Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Kieron Pollard, Jasprit Bumrah, M Ashwin, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Sanjay Yadav, Ramandeep Singh, Aryan Juyal, Arjun Tendulkar, Tilak Varma, Hrithik Shokeen, Rahul Buddhi, Arshad Khan, Tymal Mills, Jofra Archer, Fabian Allen, Daniel Sams, Anmolpreet Singh, Tim David, Riley Meredith.

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Mahesh Theekshana, N Jagadeesan, Hari Nishaanth, Subhranshu Senapati, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Bhagath Varma, Prashant Solanki, Chris Jordan, Dwaine Pretorius, Devon Conway, Adam Milne, Mitchell Santner.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Kane Williamson, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Priyam Garg, Abdul Samad, Washington Sundar, Marco Jansen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Saurabh Dubey, Shashank Singh, Sean Abbott, R Samarth, J Suchith, Romario Shepherd, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

IPL Mega Auction: Ambani, Iyer, Karim give perspective on building teams in high demand time for domestic pacers

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Suyash Prabhudesai, Luvnith Sisodia, Aneeshwar Gautam, Jason Behrendorff, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Siddarth Kaul, Chama Milind, Mahipal Lomror, Sherfane Rutherford, Finn Allen.

Delhi Capitals: David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, KS Bharat, Mandeep Singh, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Khaleel Ahmed, Ashwin Hebbar, Ripal Patel, Yash Dhull, Vicky Ostwal, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Praveen Dubey, Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav.

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Jason Roy, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhinav Manohar, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Dominic Drakes, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudharshan.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Sam Billings, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Salam, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Aman Khan, Ramesh Kumar, Ashok Sharma, Tim Southee, Alex Hales, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh Yadav, B Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne.

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, K Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood, Dushmantha Chameera, Ankit Rajpoot, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Kyle Mayers, K Gowtham, Evin Lewis.

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Sandeep Sharma, Atharva Taide, Vaibhav Arora, Ansh Patel, Raj Angad Bawa, Benny Howell, Rishi Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Baltej Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Nathan Ellis, Prerak Mankad.

Rajasthan Royals: Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Tejas Baroka, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, James Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Karun Nair, Obed McCoy.

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By Gaurav Sharma

New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) Kings XI Punjab opener Lokesh Rahul praised the Indian Premier League (IPL) side's mentor Virender Sehwag, saying the former India star gave every player freedom to express themselves which helped to improve their game.

Led by star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Punjab kicked-off the 2018 season on a decent note, winning five of their first six games but faltered in the business end of the league.

"I did go up to Sehwag and spoke to him at different times. He kept his game very simple and that's his advice to all the players -- to go out, trust your gut feeling and enjoy the game with a smile on our face. That's the kind of freedom he has given to everybody, not just me, be it batsmen or bowlers," Rahul told IANS.

"And this is the brand of cricket we want to play as a team, not always keeping in mind the result. We want to be fearless and aggressive. In a tournament like the IPL, sometimes it will work and at other times it won't. But we have to keep going," the right-hand batsman added.

Under their new skipper, the Punjab side managed to win six out of their 14 league games to end their campaign at the penultimate spot in the IPL tally with 12 points.

"Ashwin, I think, has been great. He spends a lot of time with the youngsters. He makes it clear that he expects the team to be fearless and play with instinct," the 26-year-old said.

"He is quite proactive on the field, and has given players including me a lot of freedom to express myself on the field and give my best," he added.

The Karnataka batsman also praised swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle and said he is the most destructive T20 opener in the world.

"He is the most destructive T20 opener in the world. It is a privilege to open the batting with him and it makes my life so much easier," Rahul said.

Commenting about the Red Bull campus cricket, a university level competition which helped him grow as a cricketer, Rahul said: "Red Bull Campus Cricket was a game changer for me. It gave me the platform to express myself and grow as a cricketer. Due to injuries I was dropped from the state side and that time in 2013, Red Bull Campus Cricket played a prominent role in my development."

"I was thrilled to have had a good tournament and then get selected for Karnataka in Ranji. I have never looked back since," he added.

He said that Red Bull campus cricket also provides young cricketers a stage to express themselves, and provides a fair idea of the profession as they go higher up.

(Gaurav Sharma can be contacted at gaurav.sharma@ians.in)

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The 11th edition of the IPL closed on May 27 with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeating SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the finals.

CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the most talked about player and CSK the most talked team this season, Facebook said in a blog post late Tuesday.

The other most talked teams were Mumbai Indians and SRH.

Apart from Dhoni, other most talked about players were Suresh Raina from CSK, Virat Kohli from Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chris Gayle from Kings XI Punjab and Rohit Sharma from Mumbai Indians (MI).

Launched on April 6, the return of the Thala and the updated Whistle Podu anthem was the most loved post of the tournament.

MI bowler Mustafizur Rahman's wishes for Bengali New Year 'Shubho Nabo Barsho!' was the second-most loved post of the tournament.

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The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK side, which hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the summit clash of the cash-rich league on Sunday, had to shift base to Pune as protests erupted against the yellow brigade following the Cauvery water dispute here.

"Most of the plans were to build a team according to Chennai's conditions but those things weren't in our control," Fleming said at a press conference on Monday.

"Moving out of Chennai was a difficult decision. We knew the conditions of Pune. We had to change the way we had to play the game," the former New Zealand skipper added.

Significantly, just a single match was possible in Chennai before BCCI shifted the remaining home games of the three-time IPL champions citing security concerns.

"We knew the conditions in Chennai. The experience enabled us to do that. It was a big change but we had to get on with it," Fleming explained.

Chennai rode on all-rounder Shane Watson's scintillating 117-run unbeaten knock to hunt down the 179-run target against a team which boasted of the best bowling attack in the league.

Praising Watson, Fleming said: "We loved what Watson had done in the past and our discussion was of his future. We wanted him in a different way."

"Opening the batting and bowling a few overs. He's incredibly professional. He looked after himself and managed well," the coach added.

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Watson, who turns 37 next month, retired from international cricket in 2016 but on Sunday defied age to overcome a sluggish start and a hamstring problem and hammer an unbeaten 117 from just 57 balls in the IPL final, his second century of the tournament spurring CSK to the title.

Stoinis believes Watson was under appreciated by the Australian public during his 14-year international career and went on to say that the all-rounder could still dominate in the shortest format.

"He's still good enough to play for Australia, for sure," Stoinis told RSN, as reported by cricket.com.au.

"(But) I think he enjoys having family time. He played a lot of cricket for Australia in a demanding time, so I think he's just enjoying playing the odd tournament and then going back (to his family).

"We sat down over there (in India) and he's mentored me for a couple of years now. His hunger to keep getting better at the end of his career, it's no coincidence why he's so good.

"I don't think the Australian public realised how good he was when he was playing for Australia," added Stoinis, who plied his trade for the Kings XI Punjab in the just-concluded IPL.

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Mumbai, May 27 (IANS) Dousing the debate between age and experience, Chennai Super Kings' skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni put "fitness" ahead of any other factor for success.

As his side lifted the third Indian Premier League (IPL) title on Sunday, hammering Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets, he opined that its the fitness of players which matters the most.

"We talked a lot about age, but what's more important is the fitness. Rayudu, at 33, it doesn't really matter. That's what more matters than age," Dhoni said after the match.

"If you ask most captains, they want players who move well on the field. Doesn't matter if you're 19-20 years old. Age is just a number, but you have to be very fit," said the Chennai skipper.

Dhoni meanwhile, also credited the batting effort by his side throughout the tournament which was a major reason behind their success.

"I feel it's a really good batting effort. But we always had the belief that we had the firepower in the middle overs. There was no plan to send Bravo up ahead. Rayudu has been our main batters, so we had protection in the middle," he said.

Meanwhile, Man of the Match Watson, who was back to his brutal best as his scintillating unbeaten 117 run-knock was the key behind Chennai's IPL title, termed the season as a "special" one for him.

After the match, the Australian all-rounder said: "It's been a special season to be honest. To get a special season especially after the last season with RCB."

"It means a lot to be with a franchise like CSK," Watson added.

On his Sunday's innings, where the Australian produced a masterclass against one of the best bowling attack in the league, the 36-year-old said: "After those first ten balls I was only hoping to catch up to at least a run-a-ball. Bhuvi is really good with the new ball and was lucky to get the opportunity to catch up."

