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Starc shows the way as Kolkata Knight Riders blow away Sunrisers to march into IPL final

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Mitchell Starc picked up wickets off consecutive balls in the fifth over (Cricinfo)

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma are used to going bang, bang and pretty much killing off games in the first six overs at IPL 2024. But in the first qualifier in Ahmedabad, it was Mitchell Starc who went bang, bang, bang in the powerplay to secure Kolkata Knight Riders’ spot in the IPL final on Sunday in Chennai.

After Starc scythed through SRH’s top order in an opening spell of 3-0-22-3, Varun Chakravarthy took over in the middle overs to help dismiss SRH for 159 in 19.3 overs.

In reply, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer made unbeaten half-centuries as KKR ran down the target with more than six overs to spare.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will face the winner of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, for a shot at a rematch with KKR in the final.

Starc’s first ball to Head was an outswinger that was squeezed to extra cover. His second threatened to angle in, but swung and seamed away late to breach the defences of Head and leave his stumps splayed.

Head was gone for a duck. This was the fifth time that Starc had taken out Head across formats – four of those wickets ducks.

In the second over, pacer Vaibhav Arora, who was picked ahead of spinner Anukul Roy on a surface that was a mix of red and black soil and had some early moisture, had Abhishek Sharma scooping a catch to Andre Russell at short cover for 3.

SRH plunged into further trouble when Starc snagged Nitish Kumar Reddy (9) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0) off successive balls in his third over. Starc could have also dismissed Rahul Tripathi in his second over when he speared in a yorker that struck him flush on his boot and would have cannoned into leg stump. But KKR decided against a review and SRH went on to finish the powerplay on 45 for 4. Only twice in 14 innings have SRH scored fewer runs in the powerplay in IPL 2024.

Tripathi, who kept his place at No. 3, repaired SRH’s innings with a half-century. He combined power with invention to manufacture scoring opportunities. He whacked Arora over midwicket and ramped a bouncer from Harshit Rana for six. He reached his fifty off 29 balls when he reverse-swept Varun for four.

Tripathi, however, could not press on as Russell capitalised on a mix-up to run him out for 55 off 35 balls. Tripathi was so distraught that he sat on the stairs in Ahmedabad, with his head buried in his knee, for a long time. That image of Tripathi summed up SRH’s night.

Heinrich Klaasen had taken Sunil Narine for 16 off eight balls, but KKR’s other mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, struck in his first over to cut Klaasen’s innings short on 32 off 21 balls. Varun darted one into the pitch and didn’t allow Klaasen underneath the length as he dragged a catch to deep midwicket. He then pinned Bhuvneshwar Kumar lbw with a wrong ‘un in the 16th over that cost KKR just one run. It was Varun’s 40th wicket in 27 IPL innings since the 2023 season started. No other spinner has more wickets than Varun during this period.

At 126 for 9 in 16 overs, SRH were in danger of being bundled out for a sub-140 total, but Cummins’ 30 off 24 balls dragged them to a more respectable 159.

After doing a good job behind the stumps, Rahmanullah Gurbaz eased himself in with the bat in what was his first outing this season.

Phil Salt had left the IPL to link up with the England side, and Gurbaz slotted into his role and picked off 23 off 14 balls. He hit four boundaries and when he aimed for a fifth, T Natarajan had him holing out in his first over.

Three overs later, Cummins bounced out Narine for 21 off 16 balls, but KKR’s openers had already done enough damage in the powerplay by slashing 63 runs off their target.

The Iyers – captain Shreyas and Venkatesh – then struck up an unbroken 97 partnership for the third wicket off only 44 balls to turn their chase into a cruise. Along the way, both batters posted half-centuries and it was Shreyas who finished it off in grand style in the 14th over, with a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 6 off Head.

Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 159 in 20 overs(Rahul Tripathi 55, Heinrich Klaasen 32, Pat Cummins 30; Mitchell Starc 3-34, Vaibhav Arora 1-17, Harshit Rana 1-27, Sunil Narine 1-40, Andre Rusell 1-15, Varun Chakravarthy 2-26) lost to  Kolkata Knight Riders164/2 in 13.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 58*, Venkatesh Iyer 51*, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 23,Sunil Narine 21; PatCummins 1-38,  T Natarajan 1-22) by 8 wickets

(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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M. M. D. J. Senarathne, appointed Director General of the Department of National Botanical Gardens

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The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Environment to appoint  M. M. D. J. Senarathne, who is the senior most officer in Grade I of Sri Lanka Scientific Service se

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Harmanpreet Kaur steps down as India captain

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Harmanpreet Kaur's last act as India captain was defending their Asian Games gold medal [BCCI]

Harmanpreet Kaur, who led India to their first women’s global title at last year’s ODI World Cup, has stepped down as captain from all three international formats. She announced her decision via an Instagram post on Tuesday morning. Having given up the captaincy and left the team in a “good place”, she has said she’s now “ready to play for the love of the game again”.

Harmanpreet, 37, led India in five Tests, 51 ODIs and 155 T20Is. Her last act as captain was leading India to their second successive Asian Games gold medal, in Nisshin last month.

The decision came a day after Harmanpreet, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and head coach Amol Muzumdar met BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in Guwahati to discuss the roadmap of the women’s team going forward.

“This is not an easy decision,” Harmanpreet wrote. “It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

“I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket – my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions. There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first.

“As a captain, I have had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost. But every decision I made was with one intention – to make this TEAM better and to give other players the opportunity to grow, believe in themselves and become the best versions of themselves.”

Murmurs about a possible change in captaincy had been on for a while, especially after India’s second successive group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup in June this year. The selection committee, chaired by Amita Sharma, is understood to have been divided, but Harmanpreet had indicated a desire to lead India at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I leave the captaincy today with a heart full of emotions , but also with PEACE,” Harmanpreet said. “Because I genuinely believe My team is in a good place. A team with talent, character, belief and a future that I am incredibly excited to watch and be a part of.

“I feel I have done my duty. I gave this team everything I had. I carried the responsibility with pride, and I will always be grateful for the privilege of leading Indian women’s cricket.

“Now, it is time for me to turn the page. Captaincy may end today, but my love for Indian cricket never will. Thank you to every teammate, coach, support staff, management , BCCI , family members every single fan who stood by me through the highs and lows.”

The noise for Smriti Mandhana to take over has been getting louder in recent months. In the past six months, Mandhana has been vocal about her readiness for the top job, and has given evidence of her credentials by leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to twin WPL titles (in 2024 and 2026).

Harmanpreet first captained the T20I team in 2012, but it wasn’t until after India’s group-stage exit from their home T20 World Cup in 2016 that she was considered a serious candidate for the role.

In 2018, she led the team to the T20 World Cup semi-finals in the Caribbean after having taken over the role in a full-time capacity from Mithali Raj, and followed it up with a runners-up finish at the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020.

Harmanpreet’s stepping down as India captain will not, however, change her stance as far as playing the shortest format goes. She is expected to continue leading Mumbai Indians in the upcoming WPL edition as the team chases their third title.

[Cricinfo]

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