LONDON: Do you blame the proximity of the Indian Premier League (IPL)? Is the pressure suffocating? Can they find a new, more liberating way to approach the game? Rohit Sharma answered some of these questions as the Indian captain tried to come to terms with yet another ICC knock-out loss. It’s their eight since their last global title (2013 Champions Trophy). Excerpts of the press conference…

We have told the boys to play freely. We want to do something different. Obviously, we have played so many ICC tournaments and have not won yet. So, our effort is to play in a different way and try to do something different. We have been thinking that this match is important, this event is important and things are not happening (not resulting in winning titles). So obviously We will have to think differently and do things differently. Our message and focus will be on trying to do something different.  

It is disappointing to not come out on top. You get dejected. There is no doubt about it. It does disappoint not just me, but I’m sure everyone in the changing room is disappointed because you work really hard for it. It can be very disheartening. And that is what everyone’s feeling right now. But sport is all about picking yourself up and getting ready for the next big event that you have. Because, you know, of course, you can dwell on what went wrong, what you can do. There are a lot of things that we as a team… we are trying, playing with different combinations, certain guys in the squad as well. But yeah, it is disappointing, but you got to keep picking yourself and try and get ready for the next one. Because if you keep thinking about that, it’s not going to help you move forward.

I would love that (a three-match series). But is there time (smiles)? That’s the big question. But honestly, in a big event like this, you need to have fair opportunities to both teams. You know, a three-match series would be nice, but it’s about finding that window where it can fit in. But I would love to have – in an event like this, you work hard for two years and then you have only one shot at it. So, it’s not really – you cannot get into that momentum that you need in Test cricket. You know, Test cricket is all about finding that rhythm, finding that momentum as well. So, I think, yeah if in the next cycle, if it is possible, a three-match series would be ideal.

Yeah, ideally, we would want to have time in hand to prepare and give enough rest to the bowlers. Sometimes it can be tough because playing T20 cricket, you completely bowl different lengths, different lines, lot of change-ups. And then Test cricket obviously requires a lot of discipline, hitting that area consistently and challenging the batsmen – but again you know (Mohammed) Shami, (Mohammed) Siraj, Umesh (Yadav), they all are experienced, they obviously know how to prepare themselves and get ready for a game like this. But in an ideal scenario, yes, I would prefer it if we have 20-25 days to prepare for a game like this.

There are a lot of experienced players in the team. You cannot really teach them how to bat. It’s all about getting yourself ready. I don’t want to be too critical. The reason I say that is because when we were here last time (the 2021 series), a lot of the senior batters actually put their hand up and got us ahead in the series. But yeah, when you have in your top six, you know, five or six batters who have experience in these conditions before and couldn’t go on to get big runs… that is what probably cost us.

When it was put to Sharma that, as things stand, the final will always be played after IPL, the Indian captain pointed out that the final could be played in any part of the world and at any time of the season. “June is not the only month we should play the finals,” he said. “It can be played any time of the year and anywhere in the world, not just in England.
Why can’t it be in March?”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) like this window to play in the final. So much so that they have already announced that Lord’s will hold the next edition in 2025. One wonders if Sharma, if he stays as captain, will take up the issue with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). 

CHENNAI: Four-time champions Chennai Super Kings beat Gujarat Titans by 15 runs in the Qualifier 1 to enter final of the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

Defending champions GT will get another chance to reach the final as they play the winner of the Eliminator in Qualifier 2 at Ahmedabad on Friday.

Sent in to bat, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad top-scored with a 44-ball 60 as Chennai Super Kings posted a competitive 172 for seven.

In reply, GT were all out for 157 in 20 overs.

Shubman Gill (42) looked in good touch but none of the other batters could get going.

In the end, Rashid Khan (30) made a late attempt before losing his wicket.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings: 172 for 7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 60; Mohammed Shami 2/28).

Gujarat Titans: 157 all out in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 42; Ravindra Jadeja 2/18, Deepak Chahar 2/29).

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has decided to upgrade the security cover of former Indian cricket team captain and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to the Z category, a senior official said.

The decision was taken on Tuesday following the expiry of the tenure of Y category security provided to Ganguly.

“As the security cover of the VVIP expired, a review was done as per the protocol and it was decided to raise Ganguly’s security cordon to the Z category,” he said

As per the new security arrangement, the former cricketer will have 8 to 10 police personnel guarding him, the official said.

Under the Y category security cover, Ganguly used to get three policemen from the Special Branch in his cordon and an equal number of law enforcers guarding his Behala residence.

