Ravindra Jadeja hammers record-equalling 37 in final over, lifts CSK to 191/4
Mumbai, Apr 25: Ravindra Jadeja blasted an IPL record-equalling 37 runs with five towering final-over sixes and lifted Chennai Super Kings to 191 for four against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Sunday.
The left-handed Jadeja, who was dropped on 0 by Dan Christian off Washington Sundar in the 15th over, made full use of the reprieve to finish on 62 off 28 balls after ruining what was turning out to be an excellent outing for purple cap holder Harshal Patel, with his brutal last over onslaught.
From 3/14 in three overs, Harshal finished with figures of 3/51.
With CSK placed at 154/4 when Harshal was handed the ball, Jadeja hit the first four balls for huge sixes and followed them with another maximum and a boundary in the seven-ball final over.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained not out on 2.
Jadeja's assault came after the RCB bowlers -- Patel and Mohd Siraj (0/32) -- had kept CSK in check.
A second straight half-century for Faf du Plessis (50 off 41 balls) propelled CSK before Harshal delivered a double blow for RCB in the 14th over, getting rid of the Suresh Raina (24) and the former South African captain off successive deliveries.
Raina belted three sixes during his 18-ball knock which gave CSK the move-on after the openers had set up a good platform with a 74-run partnership.
Ambati Rayudu, who came in at No.4, hit a huge six in his 14 and looked good for more before he holed out off Harshal's bowling a few deliveries after appearing to have hurt himself while stretching to get back to the crease.
Batting first, Gaikwad and du Plessis never let go of a scoring opportunity and put away the bad deliveries. Gaikwad, who began slowly, caught up with the South African veteran with some superb shots.
The CSK openers raced to 51 in six overs with du Plessis and Gaikwad matching each other shot for shot. The RCB pacers -- Kyle Jamieson and Mohammad Siraj -- could not make much of an impression.
Yuzvendra Chahal, introduced in the fourth over, too could not make an immediate impact.
Chahal, though, managed to break the opening partnership in the 10th over by getting Gaikwad to miscue an attempted big shot which was caught by Jamieson.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings: 191/4 in 20 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 62 not out, Faf du Plessis 50, Ruturaj Gaikwad 33; Harshal Patel 3/51).
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
