Dubai (TIP) – India enters the Champions Trophy 2025 Final in Dubai on Sunday in excellent form, having secured four wins in the tournament, as per the official website of ICC.
India’s tournament opener saw them prevail in a tight contest against Bangladesh in Dubai, registering a sizzling six-wicket victory to begin their campaign on a winning note.
Pacer Mohammed Shami’s impressive 5/53, combined with three scalps from Harshit Rana and two from Axar Patel, restricted Bangladesh to 228.
Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 101*, combined with stylish knocks from Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, ensured smooth sailing for India as they reached the Tigers’ total with 21 balls to spare.
In their high-voltage clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, India displayed their all-round prowess by chasing down 241 runs with six wickets in hand.
Kuldeep Yadav weaved his magic for the Indian side by taking three crucial wickets to bundle out Pakistan for 241 in 49.4 overs.
Shubman Gill (46) and Shreyas Iyer (56) came up with some crucial knocks, but the age-old rivalry was marked primarily by a Virat Kohli masterclass that saw him score an unbeaten 100 to steer India to victory.
A different challenge for Rohit Sharma’s side in the form of New Zealand, with the winner staying unbeaten at the tournament and earning the top spot in Group A. Though when these two sides met, they had both already qualified for the semi-final stage.
New Zealand’s bowlers did well to restrict India’s batting line-up, with Shreyas Iyer (79) and Hardik Pandya (45) leading the way as the Asian side posted a competitive total of 249/9 after they were sent in to bat first.
It was the Varun Chakravarthy show in reply, with the spinner claiming an impressive five-wicket haul to help bowl New Zealand out for just 205, as India progressed through to the final four with their unbeaten record intact.
India qualified for the Champions Trophy final by taking down another of their top rivals, Australia.
The bowlers applied pressure throughout the Aussies’ batting innings, restricting them to 264 all out in the 50th over, consistently finding key wickets throughout. Mohammed Shami chipped in with three big wickets, while spinners Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja grabbed a couple.
Tag: KL Rahul
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India in top form ahead of Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai
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Rahul, de Kock slam fifties as LSG score 8-wicket win over CSK
Lucknow (TIP)- Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock produced a chasing masterclass on a slow pitch to power Lucknow Super Giants to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match.
Asked to bat first, Ravindra Jadeja came up with a solid unbeaten 57 before Moeen Ali (30 off 20) and MS Dhoni (28 off 9) went on a six-hitting spree to take CSK to a fighting 176/6.
In reply, Rahul (82) and de Kock (54) batted with authority during their match-winning alliance of 134, the highest partnership for any wicket at the Ekana Stadium, as LSG scored 180/2 in 19 overs to recover from back-to-back losses and consolidate their position in the table. CSK, who came into the match with two straight wins, slumped to their third loss.
Guilty of not capitalising on his starts, Rahul finally lived up to the expectations, smashing nine fours and three sixes in his 53-ball knock, while de Kock overcame a scratchy start to hit five fours and a six in his 43-ball knock.
Rahul was the aggressor, playing some magnificent strokes to give LSG a flying start as the powerplay yielded 54 runs. After 10 overs, LSG were 89 for no loss.
A one-handed catch from Jadeja finally ended Rahul’s fabulous knock but it was too late.
Earlier, Rahul was spot on with his bowling changes as the pacers put the CSK batters under pressure initially before spinner Krunal Pandya tightened the noose in the middle overs.
“Feels good at the end of the day. When you win, it looks like you make all the decisions right. Impossible to get all right. Depends on the kind of wicket we are playing on and the kind of batters there are. We spend time doing homework on tactics and we spoke about them not settling against one style of bowling,” Rahul said.
Brief scores
CSK: 176/6 in 20 overs (Jadeja 57*, Rahane 36, Moeen 30, Dhoni 28*; Krunal 2/16) vs LSG: 180/2 in 19 overs (Rahul 82, de Kock 54).
Source: PTI -
Yashasvi Jaiswal scripts history, slams fastest half-century in IPL
Kolkata- Rajasthan Royals (RR) explosive batter Yashasvi Jaiswal on Thursday produced an exhibition in power-hitting to script history, becoming the first player to slam the fastest half-century in Indian Premier League (IPL).
Jaiswal achieved this feat in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. Jaiswal slammed the half-century in just 13 balls to script his incredible milestone to his name. KL Rahul (14), Pat Cummins (14), Yusuf Pathan (15) and Sunil Narine (15) are the other three players to have achieved the milestone.
