball of his next over, Yudhvir sent Prabhsimran Singh's off-stump on a cartwheel ride with a superb nip-backer. Matthew Short was impressive in his 22-ball 34 -- pulling, driving, and flicking with ease against Avesh Khan while taking back-to-back fours on short balls from Yudhvir.

He then dispatched an overpitched ball from K. Gowtham with a lofted drive over long-on for six. But the off-spinner had the last laugh as on the last ball of Power-play, Short punched straight to a reverse-cupping mid-off.

From there, Lucknow's bowlers kept things under control, as Harpreet Bhatia heaved straight to deep backward square leg off Krunal Pandya in the 11th over, despite surviving a direct-hit chance previously.

Raza injected momentum in the chase by lofting Gowtham down the ground for six, followed by hoicking two sixes and a four off short balls from Krunal through the mid-wicket region in the 13th over.

Though Curran and Jitesh Sharma fell cheaply, Raza marched forward to pull Mark Wood through the gap between a deep square leg and a fine leg to perfection for four and took a single through deep backward square leg to get his fifty in 34 balls.

With Shahrukh teeing off from the word go by smacking Wood over long-on for six, Raza crunched a drive off Avesh for four to bring the equation to 23 runs needed off 18 balls. But Bishnoi dismissed Raza for 57 after the right-handed batter swept straight to deep backward square leg.

Shahrukh got a top edge on six off Wood while Harpreet Brar drove him through extra cover for four. But the pacer bounced back by getting Brar to edge behind in the penultimate over. After taking two runs each on the first two balls, Shahrukh finished off the chase by hammering Bishnoi through long-off for four to seal the win.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 159/8 in 20 overs (K.L. Rahul 74, Kyle Mayers 29; Sam Curran 3-31, Kagiso Rabada 2-34) lost to Punjab Kings 161/8 in 19.3 overs (Sikandar Raza 57, Matthew Short 34; Ravi Bishnoi 2-18, Yudhvir Singh Charak 2-19) by two wickets

--IANS

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Manjeri (Kerala), April 15 (IANS) NorthEast United FC caused a huge upset in the Hero Super Cup, defeating Indian Super League (ISL) Shield Winners Mumbai City FC 2-1 at the Payyanad Stadium here on Saturday.

Mumbai City FC are without their foreign recruits in this tournament and playing with an all-Indian side. While Colombian striker Wilmar Jordan Gil scored both goals for the winners, Lalengmawia Ralte, more known as Apuia, was the lone marksman for Mumbai City.

The result threw Group D wide open with three teams having a chance to qualify for the semi-finals. At the end of the second round, Chennaiyin FC have three points, and NorthEast United and Mumbai City have three points each. Churchill Brothers have only one point and are out of the running for the knockouts.

The Guwahati side delivered a commendable first-half display, constantly putting pressure on the Islanders' rather vulnerable defence. As expected, though, Des Buckingham's men did find a couple of breakthroughs, but couldn't meet the end product.

In the fifth minute, Lallianzuala Chhangte cut inside and went for an ambitious shot from outside the box. But the winger's effort bounced off the wrong side of the crossbar before going for a goal kick.

NorthEast United, however, immediately hit back in the seventh minute as Gani Ahmed Nigam went for a headed attempt from inside the box. But the midfielder's effort went just wide off the target.

In the 25th minute, the Guwahati team had another opportunity when Wilmar Jordan Gil tactfully attempted a header from an incoming free-kick, but saw his effort denied by the woodwork.

NorthEast United kept playing on the counter-attack and came tantalisingly close to scoring on a few occasions. Eventually, in the 32nd minute, they capitalised on an error from Mumbai City's Mehtab Singh who handled the ball inside the box, following a cross from Emil Benny. The resultant penalty was slotted home coolly by Jordan, as NorthEast United went up 1-0.

Before half-time, Chhangte had an opportunity to pull the scores level, but the 24-year-old couldn't get a proper connection and his effort from the top of the box was cleared out by the NorthEast United defence.

Despite recording a 68% ball possession as against NorthEast's 32%, Mumbai City couldn't find the back of the net. Nevertheless, midfielder Apuia Ralte put on a quality show in the centre of the park for Mumbai ensuring they had at least one positive to take from the game.

Following the break, NorthEast United went on to pile more misery on the Mumbai City defence. In the 50th minute, Alex Saji took matters into his own hands and went for a daunting run from the right flank to inside the box. In the process, Gani Ahmed had a powerful shot on target and goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa's block resulted in the ball landing in Jordan's feet. The Colombian forward made no mistake in tapping it in and making it 2-0 for his side.

On the other hand, Mumbai City kept moving forward and displayed a typical short passing game. With 20 minutes left on the clock, they almost pulled one back through substitute Ayush Chhikara. The youthful striker fended off three opposition defenders and managed to take a shot on target. But his blistering shot bounced off the crossbar and came back into play.

