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<keyword id="351" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Yuvraj-Singh">Yuvraj Singh</keyword> was sold to <keyword id="1494441" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sunrisers-Hyderabad">Sunrisers Hyderabad</keyword> (SRH) for Rs 7 crore during the 2016 Indian Premier League (<keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword>) Auction in Bengaluru on Saturday. 
 
 Pacer <keyword id="6357606" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ashish-Nehra">Ashish Nehra</keyword> got richer by Rs 5.5 crore, as he also joined the Orange Army of SRH.

	Yuvraj played for Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors India in the IPL before being snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2014 Player Auction for a whopping 14 crores, the all-rounder broke that record at the 2015 Player Auction when he was snapped up by Delhi Daredevils for 16 crores. 
	 
	Arguably Team India's best limited-overs all-rounder in recent years, Yuvraj emerged as the highest paid player in the last year's auction. Among the nine marquee players, Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra and <keyword id="6378477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Shane-Watson">Shane Watson</keyword> have the highest base price of Rs 2 crore.

IPL Auction: Yuvraj Singh sold at Rs 7 crore to Sunrisers Hyderabad!

Despite Delhi Daredevils' forgettable performance in <keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> 7, one man who stands tall amidst the rubble is JP Duminy. Duminy, who is DD's leading run scorer with 357 runs in 12 matches, has accepted that in spite of having some very good players in the team, it was their failure to perform as a unit which hurt them the most. 
 
With lot of talk centred on Duminy's own batting position, the South African allrounder revealed that the team always showed faith in his capabilities and he was enjoying the responsibility. "I have enjoyed it all. I have enjoyed finishing games here as it is not something I have done too often at the international level. It was nice for me to get that role and do well to justify it. I do take a lot of confidence out of it," Duminy was quoted as saying by iplt20.com. Duminy's comments came after being probed about <keyword id="12706" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Gary-Kirsten">Gary Kirsten</keyword>'s insistence on the batsman coming down the order to finish games. 
 DD succumbed to their seventh successive defeat on Monday evening, losing to <keyword id="13883" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kings-XI-Punjab">Kings XI Punjab</keyword> by four wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi. Duminy, however, chose to talk about the positives from the last night game when he said, "Today seeing <keyword id="6355316" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Dinesh-Karthik">Dinesh Karthik</keyword> and <keyword id="9231" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kevin-Pietersen">Kevin Pietersen</keyword> do as well as they did, was great. We will be the first ones to admit that we haven't performed to the best of our abilities." 
 
He also refused to put blame on any single person or reason, when asked to put on a finger on what went wrong. "It is a very difficult question to answer. It has been very disappointing to have such a dismal season. As you mentioned, we have some very good players, but we haven't fired as a group. Our batting and bowling hasn't quite clicked simultaneously in a game, which has resulted in our downfall," Duminy said. "But tonight, I thought we fought hard and took the game to the last over from a position where they needed only seven runs an over to win. To fight back from there was a good sign, and that's all we ask off ourselves in the last three games. We cannot control the results, but we can give our best in all the remaining games." 
 
After posting 164 for 7 in their 20 overs courtesy Dinesh Karthik's 44-ball 69, DD made KXIP sweat in the chase, but lost the tie in the final over of the match. Duminy insisted that they would like to go on a high and try their best in the remaining games. 
 
"Even though this season has been really bad for us, we can still win the remaining two games and go out on a high. We have, not for a second, taken things for granted. We know we are privileged to be here, playing in this tournament and representing the Delhi Daredevils. And it's our responsibility to put in the good performances," he said.

IPL: It Is A Collective Failure, Says Duminy

Melbourne, Apr 6 () With cricket facing an uncertain future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian pace spearhead Pat Cummins would like to see the T20 World Cup at home being held over the lucrative IPL in which he would enter as the costliest foreign buy. Cummins became the most expensive foreign buy in the IPL at the auction in December when Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out a whopping Rs 15.50 crore for his services. "The T20 World Cup is something we've spoken about for the best part of two or three years. The (ODI) World Cup in 2015, that was absolutely a career highlight for me and I wasn't even playing in the final. I'd love to see that go ahead," Cummins was quoted as saying by the 'Australian Associated Press'. "That's probably the big tournament this year for international cricket ... I'd love for that to happen in a perfect world and if I was to be really greedy, I'd love for the IPL to happen as well." There is no definitive word on the IPL yet after it was postponed to April 15. With coronavirus cases continuing to rise globally, it is unlikely the cash-rich league will be organised anytime soon. Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has suggest that the IPL should kick-start the cricketing season and be held before the T20 World Cup, scheduled in October-November. BS PM PM

Cummins prioritises T20 World Cup over IPL

Australian all-rounder <keyword id="6378477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Shane-Watson">Shane Watson</keyword> today became the first million-dollar buy of the Indian Premier League players' auction going to <keyword id="12643" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Royal-Challengers">Royal Challengers</keyword> Bangalore for a whopping Rs 9.5 crore ($1.39 million) after an intense bidding war. 
 India's <keyword id="351" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Yuvraj-Singh">Yuvraj Singh</keyword> wasn't third-time lucky in terms of being the biggest buy but <keyword id="1494441" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sunrisers-Hyderabad">Sunrisers Hyderabad</keyword> entered late into the fray to buy him for Rs 7 crore ($1.03 million). 
 Sunrisers Hyderabad also bought veteran pacer <keyword id="6357606" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ashish-Nehra">Ashish Nehra</keyword> for Rs 5.50 crore ($810,000) pipping Kings XI Punjab and Gujarat Lions. 
 
Debutants Pune Supergiants got Kevin Pietersen for Rs 3.5 crore ($515,000), the first player to go under the hammer, even though Gujarat Lions also bid intensely for the dashing England batsman. Pune also got Ishant Sharma Rs 3.8 crore (USD 559,000) 
 
Gujarat Lions got South African Dale Steyn and West Indian Dwayne Smith for Rs 2.3 crore ($338,000) each. 
 
However, the player to hit the pay dirt was definitely Watson, who recently hit a smashing century in the third T20 International against India recently. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes 
 Also, he has been an ever-present player for the now banned <keyword id="13802" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rajasthan-Royals">Rajasthan Royals</keyword> being the 'Player of the Tournament' in the league's first season. 
 
Watson has retired from the longer format but his 130-135 kmph seam-up stuff has also turned out to be handy on Indian pitches. 
 
Australian T20 captain Aaron Finch New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill were the players who went unsold in the first session

IPL Auction: Shane Watson becomes the costliest buy for Royal Challengers Bangalore at Rs 9.5 crore!

