Markram fifty helps SRH beat CSK by six wickets
Hyderabad, Apr 5: Chennai Super Kings fluffed their lines during their batting innings and then were struck by a tornado named Abhishek Sharma whose 37 off 12 balls put Sunrisers Hyderabad on course of their comfortable six wicket victory against the defending champions in an IPL match here on Friday.
The SRH bowlers were very disciplined while restricting CSK to 165 for 5 in 20 overs with only 37 being scored off last five overs.
If 37 off last five was a poor effort from CSK, young southpaw Abhishek, who is having a great tournament, also scored 37 but off only 12 deliveries with four sixes to lay the platform.
Aiden Markram then anchored a run chase with a 36-ball 50 as SRH knocked off the runs in just 18.1 overs.
His 60-run stand with opener Travis Head (31 off 24 balls) for the second wicket in seven overs after Abhishek pummeled a listless Mukesh Chaudhary, playing his first game, for 27 runs. The match as a contest ended then and there as CSK lost two away matches on trot while SRH have now won both their home games.
CSK had a chance first up but Moeen Ali dropped Head off the second delivery bowled by Deepak Chahar.
After that it was mayhem as 23-year-old Abhishek hit two fours and three sixes off Mukesh, who was forced selection in absence of Mustafizur Rahaman, who has taken a one-match break to go home and submit his US visa application.
Playing his first competitive game after 16 months, Mukesh was all over the place in his only over and will again warm the benches from next game when Mustafizue comes back.
There was no let up from the Abhishek as he also hammered 'IPL specialist' Chahar for a boundary and a six in the third over but his pyrotechnics ended there as his lofted shot was taken by a diving Jadeja.
Head and Markram consolidated the innings without taking too many risks, reaching 78 for 1 after six overs. SRH brought up their 100 runs in the ninth over with Markram hitting a massive six off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja in the ninth over.
Head, the Impact Sub for T Natarajan, was out in the 10th over off Maheesh Theekshana but not before he added 60 runs with Markram. Pressure had eased out by then as SRH needed just 59 runs from the final 10 overs with eight wickets in hand.
Markram made his first fifty of the season in the 14th over as CSK bowlers toiled to get the wickets. But the South African batter who captained SRH last season got out in the same over bowled by compatriot Moeen Ali (2/23) who won an LBW review taken by SRH.
The Hyderabad-based side did not need to press panic button as they needed just 34 runs from the last five overs. Moeen got his second wicket in the form of Shahbaz Ahmed (18) but Heinrich Klaasen (10 not out) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (14 not out) took SRH home.
Earlier, CSK batters failed to capitalise on their starts as they were restricted to a below-par 165 for 5.
In-form Shivam Dube top-scored with a 24-ball 45 while veteran Ajinkya Rahane contributed a sedate 35 off 30 balls after CSK were asked to bat on a pitch that didn't seem like a proverbial belter. The duo's 65-run partnership for the third wicket from just 6.3 overs was the only highlight of the CSK innings.
CSK added only 37 runs in the last five overs and that could be the turning point in the match.
But credit must be given to CSK's all-season's man Ravindra Jadeja, whose unbeaten 31 off 23 balls was the added fillip that the defending champions needed at the end.
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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.
