Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw power DC to big win over CSK
Mumbai, Apr 10: Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw pummelled Chennai Super Kings into submission with their explosive batting as Delhi Capitals romped to a seven-wicket victory in their Indian Premier League opener here on Saturday.
Dhawan smashed 85 off 54 balls and Shaw amassed 72 in just 38 deliveries as DC chased down a target of 189 comfortably with 1.2 overs to spare.
New skipper Rishabh Pant hit the winning runs.
With Shaw and Dhawan in rollicking form, Delhi Capitals started on a rousing note and were sitting pretty at 65 for no loss at the end of the six Powerplay overs.
The two openers went for their big shots with impunity, and on all sides of the Wankhede Stadium, as Delhi Capitals raced past 100 in quick time.
Needing 90 runs in the last 10 overs and with all wickets in hand, DC could afford to dictate terms and put pressure on CSK. That Shardul Thakur and Sam Curran were sent for a leather hunt put CSK completely out of contest.
For Shaw, the innings was an extension of his Vijay Hazare Trophy form and the slight tweak in his technique and a straight backlift is working wonders for Shaw.
"I worked on the back-and-across [movement], I focused with Pravin sir as well. I think it's working quite well," Shaw said.
The fours and sixes continued to rain as DC inched closer to the target with consummate ease
While the CSK bowling attack had no answer to the strokes played by the DC openers, what added to their misery were two dropped catches of Shaw on 38 and 47, with Moeen Ali being the unfortunate bowler on both occasions.
Making full use of the reprieves, Shaw raced to half century in just 27 balls while his senior partner Dhawan go to the landmark in 35 deliveries.
Shaw hit nine fours and three sixes, while Dhawan struck 10 boundaries and two maximums before getting out to miss out on a hundred.
Earlier, Suresh Raina announced his IPL comeback with a blazing 36-ball 54 and powered his team to a solid 188 for seven.
Sam Curran smashed 34 off only 15 balls to prop up the CSK innings towards the end. Curran hit four fours and two sixes.
The last five overs yielded 52 runs for CSK, thanks to Curran's power-packed innings.
Asked to bat first by Rishabh Pant, Ruturaj Gaikwad got CSK off the mark with a pleasing drive through the off side between point and cover, two deliveries after being beaten all ends up by a Chris Woakes outswinger.
Last season's runners-up DC didn't have to wait long for their first breakthrough as Avesh Khan (2/23 in 4 overs) had Faf du PLessis trapped in front of the wicket in the second over.
In the first ball of the third over, Woakes had Gaikwad caught in the slip cordon as CSK slipped to seven for two.
The English pacer drew Gaikwad into a push with a ball that moved a slightly on pitching.
In came Raina -- he had missed the last IPL owing to personal reasons -- and in the company of Moeen Ali, the seasoned campaigner revived CSK's innings and looked to put up a challenging total against a strong DC batting line-up at the Wankhede Stadium.
During his 24-ball 36, Moeen struck four boundaries and two sixes, playing a fine helping hand to Raina.
Experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin cut short Moeen's innings when the all-rounder got himself into an uncomfortable position while going for a reverse sweep, the ensuing top-edge ending in a good catch by Shikhar Dhawan, who ran backwards from short third man to hold on to the ball.
Ambati Rayudu came in and straightaway got into the act, hitting a couple of sixes and a four to race away to 23 off 16 balls before Tom Curran ended his stay in the middle.
Meanwhile Raina went about his task in a manner that did not give the impression that he was coming back to top-flight after a long hiatus.
Raina got himself going with a four off Woakes and then worked Ashwin for two successive boundaries, not afraid to dance down the wicket against the wily spinner's flight.
Using his feet well, the veteran southpaw hoicked leg-spinner Amit Mishra for two and also got a maximum against Ashwin.
It was no different with Marcus Stoinis as Raina pulled the Australian medium pacer for another six before being run-out following a mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja (26).
