Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs

 Yuvraj Singh blasted a quick half-century to help  Sunrisers Hyderabad  a depleted Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 in the opening match of the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.

What makes Virat Kohli the best batsman in this World T20

 

First let's talk about chasing and Indian cricket. If you remember the 90s, you would remember all the middle order wobbles of our team and our fantastic ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Those days India would always wish they had a finisher like Michael Bevan in their ranks. He batted in the middle order then, assessed situations brilliantly while chasing, ran like a hare and pulled out the big shots from his repertoire only when needed.

After a decade or so, India did go on to have someone similar to him, in-fact better than him. Mahendra Singh Dhoni with his ice cool temperament and excellent leadership qualities wrote new chapters everyday at chasing targets. Similar to Bevan,  Dhoni batted in the middle order and finished games on a consistent basis.

But what separated Dhoni from Bevan was the former’s ability to hit big sixes in pressure cooker situations.

Later under Dhoni’s captaincy a Delhi boy, who initially came across as cocky and brash, blossomed and has gone on to become India’s greatest cricketer post the Tendulkar era.

Virat Kohli has always enjoyed chasing and some of his stupendous knocks in the 50 over format bear testimony to that and hence, it comes as no surprise that he has repeated those exploits in the shortest format of the game as well.

T20 cricket has grown a great deal since it was first introduced in England in 2003 and in 13 years, it has seen many exceptional performances by some star players, both domestically and internationally.  Kohli already has a mind-boggling number of T20 International fifties (15 and counting). He was in tremendous form in the last T20 world cup in 2014 and seemed to have continued  from where he left off in Bangladesh, two years back.

What separates Kohli from the likes of Bevan and Dhoni is that he is a top order batsman who is a FINISHER. A no. 3 batsman who finishes games regularly! How many cricketers can do that? In T20s, his already preposterous average reaches a godly 123 when India are set a target. The key here is the number of times he stays not out till the end while taking his team through to the finishing line.

Shane Watson to retire from international cricket

Shane Watson,  the former Australia captain has announced on Thursday (March 24) that he will retire from international cricket after the ongoing ICC WT20, 2016. Watson has represented Australia in 59 Tests, 190 One-Day Internationals and 56 Twenty-20 Internationals so far. 

Watson, 34, shared his decision to call it quits with teammates in Mohali, where Australia take on Pakistan in a World T20 group match on Friday, Cricket Australia said. Watson had quit Tests in 2015 after failing to make the squad for the Ashes. He has also failed to break into the ODI side since September, 2015.

"One morning I woke up in Dharamsala to the beautiful view and I don't know what it was exactly but I knew now was the right time. I've really enjoyed my time being back in the Australian squad. But it is quite different, none of the other guys I played with growing up are here any more. I've made the right decision. I couldn't really see the light with the all the injuries I had," Watson said.

India managed to pull it off in the last over

Here is how India pulled off a thrilling one-run win in the last over bowled by Hardik Pandya. 

19.1 – Pandya bowls to Mahmudullah which is wide delivery and steered to cover in the deep for a single. 10 runs required. 

19.2 – Pandya to Mushfiqur. The batsman shuffles and Pandya bowls it wide and short of length which has no pace. Rahim settles on one knee and smokes it past the covers region. Six needed from 4 balls

 19.3 – Pandya to Mushfiqur. Batsman moves towards the off side and scoops it just wide of MS Dhoni and it goes for four. Rahim pumps his fists and yells in celebration! Two needed from 3 balls 

19.4 – Pandya to Mushfiqur. Another slower ball and short of length, Rahim hits it high and it is caught at deep mid-wicket by Shikhar Dhawan. But batsmen manage to cross over and give Mahmudullah the strike. Mushfiqur gone. Two needed from 2 balls.

 19.5 – Pandya to Mahmudullah. Full-toss and it hits just high on Mahmudullah’s bat and goes to deep square-leg. Ravindra Jadeja comes running in and holds on to a very good catch in the deep. Rolls over but ball is safely in his hands. Mahmudullah departs. Two needed off one ball 

19.6 – Pandya to Shuvagata Hom. MS Dhoni knows the batsmen will run irrespective of what happens now. He has removed his right glove. Pandya keeps it wide and short of length. Hom misses it completely but batsmen set off for a run. Dhoni collects and sets off to break the stumps. He is quicker than the batsmen. Mustafizur Rahman is run-out and India win. Celebrations all around. Yuvraj Singh jumps on MS. Kohli yells. Crowd is deafening.

Robin Uthappa's unselfishness was crucial in Rohit Sharma's magnum opus.

     Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa shared 128-run stand for the fifth wicket, out of which Rohit’s bat yielded 109 runs, while Uthappa contributed 16 runs and three runs came in form of extras.

Some umpiring decisions changed the game: Dhoni

         India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday said he believed some umpiring decision which did not go in favour of his side changed the game as South Africa beat the host by seven wickets in the first T20 international at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium here.

J.P. Duminy's 68-run innings proved to be the decisive factor as the Proteas got home with two deliveries to spare. But the left-hander survived two very close shouts for leg-before-wicket during his stay at the crease. Both looked to be right in front of the stumps, but the umpire thought otherwise.

"We did not have quite a few decisions going our way and sometimes these can change the match. If you could have got Duminy early it could have been different. He played brilliant cricket later on," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

He said the total of 199 that India had amassed was close to par but added they gave to many runs away in small phases during the game.

"We had something close to par, but there was dew and in high altitude the ball travels faster. There were periods where we conceded too many runs. That puts a lot of pressure on the bowlers. Any over above 20, it puts a lot of pressure," he said.

He lastly pointed to the fact the bowlers were not able to strangle the opposition even after having such a huge score onboard.

"You need to choke the opposition, you need to make it tough for them. We couldn't do that today, despite having 200 runs on the board," he said.

Rohit Sharma disappointed with loss

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma said that the team will regroup and come stronger in the next match against the touring South African team. India lost the first Twenty20 international of the 3-match series by 7 wickets.

Rohit scored a prolific 106 runs off just 66 deliveries which included 12 boundaries and five huge sixes. Even after posting a mammoth target of 200 runs, the visitors chased it down easily courtesy JP Duminy’s late fire 68 off 34 balls.

                                                  Rohit said: "It is always important to start a series well. I did have that in my mind when I went out to bat. My focus was on getting some runs in the very first game since it sets the tone for the rest of the series. I feel it is a good start. Obviously disappointed with the loss but we have to regroup as soon as we can and come back really strong.