Mumbai, India mens cricket team skipper <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> has revealed the real story about his nickname '<keyword id="1498636" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chiku">chiku</keyword> and how it was popularised by veteran wicketkeeper-batsman M.S. Dhoni who shouted it many times during a cricket game from behind the stumps. "MS (Dhoni) has sort of made my nickname famous from behind the stumps. In the stumps' mic, people pick up," Kohli told Kevin Pietersen during a chat session on Instagram on Thursday. He revealed that it was his first-class cricket coach who nicknamed him 'chiku'. "I got this nickname from a coach in the Ranji Trophy. I used to have big cheeks then. In 2007, I thought I was losing hair. I got my hair cropped and my cheeks and ears stood out. I got the name from a cartoon character. The rabbit in the comic book Champak," he said. Prior to the interview, Pietersen had also shared a picture of Kohli's younger days and asked him about the photo. The 31-year-old laughed and said: "I don't recognise him anymore. We did have a lot of fun then. 2009 and 2010 you (Pietersen) were with us and we really hit off from day 1. And we had a gun team with Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis." Kohli also shed light on him turning vegan, saying it is the best decision he has made in his life. "In 2018, I got a cervical spine issue. I could barely feel my finger and I could not sleep the body was acidic, my stomach started pulling calcium from my bones and my bones got weaker. "I cut down uric acid from my body and I left meat. That is the best decision I have made in my life. I have never felt better waking up. I can play 3 games a week and can recover within a day after a Test match and go on another," he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/aditya-birla-ceo-explains-how-to-divide-your-savings-in-post-coronavirus-period/articleshow/74957025.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">The CEO of a mutual fund explains how to divide your savings in the post-Coronavirus era</a>

Know the real story behind Virat Kohli's nickname 'chiku'

The nail-biting excitement continues in <keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> 7 as the top teams slug it out to be crowned victorious. While the last couple of matches have had a high adrenalin rush, this has certainly not been the case for the entire tournament. 
	 

	There are some players that were acquired at a high cost and came with a high degree of expectations but were not able to deliver at the ground. We bring to you a list of 11 such players that have not been able to justify their worth in the current season of IPL: 
	 

	Dinesh Kartik 

	 Team: <keyword id="6354884" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Delhi-Daredevils">Delhi Daredevils</keyword> Cost of Acquisition : Rs 12.5 Crore Delhi Daredevils has had a dismissal season at the IPL and all its players seem to be out of form. This includes the wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Kartik. He has scored 325 runs in the 14 matches with an average of 23.21. This is not what one would have expected out of the second most expensive players in the tournament 

	Kevin Pietersen

	 Team: Delhi Daredevils Cost of acquisition: Rs 9 crores The third most expensive player for the IPL season 7 is Kevin Pietersen and is the captain of Delhi Daredevils. In the 11 matches that he has played, he scored 294 runs averaging 29.40. Post the last match with <keyword id="13883" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kings-XI-Punjab">Kings XI Punjab</keyword>, Pietersen said in a media interview that he was bitterly disappointed with that day’s match. He added, “I'd like to apologize to the Delhi Daredevils fans.” Pietersen signed off saying that he hoped that the things would be much different in the forthcoming season. 

	Corey Anderson 
	 

	Team: Mumbai Indians

	Cost of acquisition: 4.5 crores

	The Kiwi batsman Corey Anderson has having a horrible spell at the ongoing IPL. However, his knock of 95 runs in just 44 deliveries helped Mumbai Indians secure a place in the playoffs. In a nail-biting match, Mumbai Indians were entrusted with the task of chasing 190 runs in under 15 overs. Though his heroic feet needs to be accoladed, but in the overall stats, Anderson has hit 265 runs in his 12 matches and has an average of 29.44. 

	 
	Micheal Hussey 
	 

	Team: Mumbai Indians

	Cost of acquisition: 5 crores

	Another player from the Mumbai Indians that has not been able to have an enjoyable season at the IPL is Micheal Hussey. So far in the tournament, Hussey has played 9 matches and scored 209 runs and has an average of 23.22.
 

	Chris Gayle 
	 

	Team: Royal Challenger Banglore

	 Cost of acquisition: 9.5 Crore

	The West Indies player is known to play big shots. However, in this IPL season, he too seemed a bit out of form. He has played 9 matches in the current tournament and hit a cumulative of 196 runs with an average of 21.77. His highest score in the tournament has been 46. 

	It is noteworthy that Gayle is harboring a back injury and is intending to go to Germany soon for his treatment.
 

	<keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Virat-Kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> 
	 
	Team : Royal Challenger Bangalore

	Cost of acquisition: 12.5 crore

	The Royal Challenger Captain has managed only 286 runs in the 13 matches that he has played in the IPL season. His average for the season has been 23.83 and the strike rate of 116.73. In the IPL 7, it is being said that the Royal Challengers Bangalore has had an inconsistent form and the same is also true for their skipper.
 

	Yusuf Pathan 

	 <keyword id="6354467" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kolkata-Knight-Riders">Kolkata Knight Riders</keyword> Cost of Acquisition: 3.25 crore When the IPL 7 started, one of the star batsmen in KKR’s side seemed to be not in the form. However, he made it up to them in the last match against Sunrisers Hyderbad by hitting 72 off 22 balls. In the first playoff match against Kings XI Punjab in the playoffs, KKR’s score was 67 runs for the loss of three wickets, and they wanted the Pathan boy to recreate the magic of the last match. Unfortunately, he was only able to manage 20 runs of 28 balls. Despite this knock, this batman from Kolkata’s team has scored a total of 212 in 13 matches. His average is 30.28 
	Amit Mishra

	 
	Sunrisers Hyderabad

	Cost of acquisition: 4.75 Crore

	This leg spinner made a big impact in the IPL 2008 when he picked up a hat-trick while playing for the Delhi Daredevils. However, now as a member of the Hyderabad team, he has not been able to make a big impact. In the entire tournament, he has played 10 matches, bowled 37.3 overs and taken 7 wickets. His economy rate too has been a staggering 9.06!
 

	Murali Vijay 

	 
	Delhi Daredevils

	Cost of acquisition: 5 crore

	 This player from the Delhi Daredevils has managed to score only 207 runs from his 11 innings in the tournament. In the last two matches that he played against Punjab and Mumbai, he managed to score a total of mere 13 runs. Due to his poor form, he was dropped in the last match that Delhi Daredevils played.
 

	Dale Steyn 
	 

	Sunrisers Hyderabad

	Cost of Acquisition: 9.5Crore

	Dale Steyn is another player, who seems to be having his worst IPL season. He has played 14 matches in this season and has managed to claim only 11 wickets and that too at a depressing average of 39.18.
 

	Jacques Kallis

	 
	Kolkata Knight Riders

	Cost of acquisition: 5.5 core 

	Kolkata Knight Riders was counting on the veteran allrounder Jacques Kallis to be an asset in this season of IPL. However, as he has not been able to spin in any magic either through bat or ball, he has been dropped in the last three matches in a row. He was also not the part of the semi-final game against Kings XI Punjab. In the IPL 7, Kallis has played 8 matches and scored a total of 151 runs and an average of 25.16. He has not bowled in the current season. 
	 
	Image courtesy: <a href="http://www.fabuloussavers.com/">Fabulous Savers</a>

11 Expensive Players That Were Not Able To Make A Mark in IPL 7

<keyword id="10138" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni">Mahendra Singh Dhoni</keyword> was today removed as captain of <keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> franchise Rising Pune Supergiants and replaced by Australian <keyword id="84726" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Steve-Smith">Steve Smith</keyword>, ending his innings as skipper in both international and franchise cricket, according to news agency <keyword id="6367495" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PTI">PTI</keyword>. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Dhonis-daughter-just-did-a-photoshoot-and-its-cutenessoverloaded/articleshow/55924984.cms">ALSO READ: CUTENESS ALERT: DHONI'S DAUGHTER JUST DID A PHOTOSHOOT</a> 
 <keyword id="6397" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dhoni">Dhoni</keyword>, who had stepped down as India's limited-overs <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Dhonis-daughter-just-did-a-photoshoot-and-its-cutenessoverloaded/articleshow/55924984.cms">captain</a> to snap his international run as skipper earlier this year, will, however, continue to be a part of the Pune franchise as a player. 
 "Dhoni has not stepped down. We have appointed Steve <keyword id="11668" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Smith">Smith</keyword> as the skipper for the upcoming season. Frankly speaking, we did not have a good last season and we wanted someone young to lead the side and revamp it ahead of the upcoming season 10," Rising Pune Supergiants owner <keyword id="6355523" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjiv-Goenka">Sanjiv Goenka</keyword> told PTI. 
 
