Buttler blitzkrieg powers Rajasthan Royals to 55-run victory over SRH
New Delhi, May 2: Jos Buttler announced his return to form with belligerent maiden T20 hundred as Rajasthan Royals made a mincemeat of an out-of-sorts SunRisers Hyderabad, winning Sunday's IPL encounter by a whopping 55-run margin.
Opening the innings, Buttler smashed a breathtaking 124 off 64 balls while Sanju Samson was effective in his 48 off 33 deliveries which powered Rajasthan to a commanding 220 for three.
Even a change in captaincy couldn't bring in luck for SRH as they could manage only 165 for eight in their 20 overs.
Chris Morris (3/29) and Mustafizur Rahman (3/20) did the bulk of the work with the ball while Kartik Tyagi (1/32) Rahul Twetia (1/45) picked a wicket apiece.
With the win, the Royals moved up to fifth spot while SRH continued to stay at the bottom, having won only one match all season.
Looking to register their second win of the season, SRH raced to 57 for no loss in the first six overs.
However, Bangladesh pacer Rahman struck right after the first strategic time out, getting rid of Manish Pandey (31). The dangerous Jonny Bairstow (30) and Vijay Shankar (8) soon followed.
With the pressure mounting, skipper Kane Williamson (20) went for the big shot only to be caught at deep midwicket by Morris off Tyagi as wickets tumbled at regular intervals.
Mohammad Nabi (17 off 5) injected some hope in the SRH camp, as he smashed Tewatia for two sixes in the 14th over. However, the Afghan was back in the dug out after a quick cameo.
With 91 needed in the last five overs the lower and middle order struggled.
In the end the, top heavy SRH did not have enough fire-power to pull off the mammoth chase.
Earlier, put in to bat, Buttler and Samson stitched a 150-run partnership for the second wicket after the Royals lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (12) cheaply.
While the Englishman hit the ball 11 fours apart from eight maximums, Samson also had four fours and two sixes to his credit.
For SRH, Rashid Khan (1/24), Vijay Shankar (1/42) and Sandeep Sharma (1/50) picked a wicket each.
Put into bat, the Royals were off to a sedate start as they managed just five runs of the first two overs.
Williamson, searching for wickets early on in the innings, introduced spin in third over by bringing in star bowler Rashid.
Jaiswal smashed three fours, before the Afghan showed his class and trapped the youngster leg before.
RR skipper Samson, who was dropped on 23 by Manish Pandey in the 10th over, announced his arrival with a six over mid-wicket off pacer Khaleel Ahmed.
At the other end, Buttler, who looked in sublime touch, also hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for two boundaries in the sixth over as the Royals amassed 42 runs for the loss of one wicket in the Powerplay.
The duo continued to hit boundaries at regular intervals at the small Feroz Shah Kotla ground, collecting 18 runs, which included two sixes, off all-rounder Vijay Shankar in the seventh over.
Having successfully navigated Rashid's four overs, Buttler and Samson upped the ante in the 13th over, plundering 17 runs.The Englishman muscled a six over wide long on before lofting one over extra-cover for boundary.
With all bowlers leaking runs, Williamson turned to Mohammad Nabi, who is playing his second game of the season, but Buttler hammered the off-spinner for two sixes and as many fours.
Vijay Shankar managed to get rid of Samson in the 17th over with young Riyan Parag (15 not out) walking in.
There was no stopping Buttler, who was in complete control, as he continued to hit boundaries at will. Sandeep Sharma, eventually brought his innings to an end of the penultimate over but he had inflicted the required damage by then.
SRH were guilty of being sloppy in the field, dropping catches and missing run outs.
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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.
