Ruturaj Gaikwad's unbeaten 108 guides CSK to post 210/4 against LSG in IPL
Chennai, Apr 23: A remarkable unbeaten hundred by captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube’s ruthless fifty formed the pillars of Chennai Super Kings’ competitive 210 for four against Lucknow Super Giants here on Tuesday.
Gaikwad (108, 60b, 12x4, 3x6) and Dube (66, 27b, 3x4, 7x6) added 104 runs for an entertaining fourth-wicket stand that gave steam to Super Kings innings after a rather subdued Power Play (49/2) and the middle passage.
The CSK should primarily thank Gaikwad, who played an innings which was a connoisseur’s delight, for that total after the early departure of Ajinkya Rahane, who was caught superbly by stumper KL Rahul off Matt Henry.
The batting in this iteration of the IPL has been all about scorching the ball far and wide but Gaikwad took a classic route, timing the ball through the gaps for fours.
In fact, his first fifty contained no fours but still he managed to maintain a strike-rate of above 180 during that phase.
The fifty, the right-hander’s 17th in the IPL, came off just 28 balls. The most spectacular shot that Gaikwad played on the night was a slice-cut off pacer Mohsin Khan that beat the point fielder for a boundary.
However, his focus was also on constructing useful alliances with his teammates as 45 runs were made with Daryl Mitchell, who replaced an out of touch Rachin Ravindra, and 52 were made alongside Ravindra Jadeja (17).
However, both Mitchell (11), who was dropped on four, and Jadeja would rue missing out on a chance to chip in with a far bigger knock.
While Gaikwad was the main contributor in those partnerships, the pressure was slightly lifted off Gaikwad’s shoulders once Dube arrived at the crease.
The left-hander played some powerful hits around the field and, not so surprisingly, fetched CSK’s first six of the innings in the 13th over off pacer Marcus Stoinis.
Gaikwad soon slammed the first six of his innings in the 45th ball he faced –pulling Stoinis’ half-tracker over mid-wicket.
However, Dube seamlessly slipped into his six-hitting avatar and pacer Yash Thakur bore the brunt as the left-hander smashed him for three successive sixes.
Gaikwad, who reached 99 with a six off Thakur over extra cover, reached his second IPL hundred with a four in the next ball off the same bowler as he made 16 runs in the 18th over.
Gaikwad and Dube brought up 100 of their partnership in just 46 balls.
Dube hammered Mohsin for a four and six off successive balls to reach his fifty in 22 balls as CSK plundered 71 runs off the last five overs.
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K'taka water crisis: NGT seeks cricket association's reply on water sources in Chinnaswamy stadium
New Delhi, May 3: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to furnish details about the various sources of water, including four 400-feet deep bore wells, in Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy stadium.
The tribunal, which was hearing the matter regarding the supply of treated water to the stadium for the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches amid the water crisis in the state, noted that the stadium's total usage or water consumption was 1,94,000 litre a day, of which 80,000 litre was fresh water.
The tribunal had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of a media report claiming that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) upon request of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has permitted the supply of treated water to the stadium.
Last month, it had directed the BWSSB to file a detailed report with complete details of the quantity and source of water being used in the stadium.
In an order passed on Thursday, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noting the board's report pointed out that the stadium's different sources of water included four bore wells, each of 400 feet depth, and these bore wells were not equipped with meters for calculating water usage.
The bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, noted that the report also said approval was granted for the daily supply of 64,000 litre of treated water for non-drinking purposes.
The stadium's total water consumption was 1,94,000 litre a day, of which 80,000 litre was fresh water, 50,000 litre was purchased or rain water harvested (RWH) water and 64,000 was treated water, the bench said citing the report.
The bench noted the reply of the KSCA about seeking some time for disclosing the "full details of various sources" from which it obtained water.
The tribunal directed the KSCA to also "disclose the details of permissions which have been granted in respect of the four bore wells", since when groundwater is being extracted from these bore wells and when they were dug, including the quantity of water extracted.
It also asked the association to share the particulars of the sewage treatment plant (STP) which had been set up in the stadium and the details of its operation or performance.
"Let the reply on above terms be filed by respondent no. 4 (KSCA) within four weeks," the tribunal said.
The matter has been posted for hearing on August 13 for further proceedings.
