Ranji Trophy: Saurashtra beat Karnataka by 5 wickets to move into finals
Bengaluru, Jan 28 : The Cheteshwar Pujara juggernaut continued to roll and the 'Run Machine' steered Saurashtra to the Ranji Trophy finals with a five-wicket victory over Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals here Monday.
Saurashtra will now meet defending champions Vidarbha in the final of the national championship to be played from February 3-7 in Jaipur.
This is the third time that Saurashtra will be playing the finals.
Pujara remained unbeaten at 131 off 266 balls and added 214 runs with senior player Sheldon Jackson (100) to anchor another successful run-chase for Saurashtra.
Needing 55 runs on the final day, it was a mere formality as Jackson duly completed his 16th first-class century.
Although they had seven wickets in hand, Pujara didn't take any undue risks and it took 17.4 overs for Saurashtra to score the remaining 55 runs.
Vinay Kumar (3/75), who bowled his heart out and was unlucky after Pujara was ruled not out by the on-field umpire despite a clear edge when he was on 32, got the consolation wicket of Jackson. However, the match was as good as over by then.
Pujara's innings had 17 boundaries while Jackson struck 15 hits to the fence.
The best part about Pujara's innings was his intensity. After his most defining away tour for India, the 31-year-old looked like continuing from his century in Melbourne.
His sequence of scores since the start of the Australia series now stands 123, 71, 24, 4, 106, 0, 193, 11, 67 not out, 45, 131 not out.
Pujara did get a couple of lucky reprieves in this match but it could be blamed on the umpiring standards which have been below par during the season.
Umpire Saiyed Khalid, who had a forgettable outing, is expected to get negative marking and will certainly be demoted to a lower grade during the next season if well placed sources in the BCCI are to be believed.
His howler did affect Karnataka's chances but to Pujara's credit, the controversy hardly perturbed him and it was business as usual for him.
His zen like approach was at a different level, his only mission being to take Saurashtra into the summit round.
A testimony to his unflappable temperament was that the "cheater cheater" boos by the home team supporters didn't unsettle him. In the end, it was 'Mission Accomplished' for Indian cricket's 'Man of the Moment'.
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Several Gurugram schools receive hoax bomb threats
Gurugram (PTI): Several Gurugram schools received another hoax bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning, prompting police to launch searches on the premises.
Police said the email was sent by the 'Khalistan National Army', with threats issued to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to declare April 29 as the "40th Khalistan Declaration Day". It also threatened to bomb the Red Fort in Delhi.
Police said it was a hoax as no suspicious items were found after an intensive search.
Several schools, including Shri Ram, Amity, and the HDFC school, received threatening emails at 8.33 am, when classes had already begun, police said.
The school administrations became aware of the threats around 9 am and immediately informed the police, a senior police officer said.
The schools immediately implemented emergency protocols, with many declaring a holiday and asking parents to take their children home safely, the officer said.
A large number of anxious parents gathered outside the schools, as police and bomb squad teams reached the spots and started checks.
"Around 10 schools have approached the police from morning until now over bomb threats. Police teams are alert, and searches are underway on all the premises", the officer said.
As soon as the information about this email was received, police in Gurugram and Delhi swung into action and started investigation.
Schools immediately implemented emergency protocols upon receiving the mail. Many schools declared a holiday and sent messages to parents, asking them to take their children home. Large crowds of parents gathered outside the schools.
The schools were sanitised by sending a bomb disposal squad as well as a dog squad.
A senior police officer said that police teams thoroughly searched the school premises, classrooms, buildings, and surrounding areas. No suspicious objects or explosive materials were found during the investigation.
"Police teams are seriously investigating the entire matter. Cyber experts are being consulted to determine the authenticity of the email, its source, and the identity of the sender", added the officer.
This is the third time since January that schools have received fake bomb threats.
In March, at least a dozen schools in the city received bomb threat emails, which later turned out to be hoaxes.
Similarly, on January 28, as many as 13 schools received hoax bomb threats via email, forcing authorities to evacuate campuses and suspend classes.
Last month, police arrested a Bangladeshi national whose email ID was allegedly used to make a bomb threat for some payment.