"Stephen Fleming and M.S. Dhoni have been looking after me really well and I am really glad to contribute like I did tonight," he added.

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"It has been good. This is a special moment. The team did not play together for the last two years. We had to move from Chennai after one game. For most of the guys, this is their first time. We were able to keep focus and do it. Nothing is better than winning finals," Bravo said after the game.

"We always said experience will help in crunch times. (Shane) Watson batted on one leg and despite the hamstring, his experience helped him. Watson is a world class player," the West Indian all-rounder added.

Watson smashed an unbeaten 57-ball 117 to single-handedly snatch the game away from Hyderabad chasing 179 for victory.

Besides Watson who has been prolific throughout the season, Ambati Rayudu was excellent too, finishing as the team's top-scorer with 602 runs in 16 innings at an average of 43.

"I was really fortunate to have such a season for Chennai. I worked really hard for it and am glad that I could hit the winning runs. Initially the wicket looked a little slow, it was damp, got much quicker and I am glad we could chase it down," an elated Rayudu said after the match where he hit the winning runs.

Harbhajan Singh, who was dropped for the final for Karn Sharma, said he was happy to bag his fourth IPL title, winning the previous three with Mumbai Indians.

"Brilliant the way we came out and chased it down. To see what Watson, what he brings to the table, you know how many runs you might get, it is always chaseable. Fourth IPL title for me and I am glad," Harbhajan said.

Young South African pacer Lungi Ngidi added that it was a roller coaster of emotions and he was fortunuate to be part of the winning side.

"It's been a roller coaster of emotions. Good to come away with a win and lucky to be part of an IPL winning side. Not many people get to experience such a moment. It's lovely to have the death bowling responsibility on your shoulders and take it in your stride, one ball at a time in a pressure situation and it is great to help the team win," said Nigidi who is playing the cash-rich T20 meet for the first time.

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Mumbai, May 27 (IANS) Shane Watson was back to his brutal best as the opener's scintillating unbeaten 117 runs helped Chennai Super Kings lift their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title, thrashing Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Making a comeback after serving two years of a ban, the Yellow Brigade stood up to their reputation of being one of the best team in the cash-rich league. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side hunted down a competitive 179-run target against one of the best bowling attacks of the current season with nine balls to spare.

Watson was in devastating touch in his entire 57-ball innings, which comprised of 11 boundaries and eight massive hits into the stands.

The Australian along with Suresh Raina (32) forged a 117-run match-winning partnership to put Chennai ahead of their opponents.

Chasing 179, Chennai lost their first wicket in the fourth over as Opener Faf du Plessis (10) was caught and bowled by pacer Sandeep Sharma when the scoreboard was reading just 13 runs.

Raina then joined Watson and the duo started slamming bowlers all round the park at will. The strike mostly remained with Watson and the Australian all-rounder took advantage beautifully by unleashing some ferocious shots.

Soon the duo helped their team get past the 100-run mark in the 12th over and just after that Watson, who was looking at his best, hammered Sandeep to 27 runs in his final over.

Trying to join the party, Raina miscued while trying to pull a short ball from Carlos Brathwaite knicked his gloves which landed in wicketkeeeper's hand.

The southpaw's 24-ball knock was laced with three boundaries and one six.

The fall of wicket brought in Ambati Rayudu (16 not out) who followed the same strategy of giving the strike to Watson. Soon, the Australian slammed his second century of the season off just 51 deliveries through a single off Rashid Khan.

With Chennai needing 21 runs in 20 balls, the duo kept on playing freely and overhauled the target with ease to become the only team to beat a side four times in a single season.

For Hyderabad, Carlos Brathwaite and Sharma took one wicket each.

Earlier, put in to bat, Yusuf Pathan's unbeaten 45 runs off 25 balls along with skipper Kane Williamson's 47 helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post a competitive 178/6.

In a batting friendly track at the Wankhede stadium here, Yusuf, who came when the scoreboard was reading 101/3, played a good knock to propel Hyderabad to a good total in their 20 overs.

The Baroda batsman's unbeaten innings contained four boundaries and a couple of hits into the stands.

Put in to bat, Hyderabad started their proceedings on a bad note as opener Shreevats Goswami (5) gifted his wicket in the second over with the just 13 runs on the board.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan was then joined by Williamson and the duo stabilised Hyderabad's innings putting on a 51-run partnership for the second wicket. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership in the ninth over as he clean bowled Dhawan on 26 runs.

Shakib Al Hasan then took Hyderabad's innings forward with his skipper as the side crossed the 100-run mark in 11.5 overs. However, in a desperate attempt, Williamson came down the wicket trying to play big, but the ball drifted away and then Dhoni did the rest behind the stumps.

Williamson's fall bought Yusuf in the middle and the right-hander made clear his intentions from the very beginning, smashing a boundary in the second ball he faced.

But when things seemed good in the middle, Bravo packed back Shakib (23 off 15) in the 16th over, leaving Hyderabad at 133/4.

Incoming batsman Deepak Hooda (3) fell cheaply in the 17th over which saw Brathwaite joining Yusuf.

The Baroda batsman then accumulated 34 runs for Hyderabad with Brathwaite in the remaining 18 deliveries to help their side reach a competitive total in the mega final.

Brathwaite, who fell in the final delivery of Hyderabad's innings, chipped in with a valuable 21 runs off 11 balls.

Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 178/6 (Kane Williamson 47, Yusuf Pathan 45 not out; Lungi Ngidi 1/26) vs Chennai Super Kings: 181/2 (Shane Watson 117 not out; Carlos Brathwaite 1/27).

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Mumbai, May 27 (IANS) Shane Watson notched up a brilliant century as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in the final to lift the Indian Premier League (IPL) title here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing 179 for victory, seasoned Australian opener Watson smashed an unbeaten 57-ball 117, his fourth IPL hundred, as M.S. Dhoni's team bagged their third crown after returning to the fold following a two-year suspension.

Chennai piled up 181/2 in 18.3 overs against Sunrisers' 178/6 in 20 overs, riding on skipper Kane Williamson's 36-ball 47 and Yusuf Pathan's 21 off 11 balls.

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Mumbai, May 27 (IANS) Yusuf Pathan's unbeaten 45 runs off 25 balls along with skipper Kane Williamson's 47 helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post a competitive 178/6 against Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Sunday.

In a batting friendly track at the Wankhede stadium here, Yusuf, who came when the scoreboard was reading 101/3, played a good knock to propel Hyderabad to a good total in their 20 overs.

The Baroda batsman's unbeaten innings contained four boundaries and a couple of hits into the stands.

Put in to bat, Hyderabad started their proceedings on a bad note as opener Shreevats Goswami (5) gifted his wicket in the second over with the just 13 runs on the board.

While trying to convert a single, Goswami fell short of the crease when a throw from long leg by Karn Sharma was easily picked by Dhoni to give Hyderabad the first jolt.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan was then joined by Williamson and the duo stabilised Hyderabad's innings putting on a 51-run partnership for the second wicket.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership in the ninth over as he clean bowled Dhawan on 26 runs.

Shakib Al Hasan then took Hyderabad's innings forward with his skipper as the side crossed the 100-run mark in 11.5 overs. However, in a desperate attempt, Williamson came down the wicket trying to play big, but the ball drifted away and then Dhoni did the rest behind the stumps.

The Hyderabad skipper's knock came off 36 balls, decorated with five boundaries and two sixes.

Williamson's fall bought Yusuf in the middle and the right-hander made clear his intentions from the very beginning, smashing a boundary in the second ball he faced.

But when things seemed good in the middle, Bravo packed back Shakib (23 off 15) in the 16th over, leaving Hyderabad at 133/4.

Incoming batsman Deepak Hooda (3) fell cheaply in the 17th over which saw Carlos Brathwaite joining Yusuf.

The Baroda batsman then accumulated 34 runs for Hyderabad with Brathwaite in the remaining 18 deliveries to help their side reach a competitive total in the mega final.

Brathwaite, who fell in the final delivery of Hyderabad's innings, chipped in with a valuable 21 runs off 11 balls.

For Chennai, Lungi Ngidi, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma, Dwayne Bravo and Jadeja bagged one wicket each.

Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 178/6 (Kane Williamson 47, Yusuf Pathan 45 not out; Lungi Ngidi 1/26) vs Chennai Super Kings

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Skipper Kane Williamson top-scored for Hyderabad with a 36-ball 47 while Yusuf Pathan hit an unbeaten 25-ball 45 and Carlos Brathwaite smashed 21 off 11.

