BY SACNILK

AB de Villiers proved his undeniable brilliance yet again and played a memorable knock on a tough pitch for the batsmen. At Sharjah's pitch which has been a batting paradise so far, was on a slower side for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders' match on Monday (October 12). ## While all the other batsmen were struggling to find runs, AB de Villiers came and single-handedly stole the show for his sensational knock of unbeaten 73 off 33 balls with 5 fours and 6 sixes. His knock helped RCB to register a massive win 82-runs in the IPL 2020. ## RCB's skipper Virat Kohli heaped praise on ABD with whom, he added 100 runs off just 46 balls. He said that the team was looking to get around 165-170 runs but because of the ABD's masterful innings, they could reach on such a big target of 194 in 20 overs. ## "At the toss, the pitch didn't have the usual Sharjah sheen. Knew the wicket was going to get slower and slower. Barring one super-human, everyone struggled on that pitch. The talk was around 165-170. The preparation was really good. The three-week camp helped us. Have clarity of plans. Know exactly what we want to do on the field. It all depends on the mindset. It's very positive", Virat said in the post-match presentation with Murali Kartik. ## "On a pitch like that, only AB can do that. It was a special knock. We got 195 purely because of the genius of that man. Always things you can reflect on and say you can improve on these things. All about taking this momentum forward. Don't want to be complacent", he added. ## Meanwhile, RCB is moved up in the points table. With 5 wins in 7 matches, the three times finalist is currently sitting at number 3 with 10 points after Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. Now, the team will next face Kings XI Punjab on October 15 in Sharjah. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Delhi Capitals that is already riding through Rishabh Pant's injury has got a big blow as Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of reminder of the IPL 2020 due to a muscle tear, the franchise confirmed on Monday (October 12).## "Ishant Sharma experienced an acute episode of left rib cage pain while bowling at a team training session on 7 October 2020 in Dubai. Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained a left internal oblique muscle tear", the franchise said in a statement.## "This injury will, unfortunately, rule him out of the remainder of the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020. Everyone at Delhi Capitals wishes Ishant a speedy recovery", the statement added.## Ishant initially experienced pain on his rib cage and it's been revealed that he has sustained a muscle tear. The pacer, however, featured in just a solitary game this season as injury kept him away from 6 of the 7 matches DC played so far. The only match he played was against Sunrisers Hyderabad in which he remained wicketless.## Ishant is the second player from Delhi Capitals who has been out of the tournament. Previously, Amit Mishra had also got an injury which led his departure from the tournament. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Sunday (October 11), has announced the squads for the women's T20 challenge that will be played from 4th November to 9th November during the playoffs of men's IPL in the UAE.## Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Mithali Raj have been named the captains of Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity respectively. The three teams will compete in the upcoming Women's T20 Challenge. Each team will play two games with the top 2 to face in the final on 9th November. ## The best of Indian women's cricket will combine with some of the leading stars from England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, and New Zealand in a four-match tournament.## Thailand's Natthakan Chantham, who scored her country's first Women's T20 World Cup half-century, adds another feather to her cap as she will become the first Thai cricketer to feature in the tournament.## The 2020 Women's T20 Challenge will begin with last year's finalist Supernovas taking on Velocity in the opening game. The complete schedule is as below.## Match No.DateTeamsTime (IST) 1. 4 November Supernovas vs Velocity 7:30 PM 2. 5 November Velocity vs Trailblazers 3:30 PM 3. 7 November Trailblazers vs Supernovas 7:30 PM 4. 