Shubman Gill hits half-century, but LSG restrict GT to modest 144/4
Pune, May 10: Opening batter Shubman Gill hit a fine unbeaten half-century but Lucknow Super Giants produced a disciplined bowling effort to restrict Gujarat Titans to a modest 144 for 4 in their Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.
Gill remained not out on 63 off 49 balls with the help of seven fours but lacked support from the other end. He was left stranded as GT's next highest scorer was David Miller (26).
Avesh Khan (2/26) picked up two wickets for LSG, while Mohsin Khan (1/18) and Jason Holder (1/44) scalped one apiece.
GT's decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired big time as they lost Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Matthew Wade (10) cheaply with the scoreboard reading just 24 inside five overs.
With wickets tumbling from the other end, Gill went about his business cautiously and in the company of skipper Hardik Pandya shared 27 runs for the third wicket before the latter departed, edging one to Quinton de Kock behind the stumps to give Avesh his second wicket of the day.
Once Hardik departed, Gill took the onus on himself and upped the ante, first chopping Avesh to the square boundary and then reverse-swept Krunal Pandya to the third-man fence in the next over.
But thereafter, both Gill and Miller failed to open their arms as Mohsin and Krunal bowled tight line and length to stem the run flow.
Miller finally broke the shackles in the third delivery of the 16th over with a huge six off Jason Holder over extra cover, in what was the first maximum of the innings.
Miller, however, perished in the final ball of the over, caught by Ayush Badoni as he slashed one straight to deep third man.
Gill, on the other hand, went about his innings in a smooth fashion and brought up his fifty in 42 balls with a single off Dushmantha Chameera.
Once he reached his fifty, Gill opened up and struck Chameera for back-to-back boundaries to pick up 14 runs from the 17th over.
Rahul Tewatia (22 not out off 16 balls) used the long handle to good effect in the final over, smashing Holder for three boundaries to take the score close to the 150-run mark.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans: 144 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 63 not out; Avesh Khan 2/26).
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Train to Kashmir: 22-bogie train's trial run successful on Katra-Srinagar line
Jammu: A 22-bogie train chugged between Katra and Srinagar railway stations on Sunday, officials said, marking the first successful trial run on the newly completed line to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country via rail.
The train, comprising 18 AC coaches, two luggage carriers and two engines, left the Katra railway station at around 8 am, successfully reaching its destination within four hours under the watchful eyes of the railway authorities, the officials said.
This was the first trial run between Katra and Srinagar, and came within six days after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Northern Circle) Dinesh Chand Deshwal authorised the opening of the newly constructed Broad Gauge line.
He had given the authorisation for the start of public carriage of goods and passenger traffic in a seven-page letter to the ministry and railway authorities, based on his detailed inspection of the track on January 7 and 8.
The CRS referred to his inspection of the newly constructed BG line between the Katra and Reasi section by a motor trolley and on foot, followed by a speed trial on the entire section from Katra to Banihal.
He had then authorised regular opening of the section for passengers and freight traffic at a maximum permissible speed of 85 Kmph on the main line and 15 Kmph on turnout.
The work on the dream project to link Kashmir by train was started in 1997 and it missed several deadlines given geological, topographical and meteorological challenges.
Out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 km was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by 18 km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, 25 km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February, last year.
The work on the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a total of 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra. And this section was finally completed in December 2024 as announced by the Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The railways has conducted six trials over the past month on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Katra-Srinagar Rail Link: First 18-Coach Train Completes Trial Run Successfully pic.twitter.com/p68axcUClX
— Daily Excelsior (@DailyExcelsior1) January 19, 2025
