IPL 2018: KKR enter Qualifier 2, RR Crumble Under Pressure
Kolkata, May 23: Skipper Dinesh Karthik (52) led from the front as Andre Russell (49 not out), Piyush Chawla (2/24) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/18) starred with bat and ball to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) see off Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 25 runs and reach Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Wednesday.
KKR will now meet Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) here on Friday to decide who faces Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final on Sunday.
Despite early hiccups, KKR posted 169/7 in 20 overs riding Russell's big hitting late on after Karthik had set the tone for the two-time champions at the Eden Gardens here.
In reply, Royals could manage 144/4 even after Sanju Samson's belligerent 38-ball 50, containing four fours and two sixes and captain Ajinkya Rahane (46; 41b 4x4 1x6) kept their team in the hunt with a 62-run partnership off 54 balls for the second wicket.
With 74 needed from 48 balls, chinaman Kuldeep got rid of Rahane in the 15th over with Chawla then sending Samson back after he brought up his half century in 37 balls.
With the required run rate climbing up and set batsmen out, Royals, who have a thin middle order, could never recover.
Rahul Tripathi (20; 13b; 1x4, 2x6) helped Royals to a brisk start by tonking Russell (0/22) for a six in the first over and thereafter smacking the usually economical Sunil Narine (0/39) for two back-to-back sixes in the fifth over.
Rahane looked in effervescent touch at the other end, pulling and cutting M. Prasidh Krishna flawlessly in the fourth over after surviving a review when he was given out lbw by the umpire off Chawla on 14, two overs earlier.
Royals were 47/0 inside five overs before Tripathi -- who also survived a review -- inexplicably chipped a googly back to Chawla for a soft dismissal.
In came Samson with the well-set Rahane batting and the duo looked on course to chase down 170 before they got out in quick succession and it was all downhill from there on.
Earlier, KKR rode on Karthik's well-paced fifty coupled with Russell's unbeaten 25-ball 49 blitz to recover from an early collapse.
Russell came in to bat when KKR were trying to stem the rot through Karthik and Shubman Gill (28; 17b; 3x4 1x6) before the latter fell with the team on 106/5 in 14.2 overs.
The big-hitting West Indian smoked five sixes and three fours in the last five overs to take 55 runs and help the purple brigade post a challenging score.
Krishnappa Gowtham (2/15), Jofra Archer (2/33) and Ben Laughlin (2/35) got two wickets each for the Rahane-led side with leg-spinner Ish Sodhi conceding just 15 runs off his four overs.
Royals' bowlers made early inroads to reduce KKR to 51/4 after eight overs when Karthik and Gill got together.
The pair joined hands for a 55-run stand for the fifth wicket before Gill departed and Russell stepped on the gas.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 169/7 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 52, Andre Russell 49 not out; K Gowtham 2/15, Jofra Archer 2/33, Ben Laughlin 2/35) beat Rajasthan Royals 144/4 in 20 overs Ajinkya Rahane 46, Sanju Samson 50, Piyush Chawla 2/24, Kuldeep Yadav 1/18) by 25 runs.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
