Chennai Super Kings post 165/5 against SRH in IPL
Hyderabad, Apr 5: Chennai Super Kings batters failed to capitalise on their starts as they were restricted to a below-par 165 for 5 in their Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Friday.
In-form Shivam Dube top-scored with a 24-ball 45 while veteran Ajinkya Rahane contributed a sedate 35 off 30 balls after CSK were asked to bat on a pitch that didn't seem like a proverbial belter. The duo's 65-run partnership for the third wicket from just 6.3 overs was the only highlight of the CSK innings.
CSK added only 37 runs in the last five overs and that could be the turning point in the match.
But credit must be given to CSK's all-season's man Ravindra Jadeja, whose unbeaten 31 off 23 balls was the added fillip that the defending champions needed at the end.
Coming out at the fag end of the innings, former captain MS Dhoni remained not out on one from two balls.
For SRH, it was a collective bowling effort with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pat Cummins, T Natarajan Shahbaz Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat taking a wicket apiece.
CSK made a decent start, reaching 25 for no loss in three overs before veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave SRH the breakthrough with his first wicket of the season in the form of Rachin Ravindra who slices it straight to Markram in the first ball of the fourth over.
One down Rahane then hit SRH captain Cummins for a six in the fifth over. CSK took 15 runs from the sixth over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Rahane and his captain Ruturaj Gaikwad hitting a four and a six respectively.
CSK were well-placed at 48 for 1 at the end of first powerplay but the introduction of spin in the form of Shahbaz Ahmed did the trick as Gaikwad was out for 26 off 21 balls, with Abdul Samad taking a simple catch at long-on.
Rahane did score useful runs but never really looked fluent in his strokeplay as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat and T Natarajan took pace off their deliveries to stem the flow of runs.
Dube was the primary scorer during their 65-run partnership for the third wicket from just 6.3 overs. Dube, who has already scored a fifty this season, was more aggressive then his senior partner, hitting two fours and four towering sixes during his 24-ball innings. He is indeed making a good case for himself as a finisher in Indian squd for T20 World Cup in the Americas.
He was finally deceived by a pace off delivery from Pat Cummins ball outside off and gave an easy catch to Kumar at backward point in the 14th over.
Rahane was out in the next over off the bowling of Unadkat and the two quick wickets did not help CSK's cause.
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Electorate in 9 states, UTs shrink by 1.70 crore after SIR
New Delhi (PTI): Voter base in nine states and Union territories has shrunk by more than 1.70 crore following the publication of final electoral rolls as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to official data.
The data shared by the chief electoral officers of Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa and Kerala on Saturday showed that their combined voter base stood at over 21.45 crore before the SIR exercise began on October 27 last year.
It shrunk to 19.75 crore after publication of their final electoral rolls this week, a net change of over 1.70 crore electors.
While the exercise, which kept the Election Commission in the spotlight, has been completed in Bihar, it is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories covering nearly 60 crore electors.
The remaining 40 crore electors will be covered in 17 states and five Union territories.
In Assam, a "special revision", instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.
Due to a variety of reasons, the SIR in the nine states and three Union territories have seen frequent tweaking in schedules.
As in Bihar, political parties have approached the Supreme Court challenging the exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
