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We probably might never get out of these post-IPL withdrawals. It’s been nearly three weeks since it all ended, a WTC final came and went, the Ashes are here. While cricket moves on, it’s time we do too, from nostalgia of the Blue and Gold to the building up for 2024. So here, in this section, we bring you everything our stars are up to, from their on-field exploits, to their off-field excursions, to what-they-said, to what’s newsy. It’s a running blog, keep scrolling, keep reading, keep manifesting ..
July 8, 2023
Tilak Varma: In a thriller in Bengaluru where the rain was playing hide-and-seek and threatening to derail the game, South Zone’s batters played their version of Bazball, smacking everything and going hard after the target to finish the game late in the final session with just two wickets to spare. Our man, TV, did his bit perfectly, with a 19-ball 25 comprising of two sixes.
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July 7, 2023
Chris Jordan: He’s made a habit of these complete do-it-all shows. Let’s start with the batting: 12*(7) to close out the innings. The bowling: 2/28, doing the death overs duties to seal the game for Surrey against a star-studded Lancashire side that included the likes of Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Daryl Mitchell and Liam Livingstone.
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July 6, 2023
Tilak Varma: The young southpaw carried South Zone out of troubled waters with his composed 46 in the first innings of the Duleep Trophy semis against North Zone. With his team stranded at 35/4, he and Mayank Agarwal (76) set the tone for South Zone to a score of 195.
Suryakumar Yadav: As a means of celebrating his vice-captaincy selection, Aapla Dada Surya made the Central Zone bowlers dance to his tunes with a 58-ball 52. His effort elevated West Zone from 40/2 to 135/3, until his side would end the day at 149/3.
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July 5, 2023
Tilak Varma: While he began his day unbeaten in the Duleep Trophy semi-finals, our young southpaw would end it knowing he has earned his maiden call-up to the Indian senior team for the T20I series in the Caribbean Islands. Truly well deserved!
Suryakumar Yadav: Aapla Dada Surya had a disappointing outing with the bat (seven runs) in the first innings of West Zone vs Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy. However, all was not doom as he would be named as the vice-captain for the WI v IND T20I series later this month. This counts as a reward of his spectacular performances in 2022.
Ishan Kishan: For a player known to give India and Mumbai Indians strong headstarts in T20 games, it was inevitable for our pocket dynamo’s selection by new chief selector Ajit Agarkar. The 24-year-old will enter the series with a renewed spirit of scoring runs for fun and hunger to win.
Sandeep Warrier: Doing what he does best, he bowled four miserly overs that yielded a wicket for 18 runs against Ba11sy Trichy in Nellai Royal Kings’ final league game of TNPL 2023. He would end the day on the winning team, with NRK chasing 130 in a rain-hit fixture.
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July 2, 2023
Chris Jordan: A proper, certified thriller. Our death-overs wizard had another one of his miserly days. With 14 runs to defend in two overs, Chris Jordan produced the perfect 19th over, giving away just six runs which had two dots, creating a run-out and finishing his spell with figures of 1/23 in a high-scoring encounter.
Cameron Green: It may have come under controversial circumstances, but Cameron Green had what was probably the death knell in this second Ashes Test. Jonny Bairstow, looking and reputationally dangerous, stepped out of his crease after blocking the ball to speak to the non-striker, and the keeper knocked the bails off because the batter didn’t signal it to the slips or the umpire. Hmmm. Nevertheless, a massive moment, and as usual, our man’s right in the middle of all the action!
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July 1, 2023
Cameron Green: A dogged, determined outing with the bat in the second innings to follow up his first innings duck. In tough batting conditions at Lord’s, Cameron Green strung up a solid stand with Alex Carey to help the Aussies stretch their lead. 18 runs | 67 balls | 3 fours.
Sandeep Warrier: He got just the two overs to bowl for the Nellai Royal Kings in the TNPL game at Tirunelveli and had a so-so day with figures of 0/19 in them. For the record, Dindigul Dragons nailed the 160-run chase easily.
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June 30, 2023
Chris Jordan: Our man’s in the zone. It might have been in a lost cause as Surrey were up against a mountain of 209 that Somerset had piled up, but skipper Chris Jordan sent chills down their spine with a 11-ball blitz of 23.
Cameron Green: Another day, another belter of a catch! It’s just getting too normal. At gully, Cameron Green continues doing what he’s been doing all along – sticking his hand out and getting edges to stick. And it was the big fish this time around. Stokes c Green b Starc 17(58).
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June 29, 2023
Cameron Green: And… the signal is back to Green again for Cam. Bowling the 39th over, our Aussie star bowled an 88mph-bouncer that invited Ollie Pope to lift it over deep backward square; but it fell a little short into the hands of Steve Smith.
