India beat WI by 107 runs in 2nd ODI
Visakhapatnam, Dec 18: Rohit Sharma captivated with his languid brilliance in company of an equally graceful KL Rahul before Kuldeep Yadav topped it up with a hat-trick in India's series-levelling 107-run victory against the West Indies in the second one-dayer here on Wednesday.
The Indian vice-captain hit his 28th ODI hundred -- 159 off 138 balls -- and added 227 for the opening stand with fellow centurion Rahul (102 off 104 balls) as India put up an imposing 387 for 5 in 50 overs.
Rishabh Pant (39 off 16 balls) and Shreyas Iyer's (53 off 32 balls) thoroughly entertaining 72-run stand in only four overs also provided the impetus required during a final flourish.
In reply, the West Indies, who looked good at 192 for 3 in the 30th over, were bowled out for 280 in 43.3 overs.
It was Mohammed Shami (3/39 in 7.3 overs), who removed the dangerous Nicholas Pooran (75 off 47 balls) and skipper Keiron Pollard (0) off successive deliveries to spark a West Indies collapse.
Kuldeep (3/52 in 10 overs) then removed the dogged Shai Hope (78 off 85 balls), Jason Holder (11) and Alzarri Joseph (0) off successive deliveries to seal the issue in favour of India. This was his second hat-trick in ODIs. He became the first Indian player to claim two hat-tricks in international cricket.
On a shirtfront of a track, West Indies was never going to make a comeback after losing five wickets for 18 runs and it was only a matter of time before India ended their four-match losing streak at home. The decider will now be played at Cuttack on December 22.
Rohit, as usual, batted at his own pace and looked like the bandmaster of an orchestra, who made the Caribbean bowlers dance to his tune.
Sheldon Cottrell (2/83 in 9 overs) was punished with such ferocity that he didn't have energy to do a customary 'Cottrell Salute' once Iyer was out and it was more or less similar for all others like Alzarri Joseph (0/68 in 9 overs) and Keemo Paul (0/62 in 9 overs).
It was also a perfect demonstration on how to press the accelerator in this format -- first 50 off 67, the next off 40 balls and the last off only 25.
The innings had 17 boundaries and five sixes and Rohit played the same shot again and again. It was a swivel off his hips between fine leg and deep fine leg to rising deliveries.
The West Indies bowlers were wary of pitching it up to him fearing his drives but ended up bowling short on the hips and the Indian gleefully played the shot again and again.
At times, they did realise the mistake and pitched it up but then 'Retro Rohit' came out from nowhere playing 1980s slog shots, shuffling towards leg-stump and making room to hit over cover boundary.
There was a bowler's back-drive off Joseph to show who is the boss.
Incidentally, Rohit was much behind Rahul in the race for half-century but reached the three-figure mark before the Karnataka batsman.
When Rahul reached his hundred, he made a gesture which was something like shutting his ears from all the humdrum surrounding him. Whatever he meant, it seemed to have worked well for him.
The biscuit coloured 22-yard, devoid of any grass, was supposed to be a nightmare for the bowlers and it stayed true to its character.
As Rohit took his own sweet time to settle down, Rahul went on the offensive taking on Cottrell first up with a flurry of boundaries.
With the ball coming onto the bat nicely, Rahul hit his first six over point off Jason Holder and then hit left-arm spinner Khary Pierre for a six over long-on as the team total of 50 was reached.
By the time Rahul was into his 30s, Rohit hadn't crossed 20 but it was just a matter of time. Once his Mumbai Indians teammate Alzarri Joseph came into the attack, the pull shot also came out of the drawer.
Alzarri's extra bounce was exactly what Rohit required as he rode on top of it and played a range of strokes to slowly catch up.
It was a rare failure for skipper Virat Kohli (0) but the capacity crowd at the YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium was not disappointed as Pant and Iyer hit eight sixes between them in a span of four overs to ensure the score went past 375.
Brief Scores:
India: 387 for 5 from 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 159, KL Rahul 102, Shreyas Iyer 53; Sheldon Cottrell 2/83).
West Indies: 280 all out in 43.3 overs (Shai Hope 78, Nicholas Pooran 75; Mohammed Shami 3/39, Kuldeep Yadav 3/52).
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Nine Naxalites carrying cumulative bounty of Rs 43 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh
Sukma, Jan 11: Nine hardcore Naxalites, allegedly involved in attacks on security forces and carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 43 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday, police said.
The cadres, including two women, turned themselves in before senior officials from the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) here, citing disappointment with "hollow" and "inhuman" Maoist ideology and infighting within the outlawed outfit, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
He said the surrendered Naxalites were also impressed by the state government's 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme, which aims at facilitating development works in remote villages and stated that senior cadres were on backfoot with the increasing pressure of security forces and setting up of police camps in interior areas.
The official said Ransai alias Oyam Buska (34), the commander of platoon no 24 of Maoists, and Pradip alias Ravva Rakesh (20), a member under a company wing of PLGA battalion no. 1, were carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh each.
He said four other cadres carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh, a woman Naxalite carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh, and two others, including a woman, carried a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each.
Chavan said Ransai was allegedly involved in attacks, including the Jhara Ghati ambush in Narayanpur district in 2007, wherein seven policemen were killed; the 2007 Ranibodli (Bijapur district) attack, in which 55 security personnel died; the 2017 ambush in Burkapal (Sukma), where 25 CRPF personnel were killed and the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma) that killed 17 security personnel.
The other surrendered cadres were also involved in multiple attacks on security forces, he said.
Personnel from Konta police station, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Intelligence Branch Team and 2nd and 223rd battalions played a crucial role in their surrender, he said.
The official said the surrendered Naxalites were provided Rs 25,000 each and will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy.
Last year, 792 Naxalites had surrendered in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Sukma.
