Ipl 2021: Shikhar Dhawan confident of DC victory against Punjab

Delhi Capitals highest run-scorer this season, opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan believes that the team is moving in the right direction as it is not overly dependent upon any particular individual. 

“We have won five out of seven so we are in a great position and the good thing is that the entire team is performing,” he said in a video uploaded by the Delhi Capitals on their official Twitter account. 

“Be it batting or bowling, the team isn’t dependent on a single individual. There is always someone or the other taking responsibility on match day and that has made the team really strong,” added the 35-year-old. 

Talking about the team’s next assignment against Punjab in the Northern Derby at the Narendra Modi Stadium tonight, Dhawan, who has so far scored 311 runs in seven innings so far, believes that the Delhi team can overpower the Punjabis. 

“No opposition is a weak opposition in the IPL. So we have to make sure that every time we go on the field, we give our best and implement our plans,” said Dhawan before adding that Punjab are a good side and playing well. “We must respect that, but we are going to win another game I think,” said the southpaw. 

Discover more
Top Stories
news

IPL 2021 | Tom Moody cites team combination behind 'hard call' of sacking David Warner

The director of cricket operations at the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Tom Moody has said that the franchise had to take a tough call where someone big but underperforming had to make way for change in the team in wake of repetitive poor performances in the 14th edition of the IPL. Moody said that Warner is very disappointed at missing out from the leadership position and then from the playing XI, but that would have been the case for any other player, and that the Australian has come to terms with the reasoning behind his ow exclusion from the team. “We had to make the hard call, somebody has to miss out and unfortunately it’s him. He’s shocked and disappointed. Anyone would be disappointed. He has come to terms with the logic behind what we want to achieve from a franchise’s perspective. He has rallied around the team and more importantly, the team has rallied around him,” Moody said to the host broadcaster Star Sports before the game against the Rajasthan Royals. There are words surrounding a possible fallout between Warner and the think tank after the former made public his disapproval of Manish Pandey’s exclusion from the team. But, Moody said that the team is not going back to what led to the move of sacking Warner having made significant changes in the last 24-48 hours. Notably, David Warner has been an IPL legend for the Sunrisers and he led the side to the IPL championship in the 2016 edition.

news

IPL 2021: Mahela Jayawardene rates Pollard's knock as one of the very best

Mumbai Indians halted Chennai Super Kings’ winning run after completing a sensational run-chase in the final delivery of the match courtesy a special knock from the blade of Kieron Pollard. MI’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene rated Pollard’s knock as one of the very best he has seen from the Caribbean. In a video posted by the Mumbai Indians, Jayawerdena can be seen congratulating his team for chasing down a mammoth target of 219 runs. The Mumbai vs Chennai contest has always been one of the high-octane games of the competition. It is regarded as the El Classico of IPL and Jayawerdena also reiterated the fact that this game hasn’t been easy for either of the teams. “It was an amazing game. I think history shows that this game is not an easy game for either of the teams. I think the quality both team possesses showed today. The margins are very small. I think the conditions and all that helped. Two powerhouse team to conquer and I think we held our nerves a little bit better at the back end,” Jayawardene said. Speaking on Pollar’s exceptional knock, Jayawardene said, “And obviously Polly’s amazing knock. Cant take that away. One of the very best, I have seen a few from Pollard while I have been in Mumbai but this is right up there. Just the mental toughness for him to go through that whole scenario, analysing what he needs to do and who he needs to take down and going through and keeping other batters calm collective as well. Great knock from him. Pollard not only made a match-winning impact with the bat but he also bagged two crucial wickets with the ball in hand. He was close to taking three having missed a tough chance and with Jadeja getting away with the LBW call. Jayawardene said that Pollard was not too happy after not being given the ball for a third over despite bagging a couple of wickets. “Showed a lot of leadership qualities out there especially with the ball as well. He was bit upset that he wasn’t given the third but I know he was a bit tired at that time. Overall it was a fantastic game for Polly and the whole team. Another win. Gives us an opportunity to play some consistent cricket and focus on producing the goods in the second half of the tournament. Chasing a mammoth target of 219, Mumbai Indians began fluently with the help of some exceptional shots from the blade of Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma. The skipper was dismissed after a partnership of 60 runs with QDK. Rohit’s dismissal brought in two more as Suryakumar Yadav and QDK was also dismissed in quick succession. MI needed a big knock from Pollard and he came out all guns blazing. He started taking on the spinners and after a few sixes, there was no respite for any of the bowlers. Even his mishits were sailing over the boundary ropes and CSK was under the pump. Despite losing his partners at the other end, he kept plundering sixes at will and eventually helped MI chase the target down in the final delivery of the match. He remained unbeaten on 87 of 34 deliveries which included 6 fours and 8 sixes.