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June 28, 2023
Cameron Green: Australia ended Day 1 of the second Ashes Test with 339/5 on the board. It was all smiles in the Aussie camp, except for our Aussie star Cam Green (0). Although he failed to get runs on the scoreboard, you can expect him to bounce back with the ball over the course of Day 2’s play.
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June 27, 2023
Rohit Sharma: In exactly 100 days, the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup will be in operation. Led by Hitman, India’s quest for a third CWC crown will get underway against the mighty Australia. 12 years ago, we hosted the mega event and…. won it. Will be repeat the feat once again?
Well, here’s what our skipper had to say:
“This World Cup is going to be very competitive as the game has become faster and teams are playing more positively than ever before. All this augurs well for fans worldwide, promising them many thrilling moments. We look forward to preparing well and being at our best this October-November.”
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June 26, 2023
Akash Madhwal: Three overs, one maiden, 18 runs. This impressive tight spell from Akash Madhwal was perhaps the icing on the cake, as his Ninjas team successfully defended 158 runs against Haridwar Heroes.
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June 24, 2023
Sandeep Warrier: Our warrior finally earned his first wicket of his TNPL 2023 season with the dismissal of Chepauk Super Gillies’ Pradosh Ranjan Paul (2). His early breakthrough set the tone for Nellai Royal Kings to restrict CSG to 159 in 20 overs, and thereafter chase it, with seven balls remaining.
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June 23, 2023
Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan: Putting the WTC 23 final heartbreak behind, India will begin the new cycle with a two-Test series against West Indies from July 12. While Hitman and ‘Pocket Dynamo’ Ishan feature in the Test squad, Aapla Dada Surya will join the Indian side for the three-match ODI series from July 27 to August 1.
Akash Madhwal: With 1/23 in his four overs with an economy of 5.75, Akash was the most economical Nainital Ninjas bowler in the 43-run defeat to Dehradun Dabangs.
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June 22, 2023
Chris Jordan: Jordan’s purple patch as a bowler continued, despite his Surrey team’s loss against Middlesex. The English seamer claimed the wickets of free-scoring batters Stephen Eskinazi (73 in 29 balls) and Ryan Higgins (48 in 24 balls) however it wasn’t enough to thwart MIDDX’s run chase of 253. Earlier, Jordan’s unbeaten 16 helped Surrey post 252 in 20 overs.
Nehal Wadhera: Our flamboyant southpaw saw his status change from stand-by to a member of the main North Zone squad after it was announced Nehal would replace the injured Mandeep Singh.
Akash Madhwal: Akash made his mark as captain of the Nainital Ninjas in the 2023 Uttarakhand Premier League. He claimed 1/28 in his four-over spell while maintaining an economy of 7.00. His team managed to chase a target of 165 with four wickets in hand.
Sandeep Warrier: Sandeep may have bowled just two overs in Nellai Royal Kings’s five-wicket win over Salem Spartans, but they were quite stingy. Two overs, nine runs. His bowling lengths were impressive enough to frustrate the Spartans as they were only able to post 115/4 in a rain-hit fixture.
Tristan Stubbs: After his emphatic century in the first innings, Stubbs was kept silent by the Lanka bowlers as he managed just 12 runs in South Africa’s chase of 324. In the end, however, he could breathe a sigh of relief as the fixture ended in a draw.
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June 21, 2023
Tristan Stubbs: Stubbs’ dismissal of Nishan Madushka reduced the hosts to 73/2, but thereonwards, the former was at the receiving end as Sri Lanka would end Day 3 at 230/2.
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June 20, 2023
Chris Jordan: Captain Jordan tapped into the ‘red-hot mode’ in Surrey’s Vitality T20 Blast encounter against Glamorgan. With GLAM chasing 239, the Englishman ripped into the opposition’s batting order grabbing four wickets for just 21 runs. For three of his dismissals, Jordan combined with keeper Josh Blake as the former engineered an 81-run victory.
Cameron Green: With AUS needing 138 runs to put the ghosts of the 2005 Egbaston Test to rest, Cam Green played a vital cameo of 28 runs and forged a 49-run partnership with Usman Khawaja to get the Aussies within 90 runs of a memorable victory. A crucial effort at a crucial moment from a crucial man.
Tristan Stubbs: Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Stubbs entered at a stage when South Africa ‘A’ were 15/2, and went on a riot with his 181-ball 117. Smacking 15 boundaries and a six at a run rate of 64.64, the 22-year-old ensured there was no stopping to his rich vein of form on the tour as he got the visitors to 224/4. His innings was brought to a halt when Vishwa Fernando dismissed him for an LBW.
