IPL diary: Dhoni silences his critics with his bat

MS Dhoni’s unbeaten half century in Saturday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter against table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad, steered his side, Rising Pune Supergiant, to a much-needed victory. The match-winning performance at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune also got the wicket-keeper batsman his first man-of-the-match award in the ongoing edition of the IPL.

In the lead up to the match, Dhoni had found himself at the receiving end of his critics for his poor form in the previous five matches. The win also catapulted Pune to the fourth spot on the league table.

The Pune side successfully chased down Hyderabad’s 179 in 20 overs, with Dhoni’s 34-ball 61 being the highlight of the innings.

Earlier, Pune Supergiant Captain Steve Smith reposed faith in his teammate’s batting prowess, saying that he hoped that the former Indian skipper would “find his groove,” which Dhoni eventually did!

Has India found its new ‘yorker hero’?

Budding pacer Basil Thampi’s bowling performance during the death overs in Friday’s IPL match between Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders won him praise from his coach.

One of Thampi’s coaches at Gujarat Lions, Sitanshu Kotak, hailed the pacer for delivering in a game that was a must-win for the Gujarat side. “It was a must-win game for us and the key was to bowl yorkers at the death. We had no choice but to win this. On this wicket, we knew that Thampi can bowl a yorker in each delivery, and he tried some slower ones too,” Lions’ Assistant Coach Kotak was quoted as saying.

In the match that was played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Gujarat Lions put up a brilliant batting performance to ace Kolkata’s 187. The Gujarat club’s captain Suresh Raina top-scored with a 46-ball 84 to take his side to victory.

Sunil Narine sets an IPL record in Kolkata’s losing effort

West Indies’ spinner Sunil Narine made a new IPL record on Friday by scoring his runs with nine boundaries and a six, to score 42, against Gujarat Lions at Eden Gardens.

Otherwise known for his maverick spin bowling, Kolkata’s Narine took just 17 deliveries to get to 42. Narine was opening the batting for the Kolkata club, a responsibility he had been entrusted in the wake of another international cap Chris Lynn copping an injury and being forced to sit out.

Virat Kohli wins hearts in Pakistan

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Friday thanked Virat Kohli for an autographed blue jersey that the Indian skipper had gifted him at the time of his retirement. Besides Kohli, the jersey has been signed by other Indian team players as well.

Kohli’s gesture has been praised in Pakistan, with some Twitter users remarking that the star Indian batsman had “won millions of hearts of Pakistanis”.

Pakistan’s players have been barred from participating in the IPL by the Indian government due to rocky political ties between the two countries of late. The only time that Pakistan’s cricketers took part in the premier T20 competition was in the inaugural edition in 2008, when Afridi represented now defunct club Deccan Chargers.

Afridi hung his boots from T20 cricket in February, ending his international cricketing career spanning 21 years.