For Chennai, Lungi Ngidi, Karn Sharma, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja all got a wicket each.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 178/6 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 47, Yusuf Pathan 45; Lungi Ngidi 1/26, Karn Sharma 1/25, Dwayne Bravo 1/46, R Jadeja 1/24).

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Chennai made only one change to their squad. Karn Sharma replaced injured Harbhajan Singh. Hyderabad made two changes, bringing in Sandeep Sharma and Shreevats Goswami for K. Khaleel Ahmed and Wriddhiman Saha.

Teams:
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Shreevats Goswami(w), Kane Williamson(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Deepak Hooda, Yusuf Pathan, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma.

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Kolkata, May 26 (IANS) The Eden Gardens has been voted the best ground in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.

Home to Kolkata Knight Riders, the picturesque Eden hosted nine matches this season including the Eliminator and the second qualifier and seven home games of KKR.

In a tweet, former India captain Sourav Ganguly revealed this ahead of the official BCCI announcement on Sunday and also thanked the ground staff for their contribution.

"The CAB is happy to inform that Eden Gardens has once again been awarded the best venue and ground of IPL 2018," the Cricket Association of Bengal president wrote on his official Twitter handle.

"The CAB takes this opportunity to thank all who have contributed to this success beginning with the ground staff, BCCI and ICC," Ganguly added.

CAB joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya also profusely thanked in a post on his official Facebook page.

"Eden Gardens is what it is because of the cricket Loving people of the state, so many thanks to them for being such a great crowd," Dalmiya wrote.

-IANS
dm/tri/vm

( 184 Words)

2018-05-26-21:56:09

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The Indian Premier League 2018 will end on Sunday with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) meeting for the fourth time in the highly popular Twenty20 league this season.

CSK beat SRH in all their three meetings, both the league games as well as in the first qualifier, even though the Hyderabad team topped the leaue standings after each of the eight teams played 14 matches.

After watching Rashid Khan mesmerise the KKR, not only his team SRH but everyone will be looking at him to take the final to greater heights. He is the IPL star of this season.

Both the teams are owned by corporates from Chennai, CSK by a cement giant and the Hyderabad-based Sunrisers by an electronic media moghul, who runs a variety of television channels in all South Indian languages and radio stations.

Unlike some other franchisees, the owners of the two teams are not visible, CSK after the match-fixing scandal involving one its co-owners, leading to to its suspension for two years.

When the two meet in the final at the Wankhede Stadium, it would be a second time in a week, having also played the first qualifier there. The two best teams will be playing the final, SRH's four successive losses before playing KKR on Friday night notwithstanding.

If SRH have a balanced attack with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar leading with his pace, though he is still not his best after an injury lay-off midway through the season, and two world-class spinners, CSK, too, have a good mix of pace and spin.

While CSK's batting line-up has a formidable look, SRH heavily dependent on their captain Kane Williamson and opener Shikhar Dhawan for putting up a challenging total.

Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni have risen to the occasion at different times to make sure the CSK either put up a big score or chase one.

The big difference between the two sides is the way SRH defended low totals more than once with their two overseas spinners, Afghan leg-spinner Rashid and Bangladesh left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan taking crucial wickets even when their opponents got a rollicking start, like it happened at the Eden Gardens on Friday.

Rashid did everything against KKR to carry his side to victory. He first smashed 34 runs off 10 balls, cracking four sixes including a Dhoni-like flick on one leg, then came up with a game-changing run-out before breaking the KKR middle-order with three wickets for 19 runs in his four sensational overs. Finally he snuffed out any chance of a late Kolkata fight by showing a safe pair of hands on the boundary to judge two skiers to perfection.

At the IPL auction, Rashid was snapped up by SRH for Rs 4 crores ($597,000) and they now find every rupee and cent they spent on him is well worth it. He is so unassuming that he does his work quietly without attracting undue attention. His twirling finger is all that he enjoys after taking a wicket.

Rashid moved Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar so much that they went into ecstasy as the twitterati went into a tizzy, some even appealing to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to grant him Indian citizenship.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani jumped in to say that he will not allow Rashid to go anywhere -- all in good humour.

"Afghans take absolute pride in our hero, Rashid Khan. I am also thankful to our Indian friends for giving our players a platform to show their skills," the President tweeted.

Why not after Warne put Rashid on a high pedestal? He said: Watching Rashid bowl in these big games makes me proud as he loves this stage and pressure, it also gets me excited."

Tendulkar finds him the world's best T-20 leg-spinner. "Now I wouldn't hesitate in saying he is the best spinner in the world in this format. Mind you, he's got some batting skills as well, great guy."

High praise, indeed! He has 100 ODI wickets rom 44 matches to prove he is trade is not restricted to just T20. He would be the star performer for Afghanistan in every format or for any Twenty20 team he will play in this era of global leagues.

For now, it would be interesting to watch him in his country's inaugural Test against India in Bengaluru next month.

(Veturi Srivatsa is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at sveturi@gmail.com)

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London, May 26 (IANS) England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stand-in director Andy Flower has warned that allowing English players to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) can result in their missing out on "growth opportunities" in first-class cricket.

Interestingly it was during Flower's tenure as England head coach when there was regular tension between the players wanting to participate in the IPL -- notably Kevin Pietersen.

Flower however, accepted the benefits of playing in the IPL, specially handling a lot of pressure and playing in front of big crowds and among some of the best players in the world.

"The ECB position, at the moment, is to allow some of our best players to go to the IPL," Flower was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.

"And a lot of people will say things have thankfully moved on from the time I made my decisions around subjects like the IPL.

"(By playing in the IPL) They do miss out on some really excellent growth opportunities in first-class cricket for their counties. There is no doubt about that.

"But the understanding at the moment is that they are growing in other ways, playing under a lot of pressure, in front of big crowds and among some of the best players in the world at the IPL," the former Zimbabwe skipper added.

The ongoing 11th season of the IPL has witnessed a number of star English players, including Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali plying their trade for various franchises.

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New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) On the eve of the high-octane Indian Premier League (IPL) final between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the M.S Dhoni-led yellow brigade have been voted as the strong favourites by a sports fans survey to win their third title at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

According to the survey conducted by Indian Sports Fan, an online largest sports fan community, CSK are the favourites to win the title while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the most favourite player with the Wankhede as the most preferred stadium.

The fans survey highlighted Dhoni as the most revered player out of the top 12 players with 27.3 per cent votes followed by Virat Kohli with 22 per cent and SRH captain Kane Williamson with 20.11 per cent fan votes.

The survey further revealed that Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium as the most preferred stadium with 30 per cent votes followed by Kolkata's Eden Gardens Stadium with 20.22 per cent votes, as compared to eight other stadiums.

The survey targeted 14,000 fans across 10 cities with 4,802 successful respondents.

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Chasing 175 for victory, KKR were cruising at 87/1 when Rana slipped trying to run a second and Rashid Khan combined with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha to effect the run out.

KKR could never recover from there as Rashid weaved his magic to scalp 3/19 and get rid of Chris Lynn (48), Robin Uthappa (2) and the dangerous Andre Russell (3).

KKR could manage 160/9 in 20 overs, thus missing a chance to play in the final against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

"Nitish Rana's wicket changed the course of the game. Because we were 80/1 at that stage, if he had pushed off at that stage and taken off..we had wickets in hands towards the last 6-7 overs," Karthik said at the post match press conference.

"The game could have been ours. So Nitish's wicket was very important at that stage and it was a silly dismissal," he added.

Lauding Rashid for his virtuoso performance, the Afghanistan spinner also smashed an unbeaten 10-ball 34 to drag Sunrisers out of a hole and post 174/7, Karthik said KKR batsmen had played him well in the previous two league matches but it was just his day.

"He (Rashid) had a brilliant game. He batted really well, he fielded well and it was a day when everything went right for Rashid and credit to him. In these kind of games you expect an individual to stand up and he did really well," said Karthik.

"Till now we have actually played him well, the two times that we have played him. He is a quality bowler so on a day when he is bowling well and gets a couple of wickets," the Kolkata skipper added.

Karthik blamed the batters for the defeat, also prasing young Shubman Gill for his fightback till the last over when 19 was needed. Gill scored a 20-ball 30 before getting out.

