Covid topples IPL’s wicket
TOURNAMENT SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY AS A FEW PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE FOR VIRUS
THE 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been suspended indefinitely on Tuesday (4) due to the Covid-19 crisis in the country. Monday’s (3) match in Ahmedabad had to be rescheduled after two Kolkata Knight Riders players tested positive for Covid-19 and two non-playing members of the Chennai Super Kings franchise contracted the virus in Delhi. Then there were also reports of players from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals testing positive for Covid-19. The IPL had many challenges this season along with criticism for being “insensitive” when a pandemic was ravaging the country, outside their secured bio-bubble.
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals (match 22): A well-set Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer were at the crease with Delhi Capitals needing 14 to win off the last over. But Mohammed Siraj conceded 12 runs to hand Royal Challengers Bangalore a close one-run win. Chasing 172, Delhi lost three wickets until Hetmyer’s 23-ball fifty helped them bounce back.
With Hetmyer off strike and 10 runs needed off the last two balls, Pant could manage two boundaries. If not for AB de Villiers’ unbeaten 75 off 42 deliveries, Bangalore could not have reached 171 for 5.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings (match 23): With a convincing seven-wicket victory Chennai Super Kings climbed back to the top of the points table. In IPL 2021’s first game in the national capital, Sunrisers Hyderabad chose to bat and managed to put up a par score of 171 for 3. David Warner and Manish Pandey scored fifties.
Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis were off to fluent starts and that set up the runchase for Chennai. Gaikwad scored 75 off 44 and du Plessis 56 off 38. Legspinner Rashid Khan struck but not enough to stop Chennai cruising to the target in 18.3 overs.
Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians (match 24): Mumbai Indians were back to winning ways and consolidated their position in top four with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals. Chasing 171, Quinton de Kock scored an unbeaten 70 off 50 balls, Krunal Pandya scored 26-ball 39 as Mumbai reached home with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, put in to bat first, Jos Buttler (41 off 32) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (32 off 20) gave Rajasthan a solid start with their 66-run stand in 7.4 overs before both were dismissed by Rahul Chahar (2 for 33). Skipper Sanju Samson scored a 27-ball 42 but one would feel it was Shivam Dube’s 35 off 31 that slowed things down a bit for Rajasthan.
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals (match 25): A late flourish from Andre Russell took Kolkata Knight Riders to 154 for 6, a competitive total if they bowled well. But opener Prithvi Shaw trashed that idea in the first over by slamming six boundaries off Shivam Mavi in the first over as Delhi Capitals cantered to a seven-wicket win. Shaw got to his fifty off 18 balls, the quickest of IPL 2021 before falling for 82 off 41 balls.
With nine needed off 28 balls, Delhi reached the target in 16.3 overs.
Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (match 26): Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar turned out to be the hero for Punjab Kings in the pace of 10 deliveries, by picking three big wickets without conceding a run.
Brar’s scalps of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and de Villiers helped Punjab defend 180 as Royal Challengers Bangalore managed 145 for 8, falling short by 34 runs.
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians (match 27): Chennai Super Kings were stunned by Kieron Pollard’s onslaught despite setting a target of 219. It was the second-highest successful chase in the IPL. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock gave Mumbai Indians a start of 71 in 7.4 overs and after that Pollard’s show started as he smashed 87 off 34 balls, which had six fours and eight sixes.
Mumbai needed 16 off the final over and Pollard decided to face all six deliveries, with Lungi Ngidi under pressure bowling three full-tosses and the burly West Indian not missing out. Mumbai ended Chennai’s five-match winning streak.
Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (match 28): David Warner was dropped for the first time by Sunrisers Hyderabad, but it hardly made any difference as they lost by 55 runs to Rajasthan Royals. It was Hyderabad’s sixth defeat in seven games as Rajasthan posted 220 for 3, with Jos Buttler scoring a 64-ball 124.
In the run-chase, Hyderabad managed to reach 165 for 8, with Chris Morris and Mustafizur Rahman picking three wickets each.
Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals (match 29): With KL Rahul pulling out of IPL because of appendicitis, Mayank Agarwal had a good day with the bat by scoring an unbeaten 99, but not that lucky leading Punjab Kings. With Agarwal doing the bulk of the scoring, Punjab reached 166 for 6, however, not enough to intimidate the formidable Delhi batting.
Delhi’s chase was led by Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 69 as they gunned down the target to seal a seven-wicket win with 14 balls to spare. A sixth win in eight matches took Delhi to the top of the table.