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"Threw His Bat So Badly...": Harbhajan Singh Reveals Shocking Story About MS Dhoni

Harbhajan Singh revealed an instance when MS Dhoni lost his temper and ended up damaging his bat's handle.

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IPL 2023: Ajinkya Rahane stands out among the batters as clinical CSK prevail over KKR

If there was one word to describe Chennai Super Kings’ performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in their Indian Premier League match at Eden Gardens on Sunday, it would be: Clinical.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

Sunday witnessed a perfect win for CSK against KKR in the latter’s home ground, and courtesy a dominant display by the batters, the match was more or less sealed in the first-half itself.

Devon Conway (56), Ajinkya Rahane (71*) and Shivam Dube (50) scored half-centuries to help CSK post the highest T20 total at Eden Gardens (235/4), but it’s only fair to say that every CSK batter rose up to the big occasion.

Be it Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 20-ball 35 or Ravindra Jadeja’s eight-ball 18, none of the CSK batters’s performances went unnoticed. And it did not even feel like they were missing the services of Ben Stokes and Deepak Chahar.

Conway continues a streak, Rahane stands out again

Sunday was not the first occasion when Ajinkya Rahane stood out among the rest. Well, practically, it was the trio of Rahane, Conway and Dube who stood out on Sunday, but what made Rahane’s knock unique was his aggressive approach to the innings.

Rahane came into bat at number three in the eighth over following Gaikwad’s dismissal, and collected a boundary off Suyash Sharma’s delivery in the first over he faced. Almost four overs, later, Rahane would once again beat Suyash for another boundary in the 12th over, but it was not until the 14th over when the 34-year-old actually changed gears.

Rahane was facing Umesh Yadav in that over, and he literally punished the pacer in that one, slamming two consecutive sixes and a four to give himself some confidence. Rahane went over deep backward square for the first maximum, while hoisting over fine leg for the second six.

That was followed by a four, courtesy a stunning cover drive from the Man of the Moment yet again, Rahane himself.

Rahane, who forged an 85-run stand with Shivam Dube for the third wicket, continued picking the important runs, even by rotating strike with singles, and even brought up his fifty off just 24 balls in the final ball of the 17th over, but he was not done just yet.

After flicking Kulwant Khejroliya for a four in the final ball of the 18th over, Rahane would then punish Varun Chakaravarthy for two powerful sixes over long on, and then a four, opening the face of the bat to dispatch over short third man.

Rahane’s 29-ball 71 was so reminiscent of his 27-ball 61 not long back against Mumbai Indians early in April.

New Zealand’s Devon Conway, too, has been in fine form this season, and he went one better on Sunday with his fourth consecutive fifty in the IPL this season.

Conway had scores of 50, 83 and 77* in his last three matches, and Sunday was yet another perfect example of what can happen when the Kiwi batter gets going.

Conway, who put up a 73-run stand for the first wicket with Gaikwad, got to his fifty in 34 deliveries, and his knock was the first of many productive knocks from the CSK outfit that would help them post an unassailable total.

“My partnership with Rutu at the top, it calms the nerves for me. We try to keep it simple. A lot of credit goes to Rutu,” said Conway after the match, while also adding how special it was to have MS Dhoni in the team setup.

“We have a good vibe in the group. For us, it’s about continuing this momentum and moving forward in the tournament. Having MS in your group, it’s great to have him. It does feel like a home fixture every time we play. CSK fans get behind him and us as a group, good to be part of this group,” the Kiwi batter added.

Worrying signs for KKR

KKR have found life without the injured Shreyas Iyer very hard. Their only two victories came against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans, and the defeat to CSK was their fourth in a row this season.

KKR are currently in eighth place in the IPL standings with just four points, exactly as many points away from top four.

With KKR having completed half of their league games, the road is only going to get tougher for Nitish Rana and Co.

For Rana, the defeat to CSK was ‘tough to digest’.

“Tough to digest. Always going to be difficult chasing 236 especially if you don’t have a good powerplay. Have to give credit to Rahane. As I said, it’s tough to digest that we conceded a score like that. We do have some positives. But if you don’t improve. If you keep repeating mistakes against such a big team, you’ll lose,” Rana had said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Jason Roy scored 61 after coming into bat at No 5, while Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 53. Most of the other batters lacked confidence and failed to get going.

