Captain Morgan, bowlers beat Monday blues to get past Punjab Kings
Ahmedabad, Apr 26: Skipper Eoin Morgan brought in a sense of calm after early jitters as Kolkata Knight Riders didn't let a brilliant bowling performance go in vain during their easy five-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in an IPL encounter on Monday.
After the bowlers put up a splendid show to restrict Punjab Kings to 123 for 9, KKR scored the runs in 16.4 overs with skipper Morgan remaining unbeaten on 47 off 40 balls.
For KKR, it was a collective bowling performance with Prasidh Krishna (3/30), Pat Cummins (2/31) and Sunil Narine (2/22) choked Punjab after the young Shivam Mavi (1/13) bowled an astounding 15 dot balls in his four over spell.
KKR has now ended their four-match losing streak and are placed fifth with four points from six games. Punjab Kings slipped a notch behind and are now at sixth place.
Chasing the paltry target on a dew-laden Motera, KKR found themselves in familiar territory as they lost top-three for 17 runs inside three overs.
But Morgan (4x4, 2x6) showed perfect intent to seize control with Rahul Tripathi in a 66-run partnership off 48 balls as KKR sealed the issue in 16.4 overs to return to winning ways.
Morgan pulled Shami over square to get off the mark with a maximum and there was no looking back.
He along with Tripathi used their feet and kept charging the Punjab bowlers as they just needed 48 runs in the final-10.
Tripathi could not finish it after an impressive 32-ball 41 as there was a bit of a blip with Andre Russell departing in addition of 15 runs but Morgan and Dinesh Karthik ensured that there's no further damage to cruise home with 20 balls to spare.
Earlier, Rana got out for a golden duck in the first over, gifting his wicket to Moises Henriques, chipping a wide full toss straight to Shahrukh Khan at cover.
Then the Indian cricket's blue-eyed boy, Gill, continued his woeful run after showing some glimpses of his class, trapped by Mohammed Shami.
Ravi Bishnoi then produced a spectacular diving catch, sprinting about 30 metres to dismiss Sunil Narine for a duck.
Earlier, youngster Mavi started it all, tying things down with the new ball, bowling 15 dot balls in his four overs on the trot, before Cummins and Prasidh tightened the noose sharing five wickets between them at the death.
The pace troika removed the top three KL Rahul (19), Chris Gayle (0) and Deepak Hooda (1) in space of 12 balls for six runs to leave PBKS in a disarray in the first 10 overs.
On a pitch, where the ball stayed low and gripped a bit, the Punjab batsmen failed to apply themselves with Sunil Narine (2/22) and Varun Chakravarthy (1/24) further denting their progress during the middle overs as well as back-end.
Prasidh had the best figures as he ended Chris Jordan's 18-ball 30 cameo which took the total past the 120-run mark.
Mavi capped a fine opening spell of four overs dismissing Chris Gayle for a golden duck with the 'Universe Boss' taking a bottom edge.
Bowling with the new ball, the youngster was superb in the Powerplay, conceding just nine runs from his three overs, never allowing the two star Punjab openers, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul, to express themselves.
The pressure was evident on Rahul when he perished after trying to break free against Cummins in the final over of Powerplay.
The dangerous Deepak Hooda (1) got out courtesy a stunning low catch by Eoin Morgan as Punjab had a terrible start losing three wickets in 12 balls for six runs.
Amid ruins, opener Mayank Agarwal scored a painstaking 31 off 34 balls which also halted the team's momentum.
At that point, Morgan used Narine to great effect as the Trinidadian dismissed Agarwal and Moises Henriques in successive overs to push them behind further.
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Mysuru: Man serves jail time for wife's 'murder'; she resurfaces alive in court
Mysuru, Apr 04 (PTI): A court here, taking serious note of lapses on the part of the police, has ordered the Superintendent of Police to submit a complete report before April 17 in connection with a case in which a woman, allegedly murdered by her husband in 2020, has now appeared before it—alive.
This comes even as Suresh, the husband of the woman named Mallige, had spent almost one-and-a-half years in jail on murder charges.
The case pertains to the arrest and imprisonment of Suresh, aged about 38, who had lodged a complaint in December 2020 stating that his wife Mallige had gone missing from Kushalnagar in the Kodagu district.
Subsequently, the police found the skeleton of a woman in Bettadarapura and filed a charge sheet in court, alleging that the skeleton belonged to Mallige and that Suresh had murdered her. He was then jailed.
On April 1, Mallige was found in Madikeri by a friend of Suresh, who saw her with another man.
The matter was brought to the notice of the Fifth Additional District and Sessions Court, and she was subsequently produced before the court.
Taking serious note of the police's lapses, the court on Thursday directed the SP to submit a complete report on the case by April 17.
Speaking to reporters, Suresh's advocate, Pandu Poojari said, "Suresh, who is from a village in Kushalnagar, had lodged a complaint in 2020 at the Kushalnagar Rural Police Station regarding his wife's disappearance. Around the same time, a skeleton was found within the Bettadarapura police station limits. A year later, Bettadarapura police arrested Suresh, alleging that he had killed his wife over an illicit affair. A case was registered against him."
The police had sent the skeleton for a DNA test along with blood samples from Mallige’s mother.
"Even before the DNA report came, the police filed the final charge sheet in court. Later, though he got bail, the DNA test report that eventually came showed a mismatch," he said.
When a discharge application was filed citing the DNA mismatch, the court did not accept it and asked for witness examination, including that of Mallige’s mother and villagers.
"Everyone deposed before the court that she was alive and had eloped with someone. The court questioned the Kushalnagar and Bettadarapura police about the loopholes in the charge sheet, but they defended their investigation and maintained that the skeleton belonged to Mallige and that Suresh had murdered her," the advocate said.
Meanwhile, on April 1, Mallige was found at a hotel in Madikeri, having a meal with a man. She was spotted by Suresh’s friend, who is also a witness named in the charge sheet.
She was taken to the Madikeri police station, following which an "advancement application" was filed before the district judge's court.
"The court, treating the matter seriously, asked police to produce her immediately. She was then presented in court. When questioned, she admitted to eloping and marrying another man. She said she was unaware of what had happened to Suresh. She had been living in a village named Shettyhalli, just 25–30 km from Madikeri, but police made no effort to trace her," he added.
Calling this a very serious and rare case, the advocate said the key questions before the court now are: whose skeleton was it, and why did the police file a false charge sheet?
"The court had summoned the SP and the investigating officers in the case, but they had no answers to offer. It has now directed the SP to file a complete report on the lapses before April 17 before delivering the judgment declaring Suresh innocent," he said.
Stating that he is awaiting the court’s final order, the advocate said that once it is issued, he will file a writ petition in the High Court regarding the trauma his client endured and against the police for filing a false case against him.
"I will seek justice and compensation for my client. We will also approach the Human Rights Commission and the ST Commission, as Suresh is a poor man from the ST community," he said.
Further, he added there should be a probe into the skeleton case and whether there was a conspiracy by the police to close both cases by naming Suresh as the accused.
