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Sanjjeev K Samyal

Sanjjeev K Samyal heads the sports team in Mumbai and anchors HT’s cricket coverage.

Articles by Sanjjeev K Samyal

IPL: How GT failed to find balance after Hardik Pandya’s exit

Champions and runners-up in their first two IPL seasons, all that can go wrong did with Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans are knocked out of the playoffs race.
(IPL-X)

Cricket

Published on May 14, 2024 08:31 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

SRH's Abhishek Sharma making opening statement in IPL 2024

With Head for company, the left-hander has formed a potent partnership at the top of the order.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Abhishek Sharma celebrates the team's victory against Lucknow Super Giants (ANI)

Cricket

Updated on May 09, 2024 10:35 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Head, Abhishek hammer LSG by 10 wickets in IPL 2024

The openers rattled off 167 to reach the target in just 9.4 overs in Hyderabad, rising to third on the points table and closer to playoff.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma celebrate the team's victory against Lucknow Super Giants (IPL- X)

Cricket

Published on May 08, 2024 11:12 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Making a Starc difference: Impact Player rule must take some blame

KKR’s Aussie fast bowler exploited bowler-friendly conditions at Wankhede to hand solid win over Mumbai Indians

Cricket

Published on May 04, 2024 06:35 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

IPL 2024: KKR prevail on slow track, all but end Mumbai Indians hopes

A fine 70 by Venkatesh Iyer helped KKR recover from a horror start to register their seventh win this season

Kolkata Knight Riders' players celebrate a wicket during the match against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League 2024, at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai on Friday
(IPL)

Cricket

Updated on May 03, 2024 11:54 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

After T20 World Cup snub, Rinku Singh has chance to showcase skills vs MI

Rinku has played 15 T20Is for India, scoring 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.23.

For Abhishek Nayar, Rinku’s value to the team has to be measured by the number of balls he has faced and not the runs he has scored.(PTI)

Cricket

Published on May 02, 2024 11:48 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

Why Yuzvendra Chahal can be the missing link in India's T20 World Cup plan

The leg-spinner is in great form for Rajasthan Royals, but will need the team’s backing as he does not bring in a second skill — batting

Yuzvendra Chahal is set to play his second T20 World Cup for India(PTI)

Cricket

Updated on May 01, 2024 10:44 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Finisher the focus in IPL 2024 route to India’s T20 World Cup squad

The late hitter is a rare commodity, and Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson all will get the nod if selectors go by showing in the T20 league.

Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh plays a shot(PTI)

Cricket

Published on Apr 29, 2024 09:25 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Rajat Patidar finally gets down to business

A poor stint with Team India took him off track but the batter has found his game again

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Rajat Patidar celebrates after scoring a half-century (50 runs) during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru(AFP)

Cricket

Published on Apr 26, 2024 08:31 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

RCB end their losing streak with big win over SRH in IPL 2024

Kohli, Patidar fifties helped RCB to 206 before SRH's much-vaunted batting line-up failed to fire.

Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar celebrate their partnership during the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (RCB-X)

Cricket

Updated on Apr 26, 2024 06:22 AM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Back after a break: Yashasvi Jaiswal ready to shine in the second half

The coaches at RR’s High Performance Centre, which is led by Zubin Bharucha, had anticipated the opener's struggles early this season

Cricket

Updated on Apr 23, 2024 09:03 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

From Shubman Gill to Ruturaj Gaikwad: How are the new IPL captains faring

Some of the big names have moved on or stepped aside and the 2024 season is an opportunity for newer leaders to show what they are capable of.

Chennai: Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Gujarat Titans Captain Shubman Gill at the toss before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans.(PTI)

Cricket

Published on Apr 09, 2024 10:20 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

RCB woes blamed on meek batting despite Virat Kohli form

His lack of explosiveness despite hitting a century and the failure of power-hitters in the loss to RR shows the team again in poor light

Cricket

Published on Apr 07, 2024 09:31 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

Jos Buttler goes ton up on Virat Kohli as RR beat RCB

His unbeaten 100 off 58 balls, sealed with a six, eclipses Kohli’s 113* off 72 balls as Rajasthan Royals seal fourth straight win by six wickets in Jaipur

Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer celebrate their win over Royal Challengers Bangaluru in the Indian Premier League(AP)

Cricket

Published on Apr 06, 2024 11:54 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

Yuzvendra Chahal creates the right kind of buzz at IPL 2024

The leg-spinner is making all the right noises and that just might get the national selectors to pay attention too.

