BCCI, Emirates Cricket Board eager to host World T20 final in front of capacity crowd

IPL 2021 | KKR vs DC: Refreshed Knight Riders search turnaround, in-form Delhi seek consolidation

The second phase of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League is up and running and so are the contenders for the top four spots on the points table. The Delhi Capitals and the Chennai Super Kings have maintained their form and momentum from the first phase while others such as the Kolkata Knight Riders have used the break well to finetune their tactics in the run for the playoff stage. The Kolkata Knight Riders have finally started playing the brand of cricket their skipper, Eoin Morgan and coach Brendan McCullum are known for, and no wonder the aggressive approach has brought them back in the reckoning for a spot in the final four. They have started to look like a fearless batting group with the likes of Shubman Gill taking the game to the opposition while the emergence of young Venkatesh Iyer has provided a lease of life to the Knight Riders top order. Their bowling attack perfectly mixed up of experienced campaigners and new blokes on the bloc are not leaving any stone unturned to stop the opposition batsmen. On the other hand, the Capitals have been an indomitable force like all the past few seasons. They have bettered the opposition side in all aspects of the game with significant ease. If the batsmen have clicked, they have made a light work of the opposition bowling attack while the ever so reliant bowling attack led by the express duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje leaves nothing to chance. Wiliness of Ravichandran Ashwin and the immaculate control of Axar Patel gives them immense depth in the bowling attack. The Knight Riders were resurgent at the second phase of the tournament but they have been unlucky in terms of schedule by having two consecutive games against the most functional teams of the competitions. They fought hard against the all-around brilliant Super Kings side and came second only on the final ball which should give them and their fans a lot of confidence going into the next match against another behemoth of the tournament in Delhi Capitals. They have a lot of worries to sort as well with two of their biggest match-winners with the bat under some doubt. Andre Russell injured his hamstring against the Super Kings and might miss the big game while the Knight Riders will also be concerned about the harrowing run of form of their captain Morgan. Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals: Match Details Match no.: 41 Date and time: September 28, 15:30 IST (10:00 GMT), 14:00 LOCAL Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium Pitch and weather The scene of batsmen clearing their front foot and hitting the bowlers outside off the ground that was so prevalent last season has become part of a distant memory in the few matches of this season. Instead, the batsmen have struggled to get off the square at Sharjah and the trend is likely to continue in the upcoming game as well. In all the matches that have been played so far in the season, teams have tried their best to maximised the fielding restriction and hard, new ball which has also opened up wicket-taking opportunities for bowlers. The Capitals have a well-rounded bowling attack with the likes of Avesh Khan exploiting the new ball and the Rabada-Nortje duo exploiting the eagerness of batsmen to hit big shots against the new ball. The pitches have gripped and Rishabh Pant would bank on his spinners, especially, Ashwin to spin a web around the Knight Riders batsmen. Team News Kolkata Knight Riders The injury to Russell will come as a huge setback for the Knight Riders but it can also open a door of opportunity for Shakib Al Hassan and the Bangladesh all-rounder could not ask for any better conditions than the one at Sharjah to leave a lasting impression on the KKR management. The men in purple and gold would also be worried over the lack of form and batting rhythm of Eoin Morga, who has not managed too many runs in this edition. Prasidh Krishna was very poor both in execution and Morgan could think of bringing either Sandeep Warrier or Shivam Mavi back in the playing XI. Probable XI Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sandeep Warrier Delhi Capitals Of the two teams, the Capitals have a lot less to worry about going into the game against the Knight Riders, but the lack of firepower in the lower middle order will be a cause of concern. They missed the flamboyance of Marcus Stoinis in the last game against the Rajasthan Royals and the issue was compounded with even Rishabh Pant finding it tough to time the ball. Shimron Hetmyer batted at number six position and the Capitals were on course for a big total till he was at the crease and after his departure, Lalit Yadav failed to provide perfect tempo to the batting. They need Axar Patel, the batsman to stand up in the absence of Stoinis to lif the team’s total and chances of winning in the last few overs. Avesh Khan has been good with both new and old ball in the tournament but the Capitals could consider bringing Amit Mishra as a horse for course with an eye on the pitch at Sharjah. Probable XI Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan KKR vs DC: Fantasy XI Rishabh Pant, Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Sunil Narine, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna Captain: Kagiso Rabada Vice-captain: Varun Chakravarthy

