Noor Ahmad makes dream debut for CSK as MI struggle to 155/9
Chennai, Mar 23 (PTI): Afghanistan mystery spinner Noor Ahmad made a memorable debut for Chennai Super Kings as his four-wicket haul limited Mumbai Indians to a below-par 155/9 in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.
Ahmad (4/18) ran through the Mumbai Indians middle-order after Khaleel Ahmed (3/29) removed openers Rohit Sharma (0 off 4) and Ryan Rickelton (13 off 7) in the powerplay.
On a typical Chepauk surface, CSK got the early breakthroughs after putting the opposition in to bat.
Rohit was the first one to depart, flicking straight into the hands of Shivam Dube at mid-wicket off Khaleel.
Playing his first game for Mumbai Indians, Rickelton looked good in his brief cameo which ended when he played on to give Khaleel his second wicket.
R Ashwin, returning to CSK after 10 years, struck in his first over to make it 36 for three as Will Jacks offered a simple catch to Dube at mid-off.
Surykumar Yadav (29 off 26) and the in-form Tilak Varma (31 off 25) forged a 51-run partnership to take the innings forward before the M S Dhoni effected a lightening quick stumping off Ahmad to send back Mumbai Indians stand-in captain.
Dhoni showed he remains as sharp as ever behind the stumps with bails being dislodged even before Suryakumar could complete his bat swing.
Suryakumar led the side in the absence of Hardik Pandya, who could not play due to an over rate ban imposed last season.
What broke the back of Mumbai Indians batting was twin strike from Ahmad in his following over. He trapped Tilak with a googly two balls after getting rid of Robin Minz.
His fourth wicket was Naman Dhir who played around his stumps to be bowled.
Deepak Chahar, switching to Mumbai Indians from CSK, came up with a much needed 28 not out off 15 balls to take the team past 150.
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Rupee declines 27 paise to 90.95 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 27 paise to 90.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, weighed down by a strong American currency and higher crude oil prices due to the escalated geopolitical tension.
A selling rush in domestic equities further pressured the Indian currency, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.94 and slipped further to trade at 90.95 against the greenback in early deals, losing 27 paise from its previous closing level.
The rupee rose 4 paise to settle at 90.68 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The currency exchange markets were closed on Thursday on account of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.04 per cent higher at 97.89.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.14 per cent higher at USD 71.77 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts attributed the strengthening dollar and crude prices to heightened tension between the US and Iran, with both countries signalling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear programme fizzle out.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 150.35 points to 82,347.79 in early trade while the Nifty declined 35.15 points to 25,419.20.
On Thursday, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 880.49 crore, according to exchange data.
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