Mathews steps down from Pune captaincy
Pune: Sri lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews on Thursday decided to step down from Pune Warriors’ captaincy for the rest of the current IPl season to ensure that there is continuity in the leadership. Australian batsman Aaron Finch has led the side in a lot of games as Mathews was dropped due to poor form. “It is in our best interests that the captaincy is not switched frequently as we strive to achieve the best balanced team for each different opponent. Given that Aaron (Finch) is likely to play in all our remaining games then it is logical that he continues to be our captain,” Mathews said in a statement. The Sri lankan said he would continue to be a member of the side. “I will naturally provide my fullest support at all times to Aaron and my team-mates. I will also continue to work as hard as possible as a player as we all strive to win our remaining matches,” he said.
‘We can sneak into playoffs via back door’
New Delhi: Far-fetched it may sound but two successive wins in the ongoing IPl, following a string of defeats, have opened up a window of opportunity for Delhi Daredevils to “sneak into the playoffs through the back door”, feels pace spearhead Morne Morkel. “Now we are playing winning cricket and entertaining cricket. You never know what can happen with that — we can even sneak into the playoffs through the back door,” Morkel said. He, though, was candid in his admission that the team was not performing in the first half of the tournament. “Throughout the tournament, the atmosphere in the dressing room has been positive. We know we didn’t do well in a few areas and we are trying to do better in those.”
IPl marriages: Rohrer is latest to join club
New Delhi: Crisscrossing the vast country and plucking off spectacular catches in the ongoing Indian Premier league (IPl), Delhi Daredevils’ Australian batsman Ben Rohrer is taking some time off to get hitched. The Aussie, who came in as a replacement for the injured Jesse Ryder, has taken a couple of days leave to get married and will be missing Daredevils’ next game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. He is expected to come back with his wife before the away game against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. Rohrer, who took a stunner to remove Kolkata Knight Riders’ Jacques Kallis on Wednesday, was congratulated by a few people at the Raipur airport as he got ready to board a flight to Delhi, from where he is supposed to take a connecting flight back to Australia. PNS/Agencies