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Hetmyer cameo powers Rajasthan Royals to top of the table
Rajasthan Royals produced an excellent bowling display but nearly fluffed their lines in a chase of 147 on a slow and two-paced surface at Mullanpur. Eventually what seemed a routine chase came down to the league leaders needing to get 34 off 18. Shimron Hetmyer scored a 10-ball 27* to take the team to their fifth win of IPL 2024 off the penultimate ball. The defeat, the fourth of Punjab Kings’ season, kept them rooted to the bottom half of the table.
A-listers from both sides missed out on this contest due to niggles. While PBKS welcomed back Liam Livingstone, they lost their captain Shikhar Dhawan. Atharva Taide took up the vacant opening slot while Sam Curran assumed captaincy. In the pink corner, Jos Buttler and R. Ashwin missed out with Tanush Kotian and Rovman Powell coming in for their IPL debuts. The visitors, however, had the advantage of playing with a target in front of them after Sanju Samson won an important toss.
Of the five lowest powerplay scores in IPL 2024, three of them belong to the Punjab Kings, underscoring the big pain point of their season so far. Today, they were further hamstrung by the absence of their leader and opener Shikhar Dhawan. His replacement in the XI, Taide, began promisingly with a pair of sweetly-timed boundaries through the covers. But as it turned out, PBKS’ powerplay peaked there. Once Taide fell to Avesh Khan, Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh struggled to get the seamers away and PBKS ended the powerplay at a very modest 38/1.
Spin proved a potent option for Sanju Samson in Mullanpur and Yuzvendra Chahal struck in his first over – the first after the powerplay. A familiar, tossed-up delivery from the leggie lured the scratchy Prabhsimran into attempting a big slog across the line. The batter took the bait and his release shot was laden with an extra dose of risk due to it being hit against the wind. Dhruv Jurel settled under the swirler for the first of his three outfield catches.
After Chahal, it was Keshav Maharaj’s turn to strike. He got a delivery to stop and turn on Bairstow in the first over and the Englishman chipped a simple catch to extra cover to fall for 15 off 19. In a miserly spell of bowling, Maharaj also had stand-in skipper Sam Curran mistime a pull to deep mid-wicket and finished with figures of 2 for 23. At the half-way mark of the innings, PBKS were reduced to 53/4 and needed to get Ashutosh Sharma on as an impact substitute to lengthen their batting.
As ever, the Kings turned to their lower middle-order in search of scoreboard respectability. Jitesh Sharma led the revival with an excellent, inside-out six over extra cover off Chahal before a six down the ground off Kuldeep Sen. The returning Liam Livingstone struck a six and a four himself in a 17-run takedown of Sen, but just as the partnership was blossoming than Jitesh fell to Avesh Khan. After Livingstone was run-out courtesy an improvised flicked throw from Samson, the onus was on Ashutosh to provide the finishing kick. And he managed just that. Two sixes came in the 19th over from Avesh Khan before he added a four in the final over to finish with an impressive 31 off 16.
With Buttler absent, Royals sent out all Mumbai pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tanush Kotian to open the chase. The Royals went through the powerplay without losing a wicket for the first time this season, but they managed only a modest 43 runs in this time. Jaiswal was fluent in the 16 balls he faced for his 23 in this period while Kotian made only 18 from the 20 he faced. It took another two overs for him to be put out of his struggles with Livingstone slipping a ball under his legs and cleaning him up for a painstaking 31-ball 24.
The early go-slow didn’t seem to affect the Royals chase as Jaiswal and Sanju Samson continued to keep them ticking, slashing the equation down to a very gettable 66 off 51 before the returning Rabada got Jaiswal mistime an uppercut to third man. After getting to 39 off 28, the prodigious opener couldn’t cash in and it opened a window of opportunity for the hosts. Rabada then sent a pacy delivery onto Samson’s leg and trapped him in front of the stumps. The South African star finished his four overs for figures of 2 for 18 and his final two overs got the visitors to crack under the pressure applied.
The in-form Riyan Parag top-edged a pull off Arshdeep while Sam Curran gave away just six singles in the over prior. It left the Royals needing 34 off 18.
Curran could have bowled the 18th over himself but threw the ball to Harshal Patel. The Haryana bowler dismissed Dhruv Jurel but ended that over with two soft balls which Hetmyer swung away for a four and a six. Rovman Powell then hit Curran for a brace of fours to start the 19th over. That meant four straight balls had cost 18 runs and even though Curran came back well to dismiss Powell and Maharaj in his last over, Arshdeep was left to defend just 10 off the final over. The left-armer bowled two dots to start but missed his yorker at the third time of trying and conceded a six. Hetmyer helped himself to another six off a full toss to condemn PBKS to another close defeat.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 147/8 in 20 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 31; Keshav Maharaj 2-23, Avesh Khan 2-34) lost to Rajasthan Royals 152/7 in 19.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 39, Shimron Hetmyer 27*; Kagiso Rabada 2-18, Sam Curran 2-25) by three wickets
(Cricbuzz)
The aid group Doctors Without Borders has reported recovering 11 bodies and rescuing dozens of people off the coast of Libya as it criticised the migration policies of the North African country and European countries.
In a statement on Friday, the group, known by its French initials MSF, said its Geo Barents rescue vessel managed to recover the bodies following a search operation lasting more than nine hours after being alerted by German nongovernmental organisation Sea-Watch, which also rescues refugees and migrants.
