SPORTS Sunday, 27 April, 2014
RCB shot out for 70 in big defeat abu Dhabi AGENCIES
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WO days ago, Virat Kohli conceded Royal Challengers Bangalore blew a winning position against Kolkata Knight Riders. His side were forced into an encore of that performance by Rajasthan Royals this afternoon, minus the winning-position part. Within the first 14 deliveries of the match, they lost four wickets, including those of AB de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh. Just past the halfway stage of their innings, they lost their last realistic hope - Kohli. From 46 for 7, it was somewhat of an achievement to move past the lowest IPL total of 58, but there was no getting back in the game. Royal Challengers posted 70, the third-worst score in the IPL, and Royals completed the formalities for the loss of four wickets. After Kohli was asked to bat, he said he would have done that anyway had he won the toss. What was to follow, however, wouldn’t have figured even in his worst nightmare. This was a pitch with something for the bowlers. There was some seam and bounce, and also a bit of swing. But considering the kind of shots Royal Challengers played, they would have been in trouble on almost any surface. A couple of dots in the opening over were enough for Yogesh Takawale to charge out and heave at Stuart Binny, only to edge a gentle outswinger to the keeper. Kohli walked in and took a wicket off his first ball. His call for a single following a push to off was so late Parthiv Patel, not the best of runners, had little chance of making it
SCOREbOARD bANGAlORE PA Patel† run out (Rahane/†Samson) 1 YV Takawale c †Samson b binny 0 V Kohli* c Southee b Tambe 21 Yuvraj Singh c Smith b Richardson 3 Ab de Villiers b Richardson 0 S Rana b Watson 3 JA Morkel c Smith b Tambe 7 MA Starc c binny b bhatia 18 R Rampaul c Southee b Tambe 13 Ab Dinda lbw b Tambe 0 YS Chahal not out 0 Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 1) 4 Total (all out; 15 overs) 70 Fall of wickets 1-1 (Takawale, 0.4 ov), 2-1 (Patel, 0.5 ov), 3-5 (Yuvraj Singh, 2.1 ov), 4-5 (de Villiers, 2.2 ov), 5-17 (Rana, 5.2 ov), 6-28 (Morkel, 8.4 ov), 7-46 (Kohli, 10.3 ov), 8-62 (Starc, 13.6 ov), 9-70 (Rampaul, 14.3 ov), 10-70 (Dinda, 14.6 ov) Bowling STR binny 1 0-1-1, TG Southee 3-0-16-0, KW Richardson 4-018-2, SR Watson 2-1-5-1, PV Tambe 4-0-20-4, R bhatia 1-0-7-1 Rajasthan AM Rahane c †Patel b Starc 23
KK Nair c †Patel b Starc 8 SV Samson† run out (Takawale/†Patel) 2 AM Nayar not out 11 SR Watson* c de Villiers b Chahal 24 STR binny not out 0 Extras (lb 1, w 2) 3 Total (4 wickets; 13 overs) 71 Did not batSPD Smith, R bhatia, KW Richardson, PV Tambe, TG Southee Fall of wickets 1-31 (Rahane, 4.3 ov), 2-35 (Samson, 5.4 ov), 3-36 (Nair, 6.3 ov), 4-68 (Watson, 12.5 ov) bowling MA Starc 4-0-29-2, R Rampaul 4-0-16-0, YS Chahal 3-1-17-1, Ab Dinda 2-0-8-0 Match details Toss - Rajasthan T20, who chose to field Points - Rajasthan T20 2, bangalore T20 0 Player of the match - PV Tambe (Rajasthan T20) Umpires - HDPK Dharmasena (Sri lanka) and C Shamshuddin (India) TV umpire - RK Illingworth (England) Match referee - AJ Pycroft (Zimbabwe) Reserve umpire - K Srinath (India)
Aamer Sohail Mohammad Irfan not in need of hip surgery slams Pakistan Cricket Board by branding it ‘illegal’ Karachi AGENCIES
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan’s latest medical report has indicated that he does not need surgery for his injured hip and could be a chance for the 2015 World Cup. Irfan’s hairline fracture seems to have healed after six weeks of rehab and he has started training at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, where he was not bowling at full tilt but seemed to be enjoying being back in action. The PCB is organising a month-long summer camp and Irfan will be invited to rebuild his fitness. “He [Irfan] isn’t available immediately for national selection as
yet but we have made a plan for him ahead of 2015 World Cup,” Mohammad Akram, the NCA head coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are targeting the one-dayers against Australia and New Zealand for him later this year to give him the required tempo.” Irfan, 31, has been sidelined since he injured his hip during the second T20 international against South Africa in Dubai in November 2013. After six weeks of rehab following the hairline fracture, Irfan made a swift return during the domestic Twenty20 Cup in Rawalpindi, but only aggravated the injury,