This is the first time that the 35-year-old, who had stepped down from Team India captaincy on his own terms in all formats, has been removed from the top position. 
 
The decision comes a day before the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Dhonis-daughter-just-did-a-photoshoot-and-its-cutenessoverloaded/articleshow/55924984.cms">players' auctions</a> scheduled to be held in <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword>. 
 "I have the highest regard for MS Dhoni as a leader and a person. Dhoni continues to be an integral member of our team. He is supportive of the decision keeping the franchise's best interests in mind," <keyword id="7812" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Goenka">Goenka</keyword> added. 
 
The most expensive player of the tournament that began in 2008, Dhoni also has been among the most successful. 
 Part of the now suspended <keyword id="13886" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chennai-Super-Kings">Chennai Super Kings</keyword> franchise from 2008 to 2015, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Dhonis-daughter-just-did-a-photoshoot-and-its-cutenessoverloaded/articleshow/55924984.cms">Dhoni led the team</a> to back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. Besides, he also led Chennai to the Champions League T20 trophies in 2010 and 2014. 
 He was the first one picked in the only draft held in the IPL, in December 2015, after Chennai and <keyword id="13802" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajasthan-Royals">Rajasthan Royals</keyword> were suspended for two years and two new franchises -- Pune and <keyword id="1641060" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gujarat-lions">Gujarat Lions</keyword> -- were given the option of choosing up to five players each. 
 
He has been with the Pune franchise ever since. The man replacing him in the leadership role, the 27-year-old Smith, is currently the captain of the Australian crickteam in all three formats. 
 
He was appointed Test captain in 2014/15 and he took over the ODI captaincy reigns after the 2015 World Cup. 
 
Pune, who were one of the two teams along with Gujarat Lions to be inducted last season in place of the the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, were plagued with injury issues. 
 They just about avoided the wooden spoon to finish ahead of <keyword id="13883" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kings-XI-Punjab">Kings XI Punjab</keyword> at the seventh place in the eight-team standings of IPL 2015. 
 Although the team started well with a win over <keyword id="13880" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mumbai-Indians">Mumbai Indians</keyword> in the first match, it failed to maintain the consistency with the likes of <keyword id="9231" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kevin-Pietersen">Kevin Pietersen</keyword>, Faf du Plessis and <keyword id="88531" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Steven-Smith">Steven Smith</keyword> all withdrawing due to injuries.

IPL 2017: MS
Dhoni is no more the captain of Rising Pune
Supergiants. Here’s who replaced him

NEW DELHI: The huge demand at the <keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> <keyword id="1639" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Auction">auction</keyword> for Kevin Pietersen, the biggest national team reject around these days, isn't the only instance of franchises taking decisions contrary to those made by country selectors. While the dynamics of IPL team building are different, a look at the top 15 Indian players auctioned on Wednesday reveals little regard for choices made by Team India selectors. 
 
 
IPL 7 Auction: <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IPL7-players-auction-live/liveblog/30258096.cms">Day 1 coverage</a> | <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/ipl-7-auction/IPL-7-Auction-Players-List/articleshow/29961389.cms">Who got whom </a>| <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/ipl-7-auction/ipl-team-wise-players/IPL-Team-Composition/articleshow/30274615.cms">Team compositions</a> 
 Sure, the core of the Indian T20 team — Dhoni, Kohli, Jadeja, Dhawan, Rahane, <keyword id="13937" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rohit-Sharma">Rohit Sharma</keyword> etc — were all retained by their franchises. But of those auctioned, only four of the 15 Indians who fetched the highest prices —Yuvraj, Bhuvneshwar, Amit Mishra and Shami — find a place in the India squad for the upcoming World T20 in Bangladesh. 
 
The remaining 11 — Karthik, Murali Vijay, Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, Ojha, Sehwag, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Unadkat and Ishant — were neither retained by their franchises nor picked for India's T20 squad. But in the IPL, they are trusted and high-value property. 
 Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron, who do find a place in the India squad, commanded a lower price than Unadkat, Ishant, Zaheer or <keyword id="149050" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Umesh-Yadav">Umesh Yadav</keyword>, who have been discarded by the national selectors while looking for T20 fast-bowling options. Sharma and Aaron are only 20th and 21st on the list of top Indians auctioned in Bangalore, well below the others. 
 
Of course, the dynamics of team building in the IPL are very different from picking a national squad — with clear cut brackets for 4 foreigners and 7 Indians in the XI — but logic would suggest that those in the national team should get more attention at the auction than rejects with similar skill sets. 
 This variance with choices made by national selectors isn't repeated with other teams like Australia, probably because their top players were not all retained by franchises. Of the top 10 Aussies auctioned on the first day — Mitchell Johnson, Glen Maxwell, <keyword id="60604" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="David-Warner">David Warner</keyword>, Mitchell Starc, <keyword id="6377175" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Michael-Hussey">Michael Hussey</keyword>, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Hodge — all except Smith and the retired Hussey are headed for Bangladesh. But that Aussie squad also includes 43-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, who went unsold at the auction.

IPL Versus Selectors: Who Knows Best?

Everything comes at a price even cricket players. Indian Premier League (IPL) season kicked-off amid glitzy ceremony and eight teams will be contesting with each other to win the coveted trophy. 
 
Preparations for the IPL extravaganza had begun long time back with auction of cricketers from India and across the world (minus Pakistan). 
 Owners of the eight teams- Delhi Daredevils, <keyword id="13880" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mumbai-Indians">Mumbai Indians</keyword>, Kings XI Punjab, <keyword id="1494441" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunrisers-Hyderabad">Sunrisers Hyderabad</keyword>, <keyword id="6354467" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata-Knight-Riders">Kolkata Knight Riders</keyword>, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions- retained and even poached players from other teams by bidding a higher amount. 
 
The bidding process threw many surprises as players like Nathu Singh were netted for Rs 3.2 crore. Even M Ashwin was auctioned for Rs 4.5 crore from previous Rs 10 lakh. 
 