Finally, it was Apuia, who pulled one back for his side in the 85th minute. The midfielder charged in on a loose ball and drove it powerfully as the ball hit the underside of the bar and into the back of the net, catching goalkeeper Mirshad Michu totally off guard.

--IANS

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Manjeri (Kerala), April 15 (IANS) Sreenidi Deccan FC will face the reigning champion of the I-League, RoundGlass Punjab FC in their final group stage game of the Hero Super Cup 2023 at the Manjeri Payyanad Stadium, here on Sunday, hoping to clinch a spot in the semifinals.

It will be a potentially do-or-die encounter for Sreenidi Deccan as they are level on points with Group A counterparts Bengaluru FC, who simultaneously face Kerala Blasters on the same day. The Carlos Vaz Pinto-led side will need to win by a bigger margin than Bengaluru, in order to seal their spot in the semifinals.

RoundGlass Punjab, on the other hand, have nothing to play for but pride, when they face Sreenidi Deccan. The Mohali-based side had an underwhelming campaign in the tournament with two losses in two games against the Blues and the Yellow Army. With a game in hand, they will look to bow out on a positive note.

Head coach Staikos Vergetis insisted that the results in the previous games will not have an impact on the team's mentality going into the game. "The pressure is the same, no matter what. The discipline and respect for the opponents, these things never change. We will go out there seriously with our tactical plan to do our best in this game," stated the Greek tactician.

The two teams faced each other twice during the I-League season and both registered a win and a loss. At the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, RoundGlass found the upper edge with a 2-1 victory while in the return leg at the Deccan Arena, Sreenidi registered a huge 4-0 win.

Speaking about the past results, Vergetis added, "Tomorrow's game is different from those in the league. We have to approach the game with the same determination as the previous games. We'll try to be very competitive and are looking to end the season in a better way."

Meanwhile, Pinto reiterated Vergetis' words to assert that the results between the two sides in their previous meetings will not affect the performance.

"There isn't really an advantage with respect to what happened in the two league games. It's a different story from a different competition and a different moment in time. Tomorrow's game will be a new chapter and we have to be fully focused to win," he expressed.

The Sreenidi Deccan boss did acknowledge, however, the fact that his side will be confident going into the match, courtesy of the 4-0 win over RoundGlass during the Hero I-League season. "The previous win does give us confidence, but it will not have much bearing. The players, the coaches and the clubs know each other so it will be a difficult game. We will need to be at our best to get a good result," concluded Pinto.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, April 15 (IANS) Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, who played a match-winning knock in Royal Challengers Bangalore's 23-run win over Delhi Capitals in an IPL 2023 match on Saturday, said that he is very happy with the two points as it was crucial to bounce back after last losses in their last two matches.

Virat Kohli sparkled with the bat with a breezy 50 off 34 balls to help RCB post a competitive 174/6. Vijaykumar Vyshak then impressed on debut with a brilliant spell of 3-20 and along with Mohammed Siraj 2-23 helped RCB restrict DC to 151/9 in 20 overs at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Saturday.

"Very happy to get two points. We kind of let it slip away in the last two games. For us to bounce back like this was very crucial," said Kohli at the post-match presentation.

Though Kohli scored a fifty, he was disappointed with the way he got out on a full toss, adding that 175 was a good total on that pitch.

"I was quite disappointed that I got out to a full toss. I've been playing really well. I wanted to make sure that after fifty, I was targeting 30-35 runs off the next 10 balls. That's how I play. That would've helped us get past 200," he said.

"One thing I mentioned to the guys in the change room was that 175 was enough on this pitch. It slowed down considerably when the spinners came on. Even the balls hit the back foot off Kuldeep were holding up, unlike the other games we played. We did well to get to that score and had the belief it was enough," he added.

The 34-year-old also revealed how he hit length balls for boundaries while playing his best cricket. He also recalled his famous shot off Australian pacer James Faulkner during the 2016 T20 World Cup, saying it was a different phase altogether.

"When I've played my best cricket, those are the balls I've put away consistently (length balls on the up). That helps me to put pressure on the bowlers. When I put away their best balls, they're going to try to do something else. I back myself to hit good balls and the best bowlers in the opposition. That's how I motivate myself to play out there," said Kohli

"That was a different mentality and phase altogether (T20 World Cup 2016 semis). I was in a space where I felt I could hit any ball. I back myself to hit good shots. When they come off they look good," he concluded.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, April 15 (IANS) Virat Kohli's fine half-century (50 off 34), followed by impressive performances by pacers Vijaykumar Vyshak (3-20) and Mohammed Siraj 2-23) led Royal Challengers Bangalore to an important 23-run win over Delhi Capitals in the 20th match of the IPL 2023 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Saturday.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for the David Warner-led Delhi Capitals and they are yet to open their account in the ongoing season, lying at the bottom of the table. On the other hand, it was the second win for RCB in four matches and they are in the seventh spot in the table.

