Stylish Shreyas propels PBKS to 243/5 against Gujarat Titans
Ahmedabad, Mar 25 (PTI): Skipper Shreyas Iyer began his stint at Punjab Kings with a scintillating 42-ball unbeaten 97 to power his team to an imposing 243 for five against Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.
Shreyas struck as many as nine sixes and five fours but he could not get to his maiden IPL hundred, as Shashank Singh (44 off 16 balls) took 23 runs off the final over to end the PBKS innings on a high note.
Shashank hit six fours and two sixes during his brilliant cameo.
Earlier, caring very little for reputation, Priyansh Arya (47 off 23) went after the GT bowling from the get go.
Arya, who was bought by PBKS for Rs 3.8 crore at the last IPL auction, clobbered Mohammed Siraj over deep square leg for his first six and followed it up with a four.
Kagiso Rabada made the first breakthrough when he had Prabhsimran Singh caught in the deep, paving the way for new PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer's entry into the middle and he started with a lovely drive on the up for a boundary before flicking the seasoned South African pacer for a six over deep square leg.
Back in strike, the 24-year-old Arya launched into left-arm pacer Arshad Khan and collected 21 runs in the fifth over with the help of three fours and a six on the off side. His best shot of the evening was, however, a spectacular straight drive past the bowler for a four.
Arya then drove Rabada for a boundary through extra cover, as PBKS amassed 73 runs for the loss of one wicket in the power play.
GT skipper introduced spin with Rashid Khan and the magician from Afghanistan straightaway delivered with the wicket of Arya at time when he was growing in confidence. It was a soft dismissal as Arya got a top edge while reaching out for a sharply turning delivery that also kept a bit low.
Up against his compatriot Rashid, Azmatullah Omarzai smashed the star leg-spinner for a first-ball six over the bowler's head.
Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore grabbed two wickets in two balls, sending back Omarzai and Glenn Maxwell to reduce PBKS to 105/4 in the 11th over.
However, Shreyas had other ideas as the India batter reached his fifty in just 27 balls. Shreyas first went inside out to loft Sai Kishore for a six over long off and then smoked him for another maximum, as 17 runs came off the over after Marcus Stoinis got himself a boundary.
It was then the turn of Rashid to be at the receiving end of Shreyas' assault as he smashed the leggie for two successive sixes, the first one straight down the ground and the second over deep wicket.
Siraj was brought back into the attack, and Stoinis and Shreyas collected a six each off him.
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Look-out circular issued against Union Minister Bandi Sanjay's son in POCSO case
Hyderabad (PTI): The Cyberabad police have issued a look-out circular against Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar's son Bandi Bageerath, who has been booked under the POCSO Act, to prevent him from fleeing the country.
A police official told PTI on Saturday that searches are being conducted to nab Bageerath.
Meanwhile, Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) president K Kavitha, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded the removal of Sanjay Kumar, MoS (Home), from the Union Cabinet "to ensure a free and fair investigation in the POCSO case involving his son".
In a setback to Bageerath, the Telangana High Court on Friday night did not grant him any interim protection from arrest.
Dealing with an interim anticipatory bail petition of Bageerath, the court said it was not inclined to grant any interim order at this stage.
The counsel for Bageerath had requested interim protection from arrest until the orders on the petition were issued.
The case was registered under relevant Sections of the BNS and POCSO Act on May 8 against Bageerath based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged that Bageerath was in a relationship with her daughter and sexually harassed her.
After recording the statement of the victim, more stringent sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were invoked in the case.
Bageerath had also lodged a counter-complaint, alleging that the girl, who got acquainted with him, had invited him to family functions and group gatherings. An FIR was registered based on Bageerath’s complaint.
In the complaint, Bageerath stated that, believing the girl’s family to be trustworthy, he accompanied them on visits to certain holy places as part of a group of friends.
He further alleged that the girl and her parents later pressured him to marry her. When he rejected the proposal, the girl's parents allegedly demanded money and threatened to file false complaints against him if he failed to pay.
Bageerath claimed that, out of fear, he paid Rs 50,000 to the girl's father, but the family later demanded Rs 5 crore. He also alleged that they threatened that the girl's mother would commit suicide if he failed to meet their demands.
