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Champions Trophy: Great feeling to contribute to an emphatic semis win, says Ravindra

Lahore, March 5 (IANS) After top-scoring with 108 off 101 balls in New Zealand’s emphatic 50-run win over South Africa, which set up a meeting with India in the 2025 Champions Trophy final, Rachin Ravindra said it felt great that he was able to contribute to an emphatic semifinal victory.

At the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday, Ravindra notched up his fifth ODI century – all of them coming in ICC events and the second of this competition. He has now become the only men’s batter to score his first five ODI centuries in ICC tournaments, as New Zealand posted the highest score in the history of the Champions Trophy.

Ravindra, 25, also added 164 off 154 balls for the second wicket with Williamson, who made 102 off 94 deliveries, his 15th century in this format. “Great feeling to contribute to an emphatic win in a semifinal. I didn’t start as well as I wanted. SA bowled well, but once we got going, it was nice to build partnerships with Kane and Young. It was nice to go with the ebbs and flows of one-day cricket.”

“We were thinking around 300 as cutters were holding, and SA were getting bounce, but then the game started accelerating nicely, and Glenn and Mitchell finished great. Thing with tournament cricket is what’s next and then what. Important to soak in the win today, celebrate the team together, and get around each other. Once we get to Dubai, we’ll switch back on,” he said in the post-match ceremony after receiving the Player of the Match award.

Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand captain who broke the back of the Proteas’ chase with 3-43, said it was a cool feeling to enter the 2025 Champions Trophy final. “We were challenged by a good side. We’ve had a go against India and look forward to doing it again. The platform we were able to set up with Rachin and Kane and set up the death phase earlier was great.”

“The finishers did their job. Williamson keeps doing it. That partnership was massive, and it might’ve been frustrating at times, but they flipped the switch earlier and got us to 360. Looking back, 320 might not have been enough.”

Santner also felt the bowling group did its job of keeping the pressure on South Africa’s batters. “The key for the bowlers is to keep chipping away with wickets. It was good, personally. What we speak about as a group is applying pressure but still taking wickets. It was pleasing to get three pretty good scalps personally.”

“We got four all-rounders who bowl spin, that gives depth. GP’s two wickets and Rachin’s five overs were great. We weren’t sure if Henry, who is sore but fine, would bowl. Knew if they hit a hard length, it would spin or seam.”

Talking about how they would like to play in the final, Santner stated, “Being there in Dubai and putting India under pressure gave us confidence. You take in what things work and what doesn’t. Not winning the toss might be nice.”

Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s captain, rued the lack of big partnerships in their chase, as well as neither he nor Rassie van der Dussen making a huge individual score. “NZ were above par. I think as well as they batted, we backed ourselves to chase 350 with the wicket getting better. We had one or two good partnerships but not enough.”

“One of me or van der Dussen had to go big, which didn’t happen. NZ really put us under pressure from the get-go. They pierced the offside regularly and kept hitting boundaries in the middle overs, was tough to contain them for having had wickets in hand at the death and putting us under pressure.”

“At 125 for 1, me and Rassie batting, we needed to bat till the 35th. But we weren’t able to set up the base for the middle order. Soft dismissal for me. Better ball to get Rassie. Left too much to do for those coming in. From a batting point, being more decisive is what’s on my mind. Have to be ruthless and go for the game,” said the South Africa captain.

–IANS

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IPL 2025: If we had scored 10-15 runs more…, DC pacer Mukesh Kumar reflects on loss to GT

Ahmedabad, April 19 (IANS) “If we had scored 10-15 more or conceded fewer runs, pressure could have been on the opposition,” said pacer Mukesh Kumar as Delhi Capitals slipped to the second spot in the points table after suffering a seven-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Saturday.

After being asked to bat first, Delhi Capitals posted 203/8 in 20 overs, courtesy of contributions from Axar Patel (39 off 32), Ashutosh Sharma (37 off 19), and Karun Nair (31 off 18). The home side then chased down the target in 19.2 overs, powered by Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 97 off 54 and Sherfane Rutherford’s 41 off 34.

Not shying away from the loss, Delhi Capitals’ pacer Mukesh Kumar in a post-match press conference reflected, “The match went well, but if we had fielded better, conceded fewer runs, or scored 10–15 more, the match could have been more evenly poised and the pressure could have been on the opposition.”

Tristian Stubbs, Karun Nair (31), and KL Rahul saw Delhi Capitals get off to a flying start before Krishna’s spell halted the runs for the visiting side, and despite a bigger total that could have been on the books, DC had to settle for 203/8.

Having played the first round of matches, Delhi Capitals have two losses and five wins from their seven games this season, with 10 points, while Gujarat Titans have the same record but sit atop the points table due to a slightly better NRR.

Speaking about the learnings from the game, Kumar said, “Everyone learns from every match. So in this match, we got to learn in which department we could have done better.”

“The expectation was to win, but that could not happen. But that is no problem; we will move ahead and move forward. There were a few mistakes, we will correct them and move to the next step,” he concluded.

Delhi Capitals will take on Lucknow Super Giants in their eighth match of IPL 2025 at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday (April 22).

–IANS

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‘Happy to end the season on a good note’: Lakshya Sen after Australian Open win

Sydney, Nov 23 (IANS) Lakshya Sen said that winning the Super 500 Australian Open after experiencing several ups and downs this season felt special, as he ended a long title drought here on Sunday. The shuttler defeated Japan’s Yushi Tanaka 21-15, 21-11 in what was one of his easiest finals.

Speaking on his win, Sen said, “I have seen a lot of ups and downs this season, with a few injuries at the start of the season, but I kept my hard work going throughout the season and I am very happy to end the season on a good note. I’m very excited, looking forward to the next season now and I am really happy with the way I played today and this week.”

This marks Sen’s third Super 500 title, building on his second final appearance of the year after narrowly missing out in Hong Kong. It was an exciting week as Sen defeated fellow countryman Ayush Shetty and Chou Tien Chen in tough, closely fought matches.

Asked to describe the moment when he knew he could win, Sen noted, “In the second set, I was quite far off in the lead, but I didn’t want to get too inside my head so I wouldn’t relax too much. In the back of my mind, it was there but I was just trying to focus on playing one point at a time.

Sen controlled the match almost from start to finish. The closest Tanaka came to unsettling him was at 15–13 in the opening game, but Sen quickly regained control, varying his placements and scoring in clusters. Tanaka, sticking to the plan, only harmed his own chances with a steady stream of unforced errors.

At 17–15, Tanaka produced a brief spell of tough defence, but otherwise it was all Sen. Tanaka’s attempt at back-court drop shots kept catching the tape, and Sen was finally rewarded for the effort and determination he has shown since his disappointment at the Paris Olympics last year.

“It was important to have a good start, and keeping the momentum in the last set because it was quite even in the first one. I got a good lead and I could finish it off. The second set started on a good note and then I just kept the lead to finish the match,” Sen concluded.

–IANS

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