Shreyas Iyer bats well but India struggle to 124/7 in opening T20I against England
Ahmedabad, Mar 12: Indian batsmen struggled to score freely before Shreyas Iyer showed the way with a dogged 67-run knock that took the hosts to 124 for seven against England in the opening Twenty20 International, here on Friday.
The home batsmen never got the momentum going in the series-opener as England's pace-heavy attack, led by Mark Wood, used the extra bounce effectively to trouble them.
Most of the Indian batsmen went for flashy shots when placement would have served them well. The track had varied pace and required patience from batsmen.
Iyer though gauged the nature of the pitch quickly and adjusted his game accordingly, playing a sensible innings that helped them cross the 100-run mark.
Laced with eight boundaries and a six, and coming off 48 balls, it is Iyer's best T20 knock. He fell in the last over.
England surprised India by opening the attack with leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who was not only economical but also dismissed Virat Kohli (0) after KL Rahul (1) dragged one back onto his stumps from Jofra Archer (3/23).
Feeling the heat, Shikhar Dhawan -- who got the opportunity since Rohit Sharma has been rested -- attempted to break the shackles with a flashy shot off Wood but completely missed the line to see his timber disturbed.
In-form batsman Rishabh Pant (21) was prompted to number four. He struck the ball clean, which included a reverse-flick off Archer for a six, but the England bowlers kept it tight for the home team, which was tottering at 34 for three in eight overs.
Pant and Iyer added 28 runs for the fourth wicket before the former hit one straight to Jonny Bairstow off Ben Stokes.
That brought Hardik Pandya to the crease, who true to his style, looked for some big hits but could not do much.
The visiting players wore black armbands in memory of former cricketer Joey Benjamin, who died Wednesday.
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Kantara mimicking case: HC extends interim relief given to actor Ranveer Singh till March 9
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court on Monday extended the interim relief given to Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh till March 9, in a case related to mimicking a character from the movie, 'Kantara Chapter-1', and allegedly mocking a deity.
The actor had approached the High Court seeking the quashing of the FIR against him for mimicking Rishab Shetty's role as 'Chavunda' deity in the movie.
While mimicking, Singh had called the deity a "ghost". The actor was asked to appear before the court in person on Monday.
Appearing on behalf of the actor, his counsel Sajjan Poovayya said Singh was stuck in London and was unable to reach Bengaluru due to the conflict in West Asia.
The complainant, who is a lawyer, alleged that his religious sentiments were hurt by calling the deity a ghost. On the directions of a local Court, the police registered a case against the actor.
The High Court on February 24 granted interim relief to the actor with directions to the police not to take any coercive steps against him.
