Virat Kohli scores 51, Glenn Maxwell smashes 56 as RCB post 165/6
Dubai, Sep 26: Glenn Maxwell finally came good with an attacking 56 after skipper Virat Kohli's second consecutive half-century, taking Royal Challengers Bangalore to a par-score of 165/6 against Mumbai Indians in the IPL here on Sunday.
Kohli, who completed 10,000 runs in T20 cricket, scored 51 off 42 balls with three fours and three sixes but it was Maxwell who justified his expensive price tag with a 37-ball blitzkrieg before Jasprit Bumrah brought MI back in the game.
Maxwell's innings had six fours and three sixes as he showed true destructive potential with switch hits, lap shots and flicks during the final overs when he launched into MI pacers Adam Milne (1/48 in 4 overs) and Bumrah (3/26 in 4 overs) with utter disdain.
Such was the ferocity of Maxwell's hits that even the normally calm MI skipper Rohit Sharma looked helpless before Bumrah removed both Maxwell and AB de villiers (11) off successive deliveries which at least helped them save 20 to 25 runs in the final two overs.
At the onset, Kohli hit the very second ball of the match from Trent Boult (1/17 in 4 overs) for a six. It was an inswinger which the RCB skipper flicked and Rahul Chahar at deep mid-wicket got his palms but couldn't latch on to it.
The normally dependable Devdutt Padikkal (0) had an off-day as Bumrah bowled a beauty which pitched on length and moved away taking the outside edge into Quinton de Kock's gloves.
Kohli found a confident partner in Bharat (32 off 24 balls) as they quickly added 68 runs for the second wicket. Bharath for good measure swept Rahul Chahar against the turn for two sixes while Kohli also imperiously pulled Bumrah for a six over deep mid-wicket.
However Bharat couldn't convert his start as Chahar bowled one straight and full and the batter didn't get the required elevation being holed at long-off boundary.
Once Bharat was out and Maxwell came in, RCB despite some great shots couldn't force the pace as Kohli and Maxwell added 50 runs in seven overs which can never be termed scoring at a great clip.
Maxwell did entertain the crowd with a switch hit six off Chahar.
Kohli also got a reprieve when he tried to cut Chahar and Hardik Pandya at point made a mess of an easy catch by trying to dive when all he required was to move a few paces to grab a regulation catch.
It was a day when the Indian captain was expected to convert his half-century into a big score but he failed to control the pull shot to a delivery from Adam Milne that had extra bounce and substitute fielder Anukul took a great catch running from mid-wicket boundary.
Once Kohli was gone, Maxwell once again upped the tempo with the former Proteas skipper AB de Villiers also hitting a six over long-on off Bumrah. Maxwell picked Milne's knuckle ball for a second switch hit six and then for good measure used his pace to hit a switch lap shot as RCB crossed the 160-run mark.
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Trump repeats claim he stopped potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan
New York/Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict and asserted that Islamabad's leadership credited him for saving millions of lives.
"We stopped a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India. And the head of Pakistan, a highly respected General, he's a Field Marshal and also the Prime Minister of Pakistan, said President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more...,” Trump said Monday.
He made these remarks at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, flanked by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“You know, eight planes were shot down. That war was starting to rage, and he actually said the other day that President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more. So we solved all these wars. The only one I haven't solved yet is Russia, Ukraine,” he said.
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Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
