The IPL returned to Chennai with a flurry of sixes and a huge total by Kolkata Knight Riders. Some of the stats highlights from the innings

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-20181:15

Dasgupta: Lack of bouncers to Russell was baffling

17 – Sixes in the Knight Riders’ innings, which equals the highest in any IPL innings at the venue. Chennai Super Kings had 17 against Rajasthan Royals in 2010, in which M Vijay hit 11. Andre Russell hit 11 sixes today.ESPNcricinfo Ltd88* – Russell’s score, the highest by any batsman at No. 7 or lower in IPL history. The previous best was 68, by Dwayne Bravo – three days ago against Mumbai Indians.50 – Runs conceded by Bravo, only the fourth time in his T20 career that he conceded 50 or more runs. In terms of economy rate, today’s number of 16.66 is his worst in any game in which he has bowled three or more overs, and his second-worst ever: he went for 34 off two against Bangladesh in the 2007 World T20.

7 – Sixes conceded by Bravo today, the most he has ever conceded in a T20 innings. His previous worst was five.11 – Sixes hit by Russell, which equals the most in any T20 innings of less than 100. Chris Lynn, Evin Lewis and Ross Whiteley are the others who have hit 11 sixes in scores of less than 100.

Both Rizwan and Afridi also praise Zaman Khan who defended 12 in the final over to give Qalandars’ their second successive PSL title

Umar Farooq19-Mar-2023

After his side lost the 2023 PSL final to Lahore Qalandars by one run, Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan has tagged Shaheen Shah Afridi’s unbeaten 15-ball 44 the “turning point” of the match. Rizwan also gave credit to Zaman Khan who defended 12 in the final over to give Qalandars their second successive title.In a game where the momentum swung from one side to the other more than once, Rizwan’s dismissal too played a big part in the result. Chasing 201, Sultans were 122 for 2, in the 13th over, when an excellent catch by David Weise at the long-on boundary sent him back.”Turning point was Shaheen’s innings that took away the momentum,” Rizwan said in the post-match press conference. “We did manage to make things easy for us at one stage. Unfortunately, my bat turned in my hand and I couldn’t get enough power behind the shot. But he [Wiese] took a brilliant catch and that’s why the game was with them.Related

Shaheen and Zaman the heroes as Qalandars defend PSL title

Stats – All-round Shaheen, Qalandars' turnaround, Rawalpindi run-fests

“You should give credit to Zaman Khan for the way he bowled that over. I have seen very few bowlers who have saved 13 runs from six balls, but he has been doing this a lot since the last two seasons, 11 from six balls, 15 from six, 13 from six.”In the end, you can’t blame anyone or nitpick the mistakes when it went so close. The difference of one run is maybe because they have slightly more passion than our team, a bit more effort. There was obviously something different that the result went their way. When you lose or win by one run, you can’t complain because it means both sides played good cricket, so sometimes we can safely put that on fate.”This season, Afridi surprised everyone with his batting. He spent a lot of time in the nets working on his big-hitting. In the league stage, he promoted himself up the order on a few occasions and did the same in the final as well.Afridi wasn’t even padded up when Sikandar Raza got out in the 15th over, leaving the side at 112 for 5. Weise was about to walk in next when Afridi emerged from behind and stopped him. The move paid off as Afridi’s knock helped Qalandars post 200.”Obviously we know Weise and Rashid [Khan] are someone who can score quickly even when there are only a few balls left. But in some games, I felt if I go in before them, it would be better for the team,” Afridi said. “And whenever I try something, I have the complete backing of [head caoch] Aaqib [Javed] and [COO] Sameen [Rana] .”In fact, I had only one pad on. But I stopped him [Weise] because since Khushdil [Shah] was bowling, I didn’t want to give away an extra wicket. I thought if I could connect a couple, we could put them under pressure. And that’s exactly what happened.”In the last two overs of the match, Sultans needed 35 runs. Haris Rauf went for 22 in the 19th but Zaman kept his nerve.”Haris is not just Pakistan’s best bowler, he is the world’s best bowler,” Afridi said. “He has always won the games for his team, be it for Pakistan, Lahore Qalandars, or in any other league or even county cricket. I have always had blind trust in him, he always does well in such situations. Going for 22 in one over doesn’t change that.”We were also lagging behind the over rate. But the way Zaman has improved, and the way he delivered in that last over, full credit goes to him because we only had four fielders outside the circle.”All that meant, Afridi became the first captain to win back-to-back PSL titles. For his growth as captain, he thanked Aaqib and Rana.”Aaqib and Sameen have played a big role,” Afridi said. “They guided me as a player, groomed me as vice-captain for two years, and then handed me the captaincy. At times, there were bigger names in the team, like [Mohammad] Hafeez , and I shouldn’t have been leading the side. So when you get it, you should grab it, and if the team has trust in you, then you should lead them to the best [of your abilities].”

