Faf du Plessis fifty, DK flourish push RCB to 192/3
Mumbai, May 8: Skipper Faf du Plessis led from the front with an unbeaten half-century while Dinesh Karthik provided the late flourish as Royal Challengers Bangalore overcame a jittery start to post 192/3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.
Du Plessis slammed eight boundaries and two sixes en route to his 50-ball 73 not out, his third fifty this season and seized the initiative after he lost his opening partner Virat Kohli on the first ball of the match.
The South African veteran along with Rajat Patidar (48 in 38 balls; 4x4, 2x6) laid a solid foundation with a 105-run third wicket partnership off 73 balls.
But Hyderabad bowlers led by spinner Jagadeesha Suchith (2/30) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/34) slowed things a bit in the middle overs before Dinesh Karthik gave a last-over flourish (25 runs) to prop up the total.
The Indian experienced wicketkeeper-batter smashed four sixes, three of them coming in succession followed by a boundary in the last over against Afghanistani debutant Fazalhaq Farooqi, en route to his entertaining cameo.
Hyderabad had their solitary moment of glory, the very first ball of the game when Kohli (0) got out for a third golden duck this season, sixth overall in IPL.
Enduring his worst-ever IPL -- 216 runs from 12 innings at 19.6 -- Kohli had one soft dismissal off a Suchith half volley drifting onto his pads, and the star batter managed to flick it straight to Williamson at short midwicket.
It was all about RCB thereafter as Du Plessis and the young Patidar seized the momentum with their counter-attacking approach.
Patidar looked at his fluent best, while the skipper was in total control in the afternoon heat of Wankhede as they took just 31 balls for their fifty-plus stand.
Hyderabad young speed merchant Umran Malik bowled back of the length on what was a slow pitch and the batting duo had all the time on offer to take him to cleaners in his first over that yielded 20 runs.
Well-settled Patidar however missed his fifty by two runs becoming Suchith's second victim, miscuing one in the 13th over.
Brief scores: RCB 192/3 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 73 not out, Rajat Patidar 48; Dinesh Karthik 30 not out; J Suchith 2/30) vs SRH.
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Train to Kashmir: 22-bogie train's trial run successful on Katra-Srinagar line
Jammu: A 22-bogie train chugged between Katra and Srinagar railway stations on Sunday, officials said, marking the first successful trial run on the newly completed line to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country via rail.
The train, comprising 18 AC coaches, two luggage carriers and two engines, left the Katra railway station at around 8 am, successfully reaching its destination within four hours under the watchful eyes of the railway authorities, the officials said.
This was the first trial run between Katra and Srinagar, and came within six days after the Commissioner of Railway Safety (Northern Circle) Dinesh Chand Deshwal authorised the opening of the newly constructed Broad Gauge line.
He had given the authorisation for the start of public carriage of goods and passenger traffic in a seven-page letter to the ministry and railway authorities, based on his detailed inspection of the track on January 7 and 8.
The CRS referred to his inspection of the newly constructed BG line between the Katra and Reasi section by a motor trolley and on foot, followed by a speed trial on the entire section from Katra to Banihal.
He had then authorised regular opening of the section for passengers and freight traffic at a maximum permissible speed of 85 Kmph on the main line and 15 Kmph on turnout.
The work on the dream project to link Kashmir by train was started in 1997 and it missed several deadlines given geological, topographical and meteorological challenges.
Out of the total 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 km was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by 18 km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, 25 km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February, last year.
The work on the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a total of 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra. And this section was finally completed in December 2024 as announced by the Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The railways has conducted six trials over the past month on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Katra-Srinagar Rail Link: First 18-Coach Train Completes Trial Run Successfully pic.twitter.com/p68axcUClX
— Daily Excelsior (@DailyExcelsior1) January 19, 2025
