Month: May 2023

Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder Sam Curran faced the wrath of fans after his poor performance against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on Monday, May 8, Monday.
PBKS batted first after winning the toss and posted a decent total of 179/7 on the board. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan led his side from the front with a vital half-century. Curran had a dismal outing with the bat, as he could score only four runs from nine balls.
Things only got worse for Sam Curran in the second innings. He ended up giving 44 runs in his three overs and was one of the major reasons behind the Punjab Kings’ defeat.
The visiting side were in a decent position after 18 overs, as KKR needed 26 runs off the last 12 balls. Even though Sam Curran gave away 22 runs in two overs until then, PBKS skipper Dhawan entrusted him to bowl the most crucial 19th over of the chase. It proved to be a fatal mistake in hindsight.
Andre Russell lined him up for three sixes, putting KKR on the brink of a victory. Arshdeep Singh then tried his best to defend six runs in the final over, but Rinku Singh finished the match with a boundary on the final ball.
Fans were highly disappointed with Sam Curran’s poor performances in the recent matches and slammed him on Twitter. Here are some of the reactions:
Speaking at the end of the match, KKR all-rounder Andre Russell revealed that he was confident in his abilities to scale down the runs in the final two overs of the chase.
He also shed light on his conversation with his batting partner Rinku Singh in the final over. Russell said:
“We already discussed the ball was gripping. So we wanted to target the pacers. When we needed 30 off two overs, knew that we could definitely get it. Those two sixes and the other one that I cut over deep point gave us the momentum. I wanted to finish the game off, but we have a finisher this year in Rinku.”
He continued:
“I had full belief in Rinku that he can finish it off. Now, I have a partner at the end who can finish games that releases a lot of pressure. I get goosebumps seeing him doing what he’s been doing. He is very disciplined, hard-working. Also a very funny guy, there is always a funny moment with him around.”
Kolkata will next face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on May 11. PBKS, meanwhile will square off against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on May 13.
Get IPL 2023 Live Score along with Points Table & Schedule Updates at Sportskeeda.

Always knew Andre Russell special was round the corner: Nitish Rana
IMAGE: Andre Russell added muscle to the chase of 180 before Rinku finished off the game with a 10-ball-21 not out. Photograph: BCCI
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Nitish Rana was happy that big power hitter Andre Russell had finally come to the party this IPL season, saying he kept “backing” the Jamaican knowing that a match-winning innings was round the corner.
KKR defeated Punjab Kings by five wickets, chasing down the 180-run winning target off the last ball of the innings, with Russell scoring a 23-ball 43 studded with three fours and as many maximums.
Russell punished PBKS quick Sam Curran in the penultimate over of the innings, hitting the England bowler for three sixes before the West Indian was run out, leaving Rinku Singh to score the winning runs.
Rinku smashed a boundary of the last ball to win the match for KKR.
“Ten matches have gone, we were all waiting for that one Russell innings to come. He was one innings away, I kept backing him saying you have done a lot, and you will 100 per cent win us a game,” said Nitish Rana.
Rana also conceded he was angry with his bowlers conceding runs in the last couple of overs to let PBKS score a competitive 179/7.
“This pitch was a feel of home advantage as well. Our bowlers bowled badly at the death, I was angry that we conceded that many because this was a 160-165 run wicket.”
Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan lamented the lack of a quality off-spinner in his side, though leg-spinner Rahul Chahar did bowl a tight spell.
“I feel that we don’t have a good off-spinner. When left-handers come, from one end we have a leg-spinner and at the other end we have a left-arm spinner (Harpreet Brar). So that’s where I feel we are leaking a bit of runs. This wicket was offering turn as well so I feel that’s where we took the hit,” said Shikhar.
Dhawa did sound dejected now that they are staring at relegation.
“Not feeling that great. We lost the game and it was not an easy track to bat on and I feel that we put on a good total. At the end, they played well.
“It was great, phenomenal effort from Arshdeep (Singh) and the way he has bounced back from the last game, all credit goes to him. It was quite interesting that he took the game to the last ball so it was really good,” added Shikhar.

