Ajinkya Rahane scored the fastest half-century of the 2023 Indian Premier League on his Chennai Super Kings in a seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai were restricted to 157-8 after they were put in at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, Ravindra Jadeja taking 3-20 with support from Mitchell Santner (2-28) and Tushar Deshpande (2-31).
That was not enough to give them a first win of the tournament, as Rahane struck 61 off only 21 balls and faced just 19 deliveries to reach his half-century on his home ground before CSK reached their target with 11 balls to spare.
The Indians were going along well at 61-1 at the end of the powerplay, but lost their way after Ishan Kishan (32) followed captain Rohit Sharma (21) back to the pavilion.
Santner had Suryakumar Yadav caught behind and Jadeja took a sharp catch off his own bowling to remove Cameron Green as Mumbai lost four wickets for only 12 runs.
Hrithik Shokeen added 18 in quick time after a brisk 33 from Tim David and Jason Behrendorff struck an early blow in the run chase by bowling Devon Conway for a duck.
Rahane then took centre stage, taking the Mumbai attack apart with great timing and placement to put CSK well on course for victory by the time he fell to Piyush Chawla.
Mumbai, who were without Jofra Archer, were unable to recover from Rahane's onslaught, with Ruturaj Gaikwad making an unbeaten 40 as the Super Kings made it two wins from three matches.
Rahane destructive on debut
CSK were missing Ben Stokes, reportedly due to a heel injury and the unwell Moeen Ali but Rahane proved he still has so much to offer on the big stage.
Snapped up by Chennai after being released by Kolkata Knight Riders, the 34-year-old looked like a man eager to prove a point as he struck three sixes and a further seven boundaries in a brilliant knock.
Jadeja spins the game in CSK's favour
India all-rounder Jadeja was excellent with ball in hand, turning the game in CSK's favour by seeing the back of Kishan, Green and Tilak Varma.
He bowled nine dot balls and was hit for just one boundary in an excellent display of spin bowling.
Dottin among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month for October
West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin has been named among the three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for the month of October.
Dottin made her comeback for the national side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and was a driving force as the islanders reached their first semi-final at the event since 2018.
She was instrumental in victories over Scotland and Bangladesh, but saved her most valuable contributions for the latter stages, where she shone with the bat, ball and in the field in their group stage win over England, before producing a memorable individual display with 33 runs and four wickets in the thrilling semi-final defeat to eventual champions New Zealand.
Dottin will be going up against New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt for the award.
The nominees for the Men’s award are New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner, Pakistan’s Noman Ali and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Kevin Sinclair replaced by Junior Sinclair in Harpy Eagles Super50 squad after internal report to GCB
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair will take no further part in the Guyana Harpy Eagles CG United Super50 Cup campaign in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision made by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) followed the submission of an internal report by the Harpy Eagles' management team that it was necessary to replace the player.
The GCB, in making the revelation, also announced that Kevin Sinclair will be replaced by Junior Sinclair in the squad at the tournament.
Though the GCB’s statement did not clarify if sub-standard performance is the reason behind Kevin Sinclair’s ejection from the squad, it pointed out that it was a “necessary squad adjustment.”
“Following an internal report from the Guyana Harpy Eagles management, it has been decided that Kevin Sinclair will no longer be participating in this year’s competition,” the statement read.
In the three matches played in the Super50 Cup, Kevin Sinclair tallied 14 runs and snared three wickets.
He made 14 from 16 balls against Windward Volcanoes and took 2-66 from 10 overs in the same match.
However, he did not bat in the rained-out contest against Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and was dismissed without a score against Barbados Pride and only took 1-26 from 10 overs in that same match.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles are winless after three matches.
A similar situation arose last year during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament when organisers announced Kevin left the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad for “personal reasons.”
Kevin Sinclair’s departure opens the door for Junior Sinclair to take up a spot in the Harpy Eagles squad ahead of Tuesday’s contest against Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Squad: Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Tevin Imlach (captain), Kevlon Anderson, Kemol Savory, Junior Sinclair, Keemo Paul (vice-captain), Ronaldo Aimohamed, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Ashmead Nedd, Nial Smith, Sylus Tyndall, Rampertab Ramnauth.
Salt confirmed as England wicketkeeper despite Buttler return for West Indies T20Is
Phil Salt will be wicketkeeper in England’s upcoming T20I series against West Indies as white-ball captain Jos Buttler looks to improve his captaincy.
Buttler has been ruled out with a calf strain but will return to England's squad for the five-match T20I series that begins on Saturday.
Until now, Salt has kept in just 13 of his 59 England appearances across all formats but has taken up the mantle for the ongoing ODI series against West Indies.
Buttler, on the other hand, has donned the gloves in 106 of his 108 T20Is.
Salt, though, is enjoying his new role.
"It's not something I've done a lot for England recently, but I enjoy keeping. I feel like that's where I offer most to the side," Salt said, as reported by ESPN.
"We've not had a chat about anything going forward. I'm just glad to be doing it at the moment."
While Salt is not guaranteed the gloves after this series, he will find comfort in Buttler's intent to optimise his captaincy by experimenting with a role in the field.
"I was going to give up the gloves and commit to being at mid-off and see how that felt. If it will help me with my captaincy it is something I am open to," Buttler told Sky Sports in September after being ruled out of the T20 series against Australia.
England are tied 1-1 in their ODI series against the West Indies with the decider to be played on Wednesday.
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