On Tuesday, representatives of the state secretariat reached Ganguly’s Behala office where they held a meeting with officers from Kolkata Police headquarters Lalbazar and the local police station, he added.

“Ganguly is currently travelling with his team Delhi Daredevils and will return to Kolkata on May 21. He will start getting Z category security from that very day,” the official said.

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Governor C V Ananda Bose and Trinamool Congress MP and national secretary Abhishek Banerjee get Z Plus security while ministers such as Firhad Hakim and Moloy Ghatak have been provided with Z category security.

BJP’s West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar is also provided with Z Plus security cover along with CISF protection.

CHENNAI: Skipper Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh slammed the fifties apiece en route to a 99-run match-winning stand to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to a comfortable six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

Rana remained unbeaten on 57 off 44 balls while Rinku made 54 off 43 deliveries to set up KKR’s chase of 145 runs after they lost their first three wickets for 33 runs inside the fifth over.

KKR finished at 147 for four in 18.3 overs with Rana leading from the front after making the most of a dropped chance.

KKR’s cause was helped to a large extent by a superb bowling effort earlier by spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, who did superbly and picked up two wickets each.

The defeat also puts on hold CSK’s chances of sealing a play-off berth as the home side is in second spot with 15 points.

KKR, on the other hand, moved to 12 points with a match to play but their hopes rest on other results.

Rana and Rinku, both left-handers, showed necessary skills and patience on a tacky pitch to negate the impact of CSK spinners after the home team had posted a moderate 144 for six in 20 overs.

The match-winning partnership between Rana and Rinku ended when the latter was run out by a direct hit from Moeen Ali.

CSK spinners — Ravindra Jadeja, Maheesh Theekshana and Moeen — could not do any damage after Deepak Chahar had provided the initial breakthroughs to leave KKR at 33 for 3.

CSK struck an early blow when Chahar got Rahmanullah Gurbaz (1) as he failed to keep his square-drive down and was well caught by Tushar Deshpande close to the boundary.

After six overs, KKR were 46 for three with Chahar having picked up all the three wickets to fall — Gurbaz, Jason Roy (12) and Venkatesh Iyer (9).

Rana got a life on 18 when Matheesha Pathirana dropped a catch running in from the boundary off Moeen.

In the 13th over bowled by Moeen, Rana played two superb shots on the off-side to pick up boundaries and followed it up with a few more cracking strikes in the 15th over by Maheesh Theekshana.

Earlier, talismanic Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to drop down the order backfired as CSK lost wickets at regular intervals to be restricted to the modest score.

Dhoni, who came out to bat no.7 position, remained unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls.

Opting to bat, CSK were 72 for five in in the 11th over before Shivam Dube underlined his utility, hammering a 34-ball 48 (1×4, 3x6s) to help the hosts somewhat recuperate in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (20 off 24).

The duo shared 68-run stand for the sixth wicket to take CSK close to the 150-run mark, which at one point of time looked out of reach on a sluggish pitch.

Spin duo of Narine (2/15) and Chakravarthy (2/36) were the pick of the bowlers for KKR and they were ably supported by Shardul Thakur (3-0-15-1) did and Vaibhav Arora (1/30).

CSK were 99 for five after 16 overs as KKR bowlers, especially the spinners, kept things tight and struck at regular intervals.

Narine and Chakravarthy did the damage in the middle of the innings before Dube and Jadeja launched a fightback.

After a quick start, Chakravarthy broke through for KKR, getting Ruturaj Gaikwad (17, 13 balls, 2×4) to edge one to Arora in the fourth over as CSK raced away to 31 in the fourth over.

Devon Conway and Ajinkya Rahane maintained the pace of scoring, despite not going bang-bang, and scored 52 runs in the first six overs.

Conway earned a reprieve when he got a LBW decision overturned via DRS after being adjudged out off Chakravarthy.

Rahane fell trying to force the pace, unable to clear the boundary off Chakravarthy.

Conway top-edged a pull to Rinku Singh in the deep off Thakur after making 30.

Ambati Rayudu’s poor season continued as he fell for just 4 to give Narine his first wicket.

The West Indian spinner then castled a struggling Moeen (1) to reduce CSK to 72 for 5 in the 11th over.

JAIPUR: Captain Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell scored half-centuries to help Royal Challengers Bangalore post a competitive 171 for five against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.

Opting to bat, du Plessis (55 off 44) and Maxwell (54 of 33) stitched a 69-run partnership for the second wicket.

