Mumbai, Apr 25: Opening batter Shikhar Dhawan struck his second fifty of the season to power Punjab Kings to 187 for 4 in their Indian Premier League match against Chennai Super Kings here on Monday.
The 36-year-old left-handed batter anchored the Punjab innings with a brilliant 88 not out and combined with Sri Lankan Bhanuka Rajapaksa (42) for a 110-run stand for the second wicket from 11.3 overs after captain Mayank Agarwal's early dismissal.
Dhawan hit nine fours and two sixes in his 59-ball superlative unbeaten knock. He went past his earlier highest score this season -- 70 against Mumbai Indians in Pune.
Dhawan got an able ally in Rajapaksa who made 42 from 32 balls with the help of two fours and as many sixes as the duo frustrated the CSK bowlers for a long stretch in the innings.
Englishman Liam Livingstone, who was bought for Rs 11.5 crore in the IPL auction, played a little cameo of 19 runs off seven balls with the help of a four and two sixes towards the end to swell the Punjab total.
Punjab made a slow start after being sent in to bat and their captain Agarwal's struggles this season continued as he was out in the sixth over for 18 off 21 balls. They reached 37 for 1 after powerplay overs.
Dhawan and Rajapaksa kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles though without too many boundaries. The duo took Punjab to 72 for 1 at the halfway mark.
The advantage for Punjab was that they lost just one wicket in the first half of their innings and they capitalised on that later in the back-end.
They added 64 runs in the final five overs.
Rajapaksa was out in the 18th over off Dwayne Bravo (2/42) who also scalped the wicket of Livingstone in the final over.
Jonny Bairstow was run out for six in the final ball of the innings.
Maheesh Theekshana was the other wicket-taker for CSK.
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A live broadcast by CNN from Abu Dhabi was briefly interrupted after emergency alarm systems were activated inside the network’s office here, as tensions escalated sharply in the Middle East after US and Israel struck Iran.
Senior anchor and CNN Abu Dhabi Managing Editor Becky Anderson was on air when the alarms sounded.
Anderson informed viewers that she and her team had been instructed to seek immediate shelter in line with local emergency protocols.
“I’m Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi with the alarms going off here suggesting we should seek immediate shelter. So we’ll do that. Our breaking news coverage continues after this short break. Stay with us,” she said before the broadcast cut.
CNN host in Abu Dhabi EVACUATES ON LIVE TELEVISION as Israel and Iran exchange fire across Middle East
— RT (@RT_com) February 28, 2026
'We'll be back after this short break' pic.twitter.com/YY5GDILBVQ
The network operates a major, state-of-the-art broadcasting and production centre in Abu Dhabi, alongside its hubs in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, similar emergency alerts disrupted a live broadcast on Al Jazeera in Doha. National emergency warnings were heard on air, advising residents to take shelter.
During the broadcast, a presenter said the alert system had been activated following reports of an Iranian missile targeting U.S. interests in Qatar.
“This is the alarm, by the way, that we all get on our phones here in Doha when there is an urgency. And so the national emergency alert system has gone off here in Qatar. The defense ministry in Qatar announcing just a short while ago that an Iranian missile has been intercepted here in Qatar, warning citizens basically to take shelter. Apologies, there's a bit of chaos in the newsroom, as you can imagine, because this is also happening here in Qatar, our emergency systems going off here,” the presenter said.
National emergency alerts blared during a live Al Jazeera broadcast just moments before explosions were heard in Qatar’s capital, Doha. The alert came as Iranian missiles targeting US interests the country were successfully intercepted. pic.twitter.com/eT6RD8fAZT
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 28, 2026
The development came after Iran on Saturday attacked the UAE's Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Qatar's Doha, and Saudi Arabia's Riyadh hours after Israel and the US conducted joint strikes on Iran.
