Mumbai Indians restrict Punjab Kings to a below-par 135-6
Abu Dhabi, Sept 28: Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard snapped two wickets each as Mumbai Indians produced a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Punjab Kings to a below-par 135 for six in their Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.
Sent in to bat, Aiden Markram (42 off 29) was the most successful batsman for Punjab as he shared a 61-run partnership with Deepak Hooda (28) to lift their score after they were reduced to 48 for 4 in 7.3 overs.
However, once the South African was back in the hut in the 16th over, Punjab couldn't score a single boundary, managing a meagre 23 runs in the last four overs.
Pollard (2/8) and Bumrah (2/24) were the pick of the bowlers but they were supported well by Krunal Pandya (1/24), Rahul Chahar (1/27) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (0/19).
Opening the innings, KL Rahul (21) looked in good touch as he played a perfect cover drive against Boult before showing the full face of the bat to Bumrah for an exquisite off drive.
Mandeep Singh (15) too picked up a couple of boundaries but Krunal Pandya trapped him when he tried to sweep across the line as Punjab lost their first wicket.
With Chris Gayle coming in, skipper Rohit Sharma handed the ball to Kieron Pollard and he struck straight away. Looking for a big hit, Gayle was holed out at long-on by Hardik Pandya.
Two balls later, Pollard picked up Rahul for his 300th wicket in T20s after the batsman pulled a short of length delivery straight to Bumrah at short fine leg.
Bumrah then produced his famous dipping yorker to trap Nicholas Pooran in front of wicket as Punjab slipped to 48 for four in 8th over.
Markram and Hooda then kept the scoreboard ticking, picking up singles of Chahar and occassional boundaries to take Punjab to 90 for 4 in 14 overs.
The South African pounced on a wider delivery off Rahul Chahar for a boundary before producing an elegant looking shot off Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Hooda, after a sluggish start, unleashed a pull off Boult for the first six of the innings.
After the second time-out, Markram changed gears as he belted Boult through extra cover and then punched one through the covers for another boundary.
He picked up another boundary off Chahar before being outfoxed by the bowler, who disturbed his off stumps.
However, Punjab couldn't get the momentum going as new man Harpreet Brar struggled to negotiate the variations of Bumrah and Coulter-Nile in the death overs.
Hooda, in desperation, then sent one up in the air only to be caught by Pollard as PBKS ended with a below-par score.
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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).
