IPL: Ishan blitz powers Mumbai to 210/6 vs Kolkata
Kolkata, May 9: Young wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan blasted a 21-ball 62 to help Mumbai Indians post 210/6 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
The Jharkhand left-hander's pyrotechnics between the 10th and 15th over propelled MI from 62/2 in nine overs to 145/3 after 15 overs.
Ishan, whose innings was laced with five fours and six sixes, brought up his fifty in 17 balls, the joint second-fastest to reach the milestone with Sunil Narine who also completed his half century in 17 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore here. Lokesh Rahul had smashed a 14-ball 50 this season, IPL's fastest.
Ishan and skipper Rohit Sharma (36; 31b; 2x4, 1x6) joined hands for a 82-run partnership for the third wicket off just 34 balls. Rohit was dropped by Nitish Rana on 10, when the team was on 90/2.
In the end, Ben Cutting's 9-ball 24 took MI past 200 as the last over went for 24 runs off Piyush Chawla (3/48).
Openers Evin Lewis and Suryakumar Yadav gave MI a decent start. Lewis was dropped by Kuldeep Yadav (3/43) running backwards from square leg off Prasidh Krishna (1/41) when he was batting on 16.
But the 26-year-old Trinidadian could not make the most of the reprieve, getting out in strange fashion trying to pull a loose Chawla delivery with the ball ballooning off the back of his bat to short third man where Chris Lynn took an easy catch.
Lewis and Suryakumar stitched together a 46-run stand for the opening wicket as Mumbai Indians were 47/1 at the end of Powerplay.
Former KKR player Suryakumar who has been MI's batting mainstay this season, then threw away a strong start, pulling a Chawla half tracker to Rinku Singh at deep midwicket.
At the halfway stage, Mumbai were 72/2 with Ishan joining Rohit in the middle.
Ishan was at it from the word go, taking Chawla for 14 runs in the 11th over and then turning the tide in the visitors' favour by hitting four back-to-back sixes off Kuldeep in the 14th over. As many as 25 runs were leaked in Kuldeep's third over as Mumbai looked good for a 200-plus score.
Karthik brought back Narine to check the flow of runs and the move worked. Ishan tried to clear the deep square leg boundary just after hitting a six but picked out Robin Uthappa.
Hardik Pandya (19; 13b; 2x6) and Rohit departed in quick succession with the latter giving Prasidh Krishna his first IPL wicket.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 210/6 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 62, Rohit Sharma 36, Suryakumar Yadav 36; Piyush Chawla 3/48, Sunil Narine 1/27) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
