Cricketness

During the first half of 2020 and beyond, the sweeping tentacles of the coronavirus left in its wake a trail of destruction — the destruction of life, of livelihoods, of existence as we knew, of faith and belief and optimism. Viewed against the prism of irreplaceable loss and a paradigm shift in people-to-people relationships, the cancellation of several high-profile sporting events seemed no more than a minor irritant, though it’s no secret that these competitions are a source of livelihood for thousands more than just the celebrated athletes who strut their stuff. Inevitably, the world’s most storied cricket tournament too was thrown out of gear as COVID-19’s worldwide march continued unchecked. To the consternation of several, the Indian Premier League has come to establish itself as cricket’s flagship annual extravaganza. That might appear a tall claim for a tournament that pits city-based franchises against each other, a far cry from the more hallowed country-versus-country show...

There were, as always, high-profile flops (Cummins, Maxwell, CSK's old guard) There were, as always, the names to mark for the future (Padikkal) Of course, we found out so much about each team, some things we knew, some we didn't. Like MI being light years ahead of the competition, the rest being a distant second, and CSK being in dire need of change. – Game 1: For the first time, the first ball of an IPL season produces a boundary. Game 60: For the first time, the first ball of an IPL final produces a wicket. Rohit Sharma on 19 September. Trent Boult on 10 November. Between one constantly commanding champion, and seven consistently inconsistent challengers, we found ourselves transfixed by the season that so nearly wasn’t. Over the last two months, IPL 2020 didn’t change our lives, or save us from all that’s now a forced part of our fabric. But it showed sport for its most powerful, without being hyperbolic, quality: as our greatest distraction, our safest drug. And t...

Dubai: The Indian cricket team on Wednesday departed for a two-month long tour of Australia where it will aim to build on the historic Test series win two years ago. The BCCI tweeted photographs of the Indian contingent before departure with the players sporting customised PPE kits for travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. '#TeamIndia is BACK! Let's embrace the new normal,' read the photo caption on BCCI Twitter handle. #TeamIndia is BACK! Let's embrace the new normal 💪 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/csrQ3aVv21 — BCCI (@BCCI) November 11, 2020 The majority of the India squad members were competing in the IPL and following the conclusion of their respective team's campaign, they moved to the bio-bubble created for the national team here. Test specialists like Cheteshwar Pujara and the support staff had arrived here last month to enter the national team bio-bubble. Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians to a record fifth IPL title on Tuesday night, and Ishant Sha...

The 13 th  edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ended on Tuesday as defending champions Mumbai Indians thrashed first-time finalists Delhi Capitals by five wickets, thereby clinching a record fifth title. The franchise T20 tournament was shifted to the UAE amid the growing COVID-19 cases in India. But still, there were concerns over its feasibility and longevity, especially after multiple players and contingent members of CSK reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus. Putting behind the CSK scare, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with cooperation from the Emirates Cricket Board, successfully conducted another season of the cash-rich league, albeit behind closed doors. More importantly, the tournament gave people a chance to shift from the prime-time negativity that dominated air space. From three Super Overs in a single day to the fastest delivery in the history of the lucrative league (156.2 kmph clocked by DC’s Anrich Nortje), and from the six-...

The efforts of Pakistan Cricket Board to complete the Pakistan Super League have received setbacks due to the unavailability of some more overseas players ahead of the playoffs matches due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. The PCB is holding the four remaining playoff matches and the summit clash this weekend and next week in Karachi. But for the first time since the PSL was launched in 2016, former West Indian captain Darren Sammy, who has one of the leading faces of the league, is not available to play for his franchise. Sammy, who has also captained Zalmi, will not be flying to Karachi because of COVID-19 related travel issues. New Zealand’s Mitchell McClenaghan has also pulled out due to his country’s travel guidelines. McClenaghan, who represented Karachi Kings, will not play the matches to be held on 14, 15 and 17 November in Karachi. A well-informed source said that the franchises were facing difficulties in finding replacements due to the problems posed by travel r...

