A young bowler from Afghan bowled good balls to seniors

image: Twitter

Fazalhaq Farooqi, a 22-year old young Afghan left-arm pacer is brought by the Chennai Super Kings in the auction. He just played a single international T-20 match against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi and took a wicket by giving just 27 runs in four overs.

As the IPL matches are just two days away, the teams are playing practice matches among themselves by dividing up into two teams. The youtube is full of them in the last 48 hours. 

In the CSK practice sessions, Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled a few excellent balls to MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. At first, he balled short balls to Suresh Raina, his weakest zone and then he balled wide yorkers for MS Dhoni.

Both the senior player found hard to send his balls to boundaries in the practice match. They just managed to rotate the strike between them with singles.

Josh Hazelwood opted out for the entire season and Lungi Ngidi will be unavailable for the next few matches due to mandatory quarantine.  Fazalhaq Farooqi will be the best option for the Chennai Super Kings for their pacer position.

This 22-year-old can do wonders in the forthcoming Indian Premier League edition if he played well and under MS Dhoni captaincy.

Here is the video of the Fazalhaq Farooqi bowling to Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni

Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi Bowling to Captain @msdhoni & @ImRaina During Practice Game 🔥#WhistlePodu #CSK #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/Jwm0CMeV0C

— Chennai Super Kings FC (@TeamSuperKings) April 6, 2021

Few overseas players to miss their first match

image: ICC

A few of the South African players to miss their first match. As they have just arrived in Indian after completing the first two ODI matches against Pakistan. According to the BCCI guidelines, the players have to be quarantined for a certain period of time.

If the quarantine period is two weeks, the players are going to miss at least three to four matches in this period. Most of these players are very important for the teams to win matches on the league stage.

I think the players will be under quarantine just for a week, to see whether they have developed symptoms and test regularly for the virus.

The list of players includes 

• Quinton de Kock, wicketkeeper and the opener of Mumbai Indians, 
• Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, wicket-taking bowlers from Delhi Capitals, 
• David Miller, a middle-order batsman from Rajasthan Royals, 
• Lungi Ngidi, pacer from Chennai Super Kings.

With this list, Delhi Capitals have to lose the most. As the team already missing their star captain Shreyas Iyer due to shoulder injury, Axar Patel Tested Positive for the coronavirus and the two most important bowlers will be missing their first match.

Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock can be easily replaceable by Ishan Kishan. But you can't replace the reliable opener batsman Quinton de Kock. He has played a few wonderful innings in that position.

I think Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan will open the first match followed by Chris Lynn/ Anmolpreet Singh.

For Rajasthan Royals, David Miller is an option for the squad but not the only choice for the top-middle-order. For Chennai Super Kings, Lungi Ngidi is also an option as they use their new recruits to fill the seamer position in the team.

IPL 2021 CSK vs DC Match 2

The second match of the Indian Premier League 2021 is between the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals on the 10th of April.

Chennai Super Kings led by the legendary, cool captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The team won three times in the IPL. But, last year the team didn't even qualified for the playoffs.

Delhi capitals, led by the rookie captain Rishab Pant by replacing Shreyas Iyer. As Shreyas Iyer injured his shoulder during an ODI match, he was ruled out for the entire season.

This team went to finals last year, and knock out stage the year before that. As the team is performing well, for the last two years, this year they might really have the chance to lift the cup.

The match starts at 7:30 PM IST in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The match will be played behind a closed door without spectators due to coronavirus.

Chennai Super Kings

The team is lead by MS Dhoni, a former captain of the Indian cricket team. With his experience, he led the team as a three-time champion in IPL. But, last year, the team didn't even make it to the knock-outs.

As CSK really struggled with their batting lineup and didn't have good middle-order batsmen. Raina, Harbajan Singh leaving the tournament due to personal reasons made a huge impact on the team.

The new includes such as Cheteshwar Pujara, K Gowtham, Moeen Ali might add strength to the batting and bowling line up. Moreover, Raina is back on the team. 

Here is the squad of Chennai super kings

Probable playing 11 *: This will be updated soon 

Team News

• Lungi Ngidi will not be playing the first match due to mandatory quarantine.
• Josh Hazelwood opted out of IPL 2021 due to personal reasons. 

