KKR restrict GT to 156 for 9 despite Hardik Pandya's 67
Navi Mumbai, Apr 23: Captain Hardik Pandya's third fifty of the season was the lone saving grace in Gujarat Titans' underwhelming batting show as they scored a below-par 156 for 9 against Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
The Titans skipper missed the last game as a precautionary measure and looked a bit rusty even as he scored 67 off 49 balls with four boundaries and two sixes.
KKR bowled as many as 43 dot balls and were brilliant at the death as they conceded only 29 runs and took as many as seven wickets in the final five overs.
Andre Russell (4/5 in 1 over) got four wickets in the final over as Rinku Singh was a livewire in the field with four catches.
While Shubman Gill (5) was out early as Sam Billings collected a faint tickle down the leg-side off Southee's delivery, Wriddhiman Saha (25 off 25 balls), for the second match in succession, piled on the pressure, consuming too many dot balls.
However, an early breakthrough didn't stop Pandya from playing his natural, aggressive game as there was no marks for guessing as to who dominated their 75-run stand for second wicket stand.
David Miller (27 off 20 balls, 2x6), after a match-winning knock against CSK the other night, gave his skipper some support in a 50-run third wicket stand but there wasn't a lot of resistance from other batters.
Pandya started with a square cut off Southee and followed it up with a lofted drive over covers to set the tone.
When Shivam Mavi came into the attack, Pandya used his pace to play the ramp shot for a six and then came the classic cover drive as hardly a fielder moved from their respective positions.
However, one that was for the ages was the off-driven six 15 rows into the stands off a Varun Chakravarthy delivery that was pitched on length. It was a "hold your pose" kind of a shot.
The scratchy Saha did pull Umesh Yadav for a six and a four but wasted a lot of deliveries at the onset which needed to be compensated by Pandya.
At the start of the back-10, Saha got desperate and offered a dolly to Venkatesh Iyer at point off Umesh, who came for his second spell.
Pandya hit boundaries but also kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles. He did hamstring in going for a quick single and was dismissed trying to hit his way out of trouble.
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Man shoots woman dead, hangs self in UP’s Baghpat over unrequited love
Baghpat (UP) (PTI): A 20-year-old woman was shot dead by a man who later committed suicide in an apparent case of unrequited love in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat on Thursday, police said.
The incident took place in Mahavatpur Bawli village in the Badaut area, where the accused, Satnam, 22, allegedly shot the woman before hanging himself from a tree, they said.
Superintendent of Police, Suraj Kumar Rai, said preliminary findings suggest the incident was linked to unrequited love, adding that all aspects of the case are being probed.
According to police, the deceased woman, Guddan, daughter of Lakhmi Saini, worked as a tailor from her home.
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Satnam, a resident of the same village, had allegedly been in one-sided love with her for a long time and was pressuring her to marry him.
Police said that around 10.30 am, Guddan stepped out of her house to buy some items when Satnam, who was already waiting in a back lane, stopped her.
An argument ensued, following which he allegedly shot her in the head with a country-made pistol.
The woman collapsed on the spot with serious injuries.
The accused then went back to his house and committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree, police said.
Upon receiving information, police rushed to the spot and took the injured woman to a community health centre, where doctors declared her dead.
A forensic team recovered the weapon used in the crime from the scene, they added.
Police have sent both bodies for post-mortem and initiated an investigation, they said.