Here is a complete list of players who were auctioned for crore of rupees, taking the whole cricket festival a notch higher 
 
 
 
Shane Watson- Rs 9.50 crore 
 
Kane Richardson-Rs 2 crore 
 
Stuart Binny-Rs 2 crore 
 
Jaydev Unadkat- Rs 1.60 crore 
 
John Hastings-Rs 1.30 crore 
 
Mohit Sharma-Rs 6.50 crore 
 
Kyle Abbot- Rs 2.10 crore 
 
Pawan Negi-Rs 8.50 crore 
 
Chris Morris-Rs 7 crore 
 
Carlos Brathwaite- Rs 4.20 crore 
 
Sanju Samson- Rs 4.20 crore 
 
Karun Nair- Rs 4 crore 
 
Rishabh Pant- Rs 1.90 crore 
 
Jos Buttler- Rs 3.80 crore 
 
Nathu Singh- Rs 3.20 crore 
 
Tim Southee- Rs 2.50 crore 
 
Krunal Pandya- Rs 2 crore 
 
Kishore Kamath- Rs 1.40 crore 
 
Yuvraj Singh- Rs 7 crore 
 
Ashish Nehra- Rs 5.50 crore 
 
Deepak Hooda- Rs 4.20 crore 
 
Barinder Sran- Rs 1.20 crore 
 
Aditya Tare- Rs 1.20 crore 
 
Mitchell Marsh- Rs 4.80 crore 
 
Murugan Ashwin- Rs 4.50 crore 
 
Ishant Sharma-Rs 3.80 crore 
 
Kevin Pietersen- Rs 3.50 crore 
 
Irfan Pathan- Rs 1 crore 
 
Thisara Perera-Rs 1 crore 
 
Aaron Finch- Rs 1 crore 
 
Praveen Kumar- Rs 3.50 crore 
 
Dwayne Smith- Rs 2.30 crore 
 
Dale Steyn- Rs 2.30 crore 
 
Dinesh Karthik- Rs 2.30 crore 
 
Dhawal Kulkarni- Rs 2 crore 
 
Eklavya Dwivedi- Rs 1 crore 
 
(Images: Indiatimes)

Cricketers who turned millionaires, thanks to IPL-9

The Oval is the venue where the final Test of the English summer is played. In the current series between <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/teams/england/3001/home">England</a> and India, England hold the upper hand, having won convincingly in Southampton and Old Trafford. India, on the other hand, have lost all momentum after their victory at Lord's. If they have to salvage something in this series, then they need to win at The Oval to turn the corner in performances outside of the subcontinent. 
 
Traditionally, The Oval is considered a flat deck even though it gives ample assistance to spinners. India's record at this venue is a bit of a mixed game. This was here that they won their first Test in England in 1971, a victory that sealed their first series win in the country. But victory has eluded them since. At the start of the 21st century, <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/teams/india/4001/home">India</a> have played three Tests and drawn two. This table gives the W/L ratio of the teams at The Oval. 
 
<table class="tableizer-table">
	<tbody>
		<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
			<th>
				TEAM</th>
			<th>
				SPAN</th>
			<th>
				MATCHES</th>
			<th>
				WON</th>
			<th>
				LOST</th>
			<th>
				DRAWN</th>
			<th>
				W/L RATIO</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				PAKISTAN</td>
			<td>
				1954-2010</td>
			<td>
				9</td>
			<td>
				4</td>
			<td>
				3</td>
			<td>
				2</td>
			<td>
				1.33</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				WEST INDIES</td>
			<td>
				1928-2004</td>
			<td>
				16</td>
			<td>
				6</td>
			<td>
				7</td>
			<td>
				3</td>
			<td>
				0.85</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				AUSTRALIA</td>
			<td>
				1880-2013</td>
			<td>
				36</td>
			<td>
				6</td>
			<td>
				16</td>
			<td>
				14</td>
			<td>
				0.37</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				INDIA</td>
			<td>
				1936-2011</td>
			<td>
				11</td>
			<td>
				1</td>
			<td>
				3</td>
			<td>
				7</td>
			<td>
				0.33</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				NEW ZEALAND</td>
			<td>
				1931-1999</td>
			<td>
				9</td>
			<td>
				1</td>
			<td>
				4</td>
			<td>
				4</td>
			<td>
				0.25</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				SOUTH AFRICA</td>
			<td>
				1907-2012</td>
			<td>
				14</td>
			<td>
				1</td>
			<td>
				6</td>
			<td>
				7</td>
			<td>
				0.16</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				SRI LANKA</td>
			<td>
				1998-1998</td>
			<td>
				1</td>
			<td>
				1</td>
			<td>
				0</td>
			<td>
				0</td>
			<td>
				0</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
India have a better W/L ratio here than the current No.1 ranked team in Tests. South Africa, who have won only one Test in 14 attempts, achieved victory only in 2012, their first at this venue since they started playing at The Oval 105 years ago. Among all visiting teams, Pakistan have the best W/L ratio, having not lost at this venue since 1967*. 
 
*There is a dispute regarding the result of the 2006 match. <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/teams/pakistan/7001/home">Pakistan</a> have called for the match to be drawn while the match has been awarded to England due to Pakistan's refusal to play. 
 
Spin vs pace at The Oval 
 
This table showcases the amount of wickets taken by spin and pace. The first table is from the 2000-2007 period while the second is between 2008 until August 2014. 
 
<table class="tableizer-table">
	<tbody>
		<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
			<th>
				BOWLING TYPE</th>
			<th>
				WICKETS TAKEN</th>
			<th>
				AVERAGE</th>
			<th>
				FIVE WKT HAUL</th>
			<th>
				10 WKT HAUL</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				PACE</td>
			<td>
				62</td>
			<td>
				32.07</td>
			<td>
				2</td>
			<td>
				0</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				SPIN</td>
			<td>
				42</td>
			<td>
				42.53</td>
			<td>
				3</td>
			<td>
				2</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
<table class="tableizer-table">
	<tbody>
		<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
			<th>
				BOWLING TYPE</th>
			<th>
				WICKETS TAKEN</th>
			<th>
				AVERAGE</th>
			<th>
				FIVE WKT HAUL</th>
			<th>
				10 WKT HAUL</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				PACE</td>
			<td>
				61</td>
			<td>
				28.19</td>
			<td>
				3</td>
			<td>
				0</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				SPIN</td>
			<td>
				44</td>
			<td>
				24.06</td>
			<td>
				1</td>
			<td>
				0</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 If you compare the performance in both periods, then the first period is dominated by pace in all aspects. In the second period, although pace has taken more wickets, the spinners have chipped regularly thus giving them a better average. <keyword id="17439" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shane-Warne">Shane Warne</keyword> and <keyword id="62118" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Graeme-Swann">Graeme Swann</keyword> topped the bowling charts in the first and second time periods respectively. However, the pacers have held their own at this venue, suggesting that the wicket is a bit of a mixed bag. There will be assistance for both spinners and pacers and team composition will play a huge role for both teams. 
 
Batters paradise 
 
<table class="tableizer-table">
	<tbody>
		<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
			<th>
				AVERAGE OF BATSMEN AT THE OVAL 2008-2014</th>
			<th>
				81.41</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				AVERAGE OF BATSMEN AT THE OVAL 2000-2007</td>
			<td>
				62.36</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
<table class="tableizer-table">
	<tbody>
		<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
			<th>
				NUMBER OF FIFTIES/HUNDREDS AT THE OVAL IN 2008-2014</th>
			<th>
				8/7</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				NUMBER OF FIFTIES/HUNDREDS AT THE OVAL IN 2000-2007</td>
			<td>
				9/6</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
If one has to compare the batting average of The Oval with its northern neighbour, Lord's, it is significantly higher. From 2008 to 2014, the average of batsmen is over 80, the most for an England venue. Batsmen have always feasted at this venue. <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/kevin-pietersen/3001/3050">Kevin Pietersen</a> and <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/alastair-cook/3001/3056">Alastair Cook</a> have two hundreds at this venue, <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/ian-bell/3001/3048">Ian Bell</a> has a highest score of 235 while <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/hashim-amla/8001/8034">Hashim Amla</a> scored South Africa's first individual triple-hundred at this venue. <keyword id="2727" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rahul-Dravid">Rahul Dravid</keyword> has an average of 110.75 in four Tests at this venue. The batting average and the number of fifties/centuries scored at this venue has been fairly consistent across both time periods. 
 
