IPL viewership on Hotstar doubles in 2016

STAR India’s online video streaming platform Hotstar has more than double its reach (unique viewers) for IPL in the past one year. For all the games played until the play-offs (between April 9 and May 22), 80 million people used the service, compared with 35 million a year ago.

The cash-rich Twenty20 tournament came under STAR India’s digital ambit in 2014 when it was made available on starsports.com. Last year, Hotstar was introduced, helping viewers see the tournament on the new app.

The network seems to be on track to achieve the target of reaching100 million IPL viewers this year. “We have seen the adoption of Hotstar as primary screen increase significantly among the urban affluent youth. At 80 million (unique) viewers before the play-offs, I expect the platform to add another 15 to 20 million in reach over the last leg of the tournament,” says Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, STAR India.

Total IPL watch time on the app has gone up by 60 per cent over 2015. The key to increasing the reach, according to Mohan, lies in the data-rich experience. Additionally, the application streams live scorecard and analysis before and after the match, as well as between the innings.Read more.

BCCI recommends Virat Kohli for Khel Ratna, Ajinkya Rahane for Arjuna award

It is after a gap of four years that a cricketer has been recommended for the Khel Ratna

In this file photo, Virat Kohli plays a shot during the ICC World T20 match versus Australia at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

The Indian Cricket Board has recommended Test captain Virat Kohli for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour, and Ajinkya Rahane for theArjuna award this year.

If Kohli wins, he would become only the third cricketer after the iconic Sachin Tendulkar and the country's most successful captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to win India's highest sporting honour.

BCCI sources confirmed the development.Read more about this Article.

Brilliant Brathwaite, Super Samuels win World T20 for Windies

Brilliant Brathwaite, Super Samuels win World T20 for Windies

West Indies tonight created history by becoming the first nation to win the ICC World T20 twice with a dramatic four wicket victory over England riding on Carlos Brathwaite four consecutive lusty sixes in the final over of the innings.

Chasing a tricky target of 156, it was Marlon Samuels, who did an encore of the 2012 final that Darren Sammy's men had won, hitting a magnificent 85 not out off 66 balls with nine boundaries and two huge sixes.

However it was the unheralded giant Brathwaite, who showed why he commanded such a record IPL price fromDelhi Daredvils scoring 34 off only 10 balls as he hit the four most important maximums of his short cricketing career.

With 19 runs needed off the final over, Brathwaite hit the first ball behind square for a six and the next was hit over long-on for a six and the third over long-off to basically bring down the equation 1 off 3 balls before finishing off with another hit over deep mid-wicket.

The entire stadium save a few English fans erupted in joy as the West Indiesteam members rushed to the field to congratulate the heroes.

It was one of the most beautiful sights as the women's team also joined their men as the danced to the now popular Bravo rap of 'Champion' in unison. They took a 'lap of Honour from an Eden Gardens that gave them a standing ovation.

The West Indies despite all their problems are now World Champions in U-19, women's and men's World T20.

For England's bowling unit, the hero certainly would left-arm seamer David Willey, who had phenomenal figures of 3/20 in 4 overs with an astounding 13 dot balls as he increased pressure on the Caribbean batsmen before Stokes frittered it away.Read More.

World T20: Spirited West Indies shock sloppy India to enter final

Star batsmen Lendl Simmons smashed an unbeaten 83 alongside Johnson Charles's 52 as a spirited West Indian side chased down a challenging total to outclass India by seven wickets in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday to enter the final of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.
Batting first, India posted a competitive total of 192/2 in 20 overs, thanks to Virat Kohli's 89.
Read more from our special coverage on "WORLD T20"

• World T20: Australia post competitive total against India
• World T20: Australia win toss, elect to bat against India
• World T20: Impressive Afghanistan shock Windies by 6 runs
• World T20: Clinical New Zealand thrash Bangladesh by 75 runs
• World T20: West Indies beat South Africa to enter semis

