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KL Rahul shines as Delhi Capitals outclass CSK in Chennai

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KL Rahul got a boundary with a reverse-scoop [Cricinfo]

Chennai Super Kings are starting to lose control of their fortress. For the second time this season, a visiting team that hadn’t tasted victory against them at Chepauk in 15 years was able to utterly dominate them. This resulted in the strangest situation. The crowd here bays for MS Dhoni to come out and bat. They cheer their own team’s wickets in anticipation of his arrival. Well, on Saturday, he was there in the 11th over, but there was only silence.

In the absence of Faf du Plessis, who was not quite fit to play, KL Rahul opened the batting. He needed a little time to get used to the pace of a pitch that was very dry and therefore prevented the ball from coming into the bat. He was 25 off his first 20 balls.

Rahul found release through Noor Ahmad. He took IPL 2025’s highest wicket-taker for 20 off 9 but this wasn’t crash, bang, wallop. The bowler missed his mark a couple of times and the batter was confident enough in both his ability and his method to take full toll.

Noor strayed too full once and Rahul hit the half-volley for four. He pulled his length back once, but offered room to free the arms and Rahul swept him hard for six. Sometimes against spinners who are hard to pick out of the hand, the horizontal bat shots work so long as you pick the length.

This was how from 25 off 20 balls, Rahul hit 36 off 18, which included a reverse scoop off Mukesh Choudhary, the only bowler he actually targeted. Mukesh conceded 40% of the boundaries that DC hit.

Even towards the end of Rahul’s innings, it was apparent that hitting out was becoming difficult. He only scored 16 off his last 13 balls. DC understood that. Mukesh Kumar got one to stick in the surface and drew a leading edge from Rachin Ravindra. Ruturaj Gaikwad timed the pants off a Mitchell Starc short ball but didn’t quite place it well enough. He threw his head back as soon as Jake Fraser-McGurk took the catch at deep backward square leg. CSK were 20 for 2 in the third over. It had been six years since. they’ve been able to chase a total over 180 in the IPL. This was not the start they wanted.

Vijay Shankar had only one boundary from his first 31 deliveries. In that time, he could’ve been dismissed lbw or run-out. He survived both calls and tried as hard as he could to make the most of them, but it just wouldn’t come off. DC were so good in denying him the freedom of his arms. The pitch being slow as well didn’t let him get away with the connections that he made. More than once, he grimaced through an innings that brought him 69 runs in 54 balls. DC attempted to find the boundary off 37 balls and succeeded 21 times. CSK actually went harder – they hit out against 38 balls but were only successful 12 times. DC’s bowlers harnessed a slow, turning pitch beautifully. They out CSK-ed CSK. Winning the toss and batting first helped.

In the last match, Stephen Fleming said Dhoni cannot bat for a long time and therefore they ration his appearances. That’s why he batted at No. 9 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru because there was no point in him coming any earlier.

This time they had no choice. Half the side was in the hut with only 10.4 overs on the board. Kuldeep Yadav had delivered a killer googly to Ravindra Jadeja. The batter did not read it. He wasn’t even allowed the chance to pick it off the pitch. The length was so perfect, bringing him forward and then turning the wrong way to hit his pad instead of his flailing blade.

That brought Dhoni to the crease. He’s won World Cups before. But this might have been the first time he was batting in front of his parents. They were at the ground, to watch him score 30 off 26 and his team lose by 25 runs. It was a difficult evening for CSK fans. Their chances of winning, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster, was down at 9.51% even before the chase was halfway through. Jadeja is yet to bowl his full quota of overs in four matches. Ashwin has done so only twice. CSK have hit the fewest sixes in IPL 2025.  Their middle order (4-7) is struggling badly, averaging 21.76 (third-lowest in the tournament) and striking at 116.94 [lowest].

Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals 183 for 6  in 20 overs (KL Rahul 77, Abhishek Poral 33, Axar Patel 21, Sameer Rizvi 20, Tristan Stubbs 24*; Khaleel Ahmed 2-25, Ravindra Jadeja 1-19, Noor Ahmad 1-36, Matheesha Pathirana 1-31) beat Chennai Super Kings 158 for 5 in 20 overs (Vijay Shankar 69*, Devon Conway 13, Shivam Dube 18, MS Dhoni 30*; Mitchell Starc 1-27, Mukesh Kumar 1-36, Vipraj Nigam 2-27, Kuldeep Yadav 1-30) by 25 runs

[Cricinfo]



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Former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa arrested by CIABOC

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Former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was  produced before the Hulftsdorp court, after  being  arrested by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and produce

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Smriti Mandhana appointed India captain across formats

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Smriti Mandhana looks on in the field [Cricinfo]

Smriti Mandhana has been named India’s all-format women’s captain on the same day Harmanpreet Kaur stepped down from the role after nearly a decade since she first took over.

Mandhana – vice-captain to Harmanpreet for much of this period – has previously led India in four ODIs and 18 T20Is, apart from captaining Maharashtra in domestic cricket and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League.

Mandhana’s first assignment will be the limited-overs series against Zimbabwe beginning with the three T20Is in Raipur from October 16. On Tuesday, Mandhana was part of the selection meeting chaired by Amita Sharma to pick the squad for the tour.

Terming the appointment a “special honour”, Mandhana also acknowledged the contributions of her predecessor in her welcome note.

“I would also like to acknowledge Harmanpreet and the contribution she has made as captain over the years,” she was quoted as saying by the BCCI. “She has led the team with great commitment and has been an important part of our journey.

“I understand the responsibility that comes with this role and look forward to working with the team, learning along the way and giving my best to take Indian cricket forward.”

Mandhana’s appointment comes on the back of a review meeting held on Monday in Guwahati. Chaired by secretary Devajit Saikia, the meeting was also attended by Mandhana, Harmanpreet and head coach Amol Muzumdar to chart a roadmap forward, with an eye on next year’s inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in February as well as the T20 World Cup and Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Mandhana, India’s best all-format batter, has been knocking on the doors for a while. Earlier this year, she led RCB to their second WPL title, in which she also top-scored in the final.

In September, she overtook Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in women’s international across formats. Her 18 international hundreds are also the most in women’s cricket. She is also the first Indian woman to score centuries in all formats.

[Cricinfo]

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Ronaldo apologizes for Portugal walkout; says Jesus broke promise

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Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal's leading scorer (Aljazeera)

Cristiano Ronaldo has accused Portugal ‌coach Jorge Jesus of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly ⁠explain his omission ⁠against Norway drove him out of the camp, but insisting he remained available after any punishment.

In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his account of the dispute ⁠that prompted his departure  from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match versus Denmark last week.

Ronaldo said Jesus had agreed a plan under which the forward would miss the Norway and Denmark ⁠matches to manage his fitness. However, on the day of the Norway game, the coach told him he would play for 30 minutes.

“Everyone knows the rest. I warmed up from halftime onwards, watched the minutes tick by and wasn’t called on,” Ronaldo said.

“The manager had broken his word to me.”

Portugal’s ‌captain and all-time leading scorer said a subsequent meeting with Jesus, attended by his club side Al Nassr’s sporting director Simao Coutinho, produced an agreement for the coach to clarify events at his next news conference.

According to Ronaldo, an eight-point document was prepared saying he had never demanded playing time, had respected Jesus’s decisions and that the coach asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake.

Ronaldo said the agreed notes did ⁠not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach’s ⁠public remarks bore no resemblance to their private discussion.

“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”

The statement provided Ronaldo’s account⁠, but on Sunday, after Portugal’s win over Norway, Jesus denied he had made any agreement with the player, nevertheless leaving the door open  ⁠for his return.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) did not immediately respond ⁠to a request for comment about Ronaldo’s statement.

Ronaldo apologised for failing to greet supporters after the Norway match and for leaving his teammates,  accepting that his captaincy made his conduct more serious.

“The consequences of my actions must be assessed ‌and punished by the Portuguese Football Federation,” he said.

Despite the rupture, Ronaldo said he was not limiting his international ambitions to a farewell appearance.

“If I’m physically fit, playing for my club – scoring ‌goals, ‌I hope – after serving whatever suspension is imposed on me, I’ll be available, as I’ve always been until now, to compete and win for our national team,” he added.

(Aljazeera)

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