BY SACNILK

The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has accepted the fact that it won't be easy for the players to play without the crowd in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League which is scheduled to start on September 19 in the UAE. ## The RCB captain did acknowledge that the cricket field would be a significantly 'stranger' place from the last time he was on it. However, Kohli suggests that the crowd factor will diminish as the tournament will progress. ## "I won't deny the fact that it's going to be difficult initially," Virat told The Bold Diaries on the RCB channel. "It is going to be strange. Just the echo of the ball hitting the bat. I haven't experienced that since playing Ranji Trophy cricket back in 2010. It is the last time I experienced it, so for 10 years, I haven't had a game where I'm not hearing the crowd.## "We have done this at some stage in our lives. It's important to remember that rather than saying 'But oh I'm used to this now and I won't do it if there's no crowd'. We have done it in the past, even in those games we played, you wanted to perform and play for the love of the game. The crowd factor will play a part but once you get into the game, the instincts will kick in and the crowd factor will diminish pretty quickly." ## It is not only playing in the empty stands but players also might take some time to get back into the rhythm as many of them haven't played cricket for some time, especially Indian players. However, Kohli who last played competitively six months ago at Christchurch Test against New Zealand has confessed that the COVID-enforced break from cricket was most opportune and that he didn't miss the game as much as he thought he might. ## "Things were okay. I didn't miss the game as much as I thought I might. Maybe because I'd been going on for 9-10 years before that and this was the only break I was ever going to get that long. It was a revelation for me as well. It was surprising that my focus was not solely on how I'm missing the game all the time and you know just carrying on with life, doing other things, and understanding that this is just a part of life", he said.## "Couple of months [ago] you couldn't imagine you'd have IPL firstly. Then things started opening up and things started getting together and then we saw other tournaments taking place. So got a bit of confidence from that. Now when we had our practice session yesterday is the time I realized how long it has been. When I was heading to the practice session, I felt nervous, I felt a bit jittery ..."## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Indian captain Virat Kohli and former South African captain AB de Villiers share a great camaraderie on and off the field and it was clearly visible when both the star player came for a live Instagram chat today (Friday, April 24). ## The duo has been involved in many memorable partnerships for Royal Challengers Banglore in the Indian Premier League. Not only in the IPL but also when both the players often seen facing each other for their respective national teams. ## Both Virat and AB talked a lot about the ongoing health crisis around the world, the ways to combat and how can they help others at this time. Apart from the current health situation, the duo also talked about cricket. In order to play for their country, both the player picked the greatest combined ODI XI of India and South Africa that includes 7 Indian and 4 South African players. ## Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C, WK), Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kagiso Rabada## South Africa's Gary Kirsten named the coach of the team who also coached the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian team. The duo also seemed to be agreed on Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain of the side. ## During the live Instagram chat, both also join hands for a noble cause when they decided to go for online auction. Both will put up the stuff from their iconic partnership in IPL 2016 for auction to raise funds for the fight against Corona Virus.## "In 2016 IPL match against Gujarat Lions, we both scored centuries, it was a good partnership, it was an enjoyable one, I got 120 odd and you got your hundred towards the end, it was the Green game, we did our bit for creating awareness about the environment," AB de Villiers said.## "The plan now is to get our kits to go for an online auction, the green kits would go for auction, people can go and bid and all the proceeds will go the COVID-19 fund and it is a cause which will provide food to the maximum number of people," De Villiers added.## Virat Kohli also thanked the fans who stood by RCB in any ups and downs over the years. The star player also shares the experienced playing for RCB since the very first session and said that he doesn't see himself playing for any team other than RCB. ## "No matter what happens, I'm never leaving RCB," Virat Kohli told AB de Villiers, who has been associated with the franchise since 2011". Virat Kohli is associated with RCB from the first season of IPL and scored 5412 runs in 177 matches for the team while AB de Villiers has scored overall 4395 runs in 154 matches.## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