“As we cannot determine the reason behind this tragedy, we know that people will continue to take dangerous routes in a desperate attempt to reach safety, and Europe must find safe and legal pathways for them,” MSF said in a post on X. “This catastrophe must end!”
Sea-Watch said it is unclear whether the bodies were victims of a previously unknown shipwreck, adding that they tried to contact Libya’s coastguard to go and retrieve the dead, but received no reply.
“The so-called Libyan coastguard – financed by the EU – ignored our call demanding that the bodies be recovered,” the group said.
Thousands of people trying to head from Africa to Europe use Libya as a departing point, with the Italian island of Lampedusa the nearest European destination as they undertake the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to escape war, poverty and persecution.
Italy, which wants to put a stop to the migration stream, has said Libya and neighbouring Tunisia must do more to stop people from going to sea. It has also clamped down on the operation of the rescue ships, arguing that they encourage people to head to Europe, a charge that is denied by the charities.
Emphasising its policy on the rescue ships, Italy said on Friday that it forced the MSF rescue vessel to take the 165 people that it had saved from boats in the Mediterranean operation to the northern port of Genoa. The port was more than 650 nautical miles (1,200km) from their position and much farther than the more convenient ports in nearby Sicily, significantly delaying assistance to the rescued.
The route in the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world, with the United Nations registering more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the area since 2014.
More than 3,000 refugees and migrants went missing in 2023 while attempting to use the route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
According to Italy’s interior ministry, the number of arrivals in the country has dropped in 2024 to fewer than 21,800 people since the beginning of the year, compared with close to 53,300 in the same period last year.
[Aljazeera]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
Afghanistan boosted their Super Eight chances with yet another dominating win, this time thumping New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence. Having beaten Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, they are now at the top of Group C with a net run rate of 5.225.
After being sent in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, with Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls. New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.
With the pitch assisting both seamers and spinners, chasing 160 was not going to be easy. But few would have expected New Zealand to collapse in the manner they did.
Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up three wickets in the powerplay and Rashid Khan three just after it. Eventually, both ended with identical figures of 4 for 17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 75 in the 15.2 overs. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double digits.
Trent Boult found some swing in the opening over but Gurbaz and Ibrahim showed their intent by picking up three fours off Henry from the other end. Both batters had luck on their side, too. Gurbaz got a second life when he skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails did not budge. In the following over, Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry at the deep-square-leg boundary.
That was not all. Gurbaz got another reprieve after being involved in a miscommunication with Ibrahim. Having taken off for a single, Gurbaz had to retrace his steps and would have been run out had Conway not fumbled the throw.
Two balls later, New Zealand finally seemed to have found success when Santner pinged Ibrahim’s pads and umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it lbw. But the batter got the decision overturned on review as the ball was heading down the leg side. Immediately after that, Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss.
New Zealand went against the prevailing wisdom of not bowling an offspinner when two right-hand batters at the crease, and Michael Bracewell repaid that faith by conceding only six off his first two overs.
Lockie Ferguson was even more frugal, going for five in his first two. He could have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss but a leaping Kane Williamson failed to pull off a one-handed stunner at mid-off. That meant while Afghanistan remained unscathed, they had only 55 on the board after ten overs.
Afghanistan had not hit a single six in the first ten overs, but there were five in the next three, including three in one Bracewell over as Gurbaz and Bracewell stepped on the accelerator. The pair took the side past 100 in the 14th over. New Zealand finally broke through when Ibrahim bottom-edged a short ball from Henry onto his stumps, after having been hit on the grille on the previous delivery.
Promoted to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai played his part with 22 off 13, which included two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck but Gurbaz kept finding the boundary at regular intervals. However, a three-wicket, three-run final over by Boult kept Afghanistan to 159.
Farooqi gave Afghanistan a dream start with the ball. With the very first delivery of the innings, he uprooted Finn Allen’s leg stump as the ball moved in late. In the seamer’s next over, Conway pushed at one that seemed to come slower off the surface and was caught at extra cover.
The decision to give Farooqi a third over in the powerplay brought further rewards. This time, bowling around the wicket to Daryl Mitchell, he got a length delivery to just straighten and take the outside edge. Gurbaz took a regulation catch to complete the dismissal and leave New Zealand 28 for 3.
It could have been worse for New Zealand. In between, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson’s front pad after the batter had moved across to play a delivery. Afghanistan sent it upstairs for an lbw review but the umpire’s call saved the New Zealand captain.
Afghanistan did not have to wait too long for Williamson’s wicket. Rashid brought himself on after the powerplay and struck straightaway as Williamson guided one to first slip. But Rashid was just warming up. In his next over, he dismissed Mark Chapman and Bracewell off successive deliveries to leave New Zealand on 43 for 6. Chapman went for a pull and got bowled; Bracewell was late to bring his bat down and was lbw.
Phillips was New Zealand’s last hope. He did hit a couple of boundaries but was soon caught at long-on when he tried to take on Nabi. That ended any hopes of revival New Zealand might have had.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 159 for 6 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ibrahim Zadran 44, Azmatullah Omarzai 22; Trent Boult 2-22, Matt Henry 2-37, Lockie Fergusoan 1-28) beat New Zealand 75 in 15.2 overs (Glenn Phillips 18; Rashid Khan 4 for 17, Fazalhaq Farooqi 4 for 17, Mohammad Nabi 2-16) by 84 runs
[Cricinfo]
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