Karachi Kings have won only three out of their last 19 PSL matches, they won just one game in 10 last season, and they’ve begun PSL 2023 with three defeats. That’s not a great position to be in while preparing to take on their biggest rival, Lahore Qalandars, but captain Imad Wasim refuses to write his team off yet.”We are presently coming with a losing streak from last season until now, but once we get winning momentum then you become a force,” Imad had said after narrowly failing to chase down 169 against Quetta Gladiators last night. “But it’s not happening right now and it’s our mistake. We will sit and talk about it. Someone needs to play that finishing role and be that one person so that we can have our belief back. Faith is very important in any sport and any career and I still have faith in Karachi.”They will not have too much time to do this introspection, with the Qalandars clash lined up later today, but Imad did try to make sense of the rut. “I won’t say we are playing very bad cricket overall but we are only playing good cricket in phases. Sometimes it happens in a team when you aren’t able to click all together – once we do, we will start winning.”We made a lot of mistakes but they are done. No team goes out and tries to lose, it’s just a lean patch that hasn’t come to an end since last season and we are trying to get out of it. As a professional, when you see the chips are down, everything is against you, that is when you turn up to win your team a game.”Imad is one of the most experienced PSL captains, second only to Sarfaraz Ahmed, but his record is patchy: 44 captained, 20 won, 20 lost (Super Overs aside). This season, all three losses have come at home, even as they’ve fiddled with their combination and strategy. Among the changes dished out was Matthew Wade, the Australian wicketkeeper-batter, who played as opener in the first game scoring 23 off 15, but was pushed down to the middle order for the next two games and has scored 18 off 18 and 15 off 19 from there. Imad did say finding the right person to finish innings was on his mind.”We aren’t able to finish well, it is one of the factors [in our slump]. Secondly, our death overs are a factor…”Then there is the matter of making it count once in, and Imad said that too had been discussed with the team. “Sometimes if you don’t show enough intent, you give away your wickets very easily in such conditions. It was talked about, not letting it go so easily because with one set batsman in, anything is possible, especially on Karachi pitches. But it’s not happening, everyone who is getting set is getting out other than Shoaib Malik.”Imad had advocated an aggressive brand of cricket coming into this tournament, and he said the rocky start has not changed his mind. “It’s a way of playing cricket, you play shots and express yourself. Unfortunately, we’ve lost wickets in the powerplay and so have not been able to express ourselves, but once we settle in everything will click. We are still going to play the same brand of aggressive cricket with the ball and bat.”

Haris, Babar inspire Zalmi to 171, but the total was chased down comfortably by an all-round Qalandars unit