It was another night when Andre Russell's assault was on peek. With 53 runs needed in 3 overs, most of the batsmen would have given up but not Andre Russell who proved this target a child's play for him. His 13-ball 48* powered Kolkata Knight Riders to an unlikely win with 5 balls to spare over Royal Challengers Bangalore.## The cricket world expressed their thoughts on Andre Russell's brutal striking via Twitter## Speechless. #RCBvKKR #VIVOIPL2019— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 5, 2019 ## WINDIES TEAM FOR 2019 WORLD CUP@Russell12A and any other 10...📸 @KKRiders.#KKRvRCB #AndreRussell #VIVOIPL2019 #IPL2019 #westindies #Cricket #WorldCup2019 pic.twitter.com/R7cu9hkncT— Brian Lara (@BrianLara) April 5, 2019 ## Sheesh! #DreRuss Where can you bowl to him 🤷‍♂️— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) April 5, 2019 ## Any asking rate is child’s play for Andre Russell . What a victory ! #RCBvsKKR— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 5, 2019 ## That was unreal from Andre Russell #RCBvKKR— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 5, 2019 ## .@Russell12A 👌🏻#DreRuss— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) April 5, 2019 ## Andre Russell in 2019 IPL:Game 1: 4 SixesGame 2: 5 SixesGame 3: 6 SixesGame 4: 7 Sixes207 runs in 77 Balls (22 Sixes)Seems like he is following a pattern of hitting sixes!#RCBvKKR #IPL2019 #AndreRussell— Sacnilk Sports (@SacnilkSports) April 5, 2019 ## ANDRE THE GIANT!!!!!! What a beast !!!!!! What am I seeing?!?! #AndreRussell #RCBvKKR 🤪🏏🦖— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 5, 2019 ## And you guys in the Dugout who said game/set/& match......u may know your cricket but you don’t know @Russell12A !!! WOW u CHAMPION. This calls for Wine my MuscleMan!— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 5, 2019 ## Have never seen anyone smash the cricket ball like @Russell12A does !! Incredible Batting Congratulations @KKRiders on the victory #RCBvKKR @iamsrk pic.twitter.com/DIX3DIYtzx— Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) April 5, 2019 ## RUUUUUSSSSEEEEELLLLL @Russell12A Take a Bow 🙇‍♂️ @IPL @KKRiders vs @RCBTweets— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 5, 2019 ## Has to be the scariest in world cricket #DreRuss— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 5, 2019 ## The calm in the #KKR camp even when the asking rate is going past 15 rpo is unnerving. Russell ka bhi DNA Test karvao....how’s it possible to hit so many sixes with such consistency?? 🙏🤔 #KKR #RCBvKKR— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 5, 2019 ## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

Royal Challengers Bangalore is searching for the first win of VIVO IPL 2019 after the two back to back defeats against Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. They will look to turn things around when they will be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday 31st March at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.## Interestingly, RCB has included 17-year old Prayas Ray Barman in the playing XI against Sunrisers. It is Barman's debut match of the Indian Premier League.## Who is Prayas Ray Barman## Prayas Ray Barman is a Right-arm leg break googly bowler from West Bengal. He is just 16 and a half-year-old and becomes the youngest player to make his debut in IPL. He is also one of the three players who was born in the 21st century and has played in the IPL after Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rasikh Salam. Prayas Ray Barman came in the spotlight after his impressive Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018-19 and was the leading wicket-taker for Bengal with 11 wickets in 9 matches.## What happened in auction## Prayas Ray Barman's base price was 20 Lakh INR but such was his demand that some franchise were showing interest to grabbed the teenager but it was Royal Challengers Bangalore who got him in INR 1.5 Crore.## Youngest debutants in IPL:## 16y 157d Prayas Ray Barman## 17y 011d Mujeeb-ur-Rahman## 17y 177d Sarfaraz Khan## 17y 179d Pradeep Sangwan## 17y 199d Washington Sundar## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