Average innings score at The Oval 
 
<table class="tableizer-table">
	<tbody>
		<tr class="tableizer-firstrow">
			<th>
				TEAM INNINGS</th>
			<th>
				AVERAGE</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				1ST INNINGS</td>
			<td>
				406</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				2ND INNINGS</td>
			<td>
				356</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				3RD INNINGS</td>
			<td>
				245</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				4TH INNINGS</td>
			<td>
				234</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
Looking at the statistics, the team that bats first and puts up a big total on the board has the advantage at this venue. The pitch is excellent for batting on the first two days and then it starts to crumble. Batting has traditionally not been easy in the third or fourth innings at this venue and both teams will be vary of this fact. 
 
County trends at The Oval 
 Surrey are the county side that play their home first-class games at The Oval in Division 2. At the start of the summer in April, the UK was under the midst of a wet spell and that had spiced up the pitches that were used in the venue. In Surrey's first game against Glamorgan, no side managed to go past 300, with Surrey getting blown away for 81 in the second innings thanks to a haul of 6/29 from <keyword id="2472321" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Graham-Wagg">Graham Wagg</keyword>. Surrey went on to lose the match by 10 wickets. 
 
In the next match against Essex, rain played spoilsport but both teams managed to score in excess of 250 as the match was drawn. Their next encounter against Gloucestershire was a low-scoring thriller with both teams getting bowled out for under 200. Set 267 for victory on a difficult wicket, Surrey chased it down thanks to Graeme Smith's 103 as they won the match by four wickets. In that match, Chris Tremlett picked up 6/59. 
 
In the game against Worcestershire, Surrey were blown away by <a href="http://www.gocricket.com/player/moeen-ali/3001/3153">Moeen Ali</a>'s 162 but the home team held on for a draw despite following on. Surrey achieved their first 500-plus score for the first time at home this season against Leicestershire as they won the match by 10 wickets. Another high-scoring draw ensued against Hampshire after Surrey racked up 474. 
 In the game against Kent, they were outplayed by a haul of 9/178 from <keyword id="159148" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Darren-Stevens">Darren Stevens</keyword> as they lost the match. Kent had notched up 408 and Surrey responded with 398. In the second innings, Kent managed 292 and Surrey folded up for 213. 
 
The trend that can be established from this is that the pitches employed at The Oval this season have gotten better. Teams are managing to score over 400 on a regular basis. The last match against Kent fits the normal Test wicket that The Oval normally produces. It is good for batting and crumbles away as the game wears on. 
 
Conclusion 
 
The situation confronting India is pretty similar to the one they faced against Australia in 1981. After losing the first Test, they drew the second and won the third to level the series. In England 2014, India are currently trailing 1-2 and a win will go a long way in salvaging some pride for them. With their overseas record deteriorating and with all top players under immense pressure, India can take a leaf out of their opponents book by performing like they did in 2003. Against South Africa at The Oval in 2003, a double-ton from Marcus Trescothick and a fine bowling display helped England finish the summer on a high by drawing the series 2-2. That win was the revival of their cricketing fortunes. India will be hoping that a win in 2014 at this venue sparks off a similar trend.

India Look To Revive Good Memories At The Oval

There is nothing quite like the drama of the Ashes. English and Australian players are known to get along well off the pitch, but on it, especially when they are wearing whites, the intensity and animosity of the years gone by between cricketers of the two country takes over and players end up making or breaking their careers. Usman Khawaja, 171 at Sydney in 2018 England posted a competitive total of 346 and it looked like they were carrying forward the momentum of the previous match in Melbourne which was drawn at the end of what was another forgettable tour of Australia. They got Cameron Bancroft out for a duck but that was the end of England's resurgence in that series. Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith came in and normal service resumed with the Australian batsmen dominating the Englishmen. Khawaja was one of three centurions in that innings, the other two being the Marsh brothers and Australia declared on a mammoth 649/7. They won the match by an innings and 123 runs. Alastair Cook, 235* at Brisbane in 2010 Cook was at his prolific best when England arrived in Australia in a bid to defend their title. They started off on shaky ground though, with Australia taking a lead of 221 thanks to a brilliant pair of centuries by Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin. What followed was two and a half days in hell for the Aussie bowlers as Cook, Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott pushed England to 517/1, a scorecard that broke quite a few records. Cook was unbeaten 235 having shared a 188-run stand with Strauss before putting on 329 for the second wicket with Trott. Steve Smith, 215 at Lord's in 2015 Smith was on overdrive and before this match, his previous totals in Test cricket read as 214,161,206,188,30,253 and 66. Australia made a strong start to the second Test, batting first with a 78-run stand between David Warner and Chris Rogers. What followed that was the end of any hopes England had of taking a 2-0 lead in the series. Smith and Rogers put up 284 runs for the second wicket. While Rogers fell to Broad on 173, Smith carried on, even sharing a 91-run stand for the sixth wicket with Peter Nevill before being trapped leg before by Joe Root. Australia won the match by 405 runs. Alastair Cook, 244* at MCG in 2018 When Cook bowed out of Test cricket in 2019 with a century, he was celebrated as one of England's greatest ever batsman in the longest format of the game. But for much of the two years preceding that moment, the former England captain cut an embattled figure. The ball was not going to the places that he wanted it to and he was a shadow of his former prolific self. The colossal 244 in Melbourne, in which he batted through an innings that lasted 144.1 overs was an island in this run of bad form however. England finally showed fight in a series that they were trailing 3-0, and the match ended in a draw. Kevin Pietersen, 227 at Adelaide in 2010 Pietersen's Test career started and ended with the Ashes. Since he made his debut in 2005, the Ashes was his theatre and he was the anti-hero. The Australians were onto him every time he came out to bat as they knew getting him out is crucial to winning the match while his England teammates themselves were not too fond of him because of all the off-field problems that came with him into the dressing room. His ability with the bat however, was never in question and Adelaide was always a happy hunting ground for him. His 227 in the 2nd Test of the 2010 series helped England declare on a monumental 620/5. England went on to record an innings victory in that match and the icing on the cake for Pietersen was that he managed to get the prized wicket of Michael Clarke, something that he says he makes sure to remind 'Pup' to this day.

Top five Ashes knocks in the last decade

For the umpteenth time, when asked about <keyword id="6354884" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Delhi-Daredevils">Delhi Daredevils</keyword>' wretched season, Kevin Pietersen replied with his most sobering assessment of the worst team in the league. "We've tried a lot of things, nothing has gone according to plan. It's about executing your skills, which we haven't done well enough. No one's here to blame anyone. If you're good enough, you'll turn it around." 

	Had he replied in Gaelic, or spoken about the merits of the Bernoulli Equation, it would have had a similarly hollow tone. Those were the words of a beaten man, left to crinkle his nose at the stench of a rotting corpse of a side.
 

