Hales guides England to thrilling victory vs India in 2nd T20I
Cardiff, July 7 : Alex Hales' brilliant batting helped England beat India by five wickets in a thriller second Twenty-20 International match at Sophia Gardens here on Friday.
Needing 11 runs in the last over, Hales (58 not out) did the task with two balls remaining. He slammed Bhuvneshwar Kumar to a six on the first ball of the 20th over and then hit a boundary to make sure England reach target with ease.
With this victory, England made 1-1 in the three match series.
Right from the start, England were better team with both bat and ball. Firstly their bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict India to a below-par 148/5 and then batsmen, especially Hales and Johnny Bairstow (28).
Chasing a below par score, England made a steady start but in the third over England lost their first wicket as opener Jason Roy (15) was clean bowled by pacer Umesh Yadav.
Soon Jos Buttler (15) and Joe Root (9) were also sent packing by Umesh and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal respectively.
Now with scoreboard reading 44/3 in seventh over, Hales came in the middle and tried to steady the ship with skipper Eoin Morgan (17) but the latter failed to support Hales and was dismissed by Hardik Pandya.
Hales and Bairstow then joined hands and played sensibly. The duo helped england cross 125-run mark in the 17th over.
But just when things seemed good in the middle for the hosts, Bhuvnesh Kumar sent back Bairstow in the 17th over itself but it was too late for India as David Willy (3) and Hales completed the proceeding with two balls remaining.
For India, Umesh Yadav took two wickets while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chahal, Hardik took one wicket each.
Earlier, a disciplined England bowling attack restricted India to 148/5 .
Leaving their previous mistakes behind, the English bowlers came accurate with the line and length as they struck at regular intervals to deny the visitors post a challenging total on batting-friendly wicket.
Put into bat, the visitors started the proceedings on a shaky note as they lost their first three wickets - of Shikhar Dhawan (10), Rohit Sharma (5) and K.L. Rahul (6) - in quick succession.
Rohit was the first to fall as he became the victim of debutant Jakes Ball and was followed by Dhawan, who failed to make his ground, before Liam Plunkett bowled out last match centurion Rahul.
After the inital dismissals, which left India reeling at 22/3 in the first five overs, incoming batsman Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli slowly and steadily took their side past the 50-run mark.
Just when the partnership was getting stronger as India was approaching towards the three-digit mark, Raina (27) failed to read a Adil Rashid delivery and England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler took no time in stumping the southpaw.
With India's scorecard reading 79/4, Kohli was joined by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the duo stitched 32 runs for the fifth wicket, taking India past the 100-run mark.
With the men in blue at 111 runs at the end of 17 overs, Kohli, while trying to raise the scoring rate, fell short of his half-century by three runs. The Indian skipper's mistimed shot was caught brilliantly at fine leg by Joe Root off a David Willey delivery.
Dhoni (unbeaten 32 off 24 deliveries) and Hardik Pandya's (12 not out off 10 balls) valuable contributions in the final moments helped India reach a competitive total.
For England, Willey, Ball, Plunkett and Rashid bagged a wicket each.
Brief Scores: India 148/5 (Virat Kohli 47, MS Dhoni 32 not out; Liam Plunkett 1/17) vs England: 149/5 (Alex Hales 58 not out; Umesh Yadav 2/36)
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Chhattisgarh Vedanta power plant blast: Death toll rises to 20; sixteen workers undergoing treatment
Sakti (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): The death toll in a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district has mounted to 20 with seven more workers succumbing to injuries, while 16 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, officials said on Wednesday.
The deceased include six labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, three each from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, two from Bihar, and one from Madhya Pradesh.
The opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
The explosion occurred on Tuesday afternoon in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the Vedanta Ltd power plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burn injuries.
According to officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine others succumbed to injuries soon after the incident.
Seven more workers have died in hospitals, raising the toll to 20, Sakti Collector Amrit Vikas Topno told PTI on Wednesday.
He said that a total of 36 workers were affected in the blast, and 20 of them died.
"Of the 16 injured workers, five are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Raipur, while 11 others are in hospitals of Raigarh, the neighbouring district of Sakti," he added.
Topno added that every possible effort was being made to provide the best medical treatment to the injured.
The deceased were identified, and their family members are being contacted. Arrangements have been made to transport the mortal remains to their native villages via ambulance following the postmortem examination and to provide immediate financial assistance, he said.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each deceased worker and Rs 50,000 for those injured.
Vedanta Power has also announced a Rs 35 lakh compensation for the family of each deceased worker, along with employment support.
The company will also provide Rs 15 lakh to each injured person, ensure salary continuation until recovery, and offer counselling support, a statement from the plant management said.
The chief minister has ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of the Bilaspur division, assuring strict action against the guilty.
He directed officials to ensure free and proper medical treatment for all injured and emphasised that no negligence in their care would be tolerated.
The district administration has also ordered a separate magisterial probe, while the company has initiated its own internal investigation.
Collector Topno has appointed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Dabhra to conduct the magisterial inquiry.
The SDM has been asked to submit a report within 30 days covering key aspects, including the cause of the accident, whether it was due to technical or human error, and details of safety inspections carried out at the plant.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
State Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla on Wednesday alleged negligence on the plant management's part and accused the government of attempting to shield those responsible.
He also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased and Rs 50 lakh for the injured.
The construction of a 1,200 MW coal-based thermal power project (two units of 600 MW each) in Singhitarai, originally owned by Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd, started in 2009, but remained stalled between 2016 and 2022.
Vedanta acquired the plant in 2022, after which a 600 MW unit was completed and commissioned in August last year, while the second unit is still under construction.
The deceased have been identified as Amrit Lal Patel, Thanda Ram Lahre, Udhab Singh Yadav, Rameshwar Mahilange, and Nadeem Ansari (all from Chhattisgarh); Susanta Jana, Sheikh Saifuddin, Manas Giri, Kailash Mahto, Shibnath Murmu, and Dipankar Singh (West Bengal), Tarun Kumar Ojha, Abdul Karim and Ashok Parhiya (Jharkhand), Raju Ram, Pappu Kumar and Brijesh Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Aakib Khan and Ritesh Kumar (Bihar), and Chitranjan Dhulai of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