In a nail-biting finish of a thriller between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore on 28th March saw Indians win the match despite de Villiers fighting knock of 70* off 41 balls. But the result could have been different if there wasn't an umpiring error that cost RCB match.## With RCB needed 7 runs off the last ball, Malinga ended overstepping which was not picked by the on-field umpire S Ravi. It was showed on the giant screen only after the players shook hands post the game. After watching the incident on the big screen, Virat Kohli could not stop himself but to criticize the umpire S Ravi in the post-match presentation ceremony.## "We are playing at the IPL level and not playing club cricket. The umpires should have had their eyes open. That is a ridiculous call at the last ball. If it is a game of margins, I don't know what is happening. They should have been more sharp and careful out there," said Kohli.## Mumbai Indians went on to win the match by 5-runs as Shivam Dube could only gather a single off the last ball. But skipper Rohit Sharma to criticize the umpire as he didn't seem to be happy with the standard of umpiring at the big level.## "I just got to know when we crossed the rope. Somebody just told me it was a no-ball. These kind of mistakes are not good for the game of cricket, it's pretty simple, the over before that. Bumrah bowled a ball which wasn't a wide ball. Those are game-changers," said Rohit.## Well, in between the no-ball controversy, Mumbai Indians managed to win their first match of the VIVO IPL 2019. While RCB loses their second consecutive match after losing the season opener to Chennai Super Kings.## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

A much-awaited Indian Premier League 2019 opener witnessed one of the worst batting performances in the tournament history. Royal Challengers Bangalore who has one of the best batting line-ups, suffered another familiar collapse and bowled out on just 70-runs against the defending champion Chennai Super Kings in their forte, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai and handed CSK a 7-wicket win.## It was the third time when RCB has played a season opener and every time they have been on the losing side. It is hard to believe that despite having a few of the world's best batsmen, RCB has the worst possible numbers in the tournament's history. On the other hand, CSK continued their dominance over RCB and won the 7th game in a row against their counterparts.## Stats:## RCB in season openers ResultMarginOpponentYear Lost 140 runs KKR 2008 Lost 35 runs SRH 2017 Lost 7 wickets CSK 2019 ## Most consecutive wins vs a team in IPL WinsForAgainstTime Period 8 MI KKR 2015-18* 8 RCB DD (DCS) 2011-15 8 KKR KXIP 2014-17 7 CSK DD (DCS) 2012-15 7 RR DD (DCS) 2013-18 7 CSK RCB 2014-19* ## * Yet to lose## Royal Challengers Bangalore's total of 70 is their 3rd lowest and 6th overall in the tournament's history. The lowest total also belongs to them.## Lowest totals for RCB in IPL (Below 100) TotalOpponentVenueYear 49 KKR Kolkata 2017 70 RR Abu Dhabi 2014 70 CSK Chennai 2019 82 KKR Bengaluru 2008 87 CSK Port Elizabeth 2009 96 RPS Pune 2017 ## It was Royal Challengers Bangalore's one of the worst batting performances that saw their 10 players restricted into single figure scores.## Most single figure scores in an innings in IPL S.F.SForAgainstVenueYear 11 RCB KKR Kolkata 2017 10 RCB KKR Bangaluru 2008 10 RCB RPS Pune 2017 10 RCB CSK Chennai 2019 ## Before the start of the play, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli were 15 and 52 runs away from becoming the first batsman to reach 5,000 runs in IPL and it was the former who got there first in his 173rd innings.## TOP 5 batsman with most runs in IPL SNBatsmanMatchesRuns10050SR 1. Suresh Raina 177 5,004 1 35 138.16 2. Virat Kohli 164 4,954 4 34 130.76 3. Rohit Sharma 173 4,493 1 34 131.02 4. Gautam Gambhir 154 4,217 0 36 123.88 5. Robin Uthappa 165 4,129 0 23 131.70 ## First to reach in IPL:## 1000 Runs - Adam Gilchrist## 2000 Runs - Suresh Raina## 3000 Runs - Suresh Raina## 4000 Runs - Virat Kohli## 5000 Runs - Suresh Raina*## - Now Harbhajan Singh has the joint most wickets (23) against the Royals Challengers Bangalore along with Ashish Nehra.## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

