SRH dent RCB's chance to get top-two finish with upset four-run win
Abu Dhabi, Oct 6: Royal Challengers Bangalore made a mess of their run chase as bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad dented their hopes of a top-two finish with a narrow four-run win in a last-over IPL thriller, here on Wednesday.
After putting on board a modest 141 for 7, SRH returned to limit RCB to 137 for six for only their third win in the league.
Chasing the total, Devdutt Padikkal (41) and Glenn Maxwell (40) scored bulk of the runs but RCB kept losing wickets and faltered in the end.
Defending 18 off last two overs, Jason Holder bowled a superb over, giving away just five runs for one wicket.
AB de Villiers smashed a six in the fourth ball of the final over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar but couldn't take the team home as the South African could not pull off a six the team needed in the last ball.
Earlier, opener Jason Roy (44) shared a 58-ball 70 run stand with skipper Kane Williamson (31) to set the platform but SRH lost three quick wickets for two runs in seven balls to eventually end up with a below-par total.
RCB were dealt an early blow in their chase when Bhuvneshwar trapped Virat Kohli in the first over.
The decision to promote Daniel Christian at number 3 also didn't work as he was deceived by a slower delivery by Siddarth Kaul.
At 18 for 2, Srikar Bharat joined hands with Devdutt Padikkal and produced two handsome shots for a six and a four to take RCB to 37 for 2 in six overs.
New pace sensation Umran Malik then struck in his fifth delivery, removing Bharat as RCB slipped to 38 for 2.
New-man in Maxwell made his intent clear, clobbering Rashid Khan for a maximum. He repeated the treatment again, sending the Afghan spinner over long-on and then sweeping him for another four.
But with Malik clocking 150km plus consistently, RCB decided to target the other bowlers.
However, a poor call by Padikkal ended with Maxwell being runout, while the former too was caught at the boundary line as RCB further slumped to 109 for 4 in 16.5 overs.
Needing 29 off 18 balls, Shahbaz Ahmed smashed two fours to bring the equation down before being dismissed by Holder in the 19th over.
For RCB, Harshal Patel (3/33) and Daniel Christian (2/14) did the maximum demage after skipper Virat Kohli opted to bowl.
Spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal (1/27) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0/21) kept things in check, while George Garton conceded 29 runs in two overs for his one wicket.
Abhishek Sharma, asked to open the innings, smashed a four and a six off Garton in the second over before holing out to Maxwell.
Williamson started off with a good-looking cover drive and then pulled one from Siraj for another boundary through square leg.
The New Zealand skipper was all elegance as he played two sweetly-timed shots for two more hits to the fence off Garton
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz attacked the stumps but when he erred Roy was quick to pull him through square leg.
After the end of Powerplay, SRH were 50 for 1.
Spin duo of Shahbaz and Chahal bowled in tandem, not allowing the batsmen to free their arms.
While Roy lived dangerously, Williamson's stumps were knocked off by Patel with a cutter when he tried to create room for himself as SRH slipped to 84 for 2 in 12th over.
Priyam Garg smashed a six off Chahal before being caught by AB de Villiers off Christian in the next over.
Five balls later, Christian pulled off a sensational catch off his own bowling to remove the well-set Roy. Chahal trapped Abdul Samad infront of wicket in the first ball of the next over as SRH slumped to 107 for 5 in 15.1 overs.
Wriddhiman Saha was next done in by a slower delivery by Patel.
Rashid (7 not out) and Holder (16) tried to accelerate before the latter fell in the last ball.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
