CSK limit Mumbai to below-par 149 in IPL final
Hyderabad, May 12: Chennai Super Kings dished out a disciplined bowling performance under pressure to restrict Mumbai Indians to 149 for eight in the IPL final here on Sunday.
After opting to bat, Mumbai ended up with a below-par total despite Kieron Pollard's unbeaten 25-ball 41.
Deepak Chahar (3/26) was impressive once again and so was fellow pacer Shardul Thakur (2/37). The spinners, Harbhajan Singh (0/27) and Imran Tahir (2/23), too played a crucial role in limiting Mumbai Indians.
Rohit Sharma-led side was dealing in sixes early on in their innings with the in-form de Kock collecting three sixes out of the four hit in the first three overs.
After a frugal first over, Chahar went for 20 runs in the following one with the South African wicket-keeper batsman going for his strokes on a true surface.
Thakur was not spared either as de Kock clobbered him over deep-midwicket for his fourth six before top-edging a short one to Dhoni in the same over.
All of a sudden, a promising start got converted into a wobbly one with Rohit getting caught behind off Chahar three balls later, leaving Mumbai at 45 for two in the sixth over. The Mumbai captain got deceived by a slower one but he still went for the drive, only to edge it to Dhoni.
It was a brilliant comeback from Chahar after being hit for 20 in his previous over and credit to Dhoni for bringing him back into the attack from the other end and keeping the faith in the team's most successful pacer this season.
With two new batsmen at the crease, the runs dried up before Ishan Kishan hit Dwayne Bravo for two boundaries to take Mumbai to 70 for two in 10 overs.
Just when it seemed Kishan and Qualifier 1 hero Suryakumar Yadav will produce a much needed partnership, two wickets falling in quick session for the second time in the innings, pegging Mumbai back.
Surykumar played on leggie Tahir before the new batsman, Krunal Pandya, was dismissed with a good running catch from Thakur off his own bowling.
It got worse for Mumbai when Kishan tried deposit a Tahir googly out of the park and his mis-hit went into the safe hands of Suresh Raina at cover, leaving Mumbai at 105 for two in 15 overs.
Two of the biggest hitters in the game, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard, were in the middle to put life into the innings and take their team to a fighting total.
CSK, who had done most things right up till, gave a breather to Pandya as Raina dropped a regulation catch at cover. The dangerous Pandya made his opponents pay smashing Thakur for two sixes in the same over before getting out.
Pollard at the other end did not get enough strike in the death overs. He faced all six balls in the final over and did not take the single off the first three deliveries after not being able to clear the boundary.
He got the much needed fours off the final two balls but it was not enough spoil a tidy last over by Bravo.
The attendance at the neutral venue was fitting for a final with more than 32,000 fans turning up.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
