Skipper Gill's unbeaten fifty propels GT to 199/4 against PBKS
Ahmedabad, Apr 4: Skipper Shubman Gill led from the front with an unbeaten fifty to steer Gujarat Giants to an imposing 199 for four against Punjab Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.
Gill made 89 off 48 balls, the highest individual score this season so far, and in the process hit six fours and four sixes to guide GT's innings, which was also helped generously by B Sai Sudharsan's 19-ball 33 and Rahul Tewatia's 8-ball 23.
Sent into bat, opener Gill made a rousing start to the innings as he clobbered spinner Harpreet Brar straight over his head for the first six of the match.
Runs flowed for GT till the third over before Kagiso Rabada (2/44) ousted Wriddhiman Saha, latched by PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan at mid-off.
Kane Williamson (26 off 22) , who replaced injured David Miller, looked in great touch as he hit Sam Curran and Rabada for a few boundaries to keep GT scoreboard ticking.
But Williamson's knock was cut short by Brar's extra bounce, caught at backward point by Jonny Bairstow in the ninth over.
Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza was taken to task by Gill and new man Sudharshan as the duo picked up 14 runs off the 12th over, courtesy three hits to the fence.
Gill led from the front and clobbered Rabada for a maximum before Sudharsan struck the bowler to the mid-off boundary to keep up the tempo.
Sudharsan went about his business in style, picking up boundaries at will while Gill was happy to play the second fiddle.
Sudharsan's cameo came to an end when Harshal Patel snared him, caught by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma as the batter went for an upper cut off a slow delivery.
Gill brought up his fifty off 31 balls with a boundary behind deep square leg in the 15th over.
Gill was at his imperious best in front of the wicket as he dispatched Harshal over long-on for a maximum in the 17th over.
While Gill was going all guns blazing from one end, Vijay Shankar was flat and was caught by a diving Brar at long-off off Rabada.
In his second spell, Harshal was wayward with his lengths and Tewatia made good use of it as the penultimate over yielded 20 runs.
Tewatia played a blinder, including two boundaries of pacer Arshdeep Singh in the last two balls.
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BJP slams Karnataka govt over alleged U-Turn in eviction row
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar of making a ‘U-Turn’ on the eviction of alleged illegal houses in Bengaluru’s Kogilu Layout and bowing to pressure from the party high command in Delhi.
Addressing a press conference in Belagavi, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said the chief minister and his deputy had reversed their stand on the demolition of illegal houses and alleged that the decisions were being dictated from outside the state.
"Should Karnataka’s policy decisions be taken by a Keralite K C Venugopal sitting in Delhi, or by the chief minister of this state?" he asked.
Vijayendra said the BJP would take the issue to the streets across Karnataka after deliberations at the party’s core committee meeting scheduled for January 5.
"(Issues like) drug mafia, insult to Kannadigas and irregularities in the Gruha Lakshmi scheme will be discussed, and a statewide agitation will be decided," he said.
"Announcing houses for illegal migrants by throwing rules to the wind is completely illegal. Do the chief minister and deputy chief minister even have the legal authority to take such a decision?" he questioned and said, that the houses were constructed for poor Kannadigas using taxpayers’ money.
Alleging discrimination against Karnataka’s poor, Vijayendra recalled Siddaramaiah’s earlier announcements related to Kerala.
"When Wayanad was hit by floods, the chief minister announced construction of 100 houses there and gave Rs 15 lakh compensation for elephant attack deaths. What injustice have Karnataka’s poor committed?" Vijayendra asked.
He also accused the government of failing to curb the drug menace.
"Police from Maharashtra are coming and raiding drug factories in the chief minister’s own district and in Bengaluru. What is the state government and home department doing?" he asked, alleging that Karnataka was being turned into a drug hub.
In Bengaluru, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje echoed similar allegations, questioning whether the “heat of Kerala elections” was influencing decisions in Karnataka. Speaking at the BJP state office, Jagannath Bhavan, she demanded a high-level probe into illegal migration and alleged links to drug networks.
"The state government must cooperate in identifying and deporting Rohingyas and other illegal migrants," she said.
Karandlaje criticised alleged interference by Congress leaders from outside the state. "K C Venugopal posts on ‘X’ and tells how the Karnataka government should function.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is also dictating what should or should not be done here," she alleged, questioning whether Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had the constitutional authority to run the government independently.
She said the eviction of 167 houses at Kogilu after issuing notices was a good move, but alleged that it was later questioned under pressure.
"Who are these migrants? Most of them are from West Bengal, with no proper addresses even there," she said, adding that she had written to the Bengaluru police commissioner regarding illegal activities in other areas such as Aminkere.
Accusing the chief minister and deputy chief minister of succumbing to ‘Delhi pressure’, Karandlaje alleged that plans were being made to allot government houses to illegal migrants at Baiyappanahalli.
"Who are they? When did they apply? What about those who have applied for houses in Karnataka?" she asked. She demanded immediate seizure and verification of Aadhaar cards and voter IDs of suspected illegal migrants.
"If you give them houses and certificates, you are making them permanent. For the survival of Karnataka and the country, the police must act," she said.
