Shami underwhelming as Bengal go down to Baroda in SMAT quarterfinals; MP in semis
Bengaluru, Dec 11: Pacer Mohammed Shami rarely operated at his best and it had a cascading effect on Bengal as they went down by 41 runs against Baroda in the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Wednesday.
Opener Shashwat Rawat top-scored with a 26-ball 40 (1x4, 3x6) as Baroda posted a competitive 172 for seven, and Bengal ended up with 131 all out despite Shahbaz Ahmed (55, 36b, 3x4, 4x6) playing a fine cameo.
Skipper Hardik Pandya (3/27) along with his pace colleagues Lukeman Merriwala (3/17) and Atit Sheth (3/41) were the lead bowlers in Baroda's stroll into the semifinals.
Shami's outing was more in focus as the seasoned quick has been striving hard to join the Indian squad in Australia at least for the last two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
His overall numbers ahead of this match was 11 wickets from eight matches at an economy rate of 7.8, but on this day Shami looked anything but sharp.
He started with two wides in the first over and hardly looked in control of the proceedings for the rest of his spell.
The 34-year-old clocked deliveries around 140 clicks across two spells and bowled a few yorkers, but generally struggled to zoom in on the stumps as he often does.
Shivalik Sharma (24, 17b) clobbered him for two successive sixes, though one was an edge that flew behind the third man.
Shami got two consolation wickets of Shivalik and Atit Sheth towards the end when Baroda was trying to accelerate.
Shami could not make any impact with the bat either falling for a two-ball duck to India teammate Hardik Pandya.
Later, Baroda pacer Merriwala derailed Bengal's chase taking three wickets in the fourth over.
Merriwala got rid of in-form Karan Lal, skipper Sudip Kumar Gharami and Writtick Chatterjee, who fell to a sensational tumbling return catch.
Shahbaz tried to resurrect Bengal's innings towards the backend but there was no real support for him.
MP in semis
In the other quarterfinals at Alur, Madhya Pradesh rode on the all-round show of Venkatesh Iyer to enter the last four with a fine six-wicket win over Saurashtra.
Venkatesh took two wickets and made an unbeaten 38 off 33 balls as MP overhauled Saurashtra's 173 for seven with four balls to spare.
Brief scores:
At Bengaluru: Baroda: 171/7 in 20 overs (Shashwat Rawat 40, Abhimanyu Rajput 37, Shivalik Sharma 24; Mohammed Shami 2/43, Pradipta Pramanik 2/6) beat
Bengal: 131 all out in 18 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 55, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury 29; Lukeman Merriwala 3/17, Hardik Pandya 3/27, Atit Sheth 3/41) by 41 runs.
At Alur: Saurashtra: 173/7 in 20 overs (Chirag Jani 80 not out; Venkatesh Iyer 2/23) lost to
Madhya Pradesh: 174/4 in 19.4 overs (Arpit Gaud 42, Venkatesh Iyer 38 not out, Rajat Patidar 28) by 6 wickets.
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Commercial LPG price hike 'direct blow' to common man: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the union government over the recent hike in commercial LPG cylinder prices, calling it a "direct blow" to the common man and warning that rising fuel and tax burdens were quietly fuelling inflation and hurting livelihoods.
In a post on social media platform X, the Chief Minister said the increase would severely impact tea shops, darshinis (Quick service restaurants), small hotels, bakeries and street vendors, who depend heavily on commercial LPG, and accused the Centre of pursuing selective economic logic while burdening citizens.
"The recent hike in commercial LPG cylinder prices by about Rs 111 is a direct blow to the common man. Tea shops, small hotels, bakeries and street vendors depend on commercial LPG. When its price rises, food becomes costlier, livelihoods suffer and inflation quietly enters every household," Siddaramaiah said.
Responding to the Union government's explanation that the LPG price rise was due to an increase in Saudi Contract Prices (CP), the Chief Minister questioned the inconsistency in fuel pricing.
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"The Union Government now argues that LPG prices have increased due to the rise in Saudi Contract Prices (CP). If that is the logic, an important question must be answered honestly by Narendra Modi on why have petrol and diesel prices not been reduced when global crude oil prices have been consistently falling?" he asked.
Siddaramaiah pointed out that while Saudi CP may fluctuate, global crude oil prices, the primary input for petrol and diesel, have softened. "Yet petrol and diesel prices remain unchanged, burdening citizens while generating record revenues. This selective application of 'international price logic' raises serious concerns," he said.
The CM also flagged what he described as fiscal injustice towards states, alleging that Karnataka contributes far more to the national exchequer than it receives in return.
"Karnataka contributes 4.5 to 5 lakh crore every year to the national exchequer, but receives barely Rs 60,000 crore in return, often delayed. This is not cooperative federalism, it is fiscal imbalance," he claimed.
He further criticised the Centre over rising railway fares, additional cesses and surcharges outside the GST framework, and what he termed as the shifting of welfare responsibilities to states.
Referring to the VB-G RAM G Act, Siddaramaiah said states were now being forced to bear nearly 40 per cent of the cost, increasing their financial burden.
"India cannot be built by squeezing its workers, taxing its poor, and weakening its States. Economic governance must be rooted in fairness, transparency and compassion, not selective justifications," he said, adding "a strong nation respects its people, empowers its States, and ensures growth is shared fairly."
