Neesham, Coulter-Nile knock Royals out of IPL as MI live to fight another day
Sharjah, Oct 5: Jimmy Neesham and Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled exceptionally well to keep Mumbai Indians alive and kicking as they outclassed Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in a low-scoring Indian Premier League match, here on Tuesday.
New Zealander Neesham (3/12) and Aussie Coulter-Nile (4/14) snapped seven wickets for only 26 runs in eight overs between them to choke Rajasthan for a meagre 90 for 9.
The five-time champions then knocked off the runs in 8.2 overs to go up to 12 points and more importantly improve their net run-rate to -0.048. This was also the biggest victory for MI in terms of balls left (70).
Ishan Kishan (50 not out) got some much-needed confidence during the short chase as MI knocked Royals out of IPL from the league stage itself yet again as they flattered to deceive.
The Royals did not have many quality Indian players except Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Kishan, who has endured wretched form during the better part of the UAE leg, hit five fours and three sixes. Fittingly, he finished it with a maximum.
MI will now meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, another must-win game but they would also want Kolkata Knight Riders (12 points, NRR +0.294) to lose their last match against Royals on Thursday.
In case KKR win and move up to 14 points, MI on the last day would know how much they require to get past Shah Rukh Khan-owned team's net run-rate.
On the day, Neesham and Coulter-Nile hit the ideal length on a tacky strip as they choked Royals to the lowest T20 total by any team batting first at Sharjah.
Rohit Sharma was spot-on in deciding to bowl first and Neesham (3/12), playing his first game of the UAE leg, took the pace off his deliveries on a Sharjah track where the ball wasn't coming onto the bat.
Coulter-Nile (4-0-14-4) was equally effective with his change-ups and hitting the hard-lengths more often than not en route one of his best IPL spells.
Neesham and Coulter-Nile cumulatively gave away only 26 runs between them in eight overs and also got a whopping seven wickets, which threw Royals out of contest.
Jasprit Bumrah (2/14) was menacing as ever with crucial wickets as it was one of MI's closest to perfect bowling performance.
Royals were blown away in a space of four overs as they slumped from 41 for 1 in the last over of Powerplay to 50 for 5 by the time the first 10 was about to end. There was no looking back for MI from that position.
The in-form Sanju Samson (3) tried to slash hard without reaching to the pitch of the delivery as Jayant Yadav at point took a diving catch.
Shivam Dube after the CSK heroics tried to reach at a fuller delivery on 'fifth stump" and dragged it back while Rahul Tewatia (12 off 20 balls) in the midst of a horrendous season, tried to pull a short ball that came late and took the edge into keeper's hands.
Neesham's induction in place of Krunal Pandya, who has been a regular feature for a good five years now, proved to be a master-stroke as he didn't give enough pace to manoeuvre and also bowled wicket-to wicket, not experimenting much.
Evin Lewis (24 off 19 balls) once again started in rollicking fashion but the course of Royals innings was changed when talented Yashasvi Jaiswal (12) failed to ride the bounce off a Coulter-Nile delivery to be caught behind.
Once Bumrah got rid of Lewis with an angular delivery, rest of the Royals batters fell like a pack of cards.
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.
'India stands in solidarity': PM speaks to UAE president, condemns attacks on Gulf nation
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night spoke to the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and strongly condemned the attacks on the Gulf nation, saying India stands in solidarity with the UAE in these difficult times.
Mod also thanked the UAE president for taking care of the Indian community living in the Gulf nation, and said New Delhi supports de-escalation, regional peace, security and stability.
"Spoke with President of the UAE, my brother Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Strongly condemned the attacks on the UAE and condoled the loss of lives in these attacks. India stands in solidarity with the UAE in these difficult times.
"Thanked him for taking care of the Indian community living in the UAE. We support de-escalation, regional peace, security and stability," Modi wrote on X.
Iranian strikes across the UAE in the past two days have resulted in three fatalities and injuries to 58 people, including an Indian national, officials confirmed on Sunday.
The Indian Embassy in the UAE, in a social media post, said it was aware of the injury to the Indian national and was in touch with the hospital authorities.
The UAE's defence ministry said it intercepted 165 ballistic missiles, of which 152 were destroyed, and 13 drowned in the sea.
It also destroyed two cruise missiles and 541 Iranian drones, 506 of which were shot down, the ministry said.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a coordinated US-Israeli airstrike on Tehran early Saturday, with the Iranian state media confirming the death on Sunday.
Iran began firing missiles at Israel and the Arab countries in the region in retaliation for the killing of its supreme leader.