In reply, a brave Windies side chased down the total posting 196/3 in 19.4 overs, thanks to Simmons' 51-ball 83 and Charles' 36-ball 52.
West Indies will now face England, who earlier beat New Zealand in the first semis on Wednesday, in the final at the Eden Gardens on April 3.
Chasing a challenging target of 194, West Indies got off to a worst possible start losing hard-hitting opener Chris Gayle (5) in the second over. Young pacer Jasprit Bumrah cleaned the left-handed batsman to have West Indies at 6/1.
As his opening partner Johnson Charles and incoming batsman Marlon Samuels (8) were looking to build a partnership after the first wicket, veteran Indian pacer Ashish Nehra struck in the third over to send Samuels back to the pavilion and leave the Windies struggling at 19/2.
But next up, Charles and Simmons used their experience to good effect and score at a good pace to bring up 50-run partnership for the third wicket in just 34 balls and help team post 84/2 in 10 overs.
But Charles, soon after he brought up his third T20I half-century in just 30 balls was sent back to the pavilion by none other than skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's surprise package bowler Kohli. The 97-run partnership for the third wicket was finally broken which helped India make a comeback into the game.
Set batsman Simmons, who was caught twice off two balls, eventually brought his fifty up in just 37 balls to keep Windies alive in the game.
From there on, Andre Russell (43 not out off 20 balls) and Simmons remained unbeaten to steer their team to a triumph.
Earlier put into bat, openers Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) got India off to a flying start scoring 55 runs without losing a wicket in the powerplay.
But as Rohit was cruising after striking three boundaries and three sixes, leg-spinner Samuel Badree brought the much-needed breakthrough, dismissing him leg before wicket to have India at 62/1 in 7.2 overs.
Incoming in-form batsman Kohli along with Rahane played sensibly, stealing quick singles, twos, and a couple of boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking and help team reach 86/1 in 10 overs.
But as the home side was cruising to take on the Windies bowlers, Russell struck in the 16th over to dismiss Rahane and have India at 128/2.
Next up, Dhoni (15 not out) who promoted himself up the batting order gave good support to Kohli as the duo piled on some useful runs with boundaries and sixes at regular intervals to bring up an unbeaten 64-run partnership for the third wicket and thus help the team post a competitive total.
Badree (1-26) was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies.
Brief scores: India 192/2 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 89 not out, Rohit Sharma 43, Ajinkya Rahane 40; Samuel Badree 1-26, Andre Russell 1-47) vs West Indies 196/3 in 19.4 overs (Lendl Simmons 83 not out, Johnson Charles 52; Virat Kohli 1-15, Ashish Nehra 1-25, Jasprit Bumrah 1-42)

World T20: Dhoni's men face unpredictable West Indies

So often, big matches in big tournaments become restricted to a hyped confrontation between two marquee players.
In the second semi-final of the ICC World T20 in Mumbaithis evening, that contest will invariably be played out between Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli — two run-scoring behemoths who bring with them the ability to astonish and enrapture, and the skill to sway the outcome of a grand occasion such as this in a way only they can.
But at the same time, it would be a wicked injustice to bill this match as a battle between Gayle and Kohli. In the din that accompanies this delectable clash between the two, it is easy to forget the other 20 players on show.
Both India and West Indies would do well to refrain from putting too much emphasis on one man. Such fixations come with the ghastly prospect of being outplayed by an unknown man on a day, which for some players, arrives once in their lifetime.

ICCWT20 :It is also easy for India to think that the West Indies will be a comfortable swim, while they ride the “momentum” wave. Three wins on the spin after the crushing loss to New Zealand in the tournament opener — the assumption that this momentum will help them barge past the West Indies can so easily end in tragedy. The West Indies’ charge to the semi-final was punctuated by a shock loss against Afghanistan in their last group game in Nagpurthis past Sunday.

India’s T20 form is a mere extension of the way they’ve been playing in Tests and ODIs. For the West Indies, the T20 format, in a lot of ways, makes up for the woeful run of results they’ve endured in the other two formats of the game over the last couple of years. Here, the West Indies confront a team that is devoid of any T20 specialists, and yet, is the best in the world. This will be an enormous test of the West Indies T20 pedigree.

For the home side, Mahendra Singh Dhoni must have spent the last few days trying to spur his batsmen on, who, with the exception of Kohli, have done very little to cover themselves in glory. The fact that Kohli has more runs in this tournament than the other four members of India's top five combined is a distressing confirmation.

With Yuvraj Singh getting ruled out due to an ankle injury, common sense would point towards a place for Ajinkya Rahane. But Rahane was originally slated to be a replacement for one of the openers, and Dhoni might be reluctant to slot him into the middle order. Which means that Pawan Negi, the only like-for-like replacement for Yuvraj, might get to play in the biggest match of his career so far.

The absence of Sunil Narine means that West Indies skipper Darren Sammy doesn’t have at a go-to bowler at his disposal. But he must take heart from the way his bowlers have performed throughout the tournament. Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite have been steady with the new ball, and the two spinners — Samuel Badree and Suliemann Benn — have been a revelation. On aWankhedepitch that promises big runs, the way the slower bowlers go will be pivotal.

The Indian bowling, so often the team’s cause of misery in tough situations, has been a remarkable success so far. Ashish Nehra has added much-needed experience upfront, and in Jasprit Bumrah, Dhoni has finally found a reliable death bowler. Hardik Pandya, although a tad expensive, has been among the wickets, and the slow bowlers have not allowed any team to get away. Encouraging signs, one would imagine. A rampaging Gayle can change all that. Ravichandran Ashwin has so often been Gayle’s bogey man in the past and one can expect Dhoni to unleash his most potent weapon on the enemy’s most prized asset yet again. Even if Gayle goes early, Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels are two dangerous batsmen who can give India a tough time.

Given their tremendous depth in batting, it is no secret that the West Indies like to chase. But so do India. The Wankhede track is likely to remain the same throughout the 40 overs. So, expect the captain who wins the toss to put the opposition in.

For a team that had little hope of getting out of its group after being hammered by the Kiwis, India now stand two steps away from a second World T20 title. But in the West Indies, they face an intrepid and unpredictable side; one that amazes and disappoints in equal measure. More than ability, this will be a test of nerve and experience. The warning shots have been fired. An alluring contest is upon us.