Kolkata ride Salt’s blitz to easy victory over Capitals
KOLKATA: Catches win matches. The ramifications of a dropped catch however can be wide-ranging. Here’s Lizaad Williams’ version: Having just conceded 23 runs in the opening over after Philip Salt and Sunil Narine went absolutely ballistic, Williams retired to the outfield, probably to introspect on what went so horribly wrong in only his second IPL appearance. But the ball found another way to tail him.
On strike was Philip Salt, ominously finding his range within just six balls. First ball of the second over, Khaleel Ahmed pitched full and quick, prompting Salt to go after him. It was a miscue alright, resulting in a skier that should be caught 99 out of 100 times. But this was probably that 100th time as Williams ran in, settled under the ball with a reverse cup, only to spill it. Dropped catches are never pretty to look at but from Delhi Capitals’ perspective, it was nothing less than mortifying as Salt and Narine went on to add 56 runs in the next 30 balls to give Kolkata Knight Riders an emphatic start in a seven-wicket win with 21 balls to spare.
This dropped-catches saga comprises a Harshit Rana chapter too, albeit a version where he probably lucked out big time. Ninth over of Delhi Capitals’ innings, Varun Chakaravarthy slid in a length ball that Rishabh Pant looked to swipe over shortfine leg. The shot didn’t connect, and all Harshit Rana had to do was hold his nerve after closing in from short third man. But he didn’t. That reprieve didn’t cost KKR too much given Pant kept going for cute shots till Chakaravarthy got him two overs later.
Palming Kuldeep Yadav’s topedge over the deep square-leg boundary for a six however could have really hurt KKR. This was off Mitchell Starc—already enduring a hard time this Ipl—and a difficult chance too since Rana was running in full tilt from deep square-leg. But from that point every run Kuldeep scored was bonus, as he ended on an unbeaten 35, the second highest IPL score at No 9. Luckily for Rana, this too didn’t matter in the long run partly because of KKR’S scintillating opening partnership, and partly because the most important catch of the match had not been fluffed.
This version features Jake Fraser-mcgurk, who carried in a strike rate of 233 courtesy 46 boundary hits, half of them sixes, from his last five appearances. He is one of the reasons Delhi have come around from nowhere in this IPL. And at Eden Gardens where 127 sixes—the highest among all IPL venues—had been aggregated till before Monday’s game, Capitals couldn’t be blamed for depending on Fraser-mcgurk to provide the initial momentum.
Glimpses of that form showed, first when he cleared his front leg and swatted Starc over wide long-on for a confidence-denting six. Four off the next ball, this time Fraser-mcgurk exploiting a full toss from Starc by reaching for it and slicing it over the fielder at short third man, and it seemed Delhi were almost getting there. Starc was more accurate next ball though, arrowing in a full, slanting delivery that Fraser-mcgurk tried to whip after clearing his front leg. But it couldn’t clear the longest part of the leg-side boundary where Venkatesh Iyer dived forward to take the catch inches off the ground.
Brief scores: DC 153/9 in 20 overs (R Pant 27; V Chakravarthy 3/16). KKR 157/3 in 16.3 overs (P Salt 68; A Patel 2/25). KKR won by 7 wickets.
NEW DELHI: In an interaction with this daily at the India Open in January, HS Prannoy had said that he was looking to continue his run of form – that took him to new highs in 2023 – into the Paris Olympics.
At 31, an age where many badminton players consider retirement, Prannoy put together his best year on the circuit to become India’s become No.1 shuttler, a feat he had never achieved previously. The Kerala shuttler won bronze at both the World Championships and Asian Games, reached two finals on the BWF World Tour, achieved his career-best ranking of world No.6 and became the first Indian shuttler to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
However, in 2024, he just hasn’t been able to perform to the highest level. He has suffered five early round exits in six tournaments and his win-loss ratio (6-9) has not reflected his status as a top-10 player.
Hence, every win right now, even if against a lower-ranked player, is significant for the world No.9 if he wants to regain his touch before heading to Paris.
And that’s exactly what he achieved against Harry Huang when he beat the world No.106 21-15, 21-15 to give India a winning start in their Thomas Cup Group C clash against England. The defending champions won the tie 5-0 on Monday and also qualified for the quarter-finals.
“It’s always good to have a win under your belt and to give a winning start is really important for my confidence too. It gives you a good boost going ahead into the tournament,” Prannoy said in the mixed zone, while divulging details about the health issues that pegged him back.
Prannoy explained that he has been suffering from constant nausea for the last four months, which started with a malfunctioning muscle lining the oesophagus, causing food consumed to move up and eventually vomit. The condition is similar to the acid reflux Prannoy had suffered from for years before he finally figured out the solution. His medical issues also saw him lose four kilograms in the last couple of months and has had a psychological impact on him as well.
“What I was feeling was when I eat the food doesn’t go down. Whenever I train (the food) comes up and forward to the chest side and I need to vomit. It is kind of related to acid reflux. The food is not able to do get down. That’s where my breathing went for a toss,” said Prannoy, who played a crucial role in India winning the Thomas Cup two years ago in Bangkok.
“I was on a liquid diet before the morning sessions because whatever I was eating was coming up. I couldn’t eat much because I was afraid it would affect the playing schedule. I was OK to not eat and play (but) the nausea was even worse than not having anything in the stomach which is why I lost 4-4.5kgs in the last two-three months.”
Significantly, his doctors have identified the issue and Prannoy has been under medication since. “It is tough (because) that’s where a whole lot of energy is lost,” he added.
His poor health also affected his on-court performance in a big way. But the world No.9 has been feeling better the last few weeks that has allowed him to refocus on his game.