Team Rajasthan eliminated after 5-wicket defeat

May 19, 2012
rajastan

Floundering Team Hyderabad seemed to have saved their best for the penultimate league engagement against Rajasthan on Friday. Dravid's Rajasthan, needing two wins from their last two outings, looked in a spot of bother after batting first.

Their total of 126/8 was not enough to test even Hyderabad, who cantered to a five-wicket win sans skipper Kumar Sangakkara at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday. The defeat ensured Rajasthan's elimination from this year's event with one game in hand.

Coming into this game, they needed to win both to stay in the hunt. With their batting coming a cropper, it was left to Shaun Tait and company to keep Rajasthan in the hunt. But the bowling held no terrors for Hyderabad lad Akshath Reddy and the in-form Shikhar Dhawan. Akshath, the 21-year old Ranji opener, impressed with 42 (35b; 4x4, 1x6) as 69 runs came in the first 10 overs.

His 63-run (51b) partnership with Dhawan put Hyderabad on a firm footing and though the latter holed out for 26 (24b, 2x4, 2x6), the duo had done enough to ensure the hosts could register their second IPL win at the venue with eight deliveries to spare. Ashish Reddy applying the finish touches with two consecutive boundaries off Tait.

Rajasthan have only themselves to blame for this early exit. Hyderabad, true to coach Darren Lehmann's words, having spoilt Rajasthan's party, will be left wondering what could have been.

Earlier, once Dale Steyn had neutralised Ajinkya Rahane's threat, the Rajasthan innings lost momentum. The Mumbaikar, back at second place in the batting charts behind Chris Gayle, was left clueless by the South African pacer and it could have been worse than 20/1 had Shikhar Dhawan and Ashish Reddy not dropped Watson and Dravid off Manpreet Gony.

Fortunately for the hosts, it didn't prove costly.



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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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