Alzarri Joseph makes dream debut with six-wicket haul brings memorable win for MI
Hyderabad: Young West Indies pacer Alzzari Joseph made a dream IPL debut by recording the best bowling figures in tournament's history as Mumbai Indians picked up a 40-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a low-scoring game here on Saturday.
Keiron Pollard hammered an unbeaten 46 off 26 balls, helping Mumbai Indians recover to 136 for seven after an ordinary start.
While Pollard was the stand out batsman, another West Indian in Joseph made all the difference in the bowling department, ending with sensational figures of six for 12 in 3.4 overs, bettering the effort of Pakistan pacer Sohail Tanvir, who had taken six for 14 in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008. Hyderabad were all out for 96 in 17.4 overs.
It was the third win for Mumbai Indians in five games while Hyderabad suffered their second loss in five matches.
Considering the stellar form of openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, 137 was expected to be a comfortable chase for Hyderabad. But they both were dismissed cheaply and that exposed the middle order which had not been tested much courtesy the devastating run of the openers. I
It was the first time this season that Hyderabad lost a wicket in the first six overs.
Young West Indies pacer Joseph bowled a dream first over in the IPL, dismissing Warner in a wicket maiden. In his following over, the 22-year-old got rid of Vijay Shankar to leave Hyderabad at 43 for three in seven overs and spice up the contest.
Leggie Rahul Chahar picked up two important wickets to increase the pressure on the home team which was reduced to 62 for five in the 12th over.
The hosts needed 53 off the last 30 balls and ended up well short of the target with Joseph running through the opposition line-up.
Earlier, it seemed Hyderabad would limit Mumbai to a sub-120 total before Pollard's brute power came to the fore, enabling the visitors to collect 39 crucial runs off the final 12 balls.
Until Pollard cut loose, Hyderabad put up an impressive bowling effort on a slow pitch.
While Hyderabad fielded an unchanged side, Mumbai Indians made two changes in the playing eleven with Ishan Kishan replacing Yuvraj Singh and Joseph coming in for Lasith Malinga, who has gone back to Sri Lanka to play in a domestic event.
It wasn't the best of starts for Mumbai, who lost captain Rohit Sharma (11) and Suryakumar Yadav (7) early to be 30 for two in six overs. Rohit was dropped in the first over by Siddarth Kaul but could not make much use of that life and was holed out at deep midwicket off Mohammad Nabi in the fourth over.
Suryakumar, who had hit a crucial 59 in the previous game against CSK, too did not last long and was adjudged leg before wicket off Sandeep Sharma.
Stroke play was proving to be difficult on a slow surface and the situation became worse for the visitors when the in-form opener Quinton de Kock (19) departed after trying to increase the scoring rate.
The batsmen especially struggled against Nabi, who ended with envious figures of 13 for one in four overs as Mumbai crawled to 52 for three in 10 overs.
After Nabi completed his full quota of overs, his Afghanistan teammate Rashid Khan made life tough for the opposition batsmen. The Hyderabad pacers Sharma and Kaul too were up to the task, using their pace well on a slow wicket to stifle the batsmen.
Mumbai's innings hardly had any flow before Pollard provided the much needed final flourish in the death overs by smashing Kaul for three massive sixes in the 19th over that went for 20 runs.
Bhuvneshwar's final over went for 19 runs with Pollard collecting two fours and a six, giving Mumbai something to bowl at. Poor fielding let Hyderabad down towards the end of the innings.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