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June 19, 2023
Tristan Stubbs: With Sri Lanka ‘A’ batting first, onlookers would see Stubbs bowl two overs where he gave away just nine runs as the hosts went to stumps with a score of 257/7 on Day 1.
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June 18, 2023
Cameron Green: Looks like Cam Green might walk away with the ‘Test fielder Of The Year’ award. Reprising his now-famous dismissal of Shubman Gill in the recent WTC Final against India, Green – fielding at gully- dived onto his left to catch a Pat Cummins delivery that took a thick edge off Ben Duckett’s bat. The catch dismissal stayed after reviews showed that Green’s fingers were wrapped all around the ball before it touched the turf. With the ball, he bowled twice between overs 17-20 and conceded 12 runs.
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June 17, 2023
Cameron Green: While Usman Khawaja was rickrolling the English bowlers, Green was happy to play a support role. Smacking 38 runs in the 68 deliveries he faced, our Aussie star played an important part in the 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket alongside Khawaja. His cameo helped AUS jump from 148/4 to 220/5 at the time of his dismissal. How did he get bowled? Well, Moeen Ali bowled a delivery that spun its way to gatecrash Green’s off-stump.
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June 16, 2023
Chris Jordan: Playing the ‘lead by an example’ role to the T, Jordan was among the top performers in Surrey’s triumph over Somerset. With his team put to bat first, he carried the team to a total of 195/9 with a 12-ball unbeaten 36. Then, after swapping the bat with ball, Jordan would claim the wickets of Ben Green (18) and Roelof van der Merwe (3) in his four overs.
Sandeep Warrier: Two wins in two games when Warrier took the field. Despite being wicketless in his four spell, the Nellai Royal Kings representative maintained an economy rate of 8.25 as his team confined Lyca Kovai Kings to 181/6 in 20 overs.
Cameron Green: While England had a dominant day with the bat on the first day of the 2023 Ashes, Cam Green made sure he left a mark of his own. Bowling six overs in the first innings, he gave away 32 runs but managed to take a bite for himself, i.e., the wicket of Stuart Broad (16) in the 71st over.
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June 14, 2023
Sandeep Warrier: Our ‘warrior’ took the field as one of the main bowlers for Nellai Royal Kings against Siechem Madurai Panthers in the 2023 Tamil Nadu Premier League. Known for bowling knuckle balls and off-cutters for fun, Sandeep bowled two cagey overs that saw him only concede five runs in the Kings’ six-wicket triumph.
Arjun Tendulkar: On the back of a debut season in the Tata IPL and his first-class exploits for Goa, Arjun was among the 20 players the BCCI summoned for a 20-day camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. With the camp aimed at developing multi-skilled players across formats, our young all-rounder is poised to develop and push beyond his current limits.
Kieron Pollard, Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Jason Behrendorff: ‘Llord’ Pollard, our batting coach in the IPL, was given the responsibility to lead our new sister team MI New York. This will see him return to the cricket pitch donning the famous ‘Blue and Gold’ once again, months after representing and captaining MI Emirates all the way to the Eliminator of the 2023 ILT20. He will be joined by Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Jason Behrendorff – our Class of 2023 members.
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June 12, 2023
Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs: Both our South African young guns featured in the first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka ‘A’. Brevis, for starters, played knocks of 16 and 20 while taking on the likes of Lakshitha Manasinghe (7/55) and Dilshan Madushanka (4/65). On the bowling front, he would bowl seven overs and leak 31 runs. As for Stubbs, the 22-year-old claimed a wicket for 49 runs in his 11 overs. With the bat, he was dismissed for 0 and he couldn’t bat in the second innings as he was absent hurt.
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June 11, 2023
Cameron Green: On the final lap of the 2021-23 WTC Final, Green bowled five overs, keeping his lengths tight and conceding just 13 runs. At the end, he would collect the winner’s medal as Australia became the first team in history to win all ICC trophies.
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June 10, 2023
Cameron Green: Green made himself a talking point this day. His patient 25 allowed Australia to cross 150 and maintain their lead in an upward trajectory. After hitting four boundaries, his innings was cut short by an unusual dismissal. While aiming to defend Ravindra Jadeja’s delivery, the all-rounder saw the ball hit his glove and roll back into the stumps. Green would take that mild frustration seriously as he put on a dash of brilliance to take the catch of Shubman Gill (18). Despite the cloud of controversy surrounding it, Cam breathed a sigh of relief as the third umpire gave it an all-clear sign.
Rohit Sharma: Ro-hit showed some flashes of his true self with a confident 43 off 60 balls, that was laced with seven fours and one six. But, one misjudged attempt to sweep Nathan Lyon’s delivery backfired as he would be dismissed LBW. A call for referral also went against Hitman.
