The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) has formed an ‘independent medical board’ to look into whether pacer Ihsanullah’s injury was handled properly by their medical department. Ihsanullah’s injury became ‘serious’ due to ‘wrong’ treatment by PCB’s medical department, it was alleged recently.
Ihsanullah, who made his T20I and ODI debut for Pakistan in 2023, suffered an elbow injury in his ODI debut against New Zealand in April that year. Since then, the 21-year-old has been out of competitive cricket. Ihsanullah was picked for the national team after a great performance in the PSL, but his international career has stopped in just 5 matches.
The owner of Multan Sultans, the team he plays for in the PSL, recently alleged that PCB doctors did not treat Ihsanullah’s injury properly. The crack in his elbow bone was not detected in the scan done by the PCB in the beginning. Ihsanullah did gym with that torn elbow and even bowled at that time. A repeat scan revealed the tear.
Ihsanullah went to the UK for treatment last week after the controversy surrounding the injury. There he will be treated by an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports injuries. PCB said that they would bear the entire cost. It is also claimed by the franchise that Multan has borne his expenses since he was injured earlier.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has already announced the creation of an independent medical board. In a post from his official ID on X today, he said that there will be three doctors as experts on the medical board. He also said that the board will also advise on what to do in the future for proper treatment of Ihsanullah.
PCB’s medical department head doctor Sohail Salim has already denied the allegation that Ihsanullah was negligent or negligent regarding the injury. He claimed that there was no mismanagement even though the initial scan of Ihsanullah was delayed.
He countered that Ihsanullah did not stay at the National Cricket Academy under the management of PCB in Lahore. Even took physiotherapy with someone from outside. However, Multan’s owner claimed that according to a UK-based doctor, Ihsanullah also has an injury on his shoulder. The PCB didn’t notice that either, which may require another surgery.
‘Batting will bring sponsor, bowling will give the title’
Bowlers’ job is not easy at this time, especially in T20. And this year’s IPL has become a nightmare for the bowlers. Hyderabad set another record against Delhi yesterday. Team captain pacer Pat Cummins himself says that a part of him is thrilled with the team’s batting performance. Another part has fallen into thought, he has to go bowling there!
There are fielding obligations, and wicket types, and IPL now has impact substitution rules. By using the rules, almost every team gets an opportunity to play an extra batsman. According to analysts, in the presence of a specialist batsman in the lower order, the batsmen at the top are now matching themselves, playing shots. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar reminded, at the end of the day, bowlers are needed to become champions.
Hyderabad set a new T20 record by scoring 125 runs in the first 6 overs against Delhi yesterday. Delhi got off to a great start to the big target, scoring 88 runs in the powerplay. But after that, Delhi did not succeed. Bhuvneshwar has accepted that the bowlers will be beaten in such a match. The Hyderabad pacer said, ‘If you have to defend so many runs, you either give away a lot of runs or you get wickets. We have accepted that we will give a lot of runs while defending so many runs. But the aim was always to execute the plan.’
Bhuvneshwar, who has taken 4 wickets in the first 7 matches of this season, knows that the spotlight is on the batsmen in such a situation. According to him, ‘After many years our batsmen are becoming effective like this. As a bowling department, I don’t mind being in the back row, it will be difficult to defend 180 or such runs.’
Hyderabad has crossed 250 batting thrice this season, winning all three matches. Batting first, their lowest score so far was 162, which Hyderabad failed to defend. But even though they are now in the back row, they are the ‘key’ characters in the long run, Bhuvneshwar feels that too, ‘There is something about bowling…someone used to say, batting will get you sponsors but bowling will get you titles. The way we are bowling at the moment, it looks bad on the scorecard but it is good for us.’
But how much this role of bowlers will encourage the future generation to choose this role in cricket, the question comes up again and again. Former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn, however, said otherwise. According to him, ‘I can jokingly say that I am not bowling anymore because I have retired, so I am happy. But… it’s always great to be a bowler. If you can make yourself the best, you will become the god among mortals that everyone wants. Khune will become the batsman’s rampage. The appeal (of being a bowler) is greater now than at any other time.’
How many will think like Stein, that is the question. But if Bhubaneswar can bring the title to Hyderabad, then maybe it will be proved once again – it is the bowlers who bring the title!
After Kolkata’s 222, Bengaluru’s pain of 1 run
Royal Challengers Bangalore needed 21 runs in the last over of Kolkata Knight Riders’ target of 223, Karn Sharma hitting 3 sixes off Mitchell Starc’s first 4 balls. Karn, who was not struck by Dinesh Karthik in the previous over. But when 3 runs were needed from 2 balls, Karn had to stop by turning into a great catch by Starc while pulling a low full toss. The match would have been tied if Lockie Ferguson took doubles in the last ball, but Phil Salt ran out Ferguson even though the throw was not favorable. The English wicketkeeper could not take Karn’s low catch in this over.
Bengaluru were ultimately heartbroken in a dramatic match at the Eden Gardens. They lost the match by 1 run in what would have been the third-highest run chase in IPL history. Stark went from being a villain to a hero in the last over and Karn didn’t suddenly become a hero. With this victory, Kolkata has risen to the second position with 10 points in 7 matches, on the other hand, Bengaluru, which is at the bottom of the points list, has been waiting for another victory for a long time.
Virat Kohli’s 7-ball 18-run innings gave Bengaluru a flying start, but they too lost 2 wickets in the powerplay. However, there is a controversy about Kohli’s out. Harshit ran into the full toss of the runner and gave a return catch to the leading edge. In the new ball tracking method, no balls are determined by measuring the difference in the height of the batsman’s feet from the waist while standing with the expected trajectory of the ball. Accordingly, the height of the ball (0.92 m) was less than Kohli’s waist (1.02 m).