The three-time runner-ups Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to turn the table this time around when they meet MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in the opener of the Indian Premier League's 12th season on 23 March, Saturday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.## Here is the RCB's schedule for the IPL 2019 Match No.DateOpponentVanueH/A 1st Mar 23, Sat Chennai Super Kings MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai A 7th Mar 28, Thu Mumbai Indian M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru H 11th Mar 31, Sun Sunrisers Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad A 14th Apr 02, Tue Rajasthan Royals Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur A 17th Apr 05, Fri Kolkata Knight Riders M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru H 20th Apr 07, Sun Delhi Capitals M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru H 28th Apr 13, Sat Kings XI Punjab Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali A 31st Apr 15, Mon Mumbai Indians Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai A 35th Apr 19, Fri Kolkata Knight Riders Eden Gardens, Kolkata A 39th Apr 21, Sun Chennai Super Kings M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru H 42nd Apr 24, Wed Kings XI Punjab M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru H 46th Apr 28, Sun Delhi Capitals Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi A 49th Apr 30, Tue Rajasthan Royals M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru H 54th May 04, Sat Sunrisers Hyderabad M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru H ## RCB's Team Squad BatsmenAll-RoundersWicket-KeepersBowlers Virat Kohli (C) Shivam Dubey AB de Villiers Umesh Yadav Shimron Hetmyer Marcus Stoinis Parthiv Patel Yuzvendra Chahal Himmat Singh Moeen Ali Heinrich Klaasen Tim Southee Gurkeerat Singh Maan Colin de Grandhomme Nathan Coulter-Nile Millind Kumar Washington Sundar Mohammed Siraj Devdutt Padikkal Akshdeep Nath Navdeep Saini Pawan Negi Kulwant Khejroliya Prayas Barman ## Probable Playing XI:-## Virat Kohli (C), Parthiv Patel (WK), AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, Gurkeerat Singh Maan, Shimron Hetmyer/de Grandhomme, Shivam Dubey, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Washington Sundar.## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

So near yet so far! Seems as if this phrase is made for only Royal Challengers Banglore who despite the star players, haven't been able to win the IPL trophy once. However, RCB has reached the finals three times but couldn't cross the line. One can call it destiny but according to captain and RCB's best batsman Virat Kohli "RCB has failed due to taking bad decisions"!## What lies in RCB's destiny only destiny knows but will it be right to blame only the fate? RCB's weakest link has been their bowling that has continuously conceded 180+ scores and puts a lot of pressure on their batting that sometimes becomes vulnerable against high scores. Umesh Yadav was brilliant last year with the new ball but once the ball got old RCB's bowling looked ordinary.## Virat Kohli along with AB de Villiers has been the standalone warriors for RCB and it is high time, other players start supporting the duo unless their dream to become the champion will only remain a dream forever. However, unlike the previous seasons, RCB has boosted the middle order with the picks of Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer.## 1. Marcus Stoinis (All-Rounder) - Australia's 29-year-old all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is a replacement of Quinton de Kock who will now play for Mumbai Indians. Stoinis who played for Kings XI Punjab last year can be a wise pick as he can score quickly and can provide breakthroughs with his slow pace deliveries. His cool calm nature under pressure also makes him the player to watch out for in an upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.## A statical view at his IPL career (Batting)## YearMatchesInningsRunsH.S.10050S.R. 2018 7 7 99 29* 0 0 130.26 Overall 19 15 262 52 0 1 125.96 ## Bowling## YearMatchesInningsWicketsBBI5-WicketsEcon 2018 7 6 3 - 0 10.90 Overall 19 18 13 4/15 0 9.53 ## 2. Shivam Dubey (All-Rounder) - Shivam Dubey is an all-rounder from Mumbai who was grabbed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in INR 5 Crore. He was on song in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy for Mumbai. During a match of the Ranji Trophy, he hit five sixes in an over and showed his ability to hit the ball hard. It is going to be a great experience for him as he will share a dressing room with two of the greatest batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.## A statical view at his IPL career (Batting)## FormatMatchesInningsRunsH.S.10050S.R. T20s 15 14 202 37* 0 0 147.44 IPL - - - - - - - ## Bowling## FormatMatchesInningsWicketsBBI5-WicketsEcon T20s 15 15 14 3/27 0 8.86 IPL - - - - - - ## 3. Yuzvendra Chahal (Bowler) - On slowish wicket of M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, spinners role will be key for RCB. Yuzvendra Chahal's along with Washington Sundar will have the responsibility to keep the run-rate down and provide breakthroughs in the middle overs which has been RCB's one of the biggest concerns.## A statical view at his IPL career## YearMatchesInningsWicketsBBI5-WicketsEcon 2018 14 14 12 - 0 7.26 Overall 70 69 82 4/25 0 7.77 ## 4. Umesh Yadav (Bowler) - Umesh Yadav was brilliant with the new ball last year and RCB will want from him repeat that kind of bowling this year as well. Surprisingly, last year the, the Bangluru pitch offers support to the pacers and Umesh Yadav took most of that who has the ability to swing the ball both ways. RCB will be hoping that kind of pitches to boost their chances.## A statical view at his IPL career## YearMatchesInningsWicketsBBI5-WicketsEcon 2018 14 14 20 - 0 7.86 Overall 108 107 111 4/24 0 8.32 ## 5. Nathan Coulter-Nile (Bowler) - Nathan Coulter-Nile couldn't play IPL last year due to injury but he is in form and going to play an important part this year. His Indian Premier League journey has been impressive so far and RCB will be hoping the same run of success from him. In 2017, he played for Kolkata Knight Riders.## A statical view at his IPL career## YearMatchesInningsWicketsBBI5-WicketsEcon 2018 - - - - - - Overall 26 25 36 4/20 0 7.66 ## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

