Gill, Karthik guide KKR to six-wicket win over CSK
Kolkata, May 3: Top-order batsman Shubman Gill cracked an unbeaten 36-ball 57 while skipper Dinesh Karthik bludgeoned a 18-ball 45 not out to guide Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
Chasing 178 for victory, Gill, an U-19 World Cup winner, joined hands with Karthik for an unbroken 83-run fifth wicket partnership off 36 deliveries that took the game away from M.S. Dhoni's team despite their making early inroads. This was Gill's maiden IPL fifty.
Put in to bat, CSK rode Dhoni's unbeaten 25-ball 43 to post 177/5 in 20 overs. In reply, KKR finished on 180/4 with 14 balls to spare to register second win on the bounce and fifth overall in the tournament so far.
KKR moved to third spot having 10 points from 9 games while Sunrisers Hyderabad pipped CSK to the top of the table.
Pushed up the order, Gill's innings was laced with six fours and two sixes as Karthik ably supported him hitting seven fours and a six.
KKR lost Chris Lynn (12) early with young South African seamer pacer Lungi Ngidi (1/36) picking up his wicket in the first over.
Sunil Narine (32; 20b 4x4 2x6) made the most of two reprieves in consecutive deliveries in the second over, when Ravindra Jadeja dropped him at wide mid on off K.M. Asif when he was on 6.
Robin Uthappa (6) did not last long, top-edging a mistimed pull to Dwayne Bravo at midwicket off Asif. Narine, who set the platform for KKR's chase, holed out to Bravo in the deep off Jadeja.
Despite the early blows, KKR kept pace with the target, racing to 90/3 at the halfway stage, the same as CSK albeit losing two more wickets.
Rinku Singh (16) failed too before Gill and Karthik took the game by the scruff of the neck, taking Asif for 21 runs in the 15th over which proved to be the game-changer.
Earlier, Dhoni continued his good form with the bat and made the most of Gill dropping him on 29.
The 36-year old hit four sixes and one four, stitching together a 54-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (12).
Openers Faf du Plessis (27; 15b 4x4 1x6), Shane Watson (36; 25b 4x4 2x6) and Raina (31; 26b 4x4 0x6) also contributed with the bat for the visitors but Shivam Mavi (0/21) and Piyush Chawla (2/35) bowled well for the hosts besides Narine.
Narine was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, returning figures of 2/20 in four overs.
The atmosphere was electric inside the stadium as well as outside, with much of the fanfare around the CSK side and their iconic skipper Dhoni.
A sea of yellow engulfed parts of the Eden as every boundary was cheered vociferously, giving a feeling of it being an away match for KKR.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 180/4 in 17.4 overs (Shubman Gill 57 not out, Dinesh Karthik 45 not out) beat Chennai Super Kings 177/5 (Dhoni 43; Sunil Narine 2/20, Piyush Chawla 2/35) by six wickets.
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PM Modi has every intention of delaying caste census: Congress
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Thursday said one full year has passed since the government announced a caste census but the details of how this enumeration will be done are still awaited, as it alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has every intention of delaying the exercise.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said today exactly a year ago, the Modi government had announced that caste enumeration of the entire population will be included in the upcoming Census.
"The recent chronology relating to this dramatic U turn by the Prime Minister is this: On July 21 2021, the Home Minister had answered a question in the Lok Sabha asked by a BJP MP Smt Raksha Nikhil Khadse (now a Minister herself) and said that the Government of India had decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise population," Ramesh said on X.
On September 21 2021, the Modi government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that any directive by the court to enumerate caste-wise population would be tantamount to interfering with a policy decision already taken by the Modi government, he said
On April 16, 2023, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the PM demanding an up-to-date caste census as part of the regular census, Ramesh pointed out.
"On April 28 2024, in a television interview to News18 Network, the prime minister attacked the Congress saying that its demand for a caste census was indicative of 'urban naxal' thought," he said.
The prime minister owes the leadership of the Congress an apology for his accusation, Ramesh said, adding that more importantly, he owes the people of India an explanation of why he allowed his mind to be contaminated by "urban naxal" thought when he announced a caste census on April 30, 2025.
"A full year has passed. The details of how this caste enumeration will be done are still awaited. There has been no dialogue with Opposition parties and state governments, let alone with experts in this subject," Ramesh said.
"The President of the Indian National Congress had written to the PM again on May 5, 2025 on the issue of the caste census. That letter was not even acknowledged. The issues raised in that letter remain very valid even now," he said.
In fact, they are more relevant after the recently-concluded special session of Parliament where it was evident that the PM has every intention of delaying the caste census, Ramesh claimed.