After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, Delhi Capitals made a remarkable comeback to keep RCB to 174/6 in 20 overs despite Kohli's fifty. Apart from Kohli, none of the RCB batters could score big as the team kept losing wickets at crucial junctures against a disciplined Delhi bowling attack.

Chasing a challenging total, Delhi Capitals (DC) got off to a dreadful start as they lost four wickets -- Prithvi Shaw (0), Mitchell Marsh (0), Yash Dhull (1) and David Warner (19) inside the powerplay.

Shaw was the first one to go as Anuj Rawat nailed a superb direct hit to run him out at the non-striker's end. Mitchell Marsh, who came to bat next, played three dots and then got a leading edge against Wayne Parnell as Virat had a comfortable catch.

Yash Dhull too couldn't capitalise on the opportunity as he was trapped in front of the wicket by Siraj. Wickets were falling from the other end but Warner showed intent and hit Siraj for three fours in the same over.

The RCB skipper then introduced debutant Vijaykumar Vyshak into the attack and he got the big wicket of Warner (19) in his very first over, leaving Delhi in deep trouble at 30-4 after 5.4 overs. Left-handed wicket-keeper batter Abishek Porel also miscued his shot on a full toss as Delhi lost half of their side for 53.

Despite wickets falling at the other end, Manish Pandey was playing his shots. He eventually got some good support from Axar (21 off 14) and they kept Delhi's hope in the run chase. The pair added 27 runs for the sixth wicket before Vyshak outfoxed Axar with a knuckleball.

With the required rate increasing rapidly, Pandey hit Hasaranga for 4, 6, 4, 2 to get to a 37-ball fifty but he couldn't continue longer as the Sri Lankan spinner got rid of the spinner on the last delivery of the over.

From there on it was an uphill task for Delhi Capitals. The likes of Anrich Nortje (23 not out off 14) and Aman Khan (18 off 10) hit few boundaries but it was not enough as Delhi were restricted to 151-9 in 20 overs.

Earlier, put in to bat first, openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis gave RCB a decent start, adding 42 runs for the opening wicket. Kohli looked in fine touch right from the start and hit back-to-back boundaries against Anrich Nortje as 11 runs came from the first over. With the pacer getting smashed, skipper David Warner brought in Axar Patel in the second over and he kept things tidy for the Capitals.

After Virat, it was Du Plessis' turn to hit a few boundaries and he did it against Mustafizur Rahman. Left-handed Axar came for his second over and Du Plessis dispatched the fifth ball for an 86m six over the long-on fence, taking RCB to 33/0 after 4 overs.

With the main bowlers not making much impact, Warner introduced Mitchell Marsh into the attack. Marsh, who is playing his first match after joining the DC camp following his marriage, was welcomed with a boundary by Kohli and then Du Plessis hits the pacer for a four.

However, Marsh had the last laugh as he removed Faf for 22 off 16 balls on a length ball on the off stump, courtesy of a sensational catch by Aman Khan at short mid-wicket. The Australian all-rounder could have two in two but Manish Pandey dropped new-man Mahipal Lomror's catch at point. Lalit Yadav came to bowl the final Power-play over and gave just four singles as RCB were 47/1 after 6 overs.

Though Kohli was able to find occasional boundaries, Delhi kept things under control as spinners Lalit and Kuldeep Yadav didn't allow Lomror to bat freely. While Lomror was struggling to find his timing, Kohli was dropped by Kuldeep on his own bowling.

Despite spinners doing well, Warner went back to Mustafizur and Kohli smashed him for a boundary six to bring his 50 in just 33 balls. However, the former RCB skipper couldn't continue longer as Lalit got rid of him with a full toss.

Glenn Maxwell came to bat next and started from where he left in the last game, dispatching Lalit Yadav for two huge sixes. However, Nortje bowled a decent next over to pull things back and Marsh dismissed Lomror (26 off 18) to give Delhi an important breakthrough.

Harshal Patel was sent ahead of Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed and the all-rounder hit Axar for a boundary but the spinner dismissed him in the same over. Kuldeep, who came to bowl the next over removed Maxwell (24 off 14) and Karthik (0 off 1) in consecutive balls to break RCB's back, leaving them 132/6 after 14.2 overs.

RCB, who needed some crucial runs lower down the order, brought Anuj Rawat as a substitute, replacing him with Lomror but he couldn't deliver as expected. The left-hander played a slow knock (15 off 22 balls). It was Shahbaz Ahmed, who played a vital knock (20 and 12) in the end and took RCB to 174-6 in 20 overs, which turned out to be a winning total in the end.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bangalore 174/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 50, Mahipal Lomror 26; Mitchell Marsh 2-18) beat Delhi Capitals (Manish Pandey 50, Anrich Nortje 23; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3-20; Mohammed Siraj 2-23) by 23 runs.