"The way we have batted, it was upto the batters to see the game through. Whenever we have chased down totals, one of the batters have stood there till the end and today that didn't happen," expressed Karthik.

"Shubman fought hard which shows his character. He is special. Other guys could not perform today and that made the difference," opined the 32-year-old.

"A couple of good hits and things can change. But that did not happen today. Credit to the way we played, can't take small things away. You got to give credit to Sunrisers as well, the way they have defended a target," the KKR skipper said further.

"They have beaten us twice at Eden Gardens. They have lost four in a row, so to comeback and win, hats off to them," he added.

Asked about the positives from the season for KKR, Karthik highlighted the evolvement of U-19 players Shubman and Shivam Mavi coupled with unearthing of pacer M Prasidh Krishna.

"It was a good good campaign for us. We played as a team an made a lot of memories. That's what you play cricket for," Karthik reflected.

"Shubman has been outstanding, Prasidh has been brilliant. Mavi has been real quality and Nitish also batted really well. So there are lot of good young players that KKR can look forward to," he expressed.

Captaining KKR for the first time since taking over the reins from Gautam Gambhir, Karthik has led from the front more often than not.

Asked about his stint as a leader, he said, "As a leader I kept the team together. I was helping each other individually. I wanted to make sure everybody tried and I try and empower people to do what they do the best."

"My goal has always been that. I cannot comment about me as a leader, players can say that," Karthik signed-off.

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Mumbai, May 26 (IANS) The 51-day long T20 carnival has finally reached its climax as two-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad will face-off in the summit clash of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Wankhede stadium here on Sunday.

While Chennai, the two-time IPL champions, already made to the final beating Hyderabad by two wickets in the Qualifier 1 of the cash-rich league here on Tuesday, Hyderabad had to go through the second qualifier.

The Kane Williamson-led side overcame Kolkata Knight Riders' challenge by 14 runs at the Eden Gardens on Friday to seal a place in the coveted final.

Both the sides have met each other thrice in the ongoing edition of the league and the Super Kings hold a 3-0 record over their southern neighbours.

In the much awaited final on Sunday, which could also be seen as a southern derby, it will be clash between Hyderabad's bowling and Chennai's batting.

With the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan and Siddarth Kaul, the orange army boasts of a superb bowling attack whereas the yellow brigade is full of star-studded batting line-up comprising Shane Watson, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina and others.

For Chennai, each of the batsman had rose to the occassion whenever their side needed.

The yellow brigade have been on a roll since making their comeback to the IPL fold after serving a two-year-ban, and have rarely lost the momentum this season with the old guards and new sensations firing in unison.

In their final league game at their adopted home ground in Pune on last Sunday, CSK rode on Suresh Raina's gutsy half century to romp home by five wickets.

Later, in the Qualifier 1, a match where most of the Chennai batsmen faultered against Hyderabad, opener Faf du PLessies smashed a match-winning half-century to help Chennai reach their seventh IPL final on Tuesday.

Rayudu, the other opener in Chennai's side, has been the standout performer with 586 runs. Australian Watson has also been in top form, accumulating 438 runs from 13 matches, while Raina, skipper Dhoni and all-rounder Deepak Chahar have been the backbone of CSK's middle order.

In the bowling front, the former two-time champions will bank on young South African lungi Ngidi, who has 6 wickets from 10 games with a decent economy rate of 5.90.

With Shardul Thakur, Chahar and Dwayne Bravo doing their bit on the pace bowling front, CSK will hope for veteran Harbhajan Singh leading the spin attack with left-armer Ravindra Jadeja in the middle overs.

Coming to Hyderabad, the orange army's success mostly bank on their bowling which has a lot of variety and some of the best names in the business.

Afghan spinner Rashid has been brilliant throughout the season bagging 21 wickets from 16 games.

The leggie came up with a sensational figure of 3/19 against Kolkata last night apart from a quick-fire cameo of 34 from just 10 balls.

Rashid had also troubled Chennai in the first qualifier with figures of 2/11.

On the batting front, top scorer of the tournament Williamson has led from the front. The New Zealand skipper, rated as one of the best batters of the current generation, has so far amassed 688 runs in 16 games at an average of 52.92.

Williamson has also led admirably on the field.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been good, amassing 471 runs from 15 games and Hyderabad's opening will mostly rely on him.

The middle-order however, needs to find their touch for one final time in the league as Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan have failed to live up to the expectations.

It will also be interesting to see whether Yusuf gets a chance in the playing XI in the mega final as the Baroda right hander has failed miserably in the present season, with just 215 runs from 15 games.

Overall, it could be another edge-of-the-seat match on a Super Sunday for fans when the two best teams of this year's league square-off for one final time.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings- MS Dhoni(Captain/WK), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, David Willey.

Sunrisers Hyderabad- Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shakib Al Hasan, Kane Williamson(Captain), Manish Pandey, Carlos Brathwaite, Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Rashid Khan, Ricky Bhui, Deepak Hooda, Siddarth Kaul, T Natarajan, Mohammad Nabi, Basil Thampi, K Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Sachin Baby, Chris Jordan, Tanmay Agarwal, Shreevats Goswami, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Alex Hales.

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Rashid on Friday plundered an unbeaten 10-ball 34 towards the end of Sunrisers' innings to help them get out of a hole and score 174/7.

Eventually those extra runs proved to be the difference as KKR could manage 160/9 in 20 overs. Rashid returned spectacular figures of 3/19 in four overs.

"He is a good cricketer and in Big Bash and other overseas tournaments, he has batted well, hit fours and sixes. He has the ability to bat and that is why he bats at number 8. Against Chennai (Super Kings) also he hit a couple of sixes. So we don't doubt his ability and were not surprised," Pathan said at the post match press conference.

Heaping praise on the 19-year Afghanistan spinner, Pathan said Rashid has been consistently doing well for the team in crunch situations.

"He batted and bowled really well, and when the team needed that he delivered. He deserves credit for performing consistently well throughout the season. We have seen him bowl well but today we saw him bat well too.

The team benefited from that and we reached the final."

Rashid was also behind the run out of Nitish Rana and took two catches to cap an all-round performance.

Sunrisers will now take on M.S. Dhoni's Chennai in the final in Mumbai on Sunday.

"Chennai are a good side that's why they are in the final, same applies for us. On Sunday, whoever plays better cricket will come out winners. We want to continue the good work," Yusuf said.

Sunrisers snapped a four-game losing streak to beat KKR by 14 runs. Asked what prompted the turnaround, Pathan said they were always consistent which showed in the points table (Sunrisers finished top of the table).

"We all trust in our abilities. The cricket we had played at the start, we wanted to continue that. Even after losing four matches, we were in pole position. We won important games in league stage so got the cushion."

Pathan has had a subdued IPL by his big-hitting standards. But the 35-year old sounded unfazed saying the team management is pleased with his performance.

"If you look at games and how we have won our matches, hitting sixes is always not needed.

"We have to see what the team needs and how to play out 20 overs. Maybe sixes are not coming from my bat, but whatever I have played the team is benefiting from that. I am happy with the way I am batting and my coaching staff and skipper is also pleased."

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Kolkata, May 25 (IANS) Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan on Friday dedicated his man of the match award to those who lost their lives in a blast during a cricket game in his hometown earlier this month.

Rashid Khan's virtuoso display with bat (10-ball 34) and ball (3/19) helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 13 runs to book their place in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where they will meet Chennai Super Kings on Sunday in Mumbai.

"I want to dedicate this award to those who lost their lives in a blast during a cricket game in my hometown back home," Rashid, 19, said at the post match presentation ceremony.

At least eight people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of blasts during a cricket match in eastern Afghanistan earlier this month.

Coming to the match, Rashid helped struggling Hyderabad post 174/7 by scoring bulk of the 50 runs in the last three overs which proved to be the difference at the end as he took three wickets which included the wickets of Chris Lynn (48), Robin Uthappa (2) and Andre Russell (3) to help his team cross the line.

"It was much-needed for me, wanted to give my 100 per cent in all departments," Rashid said on his performance.

So far, Rashid has taken 21 wickets in 16 matches.

Rashid revealed he started his career as a batsman.

"Focus was to just believe in my skills. I was happy with the batting, it was needed in the end. I started my career as a batsman, I believe in my skills and wanted to finish off well.

