RCB signs South African pacer Wayne Parnell as replacement for injured Topley in IPL 2023
Bengaluru: The Royal Challengers Bangalore have reportedly signed South African pacer Wayne Parnell to replace the injured Reece Topley for IPL 2023. Topley sustained a dislocated shoulder during the team's first home game against the Mumbai Indians and has been ruled out of the tournament. According to ClubCricketSA, Parnell is expected to join the team soon and will be eligible for selection.
In the meantime, on Thursday, the Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, losing by a margin of 81 runs. Despite being in trouble early on with a score of 89/5 in 11.3 overs, KKR managed to recover and secure victory in their first home game of IPL 2023. During the match, David Willey and Karn Sharma each took two wickets in two consecutive balls, causing concern for KKR's chances, but they were ultimately able to turn things around.
Shardul Thakur, who almost got out on his first ball, which was also the hat-trick ball, managed to score an impressive 68 runs off just 28 balls, hitting the joint-fastest fifty of the season in just 20 deliveries. Despite a close call on his first ball, where the inside edge narrowly missed the leg-stump, Thakur went on to deliver an outstanding performance.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a striking innings at the beginning of the match, scoring 57 runs filled with stylish and aggressive strokes. Rinku Singh also made a significant contribution with a crucial 46 runs, as he shared a partnership of 103 runs in just 47 balls with Thakur, which helped KKR achieve a massive total of 204/7.
During the Royal Challengers Bangalore's innings in reply to Kolkata's 204/7, the team faced difficulties against the three mystery spinners of KKR - Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, and debutant Suyash Sharma. Together, these spinners claimed nine wickets, with Chakaravarthy taking four wickets for 15 runs, Narine taking two wickets for 16 runs, and Sharma taking three wickets for 30 runs. Leaving the RCB batters confused and unable to score, ultimately resulting in their dismissal for a total of 123 runs in just 17.4 overs.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