news

IPL 2021| CSK vs MI: All records broken in Kieron Pollard masterclass

It was a night to remember for cricket fans in general, Mumbai Indians fans in particular, but for Kieron Pollard fans, it was once in a decade moment as the beastly built from Trinidad showed exactly what does it mean when we say, ‘carnage with the bat’. While chasing down a humongous target of 219, Pollard hit eight sixes and six fours in his unbeaten 87 off 34 balls. No doubt that the 33-year-old was helped by some poor fielding including a sitter being dropped by Faf du Plessis, but hey, what is a knock without grabbing some chances. In this display of magic by the veteran, and not to forget the run-fest in both the innings, helped by equally brilliant innings by Ambati Rayudu from the Chennai Super Kings, there were a lot of records that were broken, a lot many created. Here is a list of them Maiden 200 plus chase by Mumbai Indians The Pollard innings and some really sloppy bowling by Lungi Ngidi in the last over meant that Mumbai was able to record its first-ever 200 plus successful run chase. The previous best for the Blue and Gold brigade was 199 vs Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab) in 2017. Second Highest successful run chase in IPL It was also the second-highest successful run chase in the tournament’s history, second only to Rajasthan Royals’ last year’s dramatic win against Punjab kings in Sharjah, where they chased down 224. Highest successful run chases in IPL 224 - RR vs KXIP, Sharjah, 2020 219 - MI vs CSK, Delhi, 2021 215 - RR v DC, Hyderabad. 2008 209 - DD v GL, Delhi, 2017 Fastest IPL 2021 fifty The 17 ball fifty by Pollard that broke all the defence mechanisms of MS Dhoni-led side was also the fastest fifty of this season and joint-fastest fifty for a Mumbai Indian batsman. The record for 17 ball fifties in IPL by a MI batter is shared by Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan. Most runs conceded by top three bowlers in a match in IPL It wasn’t a good day in the field particularly for the Mumbai Indians bowlers as they were taken for cleaners all around the ground, firstly by Moeen Ali and then by Rayudu. The number of runs conceded by the top three (in order of their coming into the attack) MI bowlers was the highest for any team in the IPL history. The trio of Trent Boult, Bumrah and Dhawal Kulkarni gave away 146 runs in their quota of 12 overs. 146 - MI v CSK, 2021 (Boult, Kulkarni, Bumrah) 144 - RCB v MI, 2015 (Abdulla, Aaron, Nechim) 144 - KXIP v SRH, 2019 (Arshdeep, Mujeeb, Shami) Most expensive IPL spell for Jasprit Bumrah The role of India’s ace pace bowler, Bumrah was noteworthy in the whacking that Mumbai received at the hands of CSK and Rayudu in particular. The 27-year-old went for 56 runs in his four overs. It was his most expensive spell of the career. In IPL’s history too, it was his most expensive 24 balls that he bowled (he bowled more than 24 balls including the extras). The previous worst for Bumrah came way back in 2015 when he was hit for 55 runs against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals). Joint fastest fifty for CSK Rayudu, who hit 27 balls 72 with the help of four fours and seven sixes also reached the milestone of fifty runs in just 20 balls, making him the joint second-fastest scorer of a fifty by a Chennai Super Kings batsman. He equalled skipper Dhoni’s record. Fastest fifties for CSK Raina- 16 (balls) Dhoni- 20 (balls) Rayudu- 20 (balls) This innings by the 35-year-old Andhra Pradesh born was also the joint second-fastest fifty against Mumbai Indians in the IPL, he once again equalled MS Dhoni. Fastest fifty against MI Pant- 18 (balls) Dhoni-20, (balls) Rayudu -20 (balls) Most runs scored in last 10 overs of successful IPL run chase Another record that was broken in this game was that of the most runs scored in the last 10 overs of a chase in IPL history. When Pollard came to bat at the fall of Quinton de Kock’s wicket, the score of Mumbai was 81-3 at the end of 9.4 overs. From there on, he just went berserk resulting in 138 runs being achieved in the last 60 balls. Most runs in last 10 overs of successful run chase IPL 138 MI vs CSK Delhi 2021 * (Pollard 87* off 34) 133 MI vs PBKS Mumbai WS 2019 (Pollard 83 off 31) 126 PBKS vs RCB Mohali 2013 In this game, the West Indies’ limited-overs skipper also bowled two overs, picking two wickets and giving away just 12 runs. With this win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, Pollard once again established why he is so highly rated by the Mumbai Indians and everyone in the cricketing world.