Indian Cricket Team Updates

The final Group Stage contest of the Oppo CLT20 2014 turned out to a thrilling contest, as the Barbados Tridents defeated the Northern Knights by six wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. After putting the opposition in, the Caribbean side did well to restrict their Kiwi opponents to 135 for 8 in their allotted 19 overs and then chased the runs down with two balls to spare. The six-wicket win was the Barbados Tridents’ only win in the competition, while the Northern Knights finished their CLT20 campaign with four wins and three defeats (including the three wins in the Qualifiers).  (Also Read:  QUICK STATS: M19 - PERTH SCORCHERS V LAHORE LIONS ) Set a target of 138 – worked out using the Duckworth & Lewis method – the Barbados Tridents had contributions all-round, before James Franklin finished it off in style. Openers Dilshan Munaweera (20) and Raymon Reifer (15) persevered against some testing bowling by Tim Southee and Trent Boult to provide a platform; the first wi...

124 Lahore Lions’ total – lowest by any side in this edition of CLT20 playing its full quota of 20 overs.  (Also Read:  MATCH REPORT: M19 - PERTH SCORCHERS V LAHORE LIONS ) 78 Total which Lahore Lions required to restrict Perth Scorchers to in order to qualify for the semi-finals. 63 Mitchell Marsh’s score- second highest by a captain in this edition. The highest has also come from Perth Scorchers when Adam Voges scored an unbeaten 71 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Hyderabad on September 24. 47 Balls taken by Saad Nasim for his fifty – slowest in this edition by any batsman. 19 Number of dot balls bowled by Mohammed Hafeez in the match. In CLT20 history only one bowler has bowled more dot balls in a match – 20 by Samuel Badree for Trinidad & Tobago against Leicestershire at Hyderabad in 2011. 2.00 Mohammed Hafeez’s economy in the match – best for any bowler in this edition. 2 Lahore Lions total at the fall of third wicket – lowest score in CLT20 history for any t...

Mitchell Marsh came to Perth Scorchers' rescue on Tuesday as they beat Lahore Lions by three wickets in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20.  (Also Read:  QUICK STATS: M19 - PERTH SCORCHERS V LAHORE LIONS ) The 22-year-old stand-in captain struck 63 not out off 38 deliveries as the Scorchers recovered from 62-7 to chase down 125. Thereby, the Lions' chances of making the last four were ended and the Chennai Super Kings qualified for the semis. Marsh combined with veteran Brad Hogg (28no off 19) for a match-winning 68-run eighth-wicket stand, with the Scorchers earlier slumping to 40 for 6 in their chasing of Lahore Lions’ 6-124. In the end, the Lions’ low score allowed Perth to get home, with the Scorchers attack, led by the impressive Joel Paris (3-22) and Marsh (2-12), who reduced the Pakistani outfit to 4-11 inside the first four overs. Saad Nasim (69 not out off 55 balls) led the revival for Lahore, who needed a significant win to reach the CLT20 semi-finals, before the...

4 Number of players to score a fifty and take three wickets in a match in CLT20. Robbie Frylinck joined Moises Henriques, Jacques Kallis and Azhar Mahmood (twice) in doing so.  (Also Read:  MATCH REPORT: M14 - DOLPHINS V LAHORE LIONS ) 20 Number of balls taken by Robbie Frylinck to race to his fifty – fastest in this edition. 26 Runs scored by Frylinck off one over from Aizaz Cheema (18th of the over). The sequence- 6,2,6,6,0,6. This equalled the record of most productive over in this edition of CLT20. Richard Levi had scored same number of runs off Jason Holder’s over in Barbados Tridents – Cape Cobras match at Mohali yesterday. 55 Runs added by Frylinck and Subrayen without being separated – highest tenth wicket partnership in CLT20 history. The previous record was of 45 runs between Andre Adams and Michael Bates for Auckland against Titans at Durban in 2012. 63 Runs scored by Frylinck – highest score by a number eight batsman in CLT20. Brett Lee had made 48 for New...

The Lahore Lions added to the suspense over which other team from Group A will join the Kolkata Knight Riders in progressing to the semi-finals when they defeated the Dolphins by 16 runs in Match 14 of the Oppo CLT20 2014. After opting to bat first, the Lahore Lions stuttered, huffed and puffed at the start, before Umar Akmal played a magical innings to rescue the team to a competitive 164 for 5. The Lahore Lions spinners then took over, making the most of the uneven bounce and spin available to them on the track at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to deny to South African side, restricting them to 148 for 9. A late charge from birthday-boy Robbie Frylinck entertained the crowd and brought the match alive briefly, but the disappointing performance from the batsmen higher in the order meant the team from Rainbow Nation would only come tantalizingly close.  (Also Read:  QUICK STATS: M14 - LAHORE LIONS V DOLPHINS ) After opting to bat first, the Lahore Lions batsmen wer...

