Gill, Karthik guide KKR to six-wicket win over CSK
Kolkata, May 3: Top-order batsman Shubman Gill cracked an unbeaten 36-ball 57 while skipper Dinesh Karthik bludgeoned a 18-ball 45 not out to guide Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
Chasing 178 for victory, Gill, an U-19 World Cup winner, joined hands with Karthik for an unbroken 83-run fifth wicket partnership off 36 deliveries that took the game away from M.S. Dhoni's team despite their making early inroads. This was Gill's maiden IPL fifty.
Put in to bat, CSK rode Dhoni's unbeaten 25-ball 43 to post 177/5 in 20 overs. In reply, KKR finished on 180/4 with 14 balls to spare to register second win on the bounce and fifth overall in the tournament so far.
KKR moved to third spot having 10 points from 9 games while Sunrisers Hyderabad pipped CSK to the top of the table.
Pushed up the order, Gill's innings was laced with six fours and two sixes as Karthik ably supported him hitting seven fours and a six.
KKR lost Chris Lynn (12) early with young South African seamer pacer Lungi Ngidi (1/36) picking up his wicket in the first over.
Sunil Narine (32; 20b 4x4 2x6) made the most of two reprieves in consecutive deliveries in the second over, when Ravindra Jadeja dropped him at wide mid on off K.M. Asif when he was on 6.
Robin Uthappa (6) did not last long, top-edging a mistimed pull to Dwayne Bravo at midwicket off Asif. Narine, who set the platform for KKR's chase, holed out to Bravo in the deep off Jadeja.
Despite the early blows, KKR kept pace with the target, racing to 90/3 at the halfway stage, the same as CSK albeit losing two more wickets.
Rinku Singh (16) failed too before Gill and Karthik took the game by the scruff of the neck, taking Asif for 21 runs in the 15th over which proved to be the game-changer.
Earlier, Dhoni continued his good form with the bat and made the most of Gill dropping him on 29.
The 36-year old hit four sixes and one four, stitching together a 54-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (12).
Openers Faf du Plessis (27; 15b 4x4 1x6), Shane Watson (36; 25b 4x4 2x6) and Raina (31; 26b 4x4 0x6) also contributed with the bat for the visitors but Shivam Mavi (0/21) and Piyush Chawla (2/35) bowled well for the hosts besides Narine.
Narine was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, returning figures of 2/20 in four overs.
The atmosphere was electric inside the stadium as well as outside, with much of the fanfare around the CSK side and their iconic skipper Dhoni.
A sea of yellow engulfed parts of the Eden as every boundary was cheered vociferously, giving a feeling of it being an away match for KKR.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 180/4 in 17.4 overs (Shubman Gill 57 not out, Dinesh Karthik 45 not out) beat Chennai Super Kings 177/5 (Dhoni 43; Sunil Narine 2/20, Piyush Chawla 2/35) by six wickets.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