On the opening day of the VIVO IPL 2019 auction, as many as 139 players went under the hammer and only 60 players sold to the respective franchise. With Jaydev Unadkat and uncapped mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu, Varun Chakravarthy got the highest bid, some of the big names remained unsold at the end of the day.## Yuvraj Singh gets another life as he has been sold to Mumbai Indian in INR 1.00 Crore after remained unsold in the first round. Ishant Sharma also got buyer this time as Delhi Capitals snatched him in INR 1.10 Crore.## Here is the list of the players who sold on an opening day :## 1. Hanuma Vihari 2 crore (DCS)## 2. Shimron Hetmyer 4.2 cr (RCB)## 3. Carlos Brathwaite 5 crore (KKR)## 4. Gurkeerat Mann Singh 50 lakh (RCB)## 5. Moises Henriques 1 crore (KXIP)## 6. Axar Patel 5 crore (DCS)## 7. Jonny Bairstow 2.2 cr (SRH)## 8. Nicholas Pooran 4.2 cr (KXIP)## 9. Wriddhiman Saha 1.2 cr (SRH)## 10. Jaydev Unadkat 8.4 cr (RR)## 11. Ishant Sharma 1.1 cr (DCS)## 12. Lasith Malinga 2 crore (MI)## 13. Mohammed Shami 4.8 cr (KXIP)## 14. Varun Aaron 2.4 cr (RR)## 15. Mohit Sharma 5 crore (CSK)## 16. Devdutt Padikkal 20 lakh (RCB)## 17. Anmolpreet Singh 20 lakh (MI)## 18. Sarfaraz Khan 25 lakh (KXIP)## 19. Shivam Dube 5 crore (RCB)## 20. Varun Chakaravarthy 8.4 cr (KXIP)## 21. Ankush Bains 20 lakh (DCS)## 22. Nathu Singh 20 lakh (DCS)## 23. Colin Ingram 6.4 cr (DCS)## 24. Sam Curran 7.2 cr (KXIP)## 25. Heinrich Klaasen 50 lakh (RCB)## 26. Barinder Sran 3.4 cr (MI)## 27. Lockie Ferguson 1.6 cr (KKR)## 28. Sherfane Rutherford 2 crore (DCS)## 29. Anrich Nortje 20 lakh (KKR)## 30. Oshane Thomas 1.1 cr (RR)## 31. Hardus Viljoen 75 lakh (KXIP)## 32. Himmat Singh 65 lakh (RCB)## 33. Nikhil Naik 20 lakh (KKR)## 34. Arshdeep Singh 20 lakh (KXIP)## 35. Harry Gurney 75 lakh (KKR)## 36. Pankaj Jaswal 20 lakh (MI)## 37. Milind Kumar 20 lakh (RCB)## 38. Darshan Nalkande 30 lakh (KXIP)## 39. Shashank Singh 30 lakh (RR)## 40. Prabhsimran Singh 4.8 cr (KXIP)## 41. Rasikh Dar 20 lakh (MI)## 42. Prithvi Raj Yarra 20 lakh (KKR)## 43. Liam Livingstone 50 lakh (RR)## 44. Keemo Paul 50 lakh (DCS)## 45. Prayas Ray Barman 1.5 cr (RCB)## 46. Agnivesh Ayachi 20 lakh (KXIP)## 47. Harpreet Brar 20 lakh (KXIP)## 48. Martin Guptill 1 crore (SRH)## 49. Yuvraj Singh 1 crore (MI)## 50. Akshdeep Nath 3.6 cr (RCB)## 51. Jalaj Saxena 20 lakh (DCS)## 52. Murugan Ashwin 20 lakh (KXIP)## 53. Ruturaj Gaikwad 20 lakh (CSK)## 54. Shubham Ranjane 20 lakh (RR)## 55. Joe Denly 1 crore (KKR)## 56. Bandaru Ayyappa 20 lakh (DCS)## 57. Shrikant Mundhe 20 lakh (KKR)## 58. Manan Vohra 20 lakh (RR)## 59. Ashton Turner 50 lakh (RR)## 60. Riyan Parag 20 lakh (RR)## Follow for more...