It is no surprise that one of Manchester United’s lowest points of the season coincided with Casemiro’s as well.
The 31-year-old has been a huge presence since signing last summer, and his performance in midfield often dictates the way the side plays as a whole.
United’s worst results under Erik ten Hag have either been when Casemiro has been absent or abysmal; he never plays well when they lose.
Read next: De Gea is a test of Ten Hag’s ruthlessness
That was the case last week, when Casemiro put in two of his worst performances in a United shirt against Brighton and West Ham. On both nights, they lost the midfield battle, and on both nights, they lost the match. Even then, it won’t detract from the fantastic season he’s had or the fact he has probably been United’s best player across the entire campaign.
United had never lost when Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro had all started together before. That changed after their latest horror show at the London Stadium.
Ten Hag will hope that West Ham was merely one of those nights at the office where nothing quite fell right and that his side will bounce back with an emphatic response against Wolves this weekend.
United’s hopes of a win could yet again hinge on winning the midfield battle, particularly against a side that boasts the experience of Ruben Neves and Mario Lemina at its core.
Casemiro will yet again have a huge role to play, and over the past week, they have been reminded of how precious he is, as well as their long-term need to cope without him.
United have won only five of the 10 Premier League matches without Casemiro this season, including the two before he signed, and have struggled to find an effective alternative in defensive midfield.
They have not been helped by his poor disciplinary record or by the fact that he has had to play quite so often, with the United squad pushed to their limits as part of a gruelling campaign that will have seen them play 62 competitive matches.
Casemiro could reach 53 appearances by the end of the season, and even if he misses a few matches, he has never played more than 48 times across a single club campaign. His workload is even greater when you consider the four matches he played for Brazil at the World Cup.
The physical demands should be fewer next season, though the caveat to that is that he will be another year older and might need to be managed more carefully to avoid burnout.
United need to find a viable alternative to their most influential player, but the problem is they most likely won’t be able to do that in the upcoming transfer window.
There is still uncertainty regarding the takeover process of the club, which makes planning for the summer difficult when budgets haven’t been finalised.
Ten Hag’s priority is to add an elite striker and a creative midfielder, while there is also interest in a right-back, centre-back and a goalkeeper to bolster the squad.
It would be a tough ask to address all those issues with top targets across one window, even more so given player sales will be needed to balance the books before new signings can be made.
This makes signing a new defensive midfielder highly unlikely this summer, even though it is an issue that would ideally be solved if possible.
Instead, it seems like United will need to hope they can get by with Casemiro as the only specialist in the role for another campaign, while there could be tactical tweaks to help ease the burden.
Ten Hag has already experimented with playing Bruno Fernandes in a deeper midfield role, and there remains a suggestion that Lisandro Martinez could play there if required too. The United manager has been reluctant to repurpose the Argentine into midfield, though there might be more scope to do so going forward considering the success of Luke Shaw in a makeshift central role.
United might need to find an internal solution to the problem before they can search for an external one, but it already seems certain they will need to find one in the long-term as well.
Replacing Casemiro is still a problem, and it will be next season too.
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LOS ANGELES — Although Lonnie Walker began the season as a starter for the Los Angeles Lakers, he got injured and slipped all the way out of their rotation after they transformed their roster at the trade deadline.
Walker didnt sulk or complain. He cheered from the bench. Worked even harder in practice. Waited for his chance to shine.
And when it arrived, the unsung pro with inextinguishable confidence outshot Stephen Curry in the fourth quarter of a playoff win that put his Lakers on the brink of an unlikely trip to the Western Conference finals.
(Its) the greatest feeling you could ever imagine, Walker said with a smile. As a kid, this is something I’ve been dreaming of.
Walker scored all of his 15 points in a phenomenal fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied late to take a 3-1 second-round series lead with a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.
LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who moved one win away from knocking off the champions with their eighth consecutive home victory since March.
Los Angeles overcame Curry’s third career postseason triple-double down the stretch largely because of Walker, who has made a seismic impact in returning to the Lakers’ rotation in this series. He went 6 for 9 in the fourth quarter, starting with a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the period to cut Golden State’s lead to four points.
After sitting out Game 1, Walker contributed nine points in Game 2 and 12 more in Game 3. His emergence in this series is a shocker to most, but not to Walker or his teammates.
Im a scorer mentality first, Walker said. Ive got a lot of confidence in myself. I know what Im capable of, and after a lot of sacrifice and a lot of time in the gym, the fruition finally came today.
Walker eventually hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:53 to play. Currys layup with 1:05 left trimmed the Lakers lead to one point, but Curry missed a long jumper and a 3-point attempt on Golden States next possession before Walker made two free throws with 15 seconds left, and Los Angeles got one last defensive stop to seal it.
We dont win this game tonight without Lonnie Walker, thats for sure,” James said. “As hard as this game was, its going to be even harder. We understand that. We know that.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in San Francisco.
Curry had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in his 13th career triple-double for the sixth-seeded Warriors, who will have to overcome a 3-1 series deficit for only the second time in franchise history to continue their NBA title defense. Golden State also did it in the 2016 Western Conference finals.
It feels like what it is: (a) 3-1 (deficit). You go home, take care of business, get a win, and the momentum is right back in your favor, coach Steve Kerr said. Thats all it is. The Lakers did a great job of holding serve here, so now weve got to go back and get a win at home and flip the momentum.
The Warriors led by 12 late in the third quarter, but the Lakers chased down the champs and finished them with Walker leading the way in front of even James and Davis, who hugged Walker after the buzzer.
The kid is a beautiful kid, Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. He fell out of the rotation through no fault of his own, but he remained professional. He remained high-spirited, positive, and really kept working on his game every day, especially in these playoffs. When your mind is in the right place, your body follows.
Gary Payton II scored a season-high 15 points in his first start of the season for Golden State, but Klay Thompson had his second straight quiet game in Los Angeles, scoring nine points in 41 minutes. Andrew Wiggins added 17 points for the Warriors, who made just 25 combined 3-pointers in their two games in Los Angeles after making 21 apiece in the first two games in San Francisco.
We’re still positive, Payton said. We know we have them down the line. We’ve just got to make one more run late, and you just create that space and opportunity.
Kerr switched to a three-guard starting lineup to affect the Los Angeles defense that held the Warriors to 97 points in Game 3, and the changes largely worked: Davis, who blocked 11 shots in the first three games, wasnt able to protect the rim with the same ferocity when his defensive matchups required him to go out to the perimeter, and the Warriors capitalized with 52 points in the paint.
The Lakers compensated: They made all 20 of their free throws, and Austin Reaves added 21 points.
But they won with a gritty, timely effort by Walker, who picked up the Lakers slack when DAngelo Russell scored just four points on 1-for-10 shooting after a strong performance in Game 3.
Curry secured the 13th triple-double of his career early in the fourth quarter, but he missed nine of 10 3-point attempts spanning three quarters. The most prolific 3-point shooter in NBA history finished 3 for 14 from distance.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Paytons only previous NBA start this season was for Portland on Feb. 8. He started two playoff games for Golden State last year before signing a three-year deal in the summer with the Trail Blazers, who traded him back to the Warriors in February. … Kevon Looney started Game 1 against Los Angeles, while JaMychal Green started Game 2 and Game 3.
Lakers: After blocking 19 shots in the series’ first three games, LA’s only block in Game 4 was James’ swooping swat of Curry’s layup attempt in the fourth quarter. … Jack Nicholson returned to his courtside seats for the second time in their last three home games. The Lakers 86-year-old superfan headlined another celebrity-studded crowd including Chris Pratt, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Dave Chappelle, Dustin Hoffman, Kim Kardashian, Colin Jost and Flea. —— AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP–Sports

