Rahul, Kuldeep architect India's 8-wkt win in first T20I
Manchester, July 4 : Riding on a flashy unbeaten century from Lokesh Rahul and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav's maiden T20 International fifer, India outclassed England by eight wickets in the opening match and go 1-0 up in the three-match rubber at the Old Trafford cricket stadium here on Tuesday.
Rahul struck a breezy 54-ball 101, laced with 10 fours and five sixes to anchor India's run chase that saw him forge a masterly 123-run second wicket stand with opener Rohit Sharma (32 off 30).
Chasing 160, India quickly overcame the early loss of opener Shikhar Dhawan (4) as the right-handed duo of Rahul and Rohit helped the visitors race to 50 in the first five overs.
Rahul continued his glorious run with the bat, dominating the partnership with Rohit, who uncharacteristically played the perfect second fiddle to the Karnataka youngster.
Rahul started the onslaught right from the word go before meting out some special treatment to off-spinner Moeen Ali, whom he welcomed with a superb reverse sweep that yielded a boundary and followed up with a massive six over long on.
The right-hander then picked the leg-spinner Adil Rashid for a boundary to third man to get to his half century off just 27 balls, before launching Liam Plunkett for two sixes and as many fours to milk 20 runs from the paceman .
With India comfortably placed at 103/1 midway through the innings, Rohit too stepped up the gas by launching Rashid for a towering six over mid wicket before falling to the same bowler.
Rohit's departure brought in skipper Virat Kohli (20 not out off 22 balls), who was seven shy of becoming the fourth batsman to notch 2000 T20I runs.
Kohli, not only got to the landmark but also ensured Rahul get to his deserving second T20I century with a single before the skipper finished off in style with a thunderous six off Ali to guide India home.
Earlier, England had themselves to blame for wasting a sound 50-run opening start from Jason Roy (30) and Jos Buttler (69) as Kuldeep (5/24) triggered a collapse that saw Alex Hales (8), Eoin Morgan (7), Jonny Bairstow (0) and Joe Root (0) departing in quick succession -- the latter three in a span of four deliveries.
Buttler, however continued tormenting the Indians with a 46-ball knock laced with eight fours and a couple of sixes before becoming Kuldeep's fifth victim, thanks to a brilliant catch by Kohli after Rahul dropped him one ball earlier.
Towards the end, lower order bat David Willey's unbeaten 29 off 15 balls helped England to some sort of respectability.
Brief Scores: England 159/8 (Jos Buttler 69, Jason Roy 30; Kuldeep Yadav 5/24) lose to India 163/2 (Lokesh Rahul 101 not out, Rohit Sharma 32, Virat Kohli 20 not out) by 8 wickets.
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Punjab: CBI arrests 3 men in Rs 13-lakh bribery case involving Vigilance dept after midnight chase
New Delhi (PTI): In a late-night raid at the Punjab Vigilance office in Mohali followed by a dramatic chase, the CBI arrested two middlemen and another person in a Rs 13-lakh bribery case involving senior officers of the department, officials said.
The CBI took the action after registering an FIR on a complaint of a Punjab State Tax Officer, who had accused Vikas Goyal and his son Raghav Goyal of demanding illegal gratification of Rs 20 Lakh for securing the closure of a complaint against him in the office of DG (Vigilance), Punjab.
"Further, it was alleged that both the accused were acting as intermediaries for senior Vigilance officials including the Reader to DGP Vigilance, Punjab and were using their influence to assure the complainant that his matter could be settled. O. P. Rana, the reader to DG Vigilance assured him for closure of the complaint once illegal gratification is paid," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.
Prima facie, the investigation reveals active involvement of Rana in the conspiracy, she said.
According to the statement, during negotiations, the accused reduced the demand from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 13 lakh along with one Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 mobile phone for Rana.
After getting confirmation about the bribe exchange, a CBI team raided a place in Chandigarh, where an associate of the accused, Ankit Wadhwa, was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs 13 lakh and a mobile phone on their behalf, the spokesperson said.
"The bribe amount and mobile phone were recovered during the trap proceedings," the statement read.
As it happened, Raghav Goyal, Vikas Goyal, and Rana ran away after being alerted by their gunmen stationed there to keep a watch.
The CBI team began a hot pursuit and after a dramatic chase, nabbed Raghav, Vikas and apprehended two gunmen near Ambala at the Punjab-Haryana border, the spokesperson said.
"Rana, reader to DGP Vigilance, is still absconding and efforts are being made to arrest him," she said.
Searches at the residential premises of Goyals at Malout and Rana at Chandigarh, led to recovery of Rs 9 lakh in cash and incriminating documents, the spokesperson said.
The CBI investigation exposed an exchange of "sensitive information" relating to pending vigilance matters between Rana and Goyals.
"The wider conspiracy, including possible illegal gratification nexus and the role of other persons, is under investigation. The accused private persons were given police gunmen officially. The role and attachment of Punjab Police gunmen carrying AK-47 rifles with the private accused persons is also being examined," the spokesperson said.