9 November Final 7:30 PM ## Here are the complete squads - ## Supernovas - Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues (VC), Chamari Atapattu, Priya Punia, Anuja Patil, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (WK), Shashikala Siriwardene, Poonam Yadav, Shakera Selman, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Ayushi Soni, Ayabonga Khaka, and Muskan Malik## Trailblazers - Smriti Mandhana (C), Deepti Sharma (VC), Punam Raut, Richa Ghosh, D. Hemalatha, Nuzhat Parween (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Jhulan Goswami, Simran Dil Bahadur, Salma Khatun, Sophie Ecclestone, Natthakan Chantham, Deandra Dottin, and Kashvee Gautam## Velocity - Mithali Raj (C), Veda Krishnamurthy (VC), Shafali Verma, Sushma Verma (WK), Ekta Bisht, Mansi Joshi, Shikha Pandey, Sushree Dibyadarshini, Manali Dakshini, Leigh Kasperek, Danielle Wyatt, Suné Luus, Jahanara Alam, and M. Anagha## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Indian Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is one of the all-time players who has earned a reputation as a perfect tailormade Test player which has made him a strong pillar of the Indian cricket team in the longest format of the game. ## Having made his debut in 2010, Cheteshwar Pujara has completed 10 years as an Indian cricket today. During this time, the stylist right-hander had scored 5840 runs in 77 Tests at an average of 46.19 with 18 hundred and 25 half-centuries.## On completing 10 years, the 32-year old took to Twitter and thanked the people who have supported him in this journey and also wished his wife Puja a happy birthday. ## "Truly privileged and blessed to have completed 10 yrs as an Indian cricketer. Growing up playing cricket in Rajkot all those years back, under the watchful eyes of my father, I would never have imagined the journey would bring me here....(continued...)", Pujara wrote on Twitter. ## "....Thank you for all the support and wishes. Look forward to contributing lots more to the team! P.S. Coincidentally, today also happens to be the wife's birthday, so Puja has ensured I will never forget this date", he added. ## ....Thank you for all the support and wishes. Look forward to contributing lots more to the team!P.S. Coincidentally, today also happens to be the wife's birthday, so Puja has ensured I will never forget this date 😀#grateful #blessed #10years #lotsmoretogo— cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) October 9, 2020 ## Pujara made his first appearance in the red balls format against Australia at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on 9 October 2010. While he failed in the first innings, he made his chance count in the second innings by top-scoring 72 as the hosts gunned down a fourth-innings target of 207 successfully. ## The number 3 batsman of team India, played a vital part role in India's first-ever Test series win against Australia in Australia in 2018-19. He clubbed 521 runs in four Tests with three centuries, averaging 74.43 and was awarded man of the series for his once in a lifetime performance during the series. ## And now, after almost two years, the eyes will be on him when India will tour Australia to play 4 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 3 T20Is starting from November this year. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Bollywood superstar and co-owner of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan was mighty impressed with the team's performance especially with Rahul Tripathi who got man of the match for his brilliant knock against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, October 7 in Abu Dhabi. ## When Rahul Tripathi, who led KKR to a 10-runs win over CSK, walked up to collect his Man of the Match award after playing a scintillating knock of 81, Shah Rukh shouted standing in the balcony, "Rahul, naam toh suna hi hoga", even as Harsha Bhogle and Tripathi himself burst into laughter. ## The superstar letter tweeted, "We were a few runs short, but the bowling made up for it at the end. Well played boys of @KKRiders And have to mention our @ImRTripathi 'Naam toh suna tha....kaam usse bhi kamaal hai' Be healthy all of you and rest well. @Bazmccullum will see u soon".## We were a few runs short, but the bowling made up for it at the end. Well played boys of @KKRiders And have to mention our @ImRTripathi ‘Naam toh suna tha....kaam usse bhi kamaal hai’ Be healthy all of you and rest well. @Bazmccullum will see u soon— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) October 7, 2020 ## For those unaware of the context, "Rahul, Naam To Suna Hoga" is one of the iconic dialogues said on the screen by any actor. The dialogue is from his movie 1997 blockbuster 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai'.## Shahrukh Khan just shouted, "Rahul, naam toh suna hoga" when Rahul Tripathi came to take the Man of the Match award. #IPL2020— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) October 7, 2020 ## Meanwhile, KKR moved up to number 3 in the points table with 6 points in 5 matches while CSK is on the fifth spot with 4 points in 6 games. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

