Russell roars again as KKR beat Mumbai Indians by 34 runs
Kolkata, Apr 28: Kolkata Knight Riders snapped their six-match losing streak with a 34-run win over Mumbai Indians in a high-scoring IPL game that saw brutal stroke play from power-hitters of both teams.
Kolkata Knight Riders batsmen fired on all cylinders to post the season's highest total, 232 for two, after sensational knocks from Shubman Gill (75 off 45) and Andre Russell (80 not out off 40).
At 58 for four, Mumbai were down and out but Hardik Pandya reignited their hopes with a breathtaking 91 off 34 balls. In the end, Pandya's dismissal in the 18th over sealed the game in KKR's favour as Mumbai ended at 198 for seven. The Indian all-rounder's cracking innings comprised nine sixes and six fours.
The much needed win keeps KKR alive in the tournament as they now have 10 points from 12 matches. Mumbai remain in third spot with 14 points from 12 games.
Staring at elimination, the embattled KKR got off to a fiery start with Shubman Gill (76) and Chris Lynn (54) putting on a 96-run opening stand, their highest this season, after Rohit Sharma opted to bowl in his 100th match as captain.
Russell, KKR's biggest impact player of the season, was finally seen higher up the order at No 3. The West Indies power-hitter ensured that KKR finished on a high with an unbeaten effort.
Russell hammered six fours and eight sixes including one off the last ball after he denied a couple of singles to skipper Dinesh Karthik in the last over as KKR creamed 75 runs from the last five overs and scored 135 in the final 10.
Fielding let down Mumbai Indians big time with both Lynn and Russell dropped early in their innings by Kieron Pollard and Evin Lewis respectively.
The top-order batting was all about the sheer class of the 19-year-old Gill, who showed why he is billed as the future star of Indian cricket.
Gill smashed six fours and four sixes en route to his second half-century of the season and forged a crucial stand with Russell. The duo shared 62 runs from 35 balls of which Gill had a share of 34, while Russell scored 24.
Gill was at his best against Rahul Chahar and three of his four sixes came against the leg-spinner.
Such was the sheer class of Gill that Russell was glad to play second fiddle and was six off 12 balls after being dropped on one.
On a belter of a track, KKR openers got off to a sensational start and survived the powerplay without losing a wicket for their highest opening stand -- 96 -- this season.
Slow to start with, Lynn was 18 off 15 balls when Kieron Pollard spilled a chance from the Aussie at mid-off.
Lynn took off from there on, hammering the spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Chahar to race to his fourth IPL fifty this season off just 27 balls.
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Gurugram Court issues arrest warrants against TV anchors Chitra Tripathi, Syed Suhail in POCSO case
Gurugram: A special court in Gurugram, Haryana, has issued non-bailable arrest warrants against TV news anchors Chitra Tripathi (ABP News) and Syed Suhail (Republic Bharat) in connection with a 2013 POCSO case.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Ashwani Kumar Mehta, passed the order after cancelling their bail and rejecting their requests for exemption from personal appearance in court. The court directed the SHO concerned to execute the warrants by November 30 and to appear in person if the warrants remain unexecuted.
Tripathi sought exemption, citing travel to Nasik for covering the Maharashtra elections, while Suhail sought relief on the grounds of travelling to Kanpur for by-election coverage. The court dismissed their applications, observing that both anchors had been taking the legal process lightly.
The case pertains to charges against eight journalists, including Tripathi, Suhail, and others, for allegedly airing "morphed, edited, and obscene" videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family linked to a sexual assault case involving self-styled godman Asaram Bapu. The journalists are accused of criminal conspiracy, forgery, and violating provisions under the POCSO Act and the IT Act.
Charges have been framed under IPC s.120B (criminal conspiracy), s.469 and s.471 (forgery), IT Act s.67B (abusing children online), s.67 (publishing or transmitting sexually explicit content), and POCSO Act s.23 (disclosure of identity of a child by media) and s.13C (indecent or obscene representation of a child).
The court emphasised the need for expeditious proceedings, as the case has already been delayed by nine years. The journalists face allegations of conspiring to forge and broadcast indecent content, thereby harming the reputation of the victim and her family.
