Brar, Shashank, Wadhera star as PBKS inch closer to playoffs with 10-run win over RR
Jaipur, May 18 (PTI): Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar bowled a match-turning spell after Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh made bruising fifties as Punjab Kings edged closer to an IPL playoff berth with a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals here on Sunday.
Brar, who came in as a substitute for skipper Shreyas Iyer -- possibly unwell due to extreme heat -- was introduced in the fifth over and the left-arm spinner walked away with an impressive 3/22 in four overs, helping PBKS to restrict RR to 209/7 in the chase of 220.
The Punjab side had earlier made 219 for five riding on an unbeaten on 59 off 30 deliveries (5x4, 3x6) by Shashank and Wadhera (70, 37b, 5x4, 5x6).
With this win, PBKS (NRR: +0.38) climbed to 17 points and they are second on the table behind leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru (17 points, +0.48) on net run rate difference.
The Ricky Ponting-coached side needs just one more point to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2014.
Brar, who mixed up his angles, trajectory, and pace with precision, played a big part in that.
His scalps included the 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 off 15; 4x4, 4x6) and Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had launched a brutal assault up front with his (50 off 24).
Together they flew off the blocks with a stand off 76 runs in just 4.1 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai (2/44) then landed a double blow, sending back skipper Sanju Samson (20 off 16) and Shimron Hetmyer (11 off 12), as RR's chase lost steam.
Dhruv Jurel (53 off 31 balls; 3x4, 4x6) hit form to score his second fifty of the season but it went in vain as Marco Jansen (2/41 in three overs) removed him and Wanindu Hasaranga in successive balls in the last over to end their chase.
Jaiswal was in explosive form from the outset, smashing four fours and a six off Arshdeep Singh’s first over.
Suryavanshi matched him stroke for stroke, cracking two sixes and a four off Jansen.
RR raced to 51 for no loss in just three overs -- 50 of those runs coming in boundaries, and one via a wide.
Suryavanshi continued his fireworks with back-to-back sixes off Arshdeep, helping RR storm to 76 in just 29 balls.
However, Brar's introduction proved decisive, as he first removed Suryavanshi and then dismissed Jaiswal, who fell immediately after completing his sixth fifty of the season.
It saw the required rate jumping to 12 from under 10, and the Royals couldn't recover.
Earlier, fiery half-centuries from Wadhera and Shashank powered PBKS to a commanding total.
Opting to bat, PBKS started briskly but lost opener Priyansh Arya in the second over, caught by Hetmyer off Tushar Deshpande (2/37). Prabhsimran Singh briefly kept the momentum going, striking Maphaka for a four and a six, but wickets continued to tumble.
IPL debutant Mitchell Owen fell for a two-ball duck, holing out to Samson off Maphaka. Prabhsimran (22 off 12) followed soon after, edging Deshpande to Samson, who reviewed successfully after the on-field umpire turned it down.
Skipper Iyer (30 off 25, 5x4s) and Wadhera then stitched a quick 67-run stand off 44 balls for the fourth wicket. Iyer looked fluent but fell against the run of play, slicing a Riyan Parag delivery to Jaiswal at long-off.
Wadhera, dropped on 47 by Hasaranga off his own bowling, made the most of the reprieve.
He brought up his fifty in just 25 balls and was particularly dominant on the leg side.
His knock ended when he attempted back-to-back sixes off Akash Madhwal, only to find Hetmyer in the deep.
Omarzai provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 21 off just nine balls, helping PBKS cross the 200-run mark.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
PM to lay stone of north India's first semiconductor unit, open Namo Bharat corridor in UP next week
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of north India's first semiconductor manufacturing unit in Gautam Buddh Nagar and inaugurate the Namo Bharat rapid rail corridor along with the Meerut Metro next week, marking major milestones in the state's infrastructure push.
Speaking in the Legislative Council during the Budget Session on Monday, Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh today has "excellent connectivity by water, land and air", and highlighted the prime minister's upcoming engagements in the state.
He said the foundation stone of the semiconductor unit in Gautam Buddh Nagar would be laid on February 21, terming it a significant step towards making the state a hub for high-technology manufacturing.
On February 22, Modi will inaugurate the remaining stretches of the 82-km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor, connecting Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi with Modipuram in Meerut, he said.
Alongside, the 23-km Meerut Metro corridor with 13 stations will also be launched.
According to officials, the remaining sections include a 5-km stretch in Delhi between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar, and a 21-km stretch from Meerut South to Modipuram.
The 82-km corridor comprises key stations such as Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Muradnagar, Modinagar South, Modinagar North and Meerut South, forming the backbone of the regional rapid transit system connecting major residential, commercial and industrial clusters.
Recalling the pre-2017 situation, Adityanath said it earlier took around three hours to travel from Meerut to Delhi and even then security was not guaranteed.
"Today, the distance between Delhi and Meerut can be covered in about 45 minutes through the 12-lane highway, and with the rapid rail, it will be further streamlined," he said, adding that law and order had significantly improved.
Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh accounts for 55 per cent of the country's total expressway network and has the largest railway network in India. The state currently has a network of 22 expressways, of which seven are operational, five are under construction and work on 10 others is underway, he added.
He said metro services are running on six corridors in the state, and the Meerut corridor will be inaugurated by the prime minister on February 22.
Highlighting inland waterways, the chief minister said the Varanasi-Haldia waterway has been developed, with terminals at Ramnagar, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Ghazipur being upgraded.
He also said that when his government assumed office, only two airports were fully operational in the state and two were partially functional.
"Today, there are 16 airports in Uttar Pradesh, including four international airports, while the fifth international airport at Jewar is ready," he said, adding that efforts are on to take the project forward this month with the prime minister's participation.
The country's first Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub is also being established at Jewar, he added, underlining the state's emergence as a major connectivity and logistics hub.