Danyal Rasool17-Mar-2023In the first four years of the PSL, the Lahore Qalandars squad would have been on holiday, or back home in front of the telly by this stage of the competition. But those dark days are a distant memory now, with the defending champions sweeping past a valiant challenge from Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets to book their spot in their third final in four years.It was very much a collective team effort, with a clinical bowling performance keeping Zalmi to 171 in spite of a blistering 54-ball 85 from Mohammad Haris. The chase, too, was down to several cameos from the top and middle order, all threaded together around a half-century by Mirza Baig. Zalmi dragged the Qalandars to the final two overs, but in truth, Shaheen Afridi’s men were always one step ahead.Zalmi opted to bat at the toss, fully cognisant that the Qalandars were yet to win chasing this season, and no chasing side had triumphed yet at the Gaddafi Stadium this year. Saim Ayub was cleaned up early by Zaman Khan, but Babar Azam and Haris struck up an imposing partnership to set a platform. Haris was in superb striking form once more, a six and a four off the first three balls he faced from Shaheen a statement of intent. Babar joined in from the other end and by the end of the powerplay, Zalmi had put up 54, set up to go bigger.Babar failed to take the next step up, though, and his strike rate stalled. Haris Rauf was hard to get away in the middle overs, but Haris clobbered Rashid Khan for 14 in his first over to keep Qalandars under pressure. Even Babar went after Rashid with a pair of boundaries to kick off his second. But Rashid hit back, taking two wickets in his third, breaking the stand with Babar’s wicket and removing Tom Kohler-Cadmore for a duck. And while Haris continued to club away, plundering another 13 off Rashid’s final over, the runs from the other end were drying up.Shaheen had held Haris back for three overs at the death, and Zalmi found him difficult to get away. David Wiese’s variations in pace, too, proved tricky to attack, while, crucially, Shaheen nabbed Haris off the final ball of his spell. The young Zalmi batter had kept his strike rate up, but as he departed for 85, Zalmi’s momentum was ebbing away. Haris said at the halfway mark that the 171 they had posted was well above par, but the Qalandars weren’t to be fooled.Baig got the Qalandars running with a six in the first over, but Zalmi had a huge breakthrough immediately. Fakhar Zaman swung and missed as Azmatullah Omarzai hit middle stump, and rookie allrounder Azmat Hafeez departed soon after following a breezy 15. Abdullah Shafique, too, was only at the crease for a short while, contributing a 31-run stand with Baig before a mix up ran him out.But Zalmi might have been lulled into a false sense of security with these regular breakthroughs. The Qalandars didn’t have a huge individual scorer a la Haris, or one big stand like the Babar-Haris partnership, but these small cameos and gritty partnerships were furtively knocking off the runs. Sam Billings and Baig put on 50 in 28 balls to guarantee the run rate was no longer an issue before Baig feathered one through off Aamer Jamal, but the match situation was set up perfectly for finishers like Billings and Sikandar Raza.They wouldn’t be there till the very end, but they got close enough. There was a 28-run partnership, and a 28-ball 21 for Billings complemented by 23 off 14 from Raza. Both had their stumps knocked back with the Qalandars still a trickle of runs away, but the dam Zalmi had set up in defence of their total had finally burst.The coup de grace was delivered, in style, by the Qalandars’ swaggering young captain, a wallop over mid-on followed by a lofted straight drive for six by Shaheen Afridi to seal the win. He held that Adonis-like pose for exaggerated effect as the Qalandars booked their spot in the final, a repeat of last year’s trophy match between the defending champions and Multan Sultans. He may yet go on to hold the trophy once more.

Manchester United have scrapped their end-of-season awards dinner for the second year running after a dreadful Premier League campaign.

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• Man Utd cancel awards dinner
• Ceremony was also abandoned last season
• Been another poor campaign

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The club cancelled the ceremony last season when they finished eighth and won the FA Cup, and this time around have not even made plans to hold their traditional gala dinner in a suite at Old Trafford. Ruben Amorim's side are 16th in the Premier League and will face Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final next week.

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  The club will hand out the Sir Matt Busy player of the year award on the pitch ahead of their home match against Aston Villa on the final day of the season, with Bruno Fernandes the heavy favourite to scoop the prize.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Fernandes won the men's award last season, while Ella Toone was awarded the women's prize. Her side take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Sunday and have already qualified for next season's Champion League via their third-place league finish.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?

  Amorim's side look set for a period of heavy change, after the manager admitted recently the club must be "strong" and "brave" this summer.

Antonio Conte has issued a list of demands to the Napoli board if he is to stay on as coach next season.

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Napoli nearing Serie A title winConte future in doubt amid Juve reportsCoach has made clear demands to boardFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Conte's side sit a point clear of Inter at the top of Serie A heading into their final game of the season. Despite their possible success, the Italian's future appears uncertain over reports of tension between him and club chiefs, resulting in talk of a possible return to Juventus.