"I just tried to pick the lengths, the focus was to play straight. That was the plan from the senior players. Fielding is one department where you can't make excuses, compared to last year, I've worked really hard in my fielding.

"If I can't contribute with bat or ball, I'm always looking forward to contribute on the field. Modern cricket demands that. I'm working hard on that," he signed off.

An elated Sunrisers skipper Kane Williamson said that Rashid will now be well rested so that he is in fine fettle for the all-important summit clash.

"Rashid was brilliant, but he's got another game day after. We'll keep him wrapped up," Williamson said.

"Exciting, must-win game, great to go through to the final, important to move on. As a team we fight till the last ball, showed that today. Someone like Rashid is the perfect example of that. Outstanding talent, but a team effort. Lot of the guys chipped in, great team fighting effort which is the attitude we want to see.

"One thing we didn't change was our balance, Saha was injured but he came back... was nice to have his experience. Every one of the guys have played a huge part, whether on or off the field," he added.

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Kolkata, May 25 (IANS) Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan starred with bat and ball to help Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) fix a date with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Sunday's final after beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 13 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.

Sunrisers will take on CSK in the summit clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

Chasing 175 for victory, KKR were blown away by Rashid's brilliance before Shubman Gill (30; 20b; 2x4, 1x6) batted brilliantly to take the game till the last over when 19 runs were needed off six balls.

Shivam Mavi (6) hit a four off Carlos Brathwaite before picking out Rashid at deep midwicket. In the next ball, Rashid was in the thick of things again, taking Gill's catch to end their fight as KKR finished on 161/9 in 20 overs.

Rashid first smashed a whirlwind 10-ball 34 to pull Sunrisers out of a hole and propel them to 174/7 before returning spectacular figures of 3/19 in four overs as the Kane Williamson-led franchise made their second IPL final.

Rashid gave away just three runs in the first over and accounted for Robin Uthappa (2) in the very first ball of his second over. The 19-year old then trapped KKR's highest scorer Chris Lynn (48; 31b; 6x4, 2x6) in front to reduce the purple brigade to 108/5 from 93/2 in 10 overs.

In his last over, Rashid outfoxed Andre Russell (3) with a superb googly which the batsman tried to cut but ended up giving Shikhar Dhawan an easy catch at slip.

With the ever-dependable captain Dinesh Karthik (8) also dismissed earlier by Shakib Al Hasan (1/16), Gill gave KKR some hope.

Sunil Narine gave KKR a flying start, taking Bhuvneshwar Kumar for three boundaries and a six off his first four balls in the third over.

The West Indian holed out to Carlos Brathwaite (2/16) at mid on off Sidharth Kaul 2/32) in the next over but Nitish Rana continued the big hitting by tonking Khaleel Ahmed for two sixes over third man and fine leg as KKR raced to 67/1 in six overs.

A timely run out broke the 47-run second wicket partnership with Rashid and Wriddhiman Saha combining to send Rana (22; 16b; 1x4, 2x6) back in the hut.

KKR were 93/2 at the halfway stage, well on course to gun down the target but Uthappa threw away his wicket to keep their fate in the balance. The vice-captain attempted an audacious reverse sweep off Rashid only see his leg stump flattened.

In the form of his life, law of averages caught up with skipper Karthik (8) when Shakib castled him with a beautiful delivery that skidded through the surface and cramped him for room.

Lynn departed in the next over followed by Russell with Gill hitting a few gorgeous shots but it was too little too late.

Earlier, Rashid blunted chinaman Kuldeep Yadav's two crucial wickets in one over with a superb cameo.

Coming in to bat when Sunrisers were still below par on 134/6, Afghanistan's Rashid smoked two fours and four sixes to stitch together a 36-run unbroken eighth wicket stand off 11 balls with Bhuvneshwar (5 not out) as 50 runs came in the final three overs.

In the last over, Prasidh Krishna (0/56) conceded 24 runs with Rashid hitting a four and two sixes, his second one an exquisite flick over deep backward square leg.

Kuldeep had previously removed in-form batsmen Dhawan (34; 24b; 4x4, 1x6) and captain Williamson (3) to expose Sunrisers' weak middle order as the visitors clawed to 79/2 in 10 overs.

The left-arm spinner was then involved in a run out off his own bowling to get rid of Al Hasan (28; 24b; 4x4) -- playing in place of Manish Pandey -- in the 16th over to further dent Sunrisers' endeavour.

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine (1/24) and leggie Piyush Chawla (1/22) were also good in the middle overs to throw a spanner in the works of their rivals. The league leaders could never recover from there in the final few overs, until Rashid came to the party.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 161/9 in 20 overs (Chris Lynn 48, Shubman Gill 30; Rashid Khan 3/19, Carlos Brathwaite 2/16, Sidharth Kaul 2/32) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 174/7 in 20 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 35, Shikhar Dhawan 34, Rashid Khan 34, Kuldeep Yadav 2/29).

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Kolkata, May 25 (IANS) Rashid Khan blunted chinaman Kuldeep Yadav's two crucial wickets in one over with an unbeaten 10-ball 34 cameo to propel Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to 174/7 in 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.

Coming in to bat when Sunrisers were still below par on 134/6, Afghanistan's Rashid smoked two fours and four sixes to stitch together a 36-run unbroken eighth wicket stand off 11 balls with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (5 not out) as 74 runs came in the final six overs.

In the final over, Prasidh Krishna (0/56) conceded 24 runs with Rashid hitting a four and two sixes, his second one an exquisite flick over deep backward square leg.

Earlier in the eighth over, Kuldeep (2/29) removed in-form batsmen Shikhar Dhawan (34; 24b; 4x4, 1x6) and captain Kane Williamson (3) to expose Sunrisers' weak middle order as the visitors clawed to 79/2 in 10 overs.

The left-arm spinner was then involved in a run out off his own bowling to get rid of Shakib Al Hasan (28; 24b; 4x4) -- playing in place of Manish Pandey -- in the 16th over to further dent Sunrisers' endeavour.

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine (1/24) and leggie Piyush Chawla (1/22) were also good in the middle overs to throw a spanner in the works of their rivals. The league leaders could never recover from there in the final few overs, until Rashid came to the party.

Stumper Wriddhiman Saha (35; 27b; 5x4) -- bought in the side in place of state-mate Sreevats Goswami -- was the top-scorer for the hosts. Saha was dropped by KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik when he was batting on 5 off Shivam Mavi (1/30).

Openers Dhawan and Saha gave Sunrisers a good start before the former was removed by Kuldeep in his very first ball of the match.

Trying to sweep a straight delivery, Dhawan saw the ball hit his back thigh and in line for a plumb lbw.

Three balls later, it was double whammy for KKR as a brilliant Kuldeep googly got the outside edge of Williamson (3) who trudged back to the pavillion on a single-digit score for the first time in eight matches.

Saha, playing after a gap of five matches after he was dropped due to a poor run with the bat (87 runs from 10 matches at an average of 12.42), looked good during his stay in the middle before a sensational stumping from Karthik brought an end to it off Chawla's bowling.

It was a struggle for Sunrisers from there on as Shakib and Hooda could not get the better of KKR's spin troika.

Shakib hit Narine for two back-to-back boundaries in the 15th over after they huffed and puffed to 100/3 in 14 overs. Shakib was soon run out while Deepak Hooda (19; 19b; 1x6) tried to reverse sweep Narine but holed out to Chawla at point.

Rashid then pulled his team out of a hole with some amazing shots.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 174/7 in 20 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 35, Shikhar Dhawan 34, Rashid Khan 34, Kuldeep Yadav 2/29) vs Kolkata Knight Riders.

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Kolkata, May 25 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and elected to field against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.

Sunrisers, who lost to Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 1, ringed in three changes with Deepak Hooda, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha and Khaleel Ahmed coming in place of Manish Pandey, Sreevats Goswami and Sandeep Sharma.

KKR made one change, leaving out Javon Searles and bringing back young pacer Shivam Mavi. KKR beat Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator to make Qualifier 2.

Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Kane Williamson(Captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Deepak Hooda, Wriddhiman Saha(WK), Carlos Brathwaite, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul, K Khaleel Ahmed.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(Captain/WK), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi.

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Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Despite coming into the Qualifier 2 on the back of four straight losses, Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha feels "two-three overs" can change their fortunes in the big-ticket game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) here on Friday.

