Heena Sharma Blog

In the grand finale of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019), Lasith Malinga produced an incredible last over to defend nine runs as Mumbai Indians (MI) claimed undisputed supremacy in the Indian Premier League by securing their fourth title with a narrow one-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a pulsating final at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad on Sunday. Super Kings needed nine runs off the last over but the experienced Lankan paceman Malinga kept his nerve to concede seven. He trapped Shardul Thakur leg before in the last ball after Watson (80 off 59) got run out two balls earlier. Before that Jasprit Bumrah kept Mumbai in the hunt with his tidy overs and two wickets, getting rid of Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu. The premier Indian pacer produced 13 dot balls in his testing overs. Young leg-spinner Rahul Chahar also played a key role in the middle overs as he too created pressure by bowling 13 dot balls. Both teams were tied at three IPL titles ...

In qualifier 2 of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019) Delhi Capitals (DC) will face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnamon on Friday. MS Dhoni-led Chennai lost to Mumbai Indians in the qualifier 1 on Tuesday but they get another chance to reach the finals as they are placed second in IPL 2019 points table. Delhi defeated Kane Williamson's Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday in the last-over thriller to face Chennai in the virtual semifinal. While Capitals will have an advantage over Super Kings as they know the conditions of Vizag stadium better but for CSK, MS Dhoni's experience will be handy to gauge the nature of the wicket. Chennai would look to fix their vulnerable spots while Delhi would look to be more consistent with the batting. Overall, both sides have their weakness exposed and the team that take advantage of others mistake early is likely to clinch the victory. Chennai received a jolt when all-rounder Kedar Jadhav was injur...

In the eliminator of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Delhi Capitals will face Sunrisers Hyderabad at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. The winner of the match will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings at same venue in qualifier 2 on Friday. While Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi has a strong batting line-up with Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant in the top order. Hyderabad boasts a strong bowling attack with the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, young pacer Khaleel Ahmed and the spin duo from Afghanistan, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi in their playing 11. The match is crucial as any mistake at this stage will result in elimination. Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer said the teams'prolific run in the league matches is "all in the past, and we are now really looking forward to the eliminator." "It is going to be an amazing challenge against SRH. They have an incredible team, and at no point will it be easy for us. The team is pumped up, and...

In qualifier 1 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will host Mumbai Indians (MI) at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the last league match on Sunday and climbed the top of IPL 2019 Points Table. Mumbai's path to playoffs was filled with ups and downs but the team showed class in crucial matches to saal a plaoff berth. Super Kings have been a consistent and dominant force throughout the IPL 2019 and the side did not experiment much in the playing 11. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, may go with an extra spinner in their playing 11, given the slow nature of Chepauk wicket. The winner of the clash will get a ticket for the finals while the loser will get another chance -- Qualifier 2 -- to reach the finals. Chennai would look to take home advantage but trapping Mumbai would not be an easy task as the visitors have variation in batting and bowl...

In match 52 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Friday. KKR are at the sixth spot in IPL 2019 points table with 10 points in 12 matches while KXIP are at the seventh spot with 10 points in as many matches due to low net run rate (NRR). The match is crucial for both the teams as a loss at this stage will diminish playoff chances. Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals have already qualified for the IPL 2019 playoffs while two spots are up for grab and an intense competition is underway between five teams. R Ashwin's Punjab would look to break the losing-streak but KKR, who defeated Mumbai Indians after putting up a mammoth 233-run target, would be high on confidence. Dinesh Karthik-led KKR lost 6 matches in a row after finally breaking the spell against Mumbai at the Wankhede in their previous match. Although KKR return to winning ways against Mumbai Indians in the...

After a brief two-match stint, Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Dale Steyn was on Thursday ruled out of the Indian Premier League owing to an inflammation in his shoulder. The veteran South African fast bowler, who had recently joined RCB as an replacement for injured Nathan Coulter-Nile, was forced to sit out of the match against Kings XI Punjab here on Wednesday after he picked up a niggle. "Dale Steyn has been prescribed with ample rest due to inflammation in his shoulder. On account of state of his health, Dale will not be available to take part further in the ongoing season of IPL," Sanjeev Churiwala, Chairman of RCB, said in a statement. The injury-prone pacer had returned to the IPL after a gap of two years and straight away contributed to team's winning cause by picking up four wickets in two games -- against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

In match 43 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. KKR are at the sixth spot in the IPL 2019 points table while RR are at number seven. Both KKR and RR lost their previous matches against SRH and DC respectively. Dinesh Karthik-led KKR are struggling to stay afloat after five defeats on the trot and will have to win remaining four league stage matches to keep their hopes alive. Rajasthan Royals, who replaced Steve Smith in place of Ajinkya Rahane as the skipper, did not have a good season and are virtually out of the playoffs contention. Kinght Riders likely to make some changes in KKR playing 11, bringing in Kuldeep Yadav after drubbing from Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match. Once seen as one of the strongest contenders for the playoffs, KKR veered off from the the track and are yet to make a recovery. With five losses in a row, the side is under pressure and over-rel...

