Skipper du Plessis guides RCB to 181/6 against LSG
Navi Mumbai, Apr 19: Skipper Faf du Plessis roared back to form after a string of low scores with a breezy 96 to steer Royal Challengers Bangalore to 181 for six against Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.
Opening the innings, du Plessis, who failed to put up a big score since his sensational 88 in RCB's first game of the season, anchored the innings to perfection and got out only on the penultimate ball of the final over.
The former Proteas captain had 11 boundaries and two sixes in his 64-ball innings, playing shots all around the DY Patil Stadium.
The Super Giants invited RCB to bat and the bowlers managed to strike at regular intervals but had no answers for du Plessis.
Sri Lankan right-arm pacer Dushmantha Chameer (2/31 off 3) bowled a fruitful first over for LSG, snaring the wickets of opener Anuj Rawat (4) and Virat Kohli (0), whose struggles with the bat continued as he got out for a first-ball duck.
Glenn Maxwell (23) looked to continue his explosive run in the IPL. The Australian played a counter-attacking innings as he slammed Chameera for two fours and a six in the third over.
The all-rounder, however, went down after a quick cameo while playing his favourite shot -- the switch hit -- as LSG took control of the match again.
Maxwell went for the reverse sweep off a Krunal Pandya (1/29) delivery but failed to middle it, with a diving Jason Holder completing the catch as RCB slipped to 44/3.
Young Suyash Prabhudessai (10) followed a couple of overs later, even as du Plessis ensured RCB continued scoring at a healthy rate.
Alongside Shahbaz Ahmed (26), du Plessis added 70 runs for the fifth wicket, with the former playing the perfect second fiddle.
The veteran batter switched gears in the slog overs with Dinesh Karthik (13 not out), who himself is in imperious form, by his side. Together they took RCB beyond the 180-run mark. Du plessis came close to scoring his maiden IPL century but was dismissed by Holder with one ball left in the innings.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 181/6 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 96; Dushmantha Chameera 2/31, Jason Holder 2/25).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Vodafone Idea moves SC seeking Rs 30k crore AGR dues waiver
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a fresh plea of Vodafone Idea seeking waiver of around Rs 30,000 crore adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih was urged by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the telecom firm, that the plea needed an urgent hearing.
The telecom company has sought a waiver of around Rs 30,000 crore towards interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components of its AGR dues.
Rohatgi said the survival of the petitioner firm was crucial for maintaining competition in the telecom sector.
Now the Centre holds a 49 per cent stake in the company following a recent equity conversion of interest dues, he added.
The bench is likely to hear the plea on November 19.
The top court had previously refused to review its 2021 order rejecting the pleas of telecom majors including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for rectification of alleged errors in calculation of AGR dues payable by them.
A bench comprising former Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Abhay S Oka and Sanjay Kumar dismissed the pleas seeking review of the 2021 order in-chambers on January 28.
On July 23, 2021, the apex court dismissed their applications seeking rectification of the alleged errors in calculation of AGR dues.
The telecom companies argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation be rectified and there were cases of duplication of entries.
The top court in September 2020 fixed a time frame of 10 years for telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.
In its September 2020 order, the apex court said that telecom operators should make the payment of 10 percent of the total dues as demanded by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) by March 31, 2021 and the rest amount would be paid in yearly instalments commencing from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2031.
The top court, which held the demand raised by the DoT with respect to AGR dues as final, said there should neither be a dispute raised by the telecom companies nor any re-assessment.
The apex court in October 2019 delivered its verdict on the AGR issue.
The DoT moved a plea in the top court asking for a staggered payment of the dues by telcos over 20 years.