Kuldeep Yadav returns home after injuring knee, set to miss remainder of IPL 2021

India and Kolkata Knight Riders’ spinner Kuldeep Yadav has sustained a “serious” knee injury and will miss the remainder of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League after having returned to India, as per a PTI report. He is all but likely to miss a significant part of the Indian domestic cricket season starting in a few months time. "Yes, we got the information that Kuldeep sustained a nasty knee injury during a practice session in UAE. Apparently while fielding, he twisted his knee and it was really bad at that point. There was no chance that he could have taken any further part and was sent back to India," PTI quoted an unnamed BCCI official as saying. The left-arm wrist-spinner was not finding place in the Knight Riders playing XI after having gone out of favour from the Indian team for all formats. He last played for India in the home Test series against England where he was deemed good enough to play only one out of the four-match long series. Kuldeep rose to prominence due to his wrist spin after India decided to move away from the finger spinner duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja after a big loss to Pakistan in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. However, he could not sustain form for a long time and lost his way after the ICC ODI World Cup in 2019 and the injury to Hardik Pandya that disturbed the balance of the team nailed a final blow to him and his bowling partner Yuzvendra Chahal. From playing together as spin twins, only one of them could be fitted in the playing XI as India had to go back to Ravindra Jadeja to bring the balance back to the team with Hardik, not bowling.

Exhausted Moeen Ali walks away from Test cricket with missed opportunities, unfulfilled ambitions