During the second innings of Royal Challengers Bangalore against Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2020, on Monday (October 5), Ravichandran Ashwin left the entire cricketing fraternity bamboozled as this time he let go RCB's batsman Aaron Finch when the non-striker strayed outside the crease before the offie had released the ball. ## The incident turned out to be a quite strange one as Ashwin, playing for Kings XI Punjab, had Mankad Jos Buttler in the last year's IPL when Rajasthan Royals' star batman strayed outside the no-striker crease. Ashwin had later on clarified that he was within the rules and won't be afraid of doing it again.## The incident of letting go finch with a warning soon becomes a huge talking point on social media as fans started to discuss how Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting might have convinced Ashwin against Mankading the non-striker this season.## Taking to Twitter, Ashwin posted a matured tweet regarding the incident while also expressing how friendly are the terms between him, DC coach Ponting as well as RCB batsman Finch. "Let’s make it clear !! First and final warning for 2020. I am making it official and don’t blame me later on. @RickyPonting #runout #nonstriker @AaronFinch5 and I are good buddies btw. #IPL2020", he tweeted.## Let’s make it clear !! First and final warning for 2020. I am making it official and don’t blame me later on. @RickyPonting #runout #nonstriker @AaronFinch5 and I are good buddies btw.😂😂 #IPL2020— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) October 5, 2020 ## Ponting, Soon after his first interaction with the media before the start of the tournament, had made it clear that Mankading would not be allowed in the Delhi Capitals team as long as he is with the team and also spoke with Ashwin for the same.## Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals defeated RCB by a huge margin of 59 runs and topped the points table with 8 points in 5 matches. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The Sunrisers Hyderabad, that is already struggling in the tournament, has got a massive blow as their premiere bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out from the remainder of the Indian Premier League 2020 due to a hip injury, according to India TV. ## Bhuvneshwar Kumar had incurred an injury during the game against Chennai Super Kings in his final over last week. He had walked off immediately and had missed SRH's game against Mumbai Indians in Sharjah on Sunday.## "Bhuvi will not be able to take part in this year's tournament as he has been ruled out with a hip injury. A big blow for sure as he is someone who leads the bowling unit and is also an integral part of the leadership group on the ground", ANI quoted a source as stated by India TV.## Earlier in the day, Delhi Capitals also suffered a blow as veteran leg-spinner Amit Mishra was ruled out of the remainder of the season with a finger injury. He sustained a flexor tendon injury to the ring finger of his bowling hand during DC's fixture against KKR on October 3. Mishra featured in three games this season, picking up three wickets.## The news of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's injury will also come as a concern for the Indian team who will be touring Australia end of this year for a complete tour of Tets, ODIs, and T20Is. ## Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad is currently on the 7th spot in the points table with 4 points in 5 matches. The team will next face, Kings XI Punjab on October 8 in Dubai.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

After the initial setback, the three-times champions Chennai Super Kings is back on track with a dominating 10-wickets win over Kings XI Punjab on Sunday. It is only the second win for CSK in 5 matches which came after chasing down a big total of 179 without putting much effort. ## Shane Watson, who had not been able to show anything special with the bat before this match, scored an unbeaten 83-run knock on 53 balls while regaining his old form. However, it was Faf du Plessis, who has been a stand out performer for CSK so far in this year's IPL, played an unbeaten knock of 87 runs off 53 balls and added 181 runs with Watson for the first wicket which is highest ever partnership for CSK in the history of the Indian Premier League. ## Du Plessis, however, has credited skipper MS Dhoni and head coach, Stephen Fleming for showing faith in the players and sticking with the same team despite some of the players were not performing well. Plessis called it a CSK way that doesn't make quick changes even after losing a few games. ## "I thought in the previous game we were good with the ball, but we didn't bat well", du Plessis said during the post-match presentation. "Today Watto was a big plus for us. A lot of guys haven't played cricket, so you hope that you strike form immediately. But when that doesn't happen, it does take a bit of time. Hopefully, our guys find their best form over the next 3-4 games".## "Credit to MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming for sticking with the side. It is a Chennai way to stick with the players more than other teams might even when others feel like making changes. It comes with experience and credit to the management for sticking with the players". ## On the other hand, MS Dhoni said that they did the small things right while following the "process" which has been his mantra throughout his career. Dhoni also stressed out at the role of Fleming who, he thinks, doesn't get the kind of recognition he deserves. ## "The good thing between us (him and Fleming) is that we decide each and everything between us. It's not like we don't have debates over selections. But it stays between us", said Dhoni. ## Meanwhile, CSK moved up to number 6 in the points table with 4 points. The team will next face Kolkata Knight Riders on October 7 in Abu Dhabi. