Dubai: Skipper KL Rahul smashed the first century of the 2020 Indian Premier League to propel Kings XI Punjab to a daunting 206 for 3 against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Thursday.
Rahul, who was dropped in the 17th and then again in the 18th over by RCB skipper Virat Kohli, played the role of sheet anchor, scoring 132 off 69 balls that was laced with 14 boundaries and seven sixes.
With his spectacular knock, he surpassed Rishabh Pant to post the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL history.
Playing his 60th innings, Rahul also became the fastest Indian to reach the 2000 IPL runs.
The stylish batsman clipped away a full length delivery to fine leg for four to break Sachin Tendulkar's record, who reached the milestone in 63 matches.
Opening the batting with Rahul, Mayank Agarwal (26) looked dangerous and shared a 57-run stand with his captain. However, with the introduction of spin into the attack in the seventh over, Yuzvendra Chahal (1/25) struck with the last ball, cleaning up Agarwal (26) with a delightful googly.
Nicholas Pooran (17) and Glenn Maxwell (5) once again failed to make an impact as Shivam Dube (2/33) accounted for the duo. Karun Nair pitched in with an eight-ball 15.
The pace troika of Umesh Yadav (0/35), Dale Steyn (0/57) and Navdeep Saini (0/37) had a torrid time as the KXIP skipper was on fire in his second game as captain.
All players wore black armbands to honour Australian cricketer turned commentator Dean Jones, who died in Mumbai due to a cardiac arrest on Thursday.
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Iran’s Fars reports missiles hit US warship near Hormuz after it ignored warnings from IRGC
Tehran/Washington: Iran’s Fars News Agency has reported that two missiles struck a US Navy vessel near Jask in the Strait of Hormuz, citing local sources.
According to the report, the vessel was hit after it allegedly ignored warnings from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to halt.
There has been no official confirmation from US authorities on the reported incident so far.
The development comes shortly after US President Donald Trump said Washington would begin “Project Freedom” to guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said the operation would involve 15,000 military personnel along with more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft, warships and drones.
Further details about the reported strike and any damage or casualties remain unclear.