BY SACNILK

AB de Villiers who has been retired from international cricket said that he still wants to feature in Indian Premier League. He has said in an interview with iol.co.za on Tuesday, July 10.## Earlier (in May) while announcing his retirement de Villiers had said that "I have no plans to play overseas, in fact, I hope I can continue to be available for the Titans in domestic cricket,".## After he announced his retirement a question was raised among the Indian fans whether he will continue playing Indian Premier League or not. Well, he has given it a green signal.## "I will keep on playing IPL for a few years, and I would like to play for the Titans and help some of the youngsters. But there are no set plans. I haven't been able to say that for a long time," he confirmed.## "There are some offers on the table from around the world, but it will be nice to wake up and wonder what to do; to be normal. Bangalore is a special place, a second home, really. I played my 100th Test there, and obviously, RCB is a massive part of my life. India as a country has taken me in, and it's hard to explain what that feels like. I just play cricket."## Not only Indian fans, all his fans around the world left disappointed after his retirement. With less than one year remaining in the World Cup 2019, he had a chance to end his career with at least one ICC trophy. He had said then that,## "For a long time, the World Cup was a massive goal. But, in the last few years, I have realised that it isn't realistic to measure yourself purely on what you achieve in that tournament. That will not be the be-all and end-all of my career,"## He said, "Yes, I would have loved to win it, but I have great memories from World Cups. The 2007 tournament - my first - was very special. We fell short against Australia when we tried to play too much cricket too soon, but that shift in mentality probably helped us to go over there and win the Test series we then won over there. Personally, I scored my first ODI century in that 2007 tournament, and I loved the whole experience of being in the Caribbean.## "The same goes for the others, in 2011 and in 2015. India has always been close to my heart, because of the passion for cricket, and then obviously 2015 was an amazing game," he further said about the classic semi-final against New Zealand in which South Africa fell agonisingly short. "We fell on the wrong side of it, but we gave it everything."## De Villiers felt that the wins against India and Australia in the Test series were the best possible way to end his illustrious career. "It was the best possible way to finish, against two great teams, in the best format of the game. There was a lot of motivation for me to do well, and for the team to do well. Series like that don't come around too often," he said.## He had played a key role in those series where they beat India by 2-1 before dismantling Australia with 3-1. The win against Australia was the first series win for South Africa on their home soil against the Aussies.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

