The Cricket.com Weekly - Edition 33

Saturday, Saturday, it is time for the newsletter, Saturday, Saturday 🔔🔔

All you cricket freaks, we all know how eagerly you are waiting for our weekly newsletter to catch up on all the missed cricketing action, right from the IPL final to Afghanistan thrashing Sri Lanka 😲😲

Without wasting much of your time, let’s deep dive into all the cricketing action from the past week, where even the rain god made a crucial appearance in Yellow.

CSK are ✋time IPL champions

LET THAT SINK IN. Chennai Super Kings are a five-time IPL champions, no more of that Mumbai Indians 5 - 4 Chennai Super Kings nonsense. Oh boy, it was perhaps a GOAT-ed IPL final in the competition's history. Where else but the IPL would you see a three-day final that would see so much ebbs and flow? 

Gujarat started the game sublimely, thanks to their new talent on the block, Sai Sudharsan. He’s a southpaw and packs a heavy 👊 with the cricketing blade of his. What he did against CSK was worthy of an IPL title, and even one of India’s all-time greats, Ravichandran Ashwin, was a testimony to the young boy’s talent.

But even his 96 couldn’t beat the determined CSK. While there wasn’t any notable single contribution from a batter in the Yellow, the collective effort in pursuing 171 made them five-time champions. 

Perhaps, the most fitting of it all was that Ravindra Jadeja got to finish things. Sweet, isn’t it? 

Gujarat dominate 🏅but failed at the silverware

It has now become a habit. A good one, both for us and Shubman Gill. After scoring a scintillating century in the second Qualifier against Mumbai Indians, Gill had a subdued final, undone by a brilliant piece of work from MS Dhoni, who dismissed him for a 20-ball 39. While he wasn’t as smooth in the final as in the tournament, with just seven fours, Gill’s tournament was truly a piece of art. 

Read: Shubman Gill: The Prince that was promised

Gill ended the tournament as the highest run-scorer, with 890 runs averaging a high 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80. Perhaps, high time that he makes the natural progression from a prince to you know what? 

Seldom do you see a team dominate the bowling charts like how Gujarat did this season. Mohammed Shami ended the season as the highest wicket-taker, with 28 wickets, with a resurgent Mohit Sharma and an ever-dominant Rashid Khan ending up short on 27. It is a story that will always be remembered, but if only they could manage silverware alongside that. 

India or Australia, who will win the WTC final?

IPL, you say? Nah, we have moved past that. Hahah, it is the best format of the sport, Test cricket, at its raw best. India and Australia deservedly have made it to the World Test Championship final to fight for the Mace. But there can only be one winner. 

Australia have just one injury concern, and that’s hovering above Josh Hazlewood. But apart from that, they have a squad that is fit and raring to go. On the other hand, India are riddled with injuries. You name it, and that department has one or the other key personnel missing. There’s no KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, or Rishabh Pant, but there’s hope. 

Read: Third seamer, sloppy slip and more: learnings and conundrums for India

Also, whichever team wins the WTC final, they will have all the ICC 🏆🏆 in their cabinet. Bleed Blue or dominant Kangaroos?

International Cricket

England continue Baz-balling opponents 🤺🤺

Normalcy has been restored in England, with Brendon McCullum’s team Baz-balling their way against Ireland. While on Saturday, the game's result is yet to be determined, it is advantage England all the way, thanks to Ollie Pope’s scintillating double-century. First, it was an onslaught from Ben Duckett (182 off 178 balls) before Pope completed his double-century (205 off 208) to take England’s first innings total to 524 in just 82.4 overs. 

That’s at a fair clip of nearly 6.4, and to think of it as a Test match is astonishing. Ireland scored just 172 on day one and are stuttering at 97/3, still trailing the clash by 255 runs. So, it is only a matter of time before England wrap up the win. 

A Zadran a day keeps Sri Lanka away

Ibrahim Zadran was the show's star as Afghanistan notched up a stunning win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI on Friday (June 2). While Zadran fell short of a deserved century, his knock of a run-a-ball 98 was enough to seal a win for the Rashid Khan-less Afghanistan side. After reducing the hosts to a total of just 268, Afghanistan made light work of the total. 

Women’s Cricket

Sehrawat to lead India A in Emerging Women's Asia Cup

Shweta Sehrawat, the leading run-getter at the 2023 U-19 Women's World Cup in South Africa, will captain India A in the Emerging Women's Asia Cup in Hong Kong, starting from June 12 to 21.

The squad also comprises Soumya Tiwari, G Trisha, Titas Sadhu, Parshavi Chopra and Mannat Kashyap, who were also part of India’s triumph in South Africa earlier this year, have also been picked up in the squad. Shreyanka Patil and Kanika Ahuja, too have been picked in the squad. 

Franchise cricket

TKR retain Narine, Pollard and Pooran

Apart from the obvious retention that is the skipper Pollard himself, TKR have also retained the other three mega stars in their side — Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran. In addition, TKR have also retained left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and young seamer Jayden Seales. 

Articles in Focus

Dreams are aligned, and in just a year, it has been aligned in such a way that two superstars, Dhoni and Lionel Messi, have lifted a trophy that many didn’t believe they would. Read on how Chennai braved the odds, and Dhoni mastered the odds in their fifth IPL win right here.

Rayudu’s final two games in a CSK shirt were a microcosm of his IPL career, wherein he was indispensable though it seldom seemed that way. Fitting, then, that Rayudu signed off by playing the most Rayudu knock of all time. Anirudh Suresh beautifully sums up Rayudu’s Last Dance.

Ishan Kishan’s IPL 2023 was good but not good enough, don’t think any other title would do justice to his season. Here is Hardik Worah painting a picture as to why.

Now for all the post-IPL stuff, here is a list of them for you to catch up

Best spinners in IPL 2023? Here’s Akshay explaining that segment

Tactical blunders? Anirudh knows quite a few right here. 

How about India’s 2022 WC squad, did they perform in the 2023 IPL? Aakash sums that up.

A video to end on a high