Rajasthan Royals bowler Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates the wicket of Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 cricket match (PTI)

Cricket

Published on Apr 02, 2024 11:49 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Boult, Chahal combine as Rajasthan thrash struggling Mumbai Indians at IPL 2024

Royals notched up their third straight win while 5-time champions MI suffered their third defeat to pile pressure on skipper Hardik Pandya.

Rajasthan Royals bowler Trent Boult celebrates the wicket of Mumbai Indians batter Naman Dhir (PTI)

Cricket

Published on Apr 01, 2024 11:56 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

IPL: Focus on Hardik Pandya in MI's first home game

Already under fire from fans after replacing Rohit Sharma as skipper, he will have to turn things around against RR

Hardik Pandya will play first match at Wankhede Stadium on return to Mumbai Indians.(ANI)

Cricket

Published on Mar 31, 2024 08:57 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

For SRH, Head comes to the party right away

Playing his first game of the season, the Australian hammered a brilliant 62 to set his team on the path to reaching an IPL record total against MI

Cricket

Updated on Mar 29, 2024 06:25 AM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

IPL 2024: SRH sink MI with a ton of runs

Sunrisers hammer an IPL record 277, capped by Klaasen's 80 off 34 balls, to beat MI by 31 runs in Hyderabad.

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Mumbai Indians by 31 runs.

Cricket

Published on Mar 28, 2024 12:13 AM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

IPL 2024: CSK game plan, always simple and successful

Execution has been the key to MS Dhoni's spin-oriented tactics clicking, especially on Chennai's home turf.

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni with teammates during the IPL 2023 match (PTI)

Cricket

Published on Mar 19, 2024 10:12 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Familiar MS Dhoni buzz as champs CSK get ready to go again in IPL

He stamped his class again in 2023, leading Chennai to a record-equalling fifth title. The who after Dhoni question though lingers.

MS Dhoni practices at the CSK nets(CSK/X)

Cricket

Published on Mar 19, 2024 08:32 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

IPL: Hardik Pandya seeks player honesty with workload in focus

There will barely be a week's gap between the T20 league and the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA

Mumbai Indians' captain Hardik Pandya addresses a press conference.(AFP)

Cricket

Published on Mar 18, 2024 10:31 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Sunil Gavaskar interview: ‘It was tough to meet expectations that were raised’

It’s been close to 54 years since the record-breaking debut, but in the years that have gone by since, no Indian batter has bettered it

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar speaks about his record-breaking outing in debut Test series against the West Indies(HT Archives)

Cricket

Published on Mar 14, 2024 06:41 AM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

50 years of Wankhede: Looking back at some wonder games

Mumbai's cricket hub has seen so many memorable games down the decades. HT selects a few for you

Cricket

Published on Mar 12, 2024 10:55 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Ranji Trophy final: Lower-order resilience Mumbai's abiding story

Knocking off the top- and middle-order has still left rival bowlers in dismay, so consistently have the tail-enders stood up with the bat.

Cricket

Published on Mar 09, 2024 09:11 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

International players participation will help domestic teams get better: Dhawal

The Mumbai pacer, who has been part of four successful Ranji Trophy campaigns, will retire at the end of the 2024 season

Dhawal Kulkarni has played his part in the Mumbai team’s run to the Ranji Trophy final

Cricket

Published on Mar 08, 2024 10:09 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

Azad Maidan: A Mumbai cricket nursery like none other

Yashasvi, Sarfaraz are the latest examples of maidan link to the Mumbai school of batting.

While most maidan grounds have short boundaries, at Azad Maidan and Shivaji Park one will have to do a lot of running to accumulate runs(Getty Images)

Cricket

Published on Mar 05, 2024 10:02 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

Ranji Trophy: Shreyas Iyer and the battle of perception

There's no doubting his quality and he is a proven performer but he needs to show he is committed to the cause.

Shreyas Iyer played in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu.