Delhi Capitals

With a new captain and new purchases, the team is on fire this year. As they made almost to the finals last year, this year Delhi Capitals are already in the limelight. In 2019, the team made it to knockouts and lost to Chennai super kings in Vishakapatnam. They made it to the finals in the previous season and lost to Mumbai Indians. 

The change in captaincy and losing two important players for the first match might put DC in a tough place. They might struggle a bit from the start. If they opt to bat first, and if Shikar gave a good start and took the total score to 180 -190, the team might have an edge against CSK.

Here is the squad of Delhi Capitals

Probable Playing 11 *: Shikar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishab Pant (c &wk), Shemron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel/ Chris Woakes, R Ashwin, K Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ishant Sharma/ Umesh Yadav. 

Team News:

• Shreyas Iyer to miss the entire season due to a shoulder injury.
• Rishab Pant to take his place as Captain.
• Axar Patel has tested positive for coronavirus, he might not play the first match.
• Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje will no the playing the first match due to mandatory quarantine.

Toss: This will be updated soon

Pitch Report: This Will be updated soon

Weather: This will be updated soon

For detailed analysis visit https://digest.cricn.co.in.

*  Probable playing 11 is just a guess by my side after the careful analysis of the teams. These are not 100% garunteed.

You can join us for the live blog down below.

IPL 2021 MI vs RCB Match 1

The first match of the Indian Premier League 2021 edition to start with Mumbai Indians and the Royal challengers Bangalore on the 9th of April.

On one side, Mumbai Indians, who are in hunger for their 6th IPL trophy, on the other hand, Royal Challenger Bangalore with legends and yet to win a cup.

The match starts at 7:30 PM IST in M A Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai. The match will be played behind a closed door without spectators due to coronavirus.

Mumbai Indians 

Mumbai Indians are the dominating team in IPL. They won almost 70% of their matches in the IPL in the last two seasons. They have got a good batting lineup that can score even in death overs and good bowlers who can deliver wickets in the same death overs.

Here is the squad of Mumbai Indians for the 2021 IPL

Probable Playing 11*: Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Anmolpreet Singh, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya. Kieron Pollard, Adam Milne, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Piyush Chawla/Rahul Chahar.

Team News: 

• Hardik Pandya will be playing as an all-rounder.
• Quinton de Kock to miss the first match due to mandatory quarantine. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore

One of the worlds top batsmen cum captain, a batsman cum wicket-keeper who can hit the ball in any direction, and the worlds best spinner is their team but they are unable to lift the IPL cup.

Devdutt Padikkal, a young talent, who recently showed his performance in the Vijay Hazare trophy secured a place in the team. But, due to coronavirus, he was quarantined in his house in Bengaluru.

The team didn't announce anything about his status in the first game. If he is still positive, he might not play in the first game. RCB needs Padikkal best performance in the powerplay to get a good score in the game.

Here is the Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad for IPL 2021:

 

Probable Playing 11*: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villers (wk), Washington Sundar, M Azharudeen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kyle Jamieson

For detailed analysis on the Dream 11 team visit https://digest.cricn.co.in.

* Probable playing 11 is just a guess by my side after the careful analysis of the teams. These are not 100% garunteed.

Team News

• Adam Zampa might not be available for the first match due to his marriage.
• Devdutt Padikkal tested positive for coronavirus on march 22nd. He might not play the first match.
• An Indian wicket-keeper will be behind the wickets for RCB. Not the Mr.360.
• Daniel Sams tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the first match.

Numbers:

Virat Kohli is just 122 runs away to reach 6000 runs in IPL.

Toss: The team that won the toss might choose to Bowl first. The dew later on the field might help score runs.

Pitch report: Chennai will always help spin bowlers very well. The dew in the second innings of the game might slightly change the outcome. The average runs scored in this ground is 144 runs. I would be expecting at least 150 to 170 on the board for the first innings. 

Weather: At the beginning of the match the temperature will be around 31 C and the temperature will be dropping to 29C with a partly cloudy sky. The winds will be blowing at 20 to 21 kph towards the city.

