Faf du Plessis and Deepak Chahar set up CSK's 18-run win over KKR
Mumbai, Apr 21: Faf du Plessis' magnificent 95 not out and Deepak Chahar's impressive four-wicket haul outshone dazzling half centuries from Andre Russell and Pat Cummins as Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs in their IPL match here on Wednesday.
Put in to bat, CSK posted a big total of 220 for 3, riding on du Plessis' 60-ball unbeaten 95 and Ruturaj Gaikwad's 64.
Chasing a stiff target, KKR found themselves in deep trouble as they slumped to 31 for 5 inside five overs after a top-order collapse with Chahar wrecking havoc with figures of 4 for 29 from his four overs.
Russell (54 off 22 balls) and Cummins (66 not out off 34 balls) raised hopes of an improbable win for KKR but in the end they were all out for 202 in 19.1 overs.
Needing 190 runs from 15 overs, Russell first revived KKR's chase with a blistering 54 (3x4, 6x6) before being cleaned up by Sam Curran.
But it was not over for KKR as yet. Batting at No. 8, KKR pace spearhead Cummins displayed some sensational powerhitting in his 34-ball 66 not out (4x4, 6x6) but they simply did not have enough batting left to keep the show going.
Cummins smashed Curran for 30 runs with four sixes and one boundary in the 16th over to keep the run-chase alive, even as they kept losing wickets.
It was down to 20 runs with one wicket in hand in the last over. But Prasidh Krishna was run out in the first over of the final over.
The win took CSK to the top of the table with six points from four matches, while KKR slipped to sixth.
Chahar, who had wrecked havoc against Punjab Kings the other day, was at his ominous best once again as he swung the match in CSK's favour to leave KKR tottering at 31 for 5 inside the powerplay.
Chahar, who grabbed 4/13 against Punjab Kings, made the ball talk with his swing and variation and snapped the talented Shubman Gill for a golden duck and then had the in-form Nitish Rana (9) in the second over.
But Chahar's biggest wicket came in the next over in the form of skipper Eoin Morgan (7) when the left-hander nicked an outswinger with M S Dhoni completing a safe catch to become the first wicketkeeper to complete 150 dismissals in IPL.
Looking for a change of fortunes in their first match at the Wankhede, KKR opted to bowl on flat track but du Plessis blazed his way to a masterclass 95 not out after his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad's impressive 64 as CSK posted 220 for 3.
First, it was Gaikwad who returned to form after a string of poor outings in his first three matches with a composed 42-ball knock that set it up for CSK after KKR opted to field.
Gaikwad played the role of aggressor, smashing four sixes and four boundaries, while his senior South African partner du Plessis gave the youngster the backup as the duo produced CSK's best start of the season with an opening stand of 115.
Du Plessis came on his own after Gaikwad's departure in the 13th over as he added 50 runs with Moeen Ali (25 off 12 balls) off just 26 balls.
CSK scored 76 runs in the final five overs with the South African at his attacking best in the final five overs.
He smashed Andre Russell for three successive boundaries and raced to 90s with a six off Pat Cummins in the final over in his 60-ball knock which was studded with four sixes and nine fours.
CSK finished it off in style with Ravindra Jadeja hitting Cummins for a six as Nitish Rana palmed it over the midwicket boundary that summed up the plight of KKR.
MS Dhoni promoted himself to No. 4 and finally broke his jinx against Sunil Narine, hitting his first boundary after 64 balls against the mystery spinner en route to a eight-ball 17.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