Cricket

Updated on Mar 04, 2024 11:59 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

Mumbai thrash divided Tamil Nadu, enter 48th Ranji Trophy final

After the innings defeat in the semis inside 3 days, TN coach Sulakshan Kulkarni blames skipper R Sai Kishore for choosing to bat on a seaming Mumbai pitch.

Mumbai record-extending 48th Ranji Trophy final.

Cricket

Updated on Mar 05, 2024 06:27 AM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal

Need schedule relook, more breaks between Ranji games: Shardul Thakur

Ranji Trophy started on January 5 and the final is from March 10. There are three days between every match with the semifinal ending on March 6.

Mumbai's Shardul Thakur celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Tamil Nadu's Vijay Shankar (PTI)

Cricket

Published on Mar 03, 2024 10:24 PM IST

BySanjjeev K Samyal, Mumbai

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Sanjjeev K Samyal

Sanjjeev K Samyal heads the sports team in Mumbai and anchors HT’s cricket coverage.

Champions and runners-up in their first two IPL seasons, all that can go wrong did with Gujarat Titans

With Head for company, the left-hander has formed a potent partnership at the top of the order.

The openers rattled off 167 to reach the target in just 9.4 overs in Hyderabad, rising to third on the points table and closer to playoff.

KKR’s Aussie fast bowler exploited bowler-friendly conditions at Wankhede to hand solid win over Mumbai Indians

A fine 70 by Venkatesh Iyer helped KKR recover from a horror start to register their seventh win this season

Rinku has played 15 T20Is for India, scoring 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.23.

The leg-spinner is in great form for Rajasthan Royals, but will need the team’s backing as he does not bring in a second skill — batting

The late hitter is a rare commodity, and Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson all will get the nod if selectors go by showing in the T20 league.

A poor stint with Team India took him off track but the batter has found his game again

Kohli, Patidar fifties helped RCB to 206 before SRH's much-vaunted batting line-up failed to fire.

The coaches at RR’s High Performance Centre, which is led by Zubin Bharucha, had anticipated the opener's struggles early this season

Some of the big names have moved on or stepped aside and the 2024 season is an opportunity for newer leaders to show what they are capable of.

His lack of explosiveness despite hitting a century and the failure of power-hitters in the loss to RR shows the team again in poor light

His unbeaten 100 off 58 balls, sealed with a six, eclipses Kohli’s 113* off 72 balls as Rajasthan Royals seal fourth straight win by six wickets in Jaipur

The leg-spinner is making all the right noises and that just might get the national selectors to pay attention too.

Royals notched up their third straight win while 5-time champions MI suffered their third defeat to pile pressure on skipper Hardik Pandya.

Already under fire from fans after replacing Rohit Sharma as skipper, he will have to turn things around against RR

Playing his first game of the season, the Australian hammered a brilliant 62 to set his team on the path to reaching an IPL record total against MI

Sunrisers hammer an IPL record 277, capped by Klaasen's 80 off 34 balls, to beat MI by 31 runs in Hyderabad.

Execution has been the key to MS Dhoni's spin-oriented tactics clicking, especially on Chennai's home turf.

He stamped his class again in 2023, leading Chennai to a record-equalling fifth title. The who after Dhoni question though lingers.

There will barely be a week's gap between the T20 league and the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA

It’s been close to 54 years since the record-breaking debut, but in the years that have gone by since, no Indian batter has bettered it

Mumbai's cricket hub has seen so many memorable games down the decades. HT selects a few for you

Knocking off the top- and middle-order has still left rival bowlers in dismay, so consistently have the tail-enders stood up with the bat.

The Mumbai pacer, who has been part of four successful Ranji Trophy campaigns, will retire at the end of the 2024 season

Yashasvi, Sarfaraz are the latest examples of maidan link to the Mumbai school of batting.

There's no doubting his quality and he is a proven performer but he needs to show he is committed to the cause.

After the innings defeat in the semis inside 3 days, TN coach Sulakshan Kulkarni blames skipper R Sai Kishore for choosing to bat on a seaming Mumbai pitch.

Ranji Trophy started on January 5 and the final is from March 10. There are three days between every match with the semifinal ending on March 6.

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