But the middle order once again failed to fire as RCB lost four wickets for just 18 runs.

Spinner Adam Zampa and medium pacer KM Asif picked two wickets apiece for Rajasthan.

Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore: 171 for 5 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 55, Glenn Maxwell 54; Adam Zampa 2/25; KM Asif 2/42).

NEW DELHI: Senior India batter KL Rahul has undergone a successful surgery on his injured right thigh and is looking forward to a return to the national side as quickly as possible.

The 31-year-old suffered the thigh injury while fielding for Indian Premier League his side Lucknow Super Giants against Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier this month. He was subsequently ruled out of the lucrative T20 tournament and next month’s World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in England.

“Hi everyone, I just got done with my surgery. It was successful,” Rahul wrote on his social media handles.

“A big thank you to the doctors and medical staff for making sure I was comfortable and everything went smoothly,” the LSG skipper added.

Rahul, who was replaced by Ishan Kishan in the Indian squad for the WTC final scheduled at The Oval from June 7-12, added he was “determined” to return to the field.

“I am officially on the road to recovery now. I am determined to get back to my best and get back on the field. Onwards and upwards,” he said.

Rahul, an all-format player, will target a return to the national setup in time for the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup in India later this year.

NEW DELHI: Renowned Australian coach Anthony Farry has been appointed as the analytical coach of the Indian women’s hockey team while South African Rhett Halkett will perform the same role with the men’s team, Hockey India announced on Friday.

The national federation also announced other support staff members for both the teams.

Farry, under whose supervision Canada men’s team qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics and who also helped Japan women win their maiden Asuian Games gold medal in 2018, will assist head coach Janneke Schopman in his new role.

Farry also helped Canada U-21 men’s team qualify for two consecutive editions of the Junior World Cups and was the head coach and High Performance Director of USA women’s side from August 2020 to April 2022.

Besides Farry and Halkett, Hockey India also announced Australian Alan Tan’s appointment as scientific advisor to the national men’s team.

Both Halkett and Tan will be a part of the coaching set up of the men’s team led by newly-appointed chief coach Craig Fulton of South Africa.

Rhett earned 155 international caps between 2010 and 2018 for South Africa.

In 2020, he was assistant coach of the Netherlands women’s side before moving to Scotland, where he coached both the senior as well as the U-21 outfits.

Tan, meanwhile, comes with over 10 years of experience working as the strength and conditioning coach at the New South Wales Institute of Sport.

“We welcome the new coaching staff for the Indian men and women teams.

On behalf of Hockey India, I thank Sports Authority of India for processing their appointments on an immediate basis and appreciate their continued support in preparing the Indian teams for the upcoming Asian Games in China in 2023,” HI president Dilip Tirkey said.

HYDERABAD: Rajasthan Royals made a rousing start to the IPL-16, thrashing Sunrisers Hyderabad by 72 runs, here on Sunday.

Put into bat, last season’s runners-up RR got off to a flier with T20 World Cup-winning England skipper Jos Buttler smacking 54 off 22 balls (7×4, 3×6).

Promising uncapped Indian Yashasvi Jaiswal made an identical 54 (37b; 9×4), while skipper Sanju Samson top-scored with 55 (32b; 3×4, 4×6) as RR posted the season’s highest total of 203 for 5.

In reply, the home side managed 131 for 8 in the stipulated 20 overs.

For Sunrisers Hyderabad, T Natarajan (3-0-23-2) was the pick of the bowler and dragged the Royals back in a tidy penultimate over where he dismissed Samson and gave away just seven runs.

Left-arm Afghan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi returned with 2 for 41 from his four overs.

In reply, the home side lost two wickets without opening the account with Trent Boult inflicting the double blow in the first over en route his splendid figures of 4-1-21-2.

Thereafter, Indian wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal made hay in his 4-0-17-4 to have them reeling at 95 for 8.

Just when they looked to fold inside 100 runs, the Jammu and Kashmir duo of Adul Samad (32 not out; 32b) and Umran Malik (19 not out; 8b) produced some late fireworks to take them to a respectable 131 for 8.

Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals: 203 for 5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 55, Yashasvi Jaiswal 54, Jos Buttler 54; T Natarajan 2/23, Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/41) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad: 131 for 8 in 20 overs (Abdul Samad 32 not out; Yuzvendra Chahal 4/17, Trent Boult 2/21) by 72 runs.

BENGALURU: Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis dished out a chasing master class with a 148-run opening partnership as Royal Challengers Bangalore made a sensational start to their IPL campaign with a comprehensive eight-wicket demolition of Mumbai Indians here on Sunday.

