SPORTS

Virat Kohli might not captain Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but pacer Harshal Patel said Kohli is “definitely a leader” irrespective of whether he is leading the side or not.

Kohli’s captaincy era in the IPL came to an end on Monday as RCB suffered a four-wicket loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator. Pacer Harshal Patel lavished praise on Kohli and thanked him for his contributions to RCB over the years.

“Virat gives bowlers their space, lets you execute your plans. Grateful to him. I have learnt a lot playing with him since 2012. In terms of his captaincy, there are captains, and there are leaders. He is definitely a leader,” said Harshal in the post-match press conference.

MS Dhoni turned the clock back as the CSK captain hit a 6-ball 18 not out in their 4-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1. Dhoni came up with a vintage knock to help the Chennai Super Kings seal their berth in the final of IPL 2021.

Needing 13 off the last over, Dhoni hit a square cut, got a bit of luck going his way and then pulled DC's best bowler Tom Curran for the most celebrated T20 boundary of recent times. Before that, he had just slapped Avesh Khan for a six-over mid-wicket.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has got another five days to change the team picked for the T20 World Cup. The deadline for submitting the final team to the International Cricket Council (ICC) is October 15. TOI has also learnt that the selectors are fretting over allrounder Hardik Pandya's availability as medium-pacer and contemplating adding a fast bowler to the main team.

"The selectors will wait and watch on how Hardik shapes up in the next few days. The selectors went with just three genuine pacers because it was believed Hardik would be fit enough to bowl his quota of overs. Since he hasn't bowled at all in the IPL, there's no form to go by," a top BCCI official told TOI on Sunday.

It was believed that the deadline to submit the final team was October 10 but it was only for the teams who are playing the qualifiers which start on Oct 17. "Teams can change their teams seven days prior to the start of their support period. India's support period starts with the Super 12 which begin on Oct 23. So, they have time to change the team till Oct 15 midnight," an ICC source told TOI.

Rajasthan Royals had another night to forget as they dished out one of their poorest shows in IPL 2021. RR, needing a win to stay alive in the race of the Playoffs, were dismissed for 85 – the lowest total of this season as KKR romped them by 86 runs. Although RR were no longer in the race of the Playoffs, everyone expected a good fight for them in their final round match, but it wasn't to be.

Chasing 172 was never going to be easy against an in-from team like KKR, but RR were pretty much all over the place. Three players could not even open their accounts, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat and star all-rounder Chris Morris were dismissed for ducks as Shivam Mavi claiming 4/21 and a returning Lockie Ferguson took 3/18. In fact, Morris has been one of RR's biggest disappointments in IPL 2021, scoring just 67 runs from 11 matches and picking 15 wickets.

The defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad will continue to sting Royal Challengers Bangalore. Chennai Super Kings’ big loss to Punjab Kings means Kohli’s side would have had a realistic chance of finishing in the top-two if they had got past SRH. As for the fourth place, Kolkata Knight Riders’ thrashing of Rajasthan Royals has made the equation improbable for Mumbai Indians.

Following a six-wicket defeat to the Kings, CSK finished their group league assignments on 18 points and their net run-rate came down to +0.45. And yet, MS Dhoni’s team is set for a top-two finish and get a second bite at the cherry because their run-rate is nigh-on untouchable by RCB. Delhi Capitals have already topped the table with 20 points and with a game in hand, and they will feature in Qualifier 1 against, in all likelihood, CSK.