Chris Gayle has played 290 T2o matches in his career. (Source: PTI)
Chris Gayle, on Tuesday, became the first ever player to complete 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. Gayle reacehed the milestone in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s match against Gujarat Lions in the ongoing tenth edition of the Indian Premier League. (Results | Fixtures | Points Table)
The Jamaican is known to be one of the most destructive batsmen in the shortest format of the game and his blistering knocks __have been the sole reason for his teams to end up on the winning side. Since the advent of franchisee format T20 cricket in the late 2000s, Chris Gayle has thrived like no other player in international cricket. It is telling that of the 10,000 runs he has scored, only 1519 __have come while he was playing for the West Indies. He has also played a total of 289 T20 matches off which only 50 have been with the West Indies shirt.
Chris Gayle: 10,000 T20 runs. An immense achievement by a colossus of a cricketer. 44.16% have come in sixes; 30.56% in fours. #IPL
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) 18 April 2017
While he plays in T20 tournaments all over the world, it is in the IPL that he has earned notoriety of having the ability to spoil any bowler’s day. He is the man with the most centuries in the IPL. His blistering knock of 175 off 66 balls for RCB against Pune Warriors in 2014 is the highest individual score in T20 cricket.
Teams
M
W
L
D
P
NRR
KKR
5
4
1
0
8
+1.013
MI
5
4
1
0
8
+0.302
SH
5
3
2
0
6
+0.549
DD
4
2
2
0
4
+1.635
KXIP
5
2
3
0
4
-0.302
KXIP
5
2
3
0
4
-0.942
GL
4
1
3
0
2
-1.084
RCB
5
1
4
0
2
-1.095
This season, though, Gayle has been struggling to make a significant impact with the bat. He was dropped from the line up for accommodating AB de Villiers and has otherwise made 32, 6 and 22 thus far.
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The players of both India and Pakistan are known to share a relationship of mutual admiration and respect. (Source: Twitter)
That India’s biggest on-field rivalry in cricket is with Pakistan is no secret. The strained relationship between the neighbouring countries not withstanding, both sides __have played some of the most memorable matches in all formats of the game.
Players from both sides __have also clashed on the field numerous times during the matches. At the same time, off the field, the players of India and Pakistan are known to share a relationship of mutual respect and admiration. It is hence no surprise that the Indian decided to make a special gesture when Pakistan stalwart Shahid Afridi announced his retirement earlier in the year.
Virat Kohli’s shirt, signed by Indian team, for Shahid Afridi, with a message “always a pleasure playing against you.” pic.twitter.com/KexlCjTNeZ
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) 15 April 2017
Signatures of Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Suresh Raina, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, R Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, and former coach Ravi Shashtri are identifiable on the image of the shirt.
The team presented a short of captain Virat Kohli with the words “Always a pleasure playing against you” written at the bottom to Afridi. In addition to the words, the shirt also had the signatures of all the players.
Shahid Afridi has had some his most memorable knocks in matches against India. Some of these include his blistering 76-ball century that helped Pakistan beat India at Kanpur in 2005 and his knock in the Asia Cup 2014. He retired from international cricket in February after a 21-year career playing for Pakistan.
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Manan Vohra scored a magical 95 run knock but couldn’t lead KXIP to win against SRH. (Source: PTI)
Kings XI Punjab slumped to their third loss in a row against Sunrisers Hyderabad despite Manan Vohra’s incredible 95 from 50 balls with KXIP tottering at 82/6 at one stage chasing 160 for the win. But despite losing by 5 runs after getting so close to the winning line, Vohra remains upbeat that things can turn around for his side when they get back to their home support. (Results | Fixtures | Points Table)
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“This is still early stage of the tournament. But we would like to get back the winning momentum once we are back to our home ground. Hopefully, by god’s grace, things will happen,” he said after the match.
KXIP have now lost three in a row – by 8 wickets to Kolkata Knight Riders, by 51 runs to Delhi Daredevils and on Monday to SRH. These results came on the back of two wins to start the season for the Glenn Maxwell-led side.
From Monday’s effort, Vohra said they would take the positives with their bowling which did enough to restrict SRH to 159. “… because the wicket was batting-friendly, it was slower on one side. Bowlers did their job as well as the fielders,” he said in the post-match press conference. “We just lost our way in between, in the early stages of the chase. I got a great opportunity to finish the game, but I could not do that. I am pretty sad about this,” he said.
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SRH could __have scored even lesser had David Warner not stepped up and taken the charging role for the home side in his unbeaten 70-run knock. But Vohra claimed that is what makes Warner one of the best. “David Warner is a legend of this game. He just changed gears. Still, I think 160 was not a bad total to stop them,” Vohra said.
Punjab would play their first home game in Mohali on April 28 against the SRH as well. But before that, they play Mumbai Indians in Indore and Gujarat Lions in Rajkot.
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Antoine Griezmann is in demand this summer (Picture: Getty)
Antoine Griezmann looks set to __have the pick of at least four top clubs this summer – Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Barcelona, if one of his advisers is to be believed.
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The Atletico Madrid forward is one of the most sought-after attacking players in the world at the moment, having scored 79 goals in just under three seasons at the Vicente Calderon.
