In IPL 2024‘s first double-header Saturday, without any doubt DC’s Rishabh Pant and KKR’s Shreyas Iyer were the biggest newsmakers among others. While the southpaw did fairly well considering he was returning to the sport after 14 months, Iyer was rather poor in his short stay at the crease.
Not to forget Sam Curran and Liam Livinstone’s high-quality batting against Delhi that took PBKS to their first win of the season. Also, Ishant Sharma suffered an untimely ankle injury that ruled him out of Delhi’s first match. Here is your dose of Daily Review System for March 24.
Don’t Look at Pant’s Performance Already
Rishabh Pant scored 18 from 13 only, and hit two boundaries, got a couple of lifelines, yet his performances just cannot be criticised. It is nothing short of a miracle that he back to playing cricket after the horrific car crash he suffered in December 2022. To put it simply, it was a memorable performance. He also kept wickets, and took a catch, and effected a stumping.
Impact player Abhishek Porel makes an impact
Coming in as an impact sub for Ricky Bhui, DC’s left-hander Porel came up with a blinding effort and slammed 32 from 10 balls. He hit four fours and two sixes in his innings and took his team to 174/9. And, he slammed Harshal Patel for 25 runs in the last over of the innings, that gave an impetus to his team.
Curran & Livingstone is all PBKS Need
At 100/4 it looked like Punjab Kings won’t be able to chase down the total after all, but then Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone combined well to stich a partnership of 67 and take the team home. The leftie scored 63 from 47, while Livingstone managed 38 from 21 balls, winning the match with four matches to spare.
Short-ball Not the Only Impediment for Iyer
In what looked like a good length ball, Shreyas Iyer, the KKR skipper was removed by T Natarajan. It wasn’t like it was a short delivery, which is a known nemesis, but just the case of Shreyas Iyer mistiming a lofted shot, that went straight into the hands of SRH skipper Pat Cummins.
Russell Takes Off at Eden Gardens
KKR all-rounder Andre Russell did exactly what he is expected to do with the bat — hit opposition bowlers left, right & centre. He hit 64 from 25 balls that included seven sixes and three fours. Three of those maximums came in one over of SRH bowler Mayank Markande.
Klaasen’s Blinder & Starc’s Blunder
Without any doubt, in the second match of the day, Heinrich Klaasen played one of the most memorable innings of the tournament as he slammed 63 from 29 balls. He nearly took SRH to an improbable win, from a position where they needed 90 odd from 5 overs. Things took a complete turn when Mitchell Starc was hit for a massive 26 runs in the 19th over.
Super Over: 6 News Flash of March 23
Pathirana in India
After all the hurdles he faced — injury or NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket — all that is resolved now, as he has joined the CSK team finally. But it depends if he’ll play CSK’s next match given Mustafizur Rahman’s performance vs RCB.
Dhoni Just Like Federer
Robin Uthappa mentioned that Dhoni’s knees look as good as new and he’s does a lot behind the scenes, just like Federer. “His knee looks brand new at the moment. The fact that he is jogging and striding well just goes to show he has done the work behind the scenes. Just like Roger Federer.”
Dinesh Karthik Major Announcement Soon?
After RCB’s first match, DK was asked if he played his last in Chennai? He said, “I genuinely wish it’s not the last one because the playoffs and some of the knockouts could be held here. So, I hope I could come back here and that could be the last. But otherwise, yeah, I think this is the last.”
Harshit Rana vs Mayank Agarwal
What do you do when someone gives you a flying kiss? You respond with a death stare. That’s what Mayank Agarwal did when he was dismissed by Harshit, and blew a kiss at him.
Old Horse Ishant Sharma Injured
In DC’s first match of the season, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma was ousted due to an ankle injury. While the extent of his injury is not known, it didn’t look good at all.
KKR, Shah Rukh Khan & Eden Gardens
After KKR’s miraculous win over SRH on Saturday, at their home, King Khan went for a victory lap to acknowledge the crowd support.
Editors pick