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June 9, 2023
Cameron Green: The Aussie all-rounder had a delightful Day 3 at the 2021-23 WTC Final. First, Green took a massive leap of faith while fielding at gully to dismiss an in-form Ajinkya Rahane (89). Later, he tricked Shardul Thakur (51) to attempt a drive shot with his outswinger delivery, only for it to take a faint edge towards keeper Alex Carey.
Chris Jordan: Jordan’s workload on the field against his former team Sussex was surprisingly very light. We are not joking here. The right-arm England seamer bowled just the fifth over, conceding 11 runs and claimed a caught dismissal of Nathan McAndrew (7) for Sunil Narine. With his batters and bowlers doing much of the work, Jordan returned from the County Ground in Hove with a big smile and a 124-run victory in the bag.
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June 8, 2023
Rohit Sharma: A tough outing for skipper RO. He won the toss, chose to bowl, but the Indian pacers just couldn’t keep the Aussie batters in check. When he walked out to bat, he struck two crisp boundaries, but our Hitman couldn’t capitalise on his 26-ball 15 as Australia skipper Pat Cummins pitched a full delivery that angled inwards and hit the front of Rohit Sharma’s pads.
Cameron Green: Under the Baggy Green, Cam Green managed to transfigure his MI form onto the international stage with the ball. His full-length delivery was inclined straight into Cheteshwar Pujara’s off stump, with the latter misjudging the delivering and letting the ball clip the top-of-off.
Tristan Stubbs: Say hello to the top-scorer for South Africa ‘A’ in the List A games and the man who helped the Proteas clinch the three-match series 2-1. Adding onto his last half-century, Stubbs slammed an unbeaten 58 to engineer SA ‘A’ to chase 173 in 35.5 overs. That was not all, though, as he stepped forward to bowl two overs in the first innings and scalped a wicket for just five runs. He’s in some form, Paltan!
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June 7, 2023
Chris Jordan: Two wickets and a win! His Surrey team batted confidently to a match-winning score of 236/2 in 20 overs. As captain, he made his presence felt with the wickets of Sam Northeast (76) and Callum Taylor (4). With his 2/26, Jordan led Surrey to restrict Glamorgan to 171/8 and walked away happily with a 65-run victory.
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav: The Ultimate Test, the WTC is here! Ro-hit Sharma would lead a team that was brimming with experience and talent; one that was confident to end a 10-year wait for an ICC trophy. While Hitman started in his playing XI, he would use ‘Pocket Dynamo’ Ishan and Aapla Dada Surya as substitute fielders over the course of the five-day event.
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June 6, 2023
Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs: While Brevis had an off day with the bat (2) and ball (0/49) in the second ODI between South Africa ‘A’ against Sri Lanka ‘A’, Tristan Stubbs (59) played a positive cameo with the bat. His 111-run partnership with Gerald Coetzee propelled the Proteas to 175 in the first innings. Alas, the effort wasn’t quite enough, as the Lankan Lions chased the target in just 29 overs.
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June 4, 2023
Chris Jordan: A bitter-sweet outing for the English seamer, who didn’t have the best of outings with the ball (0/39) in the Surrey vs Kent fixture in the Vitality T20 Blast but ended on the winning team, as Surrey claimed a five-wicket win.
Dewald Brevis: The 20-year-old sensation, Dewald Brevis showed a glimpse of his enormous talent with an unbeaten 98 for South Africa ‘A’ against Sri Lanka ‘A’. Stepping in when his team was at 104/5 in 19.2 overs, Brevis slammed six fours and seven sixes to champion the Proteas’ chase of 265. Besides his standalone effort with the bat, he stitched meaningful partnerships with Sinethemba Qeshile (51 runs, sixth wicket) and Beyers Swanepoel (113*, seventh wicket). Did you know he can bowl? Now you know! As he claimed a wicket for 40 runs in his six overs with his wily leg-breaks.
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June 2, 2023
Chris Jordan: Gloucestershire were the opponents, Bristol was the venue, and our man, played the role of a rescuer. It wasn’t the best day for visitors Surrey, and Chris Jordan, in fact, lent the batting effort some respectability, walking into bat at number eight in the 12th over itself. He ensured his team didn’t get bowled out with a 26-ball 24. He did provide an early breakthrough with the ball and was pretty economical in his spell, giving away just 19 runs in 3.1 overs, but alas, the target of 128 was a little too little to defend.
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May 31, 2023
Chris Jordan: The first Mumbai Indians player to take the field during the MI off-season. The experienced pacer and Surrey captain – who took 17 wickets in 14 matches in the previous season – began his 2023 Vitality T20 Blast campaign with a slightly expensive spell (0/34). It wasn’t all that bad a day after all though, as his team would defeat Hampshire by six wickets.