Umesh Yadav was one of the few bowlers who had impressed with his bowling in recently concluded Indian Premier League where he picked 20 wickets in 14 matches.## It was unfortunate that even his best season with the ball couldn't help RCB to qualify for the playoffs as RCB finished their season with number 6 in points table.## Umesh Yadav has credited Ashish Nehra, RCB's bowling coach for his success in IPL. He was talking to Press trust of India where he said,## "Any performer is happy when he successfully executes his plans. I am really happy with my performance in the IPL. It was unfortunate that we could not make it to the playoffs, but it was one of my best IPL seasons".## However, Yadav also believe that Virat Kohli's aggressive approach also helped him in that course.## “Virat (Kohli) had one clear instruction for me. Go for the kill. He told me ‘get me the wickets and do not bother about getting hit’. I did as my skipper told me.” India's overseas season is about to start in July. Umesh Yadav will be one of the key bowlers when India will take on England in 5-match test series. However, Yadav's selection will not be automatic as there are other bowlers who have been performing consistently for India.## Although Yadav is not bothering about his selection and said that his job is to be ready for the match and not thinking about my selection in playing XI.## “It's a happy headache for the team management – the coach and the captain – to pick the best among us,” said Yadav. “I am personally in a very good head space after IPL. My job is to be ready, and the captain and the head coach have their job.## “We are a close-knit group and even when Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) or Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) do well, I am proud of their achievements. My job is to be battle ready for the season ahead and I am doing just that.”## Keep in mind, Umesh Yadav didn't play a single match when India played three-match series against South Africa. He was sidelined by Jasprit Bumrah who bowled brilliantly against Africa.## It will be interesting to see who will be picked against England as Bumrah despite taking 17 wickets in IPL, he didn't look in best of his touch.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.

BY SACNILK

Royal Challengers Bangalore became the only second team after Delhi Daredevils to be out from the IPL 2018. They lost to Rajasthan Royals in all important match by 30 runs on May 19. However, Virat Kohli, RCB skipper thinks that their middle did not show enough intent and that resulted in they failed to make it to the playoffs.## Keep in mind, Royal Challengers Bangalore failed to chase down 165 against Rajasthan Royals. Only AB de Villiers showed the required batting nous to handle the tricky conditions on view as the visitors were bowled out for 134.## "Yeah, it was a strange one. We were in a great position. 75 for 1 and the way we bundled out was not ideal. Someone like AB who can hit fours and sixes was knocking around so the others did not support him and apply themselves properly. We needed more smart decision making there. These things should be repeated by 5-6 guys in a row," said Kohli in post-match presentation.## "We wanted to strengthen the middle order which has not happened. It has not been our strength and we need to do that going into the next few seasons. We need to be smarter in composing our team. The responsibility cannot be taken up by only AB de Villiers all the time. He certainly scored runs, but others need to contribute to him and did not show enough composure," he added## However, Virat Kohli thinks that their bowlers did the pretty good job for them and will be great assets going into the next season.## "There were some new players who did well. Umesh bowled extremely well with the new ball, Chahal was great, Siraj and Moeen contributed too, so plenty of positives to take into the next season. However, after cruising at 75 for 1, it was disappointed that we could to finish it off well. I would like to wish all the other teams the best of luck for the remainder of the competition," He said.## Virat Kohli is very much right about RCB's middle order concern as the third highest run-getter is Mandeep Singh with 252 runs after their two best batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers scored 530 and 480 respectively.## On the other hand, despite climbing fourth in the points table, RR's fate would be decided based on matches played by Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, May 20.## For more updates and news, stay tuned to us.## Thanks for the reading.