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Conte is open to staying at Napoli, but reports he has laid out demands ahead of the summer transfer window. The 55-year-old is wants Napoli to sign a top player in each area of the team, pushing for as many as nine signings in total. Napoli would also have to increase their wage budget from €80 million (£68m/$91m) to around €110m (£93m/$125m), while they may have to spend over €200m (£169m/$227m) on transfer fees.

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Conte is aiming to wrap up the Scudetto this season and push for another league title next term, the report adds, and he wants evidence that the club are prepared to match his ambitions. The former Chelsea and Tottenham boss opted against having a termination clause included in his three-year contract that would have let him leave this summer, as he wanted to avoid the temptation of abandoning Napoli.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR CONTE?

Napoli will face Cagliari, who are 14th, in their last Serie A game of the season on Friday, while Inter come up against 10th-placed Como. The outcome of the title race will likely decide the mood of the meeting that is to take place between Conte and president Aurelio De Laurentiis to discuss the coach's demands the following day.

Thrilling draw offers encouragement for one team, respite for the other

Vithushan Ehantharajah07-May-2023

Glamorgan wore their disappointment proudly. Yorkshire’s relief trailed them like a soon-to-be discarded bow tie. Even as the end of this match came, Yorkshire clinging on nine down, Glamorgan clawing at that final wicket, here were two teams at the climax of an engaging final day at Headingley still saving face.Both remain winless in Division Two, but Glamorgan have far more to hold onto. This was their most impressive performance of the season so far, bossing Yorkshire throughout, and they perhaps only have themselves to blame for not finishing the job. The hosts will be happier overall, particularly when a batting line-up ransacked for 106 inside 31 overs a couple of days ago stood up for 96 overs, thriving for an outside shot of their 492 target, then surviving as matters got serious.The former and, by proxy, the latter was down to stand-in captain Adam Lyth, whose magnificent 174 was head and shoulders above anything anyone from Yorkshire managed over these four days. He is due to hand over the armband to Shan Masood who arrives this week, but the form and the example set can go a long way to holding together a listless dressing room.Two weeks after a fourth-innings knock of 69 not out that would have taken Yorkshire over the line against Sussex had the weather not intervened, he has saved the club from some further on-field introspection. Rarely has a club had to wake up every morning and check the papers to gauge its level of crisis. It will be of some consolation they can browse Monday’s offerings without any mention of being the bottom-ranked side in the country. Thanks to avoiding a second defeat of the season and picking up eight points, they are 17th out of 18.There was a moment when the worst came to mind. Lyth’s departure triggered what looked a terminal collapse. But Jordan Thompson stood up with an entertaining blend of cold-blooded resistance and hot-headed shot-making, bringing up 51 in 50 deliveries thanks to 10 fours and a six, before playing out a tantilising final over from Michael Neser to drag Yorkshire to safety. Only after he blocked the final delivery did he show any emotion, turning to the home dressing room immediately to punch the air.As valiant a final day as it was for Yorkshire, it was also worthy of lament. The capitulation after tea of 6 for 134 inside 27.2 overs was a bleak reminder of the fallibility of this group. The fight is commendable, but things should not have got this close.Glamorgan’s persistence pushed the match right to the limits, with four wickets for Timm van der Gugten and three to James Harris. But it is hard not to look back at the culmination of day three and spot an error of judgement. Had they pulled out earlier – rains came, with stumps eventually called following their declaration on 352 for 2 – they might have already been on the road back to Cardiff with something to sing about. Given the cloud cover at that point and the lack of it throughout Sunday, they could have nipped early wickets, as they did on the evening of day one when Yorkshire were 62 for 5.Wise after the event? No doubt. Lyth could have been out of action before we arrived on the final day. Then again, he could have been dismissed on 49 when Harris just missed a caught-and-bowled chance, and definitely should have been on his way for 69 when Marnus Labuschagne dropped the simplest of chances at second slip off van der Gugten.Was the chase of 492 ever “on”? You know what – yes. Probably. Certainly when Neser, first change after 12 overs, was driven through the covers for four and then hooked over backward square leg for six by Lyth. Neser, fresh after almost 