	Everything about Daredevils is in shambles. Their campaign began with Pietersen - acquired for Rs 9 crore - miss the initial few games due to injury. The player to get a look-in, Ross Taylor, struggled to dominate with the bat. In the midst of a poor start, Daredevils lost fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile to injury early in the season. Then went Saurabh Tiwary with a shoulder injury. Around this time, Daredevils released three uncapped players, one of which was batsman Milind Kumar, the distant but only local connect the franchise had. Whatever changes were made, results were not forthcoming. They have been poor with the bat, ball, in the field and in their thinking.
 Much has been written about the management holding back <keyword id="69475" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="JP-Duminy">JP Duminy</keyword> and Kedar Jadhav, the two batsmen with the highest averages and strike-rates this season, and how denying them more deliveries to face has resulted in sub-standard totals. Daredevils' problems are deeper than that. They just aren't ticking. Thursday's match in Ahmedabad against Rajasthan Royals cannot be termed a contest. It was an embarrassment. Pietersen's decision to field came a cropper as RR piled up their highest total this season, 201 for 6, to which Daredevils replied with 139 for 9, losing half their wickets inside ten overs. With qualification for the <keyword id="6354312" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> 7 play-offs out of the question, you could have expected DD to make a statement, play with some freedom and express themselves. It didn't happen. What panned out was a yawn-inducing mismatch. <keyword id="172496" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rahul-Shukla">Rahul Shukla</keyword>, after going for 41 in the previous match, conceded 44 from his four. Siddarth Kaul went for 34 in three. Manoj Tiwary, who rarely bowls, conceded 28 in his two overs, one of which was the 19th of RR's innings that cost 17. On the same track on which Ajinkya Rahane cruised, Kevon Cooper teased, Sanju Samson belted 40 off 25 and James Faulkner finished with 23 off eight balls, Daredevils made 139 for 9. Only one batsman crossed 17; six made single-digit scores. Daredevils' entire season has been a colossal waste of batting talent, with <keyword id="6355316" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Dinesh-Karthik">Dinesh Karthik</keyword> (the second most expensive purchase of the IPL auction at Rs 12.5 crores) repeatedly falling to leg-side heaves regardless of the match situation, an IPL pro in <keyword id="57265" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Murali-Vijay">Murali Vijay</keyword> failing to make an impact, Pietersen not playing a single convincing innings and the domestic pool not stepping up, barring Jadhav. 

	Compare this to RR's success. Rahane has 316 runs this season, which is more than Pietersen, Taylor and Mayank Agarwal have managed. When you consider that Karun Nair, a rookie domestic batsman playing his first IPL, has scored significantly more than Pietersen, you get a sense of why Daredevils are languishing at the bottom of the table.
 

	This is not to take away from how well Royals bowled. Dhawal Kulkarni was accurate and probing, Faulkner struck in the only over he bowled early on, Pravin Tambe dismissed the dangerous Duminy and Rajat Bhatia prised out two important wickets with his canny dibbly-dobblers. The sucker ball to get Taylor caught and bowled was a wicket Bhatia will cherish.
 With seven wins from 11 matches, Rajasthan remain at third on the points table and look poised to make it to the play-offs, which leaves <keyword id="6354467" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kolkata-Knight-Riders">Kolkata Knight Riders</keyword>, Sunrisers Hyderabad and <keyword id="6354506" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Royal-Challengers-Bangalore">Royal Challengers Bangalore</keyword> in a three-way fight to take the last spot in the top four. Daredevils, like Mumbai Indians, have only pride to play for. But if they keep playing like they did against Royals, even that might be too much to expect.

IPL: Delhi Daredevils' Wretched Downward Spiral Continues

<keyword id="351" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Yuvraj-Singh">Yuvraj Singh</keyword> smashed a 29-ball 68* with the help of nine sixes as <keyword id="6354506" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Royal-Challengers-Bangalore">Royal Challengers Bangalore</keyword> (186 for 4) saw off Delhi Daredevils (170 for 7) by 16 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday night. With their fourth win in 10 matches, RCB kept their remote play-off hopes alive, while DD suffered their eighth defeat in 10 matches to keep scraping the bottom of the barrel. 

	Ever since the World T20 final defeat against Sri Lanka where Yuvraj scored a 21-ball 11, he has been at the centre of criticism with many questioning his batting credentials. In a quest to restore his good name, the left-hander started his IPL campaign on a great note, scoring a match-winning 29-ball 52 against DD in RCB's first match. Despite a great start to the season, Yuvraj all of a sudden waned and so did the fortunes of the team.
 

	However, in the last game against Rajasthan Royals, the left-hander made 83 off 38 balls and took four wickets to show first real signs of his returning to form. On Tuesday, Yuvraj continued from where he had left off against RR, putting DD bowlers to the sword. Against Shane Watson's men, Yuvraj's efforts had gone up the spout but against DD, the team won, erasing the bitterness of the defeat in the last game.
 

	Yuvraj joined AB de Villiers at 93 for 3 in 12.3 overs and showed positive intent straight away, scoring a four off his third ball. The duo had added 132 against RR and looked set to do another similar act. However, de Villiers failed this time losing his stumps to Kaul for 33.
 An undeterred Yuvraj hit legspinner Imran Tahir for three consecutive sixes in the 17th over to bring plenty of momentum to the RCB innings. Yuvraj continued his assault, sending Mohammad Shami and Siddarth Kaul over the fence in the 18th and 19th overs respectively. In the last over bowled by <keyword id="172496" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rahul-Shukla">Rahul Shukla</keyword>, Yuvraj showed his most devastating side, hitting four successive sixes. The over yielded 27 runs in all. 

	Yuvraj also bowled an economical over towards the end - 16th over of the innings - giving away just four runs and hampered DD's momentum a great deal; the visitors needed 68 off 30 balls before Yuvraj's over. He kept the dangerous JP Duminy quiet. Considering the margin of the win and Duminy's 30-ball 48, the over was very important in the context of the game.
 Sri Lanka great <keyword id="26689" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Muttiah-Muralitharan">Muttiah Muralitharan</keyword> also showed some glimmers of his past skills and got rid of <keyword id="57265" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Murali-Vijay">Murali Vijay</keyword> whom DD had brought back for this match in place of Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Hadn't wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel dropped Mayank Agarwal in the third over, Murali's second, the Sri Lankan would've had his second victim in as many overs. Murali, along with Mitchell Starc, who cleaned up Quinton de Kock for six in the second over, ensured there weren't even distant hopes of a win for the visitors. However, Mayank Agarwal (31), Kevin Pietersen (33), Kedar Jadhav (37) and Duminy combined to make a match of it but Yuvraj's assault with the bat eventually turned out to be difference. Murali returned with 2 for 25, <keyword id="6355316" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Dinesh-Karthik">Dinesh Karthik</keyword> being his second victim. 

	Earlier, after the match was delayed for 70 minutes due to rain, DD captain Pietersen won the toss and put the hosts in to bat. RCB struggled in the first half of their innings but Yuvraj's extraordinary power-hitting in the next helped the team fetch 71 runs in the last four overs. Yuvraj and Sachin Rana (15) added an unbeaten 79 for the fifth wicket.
 

	Jharkhand fast bowler Shukla got the sought-after breakthrough in the sixth over when he removed Chris Gayle for 22. The West Indian was looking in great touch, manifested by two big sixes off Shami and Duminy, before chopping the ball onto his stumps as he charged down the track.
 