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Stilfontein (AP): Months after South African authorities initially cut off supplies to miners working illegally in an abandoned gold mine, rescuers brought dozens of bodies and emaciated survivors to the surface on Tuesday with hundreds more still believed to be underground, many of them dead and others too weak to come out on their own.
At least 60 bodies and 92 survivors had been pulled from one of South Africa's deepest mines since Monday in a red cage-like device lowered thousands of feet underground, police said. Police are uncertain how many miners remain inside but said it is likely in the hundreds. Another nine bodies were brought out on Friday in a community-led rescue effort, according to a group representing the miners.
The mine has been the scene of a tense standoff between police, miners and members of the local community since authorities launched an operation in November to force the miners out by cutting off food and water from the surface for a period of time. At the time, a Cabinet minister said the aim was to "smoke them out" and the government would not send help because they were "criminals".
But that tactic has been fiercely criticised by civic groups and the community, and the South African government is under scrutiny for the way it has dealt with the issue at the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine, where more than 100 miners are believed to have died underground of starvation or dehydration, according to the group representing them.
Authorities, who removed the ropes and pulley system miners used to enter and to lower supplies, say the survivors are able to come out but refuse to because of fear of arrest. That has been disputed by the civic groups, which won a court case to force authorities to allow food, water and medicine to be sent down to the miners. But they say the supplies aren't enough and many of the miners are dying of starvation and unable to climb out because the shaft is too steep.
Residents desperately waiting for news of family members gathered at the mine Tuesday near the town of Stilfontein, southwest of Johannesburg, some holding placards criticising authorities for their response.
The community organised its own rescue operation on Friday before the official effort by authorities began on Monday. They say a proper rescue operation should have been launched months ago.
"We are happy that this operation is happening, even though we believe that if it was done earlier, we wouldn't even have one dead person," said Mzukisi Jam, the regional chairperson of the South African National Civics Organization, an umbrella for civic and rights groups.
Illegal mining is common in parts of gold-rich South Africa where companies close down mines that are no longer profitable, leaving groups of informal miners to enter them illegally in a search for leftover deposits.
Large groups of miners often go underground for months to maximise their profits, taking food, water, generators and other equipment with them, but also relying on others in their group on the surface to send down more supplies.
Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe visited the site on Tuesday and said that more than 1,500 miners who resurfaced from the Buffelsfontein mine have been arrested since authorities began a larger crackdown on illegal mining in late 2023. He said the vast majority were foreign nationals from neighbouring countries.
Police have also doubled down on their assertion that the miners who are still underground aren't coming out because they are afraid of being arrested.
Activists said the only way out is for miners to make a dangerous trek to another shaft, which can take days, and crawl out there, but many are too weak or ill to climb out. The mine is 2.5 kilometres deep with multiple shafts, many levels and a maze of tunnels. The group representing the miners said there are numerous groups in various parts of the mine.
"The last time I spoke to my brother was in July, when he told us that he is going underground," said Zinzi Tom, a sister of one of the miners who remained underground. "We had not heard anything from him, but yesterday one of the miners who surfaced said he saw him about two weeks ago. Apparently he is very sick and he is struggling to survive."
The Mining Affected Communities United in Action group, which took authorities to court in December to force them to allow supplies to be sent down to the miners, released two mobile phone videos that they said were from underground and showed dozens of dead bodies of miners wrapped in plastic. A spokesman for the group said "a minimum" of 100 miners had died.
The videos purportedly from the depths of the mine are filmed by a man who can be heard saying, "This is hunger. People are dying because of hunger," as he records emaciated-looking men sitting on the damp floor of the mine. He adds, "Please help us. Bring us food or take us out."
The rescue operation will go on for 10 days and authorities would then reassess, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said. Police also said that the survivors who had been brought to the surface will be arrested and charged with illegal mining and trespassing after receiving medical attention.
Authorities made clear their approach when South African Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters in November that the government would not help the miners, who they consider criminals.