Losing 2 wickets for 35 runs, Bengaluru, however, got a solid foundation from Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar’s pair of fifties and the duo’s 48-ball 102-run partnership. After Jaques who scored 55 runs from 32 balls, Russell returned Patidar who scored 52 runs from 23 balls in the same over. Although he did not have a good day in batting, this Caribbean all-rounder had a good influence in bowling.
Dinesh Karthik was Bengaluru’s hope despite losing wickets in the middle overs. The equation was getting tough, he gave back a single towards the end. Udyat Karthik took a catch to scoop up Russell’s slow bouncer in the last ball of the 19th over, Bengaluru still needing 21 runs. Although the slower ball was effective on this wicket, Starc didn’t do much in the last over at the beginning, and he had to pay the price. In the end, however, the most expensive player in IPL history survived.
Earlier in the powerplay, Kolkata scored 75 runs after defeating the first three batsmen. Among them, Sunil Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored 13 runs in 19 balls, but Kolkata started like this in Salt’s innings of 48 runs from 14 balls. The English batsman hit boundaries in 10 of the first 13 balls.
Lockie Ferguson conceded 28 runs in the only over in the powerplay, but the Kiwi fast bowler spent 19 runs in the next 3 overs. Bengaluru turned around well from the end of the powerplay, Kolkata could manage just 80 runs in 7-16 overs. Captain Shreyas Iyer gets his first IPL fifty since May 2022. Although it takes time in the beginning, it pays off well later. Shreyas, who scored 25 off the first 21 balls, went on to his fifty off 35 balls, though was dismissed on the very next ball.
In between, Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer maintained the pace of runs, but Kolkata could not make a big leap. Bengaluru bowled effectively on a wicket that slows the ball down and yorkers early. Andre Russell scored just 16 off the first 15 balls, though finished unbeaten on 27 off 20 balls. Ramandeep Singh’s 9-ball 24-run cameo took Kolkata to 222 runs.
It was the 16th score of 200 or more this season, the third highest in an IPL season. Bengaluru took that number to 17. But that may have increased the pain for Kohli.
Gujarat win by short runs in the IPL
In this year’s IPL, the teams are not able to be safe even after scoring two hundred or two and a half hundred by batting first. The batting teams that are chasing runs are also on fire. Today Kolkata Knight Riders also scored 222 runs but won against Royal Challengers Bangalore by just 1 run. In the second match of the same IPL, Punjab Kings batted first for 142 runs all out.
Gujarat had to play till the last over to chase this ‘small’ run in Mullanpur, losing 7 wickets. In the eighth match, Gujarat got their fourth win by 3 wickets with 5 balls in hand.
Rahul Tewatia scored 36 runs for Gujarat in the run chase. The batsman was unbeaten on 36 off 18 balls. Apart from this, captain Shubman Gill scored 35 runs off 29 balls. Despite losing 7 wickets, it never seemed that Gujarat could lose the match.
Earlier, Punjab won the toss and scored 52 runs without losing any wickets. The opening pair of skippers Sam Curren and Pravsimaran Singh broke in the third ball of the sixth over. Pravsimran returned with 35 runs off 21 balls. Riley Russo and Sam Curren also added 15 runs to the scorecard. Noor Ahmed scored 9 runs off 7 balls and Rashid Khan scored LBW on Karen scoring 20 runs off 19 balls.
Losing the run rate, the hosts’ score is not 100 but 4 more wickets. From there, the team scored 140 runs in Brar’s 12-ball 29-run innings. Gujarat’s left-arm spinner Sai Kishore took 4 wickets with 33 runs in 4 overs. Afghan leg spinner Rashid Khan got 1 wicket but gave only 15 runs in 4 overs. Another Afghan Noor gave 20 runs in 4 overs to take 2 wickets with left arm wrist spin.
‘Second row’ New Zealand stunned Pakistan, leveled the series
Top cricketers like Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, and Daryl Mitchell are busy playing IPL in India. So the New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) has sent a second-tier team to Pakistan. That team surprised Pakistan today. Mark Chapman’s explosive batting helped underpowered New Zealand level the 5-match T20I series 1-1.
Pakistan scored 178 for 4 after losing the toss in the third match of the series in Rawalpindi. Shadab Khan, who dropped to six, scored a team-high 41 runs off just 20 balls. The second-highest 37 came from captain Babar Azam’s bat.
However, hard hitter Chapman, who once played for Hong Kong, made an unbeaten innings of 87 runs from 42 balls and New Zealand reached the target with 10 balls and 7 wickets to spare.
The first match of the series was abandoned in Rawalpindi last Thursday due to rain. In the second match at the same venue yesterday, Babar Azam’s team won by 7 wickets by bowling out the Kiwis for just 90 runs.
Seeing yesterday’s uneven fight, many may have thought that the series was going to be one-sided. But New Zealand proved everyone wrong in one day. The visitors survived the series well, giving Pakistan a bitter taste.
The last two matches of the series will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Thursday and Saturday.
Short score
Pakistan: 178/4 in 20 overs
(Shadab 41, Babar 37, Ayub 32, Irfan 30*; Sodhi 2/25, Duffy 1/39, Bracewell 1/40)
New Zealand: 179/3 in 18.2 overs
(Chapman 87*, Foxcroft 31, Robinson 28, Syfert 21; Abbas 2/27, Naseem 1/44)
Result: New Zealand won by 7 wickets.
Man of the Match: Mark Chapman.
Series: 1–1 tie in 5-match series.
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