India aim to wrap South Africa T20I series in Bengaluru

Agencies
September 21, 2019

Bengaluru, Sept 21: After a commanding performance in Mohali, Team India will aim to seal the three-match series when they enter the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium for the third and final T20I against South Africa on Sunday.

With a washout in the first game in Dharamsala, both the teams were looking to take the upper hand and take an unassailable lead in the series in Mohali. However, it was the Men in Blue who took command at the I.S. Bindra P.C.A. Stadium and came out with a brilliant performance to secure a rather comfortable win.

Deepak Chahar and Virat Kohli turned out to be the standout performers in Mohali as India cruised to a seven-wicket win against the young Proteas side led by Quinton de Kock.

Team India ticked almost all boxes in Mohali where they first restricted the visitors to 149 and then chased down the target riding on their skipper Kohli's unbeaten 72.

However, one area of concern -- which has now been looming over the team -- will be the form of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and he will again be in focus in Bengaluru.

Pant, who has been warned by head coach Ravi Shastri and batting coach Vikram Rathour about playing careless cricket, threw away his wicket cheaply and missed out on an opportunity to showcase his talent, which everyone speaks of very highly in Mohali.

On Friday, former India captain and NCA head Rahul Dravid spent some time with the Indian players during the practice session and offered some piece of advice to all of them, especially Pant.

For the hosts, it will be a case of continuing with the performance they have been delivering in the recent times. Their batting looks in total control, so is there bowling and fielding.

Proteas, on the other hand, will have their task cut out. In order to level the series, the mantra for them is actually quite simple: score enough runs, i.e. in excess of 180 and give their bowlers something on the Chinnaswamy pitch which historically has been a high-scoring ground.

Big hitters like David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius and de Kock need to fire from the word go. Only then can the visitors pose a challenge against the hosts.

Squads: India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (capt/wk), Rassie van der Dussen (vc), Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde.

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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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