Nitish Rana, Russell steer KKR to 175/8 against SRH
Mumbai, Apr 15: Sunrisers Hyderabad pacers controlled the innings for a large part before Nitish Rana and Andre Russell lifted Kolkata Knight Riders to a 175 for 8 in their IPL match here on Friday.
The Knight Riders lost three top-order batters cheaply inside the powerplay overs but recovered to some extent to post a decent total, thanks to Rana and Russel's knocks of 54 and 49 not out, respectively.
The pacers Marco Jansen (1/26), T Natarajan (3/37), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/37) and Umran Malik (2/27) accounted for the bulk of the wickets.
Opting to field, South African Jansen used the bounce and swing on offer really well to draw first blood as he sent Aaron Finch (7), who is playing his first match of the season, back to the hut in the second over. Natarajan then bowled a sensational fifth over, snaring two wickets.
Natarajan first bowled a brilliant length ball, pitching just outside off to account for Venkatesh Iyer (6), who looked unsettled during his stay, with the flamboyant Sunil Narine (6) following his teammate a couple balls later as KKR slumped to 31 for 3.
Kane Williamson introduced spin but left-armer Jagadeesha Suchith (1/32) looked rusty and struggled with his line.
Young Malik then struck twin blows, snapping the wickets of Shreyas Iyer (28) in the 10th over and Sheldon Jackson (7) as Sunrisers bowlers continued striking at regular intervals.
However, Rana kept the score board ticking, hitting singles and boundaries alike in his 36-ball knock.
Rana smashed six fours and two maximums. He was involved in 39-run stands with skipper Iyer and Russell each.
However, his stay in the middle was cut short by Natarajan in the 18th over as SRH broke the potentially dangerous partnership.
Russell, whose 25-ball innings was laced with four boundaries and as many six, including two in the final over. The West Indian helped KKR add 55 runs in the last five overs.
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.
Suspected hooch leaves 7 dead in dry Bihar, probe ordered
Bettiah: Seven people died allegedly after drinking spurious liquor in dry Bihar's West Champaran district, prompting the administration to order an inquiry, a police officer said on Sunday.
The police came to know about the deaths on Sunday, though the first fatality occurred four days ago and the bodies of all seven were already cremated, the officer said.
District Superintendent of Police Shaurya Suman said all the deaths were reported from the Lauriya police station area.
Locals blamed the deaths on consumption of spurious liquor, but the SP asserted that the reason behind at last two fatalities was not hooch.
One had been hit by a tractor, while another had suffered a paralytic attack, Suman said.
“The first death took place on January 15 though we came to know about the episode only today. The cause of the remaining five deaths was unclear as all seven bodies were cremated before the police were informed. We have set up an investigation team to find out the cause of the deaths,” Suman told PTI.
West Champaran’s Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), Sumit Kumar said it is difficult to ascertain the cause of the deaths as all the bodies were cremated.
"The investigation team was directed to submit its report within 24 hours,” Kumar told PTI.
The team will also ascertain the identity of those who died in the last three or four days in Lauriya, he added.
A family member of one of the deceased said, “My brother Pradeep consumed liquor with his friend Manish. Both died”.
The sale and consumption of alcohol was banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016.
