Pacers, KL Rahul shape Punjab Kings' crucial win against KKR
Dubai, Oct 1: Punjab Kings boosted their chances of making the IPL play-offs with a five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders as effective death over bowling and smart batting by skipper KL Rahul and Shahrukh Khan shaped their crucial victory in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
Rahul scored 67 runs off 55 balls and shared a 70-run stand with fellow opener Mayank Agarwal (40), knocking off a 166-run target with three balls to spare.
Shahrukh produced an impactful 9-ball 22-run knock when it mattered and finished the match with a six.
Venkatesh Iyer hit a fluent 67 while Nitish Rana produced a fiery 31 off 18 balls before Punjab Kings managed to stop KKR at 165 for seven.
Invited to bat, the in-form KKR batsmen controlled the proceedings for a major part of their innings and had it not been some excellent death over spells by Mohammed Shami (1/23) and Arshdeep Singh (3/32), KKR would have got a bigger score on the board.
Iyer and Rahul Tripathi (34 off 26 balls) raised a 72-run stand, stroking the ball around with ease while Rana's cameo was also crucial for KKR since the run-rate had taken a hit at that time after two quick wickets.
The Punjab batsmen did not set the field on fire at the start of the chase as all they could manage 46 runs in the powerplay but did not lose a wicket.
Of the two batsmen, it was Agarwal who was hitting the ball at a good a strike rate while Rahul was going a-run-a-ball.
Varun Chakravarthy separated the openers by having Agarwal caught at in extra cover by Eoin Morgan, though it was a fierce shot.
Nicholas Pooran (12) was dropped at 1 by Tripathi in the same region but Chakravarthy ensured that it wasn't a costly miss as he dismissed the West Indian soon after.
Gripping the ball had become difficult for the bowlers due to the dew but Punjab batsmen were still happy working the ball around and getting an odd big shot in between.
Rahul raised his half-century with one such shot off a slower one from Southee when he cleared the square leg region.
KKR needed 45 runs from the final fiver overs. Aiden Markram (18) hit a gigantic six off Sunil Narine but was caught in the same over while Deepak Hooda (3) also perished soon.
Rahul seemed to have hit one straight to fielder but the third-umpire ruled him not out. He got out in the first ball of the final over but Shahrukh finished the job to calm a nervous dugout .
PBKS moved to fifth in the table with 10 points while KKR stayed in fourth with same number of points
Earlier, left-arm pacer Arshdeep has been a top performer for Punjab this season and he delivered again by cleaning up Shubhman Gill (7) with a peach of delivery that breached the defence of the batsman in the third over.
Iyer, who has been a revelation this season, continued his good run with some fluent drives on both sides of the wicket despite that the ball was stopping a bit before coming on to the bat.
The batsmen's positive approach and lack of control over the line by the Punjab pacers meant that run-rate kept soaring for KKR.
The partnership was finally broken by spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who had Tripathi caught in the deep. The leg-spinner was also economical ending with figures of two for 22 in four overs.
Iyer completed his fifty with a single off Allen and then lofted the West Indian bowler for a six to raise team's hundred in the 13th over.
Two quick wickets fell when Bishnoi got rid of Iyer, who went for a big shot, and Shami trapped rival skipper Eoin Morgan (2), who shuffled a bit towards the off side but missed the line of the dipping ball that caught him in front of the wicket.
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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).