Will Roy bat up the order? And is there a need to rethink the team strategy? These will be some questions KKR will need to answer before their next game against RCB on Wednesday.

CSK, meanwhile, sit atop the standings with 10 points and will get an opportunity to build on that momentum, when they lock horns against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.

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IPL 2023: 'Playing under MS Dhoni at CSK has been a great learning', says Ajinkya Rahane after match-winning knock

Ajinkya Rahane notched up his second half-century of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on Sunday,  and the veteran batter has warned that his ‘best was yet to come’.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

Rahane got to his fifty in just 24 deliveries, and ended his innings with an unbeaten 71 off 29 deliveries, amassing six fours and five sixes in the process, and striking at 244.83.

Rahane’s 71, and fifties from Devon Conway and Shivam Dube led CSK to a mammoth total of 235/4 from 20 overs.

Rahane was adjudged the Player of the Match for his heroics with the bat.

“Just had a clear mindset. If the thing between your ears is right, your mind is right then you’ll be fine. I’m just trying to enjoy my game. The wicket was a bit sticky, but once you are in you have a great chance. We had a great start, and after that I wanted to play my shots and keep the momentum. I’ve enjoyed all my knocks so far, I still feel the best is yet to come,” Rahane said at the presentation ceremony.

He added that playing under MS Dhoni has been a great learning. “I’ve played under Mahi bhai for India for many years, and now even at CSK it has been a great learning. If you listen to whatever he says, you will more often than not perform,” added the 34-year-old.

Dhoni, meanwhile, said that it was important to give someone like Rahane freedom to bat.

“We realise the potential of someone when we allow him to bat the way he bats. We give him the freedom, give him the best position. In a team environment, someone has to sacrifice his slot to allow the others to get more comfortable, and allow the team to succeed,” Dhoni said.

A huge number of CSK supporters had travelled to Kolkata for the game, and Dhoni thanked the fans for the support.

“I will just say thanks for the support, they came in big numbers. Most of these guys will come in a KKR jersey next time. They are trying to give me a farewell, so thanks a lot to the crowd,” added the 41-year-old.

For KKR, Jason Roy and Rinku Singh scored fifties but lacked major contributions from other batters. Nitish Rana, KKR skipper, said that the defeat was ‘tough’ to digest.

“Tough to digest. Always going to be difficult chasing 236 especially if you don’t have a good powerplay. Have to give credit to Rahane. As I said, it’s tough to digest that we conceded a score like that. We do have some positives. But if you don’t improve. If you keep repeating mistakes against such a big team, you’ll lose,” said the 29-year-old.

CSK next face RR on Thursday, while KKR’s next assignment will be against RCB on Wednesday.

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IPL 2023: Updated Points Table, Orange Cap, Purple Cap List After RCB-RR, KKR-CSK Matches

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings won their respective fixtures against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.

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KKR vs CSK, IPL 2023: Ajinkya Rahane Shines As Chennai Super Kings Beat Kolkata Knight Riders, Rise To Top Spot In Table

IPL 2023: Chennai Super Kings defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 49 runs in an Indian Premier League match at Eden Gardens on Sunday.

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31 runs in 1 Over! MI Pacer Arjun Tendulkar Becomes Part Of Unwanted Tally

Arjun Tendulkar picked up his first wicket in front of the home crowd against Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023 at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, however, he also ended up featuring in an unwanted record.

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IPL 2023: Arshdeep Singh’s death over heroics the difference as PBKS defeat MI in a high-scoring thriller

In a game that saw both teams score above 200 at the batter’s paradise that is the Wankhede Stadium, it was ultimately one sensational death-bowling spell that proved to the difference.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh emerged the hero as Punjab Kings won a high-scoring thriller against the Mumbai Indians in Match 31 of IPL 2023 on Saturday. Arshdeep grabbed 4 for 29 in what is one of the standout performances his nascent career so far, helping Punjab survive a spirited fightback from Mumbai and collect their fourth win of the season in seven matches.

Arshdeep’s stocks had steadily been rising in the IPL over the years and his consistency in the world’s biggest T20 league is what helped him break into the Indian team last year. And in the current season of the Indian Premier League, where he returns to the Punjab Kings lineup on the back of international success, Arshdeep appears to have taken his game a notch higher with the left-arm pacer from Guna, Madhya Pradesh having played a central role with the ball in two of their four wins so far.