48-hours with his feet up following 7 for 32 in the first innings, was supposed to be integral to Glamorgan’s search for 10 wickets in 96 overs. And here Lyth was, dashing him around to all parts. A hat-trick and career-best figures in the first innings, followed by 23 thankless overs in the second – what a sport.It was still “on” when Lyth moved to a 30th first-class century off delivery number 135, wasting little time in the nervous nineties or even the anxious eighties with six fours taking him from 76 to 102 in 12 legitimate deliveries.By then, he had George Hill for company. The allrounder was engaging throughout, facilitating Lyth who brutally exposed Andrew Salter’s flaws, smashing him for two fours and two sixes across two overs. The assault took their partnership into three figures and forced David Lloyd to pull his offspinner out of the attack immediately.However, a dart at the target was now an outside bet given the loss of Jonny Bairstow. England’s butcherer of fourth-innings chases last summer strode out after lunch, a break brought on by Finlay Bean’s dismissal to leave Yorkshire 99 for 1. With 393 more needed, Bairstow, in at No. 3, had a clear remit. Nine balls in, an attempt to cart van der Gugten through cover resulted in a slip catch to Labuschagne. Glamorgan went wild, Yorkshire sighed.Out walked Hill, ahead of the more established Saud Shakeel and Dawid Malan, presumably to keep the right-left thing going. A straight drive for four off his first delivery gave us all we needed to know about intentions.He certainly didn’t need the generosity of full tosses and long hops from Labuschagne bowling offies before tea. Fours off the first four deliveries of the last over of the middle session drew cheers from those bathing in the sun on the north-east corner. The second, punched through midwicket, took Hill to a sixth score of fifty or more – and second of the season.The requirement in the final session of 38 overs was still a daunting 252 to go. Hill was livid when he fell 16 deliveries after the restart – edging a drive through to keeper Chris Cooke for van der Gugten’s third – though Malan’s appearance as the eighth-ranked T20I batter in the world did make you wonder what fireworks we might see on Sunday evening. At the other end, 2022’s men’s Hundred MVP was still playing his shots, moving past 150 for the eighth time in his career.Just as the rate had moved above up to eight an over, Malan was trapped lbw by former Middlesex colleague Harris. Then, at 5.25pm, Lyth was given out trapped in front for Jamie McIlroy’s first, with a second right after as Dom Bess pocketed a king pair. Thompson got behind his first delivery, ensuring there was no second Glammy hat trick.Inexplicably, a Glamorgan victory was back on the table: four wickets needed in 17 overs. The second new ball was taken two overs later and given straight to van der Gugten and Neser.Saud Shakeel and Thompson set about seeing things out in their own way, inexplicably going shot for shot in a fifty stand that took just 51 deliveries, thanks largely to Thompson’s propensity to swing at anything in the slot.After 13 were scored from Neser’s third over with the new ball, Harris was brought back in at the Rugby Stand End and snicked Shakeel through to Labuschagne with his second delivery. With his sixth, Matt Fisher was lbw for another pair.And then calm, out of nowhere. The sun came out to bathe us from the west, Thompson thumped an 11th boundary to move to first fifty of the campaign. Mickey Edwards, too, struck three boundaries of his own. Then, to the final delivery of the penultimate over, he decided to leave van der Gugten.Off stump was knocked back and into the final over we went, Thompson on strike with an injured Ben Coad watching on helplessly at the other end. A couple shot off the seam and through to the keeper, but Thompson held firm.

The PCB and Punjab government have reached an agreement that will see PSL games go ahead as scheduled in Lahore and Rawalpindi.The PCB head Najam Sethi tweeted on Sunday, as Lahore’s first PSL game, between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi was underway, that the board and Punjab government had agreed “to share cost of lighting routes during PSL matches in Lahore… PSL matches in Lahore and Pindi shall continue as scheduled.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the ice breaker was PCB reaching out its patron-in chief Shahbaz Sharif, who is the prime minister of Pakistan. That brought to an end a standoff that threatened to see all of Lahore’s remaining games played in Karachi.”I am grateful to the Chief Minister Mr Mohsin Naqvi for accepting and understanding the PCB and PSL franchisees’ position,” Sethi said. “I am also thankful to the franchise owners for their overwhelming and unconditional support to the PCB throughout this process. We remain committed to working with the local governments and sharing with them ideas and suggestions on how they can utilise the PSL more strategically to generate revenues, like any other major sport extravaganza.”