Chennai Super Kings post 165/5 against SRH in IPL
Hyderabad, Apr 5: Chennai Super Kings batters failed to capitalise on their starts as they were restricted to a below-par 165 for 5 in their Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Friday.
In-form Shivam Dube top-scored with a 24-ball 45 while veteran Ajinkya Rahane contributed a sedate 35 off 30 balls after CSK were asked to bat on a pitch that didn't seem like a proverbial belter. The duo's 65-run partnership for the third wicket from just 6.3 overs was the only highlight of the CSK innings.
CSK added only 37 runs in the last five overs and that could be the turning point in the match.
But credit must be given to CSK's all-season's man Ravindra Jadeja, whose unbeaten 31 off 23 balls was the added fillip that the defending champions needed at the end.
Coming out at the fag end of the innings, former captain MS Dhoni remained not out on one from two balls.
For SRH, it was a collective bowling effort with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pat Cummins, T Natarajan Shahbaz Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat taking a wicket apiece.
CSK made a decent start, reaching 25 for no loss in three overs before veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave SRH the breakthrough with his first wicket of the season in the form of Rachin Ravindra who slices it straight to Markram in the first ball of the fourth over.
One down Rahane then hit SRH captain Cummins for a six in the fifth over. CSK took 15 runs from the sixth over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Rahane and his captain Ruturaj Gaikwad hitting a four and a six respectively.
CSK were well-placed at 48 for 1 at the end of first powerplay but the introduction of spin in the form of Shahbaz Ahmed did the trick as Gaikwad was out for 26 off 21 balls, with Abdul Samad taking a simple catch at long-on.
Rahane did score useful runs but never really looked fluent in his strokeplay as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat and T Natarajan took pace off their deliveries to stem the flow of runs.
Dube was the primary scorer during their 65-run partnership for the third wicket from just 6.3 overs. Dube, who has already scored a fifty this season, was more aggressive then his senior partner, hitting two fours and four towering sixes during his 24-ball innings. He is indeed making a good case for himself as a finisher in Indian squd for T20 World Cup in the Americas.
He was finally deceived by a pace off delivery from Pat Cummins ball outside off and gave an easy catch to Kumar at backward point in the 14th over.
Rahane was out in the next over off the bowling of Unadkat and the two quick wickets did not help CSK's cause.
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Cong is 'disciple' of Pakistan; neighbouring country eager to make 'shehzada' next PM of India: Modi
Anand (Gujarat) (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday dubbed the Congress party a "disciple" of Pakistan, and said the neighbouring country was eager to make the 'shehzada' of the grand old party the next prime minister of India.
His comments came amid reports that Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former minister in Imran Khan's cabinet in Pakistan, shared a video featuring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his social media handle and praised him.
"Pakistan is crying because Congress is dying here. Pakistani leaders are praying for Congress. Pakistan is eager to make 'shehzada' (referring to Rahul Gandhi) the next prime minister. This is not surprising because we already know that Congress is Pakistan's 'mureed' (disciple). The partnership between Pakistan and Congress has been exposed. It shows the country's enemies want a weak government in India, not a strong one," Modi said.
Addressing a poll rally in Anand town of central Gujarat in support of BJP candidates for Anand and Kheda Lok Sabha seats, PM Modi also took a dig at Congress over opposition leader Salman Khurshid's niece Maria Alam's call for 'vote jihad'.
"Now, the INDI alliance calls for 'vote jihad'. We have so far heard about 'love jihad' and 'land Jihad'. This (vote jihad) is said by a person who belonged to an educated Muslim family, not by someone who studied in a madrasa. I hope you all know what the meaning of jihad is. This is an insult to democracy and not a single Congress leader has condemned it," he said.
He alleged that the Congress wants to change the country's Constitution to give reservation of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities to Muslims.
The prime minister also challenged the Congress to give in writing that it will not change the Constitution to provide reservation on the basis of religion and that it will not give backdoor quota to Muslims in states where it and its allies are in power.
India is being seen as a peacemaker in the world today, he said, adding that it was his guarantee that he would work 24x7 to make India a developed country by 2047.
Modi said in the last 10 years, his government provided tap water connections to 14 crore houses, while the Congress-led dispensations gave it to just 3 crore houses in 60 years of its rule.