Heavy showers, which made their appearance a few minutes before the captains of Chennai Super Kings and Lahore Lions were scheduled to walk out for the toss, forced the much-awaited contest to be abandoned without a ball being bowled. The on-field umpires - Vineet Kulkarni and Nandan - inspected conditions after the rains had eased - nearly 90 minutes after it had started, but decided that the downpour had rendered the playing surface unusable and there wasn't enough time to get the ground ready within the stipulated hours of play (even considering the permitted 30 minutes extra time). The match was eventually called off, without a ball being bowled, around 9 p.m. local time. The unexpected result adds a twist to the standings. Chennai Super Kings are at six points from three outings - with a match against Perth Scorchers remaining, while Lahore Lions open their account with two points from this match and find themselves at fourth place in the standings, with two matches remain...

2 Uthappa and Gambhir provided only the second instance of a century opening partnership by an Indian pair in a CLT20 match (Qualifier or main Group match). Parthiv Patel and Shikhar Dhawan had added 121 runs for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kandurata Maroons at Mohali in 2013.    ( Also Read:  MATCH REPORT : M7 - KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS V LAHORE LIONS ) 5 Number of times Sunil Narine has conceded 10 or fewer runs in a 4-over spell in CLT20. No one else has done so more than twice! 8 Side batting second have won last eight consecutive matches at Hyderabad. 11 Number of consecutive win batting first after which Lahore Lions failed to defend a total. They had last lost a match batting first in March 2012. 11 Number of consecutive matches won by Kolkata Knight Riders. They are now just one short of the longest winning streak by an Indian side, which is incidentally held by Bengal with 12 wins (between 2009 and 2011) 35 Number of 50-plus scores made by Gautam Gambhir – mos...

The Kolkata Knight Riders extended their winning streak to eleven matches after they defeated the Lahore Lions by four wickets in match number seven of the Oppo CLT20 2014. After restricting their opponents to 151 for 7, the IPL champions, who were cruising to the finish line at one point, suffered a mid-innings collapse and eventually sneaked home in the final over.    ( Also Read:  QUICK STATS: M7 - KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS V LAHORE LIONS ) On a flat batting track at the Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, the KKR opening pair of Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir did not have to break a sweat in their pursuit of 152. The pair operated smartly, always ensuring they had the upper hand over the Lions bowlers. Dot balls were a scarce commodity, there were plenty of singles forcing the bowlers to adjust their lines and both batsmen picked their areas precisely to score boundaries. If the left-handed Gambhir was the aggressor early on, scoring 31 of the first 36 ru...

The Lahore Lions gave themselves a good chance of progressing to the main draw of the Oppo CLT20 2014 after they defeated Southern Express by 55 runs in the fifth qualifying stage match. The result, which improved the Lahore Lions’ net run rate significantly, means the champions of Pakistan’s domestic T20 competition climb up to second in the standings and will go through to the tournament proper if the Northern Knights defeat the Mumbai Indians later in the evening.  ( Also Read:  MATCH REPORT: Q6 - MUMBAI INDIANS V NORTHERN KNIGHTS ) After being put in to bat, the Lahore Lions rode on skipper Mohammad Hafeez’s calculated effort to post 164 for 6. Coming in to bat at 51 for 2, the 33-year old took time to warm up, crawling to 15 from 24 balls, before taking control of proceedings. He singled out leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna for punishment and hit him for a boundary and three sixes in an over. When he was dismissed in the final over of the innings, he had scored 67 runs –...

The Northern Knights took a step closer to progressing to the main draw of the Oppo CLT20 2014 after they defeated the Lahore Lions by 72 runs in the third of the qualifying stage matches. After posting 170 runs on the board, the Northern Knights new-ball pair quelled the contest in the first six overs of the run-chase when they reduced the Lahore Lions to 19 for 5. The Lahore Lions eventually folded up in the 18th over, with 98 runs on the board. ( Also Read:  MATCH REPORT: Q2 – MUMBAI INDIANS V LAHORE LIONS ) Tim Southee set things off for the Northern Knights when he landed the perfect yorker in the second over and breached past the defences of Nasir Jamshed. Trent Boult angled one across Ahmed Shehzad in the following over, lured the batsman to play at it, and found the ball take the outside edge on its way to the wicket-keeper. Southee picked up a big wicket in the next over when Mohammad Hafeez attempted to pull a short delivery but only managed to feather one to the wi...

A clinical all-round performance from the Lahore Lions saw them emerge victorious against the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 of the Oppo CLT20 2014. Set to chase a modest 136 against a testing and experienced bowling attack, the Lahore Lions played smart cricket, timed their acceleration perfectly and ensured they finished the contest with two points on the board.  ( Also Read:  MATCH REPORT: Q1– NORTHERN KNIGHTS V SOUTHERN EXPRESS ) There wasn’t too much action in the first four overs of the run-chase. Ahmed Shehzad set the ball rolling picking up two boundaries in the fifth over and then got stuck into young Jasprit Bumrah hitting him for two boundaries and a six in the following over. The introduction of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha put the brakes on the scoring yet again. The six overs bowled by the two spinners in tandem soon after the field restrictions were relaxed yielded only 28 runs. Shehzad (34 from 33 balls) perished to Ojha in the eighth over, while Nasir ...