In Match 42 of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will host Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Belatedly getting into the groove with back-to-back victories, Royal Challengers would look to continue their winning momentum when they take on Kings XI. RCB must be all fired up after posting a one-run win over a the formidable Chennai Super Kings and would be desperate to keep the juggernaut rolling. Having survived a brutal assault at the hands of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in their previous game, they should have gained some confidence. On the other hand, KXIP have slumped to the fifth spot in the IPL points table 2019 after Delhi Capitals defeated them by 5 wickets in Match 37 of IPL 2019. KXIP will again look to make some changes in their playing 11 as they have been changing and chopping their team according to conditions. Although AB de Villiers and Kohli did not click with the bat, the failure would prom...

In match 41 of the VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Chennai Super Kings will host Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. MS Dhoni's Chennai are at the second spot of the IPL 2019 points table while Kane Williamson-led Hyderabad is at the fourth spot. Chennai have lost two consecutive matches while Hyderabad pulled a 9-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders to continue their winning run. Dhoni faces an important task of sorting the batting order as Chennai is heavily dependent on him if opening batsmen fail to score. If Chennai win the match, their ticket for the playoffs will be confirmed. SRH's story has been the same throughout IPL 2019, only the openers -- David Warner and Jonny Bairstow -- have delivered among batsmen for the team and if they fail to score, the middle order takes no time in collapsing. If Chennai manage to breach the protection SRH openers provide, they can easily take control of the match while S...

Parthiv Patel, the man whose direct hit gave Royal Challengers Bangalore an improbable one-run win over Chennai Super Kings, said he was left quite surprised when Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed hitting the last ball of the cliffhanger. Patel wasn't expecting a marauding Dhoni to miss Umesh Yadav's slower delivery before his direct throw sealed it for the home team on Sunday night. Dhoni scored 24 off the first five balls of the final over before missing the last ball. A scramble for one run ended in Parthiv's direct throw leaving Shardul Thakur short of his crease. "We honestly wanted him (Dhoni) to hit through the off-side on the shorter side of the ground. If he had hit it on the leg-side, there were two runs because I don't think the way he runs, there was any chance of stopping those two," an elated Patel said at the post-match press conference. "So we wanted (Umesh) to bowl slower and outside the off-stump and surprisingly he missed it. I ...

In match 40 of the VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Rajasthan Royals (RR) will host Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday. Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals are third in the IPL 2019 Point Table while Rajasthan Royals are at the seventh spot. Playing conditions for Delhi will be similar to their home ground, as the track in Sawai Mansingh Stadium is usually slow and spin-friendly.If Delhi defeats Rajasthan, their place in the playoffs would be almost confirmed while Rajasthan would look to add more victory in their kitty. Steve Smith has been handed the captaincy of Rajasthan who have won just three of the nine matches they have played so far and they would look to improve their position in the points table. Ajinkya Rahane was replaced by Steve Smith as RR captain after the team performed poorly in IPL 2019. The side managed to beat Mumbai Indians in their home ground. Rahane did feature in the RR playing 11 and will continue to do s...

In match 34 of the VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Delhi Capitals (DC) will host Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in New Delhi on Thursday. The recent shuffling in the 2019 IPL points table has sent Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals at the second spot while Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians are just behind them at the third. Delhi's key batsman Rishabh Pant will be the cynosure of all eyes after his exclusion from India's 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in May. On the eve of the match, Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer suffered an injury scare when he was hit on the right arm during training at Feroz Shah Kotla. There was no official update given on the extent of his injury. However, in his absence, Shikhar Dhawan might lead the Delhi Capitals. But Iyer's absence will be felt in the DC's playing 11 as he is leading run-getter in for Delhi with 266 runs at an average of 33.25 The contest between the two sides holds...

In match 33 of the VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will host Rajsthan Royals (RR) at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday. Kings XI Punjab slipped to fifth spot after suffering back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively while Rajsthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians at Wankhede by four wickets and are currently placed at the seventh spot with two wins from seven matches. R Ashwin's KXIP have its batsmen in form but their bowlers have not been able to strike and save runs for the team. For Rajasthan, the batting side looks solid with Jos Buttler in complete control and he will be on KXIP's target list as his early dismissal would be crucial. Ajinkya Rahane's Rajasthan have one of the best playing 11 line-up yet they have performed poorly in the IPL 2019, the side would look to eliminate minor flaws in decision making to convert a decent overall show to victory. In their last game a...

In match 32 of the VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Mumbai Indians (MI) will host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. Virat Kohli's RCB registered their first victory in IPL 2019 by defeating Kings XI Punjab on Saturday and they'd be high on confidence with first points on the IPL 2019 points table. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians lost their last match against Rajasthan Royals despite scoring 187 runs as Jos Buttler's quickfire 89 overshadowed their efforts. As usual, It will rain runs in Wankhede so both the teams will have to pick bowlers in their playing 11 very carefully because wickets are the only key. RCB is tight on bowlers as they usually keep just enough bowlers to complete the 20-over per side quota, hence, they'd have to bring in some variation to tackle the formidable batting line-up of Mumbai Indians in which a tail-ender can also hit a six or two. Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is back...

