Mohammed Shami was very clear on bowling six yorkers in Super Over: KL Rahul
Dubai: Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul lauded his pace spearhead Mohammed Shami for his ability and clarity of thought to bowl six yorkers in the Super Over while defending just five runs in their dramatic IPL match against Mumbai Indians here.
The match on Sunday night ended in a tie in the regulation 20 overs and KXIP could only score five runs in the first Super Over but Shami bowled brilliantly to restrict MI to the same score.
KXIP eventually won the match in the second Super Over.
"You can never prepare for Super Overs. No team does. So you have to trust your bowler's gut. You trust your bowler, and let them believe their instinct and gut," Rahul said at the post-match presentation.
"He (Shami) was very clear he wanted to go with six yorkers. He has been phenomenal, and keeps getting better every game. It is important that senior players win the games for the team."
Rahul, who was named man of the match for his 77, expressed happiness at the victory but said his side would not want to make a habit of winning like this. Even in the last game against RCB, KXIP could have finished the job earlier than they eventually did.
"It is not the first time. But we don't want to make a habit out of it. We will take the two points in the end. It doesn't always happen the way you plan so you don't really know how to stay balanced.
"I was just hoping we get over the line because the boys have been working really really hard. In the games that we have lost, even then we have played well and just not been able to get over the line."
He said the wicket was slightly slower, increasing the significance of scoring quick runs in the Powerplay.
"I knew Chris (Gayle) and (Nicholas) Pooran... I trust them to take down spinners. So Chris coming in has made my job easier as a batter."
On his side winning two back-to-back close matches, he said, "We still want to take it one game at a time. It is sweet after the kind of matches we have lost but the talk in the dressing room is to focus on the process.
"We know we need to win everything from here, but we can't forget the processes that lead to a win."
Mumbai Indians batsman Kieron Pollard said the match showed that every run counted.
"In T20 cricket, 1 run and 2 runs are very very crucial. I am sure it was great for viewership. KXIP got the better of us and deserved the two points. KL again batted beautifully, going down to a Super Over, congratulations to them," he said.
"Around the 11-12 over, we knew we were a couple of overs behind. Getting 170-odd, that was a good total - above-par on a track that was on the slower side. With the dimensions, we thought we can defend that."
Despite the loss, Pollard said his side played good cricket.
"It's a matter of trying to improve each and every time. There are a couple of areas we need to improve on. We have a four-day break, enough time to reflect. The guys are confident in the dressing room.
"I was told that he (Rohit) is not feeling well (after the loss). We'll see what happens. He's a fighter," said the West Indian who remained not out on 34 off just 12 balls.
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
