Andre Russell's late fireworks take KKR to 154/6 after batting collapse against DC
Ahmedabad, Apr 29: Kolkata Knight Riders suffered another familiar batting collapse before late fireworks from Andre Russell lifted them to 154 for six in their IPL match against Delhi Capitals here on Thursday.
Put in to bat, KKR were at a decent position at 69 for one in the 10th over but slumped to 82 for five in the 13th before Russell saved them with a 27-ball 45 not out.
Russell's blistering innings had two boundaries and four sixes.
Struggling opener Shubman Gill top-scored with a 38-ball 43, and his knock was studded with three boundaries and one six, but he failed to convert his solid start into a big score.
For DC, Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav were impressive with two wickets.
KKR were 45 for one at the end of powerplay overs after Nitish Rana was stumped out for 15 in the fourth over bowled by Axar.
Gill was going strong as he took on Ishant Sharma and Axar by hitting a few boundaries but lost Rahul Tripathi to Marcus Stoinis in the 10th over.
KKR's familiar batting slump came to the fore as captain Eoin Morgan and Sunil Narine both got out in the space of three balls without opening their accounts.
Lalit, who replaced an injured Amit Mishra in the DC playing XI, grabbed both the wickets as KKR slumped from 69 for 1 in the 10th over to 75 for 4 in the 11th over.
Morgan holed out to Steve Smith at long-off while Narine was castled by a quick off-break from Lalit, which disturbed his stumps.
Gill, who is yet to score a half century in seven innings this season, went for a big shot off a slower ball from Avesh Khan, only to hole out to Smith in the 13th over.
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India beat Ireland by 304 runs in third women's ODI
Rajkot, Jan 15: Records tumbled like nine pins as the Indian women's cricket team, powered by skipper Smriti Mandhana's 70-ball century, demolished Ireland by a whopping 304 runs to claim its biggest-ever ODI win and complete a 3-0 clean sweep here on Wednesday.
The result of the match was a mere formality once India set Ireland a massive target of 436, and Ireland could only garner 131 before getting bundled out in 31.4 overs.
India put the first step forward towards a crushing victory through record-breaking Mandhana (135, 80b, 12x4, 7x6) and her opening partner Pratika Rawal (154, 129b, 20x4, 1x6), reaching 435/5, highest total by an Indian team — men’s or women’s — in ODIs.
India men's highest ODI total is 418/5 made against the West Indies in Indore in 2011.
Mandhana and Rawal added a whopping 233 runs for the first wicket in just 26.4 overs and there was no looking back.
Then spinners Tanuja Kanwar (2/31) and Deepti Sharma (3/27) took over, sharing five wickets among them to decimate the Irish line-up, which was well short on experience.
Orla Prendergast (36) and Sarah Forbes (41) added 64 runs for a fluent third wicket stand that helped Ireland to recover from a shaky 24 for two to reach 88 without further damage.
But once Prendergast was cleaned up by Kanwar, India were all over the tourists like a bad rash, claiming the remaining seven wickets for just 33 runs.
It also helped India eclipse their previous largest margin of victory (by runs) — 249 registered against the same opposition in 2017 at Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Mandhana’s 10th ODI century came off just 70 deliveries as the left-hander surpassed Harmanpreet Kaur’s 87-ball hundred mark against South Africa last year.
It also set the tone for India breaching the 400-run mark for the first time, joining Australia and New Zealand in that elite list.
Mandhana was in her usual destructive self, and was not afraid to take the aerial route over the 'V' and clear the 30-yard circle.
Pratika complemented her captain brilliantly with a measured knock, making the occasion even more special by notching her maiden international century in her sixth innings.
Pratika relied on precise placement and deft touches in the point region and she showed her aggression only after reaching the ton, hitting Freya Sargent for her first six.
Demonstrating hunger for a bigger knock, she powered her way to an impressive 150 — a perfect blend of composure and aggression.
Their 233-run partnership made them only the fourth Indian pair to record a 200-run stand in Women’s ODIs.
It was also the third instance of both Indian openers scoring hundreds in ODIs, following Reshma Gandhi and Mithali Raj’s feat at Milton Keynes in 1999 and Deepti and Raut’s partnership at Potchefstroom in 2017 -- all against Ireland.
The duo added 90 runs during the Power Play and 67 in the subsequent 10 overs, maintaining a brisk scoring rate.
Mandhana reached her first century of the calendar year with an exquisite drive off Arlene Kelly.
Kelly bore the brunt of her onslaught, conceding successive sixes in one over.
Even Kelly’s variations, including back-of-the-hand deliveries, were dispatched with ease, with the Indian batter following a six with another boundary in the 24th over.
Mandhana also took on Ireland’s leading bowler, Prendergast, smashing her for a boundary down the ground and a towering six over long-on.
Promoted to No. 3, Richa Ghosh also returned to form, making a 37-ball fifty, her fifth in ODIs.
