Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami set up Punjab Kings' five-run win over SRH in dramatic finish
Sharjah, Sep 25: Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi snared three wickets as Punjab Kings dished out a clinical bowling display to beat struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad by five runs in a low-scoring but entertaining Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Bishnoi (3/24) ran through the SRH middle order after veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami rocked the run chase early on by dismissing both David Warner (2) and captain Kane Williamson (1) cheaply in the first and third overs respectively.
Chasing 126 for a win on a slow Sharjah Cricket Stadium track, SRH ended at 120 for 7 in 20 overs to end their hopes of making it to the play-offs.
Punjab, however, kept their hopes alive as they grabbed the fifth place with 8 points from 10 matches.
West Indian Jason Holder raised hopes of a dramatic win for SRH with a late onslaught of 47 off just 29 balls with the help of five sixes but in the end SRH were short by five runs.
SRH needed 21 from the final two overs and Arshdeep Singh conceded just four runs from the penultimate over. Needing 17 runs from the final over bowled by Nathan Ellis, Holder hit a six in the second ball but SRH needed a six to tie the score and take the match to Super Over.
But Holder, who had taken three wickets for 19 runs in the Punjab Kings innings, could score just one run from the final ball.
SRH were 20 for 2 after Power Play and Bishnoi took the centre stage from then onwards as he removed the next three batsmen to stifle the SRH run chase.
First, he had Manish Pandey (13) in the eighth over before dismissing Kedar Jadhav (12) and Abdul Samad (1).
From 43 for 3 at the halfway mark, SRH were 60 for 5 in the 13th over.
The arrival of Jason Holder at the crease gave some hopes to SRH as the West Indian hit two sixes to take 16 runs from the 16th over bowled by Nathan Ellis.
SRH needed 35 from the final four overs and Wriddhiman Shah (31) was set at the other end but he got run out in the 17th over in a horrible mix-up.
Earlier, Holder's impressive spell of three wickets for 19 runs helped SRH restrict Punjab Kings to 125 for 7 after being sent in to bat.
Punjab Kings batsmen struggled to get going on a slow wicket and failed to stitch any big partnership, the highest being the 30-run stand between Chris Gayle and Aiden Markram, who top-scored with a 32-ball 27, for the third wicket.
Captain KL Rahul had scored 49 in the previous match but got dismissed early this time as he fell to Holder's first ball for a run-a-ball 21 in the fifth over.
The other opener Mayank Agarwal (5), who had scored 67 against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, was out four balls later as he sliced a Holder delivery to Kane Williamson at mid off.
Punjab Kings were 29 for 2 after Power Play and could have been three wickets down the next over but David Warner dropped Markram off Khaleel Ahmed.
The Mohali-based side were 55 for 2 at halfway mark.
Chris Gayle shunned playing his trademark big-hitting shots but got dimissed for 14 off 17 balls off the bowling of Rashid Khan.
Nicholas Pooran (8) followed his senior West Indian colleague to the dressing room the next over, while Markram's promising innings ended in the 15th over while looking for big shots to accelerate the innings.
Deepak Hooda (13) hit some lusty blows before substitute fielder J Suchith plucked the ball out of thin air in an outstanding fielding effort to dismiss the batsman.
Punjab Kings took 14 runs from the final over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to end their innings at 125 for 7.
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Kolhapur’s Saee Jadhav becomes first woman Territorial Army officer to pass out of IMA
Pune (PTI): Saee Jadhav from Maharashtra’s Kolhapur has become the first woman Territorial Army officer to complete pre-commissioning training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, breaking the institution’s 93-year-old tradition of male-only officer training.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis congratulated her and said her achievement is an inspiring milestone that gives direction to the dreams of countless young girls across the country.
Jadhav, 23, was commissioned as a Lieutenant during the Passing Out Parade of the 157th course held last week, marking a historic milestone for the IMA, which was established in 1932 and has since produced generations of Army officers.
She was commissioned into the services on December 13 during the commissioning ceremony at IMA, Dehradun.
Speaking to PTI, Saee’s father Sandip Jadhav, a serving major with the Territorial Army, said that Saee has been commissioned into the 130 Territorial Army (ecological ) battalion of Kumaon Regiment at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand.
Saee is currently pursuing her MBA through distance learning, he said.
“While pursuing her MBA, she was also preparing for competitive exams and TA (Territorial Army). She appeared for the exam in December 2023. There was only one vacancy for a woman officer in TA and since her rank was at the top in merit, she was selected,” said Major Jadhav.
“She is now commissioned into 130 Infantry Battalion (TA) of Kumaon Regiment at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand,” he said.
Jadhav said her daughter was inclined to join the armed forces, given the family’s armed forces background. “As parents, we feel proud that our daughter followed her dream and chose to serve the nation,” he added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also congratulated “Marathi Mulgi” Saee.
“She has created history by becoming first woman officer cadet to pass out of IMA in 93 years… It is a matter of immense pride that this honour has gone to a Marathi Mulgi!,” he wrote in a post on X.
“This is not just an individual success story, but an inspiring milestone that gives direction to the dreams of countless young girls across the country. Educated and brought up in Belgaum and originally from Kolhapur, Sai represents the 4th generation of the Jadhav family to carry forward the legacy of service to the nation,” he added.
