Gujarat Titans beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Mumbai(PTI): Gujarat Titans extended their dominance at the top of the table with a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday and inched closer towards clinching a play-off spot in their inception year.
After failing multiple times, Virat Kohli finally came out out of a prolonged slump in form by registering his first IPL fifty in 14 matches, including nine this season, as Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a challenging 170 for six.
In reply, Rahul Tewatia (43 not out) and David Miller (39 not out) did the job for GT after the table toppers were struggling at 95 for four in the 13th over. With 16 points which has been the magic mark, Titans are well on course towards a top-two finish at the end of league stage.
On the day, Kohli made 58 off 53 balls before walking back to the dugout amid a standing ovation at the Wankhede Stadium. Rajat Patidar blasted a 32-ball 52 -- his maiden IPL fifty -- while Glenn Maxwell blazed away to 33 in 18 deliveries to prop up RCB
The returning Pradeep Sangwan was excellent with the ball, finishing with figures of 2/19, while Rashid Khan gave away just 29 runs in his four over to check the flow of runs in the middle overs.
GT were off to a sound start with Wriddhiman Saha (31) and Shubman Gill (29) putting on 51 runs before Wanindu Hasaranga effected the first breakthrough by removing the former.
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed had Shubman Gill trapped in front of the wicket. GT skipper Hardik Pandya (3) once again got out cheaply, falling to Shahbaz.
Sai Sudharsan chipped in with a 14-ball 20 before Hasaranga picked up his second wicket, the batter caught by substitute keeper Anuj Rawat as Dinesh Karthik did not take to the field.
Sudharsan's dismissal left RT at 95 for four with the innings entering the 14th over.
Needing 71 from six overs, David Miller hit Hasaranga for a six and four to collect 13 runs, and then, two boundaries by Rahul Tewatia and four off a leg bye got GT 15 runs from a Mohammed Siraj over.
Harashl Patel bowled an economical 17th over before Tewatia flicked Josh Hazlewood for a six over fine-leg. Two more fours followed in the same over as GT closed in on yet another win.
Earlier, Mohammed Shami pulled out twice in his run up, the false starts leaving the umpire annoyed, before the seasoned India seamer beat Kohli with his late movement.
Out in the middle was a batting maestro battling a lean patch but it didn't quite look like that really when the former India captain played Shami for two lovely boundaries -- one down the ground past mid-of and the second a flick square of the wicket on the leg-side.
RCB's top-order woes continued, though, as left-arm seamer Sangwan marked his return to the league with the wicket of rival skipper Faf du Plessis in his very first over.
Fresh from his invaluable half-century in the previous game, Wriddhiman Saha had no problem holding on to du Plessis' thick outside edge after the bowler had set him up.
Alzarri Joseph was introduced, and he saw Kohli play a classic cover drive and then pull a short one over the mid-wicket region for a boundary.
In came Lockie Ferguson and the New Zealand pacer's low full toss was smashed over long-on by Kohli, who followed that up with a four towards backyard point.
Even as Kohli was getting into the groove, Patidar was gaining in confidence, thanks to the flurry of confident strokes that flowed from his willow during their 99-run association.
Alzarri bowled one short and Patidar pulled him over deep mid-wicket for a six and found a four in the next ball to close in on his maiden IPL fifty. He got there soon, reaching the landmark in only 29 balls with a four off Ferguson.
There was a bigger roar at the ground just before that as Kohli reached his half-century in 45 balls.
Patidar took the risks and largely succeeded, helping Kohli to settle down and get som runs under his belt.
Sangwan got his second of the match when Patidar top-edged the seamer, and Kohli too failed to convert his fifty into a bigger score as a Shami delivery made its way through, even as the batter tried to make room and play it through cover.
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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
