IPL: Chennai edge out Hyderabad in thriller to enter final
Mumbai, May 22: A fighting unbeaten half-century under pressure from Faf du Plessis helped Chennai Super Kings edge past Sunrisers Hyderabad by two wickets in the first qualifier here on Tuesday to enter the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Needing 140 runs to win, Chennai made heavy weather of what should have been a comfortable chase before crossing the line with five balls to spare.
Chennai have reached the final seven times in the nine seasons they have competed in the IPL. They had missed out on the previous two seasons as they were banned following the spot fixing and betting scandal.
Du Plessis batted through the innings to remain not out on 67 runs, with five hits to the fence and four sixes studding his 42-ball knock. The opener kept on playing sensibly throughout even as no other batman clicked at the other end.
For Hyderabad, spinner Rashid Khan, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma scalped two wickets each.
Hyderabad will now face the winner of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 2 on May 25 in Kolkata.
Chasing a modest total, Chennai lost their first wicket on the fifth ball of the first over. Wicket-keeper Shreevats Goswami took a brilliant catch to dismiss opener Shane Watson (0) off pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
In-form Suresh Raina was playing beautifully, hitting four well-timed boundaries on his way to 22 off 13 balls. But he was bowled by pacer Kaul in the fourth over when he shuffled across and exposed his leg-stump.
Off the very next ball, Ambati Rayudu (0) was also clean bowled by Kaul. Rayudu's dismissal was largely due to poor shot selection as he misjudged a slow yorker only to see the ball crash into the base of middle and off-stump.
Unperturbed by the fall of wickets, du Plessis kept on playing sensibly. New batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni (9), then joined in the middle and the duo rotated the strike perfectly.
But just when the duo started timing the ball well, leg-spinner Rashid Khan delivered one that turned the wrong way to dismiss Dhoni.
With Chennai struggling at 39/4 after eight overs, all eyes were on the lower-middle order But it failed as Dwayne Bravo (7), Ravindra Jadeja (3) and Deepak Chahar (10) went back to the pavilion in quick succession.
Du Plesis, on the other hand, started unleashing his shots and hammered few sixes but lack of support from other batters
Harbhajan Singh could only manage two runs off nine balls before being run out. With Chennai in deep trouble, Shardul Thakur gave some much needed impetus to the run rate with three boundaries off the five balls he faced.
Thakur, who remained unbeaten on 15 runs, played sensibly and gave the strike to du Plesis.
With Chennai needing six runs off the last over, du Plessis brought up the victory in style over the umpire's head off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling.
Earlier, lower-order batsman Carlos Brathwaite's unbeaten 43-run knock and some useful contributions from skipper Kane Williamson and Yusuf Pathan helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post a modest total of 139/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Put in to bat, Hyderabad started the proceeding on a poor note, losing opener Shikhar Dhawan (0) on the first ball.
Other batsmen Goswami (12), Manish Pandey (8) and Shakib Al Hasan (12) also failed to deliver when needed the most. Brathwaite then came in the middle and played a quick-fire knock and took his team out of troubled waters. He played 29 balls and one boundary and slammed four sixes.
For Chennai, Dwayne Bravo scalped two wickets.
Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad: 139/7 in 20 overs (Carlos Brathwaite 43 not out; Dwayne Bravo 2/25) against Chennai Super Kings: 140/8 in 19.1 overs (Du Plesis 67; Rashid Khan 2/12)
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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.