In Match 26 of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata Friday. Andre Russell's big-hitting prowess will challenge Kagiso Rabada's inch-perfect yorkers for the second time in IPL 2019 as DC will look shed away their inconsistent run. Kolkata Knight Riders are placed at the second position in IPL points table 2019 with eight points from six matches. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals had an inconsistent run in IPL 2019 and they are at sixth position in IPL 2019 points table with six points. It was a thrilling Super Over that decided the tie in their first meeting in IPL 2019, with Delhi riding another Rabada special in that one over to victory. Russell had smashed a whirlwind 28-ball 62 to help KKR post 185/8 but Shaw scored 99 to tie the game for Delhi before Rabada bowled perfect yorkers to defend 10 runs and seal the deal. Andre Russell has amassed 257 runs from five innings, out of ...

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni escaped a ban and was let off with a 50 per cent fine on his match fee for an unprecedented confrontation with the on-field umpire during the IPL encounter against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. In a rare instance, Dhoni, who was not even meant to be on the field of play, lost his cool and rushed out of the dug-out to challenge umpire Ulhas Gandhe after he flip-flopped on a no ball on Thursday night. "MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, was fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the VIVO Indian Premier League's (IPL) Code of Conduct during his team's match against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur," the BCCI stated. Gandhe had tried to rule a waist-high full toss as no ball by RR all-rounder Ben Stokes. But he reversed his decision after square leg umpire Bruce Oxenford did not signal for it. "Dhoni admitted to the Level 2 offence 2.20 of the IPL's Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction...

In match 25 of the VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Ajinkya Rahane-led Rajasthan Royals will host MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday. Rajasthan Royals have struggled in the tournament with just two wins off five matches.They have failed to make the most of home ground advantage as they lost against KKR in their last match. Chennai is at the top of IPL 2019 points table with five wins in 6 matches and they would look to continue with the winning spree. Problems are aplenty for Rajasthan as the side has not been able to convert a good show into victory and with the opposition like CSK, they will have to sweat hard to break the losing spell. Dwayne Bravo might make a comeback after he was injured and rested for two matches. Overall, the side also demolished an equally strong Kolkata Knight Riders and it must be planning to grab early wickets to derail RR's strong batting line-up. Here are the playing 11 probabl...

More than any other format in cricket, Twenty20 is premised on the superiority of the batsman over the bowler. Even the most-skilled practitioner with the ball gets merely 24 deliveries to have a say on the match. But if a destructive batsman is present for 120 balls, you would bet that his team will go on to win the game. Royal Challengers Bangalore is a team built on this imbalance. It's not that skipper Virat Kohli and the team management are not aware of the various ways in which a successful T20 team could be composed. Rather, it is their insuperable belief that might with the willow will deliver the loudest blow. It is an approach that has worked for RCB in the past, most notably in 2016 when the franchise reached the Indian Premier League final. Since then, however, the Virat Kohli-led side has won only nine of its 34 matches. This season, RCB has already emulated the worst ever start to an IPL campaign by losing its first six matches. Any hopes of making the playo...

In Match 24 of VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL 2019), Mumbai Indians will host Kings XI Punjab at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. KXIP come to the match with three consecutive wins in their home ground, while Mumbai Indians defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous encounter. Mumbai Indians’ pacer Joseph Alazzari took six for 12--the best bowling figure in IPL history. Rohit Sharma will look to lead by example at the top of the batting order along with Quinton de Kock after failing to put on a quality show so far. While KXIP are placed at the third spot in IPL points table 2019 with four wins from six games, MI are fifth with three wins from five games. With the league closing in on the middle stage, each team will now look to grab the advantage and surge forward. The main concern for Mumbai Indians are form of their batters at the top as they don’t have anyone in the top-20 run-scorers' list in IPL 2019. However, they have a superior fast bowling attack bols...

In match 23 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. It's set to be an interesting clash as Dinesh Karthik-led KKR is at the top of IPL 2019 points table while MS Dhoni-led CSK is at number two. Both Chennai and Kolkata won their last match against Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively and they would look to extend lead as IPL 2019 approaches half-stage. For CSK, there is uncertainty over Dwayne Bravo's inclusion in the playing 11 as he missed the last match due to injury. It will be a clash of two strong sides and Chennai would require the service of all-rounder Bravo to counter Andre Russell's rampaging. Chennai brought in Faf du Plessis, Scott Kuggeleijn and Harbhajan Singh in place of Dwanye Bravo, Shardul thakur and Mohit Sharma and it worked well as du Plessis smashed a half-century and Harbhajan picked two wickets in his fir...