Punjab crush Rajasthan's hopes with a 6 wicket win
Indore, May 6: Done and dusted in style! Tremendous batting effort by KL Rahul. So far in this season he provided brisk starts to his team and today showed his other side of the game as he anchored this chase and steered Punjab closer to the playoff berth. Rajasthan will be deeply disappointed at the moment as once again they failed to cross the line. Their season is just refusing to take off.
It wasn't an usual performance by Punjab in their innings. In fact, it was a subdued one. Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal departed in quick succession and the hosts ended up with their lowest Powerplay score of the season. Rajasthan had the upper hand at that stage of the match but the combination of Rahul and Nair raised a fifty stand to keep the chase on track.
Just when it seemed that the pair of Rahul and Nair will run away with the show, Anureet Singh struck to send the latter back to the pavilion. The promotion of Axar Patel didn't go as per the plan for Punjab but the presence of KL Rahul in the middle meant that they were always hopeful. Eventually, Marcus Stoinis and Rahul together overhauled the target with 8 balls to spare.
Credit should be given to Rajasthan for trying hard but they didn't have enough runs in the bank. Still, their bowlers fared exceedingly well to create immense pressure but towards the end they gave it away. Till the second strategic break, the visitors were in with a chance but Stoinis and Rahul changed gears after that to earn an easy win.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman is adjudged the Man of the Match for his fantastic bowling spell. His figures of 4-0-27-3 put Rajasthan in deep trouble.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
