Qualifier 1: Solid Prithvi Shaw, powerful Rishabh Pant take DC to 172 for 5 against CSK
Dubai, Oct 10: Rishabh Pant showed no signs of his self-confessed "nervousness" as his unbeaten 51 off 35 balls propelled Delhi Capitals to a competitive score of 172/5 against Chennai Super Kings in the first Qualifier of Indian Premier League here on Sunday.
Pant got an ideal support from his buddy Shimron Hetmyer (37 off 24 balls) as the duo added 83 runs for the fifth wicket with some breathtaking shots towards the end of the innings.
Pant hit three fours and two sixes as Delhi Capitals didn't ultimately pay the price for playing a specialist batter short as they capitalised on a blazing start provided by opener Prithvi Shaw (60 off 34 balls), who took the opposition on with seven fours and three sixes.
Coming together at 80 for 4, Hetmyer and Pant initially just nudged around for a few singles and doubles before the flamboyant Caribbean pulled a short one from Moeen Ali for a six. He then bisected the off-side field off Dwayne Bravo for a boundary.
Pant, who was being kept quiet by the spinners, finally showed some spark with his trademark one-handed six off Shardul Thakur.
Once they had put on a half-century partnership, Pant and Hetmyer did start throwing their bats around at the back-end when the pacers once again were back in operation.
If Hetmyer thumped Josh Hazlewood (4-0-29-2) over his head, Pant whipped him towards deep mid-wicket to bring up the 150 for the team. He then hit Dwayne Bravo (1/31 in 3 overs) over his head for a second six.
But a lot of credit should go to Shaw as he played his best knock of the tournament.
He started with a pulled four and a six off Hazlewood, funnily both mis-timed shots. The first flew over slips and the next one was top-edged behind wicketkeeper with enough wood on the leather to go the distance.
However Deepak Chahar's second over turned out to be a nightmare for the seamer as he was smashed for four boundaries -- first a streaky inside edge followed by two square cuts on either side of a flick.
While Shikhar Dhawan (7) and Shreyas Iyer (1) were dismissed by Hazlewood within the Powerplay, Axar Patel (10) was promoted without much success.
Shaw, however, continued with his 'see-the-ball, hit-the-ball' formula as he lofted Shardul Thakur for two sixes.
As he reached his fifty off only 27 balls, he was piercing the off-side field regularly even as Axar perished failing to get the desired distance while trying to loft Moeen Ali.
The seasoned pair of Moeen Ali (1/27 in 4 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/23 in 3 overs) suddenly stifled the runs post Powerplay with some measured bowling which led to Shaw trying to loft the left-arm spinner inside-out. However Faf du Plessis ran sideways to take a well-judged catch at deep extra cover boundary.
Then, Pant and Hetmyer took charge of DC's batting to post a safe total.
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BJP tops list of national parties with over Rs 2,243 crore in donations in FY 2023-24: ADR
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): The BJP received the highest amount in large donations among national parties in the financial year 2023-24, with over Rs 2,243 crore declared from 8,358 donations, according to a report by poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report, based on data submitted to the Election Commission, highlighted trends in political donations above Rs 20,000.
The total declared donations to national parties stood at Rs 2,544.28 crore from 12,547 contributions — a sharp 199 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
BJP's declared donations alone accounted for 88 per cent of the total. The Congress was a very distant second with Rs 281.48 crore from 1,994 donations.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), and National People's Party (NPEP) reported smaller amounts, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) once again declared zero donations above the Rs 20,000 threshold, consistent with its filings for the past 18 years.
Donations to the BJP increased from Rs 719.858 crore in FY 2022-23 to Rs 2,243.94 crore in FY 2023-24, marking a 211.72 per cent increase. Similarly, donations to the Congress rose from Rs 79.924 crore in FY 2022-23 to Rs 281.48 crore in FY 2023-24, reflecting a 252.18 per cent increase, the report said.
Over the same period, donations declared by the AAP decreased by 70.18 per cent or Rs 26.038 crore, while donations declared by NPEP decreased by 98.02 per cent or Rs 7.331 crore, it said
Despite the ECI's deadline of September 30, 2024, only BSP and AAP submitted their contribution reports on time. BJP submitted its report with a 42-day delay, followed by CPI(M), INC, and NPEP, which submitted it 43, 27, and 23 days late.
The report said 3,755 donations to the national parties were made by corporate/business sectors amounting to Rs 2,262.55 crore (88.92 per cent of total donations), while 8,493 individual donors donated Rs 270.872 crore (10.64 per cent of total donations) in FY 2023-24.
The report said that 3,478 of these donations were made to BJP (Rs 2,064.58 crore). The party received Rs 169.126 crore through 4,628 individual donors in FY 2023-24.
"The Congress received a total of Rs 190.3263 cr via 102 donations from corporate/business sectors and Rs 90.899 cr via 1,882 individual donors during FY 2023-24," it said.
The ADR said BJP at Rs 2064.58 crore received more than nine times the total amount (Rs 197.97 crore) of all corporate donations declared by all other national parties for FY 2023-24.
Prudent Electoral Trust donated a total of Rs 880 crore to BJP and INC together and is the top donor to parties that received the maximum donations.
The Trust donated Rs 723.675 crore to the BJP (32.25 per cent of total funds received by the party) and Rs 156.4025 crore to the INC (55.56 per cent of total funds received by the party).
Triumph Electoral Trust donated Rs 127.50 crore in four donations to the BJP, and Derive Investments donated Rs 50 crore to it and Rs 3.20 crore to the Congress.
Acme Solar Energy Pvt Ltd donated Rs 51 crore through five donations, Bharat Biotech International Limited donated Rs 50 crore in a single donation, Rungta Sons Private Limited donated Rs 50 crore through a single donation, and Dinesh Chandra R Agarwal Infracon Pvt Ltd donated Rs 30 crore through a single donation to BJP in FY 2023-24, the report said.
ADR observed that Prudent Electoral Trust's report declared contributing 31 donations worth Rs 723.78 crore to BJP, however, the party in its report declared receiving 30 donations worth Rs 723.675 crore.
According to the Jaybharath Electoral Trust report for FY 2023-24, it donated Rs 5 crore to the BJP. However, the contribution report of BJP for the same financial year does not mention this contribution, ADR said.
ADR recommended stringent enforcement of disclosure norms, including the rejection of incomplete reports and mandatory PAN details for all donations above Rs 20,000.
It also called for annual scrutiny of party donation reports by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and advocated for making donor details publicly accessible under the Right to Information Act.
It urged the Election Commission to publish information on action taken against parties failing to meet disclosure standards and pushed for the creation of an online platform to track report submissions and transparency.
