Jadeja's all-round heroics propel CSK to 28-run win over PBKS
Dharamsala, May 5: Ravindra Jadeja orchestrated a masterclass all-round show as Chennai Super Kings regained their winning touch with a comprehensive 28-run win over Punjab Kings in a low-scoring IPL fixture here on Sunday.
Wily leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (3/23) and seamer Harshal Patel (3/24) put up a spirited show but Jadeja made a crucial 43 that came off just 26 balls to prop CSK to a par 167/9 after they were sent in to bat by Sam Curran.
The left-arm spinner then returned to grab three for 20 in four overs in the crucial middle-over phase to derail PBKS' chase, which ended at 139 for nine.
Comeback pacer Tushar Deshpande (2/35) and impact sub Simarjeet Singh (2/16) also featured among wickets.
Mitchell Santner, who was playing his first match of the season, was brilliant during his tidy 1/10 from three overs.
Eyeing to secure a sixth successive win over CSK in the IPL, PBKS found themselves at 78 for seven against Jadeja's match-turning spell.
Having lost three of their last four matches, the five-time champions CSK thus returned to winning ways and jumped to third place in the standings.
CSK now have 12 points with three more matches left to secure their playoff spot.
PBKS – eight points from 11 matches – slumped to eighth spot after enduring their seventh loss of the season.
Kiwi left-arm spinner Santner set it up early for CSK. Bowling with the new ball, he gave away just four runs from his two overs and took the key wicket of Shashank Singh (27; 20b, 4x4) against the run of play.
Deshpande inflicted a twin blow, cleaning up Jonny Bairstow (7) and Rilee Rossouw (0) in three balls.
PBKS found some rhythm going as Prabhsimran Singh and the in-form Shashank took the attack to CSK bowlers and collected 31 runs to end the power play on a high.
Prabhsimran smashed Richard Gleeson for one four and a six in a 15-run over, while Prabhsimran took on Deshpande, smacking him for two fours and one six.
It seemed a one-way traffic for the home side before Santner cleverly varied his pace as Shashank holed out to long-on.
Cruising in top gear at 62/2, PBKS went on to lose half of their side in 9.4 overs.
It brought an end to a rollicking 53-run partnership from 36 balls between Shashank and Prabhsimran. Jadeja soon opened his account dismissing Prabhsimran.
Prabhsimran was looking at ease but the opener was enticed by Jadeja’s full ball at the stump.
The right-hander looked to go inside out but lack of pace meant he could not clear the long-off where substitute fielder Sameer Rizvi took an easy catch.
Simarjeet chipped in with a wicket in his first over, dismissing Jitesh Sharma for a first-ball duck.
Jadeja gave away just three runs in his next over, and completed a decisive spell ousting Curran (7) and the in-form Ashutosh Sharma (3) in the 13th over.
As runs dried up, Curran started to feel the heat and took on Jadeja's widish delivery but he slapped it straight to Santner at long-off.
Ashutosh then perished after mistiming his big hoick to be caught by Simarjeet at third-man to give Jadeja a three-for.
Earlier, at 60/1 in Power Play, CSK were going great guns with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (32) and Daryl Mitchell in the middle during an entertaining 57-run partnership when Chahar triggered a collapse taking two wickets in two balls.
The partnership was halted as CSK went on to lose three wickets in 11 balls with Harshal taking the dangerous-looking Mitchell (30; 19b, 2x4, 1x6) in a controversial DRS call.
Harshal returned at the death to dismiss Shardul Thakur (17) and MS Dhoni for a golden duck as CSK's hopes for a revival went up in smoke.
First, he cleaned up Thakur with a slower off-cutter as the CSK fans in Dharamsala waited for yet another piece of Dhoni magic with eight balls to go.
But the Yellow Army left in disbelief as the talismanic Dhoni departed in the very first ball, unable to counter Harshal's impeccably executed slow yorker.
With no time to bring his bat down, Dhoni's off-stump was knocked over.
Punjab kept chipping away at wickets but it was Jadeja who remained firm, quietly going about his ways picking the odd boundaries and sixes to take them to a par-score.
After a silent penultimate over that yielded just two runs for two wickets, Jadeja held his nerves and took on Arshdeep in the final over hitting him for a boundary and a six.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
