Gill’s unbeaten 104 featured seven more sixes than Kohli’s 101 not out

Sidharth Monga21-May-2023Gujarat Titans 198 for 4 (Gill 104*, Shankar 53, Siraj 2-23) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 197 for 5 (Kohli 101*, Noor 2-39) by six wicketsShubman Gill broke tens of thousands of hearts by responding to Virat Kohli’s second hundred in two matches with a double of his own as Gujarat Titans chased down 198 to knock Royal Challengers Bangalore out and give Mumbai Indians a passage into the playoffs.It was hard not to see this as a symbolic passing of the baton in the larger context of the Indian batting kingdom. Gill took eight balls fewer than Kohli to get to the hundred, hit seven more sixes, but Kohli’s circumstance was different. He had wickets falling around him whereas Vijay Shankar – Gill’s partner for the second-wicket stand of 123 – enjoyed much more luck than RCB batters did. In fact, Titans scored 45 runs in false responses, more than any innings in this IPL.Ink boys get goingIt was a long agonising night for the Bengaluru hopefuls as thunderstorms and intermittent drizzle pushed the start of the match right to the brink of the point where you start losing overs. RCB then lost the toss, and were put in. To brighten up their evening, Kohli and Faf du Plessis continued their opening domination with a 67-run stand. They took even Mohammed Shami for runs and denied him a powerplay wicket. First job done.Titans own middle oversThere was some luck involved in the first wicket. It was a skilful wrong’un from Noor Ahmad that dipped on du Plessis, but the thick outside edge was never going to be caught except in freakish circumstances. It happened as the ball hit Wriddhiman Saha’s pad and lobbed for an easy catch at slip. At least Titans had the slip in place despite that start.Poignantly for the RCB fans, the partnership ended at a season aggregate of 939, the same that Kohli and AB de Villiers scored together in 2016.Rashid Khan then burst through the opening, bowling Glenn Maxwell with a wrong’un, taking away the purple cap from Shami, who duly returned to end a cameo from Michael Bracewell and reclaim the purple cap. Between the two wickets, Saha showed real skill to stump Mahipal Lomror down the leg side. When Yash Dayal marked his comeback with a golden duck for Dinesh Karthik – his 17th duck in all IPL, a record – RCB were 133 for 5 in 14.2, and face to face with their lack of big hitters down the order.Virat Kohli scored a 60-ball century•AFP/Getty ImagesKohli manages bothKohli has batted with much less price on his wicket this IPL, and his natural game has backed his intent. He did more of the same but it still has suffered in the absence of the lower-order hitting. Here he went from 36 off 22 in the first six to 16 off 14 in the next six, but he is a different proposition when he gets into the death overs. Because of the loss of five wickets, he was probably forced to play Rashid out in the 17th but he lived up to his reputation of being one of the best at the death, scoring his second 50 in just 25 balls. He did so with just one six, only the fourth time a hundred with just one six has been scored in the IPL.The Gill riposteKohli has scored two of those hundreds, Shikhar Dhawan one, and Gill one, in his last innings. Here, though, he was in no mood to miss out on the small boundaries off Chinnaswamy Stadium.The new ball held in the surface, which showed in the struggles of Saha and Shankar, but Gill looked like he was batting in a parallel universe. Short-arm jabs flew for sixes, the cover gap looked bigger than it was, and the slow start of 25 for 1 in three overs soon began to look up.The only time Gill looked like slogging was when Shankar was 21 off 20. He ran at the legspinner Himanshu Sharma, was beaten in the flight, but got an outside edge for four. He followed it up with a clean six, and never looked back.Shankar enjoyed much more luck than Gill, and survived long enough for some hits to come off. In what is cruel but true nature of T20, Shankar got to his fifty quicker than Kohli did even though Kohli hardly mis-hit a ball.The moment the asking rate went past 11, RCB gave the two right-hand batters the offspin of Bracewell, whom Gill deposited for two sixes. When Shankar fell, Titans kept promoting batters other than Hardik Pandya. They struggled, two of them got out, but Gill was unstoppable at the other end even though he got to face only 12 balls in the last six overs. He scored 33 in those to take Titans home with five balls to spare.