You can also join us for the live blog on the 9th of April 2021 down below

Star Sports broadcast crew tests positive

image: Getty Images, Philip Brown  

The Star Sports crew of fourteen members staying in bio-bubble at the four-season hotel tests positive for coronavirus. This crew is responsible for producing the world feed from 9th April on behalf of BCCI.

This list includes the cameraman, producer, directors, video editors and EVS operators (people who provide slow and ultra-motion replays and instant graphics). 

As per the reports by Outlook India, the BCCI is in charge of creating the bio-bubbles for the teams and the staff.

As the cases in the state of Maharashtra are rising at an alarming rate, the ground crew from the cricket stadium tested positive along with few players and a few IPL managers.

Recently, the state government announced partial lockdowns in the state to restrict the spread of the virus. At that time, everyone's eye is the IPL but, the government did not place any restrictions on the matches. With this decision, BCCI felt some relief for few hours.

That relief is spoiled with this news but, still, the BCCI is confident that the IPL will be played as planned. 

Star Sports is also managing another crew securely in bio-bubble at the JW Marriot hotel. These guys are responsible only for the customized feed for regional language. 

Sourav Ganguly said, “Once you are in a bubble nothing happens. Even in the UAE last season, there were a few such incidents in the lead-up to the event but once the tournament started everything was fine."

The Indian Premier League will be played without any changes, as per the assurance from the government and with the confidence of BCCI. 

Matches in Mumbai will be played as per schedule

image: IPL

According to the Cricbuzz report, the 10 matches which are scheduled at Mumbai will be played as per the schedule without any interruption. Despite the government's partial lockdowns at night and at weekends. 

As long as the teams maintain their bio-bubbles for the players and supporting staff, there will not be any restrictions on the Indian Premier League matches played in Wankhede stadium said Police Commissioner to MCA official.

image: ECB

In other news, Moeen Ali, the 33-year-old English player, who will be playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the 14th edition of IPL, refuses to wear the team jersey promoting the alcohol company. 

The team management respected and accepted his choice and made a special jersey without the alcohol company logo just for him.

As the player is from a religious family, he keeps his distance from alcohol even during the champagne popping celebrations after winning a match.

Chennai Super Kings paid seven crores for the player in the Auction.

New ICC rules for Umpires call

image: r/cricket 

To know about the Umpires Call, first, you need to know about LBW. If the batsmen use his leg to stop the oncoming ball hit the stumps behind him, it's declared as OUT by the onfield Umpire stating Leg Before Wicket as the reason.

The ball hitting the leg pads need to be in line with the wickets and the batsmen should miss hitting the ball before touching the pads, then only the umpire will state his decision as OUT.

These decisions can be wrong sometimes due to the error of the umpires in the international matches. So, the International Cricket Council, the apex body which sees and makes cricket rules, introduced a Decision Review system.

In this system, a captain of the team can challenge the decision taken by the on-field umpire. A player can challenge a limited number of times in a match or in an innings depending on the format. 

How DRS works in Cricket?

For an LBW appeal, when a captain signals for a third umpire by making a T shaped gesture using his hands, the on-field umpire makes a rectangle or TV shaped gesture asking for a DRS.

Then, the Third umpire checks for the ball legality, and then, checks if the bat touches the ball before hitting the batsmen pads. If there is no bat involved then, he/she checks for the line.

If the ball is in line, then he uses ball tracking to check whether the ball is hitting the wickets by plotting the ball's trajectory and angle using the software. 

With the help of the high-speed cameras placed on the ground pointing at the batsman from four directions. The software interpolates the path from the point of hitting on pads to the wickets behind the batsmen.

If more than 50% of the ball is hitting any part of the wicket, the TV umpire will give the decision as out. If not, the final decision will be the ground umpires decision, which is known as umpires call. If the decision is umpires call, the review is not struck from the limited number.

Change in Rules

After backlash from the players, the ICC has made a few rules back in 2016 by increasing the wicket zone from inside of the leg and off-stump to outside of the leg and off-stump. Now, this wicket zone has increased from the bottom of the bails to the top of the bails.

Even now the ball has to hit more than 50% to change the decision made by the on-field umpire.