Jadeja ‘earns’ Chennai 20-run victory over Hyderabad in IPL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct 14, (AP): Ravindra Jadeja put up a brilliant allround performance as struggling Chennai Super Kings started the second half of the Indian Premier League with a 20-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Jadeja played a little cameo of 25 runs off 10 balls which lifted Chennai’s total to 167-6 after Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team batted first for the first time this season.
The left-arm spinner then got the key wicket when he clean bowled Jonny Bairstow midway through the innings and also held two catches in the deep as Hyderabad were restricted to 147-8.
Chennai could win only two of their first seven games while chasing down the targets, but Dhoni’s decision to bat after winning the toss on Tuesday paid off.
Sam Curran’s (31 off 21 balls) elevation as a pinch-hitter went well for Chennai as the Englishman struck two sixes and three fours as opener.
Faf du Plessis went for his first zero in the IPL since 2014, but Shane Watson (42) and Ambati Rayudu (41) capitalized on earlier dropped catches to share an 81-run thirdwicket stand.
Both batsmen were caught at long off in successive death overs on low full tosses of fast bowlers Thangarasu Natarajan (2-41) and Khalil Ahmed (2-45) before Jadeja hit three fours and a six to proper Chennai’s total.
South Africa is in danger of being banned from international cricket after its government said Wednesday that it intended to intervene in the affairs of the sport’s national body following revelations of serious misconduct by senior officials.
The statement from Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa said he had informed the International Cricket Council of the intended action. The ICC’s constitution forbids government interference and the punishment is normally a ban from international games for the country’s teams until the national cricket body is operating independently again.
The tension between the South African government and Cricket South Africa relates to a long-running investigation into the affairs of the cricket body, which resulted in the firing of CEO Thabang Moroe for serious misconduct in August.
But Cricket South Africa refused to make the report by independent investigators public and also resisted an attempt by the government-aligned South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee to conduct its own investigation into CSA.
John Reid, the New Zealand cricket great who captained his country for their first three Test victories and was one of the world’s best allrounders in the 1950s and 60s, has died. He was 92.
Reid’s death was announced by New Zealand Cricket on Wednesday. The cause of death was not disclosed.
A hard-hitting batsman and a pacey seam bowler, Reid played 58 Tests for New Zealand – captain for 34 of them. He scored 3,428 runs, including six centuries, and took 85 wickets.
With Reid at the helm, the Kiwis won a Test match for the first time when they beat the West Indies in Auckland in 1956. Their second and third wins came against South Africa in a series in 1961-62.
Misbah-ul-Haq will step down as Pakistan cricket chief selector next month but will continue as head coach of the national team.
Misbah accepted the dual role of head coach and chief selector last year, but he said he wants to focus on coaching the senior Pakistan team.
Misbah said he had been weighing the demands of the dual responsibilities for some time and after talking with the coaches of cricket associations recently, it helped him make the decision to quit as chief selector.
Pakistan has a busy international schedule until July 2022 during which it won’t be possible for Misbah to watch players performing in domestic cricket.