Moeen Ali has announced that he will no longer play Test cricket and he has emphasized how he reached that big decision. He was called up to play in the recently-concluded home series against India after the first Test and Moeen has said that he struggled to “concentrate” on any aspect of the game to such an extent that he got the hint that he was “done” from the longest format of the game. Explaining his decision-making process, Moeen said that he felt that he wasn’t in with all his mind although he gave all he had to offer. He said it became impossible to feel belonged mentally although he was loving the return to Test cricket and relishing competition. Moeen was criticised for playing a “rash” shot in the first innings of the Oval Test that turned the tide in favour of India when all looked perfect for England. Moeen said that getting out to poor shots was not something new for him but it confirmed his feeling of not being “wholeheartedly” into it to himself. Moeen finished his 64-match long Test career with little distance from an iconic double landmark of 3,000 runs and 200 wickets and he did want to reach the milestones before hanging his boots. However, the final Test against India did not take place which prompted him to think “that was it”. "I felt like I was done, to be honest. I was hoping to play the last Test - there were a couple of milestones I wanted to pass - but once that game got called off, I realised that was it. Headingley was a great win but I just found I couldn't concentrate. I've played rash shots before and had poor games before. But I just felt like I wasn't in it. I've never felt that before. It's not that I didn't want to perform, I just didn't feel like I was fully wholeheartedly into it,” Moeen said. "You try your best. I just found it really hard to get in the zone bowling, batting and in the field. And the more I tried, I just couldn't do it. In the past when I came back into the team, it might take a bit of time but then I'm all in. But that series, I just couldn't do it. The atmosphere felt really good. It was really nice to be back in the dressing room. But I just found cricketing-wise it was a bit of a struggle." Moeen never went away from the radar of the selectors and the team for the longest format but since the 2019 Ashes series at home, he was never a permanent member of the side. He was brought into the squad for the second Test of the series against India in Chennai before flew back home as part of a pre-scheduled rotation policy. The move was criticised heavily and the team management was ridiculed for not having clear communication with Moeen on what sort of plan and future they have in their mind for him. Later, he was overlooked for the home series against New Zealand and then the first Test against India. Only a below-par performance in the first Test when the hosts missed the services and all-around ability of Ben Stokes that Joe Root and Chris Silverwood called him up back to the Test squad. He was stripped off England’s central contract and Moeen looks back on the development as a turning point that “did break” him up a bit. He acknowledged poor performances in the 2019 summer with the ball but also lamented inadequate preparation for bowling in Test matches against an all-strength Australia side. Moeen said that he felt he was going through the “peak” phase of his bowling and the contract snub was a tough pill to swallow. He said that the ECB explained to him that the team was not sure of the amount of cricket he will play in the longest format behind the move to not give him a contract. Having seen his career at crossroads, he decided to explore career opportunities in franchise cricket and by the time England recalled him to the Test squad against India in Chennai, he was already destined on a different path. "That did break me a little bit. I felt like I had a poor game [at Edgbaston in 2019] and rightly got dropped. But I felt I was at my peak in my bowling to that point. If you look back now, I didn't play towards the back end of the World Cup. We then had a Test against Ireland in which I hardly bowled and then two days of training for the first Ashes Test. It rained on those days, so I bowled indoors. "So, I didn't really get the preparation I would have liked and I didn't bowl very well in that game. But I felt like I was still at the peak of my bowling. Prior to that, I was bowling better than I ever had in Test cricket. And then I didn't get a contract. I had asked for a break and was told it was because they weren't sure how much I was going to play. It was very disappointing at the time. So I looked to crack on and play franchise cricket. "But then it possibly took too long to make my way back into the team. I didn't play enough first-class cricket and by the time I did get back into the team for that one Test in Chennai, I was on a different path. I don't think I lost interest in Test cricket but I think I lost the ability to do it as best as you can. Moeen was in contention to play another Ashes series in Australia irrespective of his harrowing record in the country and he admitted that the ambition of playing a high-profile series on the pitches he has not done well so far crossed his mind. However, he chose to walk out of it citing his own uncertainty and said that the feeling he developed while playing against India was strong enough to call it a day. "There was part of me thinking about the Ashes this winter. I would have loved to go back and do well because last time I didn't do so well. But I just felt like I couldn't do it for that long. It's such a long trip if I'm not 'in it'. If I felt like I did in India when I was out there, then I would probably retire after one match. So it's done, Moeen said. England will have to quickly find a spin-bowling all-rounder as the readymade option of playing Moeen Ali on spin-friendly condition is shut once for all. England don’t have a rich cupboard of spinners and Moeen’s retirement will only compound the complexity and spin-bowling issues for England cricket and the team management led by Root and Silverwood.

Virat Kohli comes to Ishan Kishan's rescue as left-hander struggles for runs before World T20

After having a stellar run of form with the bat in the last season of the Indian Premier League, Ishan Kishan is going through a tough phase where runs are hard to come by from his bat and there is no better man than India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli to discuss those issues. After the game between the RCB and the Mumbai Indians, in which the men in red and gold won by a big margin, Kishan was seen having an emotional discussion with Kohli. In a video that went viral on social media, Kohli is seen having a calm and candid conversation with Kishan and he might well be giving him the confidence to continue playing the attacking game. He has been found unclear on what should be the perfect way to get out of the slump in form. He likes to play his shots and express himself but has also shown some patience to get his eyes in before attempting to go big. However, none of those methods has worked and he has mustered 107 runs from the eight games he has played this season. Kishan is also included in India’s World T20 squad and hence his form and confidence are a key issue for the men in blue in the big global event they last won in 2007. India have banked on the stroke makers such as Kishan, Suryakumar, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya to provide firepower in the middle order and hence Kohli’s chat with Kishan can also be seen in a larger context of India’s preparation for the T20 World cup.