Kyle Walker has been branded a 'failure' and mockingly compared to a legendary WWE wrestler after his difficult AC Milan loan spell.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Walker has tough AC Milan loanBranded a 'failure' by Italian paperMockingly compared to WWE wrestlerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Walker joined Milan on loan from Manchester City in January but the move did not work out as planned. The veteran didn't play a great deal, partly due to injury, and some of his performances were subpar. Now, TuttoSport claim 'failure has the face of Walker' and that before games he imitates his 'role model' and WWE legend Triple H, by spitting water into the air.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Walker is facing an uncertain future. He appears to be surplus to requirements at City, and Milan have reportedly turned down the chance to sign him permanently this summer. The report adds his personal life troubles have not helped, highlighting how his Italian sojourn has not been a fruitful one.

DID YOU KNOW?

During the 35-year-old's stint with Milan, who ended the Serie A season way down in eighth, Walker made 16 appearances in all competitions. He got the chance to play in the Champions League but the Italian giants won't be competing in Europe next season after finishing outside of the qualification spots.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

Although things are not looking particularly rosy in terms of club football, Walker is currently preparing for England's games against Andorra and Senegal on June 7 and 10, respectively.

It is understood he was the Cricket Advisory Committee’s unanimous choice who conducted the interviews

Nagraj Gollapudi04-Jul-2023

Ajit Agarkar, the former India fast bowler, has been named chairman of selectors for the Indian men’s team. Agarkar, 45, filled the position which had been vacant since February after Chetan Sharma stepped down in the wake up of a sting operation conducted on him by an Indian television network.Agarkar is the fifth member of the India men’s selection panel which already includes Shiv Sunder Das, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee and S Sharath. Having played 26 Test and 191 ODIs, Agarkar is the senior-most member of the panel and as per BCCI rules becomes its chairman. First on their plate is selecting the side for the five T20Is against West Indies starting August 3.Agarkar, it is understood, was the unanimous choice of the three-person Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ashok Malhotra, Sulakshana Naik and Jatin Paranjape, which conducted the interviews on Monday. It could not be confirmed whether Agarkar was the solitary applicant for the position for which the BCCI had advertised, with June 30 as the deadline.This will be the second time Agarkar, who has also played four T20Is for India, will play the role of chairman of selectors, having performed the job at a smaller level for Mumbai between 2017-19. Agarkar was part of the coaching staff at Delhi Capitals for the last two years but they have since parted ways.India are a team in transition, and the uncertainty around their selection panel has only added to that feeling. It all began last year when the BCCI moved away from the convention of giving a chairman two terms and asked for new applications for Chetan’s role following the semi-final loss in the T20 World Cup. But, the board failed to attract a better option, and re-elected Chetan the chairman of selectors only for the sting operation leading to his resignation, which has never been acknowledged by the BCCI.Agarkar’s appointment results in the panel having two selectors from West Zone, Ankola being the other one. In the BCCI constitution, drafted as per the RM Lodha-committee recommendations, there is no mention of selectors being appointed on a zonal basis; just that the five of them should have been retired for at least five years and played a certain number of matches. While the BCCI has followed an unwritten rule of picking a selector from each of the five zones traditionally, the advertisement for the role never specified it was looking for a candidate from a specific zone.

