Sport

IPL: Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by five runs

Published

2 years ago

April 6, 2023

(Last Updated On: )

Skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 86 and four wickets by Nathan Ellis helped Punjab Kings to their second straight IPL victory with a tense five-run win over Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday night in Guwahati.

Punjab rode on the left-handed Dhawan’s 56-ball knock and his 90-run opening stand with Prabhsimran Singh, who hit 60, to post 197-4 after being invited to bat first, AFP reported.

Australia’s Ellis, an up and coming pace bowler, then shined in his second game of his IPL debut season to return figures of 4-30 and keep down Rajasthan to 192-7 but not after a scare.

Shimron Hetmyer (36) and impact player Dhruv Jurel (32 not out) put on a dangerous stand of 61 off 26 balls to lift Rajasthan from a precarious 124-6 and raise hopes of a turnaround.

But the asking rate proved too much and Hetmyer run out in the final over, which started with Rajasthan needing 16, sealed the deal for Punjab with Sam Curran keeping calm in the 20th over.

Rajasthan lost two early wickets to Arshdeep Singh’s left-arm pace and Ellis soon took over when he sent back Jos Buttler with his caught and bowled.

Ellis soon cut short Samson’s knock on 42 and took down Riyan Parag for 20 on successive balls between overs to be on a hat-trick saved by Hetmyer.

Earlier Prabhsimran set the tone for Punjab’s domination as the 22-year-old talent hit his maiden IPL fifty and struck three sixes.

Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa injured his hand after getting hit on his forearm at the non-strikers end from the batsman’s shot and retired hurt on one.

Dhawan took time to get into the groove and allowed his younger partner to take center stage as Prabhsimran smashed the bowlers around in his 34-ball knock.

He finally fell to a stunning outfield catch by Buttler who covered good ground from long-off to take a diving catch as his elbows hit the ground. Jason Holder was the bowler.

Dhawan stood firm and soon changed gears to take on the bowlers as he hit three boundaries in one over off Yuzvendra Chahal who was later substituted by Jurel under the new “impact player” rule.

Buttler took another good outfield catch but injured his finger in the process and came to bat one down instead of his usual opening slot.

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Afghanistan qualify for U19 Cricket World Cup 2026

Published

4 days ago

April 19, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Afghanistan’s U19 cricket team has officially qualified for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, following the final day washout in the Asia Qualifiers.

After securing three big wins in their first three games, today’s match against Nepal U19s was washed out. Thanks to their superior Net Run Rate, Afghanistan U19s topped the table and book their berth in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, which will take place early next year in Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Sport

Afghanistan U-19 cricket team defeats UAE

Published

7 days ago

April 16, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Afghanistan’s national under-19 cricket team defeated the United Arab Emirates by 180 runs on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the group stage at the ICC Men’s U19 CWC Asia Qualifiers.

In this match, Afghanistan scored 359 runs for the loss of only 4 wickets at the end of 50 overs.

This marks Afghanistan’s third consecutive victory in the regional group stage.

Previously, they had defeated Hong Kong and Oman by 8 wickets each.

Afghanistan is set to face the host nation, Nepal, on Saturday (April 19) in what will be their final group-stage match.

The winner of that game is likely to secure a spot in the 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup.

Sport

IPL 2025 Orange and Purple Cap leaderboards: Kuldeep moves up to No. 3

Here’s how things look on the run-scorers’ and wicket-takers’ tables after Sunday’s matches

Published

1 week ago

April 14, 2025

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: )

Following Sunday’s double-header in this year’s Indian Premier League, a few batters have gained places in the Purple Cap leaderboard. No change was made in the Orange Cap leaderboard.

Orange Cap leaderboard

There is no change in the top three on the run-scorers’ table but a few batters have gained places. Nicholas Pooran is still the No. 1, having accumulated 349 runs in six innings.

This is followed by Gujarat Titans’ B Sai Sudharsan, who has 329 runs, and Mitchell Marsh, at No. 3 with 265 runs despite missing LSG’s last game.

Beyond the top three, 11 other batters have crossed the 200-mark.

Notably, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Virat Kohli who has advanced places to be fifth behind Shreyas Iyer (250 runs) after his 62 not out off 45 balls against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sunday’s afternoon game.

He is two runs shy of Shreyas.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav’s 28-ball 40 in Mumbai Indians’ 12-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) has taken his tally to 239.

Purple Cap leaderboard

Noor Ahmad and Shardul Thakur remain the top two in the list but there’s a new bowler at No. 3: Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep was DC’s best bowler on Sunday, picking up two wickets and leaking just 5.75 an over as MI posted 205 for 5. He now has ten wickets and an overall economy rate of 5.60, better than the other bowlers with same number of wickets in the list.

Hardik Pandya, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed also stay on ten wickets.

Hardik couldn’t move up after going wicketless for the first time in this IPL, against DC.

Monday’s match

Today’s match, Monday April 14, will see Lucknow Super Giants take on Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow. This match is expected to deliver a thrilling battle for fans as MS Dhoni will lead the Chennai Super Kings team – much to the fans’ pleasure.
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Dhoni is however poised to hit a batting milestone, which could be reached today. Dhoni needs only 39 runs to reach a 4,000 T20 run tally in India. Commentators expect thunderous celebrations by Dhoni’s fans in the stadium if he hits the mark.

For fans across Afghanistan, this exciting match will be broadcast live and exclusively in the country by Ariana Television. Fans can tune in from 5:30 pm.