	RCB captain Virat Kohli's lean patch continued as he succumbed to an unnecessary run-out for 10 off the first ball of the eighth over, Shukla again playing a part. The ball from legspinner Tahir took an inside edge in the direction of fine leg where the sturdy fast bowler was keeping vigil; a rocket throw from Shukla reached wicketkeeper de Kock who removed the bails in a flash and Kohli found himself short of crease.
 

	de Villiers joined a cautious Parthiv Patel and both began the repair work. At the start of their partnership, there were only singles and doubles. Things changed for RCB in the 11th over as Patel picked up two boundaries off Tahir. Buoyed by the over, de Villiers took 18 runs off the next over bowled by medium pacer Kaul with the help of two fours and a six.
 

	The 49-run stand was broken by Shami's slower ball in 13th over. The diminutive left-hander got deceived and gave a simple catch to Karthik at point for 29. Thereafter it was all Yuvraj's show.
 

	Brief score: Royal Challengers Bangalore 186 for 4 in 20 overs (Yuvraj 68*; Shami 1/31) beat Delhi Daredevils 170 for 7 in 20 overs (Duminy 48; Muralitharan 2/25) by 16 runs.

Yuvraj's Sparkle Breaks RCB's Losing Streak

The third week of IPL 7 in India was probably more exciting than the previous two weeks in the UAE thanks to some great individual performances and a big run-in between <keyword id="61632" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kieron-Pollard">Kieron Pollard</keyword> and Mitchell Starc. Here, gocricket.com chronicles the eye-catching events that unfolded over the course of last week. 
 
Tambe spins magic with first hat-trick this season 
 At the age of 42, <keyword id="13802" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rajasthan-Royals">Rajasthan Royals</keyword> legspinner Tambe is having the time of his life. Look at his performances in the tournament from day one, he has been nothing short of brilliant. However, this week Tambe took his game to another level and helped RR register a win from an unlikely position against Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on May 5. Chasing 171 to win, the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR were cruising at one time at 121 for 0 in 14 overs before RR captain <keyword id="6378477" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Shane-Watson">Shane Watson</keyword> took three wickets in an over to provide a big opening for his team. However, it was Tambe's hat-trick in the next over that actually put the nail in KKR's coffin. The wickets of Manish Pandey, <keyword id="18938" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Yusuf-Pathan">Yusuf Pathan</keyword> and Ryan ten Doeschate broke KKR's back badly and they ended up losing the match by 10 runs. Tambe's performance this season has proved that age has little significance nowadays in cricket and that it's fitness and willingness to do well that shapes a player's career. 
 
de Villiers breaks run-drought in style 
 It was long coming. AB de Villiers had an ordinary season prior to <keyword id="6354506" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Royal-Challengers-Bangalore">Royal Challengers Bangalore</keyword>'s game against <keyword id="1494441" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Sunrisers-Hyderabad">Sunrisers Hyderabad</keyword> on May 4 and when Virat Kohli's men were reduced to 59 for 4 in 10.1 overs chasing 159 to win, it appeared the match was as good as gone for RCB. Against all odds, de Villiers launched a rearguard action and smashed 89* off 41 balls with the help of six fours and eight sixes to see his side home in the last over. While de Villiers punished all SRH bowlers, his face-off with fellow South African and arguably the greatest bowler in the world at present, <keyword id="12829" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Dale-Steyn">Dale Steyn</keyword>, will be remembered for many years to come. In the penultimate over of the innings, de Viliers took 24 runs off Steyn, hitting three sixes and a four to turn the match on its head. 
 
Pollard-Starc altercation 
 The game between <keyword id="13880" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Mumbai-Indians">Mumbai Indians</keyword> and <keyword id="12643" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Royal-Challengers">Royal Challengers</keyword> Bangalore on May 6 will long be remembered for an ugly altercation between Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc. The run-in - towards the end of MI's innings - that saw the West Indian and the Australian almost come to blows, influenced the outcome of the match a great deal as MI took 54 runs off last 20 balls, thanks largely to captain <keyword id="13937" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rohit-Sharma">Rohit Sharma</keyword>'s 59 off 35 balls, to post a mammoth 187 for 5. 
 
The drama began in the 17th over when Starc used some pretty choice language against Pollard after beating him with a bouncer. The West Indian disdainfully signed to Starc to go away, and off the next ball backed away from the crease at the last minute. Starc, instead of stopping himself, followed the West Indian on the legside and almost hit him, leaving a seething Pollard to throw his bat towards the bowler in a menacing way. 
 
However, the West Indian had the last laugh when he took a simple catch at extra cover to send Starc (5) back to the pavilion off the bowling of Lasith Malinga. Not just that, earlier in the match he had also accounted for the dangerous Yuvraj Singh's run out (6) using his footballing skills to great effect. 
 
The IPL Governing Council later on Wednesday fined both Pollard and Starc for breaching its code of conduct. 
 
Maxwell at it once again 
 Orange Cap holder Glenn Maxwell (435 runs in seven matches) fuelled his legend further smashing 90 off 38 balls in Kings XI Punjab's 44-run win over <keyword id="13886" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Chennai-Super-Kings">Chennai Super Kings</keyword> on May 7. The Australian put on view the switch-hit several times hitting eight sixes and six fours and it surely was his innings that made the difference. His approach against R Ashwin was particularly impressive. The India offspinner is normally very effective bowling around the wicket, but not against Maxwell on Wednesday evening. The Big Show smashed back-to-back sixes in the 11th over against the India offspinner who looked befuddled not knowing where he should land the ball, bowling two wides to boot. Things changed drastically after Ashwin's over, with KXIP scoring 162 in the last 10 overs to finish on 231 for 4. With the win against MS Dhoni's men, KXIP made it back to the top of the table with six wins in seven matches, while CSK go down to second after their second defeat in eight matches. 
 
Delhi Daredevils' sorry state 
 Delhi Daredevils took the wooden spoon last season and looking at their performance so far it seems another is on their way. The team under Kevin Pietersen looks absolutely spineless, especially in the bowling department. DD's defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on May 7 was their sixth in eight matches and the way Pietersen ran himself out tells a great deal about his current state of mind. The former England batsman tapped a Shakib-al-Hasan delivery to offside and ran away for a single straight away, head down and without looking at non-striker batsman <keyword id="57265" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Murali-Vijay">Murali Vijay</keyword>. Wicketkeeper <keyword id="2231057" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Robin-Uthapa">Robin Uthapa</keyword> charged towards the ball, picked it up and ran Pietersen out in a flash with Vijay shaking his head in disbelief at the other end. 
 Pietersen's captaincy is also under the scanner for repeatedly not bringing the in-form duo of <keyword id="69475" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="JP-Duminy">JP Duminy</keyword> and Kedar Jadhav up the batting order. Fast bowler Mohammad Shami is another big concern for DD. He is one of the promising bowlers in the country but his performance so far in the tournament is worrying. Four wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 8.34 don't justify his talent. At present, it's hard to imagine how DD are going to turn their fortunes around.