"We have forgotten the past. We have been told to forget the last match and get ready for this match. We are not thinking about the four losses. We know that two-three overs can change the course of a game in T20," Saha told reporters on the sidelines of their practice at the Eden Gardens.

Sunrisers were the first to qualify for the playoffs but slumped to defeats to Royal Challengers Bangalore, KKR and Chennai Super Kings twice.

Saha though said, KKR having won four matches on the bounce won't impact much as Sunrisers are ready for any situation.

"We started off well. We could not win because lack of finishing ability. We will play to win tomorrow without thinking of the consequences."

Talking about the KKR's bowling arsenal which has the feted spin trio of Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla, Saha said Sunrisers are ready for the challenge and having the likes of Rashid Khan and Shakib Al Hasan in their ranks, can tackle any situation.

"We are not banking on the conditions. It may turn out that wicket behaves differently tomorrow. We are ready for any situation.

"We have played many matches against them. We know their bowling pattern. Ultimately will have to deliver on the field," Saha said.

Saha has been woeful with the bat this season with 87 runs from 10 matches at an average of 12.42 and a shoulder injury.

In his absence Saha's Bengal teammate, Shreevats Goswami has featured in five matches with little success (47 runs from five matches).

"Maybe I was not up to the mark and could not deliver that affected the middle-order. The effort is there to come out of it and back among runs," Saha said.

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"That 18th over was world class on Wednesday and it reminds me of guys like Jasprit Bumrah who came on the scene doing exactly what he is doing. He is one of those names IPL has unearthed and he is making a name for himself," Streak told reporters on the eve of KKR's Qualifier 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens on Friday.

Prasidh leaked just three runs in the 18th over and took the wicket of Stuart Binny to help KKR beat Rajasthan Royals by 25 runs in the Eliminator. He returned figures of 1/28 in four overs.

"He has been outstanding. He has brought a new dimension to the team, not just his pace but also his height. The most pleasing thing to see is how much of a thinking cricketer he is. He is really being smart and using his options and variations well. He is using the double bluffs."

"He is not allowing the batsman to look at the field and know what ball is coming next. With all of that, you still got to execute your skills and he is doing that. His confidence is growing and he has been a fantastic," Streak added.

Since replacing U-19 World Cup winning pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti just ahead of the season, Prasidh, 22, made his IPL debut against Mumbai Indians and from there on played every game till Wednesday.

Prasidh has been impressive in his line and length, scalping 10 wickets in six matches with best figures of 4/30 against Sunrisers in a must-win last league game for the purple brigade.

Meanwhile, Streak also said that in-form Sunrisers' skipper Kane Williamson is just like any other good batsman who needs to be bowled in the right areas.

"Kane's playing well at the moment. Sometimes people forget to just bowl good balls at him. He is one of those players who respects a good ball and so it's not to be intimidated and go away from the plan. He is like any other good player," he said.

"If you bowl in the right areas you will create chances. But at the moment, he is picking lengths and line really well so your margin of error will be very tight. Our bowlers are executing skills a little better.

Streak felt KKR bowlers can buck up in the first 10 overs which will further strengthen their arsenal.

"I still feel in the first 10 overs we can improve, and if we can do that on Friday and continue to do what we have been doing in the middle and back end, we can really put them under lot of pressure."

Asked whether the big names Sunrisers boast of is a worry, Streak said they would start as favourites but KKR's form -- they have won four games on the trot -- should help them.

"You don't play cricket on paper. They are just names. They are a very strong side and have some good players. We respect them. They would not have finished at the top of the table if they were not a good side.

"But we are coming good at the right time. the balance, form are all important factors in cricket. At the end of the day, you can only play one ball at a time. We are trying to not focus on the names. They are probably the favourites but we have got home advantage and support."

Sunrisers, on the contrary, have lost four games on the spin.

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By Debayan Mukherjee

Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Despite their dominance throughout the league stages, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will have to bring their best to the table when they take on buoyant Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 here on Friday.

The winner of Friday's big-ticket game at the Eden Gardens will take on Mahenda Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final on Sunday in Mumbai.

Sunrisers finished top of the points table after 14 matches and have been quite the team to beat with an exceptional bowling battery and solid batting.

But the Kane Williamson-led side have lost four games on the trot including their two-wicket loss in the Qualifier 1 to CSK and the last league clash against KKR.

Dinesh Karthik's KKR, on the contrary, have won four games on the trot, their latest being a 25-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in the Eto reach Qualifier 2.

Since suffering their heaviest ever defeat margin of 102 runs against the Mumbai Indians, KKR have not looked back with skipper Karthik leading from the front and the likes of West Indies star Andre Russell and the wrist spinners stepping up to the occasion.

On Wednesday night, the purple brigade were reduced to 24/3 during the Powerplay overs and were in trouble at 51/4 soon after. But Karthik (52) and Shubman Gill (28) stemmed the rot before Russell (25-ball 49) batted magnificently to take them to a fighting total of 169/7.

In reply, the Royals were on course with 87/1 at the halfway stage before Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav spun a web around the settled Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson to effect an effortless triumph in the end.

In the last four outings, KKR have made comebacks from slippery situations, a facet which has underlined the team's character.

The Sunrisers, on the other hand, bank on their bowling which has a lot of variety and some of the best names in the business.

Against CSK, it was in full bloom as the trio of pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul and highly-rated leggie Rashid Khan brought their rivals to their knees before Faf du Plessis rescued the ship.

Rashid has been brilliant throughout the season and his wrong'un to castle Dhoni in the last game was a thing of beauty. The Afghanistan spinner just conceded 11 runs in four overs and KKR would be wary of him the most.

On the batting front, top scorer of the tournament Williamson has led from the front. The New Zealand skipper, rated as one of the best batters of today, has so far amassed 685 runs in 15 games at 57.08. Williamson has also led admirably on the field.

Sunrisers' West Indian all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite was also good in the previous game with bat and ball, and pitted against compatriot Russell, it will be a mini-contest to look out. For KKR, their main spin weapon Sunil Narine had an off day against Royals and would look to get back to form.

A lot will depend on how the spinner go about their job for both teams as the Eden wicket will offer turn and with the early toss for playoffs, dew might come into play meaning whoever wins the toss would like to bat first and make the most of the conditions, much like Royals did.

Once the track eases out, it will become easy for batting and then the role of spinner would come into play to check the flow of runs. In the league stages, Sunrisers beat KKR here by five wickets.

The squads:

KKR: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Dinesh Karthik (captain/wicket-keeper), Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Johnson, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Ishank Jaggi, Nitish Rana, Vinay Kumar, Apoorv Wankhade, Rinku Singh, Shivam Mavi, Cameron Delport, Javon Searles, Tom Curran, Prasidh Krishna.

SRH: Kane Williamson (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Wriddhiman Saha, Siddharth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami, Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, T. Natarajan, Sachin Baby, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Tanmay Agarwal, Alex Hales, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, Chris Jordan.

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Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Hot on the heels of making the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 after posting a 25-run win over Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator, Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav said their next opponents Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will not find it easy to adjust to the Eden Gardens strip.

Sunrisers, who lost to Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 1 at Mumbai will get a second chance to reach the summit clash against KKR on Friday.

But Kuldeep felt, the men in purple's 'home advantage' should hold them in good stead as the Wankhede Stadium pitch in Mumbai is different from the one at Eden.

"For us, it's very easy to play here. It's home ground for us. We are very used to the conditions. Obviously, it will be difficult for them to come from Mumbai and play here. The wicket is totally different here from Mumbai where it has true bounce. Here it helps the spinners. It will be a good contest," Kuldeep told reporters at the post-match press conference.

KKR beat Royals by 25 runs to fix their date with Sunrisers who beat them by five wickets at the Eden in the league stage. Sunrisers topped the league table but have lost their last four games.

Kuldeep said KKR won't think about Sunrisers' poor form coming into the tie.

"Yes, we won four out of four but we are not thinking about whether Sunrisers lost four in a row. We are looking for our next match. Winning is most important," the celebrated India spinner opined.

Kuldeep was one of the architects in KKR's victory over Royals after being under the pump initially. Chasing 170, Royals batsmen Rahul Tripathi and Ajinkya Rahane got off to a good start and were 87/1 at the halfway stage with Rahane and Sanju Samson well set.

Post the 14th over, Kuldeep triggered the comeback by removing Rahane followed by Piyush Chawla getting rid of Samson.