Southern Vipers romped towards finals day of the Charlotte Edwards Cup when they defeated Sunrisers by five wickets at the 1st Central County Ground, Hove.Even without their England players they were far too strong for a Sunrisers side who have lost all seven of their matches in the competition. Chasing a modest target of 115 the Vipers got home with 5.1 overs to spare.They started off as if they wanted to get the runs in ten overs and lost two wickets in the third over. Nicole Faltum had another failure at the top of the order when she was bowled, sweeping, by Mady Villiers. And three balls later Ella McCaughan was caught at cow corner going for a maximum.But captain Georgia Adams led from the front with an unbeaten 63, with six fours and three sixes. She lost Georgia Elwiss, who was caught at midwicket for ten, and then Freya Kemp who was bowled for 12. And just before the end Emily Windsor was bowled for eight. But former opener Adams, despite being dropped on 19, batted with authority, reaching her fifty from only 28 deliveries and going on to steer her side to an emphatic victory.The Vipers went into their last group stage match with the comfortable knowledge that only heavy defeat would deny them a place at New Road, Worcester, where they will face Thunder.And, having to chosen to bowl, the only serious resistance came from Cordelia Griffith, who plundered 65 runs from 56 deliveries, with nine fours and a six.The Vipers were well on their way to victory after just five overs, having reduced Sunrisers to 18 for 4 in that time.Struggling Sunrisers had given the captaincy to the experienced South African Dane van Niekerk and given a debut to impressive medium pacer Esmae MacGregor, who took two wickets. But it wasn’t enough.Slow left-armer Linsey Smith opened the bowling for the Vipers and broke through with just the third delivery of the match when Alice Macleod, walking down the pitch, missed the ball and was comfortably stumped by Faltum. Sunrisers lost their second wicket to the first delivery of the third over when Smith straightened one and had van Niekerk lbw. And it was 5 for 3 when Villiers played too early to the last ball of Smith’s second over and skied to deep extra cover to make it three soft dismissals in as many overs.From the second ball of the fifth over wicket-keeper Amara Carr was run out by Alice Monaghan, going for an optimistic second run and the innings looked in ruins.But the Sunrisers can never be written off while Griffith is still there and once again the aggressive right-hander counter-attacked against a Vipers side who, as usual, rotated their bowlers at every opportunity. At the halfway stage of the innings – which had featured six Vipers bowlers – Sunrisers were 45 for 4.Grifffith powered to her fifty from 44 balls when she pulled Elwiss to the midwicket boundary. But with the last ball of the over Elwiss yorked Florence Miller for 20 to end the 65-run partnership. And, in essence, the innings was over in the 18th over when Griffith, aiming for the leg side, was caught at extra-cover.

Big picture: Virat Kohli returns to T20I action

Rohit Sharma’s T20I return with the bat was unspectacular; both Virat Kohli (personal reasons) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (groin injury) were unavailable for the Mohali T20I, but India still eased past Afghanistan.For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan has been ruled out of the entire three-match series, but they can still be a dangerous T20 team on their day. Six players in the XI that played on Thursday have IPL contracts and almost all their players feature in franchise T20 – and T10 – leagues around the world.Related

• Dube: Wanted to implement what I've learnt from Dhoni

• Rohit checks most boxes, but not the big one

Kohli is set to return for the second T20I in Indore – India’s second last before the T20 World Cup gets underway in the USA and the West Indies in June. He hasn’t scored freely against spin in T20 cricket – he has the second-lowest strike rate against spin among batters who have played at least 50 innings in the IPL in the past five seasons – so, this will be a good test for him against Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. There is also considerable interest around whether Rohit can dominate T20I powerplays like he did the ODI powerplays at the World Cup last year.The inclusion of Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar has given India six bowling options and stretches their batting down to No. 8. Dube was dropped for the T20I series in South Africa and had previously warmed the bench during the home T20Is against Australia, but could make a serious case to be picked in India’s T20 World Cup squad as Hardik Pandya’s back-up, especially if he has a strong IPL season.Afghanistan bat deeper than India, with Mujeeb 2.0 and Naveen-ul-Haq carded at Nos. 9 and 10, but they have some problems at the top. They tried to fit two anchors in their top four – captain Ibrahim Zadran right at the top and debutant Rahmat Shah at No. 4 – but the approach didn’t work. That Afghanistan eventually reached 158 for 5 was down to the middle-order muscle of Nabi and Najibullah Zadran. Unless they post a bigger total, it’s hard to see them challenge India.

Form guide

India WWLWW
Afghanistan LWLWWMujeeb Ur Rahman is the leader of Afghanistan’s attack in the absence of Rashid Khan•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Jitesh Sharma and Azmatullah Omarzai

Jitesh Sharma is among the most explosive finishers in the IPL. He’s brought that power to T20Is as well, having a strike rate of over 150 after six innings. His cameos against Australia and more recently against Afghanistan at his IPL home ground in Mohali have seen him edge ahead as India’s first-choice keeper-batter for now in T20Is. He has also been sharp behind the stumps against both pace and spin.Azmatullah Omarzai poses a dual threat to India with his big-hitting and ability to swing the ball. In the first T20I, Omarzai showed glimpses of his skills with the bat at No.3, but Afghanistan need more from him, and he’s capable of that. If there’s some early swing on offer at the Holkar Stadium, there’s a case for Afghanistan to pair Omarzai up with Fazalhaq Farooqi in the powerplay and hold Mujeeb back for the middle and death overs.