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Kolkata Knight Riders had almost pulled off a record-breaking chase against Delhi Capitals on Saturday (October 3) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah. However, it remained almost as the two times champions KKR fell short of 18 runs in a chase of 228. ## At one stage, KKR looked completely out of the match as they reduced to 6 wickets for just 122 runs. However, Eoin Morgan (44 off 18) and Rahul Tripathi (36 off 16) had some other plans whose late show brought hopes back to KKR camp, and it seemed that the franchise might chase down 229 to create an IPL record. ## However, it didn't happen, a stunning penultimate over from Anrich Nortje followed by a cracker of a final over by Marcus Stoinis changed things and eventually won the game for Delhi Capitals to take the team on top of the points table. ## After the match, India's world cup winning team member, S Sreesanth said that Eoin Morgan, who led England to maiden ODI World Cup win last year, should lead Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, instead of Dinesh Karthik who has failed to impress with both the bat and leadership so far in this year's IPL.## Sreesanth explained that having a World Cup-winning captain as the leader of the team will certainly help the franchise who can lead the team like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli from the front. ## "Genuinely feel @Eoin16 should lead the side,(surly not*dk kolaimandaaaiiiOctopus) World Cup-winning captain should surly lead ipl side. I hope #kkr looks at this issue.nd win ✌🏻they need a leader who will lead from front like Rohit ,Dhoni or Virat..what a player", Sreesanth wrote on Twitter.## Genuinely feel @Eoin16 should lead the side,(surly not*dk kolaimandaaaiii🐙 )World Cup winning captain should surly lead ipl side.I hope #kkr looks at this issue.nd win ✌🏻they need a leader who will lead from front like Rohit ,Dhoni or Virat..what a player #ipl #kkr #cricket— Sreesanth (@sreesanth36) October 3, 2020 ## However, Eoin Morgan justified the decision of the team management to send him to lower down the order as he feels that it is difficult to bat up the order with so many match-winners in the side. "When you look at our batting line-up, we have a number of match-winners, so it's very difficult to go up the order, particularly when you have a world-class all-rounder in Andre Russell. He is an incredible striker, and when he comes up the order, obviously everybody else has to shift down a little bit", said Morgan. ## In the four matches so far, KKR has an equal share of win and lose and currently is in fifth place on the points table with 4 points. The team will next take on Chennai Super Kings in their next game on Wednesday, October 7. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

The Royal Challengers Bangalore's skipper Virat Kohli has heaped praise on the 20-year old Devdutt Padikkal who has been one of the stand-out players of the Indian Premier League 2020 so far. Padikkal, who has been consistent with his performance so far, is the leading scorer for RCB after the first 4 matches with 174 runs. ## Against Rajasthan Royals, Padikkal played a classy knock of 63 off 45 balls in a chase of 155, which helped RCB to register an easy win of 8 wickets. Though Virat himself was the top scorer of the inning with an unbeaten 72 off 53 balls, it was Padikkal's knock that caught his attention and he couldn't stop himself to praise the young talented batsman. ## "I saw him play and told Simon (Katich) that this guy has got some serious talent because he's got reach, a great eye, a great balance. It's very difficult for the bowlers to continue bowling the same lines and lengths against a leftie. The way he bats... very clean shots. You don't feel like he is taking risks", Virat said during the post-match presentation ceremony. ## The leading run-getter of the IPL history, Virat said that Padikkal is a smart guy who understands the game really well and hoped that he will continue to bat longer which going to beneficial for the team. ## "I just kept talking to him about building an inning. If he can bat longer for the team, it's gonna benefit us. Today he carried from 40 to 65 odd which helped the team eventually. He's a smart guy, he understands the game well and he responds to the feedback very well. The more he keeps learning, the better it is for RCB", Virat added. ## Playing as an opener, Padikkal so far has scored 56, 1, 54, and 63 and played a key role for RCB that is currently is in at number 2 on the points table with 6 points. ## While it has been an almost unprecedented start to IPL 2020 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Virat Kohli himself has back in form after the failure in the first 3 games with the bat. A smiling Kohli later said that he had told Jos Buttler, the Royals wicketkeeper, during his innings that he both loved and hated the game, because of the contrasting fortunes it made you experience as a player.