England restrict India to 148/5 in 2nd T20I
Cardiff, July 6: A disciplined England bowling attack restricted India at a moderate 148/5 in the second T20I of the three-match series at Sophia Gardens here on Friday.
Leaving their previous mistakes behind, the English bowlers came accurate with the line and length as they struck at regular intervals to deny the visitors post a challenging total on batting-friendly wicket.
Earlier put into bat, the visitors started the proceedings on a shaky note as they lost their first three wickets - of Shikhar Dhawan (10), Rohit Sharma (5) and K.L. Rahul (6) - in quick succession.
Rohit was the first to fall as he became the victim of debutant Jakes Ball and was followed by Dhawan, who failed to make his ground, before Liam Plunkett bowled out last match centurion Rahul.
After the initial dismissals, which left India reeling at 22/3 in the first five overs, incoming batsman Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli slowly and steadily took their side past the 50-run mark.
Just when the partnership was getting stronger as India was approaching towards the three-digit mark, Raina (27) failed to read a Adil Rashid delivery and England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler took no time in stumping the southpaw.
With India's scorecard reading 79/4, Kohli was joined by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the duo stitched 32 runs for the fifth wicket, taking India past the 100-run mark.
With the men in blue at 111 runs at the end of 17 overs, Kohli, while trying to raise the scoring rate, fell short of his half-century by three runs. The Indian skipper's mistimed shot was caught brilliantly at fine leg by Joe Root off a David Willey delivery.
Dhoni (unbeaten 32 off 24 deliveries) and Hardik Pandya's (12 not out off 10 balls) valuable contributions in the final moments helped India reach a competitive total.
For England, Willey, Ball, Plunkett and Rashid bagged a wicket each.
Brief Scores:
India 148/5 (Virat Kohli 47, MS Dhoni 32 not out; Liam Plunkett 1/17) vs England.
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Ready to face no-confidence motion, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Hassan (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that the Congress government led by him was ready to face the no-confidence motion if moved by the opposition during the legislature session from December 8.
With Deputy CM D K Shivakumar by his side, he reiterated that they would both abide by the high command's decision on the leadership issue.
"Let them (opposition) bring in a no-confidence motion or adjournment motion or any other motion. We are ready to face it. Ours is an open book, transparent government. We are ready to face anything," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
However, BJP state President B Y Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka, clarified that the party, along with the JD(S) has not discussed or decided anything so far regarding moving a no-confidence motion against the government.
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The winter session of the Karnataka legislature will begin in Belagavi, bordering Maharashtra, on December 8 and will go on till 19th of this month.
Not wanting to react to a question on the leadership issue, the CM said the Congress high command is very strong.
"D K Shivakumar and I will be committed to whatever the high command decides," he said.
Earlier in the day in Bengaluru, Shivakumar accompanied AICC Mallikarjun Kharge till airport from Vidhana Soudha, after paying tributes to B R Ambedkar on his 69th death anniversary, which had led to some speculation about possible discussion between the two on the leadership issue.
The power tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculation about a change in chief minister in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20.
However, both the CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each others residences, on the instructions of the high command, which is seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.
