Orange army

Gade Hanuma Vihari is a 24-year old youngster who hails from the coastal town of Andhra Pradesh named Kakinada. He is known for his high-quality batting technique and also the unique ability to bat long innings. He is also a handy part-time off-spinner who can chip in with a wicket or two in crunch situations. 1. He is the member of the WC winning U-19 team in the year 2012 which was led by Unmukt Chand. 2. He played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013&2015 . 3. What has propelled his selection is his performance in Ranji Trophy 2017/18 season, where he amassed 752 runs in just six outings at an average of 94 . In the same season, he hit his first triple hundred as well, scoring an unbeaten 302 against Odisha . He replicated the brilliant run in Ranji Trophy in the Irani Trophy game against Vidarbha, where he compiled 183 runs off 327 balls. 4. He is the only active player in world cricket  who has a batting average of 59.86 in First-class Cricket. 5. ...

SunRisers Hyderabad was rated highly by experts prior to the start of the season and right after analyzing the squads of all the franchises after the player auction. But they looked shattered after their chief commander David Warner was suspended for one-year due to the ball-tampering saga, just 12 days before the IPL was scheduled to start. Most of those experts who rated SRH high started questioning the team's capability at least to make it to the top 4.  Soon the Orangearmy decided that The KIWI captain Kane Williamson would lead them this season. Many questioned the skill of Kane in this format as he wouldn't have made it to the final 11 if Warner was available. But King Kane proved everyone wrong and went on to win the Orange-cap with 735 runs at a whopping Strike rate of 142.44. He has led his team to the finals with his calm, composed and tactical brain in a Most stylish way.  As the Season has ended for the SRH finishing Runners-up they would be upbeat about the Fa...

Points table-wise, not much has changed for Royal Challengers Bangalore from the time they last played a home game on May 1. The last 15 days on the road has seen them bag a 50% success rate in four fixtures, and thus, just about cling on in the playoffs race in what's turning out to be one of the most tightly-contested seasons of the IPL. Yet, Virat Kohli & Co. return to their home ground with a feeling that there's still time to turn the tide. There is an idea of 'desperation' that Kohli has conveyed to his squad as even after their first back-to-back wins since IPL 2016, RCB still need two more to even stay in the hunt. "I suppose we approach it like the last three games. We know the scenario and the only way we can give ourselves that opportunity is having the desperation. I think the way that it appears to me visually is the way Virat bats. He plays unencumbered and he plays aggressive, particularly in that Powerplay. We have seen in the last two gam...

118,132,152 and 146 these are the scores which Sunrisers Hyderabad defended this season courtesy some extra-ordinary bowling performance. They are presently leading the points table with 8 wins out of 10 games. Today they are all set to face the DD's at Ferozshah Kotla. Orangearmy looks to continue their winning run and cement their spot in the Top of the leaderboard whereas the Struggling Daredevils look to start a winning run. With the present scenario, it is unlikely that the boys from Delhi make it to the top 4 but they have the capability to upset the teams which are in contention. Delhi's batsman had a good outing this season as the likes of Rishab, Shreyas, young Prthivi shaw had a good amount of runs and confidence under their belt. On the other hand, SRH looks to continue their good outing this season, Batting has been their area of concern as no one except Their skipper Kane Williamson scored more than 200 runs this season. With Alex Hales inclusion their batting lo...

Come Saturday night, it's a battle between audacious stroke-makers and astute arm-rollers. When you think of Sunrisers Hyderabad, the first thing that strikes your mind is their bowling. Their mantra - Choke, squeeze, strangle. Repeat. If their defense of 132 was inspiring, their defense of 118 was jaw-dropping. They are one team that proves Twenty20 cricket is not just all about wham-bam action and beautifies the game with thrillers out of nothing. They have not even felt the absence of their main weapon Bhuvneshwar Kumar - the one who troubles batsmen with swing, cutters, yorkers, knuckles and more. In the last three games, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, and Basil Thampi have collective figures of 29.1-0-156-14. An economy rate of 5.36 despite operating in the toughest of times - powerplay and the death overs - speaks volumes of the depth in the team. Add to it a shrewd learner in Rashid Khan, who corrects mistakes quickly. Their batting though...

For the third consecutive time, this season Orange army defends a par total. Thanks to their outstanding bowling performance. TOSS: Sunrisers opt to bat  Hales, Kane give them a good start After losing Shikhar Dhawan early for 6, skipper Kane and English swash-buckling opener Alex Hales steady their ship till the 14th over. There were a few drop catches which affected the Rajasthan as the game progressed. Kane scored an entertaining 63 from 43 balls before he fell to his countrymen Ish Sodhi.Prior to that Karnataka all-rounder, Gowtham dismissed Hales (45) who played an anchor role in their 91 run partnership with Kane. And then started the collapse in the middle order neither of them clicked and as a result, the Men in orange were restricted to 151/7 in their 20 overs. Jofra Archer picked up 3 vital wickets and wrecked the middle order of the orange army.  Bowlers do it yet again:  Chasing 152 on a slower wicket with mighty sunrisers bowling line up wa...

In a tournament where hopping from the playing field to the airplane cabin and back to the field is the norm, six days of break is a rare luxury.Rajasthan Royals used this luxury pretty well, sighting tigers in Ranthambore. On Sunday, as they get back on the turf here in their seventh game of IPL 11 against Sunrisers Hyderabad , they will have a few more tigers to contend with: the Bangla one in Shakib Al Hasan and the Afghan variety in Rashid Khan among others. Throw in Sidharth Kaul, Basil Thampi and the Royals, refreshed and rejuvenated, might just have the feeling of being preyed upon from both ends. What's their strength? Spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Rashid Khan have bagged eight and nine wickets respectively from seven games. Pacer Siddarth Kaul has been the most impressive with nine wickets from seven games. Basil Thampi, on the other hand, has featured in just a couple of games for Hyderabad and came out with flying colors against Mumbai and Punjab, respec...