Delhi beat Punjab by nine wickets
Mumbai, Apr 20: Delhi Capitals showed remarkable resilience to overcome a COVID crisis in their camp and hand Punjab Kings a nine-wicket thrashing in the Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.
Delhi, who had a chaotic build up to the game with a sixth COVID positive case being reported on the morning of the game, dished out a clinical bowling display to bowl out Punjab Kings for a below-par 115.
On a track where the deliveries wre holding up a bit, even Lalit Yadav became unplayable leave alone Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
Delhi seemed in real hurry to close the game with Prithvi Shaw (41 off 20) and David Warner (60 not out off 30 balls) getting them off to a flying start.
Their 83-run partnership off 39 balls ensured Delhi cantered to victory in 10.3 overs, giving a big boost to their net run rate.
The match, which was shifted to the Brabourne Stadium from Pune, was given a go ahead barely an hour before the start of play after Delhi keeper-batter Tim Seifert tested positive on Wednesday morning
Shaw and Warner looked in devastating touch dispatching a deflated looking Punjab bowling attack to all corners of the grounds. However, Punjab bowlers could not be blamed on the night with batters letting the team down on a good pitch.
With Delhi racing to 81 for no loss in the powerplay, the game was as good as over.
It was Delhi's third win in six games while Punjab, who had a game to forget, suffered their fourth loss in seven games.
Earlier, the Delhi spin trio of Lalit (2/11), Kuldeep (2/24) and Axar (2/10) did the bulk of the damage.
Punjab were tottering at 35/2 after losing openers Mayank Agarwal (24) and Shikhar Dhawan (9) early.
Mayank, who recovered from his toe injury that forced him to miss the previous game, started with a cut for a boundary. He then launched into Shardul Thakur, striking three fours in the third over that fetched 14 runs.
But off-spinner Lalit removed Dhawan (9) cheaply, after the left-handed batter's attempted paddle resulted in a nick to Rishabh Pant.
Punjab were soon reeling at 46/3, as Axar struck in his first over removing the in-form Liam Livingstone (2), who was stumped by Pant. Livingstone came down the wicket to have a go at Axar, but the left-arm spinner turned the ball away from him to get Pant into action.
Wickets kept on tumbling for Punjab as Jonny Bairstow (9) gifted a sitter to Mustafizur at fine-leg in the seventh over off Khaleel Ahmed (2/21).
Jitesh Sharma (32), who struck five boundaries and Shahrukh Khan (12) tried to resurrect the innings, but managed to add only 31 runs before Axar trapped the former in front of the wickets, as Punjab lost half their side for 85.
From 85/5, it became 92/8, as Punjab lost wickets in quick succession with chinaman Kuldeep castling Kagiso Rabada (2) and Nathan Ellis (0) in the 14th over.
Khaleel got his second wicket dismissing Shahrukh in next over with a cross-seam slower while Rahul Chahar (12) became Lalit's second scalp.
Pacers Khaleel and Mustafizur shared three wickets and ably supported the spinners.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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