Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav guide MI to mammoth 235/9 in must-win match against SRH
Abu Dhabi, Oct 8: Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav struck whirlwind fifties as defending champions Mumbai Indians posted a mammoth 235 for nine against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their must-win IPL match here on Friday.
MI not only need to win the match, they have to beat SRH by 171 runs or more to leapfrog Kolkata Knight Riders in the race for the fourth and last play-off spot.
MI needed a miracle and the script unfolded in their favour, at least in the first innings, when they opted to bat and posted a mammoth total.
From the word go, Kishan found the fence at will and scored his 84 runs off just 32 balls.
Yadav's 82-run knock came off 40 balls during which he hit 13 fours and three sixes.
MI openers -- Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma (18 off 13) meant business and showed the intent from the onset.
Kishan, especially, was in belligerent mood as he went hammer and tongs and didn't spare a single SRH bowler to bring up his fifty in just 16 balls, the fastest half century this season.
It was raining boundaries and sixes for Kishan in every over as MI raced to 78 runs in the first five overs.
The menacing partnership between the openers was finally broken in the sixth over by Rashid Khan when he induced a top-edge from Rohit which was brilliantly caught by Mohammad Nabi running backwards.
But Kishan was in a relentless mood as he continued to use his long handle to great effect and put immense pressure on SRH attack.
It looked like child's play for Kishan as he clobbered Rashid over the deep midwicket to bring up the team's 100 in 7.1 overs.
Kishan finally departed in the 10th over when he top edged an Umran Malik delivery to Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps.
After Kishan's dismissal, SRH pulled things back, courtesy some smart captaincy from Manish Pandey, who replaced Kane Williamson out with an elbow niggle.
A courageous Pandey brought young left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma into the attck in the 13th over and the bowler reposed his captain's faith by removing Kieron Pollard (12) and Jimmy Neesham in final two balls of the over to stand in chance for a hat-trick.
Yadav, who had not been at his best in the second leg so far, rose to the occasion when it matterd and took the onus of guiding MI innings after Kishan's dismissal.
He kept the scoreboard ticking with trademark cricketing shots, the most notable among them was a lofted hit over pacer Sidhharth Kaul's head to bring up his fifty in 24 balls.
The last five overs yielded 58 runs for MI during which Yadav was at his attacking best.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
