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Dhoni mania as IPL heads into tense final week

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The Indian Premier League enters its playoff phase this week and Chennai Super Kings will host Gujarat Titans on Tuesday in front of a home crowd desperate to see MS Dhoni win another Indian Premier League.

A packed house is expected at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium and all eyes will be on the 41-year-old Dhoni, AFP reported.

Four-time champions Chennai host table-toppers Gujarat in the first playoff of this season's IPL, with the winner going into Sunday's final. The loser goes into another playoff match.

Fans have turned up in large numbers at every venue to watch Dhoni, the Chennai skipper and former India captain who is expected to retire from cricket at the end of this campaign.

He retired from national duty in 2020.

Dhoni has kept fans guessing and not explicitly said he expects to call it quits when the end of the season arrives at some point over the next week.

The wicketkeeper-batsman has reinvented himself this term as a lower-order batsman coming in at number eight.

"This is what my job is," he said after hitting a nine-ball 20 in a late cameo to help Chennai defeat Delhi earlier this month.

"I have told them (his team) this is what I am supposed to do, don't make me run a lot, and it has been working."

Dhoni's likely farewell is one of a number of subplots heading into the final week of the Twenty20 extravaganza.

Opponents Gujarat have extended their fairy tale journey from winning the crown in their debut season last year to making the play-offs once again.

"Last year we did well, everything went our way," said skipper Hardik Pandya, who then guided Gujarat to the top of the 10-team table in the regular season this year.

"This year was a different challenge for us. We were expecting people to challenge us. The boys showed tremendous character."

Opener Shubman Gill has led the way with his 680 runs, second only in this IPL to Faf du Plessis at Bangalore on 730, but with a chance now to grab the Orange Cap for top-scorer.

He struck his second straight ton on Sunday to play another match-winning role for a team which triumphed in 10 of their 14 group matches.

If Gujarat make the final they will again enjoy home advantage playing at the 132,000-capacity stadium in Ahmedabad.

Green justifies price tag

On Wednesday, five-time champions Mumbai Indians, led by India skipper Rohit Sharma, take on Lucknow Super Giants in another playoff.

The winner of that match will play the loser of Chennai-Gujarat on Friday for a spot in Sunday's final at the world's biggest cricket stadium.

Mumbai rode on Australian all-rounder Cameron Green's maiden T20 century in a crushing win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday to sneak into the playoffs.

Green's 47-ball 100 not out and a 56 by Rohit in Mumbai's successful chase of 201 has suddenly made the IPL heavyweights, who last won the IPL in 2020, favorites in the knockout clash against Lucknow.

The 23-year-old Green was the second-most expensive player in IPL history when Mumbai bought him for $2.11 million in this season's auction.

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Afghanistan clinches ODI series victory against Zimbabwe

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Afghanistan's national cricket team triumphed over Zimbabwe by 8 wickets in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) to claim the series victory.

In a dominant bowling display, Afghanistan dismissed Zimbabwe for just 127 runs in 30.1 overs. The Afghan batsmen then chased down the target comfortably in 26.5 overs, losing only 2 wickets along the way.

The standout performer of the match was Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, who took a remarkable 5 wickets, while Rashid Khan supported with 3 wickets. Azmatullah Omarzai and Farid Ahmad each claimed 1 wicket.

The first match of the series was abandoned due to rain, but Afghanistan bounced back strongly in the second match, securing a commanding 232-run victory.

This series win follows Afghanistan's earlier success in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, further cementing their dominance in international cricket.

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Bangla Tigers lift Lanka T10 Super League title

Player of the match and player of the series was Titan’s skipper Dasun Shanaka.

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Hambantota Bangla Tigers beat favorites Jaffna Titans by 26 runs in Thursday’s Lanka T10 Super League final at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.

The Tigers produced a fine all-round performance to beat the Titans, who had won all their matches in the lead up to the final.

Player of the match and player of the series was Titan’s skipper Dasun Shanaka.

Hambantota Bangla Tigers, put into bat first, posted 133 for seven from their allotted 10 overs through some useful contributions from their top order batsmen.

The openers Mohammad Shahzad and Kusal Perera added 35 runs from 2.4 overs before they suffered a middle order collapse and reached 59 for three at the halfway stage of the innings.

However, skipper Dasun Shanaka and Shevon Daniel revived the innings with a fourth-wicket partnership of 44 runs in three overs.

Shanaka made 21 with two sixes and two boundaries while Daniel struck 26 with one six and three boundaries before Kennar Lewis and Dhananjaya Lakshan added the finishing touches.

Chasing 133 runs for victory, Jaffna Titans lost wickets at regular intervals and they eventually finished at 107 for six despite a fighting unbeaten half century from middle order batsman Tom Abell.
Richard Gleeson wrecked the Hambantota Bangla Tigers’ innings with excellent figures of three wickets for 21 while Shanaka captured two wickets for four runs.

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Afghanistan crush Zimbabwe by 232 runs in second ODI

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Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by 232 runs in the second ODI on Thursday to secure a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Sent to bat first by Zimbabwe who won the toss, Afghanistan posted 286-6 in Harare.

Sediqullah Atal scored 104, his first hundred in an international match. Abdul Malik followed with 84.

In reply, Zimbabwe scored 54 runs before being bowled out in the 17.5 overs.

Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Naweed Zadran took three wickets each. Fazlullah Farooqi picked up two wickets and Azmatullah Omarzai one.

This was the second match of the ODI series between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. The first was abandoned due to rain.

The third and final game of the series will be played on Saturday.

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