A first innings total of 214 normally would have a team quite relaxed during the innings break. However, in a fast-paced format where miracles happen more often than one would assume possible, no team can afford to breath easy even with such a big score on the board, especially at a high-scoring venue like the Wankhede against a power-packed batting lineup such as Mumbai’s.

Arshdeep, though, ensured Punjab would start off on an ideal note as he got rid of in-form Mumbai opener Ishan Kishan off his second delivery — the first legal one that is — of the evening.

Five-time champions MI however, have been a different beast since opening their account against the Delhi Capitals, winning three matches on the trot including two away from home with a number of their batters suddenly regaining form.

Skipper Rohit Sharma led Mumbai’s fightback with a 27-ball 44, stitching a 76-run second-wicket stand with Cameron Green. Once he perished after offering Liam Livingstone a catch off his own bowling, it was Green who shifted gears and kept Mumbai in the hunt along with an equally explosive Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed a 23-ball half-century and added 75 for the third wicket with the Australian all-rounder.

At 159/2 in the 16th over with Green and SKY going all guns blazing at the centre, Mumbai’s chances of pulling off a fourth consecutive win had received a great boost with the dugout appearing quite relaxed. And despite Green getting dismissed by compatriot Nathan Ellis for 67, MI were very much in the chase with the hard-hitting Tim David joining Surya at the centre and Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera padded up in the dugout.

Arshdeep was brought back in the 18th over, having conceded 18 in his two overs in the powerplay, and though he started off his new spell by getting hit for an 84-metre maximum by David, he would conceding just three off the next five balls and deliver the key wicket of a well-set Surya, who was once again timing the ball like a dream and threatened to single-handedly guide Mumbai home.

As big a boost Surya’s wicket was, the job wasn’t finished yet and there was a 20th over to be bowled. And Ellis getting hammered for 15 in the penultimate over, including a monstrous 114-metre hit by David over deep midwicket, made Arshdeep’s job all the trickier with Mumbai needing 16 off the last six.

The cool customer that Arshdeep is though, he did not let the occasion get the better of him. The left-arm seamer managed to get David off strike with a single off the first delivery, bowling a low full toss outside off, before building pressure on Varma with a dot off a well-directed short delivery over middle and leg.

In Photos: Curran, Arshdeep shine as PBKS defeat MI in high-scoring thriller

What followed were the standout moments from the high-octane encounter, as Arshdeep managed to smash the middle stump off consecutive deliveries to send Varma and Wadhera back to the dugout, effectively sealing the game in those two magic deliveries with David helplessly watching from the non-striker’s end and perhaps regretting his call to get off strike earlier.

The 24-year-old closed out with a dot and a single to complete a memorable day in office, and was duly hoisted by a couple of his teammates in the celebrations that followed.

Arshdeep’s job, however, would have been a lot more difficult had it not been for a comeback for the ages from the Punjab middle-order with skipper Sam Curran leading the way with a 29-ball 55. The Mumbai attack, after all, was breathing fire at one point and had Punjab on the mat by reducing them to 83/4 at the halfway stage with the 100 only coming up in the 14th over.

Together with Harpreet Bhatia (41 off 28) and Jitesh Sharma (25 off 7), Curran launched a vicious assault in the back-end of the Punjab innings as a staggering 109 runs were collected in the last six overs, turning the game on its head and making the contest that more thrilling.

Despite the destruction that he had unleashed earlier in the day, Curran expressed surprise during the post-match presentation after being adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ award, which he believed should have gone to one of the bowlers (specifically Arshdeep).

“Don’t think I should be getting the award, with the way our pacers finished the match, Arshdeep and Nathan (Ellis) were incredible and the spinners bowled well,” the Englishman said in a chat after the game.

Their performance on Saturday will no doubt please the Punjab leadership to a great extent, given that they’re firing on all guns despite the absence of a key performer in regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan, who has been one of the standout batters this season.

PBKS, meanwhile, have a five-day break ahead of them and will expect Dhawan to return to action when they take on Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings on Friday and Sunday respectively, where they will be backing themselves to claw their way back into the playoff spots.

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"Will Physio Sit In Selection Meeting?": Ex BCCI Chief Selector Blasts Jasprit Bumrah Workload Drama

Injuries aside, Jasprit Bumrah is being rested as part of his 'workload management' too, a development that has been categorised as ...