Cricket News, 16 April: Ben Stokes the 'obvious one' to replace Joe Root: Atherton, more

Apr 16, 2022

Cricket News, 16 April: Ben Stokes the 'obvious one' to replace Joe Root: Atherton, more Image

Lucknow beat Mumbai by 18 runs

K.L. Rahul's unbeaten hundred drove Lucknow Super Giants to an 18-run win over Mumbai Indians in Match 26 of the Indian Premier League 2022.

Rahul slammed 103 in 60 balls in his 100th IPL match and forged crucial stands with Quinton de Kock and Manish Pandey to take Lucknow to 199/4. In reply, Mumbai could only manage 181/9. Their openers, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma, failed to provide them with the start they wanted. Avesh Khan (3-30) was the pick of the Lucknow bowlers.

Ben Stokes the 'obvious one' to replace Joe Root: Atherton

Michael Atherton opined that Ben Stokes should be an obvious replacement for Joe Root as England captain. Root stepped down from the post on Saturday (15 April). Stokes is currently the vice-captain, and is among the few first-choice players in the side.

'Ben Stokes is the obvious one, and what helps is that Joe Root has stepped down of his own accord. Ben Stokes is very loyal to Joe (Root) and he will feel a lot easier about taking the job if offered given that Root stepped down of his own accord,' said Atherton.

Bangalore beat Delhi by 16 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore rode on fifties from Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik to beat Delhi Capitals by 16 runs. After losing three early wickets, Bangalore were lifted by a 34-ball 55 from Glenn Maxwell before Dinesh Karthik's finishing act propelled them to 189/5. Karthik slammed an unbeaten 66 in 34 balls.

David Warner got Delhi off to a fiery start in response, with a 38-ball 66. But the middle-order failed to capitalise, and they were restricted to 173/7.

Oman beat Papua New Guinea by 82 runs

Oman defeated Papua New Guinea by 82 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Chasing 278, PNG were bowled out for 192.

None barring Charles Amini, who made 60, no PNG batter offered any resistance as Bilal Khan finished with five wickets. Earlier, Jatinder Singh, Zeeshan Maqsood, and Ayaan Khan scored fifties to guide Oman to 277/8.