Quinton de Kock, Krunal Pandya power LSG to post 199/8 against PBKS in IPL
Lucknow, Mar 30: Floater Krunal Pandya's late blitz powered Lucknow Super Giants to a competitive 199/8 in their Indian Premier League match against Punjab Kings here on Saturday.
Asked to bat first, opener Quinton de Kock top-scored for LSG with a 38-ball 54 but it was stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran's 21-ball 42, which infused life into his team's innings in the middle overs.
On the back of two sixes and four boundaries, Krunal then scored at a strike rate of 200 to finish on a 22-ball 43 and give his side extra cushion.
De Kock got the LSG innings underway with a splendid drive through mid-off for a boundary.
Playing the game as 'impact player' having handed over the leadership responsibility to Nicholas Pooran, KL Rahul didn't look convincing as he tried to flick Kagiso Rabada behind square on the leg-side.
Running in from a long way, a diving Harshal Patel made a valiant attempt to latch on to the ball but Rahul was lucky as the fielder could not pull off what would have been a blinder.
At the other end, De Kock was in his elements as he flayed Rabada over point for a four in the first delivery he faced from the South African speedster.
Next ball de Kock did one better, as he opened the face of the bat to whack Rabada over the backward point boundary for a six.
Rahul drove Arshdeep Singh down the ground for a maximum, and then, smashed another delivery in a similar fashion, but that fetched him a four.
Arshdeep, however, exacted his revenged when the left-arm seamer had the LSG batter caught by Jonny Bairstow at backward point for a nine-ball 15.
Devdutt Padikkal got himself two boundaries before being dismissed by Sam Curran.
Marcus Stoinis (19) hit two sixes before being bowled by Rahul Chahar as he looked to hoick the spinner on the on-side.
That brought Pooran into the middle and the West Indian quickly got into the groove, hitting Chahar for two sixes and a four for a 20-run over, which gave LSG's run rate a much-needed impetus.
Meanwhile, De Kock brought up his half century in 34 balls but a strategic timeout broke LSG's momentum as the left-handed South African batter top-edged a short Arshdeep delivery for wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma to complete an easy catch.
Pooran kept the scoreboard moving at a good rate until he dragged a Rabada delivery onto the stumps, a big blow for LSG at a crucial juncture.
New man Krunal Pandya did not waste any time to settle down, brilliantly dispatching a short Rabada delivery over midwicket for a maximum.
Curran bowled a tight 17th over to halt LSG's charge, but Krunal got a flurry of boundaries to prop up LSG.
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Bengaluru: IIM-B student dies after falling off second floor of college hostel
Bengaluru, Jan 6: A student of the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru (IIM-B) died after falling off the second floor of his hostel, police said on Monday.
"We are awaiting the post-mortem report, which will likely come in three days, to ascertain the cause of death," said the officer to PTI.
Nilay Kailashbhai Patel, who was from Surat, had celebrated his 29th birthday with his friends on Saturday. He had gone to his room after cutting cake in his friend's room a little after midnight and was found lying in the courtyard lawn of the hostel at about 6.30 am on Sunday, they said.
According to police, he was spotted by the security personnel and was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead.
It is likely that Nilay accidentally fell from the second floor balcony, while he was going back to his room after the birthday party.
Meanwhile, IIM-B has put out a condolence message on its X page. "It is with profound sadness that IIM Bangalore shares the news of the untimely passing of our PGP 2023-25 student," read the message.
A case of unnatural death was registered by the police and investigation is on.
It is with profound sadness that IIM Bangalore shares the news of the untimely passing of our PGP 2023-25 student, Nilay Kailashbhai Patel.
— IIM Bangalore (@iimb_official) January 5, 2025
A bright student, and a much loved friend to many, Nilay will be sorely missed by the entire IIMB family. pic.twitter.com/aSVp6y7Pcr