--IANS

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New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Lucknow Super Giants cruised to their second win of the season in the IPL as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 5 wickets at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

Batting first, Sunrisers could only manage 121/8 as the Super Giants' spinners were all over them and picked six of Hyderabad's eight wickets.

Krunal Pandya was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while Amit Mishra picked two. It was a comfortable chase with skipper KL Rahul top scoring with 35 runs (31b, 4x4). Krunal Pandya who was adjudged the Player of the Match contributed with the bat as well and scored 34 runs (23b, 4x4, 1x6).

Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble believes that Sunrisers' batting has let them down and was also not impressed by how they used Adil Rashid.

"It is not the greatest of starts. Even I had them in my Top-4 and I still believe that they have a good side, a very good batting line up. They have not fired. Their batting has let them down in both the matches. Even against Rajasthan Royals at their home ground, they didn't score enough runs. Even the bowling on this surface," he told JioCinema.

"Even when they played against Rajasthan, they missed a trick by not bringing in Adil Rashid against Jos Buttler. We all know Buttler, at the start of the innings doesn't like leg-spinners coming in and bowling. Even here, Adil Rashid was held till the first six overs. You only have 121 runs on board, use your main spinner. He should be bowling. Even Washington Sundar bowled just that one over in the powerplay. So, there are some things that they need to certainly work on but most importantly, they need to get their batting sorted."

Krunal put up a strong all-round show in the game. While bowling, he was economical and also picked up three key wickets including SRH skipper Aiden Markram and Mayank Agarwal and later scored a quickfire 34 in 23 balls.

Former cricketer Suresh Raina heaped praises on his performance.

"He (Krunal) batted with good intent. Scored boundaries and then picked up singles as well, it was a good all-round performance today. The boundary he scored by stepping out, it is a difficult shot in these conditions and then the six to Adil Rashid, he looked in good form. Like he mentioned to the press, he has worked on it and is a good white ball cricketer," he was quoted as saying.

"He bowls during the powerplay and if asked to bowl later also, stands for his captain. In batting as well, he has good dimension. Looks to attack, has good intent and plays very less dot balls and whenever there is an opportunity, hits boundaries as well. He is a very important player for LSG."

--IANS
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Bengaluru, April 3 (IANS) While praising young left-handed batter Tilak Varma for his unbeaten 84 off just 46 balls, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma admitted that rest of the batting line-up didn't bat very well on a pitch which was good to bat upon.

Pushed into batting first, Mumbai crumbled to 48/4 and then to 123/7 at one stage, looking in danger of being shot out for a below-par total. But Varma stood tall and impressed everyone with his skill and temperament in hitting nine boundaries and four sixes at a strike-rate of 182.6, as Mumbai got 69 runs from the last five overs.

"Didn't have a great start but was a good effort from Tilak at the end. But the bowlers didn't bowl well. We didn't bat well enough, it was a good pitch. Some of the shorts he played today, he showed a lot of courage.

We wanted to be courageous enough, and hats off to Tilak for getting us to the total. Was a good pitch to bat on. We did not bat to our potential. 30-40 runs would have been ideal. We were struggling to play the catch-up game," said Rohit in the post-match presentation ceremony.

With the ball, Mumbai's bowlers were all over the place as Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis smashed half-centuries in a 148-run opening partnership. Though they got two wickets, it was too late by then to avoid a loss in their opening match of IPL 2023.

Rohit refused to use the absence of Jasprit Bumrah as a reason behind lacklustre bowling performance.

"For the past six-eight months I am used to playing without Bumrah. We can't control things which we can't control. The other guys are also talented. A lot of the guys haven't played IPL before. First game of the season, a lot to look forward to," he said.

Du Plessis, who was named Player of the Match for his 73 off 43 balls, including five fours and six sixes, felt great in playing a part in making a happy homecoming for RCB.

"It's awesome to play (in M Chinnaswamy Stadium). It's my first time playing here as a home player, especially batting with Virat Kohli. You have to try and stay with the youngsters. I try to push the old hamstrings so that I can move in the field. To start the campaign with a bang, was huge," the RCB skipper said.

Faf was also appreciative of the bowlers for ratting Mumbai's top-order batters in power-play.

"It was a nice way to start the way we did in the powerplay. Siraj with his tail up is a beautiful thing. The bowler stuck to their task," he said.

"The last two or three overs were a bit of learning. The cutters were working really well, it was not easy to hit the ball. There was value for your shots. Credit to the groundsman. Even the spinners found something," he added.

--IANS

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