Asked if Rahane is slowly becoming a batsman he can get out easily, Kuldeep said, "I don't know seriously. It's very important to get wickets and Ajju bhai was batting very well. I did not bowl anything different. I just bowled a wrong one in a good area."

Kuldeep was also effusive in his praise for West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell who not only helped KKR reach 169/7 with a whirlwind 25-ball 49 after early hiccups but bowled tight overs towards the end of Royals' chase to choke them to 144/4.

"Russell played an extraordinary inning of 49 not out from 25 balls. We were thinking of 140-150 but ended up with a good score of 169. He also bowled well at the death and deserved the man of the match," Kuldeep said.

On mystery spinner Sunil Narine going wicketless, Kuldeep said when the team's best bowler is having an off day, it's his and Piyush Chawla's job to make up for it.

"Sometimes it happens when your best bowler goes through bad patches. Me and PC (Piyush Chawla) had to stand up for him and we bowled very well," he said.

Kuldeep further added that he always looks to stick to basics in T20 cricket as too much experimenting can lead to leaking runs.

"I'm focussing on basics and backing my strength.. not trying too much. T20 is a format where if you try much you can go for runs. The way they started, I just backed my strengths and stuck to the basics."

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Chasing 170 for a place in the Qualifier 2, the Royals on Wednesday were 87/1 after 10 overs with Rahane and Sanju Samson looking good for a match-winning partnership.

But then they--particularly Rahane--got stuck against spin and left their weak middle order with too much to do, eventually losing by 25 runs as they managed 144/4 in 20 overs.

While Samson (50 off 38) was removed by Piyush Chawla, chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav got rid of Rahane (46 off 41).

"We thought 170 was chaseable. We needed partnerships and we got those partnerships initially with (Rahul) Tripathi and then me and Sanju Samson. We needed one batsman to bat throughout those 19-20 overs and we did not do that," Rahane told reporters at the post-match press conference.

"Unfortunately Sanju got out in the 17th over and that was the reason I felt...when you are chasing 170 in a pressure game you need one batsman from top 4 to bat through the innings," Rahane added.

Rahane said Andre Russell--who hit an unbeaten 25-ball 49 to propel KKR to 169/7 after a disastrous start--played fearless cricket.

"We had the self-belief I felt. Initially, the way we started with the ball. Our fast bowlers, the spinners...getting those 4-5 initial wickets was crucial," said Rahane.

"But credit goes to (Andre) Russell..the way he batted, played fearless cricket. But again we started off really well. First six overs, we were 50/1 then after second timeout (14th over), we needed seven overs and 60 odd runs. When you have eight to nine wickets in hand you generally end up getting those runs," Rahane added.

Dinesk Karthik (52) and Shubman Gill (28) stemmed rot for the purple brigade after they were reduced to 51/4 at one stage.

Rahane revealed he had asked Samson during the second strategic timeout in the 14th over to play till the end while he would look to up the ante.

Rahane fell to Kuldeep in the first ball after the break when they still required 61 off 36 balls. Two overs later, Samson departed.

"I think our plan was to go deep. I just told Sanju after second timeout that I will play some positive shots and if you are still there, you bat deep," said Rahane.

"Credit goes to KKR bowlers. Especially the way they bowled the last 4-5 overs. If you see, last 36 balls we got 30 odd runs. So when opponents bowl like that, credit goes to them. We need to learn for next season. We batted well in patches and were not that good enough throughout the season," he added.

Asked the reason for sending Heinrich Klaasen and Stuart Binny ahead of K Gowtham who can score at a brisk pace, Rahane said, "If you see Klaasen is a very good batsman. He did well in the last game and it is difficult when you don't get those runs and try and think what if Gowtham was sent to bat."

"But we backed Klaasen. He tried his best. KKR spinners were really good. With our batting line-up, we wanted to go deep and if Klaasen can come, they have 7-8 overs left, that was a perfect opportunity for him. Unfortunately, we didn't cross the line," he said.

"I don't think the strategy was wrong there. Gowtham's batting position..he batted well at No.6 and 7...credit goes to KKR bowlers," Rahane added.

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After being reduced to 51/4, Karthik (52; 38b; 4x4 2x6) and Shubman Gill (28; 17b; 3x4 1x6) got together for a 55-run fifth wicket stand before Andre Russell smoked an unbeaten 25-ball 49 to help the purple brigade post 169/7 in 20 overs.

Chasing 170, Royals were 47/0 inside five overs and then Sanju Samson (50; 38b; 4x4, 2x6) and Ajinkya Rahane (46; 41b; 4x4, 1x6) set the platform for a victory before the pair were removed by Piyush Chawla (2/24) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/18) respectively.

Royals could never recover from there as their thin middle order got exposed badly. They could manage only 144/4 in 20 overs.

"I think winning four games on the row feels good. Especially this one as we were under the pump," Karthik said at the post match presentation ceremony. KKR came into the game on the back of a three-game winning run.

"Credit to Shubman Gill. He absorbed all the pressure when he walked in. Before he got out, he played some lovely shots and eased the pressure off me.

"In these games, it is about the attitude and the belief about how much you have got. In these kind of crunch games, it is never about the par score; it's about how much pressure you can put on the other side," he added.

Praising their bowlers, Karthik said Royals always think "out of the box" and gets the opposing captain thinking.

"The bowlers have picked up their game. We fielded well as well today, which was good to see. They (RR) always think out of the box. They kept a short leg and put pressure on the batsman. They get the captain thinking. You need to hold your game and nerves. Every game is important from here on. Next game is important as there are two good teams which will be competing."

Meanwhile, a dejected Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane blamed his team's inability to finish off the game after getting a good start.

"Disappointed, especially given how we started, taking 4-5 wickets early. That partnership (between Karthik and Gill) and the dropped catch of Russell hurt us. When you get a start like that, you generally look to win the game," he said.

"I think KKR bowled really well. They know the conditions really well. It was gettable. They were 10-12 runs short. It's important to finish the games and we didn't have partnerships towards the end.

"When me and Sanju were batting, we were looking to play positively. I told him during the second timeout that I will go after bowlers and that you bat through. But unfortunately he got out. I think overall we played good cricket. Our bowling unit fantastic this season. Need to improve in our batting and fielding," he added.

KKR will now meet Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) here on Friday to decide who faces Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final on Sunday.

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Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) Skipper Dinesh Karthik (52) led from the front as Andre Russell (49 not out), Piyush Chawla (2/24) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/18) starred with bat and ball to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) see off Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 25 runs and reach Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Wednesday.

KKR will now meet Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) here on Friday to decide who faces Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final on Sunday.

Despite early hiccups, KKR posted 169/7 in 20 overs riding Russell's big hitting late on after Karthik had set the tone for the two-time champions at the Eden Gardens here.

In reply, Royals could manage 144/4 even after Sanju Samson's belligerent 38-ball 50, containing four fours and two sixes and captain Ajinkya Rahane (46; 41b 4x4 1x6) kept their team in the hunt with a 62-run partnership off 54 balls for the second wicket.

With 74 needed from 48 balls, chinaman Kuldeep got rid of Rahane in the 15th over with Chawla then sending Samson back after he brought up his half century in 37 balls.

With the required run rate climbing up and set batsmen out, Royals, who have a thin middle order, could never recover.

Rahul Tripathi (20; 13b; 1x4, 2x6) helped Royals to a brisk start by tonking Russell (0/22) for a six in the first over and thereafter smacking the usually economical Sunil Narine (0/39) for two back-to-back sixes in the fifth over.

Rahane looked in effervescent touch at the other end, pulling and cutting M. Prasidh Krishna flawlessly in the fourth over after surviving a review when he was given out lbw by the umpire off Chawla on 14, two overs earlier.

Royals were 47/0 inside five overs before Tripathi -- who also survived a review -- inexplicably chipped a googly back to Chawla for a soft dismissal.

In came Samson with the well-set Rahane batting and the duo looked on course to chase down 170 before they got out in quick succession and it was all downhill from there on.

Earlier, KKR rode on Karthik's well-paced fifty coupled with Russell's unbeaten 25-ball 49 blitz to recover from an early collapse.

Russell came in to bat when KKR were trying to stem the rot through Karthik and Shubman Gill (28; 17b; 3x4 1x6) before the latter fell with the team on 106/5 in 14.2 overs.

The big-hitting West Indian smoked five sixes and three fours in the last five overs to take 55 runs and help the purple brigade post a challenging score.