## "It's a funny game you know. It's an amazing game. I was telling Jos when I was batting in there, I love this game and I hate it too", Virat said at the post-match presentation to Ian Bishop when asked about his form. "It's something that you need to understand as a player. When you play so much of cricket, you do feel like at times you're not in control of what you want to do".## "But more than that, you feel disappointed when the team's not doing well. But when the team's doing well, you feel like 'Okay I've got some more space to figure out how I want to go about applying my kind of batting for the benefit of the team".## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Over a month after Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket, the former Indian cricket captain is all set to begin a new inning in the entertainment industry. After entertaining the nation on the cricket field, Dhoni has turned into a producer with his wife, Sakshi Dhoni. ## The legendary cricketer, who had launched his banner Dhoni Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. in 2019 with the multilingual documentary "Roar of the Lion", is developing a wide slate of projects for the next year. ## Talking to mid-day, Sakshi Dhoni, who serves as the managing director of the production house, reveals that they have zeroed in on their second offering based on an unpublished book of a debutant author.## "We have acquired the rights of an unpublished book of a debutant author. We will adapt it into a web series. It is a mythological sci-fi story that explores the journey of a mysterious Aghori and is set at a high-tech facility on a remote island", says Sakshi## Sakshi added that the adventure drama explores the genre of magical realism. Currently, in the process of developing the series, the creative team will finalize the cast and director soon. It is heard that the studio is simultaneously working on five other projects.## MS Dhoni is currently in the UAE, leading his team Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League. While cricket remains Dhoni's first love, Sakshi says the studio is their joint passion.## "When we were developing Roar of the Lion, we thought it was the perfect time to venture into the entertainment industry. We aim to give a platform to deserving talent to showcase their skills along with providing fresh and original content to the audience".## "Mahi will be partially involved [in the production house]. The day-to-day running of the company is looked after by me. We have a process to ensure quality control from the word go. Mahi and I take the final call with our team's inputs and suggestions. Our aim is to produce good stories from our heart", she said as stated in mid-day. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Despite the worsening coronavirus situation in India with the rapid rise in cases, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is hopeful that the England series to be played in India early next year as per the originally scheduled.## The England team is scheduled to travel to India for five Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is, to be played between January and March. However, there have been some reports of the England series being played in the UAE where the ongoing season of the IPL is happening due to the covid-19 situation in India. ## However, BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly has reiterated the board's priority to host England early next year in India. ## "The priority is to make this (series against England) happen in India. We will try to make this happen on Indian grounds. The advantage in the UAE is they have three stadiums (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai)", Sourav Ganguly said as stated by Cricbuzz. ## The intensify situation of covid-19 has already forced the Indian domestic season to postpone which should have been started by now. However, Ganguly said that the board continues to work on trying to 'make it happen as much as we can'.## "We are monitoring it (covid-19 situation). We want to have our domestic season. We have all the combinations, situations ready in our minds. We will try and make it happen as much as we can".## "Everything is fluid. It's been hard for the last six months to keep everything in order. You want your cricket to happen. You want lives to get back to normal, there are players involved. But you also want to have a close look at the Covid situation", he added.## Meanwhile, India is at the second number in terms of the coronavirus cases in the world, only behind the USA. As per the official numbers, over 60 lakh positive cases and over 95,000 deaths due to the virus have been recorded. ## Stay tuned...