KL Rahul hits 74 but PBKS restrict LSG to 159/8
Lucknow, Apr 15: Captain KL Rahul smashed his first fifty of this IPL season but Punjab Kings roared back with timely wickets to restrict his side Lucknow Super Kings to a modest 159 for eight here on Saturday.
On a two-paced wicket, Rahul displayed great composure and skills en route his 56-ball 74 as he added 53 and 48 runs with Kyle Mayers (29) and Krunal Pandya (18) for the first and third wickets respectively.
The 30-year-old from Bangalore also became the fastest batter to reach to 4000 runs in the IPL, achieving the feat in his 105th innings, surpassing West Indies' Chris Gayle (112 innings).
However, LSG couldn't finish things with a flourish as they lost four wickets for 48 runs in the last five overs.
Invited to bat, Rahul and Mayers provided LSG a flying start with the burly left-handed West Indian being the aggressor initially.
While Rahul dealt in boundaries, scoring three fours, Mayers dealt in maximums.
Mayers blasted Mathew Short over deep backward square leg and followed it up with a backward punch for another six over covers off Sam Curran.
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada was then deposited into the stands with ease as LSG raced away to 40 for no loss in the powerplay.
With the pitch offering a bit of grip and turn, Sam Curran, who led PBKS in place of an injured Shikhar Dhawan, brought in the spinners.
Left-arm tweaker Harpreet Brar soon removed the dangerous-looking Mayers, who was holed out to deep backward square leg in the eighth over, while Sikandar Raza trapped Deepak Hooda (2) as LSG slipped to 62 for 2.
Rahul then combined with Pandya to take LSG past the 100-mark before Rabada returned to dismiss the latter in the 15th over.
Two balls later, star of last match Nicholas Pooran too fell while looking for a big hit with Shahrukh Khan taking the catch.
Marcus Stoinis, however, got going from the start, slamming Rahul Chahar for back-to-back sixes, while Rahul then cut Rabada for a maximum over deep point as LSG reached 138 for 4 in 17 overs.
However, the hosts didn't get the final push as Curran earned the wicket of Stoinis after winning a video referral following a faint nick off the batter's gloves.
Arshdeep Singh then struck with his knuckle ball, removing Rahul, who was holed out at long-on, while Shahrukh Khan once again picked up a well-judged catch to get rid of Yudhvir Singh.
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BJP stages walkout in Karnataka assembly over 'non-disbursal' of Gruha Lakshmi payout
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The opposition BJP on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Karnataka assembly protesting the alleged "non-disbursal" of two months' installments to 1.26 crore beneficiaries under a woman's assistance scheme of the state government.
The protest followed a heated debate in which the opposition accused the state government of providing "misleading" information regarding the payment status of the flagship Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
The saffron party members trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans, leading to the adjournment of the proceedings of the House for over an hour.
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The Gruha Lakshmi guarantee scheme is one of the five pre-poll promises of the ruling Congress. It provides Rs 2,000 monthly to women heads of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
The BJP legislators accused Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar of having "misled" the House by giving false information to BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai that all the instalments till August have been paid under the scheme.
The opposition charged that the installments for the months of February and March this year were not paid.
The BJP MLAs' grouse was that they had been demanding an explanation from the Minister for the past three days, but she never turned up to provide information.
As soon as the session started, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House demanding the Minister's presence, which led to the adjournment.
When the members assembled again, the Minister replied that this is a unique flagship programme of the Congress government, which is a model for all the states.
Hebbalkar said she always strived to ensure that this scheme is implemented religiously.
"However, when I checked, I noticed that two months' installments were not paid to the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). If my reply has hurt anyone, then I express my regret," she said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who came to the defence of Hebbalkar, said the BJP should apologise for the lie in the Union Budget.
"Despite the Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project in the budget, the money was not given to Karnataka. You should question that as well," Shivakumar underlined.
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To this, Leader of Opposition in the assembly R Ashoka said the matter was raised because not only were the BJP members hurt but also the 1.26 crore beneficiaries who were eagerly waiting for the money.
Demanding that the lie be expunged from the House records, he insisted on a date for when the backlog will be paid to the beneficiaries.
The Minister said she was apologising for giving a wrong reply, but she was peeved at the way a woman was targeted in the House.
Objecting to this statement, BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar asked her to refrain from playing victim card and bring up the issue of gender, caste and religious discrimination as it was a matter related to 1.26 crore people.
Ashoka and the BJP MLAs then staged a walkout, saying the Minister's reply was not satisfactory.
