RCB off ventilator but still in ICU, says Ajay Jadeja
Bengaluru (PTI): Former India all-rounder Ajay Jadeja believes Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowlers have started to click together to take their side "off the ventilator" but the team still remains "in the ICU" following their nervy win over Gujarat Titans.
RCB got over the line with four wickets and 38 balls in hand chasing a paltry 148 against GT on Saturday, a win which was set up by the bowlers.
Faf du Plessis (64) and Virat Kohli (42) shared 92 runs inside the powerplay but RCB lost wickets in a heap — slipping from 92/0 to 117/6 — to give Gujarat a real hope of pulling off an unlikely win.
"The chinks in the armour are visible, what happened at the end. But the chance is there. They're off the ventilator but they're still in the ICU," Jadeja told Jio Cinema.
"We are excited about today's match after seeing Virat and Faf bat. But the real work that was done, was by the bowlers, an aspect RCB has historically struggled at.
"The bowling department has started to click for them now, and we're talking about the business end of the season, this is the point where realistic chances of winning comes from momentum…."
Jadeja said RCB may have got the momentum after their win which took them to the seventh spot in the IPL points table, but qualifying for the playoffs remains a "very tough ask".
“More than momentum, it's about the mentality of the team where you know if you're in a bad situation, someone will take you out of it... Today, it seemed like RCB picked the right road while Gujarat was on the other side. Who will reach their goal? It's a very tough ask still,” he said.
The former India cricketer, however, was impressed with RCB’s aggressive approach with the bat in a small chase.
“They came into the game differently from the start. I haven't checked the statistics, but I have never seen them start a game with a six. Not one, but two of them, in the first over, when there was no need,” he said.
“What Faf did, he was operating at a different pace. Later, there was some excitement in the match but at no point did it seem like this was (GT win) going to be successful,”
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PM contradicts his own slogan of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas': Farooq Abdullah
Poonch/Jammu (PTI): National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday of dividing the people of the country on the basis of religion, saying his recent statements have even contradicted his own slogan of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas".
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister claimed that the hatred for Muslims has gone up ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power at the Centre in 2014, while people are suffering due to inflation and growing unemployment.
"I have heard the (election) speeches of almost all prime ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru and except Modi, everyone always talked about uniting people as that is the guarantee for our success as a country.
"His (Modi's) recent statements where he is talking about Muslims as outsiders, giving birth to more children, frightening Hindus by claiming that their properties, including the mangalsutras of their women, will be taken and distributed among the minority community have no parallel. We Muslims only want our rights and have no intention to usurp the rights of others," Abdullah said, addressing a Lok Sabha poll rally in the Surankote area of Poonch district.
The rally was jointly organised by the NC and the Congress in support of Mian Altaf, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) candidate from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency that is scheduled to go to polls on May 25.
"The NC and the Congress have come together to protect the country so that we can live with honour and die respectfully. Our country is still poverty-ridden and we can only overcome our problems when we are united," Abdullah said.
He claimed that the winds of change are sweeping the country and the BJP is finding its government dangling, which is evident from the statements of the party's top leaders.
"They are talking about 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas', but the prime minister's speeches contradict his oft-repeated slogan. The home minister (Amit Shah) meets specially-invited people in the presence of those close to the BJP with an aim to divide us.
"They are doing it in the darkness of night so that nobody can see them in the daytime," the former Union minister said, asking people to pray that the "divisive" government falls and the hatred that was spread after 2014 is replaced with love, brotherhood and respect for each other.
He said Islam teaches Muslims to respect other religions and "we do not believe in hatred".
"(Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi took out the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to snow-bound Kashmir and later, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Assam to Maharashtra. His only purpose was to unite the country in the face of growing hatred and understand the pain of the public," Abdullah said.
He said Jammu and Kashmir acceded to Mahatma Gandhi's India but the BJP has created a trust deficit between the people of the region and New Delhi.
"I am being dubbed by them as Pakistani, Khalistani, an American agent because I am talking straight. I am asking them that if they can talk to China, which has taken our land, why are they not talking to the neighbouring country (Pakistan) to pull us out of the turmoil? We are also citizens of the country," the NC leader said.
Referring to his meeting with Modi as part of a delegation in June 2021, Abdullah said the prime minister had talked about ending "Dilli ki doori aur dil ki doori" and "we had suggested releasing the innocent people from Jammu and Kashmir languishing in jails in other states as a move to bridge the trust deficit".
"They promised that all of them will be released after their cases are reviewed by a committee. Neither the committee was formed nor anyone released," he said.
Abdullah said hundreds of NC leaders and workers were killed by terrorists because "we were standing with India".
Praying for the success of the INDIA opposition bloc in the ongoing polls, he said he will request the Centre for the release of all innocent Kashmiris and a separate Lok Sabha constituency for the Rajouri-Poonch region that remains cut-off from south Kashmir's Anantnag owing to the six-month closure of the Mughal road due to heavy snowfall.
Abdullah urged people to remain cautious and united, and said they should be prepared for the Assembly polls that are likely to be held after the culmination of the annual Amarnath Yatra in August.