United __have long looked the favourites for the Frenchman’s signature, but his mentor Eric Olhats claimed yesterday that five clubs had inquired about him.
Griezmann has shone with Atletico Madrid (Picture: Getty)
‘Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real (Madrid) have inquired,’ Olhats told RMC, adding that Real is not a realistic destination due to the rivalry with neighbours Atletico.
So where will Griezmann end up, and who needs him most? Here’s a look at the four clubs in contention and where he could fit in…
Manchester United
Surely the club most in need of Griezmann, it makes sense that it’s United’s name we’re seeing linked with him most often this season.
The Red Devils are currently relying far too much on the form of a 35-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who, despite his 27 goals this season, has not won over everyone at Old Trafford.
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The Swede has been guilty of missing some big chances throughout the campaign, and it’s still not clear if he will be extending his stay at the club for a second season.
Griezmann has 22 goals this term, and while that’s fewer than Ibrahimovic, he could do a better job than his United counterpart if spearheading a team with so much creative potential.
At 26, Griezmann’s increased pace and athleticism would also surely make him an immediate upgrade, and he’d be a far more reliable long-term option in general.
Chelsea
Chelsea have reportedly been given a blank cheque to sign Griezmann ahead of United this summer, though it’s not immediately clear where he’d be needed at Stamford Bridge.
The France international would perhaps be best suited as a replacement for Diego Costa, which seems realistic after the Spaniard’s rumoured push for a move to the Chinese Super League after a row with Antonio Conte in January.
Griezmann has four more goals (22) than Costa (18) this season, and could also do a job out wide if ever required.
Could Griezmann be wearing the blue of Chelsea next season? (Picture: Getty)
It is also possible that the former Real Sociedad man is being eyed up as a potential heir to Eden Hazard, with the Belgian strongly linked with Real Madrid in recent times.
However, many reports also suggest Hazard could sign a new contract with the Blues, making Costa the more likely to leave in the summer, and therefore leaving a gap up front that would need filling.
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Manchester City
Manchester City’s interest in Griezmann comes as a slight surprise as it’s hard to argue that he’d add a great deal to this current squad.
However, it does seem clear that, with Pep Guardiola’s demanding vision of what a striker should offer, Sergio Aguero’s place up front is not necessarily safe.
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The Argentine has been linked tentatively with a move away from the Etihad Stadium this summer, and that could therefore lead to Guardiola targeting Griezmann to replace him up top.
Still, even then it’s not clear that the French attacker would be a huge upgrade on a player who’s scored an incredible 163 goals in just 244 games for City, including 27 despite arguably being far from at his best this season.
Griezmann’s all-round ability may appeal more to Guardiola, who may even find a way of using the two players together, though he’d still be up against big names such as Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane in the attacking midfield department.
City have the money to make this happen, and could edge United due to being more likely to have Champions League football on offer, but this particular the two just don’t seem an obvious fit.
Goals 2016/17 (all comps)
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Barcelona
Finally, Barcelona are another club seemingly interested in Griezmann despite there being no obvious need for him.
This is a side that already boasts Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar up front, so any deal for Griezmann just seems unnecessarily greedy.
La Liga top scorers 2016/17
Lionel Messi – 27 Luis Suarez – 24 Cristiano Ronaldo – 19 Iago Aspas – 16 Antoine Griezmann – 14
For all his qualities, it seems unlikely that the Atletico front-man would displace any of those three in Barca’s forward positions, so that would surely mean a slight change of formation.
Traditionally playing a 4-3-3, though sometimes switching to 3-4-3 this season, Barcelona would have to try something like a 4-2-3-1 to fit Griezmann in with the ‘MSN’ trio.
Would it be worth it? They’d likely lose the control they enjoy over games due to sacrificing that third central midfielder, but there’s no doubt that that front four looks fearsome.
Griezmann knocked Barca out of the Champions League last season (Picture: Getty)
Griezmann could fill in any of those roles with ease, though perhaps makes most sense playing just off the more prolific Suarez, while Messi and Neymar could continue in largely the same roles they’ve played on the right and left respectively this season.
Murray and Inglot could not stop the rot (Picture: AFP/Getty)
Great Britain __have crashed out of the Davis Cup to a depleted France side after losing the first three rubbers of their quarter-final clash.
Leon Smith’s men were always up against it without world No. 1 Sir Andy Murray, as well as playing away in Rouen and, in truth, never really looked like causing an upset.
After Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans had lost in straight sets to world No. 17 Lucas Pouille and Jeremy Chardy on Friday, Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot went down 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 5-7 5-7 to Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut to end any faint hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
Yannick Noah’s outfit are the first nation to qualify for the last four and did so without Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon.
The French are nine-time winners of the competition and last reached the final in 2014, losing to Switzerland.
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However, they are without a Davis Cup crown since 2001.
Belgium, Serbia and Australia look the favourites to join them, with the three nations leading Italy, Spain and the USA respectively at the time of writing.
Chris Gayle has played 290 T2o matches in his career. (Source: PTI) 
The players of both India and Pakistan are known to share a relationship of mutual admiration and respect. (Source: Twitter)
Manan Vohra scored a magical 95 run knock but couldn’t lead KXIP to win against SRH. (Source: PTI)