Sent into bat, Tilak Varma smashed a scintillating 84 off 46 balls to single-handedly power MI to 171 for seven but Kohli and du Plessis made mockery of the total, slamming twin fifties as RCB romped home with as many as 22 balls to spare.

Chasing 172, Kohli (82 not out) and Du Plessis (73) produced an exhibition of sublime stroke-making, plundering 10 boundaries and as many maximums during their near flawless 89-ball stand.

After du Plessis perished in the 15th over, Kohli completed the job, hitting a four and six off Arshad Khan to knock off the winning runs to hand MI their 11th consecutive defeat inn their first match of the season.

MI brought in Jason Behrendorff in place of Suryakumar Yadav as their impact player but it didn’t work as he and his new-ball partner Arshad was taken to the cleaners by Kohli and du Plessis, racking up 30 in three overs.

If Behrendorff was smacked for successive sixes by du Plessis, Kohli blasted a four and six off Jofra Archer after being dropped by the bowler in the first ball.

Veteran spinner Piyush Chawla was then introduced but du Plessis sent him across the extra cover, while Kohli pulled one across the midwicket off Archer as RCB scored 53 in six overs.

Cameron Green was then taken apart with du Plessis hitting two fours and a maximum.

The skipper repeated the treatment to Hrithik Shokeen with two maximums to reach his fifty.

Kohli then whacked Chawla over long-on to bring up the team hundred before reaching his individual fifty in the 12th over.

Jason Behrendorff bled 16 runs in the next with du Plessis cracking a six and a four.

Kohli then pulled Archer over deep square leg as runs kept coming thick and fast.

MI picked up du Plessis and Dinesh Kartik (0) in the fag end but it was too late as Glenn Maxwell (12 not out off 3 balls) and Kohli finished off things in style.

Earlier, MI had a poor start but Varma, coming off a successful last season, held the innings together with a sensational knock.

RCB bowlers had reduced MI to 20 for three in 5.2 overs but Varma added 50 and 48 with Nehal Wadhera (21) and Arshad Khan (15 not out) for the fifth and eighth wickets respectively.

The 20-year-old decorated his knock with nine boundaries and four sixes.

Ishan Kishan smashed two fours before being removed by Mohammed Siraj with an outswinger, while Cameron Green was dismissed by Recce Topley, who took his first IPL wicket.

Rohit got a life when Siraj and Dinesh Kartik collided while going for the catch in the fifth over.

However, the India skipper couldn’t capitalise as Akash Deep induced an edge to reduce MI to 20 for 3 in 5.2 overs.

Varma then came to bat and slammed a big hit over long-on to take MI to 29 for three in the powerplay.

In the eighth over, Topley left the field after suffering a shoulder injury while diving to stop a boundary off Varma’s bat.

Suryakumar Yadav, who has been in poor form, too perished after a start, hitting straight to Shahbaz Ahmed.

However, Varma continued to bat with confidence, reverse-sweeping Michael Bracewell for a four before hitting a six and four off Maxwell as 16 runs came off the 12th over.

Wadhera produced back-to-back maximums off Karn Sharma but the bowler had him caught by Kohli as MI slumped to 99 for five.

There was lot of expectations from Tim David but Karn Sharma cleaned him up when he tried to go for a big hit.

Du Plessis then produced a superb catch to get rid off Hrithik Shokeen as Harshal Patel got his first wicket of the season, leaving MI at 123 for 7 in 17.1 overs.

Varma, however, showed his temperament as he slammed Akash Deep over deep square leg for another maximum to reach his half century.

Siraj, who had figures of 3-0-5-1 after three overs, bowled the 19th over but he sent down five wides to stop Varma, who blasted two fours as MI reached 149 for seven following the 16-run over.

Varma then clobbered Harshal for two sixes and a four in the last over as 48 runs came in last 17 balls.

NEW DELHI: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) added a World Championship title to her name with a win over Mongolia’s Lutsaikhan Altansetseg at the marquee tournament here on Saturday.

The Indian put up a stupendous performance to see off Altansetseg 5-0 and claim the title for the minimum weight category in front of a packed crowd.

Nitu started off aggressively, and used her combination of punches effectively to eke out a win.

With this victory, Nitu, a 2022 Strandja Memorial gold medallist, became the sixth Indian boxer to be crowned world champion.

Six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006), Lekha KC (2006) and Nikhat Zareen (2022) are the other pugilists who have won the world title.