The milestone was previously held by KL Rahul and Pat Cummins who had scored a 50 in 14 balls. Yusuf Pathan was third on the list with a 50 in 15 balls.
Coming to the match, Jaiswal started the run chase for the RR with a flying start as he single-handedly slammed Nitish Rana for 26 runs in the first over of the innings. Earlier in the match, Yuzvendra Chahal delivered a fine performance to bag four wickets, conceding just 25 runs in his 4 overs spell. Chahal and Trent Boult’s blistering spells helped Rajasthan Royals (RR) restrict Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 149/8 in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match here at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
On a day KKR’s batters struggled to time the ball, the 21-year-old Jaiswal showed the way by bringing up fastest fifty in the history of the IPL in just 13 balls, bettering the previous record held by KL Rahul and Pat Cummins (14 balls each). Jaiswal remained two runs shy of a century (98 not out from 47 balls), a knock studded with 12 fours and five sixes as RR cantered to victory 13.1 overs. Samson gave fine support to the southpaw (48 not out from 29 balls) as the duo shared an unbroken match-winning partnership of 121 runs off just 69 balls. -
Athiya & KL Rahul wedding gifts: From Rs 1.64 cr Audi by Salman to Suniel Shetty’s 50 cr apartment
Suniel Shetty’s daughter Athiya Shetty who also followed in her father’s footsteps and debuted in Bollywood with the film Hero. Even though she hasn’t been very active on the big screen much, she is an avid social media user and enjoys a massive fanbase. She had never kept her relationship with the Indian cricketer KL Rahul hidden from the media, and now on January 23, 2023, the madly-in-love couple tied the knot. It was rather an intimate wedding ceremony. However, do you know what gifts the newlyweds receive from their close ones? Scroll below to get the scoop which might leave you spellbound!
Athiya and KL Rahul looked magical at their wedding ceremony where they can be seen wearing gorgeous shaadi ka joda. Athiya donned a pastel pink coloured self-embroidered lehenga choli with polki jewellery, while Rahul looked dashing in a soft cream coloured sherwani suit.
The newlyweds Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul received a lot of luxurious gifts from their friends, family and relatives. It included an Audi worth Rs 1.64 crore that they received from Salman Khan. Suniel Shetty gifted his daughter and son-in-law a lavish apartment of Rs 50 crores as reported in ETimes. Jackie Shroff who is a close friend of Suniel Shetty gifted Athiya Shetty a Chopard Watch worth Rs 30 Lakh. On the other hand, the actress’s close friend Arjun Kapoor gave her a diamond bracelet of whopping Rs 1.5 crore.
While KL Rahul’s cricket team mate and Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli gifted the newlyweds a BMW car of Rs 2.17 crore, Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave Rahul a Kawasaki Ninja bike that comes with a whopping price of Rs 80 lakhs.
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KL Rahul anchors India’s series win over Lanka with fighting fifty
Kolkata (TIP)- Under-fire KL Rahul made amends for his poor run of form as he anchored India’s series clinching four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second ODI with a dogged 64 on a tricky Eden Gardens track.
Snubbed time and again by Indian think-tank, Kuldeep Yadav proved his mettle yet another time as he formed a lovely bowling alliance with pacer Mohammed Siraj to demolish Sri Lanka for 215 inside 40 overs after they opted to bat. The paltry chase on the quick Eden outfield however was not a cakewalk for Indian team, which lost its top-four batters for 86 runs in 14.2 overs.
Needing 130 from 214 balls, Rahul was the only designated batter left as he once again proved his utility in the middle overs with an unbeaten 64 off 103 balls that took India home with 40 balls to spare.
While there was a bit of seam movement on offer and ball from spinners gripping a bit, to be fair, there was no scoreboard pressure on the home team. The win also gave India an unassailable 2-0 series lead going into the Trivandraum ODI on Sunday.
“I won’t say it was a flat wicket, or it was doing a lot that it was impossible to bat. When Sri Lanka started, I thought it was a 280-300 wicket,” Rahul said after the match. Having started off with a boundary, Rahul was quick to slow down as he ran hard for his singles en route to a 93-ball fifty. The need of the hour was to play sensibly as Rahul and Hardik Pandya curbed their natural strokeplay in a decisive 75-run partnership that came off 119 balls. It was also a different Pandya (36; 53b) on display as he took time and gave Rahul a perfect support. Pandya however departed against the run of play, leaving 55 runs required from 95 balls.
India earlier endured some tense moments inside the powerplay when Rohit Sharma (17) and Shubman Gill (21) departed in four deliveries after an attacking start, while Virat Kohli (4) became the third casualty to be 63/2 in 9.3 overs.