Highly-rated young prospects Will Pucovski and Cameron Green were on Thursday included in an expanded 17-man Test squad to face India as Australia looks to the future. Opener Pucovski, 22, and all-rounder Green, 21, have been hammering on the door this season, impressing in the domestic Sheffield Shield with a host of former Australian greats urging their inclusion. The selectors — coach Justin Langer, Trevor Hohns and George Bailey — heeded the calls, but not at the expense of the out-of-form Joe Burns, who retains his spot alongside regular opener David Warner. Rookie spinner Mitchell Swepson and seamer Sean Abbott, along with fast bowler Michael Neser, who has long been on the fringes, also made the grade and are in line for debuts. "It is such a positive sign for Australian cricket to have so many good young players stepping into contention," said Hohns. "Two of those many standout players were of course Cameron Green and Will Pucovski." "Their undeni...

Trent Boult getting a wicket in the first over (first ball) of the innings, and then another inside the Powerplay. Jayant Yadav cleaning up ‘left-handed’ Shikhar Dhawan. Mumbai Indians' bowlers restricting DC to 38/3 in the death overs. Quinton de Kock getting Mumbai Indians off to a blistering start. Suryakumar Yadav crunching his first ball via a stylish punch through covers and then flicking the next one for a six over long leg. Yadav sacrificing his wicket for his set captain at the other end. Ishan Kishan finishing off the chase, unbeaten at the end with the stump in his hand and smile on his face. The IPL 2020 final was a microcosm of MI’s performance right through the tournament. Almost every aspect of Mumbai's game in the final epitomised the brand of cricket they have played right through the tournament. The brand of cricket that has imposed their domination over the league. The brand of cricket that has made them outclass every team in the league. The brand of cricke...

Dubai : An insatiable hunger to succeed, the willingness to put in the extra yards, and extensive work on the nitty gritties culminated in an unprecedented fifth IPL title for Mumbai Indians, the players, who are responsible for Delhi Capitals' clinical demolition said on Tuesday. Opener Quinton de Kock said after the final, "Mumbai have a great set up, so we've been able to move with the gym work and training and stuff. We're reaping the rewards for it today. It's a great feeling." "I think this year because there were so many questions around Mumbai in general, whether we can win back to back, we put in extra effort. You can see, it's paid off. We worked extra hard on the nitty gritties." If last year's one-run win over Chennai Super Kings was an absolute cliffhanger, Rohit's fluent 68 made it an anti-climax with Mumbai Indians chasing the target of 157 in 18.4 overs. "It's a great feeling. I've been here 11 years, this...

Dubai : Rohit Sharma believes that his style of leadership is not a dictatorial one, which is precisely the reason behind Mumbai Indians' stupendous success in the Indian Premier League. A peerless Rohit led from the front in defending champions Mumbai Indians' demolition of Delhi Capitals in the summit clash of the short-form extravaganza on Tuesday, giving them an unprecedented fifth title. "I'm not someone who'll run with a stick behind someone. The only way you can do it is by giving them confidence. So you have to strike that right balance," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony when asked about what kind of captain he is. The humble leader remembered the backroom staff and praised them for the work that goes behind the scene. "We couldn't have asked for anything more, right on the money from ball one and we never looked back. I think a lot of credit goes to the people who worked behind the scenes - often they go unnoticed. Our ...

Delhi Capitals will be taking on Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 final on Tuesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Shreyas Iyer-led side defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs in Qualifier 2 on Sunday to reach their first-ever summit clash in IPL. DC put up a complete performance against SRH, scoring 189/3 after batting first and then restricting the opponents to 172/8 to win the knockout contest. Their opponents in the final, Mumbai have already won the IPL title on four different occasions and have defeated DC thrice already in the 13th edition of the cash-rich T20 competition. Still, DC boast a number of T20 stars who can turn the match with their performances on any given day. As the team from the national capital gets ready to take on the defending champions in the final, we take a look at their journey to the summit clash, pre-season expectations, most impactful players, and more. Pre-season expectations Delhi Capitals brought an end to seven year...