IPL: Gill, Saha shine as GT crush LSG by 56 runs

LIVE BUZZ | MI vs RCB, IPL 2023: We know the allegiance of Rohit with Mumbai Indians and everything that he has done in his career. So, we absolutely back him. He can come back and perform for us, he has batted beautifully in a few games, showing really good tempo on the top. So, we back Rohit all the way, Green said at a press interaction ahead of their game against RCB.

KKR vs PBKS Highlights: Kolkata edge Punjab in a last-ball thriller to keep playoffs hopes aliveA gritty half-century from skipper Nitish Rana was followed by a ‘Russell’ mania as Kolkata Knight Riders pipped Punjab Kings in a last-ball thriller to keep their playoffs hopes alive in the ongoing 16th edition of the IPL on Monday. KKR finally cracked the Eden Gardens code after three straight

England all-rounder Chirs Jordan replaced the injured Jofra Archer in the Mumbai Indians squad for the remainder of IPL 2023. “Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday named Chris Jordan as a replacement for the injured Jofra Archer for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023,” said IPL in a release.
Mumbai Indians’ Jofra Archer(Mumbai Indians Twitter)
Archer, who has been struggling with injuries for the last couple of years, played only five matches this season picking up two wickets. His last appearance was against the Chennai Super Kings last week.
The IPL release does not clarify the nature of Archer’s injury but it is believed to be his right elbow that has been giving him trouble since 2021. Archer missed the entire IPL last year. He started in MI’s first match of this season but missed four matches on the trot.
Reports also suggested that the lanky pacer had been in Belgium in the middle of the tournament to undergo minor surgery. He returned to the side’s team but was left out again due to an “illness cited by captain Rohit Sharma.
Jordan, who made his IPL debut in 2016, has so far played 28 IPL matches and has 27 wickets against his name. The speedster has represented England in 87 T20Is and has scalped 96 T20I wickets. Jordan joins MI for 2 Crore.

IPL 2023: Challenges as a captain have doubled for Rohit Sharma, says Ravi ShastriIPL 2023 season is not going well for Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma as in ten matches, he has scored 184 runs at 18.39 and a strike rate of 126.89. This includes two ducks.