Krishnappa Gowtham (2/15), Jofra Archer (2/33) and Ben Laughlin (2/35) got two wickets each for the Rahane-led side with leg-spinner Ish Sodhi conceding just 15 runs off his four overs.

Royals' bowlers made early inroads to reduce KKR to 51/4 after eight overs when Karthik and Gill got together.

The pair joined hands for a 55-run stand for the fifth wicket before Gill departed and Russell stepped on the gas.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 169/7 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 52, Andre Russell 49 not out; K Gowtham 2/15, Jofra Archer 2/33, Ben Laughlin 2/35) beat Rajasthan Royals 144/4 in 20 overs Ajinkya Rahane 46, Sanju Samson 50, Piyush Chawla 2/24, Kuldeep Yadav 1/18) by 25 runs.

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Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) rode skipper Dinesh Karthik's well-paced fifty coupled with Andre Russell's unbeaten 25-ball 49 blitz to recover from an early collapse and post 169/7 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) eliminator at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.

Russell came in to bat when KKR were trying to stem the rot through Karthik (52; 38b; 4x4 2x6) and Shubman Gill (28; 17b; 3x4 1x6) before the latter fell with the team on 106/5 in 14.2 overs.

The big-hitting West Indian smoked five sixes and three fours in the last five overs to take 55 runs and help the purple brigade post a challenging score.

Krishnappa Gowtham (2/15), Jofra Archer (2/33) and Ben Laughlin (2/35) got two wickets each for the Ajinkya Rahane-led side with leg-spinner Ish Sodhi conceding just 15 runs off his four overs.

Royals' bowlers made early inroads to reduce KKR to 51/4 after eight overs when Karthik and Gill got together.

The pair joined hands for a 55-run stand for the fifth wicket before Gill departed and Russell stepped on the gas.

Earlier, Sunil Narine started off with a four before the impressive Gowtham got the better of the West Indian all-rounder who failed to read the spin and was stumped by South African wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen.

Robin Uthappa (3) and Nitish Rana (3) fell in successive overs as KKR slumped to 24/3 when Karthik joined Chris Lynn at the crease.

With the first five overs fetching only 32 runs for the loss of three wickets, Karthik and Lynn preyed on Jaydev Unadkat (0/33) to move to 46/3 after six overs, their lowest Powerplay score this season.

Lynn (18; 22b, 2x4) was then removed by Shreyas Gopal (1/34) just after the Powerplay, caught and bowled.

Karthik looked in imperous touch as he whipped Archer off his legs past the square-leg region for a four in the second ball he faced. The 33-year India stumper then caressed Unadkat for two gorgeous back-to-back cover drives.

At the other end, Gill looked good during his stay at the crease, smashing Gopal for a four and the first six of the match in the 14th over as 20 runs came off it.

The highly-rated U-19 World Cup winner then looked to treat Archer the same way in the next over, but the Barbados seamer cramped him for room after Gill hit him for a four in the first ball to get the outside edge through to Klaasen.

With the 55-run stand for the fifth wicket between Karthik and Gill broken, in came Russell with KKR still behind par score. Russell then took 19 runs off Unadkat in the 17th over and from there on upped the ante.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 169/7 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 52, Andre Russell 49 not out; K Gowtham 2/15, Jofra Archer 2/33, Ben Laughlin 2/35) vs Rajasthan Royals.

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Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to field against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) eliminator at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.

Both teams remained unchanged from their previous games. While Kolkata beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan got the better of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Kolkata and Rajasthan ended third and fourth respectively on the league table, with not a lot separating them.

Teams:

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klaasen (w), Krishnappa Gowtham, Stuart Binny, Jofra Archer, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat, Shreyas Gopal, Ben Laughlin

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik (w/c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Javon Searles, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

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In the first qualifier of the 2018 season, Chennai pulled off a last-over thriller against the Kane Williamson-led Hyderabad, thanks to an incredible unbeaten 67-run knock by opener Faf du Plessis.

"We've been a very good team and it reflects when it comes to the IPL. It reflects the dressing room atmosphere we've been able to create. It's not possible without that," Dhoni said after the match.

"Credit goes to management, support staff and players. Even if one of them is lacking you can't have a good dressing room atmosphere. If atmosphere is not great, it becomes difficult to perform," he added.

In the match which went down the wire, the yellow brigade were once reeling at 92/7 losing all of their key batsmen however, it was South African du Plessis who held his nerve to single-handedly carve out a win.

On such close games, the Chennai skipper said: "Good to win games like this. But what's important is to learn out of this game. It's about constantly improving."

"This is the best combination that we have got. And right from the first game we've used different bowlers in different ways to find out who is the best bowler at the end," Dhoni said, about constantly reshuffling his team combination.

Meanwhile, admitting that the target was too small, Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson heaped praise on the Chennai lower order.

"It was a good game of cricket, but if we are honest with ourselves, we were a few runs short with the bat. It was definitely not a 140 wicket. It was a decent wicket and we would have liked 20 more," he rued.

"Credit to the CSK lower order. They bat a long way down and they kept us under pressure. It is rough being on the other side of close ones, but we have been on the right side a number of times this year. It is important that we learn from this experience," he added.

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Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) A fighting unbeaten half-century under pressure from Faf du Plessis helped Chennai Super Kings edge past Sunrisers Hyderabad by two wickets in the first qualifier here on Tuesday to enter the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Needing 140 runs to win, Chennai made heavy weather of what should have been a comfortable chase before crossing the line with five balls to spare.

Chennai have reached the final seven times in the nine seasons they have competed in the IPL. They had missed out on the previous two seasons as they were banned following the spot fixing and betting scandal.

Du Plessis batted through the innings to remain not out on 67 runs, with five hits to the fence and four sixes studding his 42-ball knock. The opener kept on playing sensibly throughout even as no other batman clicked at the other end.

For Hyderabad, spinner Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma scalped two wickets each.

Hyderabad will now face the winner of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 2 on May 25 in Kolkata.

Chasing a modest total, Chennai lost their first wicket on the fifth ball of the first over. Wicket-keeper Shreevats Goswami took a brilliant catch to dismiss opener Shane Watson (0) off pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

In-form Suresh Raina was playing beautifully, hitting four well-timed boundaries on his way to 22 off 13 balls. But he was bowled by pacer Kaul in the fourth over when he shuffled across and exposed his leg-stump.

Off the very next ball, Ambati Rayudu (0) was also clean bowled by Kaul. Rayudu's dismissal was largely due to poor shot selection as he misjudged a slow yorker only to see the ball crash into the base of middle and off-stump.

Unperturbed by the fall of wickets, du Plessis kept on playing sensibly. New batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni (9), then joined in the middle and the duo rotated the strike perfectly.

But just when the duo started timing the ball well, leg-spinner Rashid Khan delivered one that turned the wrong way to dismiss Dhoni.

With Chennai struggling at 39/4 after eight overs, all eyes were on the lower-middle order But it failed as Dwayne Bravo (7), Ravindra Jadeja (3) and Deepak Chahar (10) went back to the pavilion in quick succession.

Du Plesis, on the other hand, started unleashing his shots and hammered few sixes but lack of support from other batters

Harbhajan Singh could only manage two runs off nine balls before being run out. With Chennai in deep trouble, Shardul Thakur gave some much needed impetus to the run rate with three boundaries off the five balls he faced.

Thakur, who remained unbeaten on 15 runs, played sensibly and gave the strike to du Plesis.

With Chennai needing six runs off the last over, du Plessis brought up the victory in style over the umpire's head off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling.

Earlier, lower-order batsman Carlos Brathwaite's unbeaten 43-run knock and some useful contributions from skipper Kane Williamson and Yusuf Pathan helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post a modest total of 139/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Put in to bat, Hyderabad started the proceeding on a poor note, losing opener Shikhar Dhawan (0) on the first ball.

Other batsmen Goswami (12), Manish Pandey (8) and Shakib Al Hasan (12) also failed to deliver when needed the most. Brathwaite then came in the middle and played a quick-fire knock and took his team out of troubled waters. He played 29 balls and one boundary and slammed four sixes.

For Chennai, Dwayne Bravo scalped two wickets.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad: 139/7 in 20 overs (Carlos Brathwaite 43 not out; Dwayne Bravo 2/25) against Chennai Super Kings: 140/8 in 19.1 overs (Du Plesis 67; Rashid Khan 2/12)

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