IPL Week 3 Review: Tambe, De Villiers, Maxwell Steal The Show

<ul><li>In our latest episode of BTS with Insiders, we got chatting with <keyword id="212001" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Agnello-Dias">Agnello Dias</keyword>, Creative Chairperson, Dentsu Aegis Network India and Co-Founder, Taproot Dentsu and <keyword id="343974" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Santosh-Padhi">Santosh Padhi</keyword>, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot Dentsu about a few campaigns close to their hearts.</li><li>They took us behind the scenes of popular campaigns like Pepsi's Change the Game and <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>'s Har Ek Friend Zaruri Hota Hai, among others.</li></ul> It was in 2009 that Agnello Dias (Aggie) and Santosh Padhi (Paddy), two people pegged as the hottest creative stars in Indian advertising came together and founded Taproot. Within just a few years of starting the agency, it boasted of an enviable roster of brands it had created campaigns for including <keyword id="54572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PepsiCo">PepsiCo</keyword>, Airtel and Bennett, Coleman &amp; Company. Three years later, Japanese advertising major Dentsu acquired a majority in the agency. Over the past 11 years, with Aggie and Paddy at the helm of affairs, the agency has come up with some memorable, powerful campaigns that have helped brands tell wonderful, engaging stories. As a part of our latest series, BTS with Insiders, we spoke to the creative duo about some of the most memorable campaigns they have created together. Here are a few of the stories they shared with us. <div type="javascript" title="Facebook" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Pepsi ‘Change the Game’ campaigns We all know about the cola wars of the past when players like Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Thums Up would all try to come up with irreverent campaigns, poking fun at each other. In 2011, Pepsi was the official World Cup sponsor. It was a brand that had always stood for irreverence, and everything that was anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment. In the past, it had roasted Coca-Cola when it was the official world cup sponsor with its cheeky, ‘Nothing Official About It’ campaign. So in 2011, when it was the official sponsor, its brief was unique. It wanted to say it is the official sponsor, while also making a statement that it is proudly irreverent. “During the discussion around the campaign, we stumbled upon the insight that the game itself had become far more irreverent than it was say 15-20 years ago,” said Aggie. The agency then decided to manifest this irreverence of the game by depicting a few key shots that the newer breed of cricketers had started playing. “Once we came up with the idea, the client was perceptive enough to see its power straight up,” added Aggie. The agency came up with five films featuring star cricketers and their trademark shots - MS Dhoni’s ‘Helicopter shot’, Virender Sehwag’s ‘Upper cut’, Harbhajan Singh’s ‘doosra’, Kevin Pietersen’s‘Switch hit’ and Tillekratne Dilshan’s ‘Dilscoop’. The campaign went on to become a huge hit, so much so that Pepsi replicated the idea in other markets like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “It also was a very special campaign for us because it was perhaps for the first time that such a huge brand chose to work with a smaller, independent agency. It totally changed the game for us,” added Paddy with a smile. Airtel’s ‘Har Ek Friend Zaruri Hota Hai’ Before Airtel’s friendship campaign, the brand every year would come up with a campaign that would put out a world philosophy that could be appropriated by mobility, shared Aggie. “That was the time when all brands were trying to build the category, nobody was trying to take each other's market share. The brief given to us that time was that we don't see anything wrong in what we are doing by putting out a life philosophy about how the world is getting more connected except that our tone and manner is making us sound old-fashioned. The brand said that they didn’t want to become younger or exchange market shares. It just wanted to keep its philosophy, while saying it in a younger manner,” he explained. That’s how the agency thought of giving out a philosophy but not from a pulpit. The idea took birth when the agency started discussing about 3 am friends who one could turn to if someone was in trouble. And that’s how the campaign took shape. What also makes the ad memorable is the jingle created by music composer Ram Sampath, who was given the task of creating a song without using any real instrument. All the percussions in the ad come from things one might find in a classroom, including notebooks, dusters and even dustbins. The campaign went on to become a huge hit. <keyword id="6377547" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="adidas">Adidas</keyword>’ Odds In wake of the 2016 Paralympic Games, Adidas came up with a unique initiative called ‘Odds’ where para-athletes, primarily blade runners, were given a pair of the same side footwear instead of the usual pair that is sold to consumers. The campaign spoke about the inspirational story of <keyword id="2726242" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Major-DP-Singh">Major DP Singh</keyword>, a Kargil war veteran who lost his leg but not his determination. “We got the insight for the ad from a simple idea. One of the kids at the agency said what if we dedicate 2 left or 2 right shoes to para-athletes? We thought it must already have been done by some brand. We were really surprised to see that it had never been done and its such an injustice on the community that for years they had to buy a pair of shoes from which they could only use 1. So we thought we had to make this larger than life,” shared Paddy. They approached Major DP Singh who agreed to be a part of the campaign and the rest, as they say, is history. Paddy also shared a life lesson that he got from Major Singh. “On the first day of the shoot, we went to the top of a mountain at 4am where he used to practice to capture the early morning sunlight. Since the spot was far from the city, we travelled for an hour. He was an army guy and wanted a proper schedule. We gave him one and told him we will finish the shoot in 2 days. The packup for the first shoot was supposed to happen at 8 or 8:30 which got delayed by an hour or so. By the end of it, he wasn’t happy and went home. And he didn’t come to the second location. When the producer tried to reach out to him he said, ‘Please tell Adidas, Taproot and Paddy that I am done with my shoot.’ We were really shocked as we had a packed schedule. So I went to his house and asked him what happened. So he said, ‘I am an army guy and I follow schedule. If your shoot was getting delayed, someone should have come and informed me. I respect time and if I respect time, you should respect me.’ I apologized and assured him that something like this never happens again. So this wasn’t just a learning for me but for everyone else who was present at the sets that day,” reminiscened Paddy. <keyword id="5709" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mumbai-mirror">Mumbai Mirror</keyword> Mumbai Mirror is a tabloid from the stable of the <keyword id="6356641" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Times-of-India">Times of India</keyword> group, a brand that Taproot had been handling for a while. The brief given to the agency for the campaign was simple, “The client said here are 6 stories we have broken, please showcase these stories. It was from there that we took the leap and said that newspaper is the voice that amplifies the voice of the oppressed. There were stories that would not make it to the national newspaper but its players like Mumbai Mirror that take these smaller oppressed voices and amplifies them,” said Aggie. Those who have watched the campaign know that it makes its point heard loud and clear. The idea was to deliberately make the campaign disturbing. “There have been opinions about why the film was so shrill, it could have been toned down. But in my opinion, when you are taking this stance it can be either disturbing or it can’t be this at all. Then it would just need to be a completely different thought. And that’s why we decided to make it that aggressive,” explained Aggie. Times of India – Farmer Suicide campaign The last campaign that the duo spoke about went on to become one of their most awarded one. Our country is no stranger to the disturbing news of farmer suicides ever year. It’s still an ongoing issue and the agency wanted to bring out the stories of these farmers who simply become a statistics every year. The agency used burnt hay to make portraits some of the farmers who had committed suicide, leaving behind families of 4-6 members. “These paintings were sold and whatever money we made out of, we gave to the family members because once the earning member of the families pass away, the others also die a slow death. This was what we did in the first year. In the second year, TOI got on board the Samaj Seva Charitable Trust. We did a TV commercial and some billboards, as a second leg of the campaign. Because of the simplicity of the campaign, it did really well. It did well for us too as we picked up a lot of awards. It looks like something made out of something but how lovingly you do it and how relevant you are, makes or breaks the campaign,” said Paddy.

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