Rohit took a faint edge behind the stumps to be dismissed by Karunaratne. In the next over Shubman Gill, who wowed the packed Eden crowd with his delectable cover drives, had a soft dismissal giving a straight catch to Avishka Fernando at short midwicket off Lahiru Kumara. The pacer, who replaced an injured Dilshan Madushanka (dislocated shoulder), was all charged up when he cleaned up the last match centurion Kohli with a delivery that jagged back in. More anxiety was in store as India were reduced to 86/4 in 14.2 overs when Shreyas Iyer was dismissed leg before by a ball going down the leg.
However, Rahul, relishing his role as a No. 5 was never in tearing hurry as he anchored the chase to perfection. He needed one good stand and in vice-captain Hardik Pandya (36) he got an able ally as they put up 75 runs.
“The good thing about batting at No. 5 is you don’t have to rush. You can take a shower, put your feet up and watch the game. But I always think what team needs of me. If you can read the situation when you go in, it helps you and team. Batting at No. 5 has helped me understand my game better,” Rahul said.
Source: PTI
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Old guards open door to victory
Mirpur (TIP)- India seamer Umesh Yadav and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed four wickets apiece as the tourists bowled out Bangladesh for a below-par 227 on the opening day of the second and final Test here on December 22. India, pressing for a 2-0 series sweep, finished the day on 19 for no loss with stand-in skipper KL Rahul (3) and Shubman Gill (14) seeing off the final eight overs.
Rahul had been given lbw to Shakib Al Hasan but the batsman reviewed the decision which was overturned after replays confirmed the ball would have missed the stumps. Bangladesh’s modest total was built around former captain Mominul Haque’s gritty 84 in his first match of the series.
On a day when several batsmen squandered starts, Haque was the glorious exception who dug his heels in and kept the scoreboard ticking. Bangladesh lost both of their openers in the morning session after Shakib won the toss and elected to bat at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. India sprang a surprise by dropping spinner Kuldeep Yadav, whose match-haul of eight wickets in their comprehensive victory in Chittagong earned him the Player of the Match award.
Jaydev Unadkat was picked instead and the left-arm seamer, playing in his second Test 12 years after his first, drew first blood by removing Zakir Hasan for 15. Zakir, who smashed a century in his Test debut in Chittagong, could have been dismissed for a golden duck but Mohammed Siraj dropped him in the deep in the second over of the day. Najmul Hossain (24) was trapped lbw by Ashwin (4/71) after offering no shot to a ball which rapped him below the knee roll.
Shakib (16) survived a stumping opportunity before lunch but could not capitalise on it and fell to the first ball after the break.
Mushfiqur Rahim (26) fell to Unadkat and Litton Das made a run-a-ball 25 before chipping an Ashwin delivery to Rahul at midwicket.
Yadav (4/25) dented the Bangladesh lower-order and Ashwin removed Haque and Khaled Ahmed in the space of three balls as Bangladesh wilted in 74 overs. Haque, who relinquished the captaincy in May after overseeing a string of defeats, hit 12 fours and a six before his bizarre dismissal.The No. 3 batsman lunged forward but then decided to leave the ball from Ashwin which brushed his glove on the way to Rishabh Pant behind the wicket.
Source: Reuters
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Rohit surpasses Virat Kohli, becomes India’s 2nd most successful T20I captain
Dubai (TIP)- Rohit Sharma has surpassed Virat Kohli as India’s second most successful captain in the T20I format after registering a comprehensive 40-run win against Hong Kong in the Asia cup here on Wednesday, August 31. Sharma, who had taken up T20I captaincy after Kohli stepped down, has won 31 matches in the 37 outing while Kohli achieved 30 wins in 50 T20I matches. Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has helped India win 41 T20I matches under his captaincy from 72 matches, is still on top of the list. On Wednesday, Suryakumar Yadav’s fireworks in the last seven overs sealed India’s Super Four spot in Asia Cup 2022 with a 40-run win over Hong Kong in a Group A match. At 94/2 in 13 overs, when KL Rahul’s struggle ended at 36 off 39 balls, Suryakumar walked in and completely changed the complexion of India’s innings. With his drives, slashes, scoops and sweeps apart from audacious wrist play sending the ball all over the park, he remained unbeaten on 68 off 26 balls, hitting six fours and as many sixes. 60 of his 68 runs came off boundaries, scored at a strike-rate of 261.53. His belligerent stroke-play made other batters in the Indian side look as if they were batting on a very different pitch. While Suryakumar hit 12 boundaries in his 26-ball knock, all other Indian batters managed to hit nine boundaries collectively in 96 balls.
