Chennai, Mar 23: Harbhajan Singh rocked the top-order with a three-wicket burst as Chennai Super Kings shot out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a paltry 70 in 17.1 overs in the opening encounter of the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

On a slow Chepauk turner, the senior off-spinner opening the bowling, rolled back years with figures of 3/20 in his four-over spell that deflated Virat Kohli's men completely

Once Harbhajan had wreaked havoc, Imran Tahir (3/9 in 3 overs) tormented RCB even more with his traditional leg-breaks to kill the contest in the first half. With so much assistance for spinners, Ravindra Jadeja wasn't going to be left behind, finishing with 2/15 in 4 overs.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's inspired move to open with Harbhajan paid brilliant dividends as he removed rival skipper Kohli (6) in the fourth over and RCB never recovered from that early blow.

Having gauged the pace of the pitch, Harbhajan altered the length of his deliveries effectively and also reduced the pace to trouble the batsmen.

While he was lucky as his off-break dropped short but Kohli's mistimed pull-shot was taken by Jadeja at mid-wicket boundary.

Moeen Ali slog swept Harbhajan for a six but that was all that he could manage with a length delivery stopping on him as he tried to check his drive and loopy return catch was gleefully accepted.

AB de Villiers (9) wanted to hit out of trouble and was first dropped by Imran Tahir and off the very next ball was caught by Jadeja at mid-wicket boundary. With Shimron Hetmyer (0) getting run-out needlessly, RCB were in the dumps even before the halfway stage.

It was the perfect platform for Tahir and Jadeja, who looked unplayable with the pitch offering reasonable turn and the lower-order's confidence shot to pieces.

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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took oath as a Lok Sabha MP on Thursday following her thumping victory from Kerala's Wayanad in a bypoll.

The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, took affirmation in Hindi while holding a copy of the Constitution soon after the House met.

Ravindra Chavan (Cong), who won the Nanded bypoll also took oath in Marathi in the name of God. The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of his father Vasantrao Chavan recently.

Priyanka Gandhi took the plunge into active politics in 2019 and was later appointed Congress general secretary. Five years after that, Priyanka Gandhi begins her journey as an elected representative of the people.

With a winning margin of more than 4.1 lakh votes, she surpassed the tally of her brother Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad in Kerala.

Priyanka Gandhi's entry into Parliament comes at a difficult time for the party, which has been jolted by electoral defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra. It would be interesting to see if she is able to give a much-needed fillip to the grand old party and help put it back on the electoral track.

Often drawing comparisons with her grandmother Indira Gandhi for their similarity in looks and way of speaking, Priyanka Gandhi has been the go-to campaigner for the party since her entry into active politics and even before that when she campaigned for her mother Sonia and brother Rahul.

Congress leaders from Wayanad handed over the election certificate of the Wayanad parliamentary by-election to Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday and conveyed their best wishes.

Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday won the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll with a thumping margin of over four lakh votes, defeating Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI(M)-led LDF.

 

further details are awaited.