across. Yuvraj Singh had a nervy seven-ball stay. He was beaten a couple of times by Tim Southee, and almost yorked himself. Then Kane Richardson trotted in and sent down a 129.6 kph outswinger. And Yuvraj promptly followed it and tickled it to second slip. At 5 for 3, Royal Challengers had their best pair in the middle to combat the crisis. Instead, AB de Villiers played on first ball, attempting a half-hearted back-foot punch without having the width. Kohli needed someone to just last for a few overs. But that was asking for too much. Three quiet overs later, Sachin Rana played on to Shane Watson in the same manner as de Villiers. Albie Morkel is used to coming in at the death to try and hit his big sixes, but even the Powerplay was not over yet this time. His second ball against spin, Morkel went for a big six, and holed out off a googly from Pravin Tambe. Kohli must have surely been fuming inside, but the very next ball, he calmly swatted Tambe for four through extra cover. First ball of the next over, he stepped out and lifted Southee over mid-on. That was about as close as Royal Challengers were coming to a fightback. In Tambe’s next over, Kohli received a half-tracker and pulled it straight to midwicket. Mitchell Starc and Ravi Rampaul helped their side move past 58, before Tambe wrapped up the innings to end with 4 for 20, his best IPL figures. The RCB pair bowled their hearts out, but by the time Starc reduced Royals to 36 for 3, they were already more than half way to their target.
resulting in to more fractures to his hip. Since then, Irfan has been at the NCA, working with doctors on a specialised rehab programme. If he had failed to show enough progress the PCB could have flown him to Australia for surgery. Irfan’s height - 7’1” - made him the tallest person to play Test cricket. He was given a debut in 2010 but could not hold down a spot in the team because of fitness issues. Irfan managed his longest international streak in the UAE in 2013, when he bowled 65.5 overs in two Tests against South Africa and 13 overs in a game against UAE. In the last four years, Irfan played four Tests, 27 one-day internationals and seven T20s. SPORTS DESK
Former Pakistani captain Aamer Sohail has slammed the current Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), branding it illegal as it was installed through a ‘questionable’ committee. Sohail was made chief selector in February this year only to be removed days later when Najam Sethi took over the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after an order by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. According to The Dawn, Sohail questioned the legality of the current PCB board, saying that the patron of the board was changed from the President to the Prime Minster through the InterProvincial-Coordination Committee (IPCC), whose existence is also questionable. However, Sohail said that he is ready to support Moin Khan, who has been appointed as the new manager and chief selector, although he added that Khan’s ability and future would depend on his performance. The PCB appointed a sixmember selection committee — the biggest in its history — to choose the team to start a hectic season leading up to next year’s World Cup, the report added. Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.
CMYK
Moin looking for ‘performing’ Pak captain who is ‘liked’ by team
SPOrTS DESK `Chief selector` Moin Khan looking for `performing` Pak captain who is `liked` by teamKarachi: Pakistan`s new chief selector Moin Khan has said that he believes the captain of a team should be a player who is a performer and also liked by his teammates. Opener Ahmed Shehzad is being tipped to take over as the national T20 captain after Mohammad Hafeez stepped down following Pakistan`s failure to reach the semi-finals of the World T20 in Bangladesh Khan indicated that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could go for a change in captaincy of the one-day team in the coming weeks, saying that a captain should be liked by the team, the media and the fans, along with being a performer. Khan may reportedly be referring to current Test and one-day skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who has led by personal example with some sterling performances, but continues to be criticised in the media and by fans for his approach to the game. Khan further said that Pakistan has time enough to prepare for the 2015 World Cup, although he urged the players to keep the same approach and positive attitude in order to be world champions. Sources have indicated that with Khan taking over as chief selector and manager of the national team, there is a lobby active in the board that wants Shahid Afridi to be given the one-day team captaincy before the 2015 World Cup, the report added.