Suryakumar also shared a 98-run stand off just 42 balls with Virat Kohli, who made 59 in 44 balls, hitting four and three sixes in his 31st T20I fifty and brought out some shots in the end as India fetched 78 runs in the last five overs to score a daunting 192-2, something which was a far possibility at the half-way mark score of 70-1.
Asked to review the match, Rohit was pleased with the batting show, especially in the back end of the innings. But he felt that bowling could have been better. Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja conceded just 48 runs overall to make up for the 97 runs leaked collectively by young pacers Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh to reduce Hong Kong to 152-5 in their 20 overs. “We batted pretty well to start with, got to a very good score. Came out and bowled reasonably well, we could have done slightly better with the ball.”
Hong Kong gifts Virat Kohli team jersey, shares heartwarming message
Hong Kong cricket team on Wednesday sent star Indian batter Virat Kohli a heartfelt message and gifted him a team jersey. Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering 68*, Virat Kohli’s 59* and Ravindra Jadeja’s quick fielding helped India secure direct qualification to the Super Four phase of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 after beating Hong Kong by 40 runs here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
The message on the jersey read: “Virat, Thank you for inspiring a generation. We stand with you! There are many incredible days ahead. With strength. With love. Team Hong Kong.”
The star batter was delighted by the gift and took to Instagram to thank the Hong Kong team for their gesture.
Source: IANS and ANI
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Virat Kohli, Bumrah rested for West Indies T20Is
New Delhi (TIP)- Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah were today rested from the five T20Is against West Indies which are to be played in the Caribbean islands and the United States from July 29. Star leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has also been rested. KL Rahul, who recently underwent a surgery for hernia, and Kuldeep Yadav were picked for the 18-man squad subject to fitness tests. Yadav had suffered a hand injury in the home series against South Africa in June. Ravichandran Ashwin also made a comeback to the squad, having played his last T20I in November last year.
It had earlier been reported that Kohli, who has been struggling to find form and hasn’t scored a century since November 2019, had asked for rest from the entire white-ball tour of the West Indies, which comprises three ODIs and five T20Is. The tour begins on July 22.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, who will not be part of the preceding ODI series, will return for the T20Is. Shikhar Dhawan will captain in the ODIs. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who was not part of the full-strength squad against England in the final two T20Is, is back in the mix.
The first T20I will be played in Trinidad on July 29, followed by a couple of games in St Kitts before the action moves to the US with two games in Lauderhill, Florida.
Squad
Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
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Shikhar Dhawan takes back Orange Cap, Prithvi Shaw rises to third position
Shikhar Dhawan returned to the top of the Orange Cap table after scoring 46 in Delhi Capitals’ (DC) seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dhawan took 47 balls to score his 46 but played the perfect foil to his opening partner Prithvi Shaw, who scored 82 off 41 balls. The pair shared an opening partnership of 132 runs in 14 overs, putting DC in control in their chase of a target of 155. Dhawan’s tally for the season stands at 311 while second-placed Faf du Plessis of Chennai Super Kings is on 270. Shaw, meanwhile, entered the top three of the Orange Cap standings, with his total run tally of 270 putting him one run ahead of Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul.
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Kohli returns to top 5 in ICC T20I rankings
Following his stellar performance in the ongoing series against England, India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday broke back into the top of the ICC T20 batsmen rankings. Kohli, a formerly top-ranked batsman in the format and currently number one in ODIs, gained one slot and a massive 47 rating points after unbeaten knocks of 73 and 77 in the second and third matches against England, to be placed fifth.
KL Rahul remains the top-ranked Indian batsmen at the fourth spot despite three failures in the series so far.
Shreyas Iyer is up 32 places to the 31st spot while Rishabh Pant gained 30 spots to be ranked 80th.
Among bowlers, all-rounder Washington Sundar is up two places to 11th while seamers Shardul Thakur (up 14 places to 27th) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (up seven places to 45th) have also gained.
Jos Buttler has re-entered the top 20. His match-winning 83 not out in the third match has helped him advance five places to 19th position, just two shy of his career-best 17th position attained in October 2018.
There were also some other fine performances in the series, between the top two sides, which England leads 2-1. Jonny Bairstow, who chipped in with 40 runs and was associated in an unbroken 77-run stand with Buttler in the eight-wicket win on Tuesday, has moved up two slots to 14th position in the list led by his compatriot Dawid Malan.