Such was the strength of the Trailblazers' bowling attack that they had to put in little effort while defending 119. Jemimah Rodrigues and Taniya Bhatia started well, but the Trailblazers spinners tightened the screws, ensuring Harmanpreet Kaur could not rotate the strikes as frequently she could in the two league matches. Kaur left the final onslaught for too late, eventually succumbing when the asking rate assumed gargantuan size. The Trailblazers' spinners, who were not at their best in the league match against Supernovas, finally found their mojo. The four specialists combined to return figures of 15-0-76-6 with their myriad variations and different styles. They adjusted according to the slow, low pitch, taking the pace off the ball as much as possible. The Supernovas' batters, big hitters some of them, could simply not force the pace. Salma Khatun, who had not got many opportunities in the tournament, decided to provide the final blow to the Trailblazers coffin by ta...

On Tuesday, Delhi Capitals will set their sights on a dream that has been eluding them for the last 12 years — an IPL trophy. Shreyas Iyer-led DC face Rohit Sharma’s mighty Mumbai Indians in the final of IPL 2020 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as one of the most competitive and exhilarating seasons of the T20 league comes to a close. MI have largely dominated the tournaments with a few blips here and there. While the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have impressed in the batting department, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have led the bowling attack, with Rahul Chahar also being a revelation. DC started the tournament strongly, with five wins out of the first seven games, but struggled in the second half, with four consecutive losses. They left it late, until their final league match against RCB, to book a berth in the playoffs, securing second place. Apart from Shikhar Dhawan, their top-order has been relatively weak, and that remains a concern ahead of the fin...

Dubai: The unmatched legacy and hegemony created by the 'galacticos' of Mumbai Indians will be thoroughly challenged by a young Mumbaikar Shreyas Iyer, who will lead a passionate-but-unpredictable Delhi Capitals in a cracker of an Indian Premier League final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. After 52 days of the most closely-contested and widely-watched edition played on alien land in the backdrop of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the BCCI can pat itself for pulling off a near flawless tournament that gave people a chance to withdraw from prime time negativity that dominated the air space. And now, it's the coronation time with IPL's most successful skipper Rohit Sharma itching to win his fifth title amid a stormy couple of weeks. On the other hand, the Capitals, a team that had flattered to deceive for a dozen editions, will finally realise its potential on the grand stage of T20 cricket. There hasn't been too many editions where the two m...

Abu Dhabi: He might not be the captain but Shikhar Dhawan's influence as a performer and "leader" within the Delhi Capitals group cannot be overlooked, said Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who has also played his part in the team''s journey to the IPL final. Dhawan, with 603 runs, and Stoinis, with 352 runs and 12 wickets, have been the two best performers for Capitals. They played a big role in the side's 17-run victory in Qualifier-2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. "Shikhar's been unbelievable and made some big hundreds. Even in the matches he has missed out, he has timed the ball well. He has really led the way for us this year," Stoinis said at the post-match press conference. Stoinis himself has been a beneficiary of Dhawan's immense knowledge of adapting to various situations. "He (Dhawan) is a leader within the team. He brings in a lot of energy and shares a lot of knowledge. He has really been good to me throu...

Mumbai: Unable to bet legally, tens of millions of Indian cricket fans have turned to fantasy games based on the Indian Premier League, which have exploited a loophole to create a billion-dollar industry. Bolstered by foreign investment, Indian firms have invested heavily in the cash-for-points online games, despite fears that government regulation could put the new industry at risk. Dream11 - now the main sponsor for the IPL, which has its final on Tuesday in Dubai - says it has more than 100 million users for its cricket, football and NBA platforms. Users pay a fee, often less than 50 US cents, to join a contest that escapes India's ban on gambling because it's considered a game of "skill". They register a team of favourite players and win points for their performances in IPL games, which can be turned into cash. The number of fantasy games has mushroomed for this year's IPL, which is being held in the United Arab Emirates as India struggles with the worl...