Team news: Zazai for Rahmat?

Kohli will play his first T20I in more than a year. If Jaiswal is fit, he will replace Shubman Gill at the top. Wristspinner Ravi Bishnoi, who leaked 35 runs in three overs in the first T20I, could make way for Kuldeep Yadav. At some point in the series, India might also be tempted to test out Avesh Khan in place of a quick or a spinner.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal/Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Axar Patel, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mukesh Kumar/Avesh KhanIf Hazratullah Zazai is fit and available, Afghanistan could bring him into the XI in place of Rahmat, who is more of an ODI-style batter.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Hazratullah Zazai/Rahmat Shah, 3 Ibrahim Zadran (capt), 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Gulbadin Naib, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiWill Virat Kohli open the India batting or slot in at No. 3?•PTI

Pitch and conditions: Indore is full of runs

A flat, bash-through-the-line Indore pitch, fast outfield and short boundaries are ingredients for a high-scoring T20I. The last T20I at the venue, in October 2022, produced an aggregate of 405 runs, with South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw cracking a 48-ball hundred. A clear, warm day is welcome news for players who struggled with the cold in Mohali.

Stats and trivia: Kohli on the brink of another landmark

Kohli is 35 runs away from becoming the first Indian – and fourth overall – to score 12,000 runs in T20 cricket.

Axar Patel is three strikes away from 50 T20I wickets.

India had lost 11 tosses in a row across formats before Rohit finally won one in Mohali.

Rahmat played 106 ODIs before his first T20I on Thursday. He had made his ODI debut in March 2013.

Quotes

“We want to try our bowlers in different situations of the game. Like you saw, Washy [Washington] bowled the 19th over [in Mohali]. We want to challenge the bowlers in the areas they are not used to.”
“The bilateral series [against India] is a step in the right direction for our side. It’s an indication of the progress made by the side.”

In a chat with Star Sports, Pant talks about the accident, his state of mind, the joy of watching the 2023 Ashes, and whether he will drive a car again

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-20241:31

Pant: ‘Don’t know why I was compared to Dhoni’

The first thought that came to Rishabh Pant immediately after his life-threatening car crash on December 30, 2022 was that his “time in this world was over.” Having been “fortunate to have a second life”, Pant, who is expected to play in IPL 2024, said the biggest lesson he has learned from this experience is to always have self-belief.That was the theme of his revealing conversation with Star Sports, titled . Pant talked about the accident, his state of mind, the joy of watching the 2023 Ashes, and whether he will drive a car again.”First time in my life I had that feeling of letting it go. I felt my time in this world was over,” Pant said in the interview, which was conducted in Bengaluru on August 24, 2023, roughly eight months after the accident occurred when Pant was driving from Delhi to Roorkee to meet his family and crashed his car into the median divider on the road. “It was the first time I had such a feeling in life. At the time of the accident, I was aware of the wounds, but I was lucky as it could have been even more serious.”Related

• Rishabh Pant is back – celebrating life, loving cricket

• Rishabh Pant begins match-simulation exercises in Bengaluru

• Pant expected to return for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024

• Pant: I've found happiness in even being able to brush my teeth

• Pant 'forever grateful and indebted' to individuals who took him to hospital

After undergoing initial treatment at a hospital in Dehradun, Pant was airlifted to Mumbai where he was under the care of the BCCI’s specialist consultant. After undergoing surgeries to reconstruct all three ligaments in his right knee, Pant did his rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.”I am focusing on recovery cut off from the world,” he said. “It helps me in recovering fast, especially when the injury is so serious. For recovery, you have to do the same thing every day. It’s boring, it’s irritating, it’s frustrating, but you have to do it.”Till the time I start playing cricket, I don’t want to plan much for the future. I asked the doctor how long it would take for me to recover. I told him that everybody is speaking different things, but you will give me the most clarity about it. He said it would take 16 to 18 months. I told the doctor that whatever timeline he gave me, I would reduce six months from it.”