Shreyas, Pant steer India to 265 after top-order collapse
Ahmedabad(PTI): Shreyas Iyer's responsible 80 coupled with Rishabh Pant's aggressive 56 powered India to a challenging 265 in the inconsequential third ODI against West Indies here on Friday.
Shreyas and the flamboyant Pant resurrected the innings with their 110-run stand after India suffered a top-order collapse to be reeling at 42/3.
The duo toyed with the opposition attack even as the southpaw displayed his hard-hitting prowess, striking six fours and a six. At 119/3 after 25 overs, the stage was set for a big total.
The Mumbaikar, who was playing his first game after COVID recovery, looked in his elements, as he mixed caution and aggression. He completed his ninth ODI fifty with a single to deep extra cover.
After his fifty, Shreyas upped the ante as he and Pant completed their 100-run stand in 112 balls.
Pant too notched up his fifth ODI 50 with a single. But in the 30th over, he perished, giving leggie Hayden Walsh (2/59) his first wicket and Suryakumar Yadav (6) followed suit, as India lost half their side for 164.
But a determined Shreyas played his shots at will before giving a sitter to Darren Bravo at long-off in the 38th over. In his 111-ball knock, he hit nine boundaries.
However, Deepak Chahar (38; 4x4; 2x6) and Washington Sundar (33, 2x4; 1x6) played their parts to perfection and forged 53 runs for seventh wicket. Their knocks propelled India past the 260-run mark.
After opting to bat, India lost opener Rohit Sharma (13) cheaply. Pacer Alzarri Joseph (2/54) pegged the hosts back, by first cleaning up Rohit on the third ball of the fourth over and then dismissed Virat Kohli (0) on the fifth ball to leave the hosts teetering at 16/2.
Kohli tried to flick a delivery that was going down the leg, but edged to Shai Hope in what was a soft dismissal.
Shikhar Dhawan (10) and Shreyas tried to rally the innings but were able to add only 26 runs for the third wicket.
Dhawan became pacer Odean Smith's (1/36) first victim, as he was caught by Jason Holder in the slip cordon.
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Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers deported from Thailand, taken into police custody
New Delhi (PTI): Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa where a massive fire killed 25 people, were deported from Thailand on Tuesday and taken into custody by Delhi and Goa police as soon as they landed in Delhi.
The brothers arrived in the Indian capital in an Indigo flight and were immediately handed over to authorities for further legal proceedings, 10 days after a blaze tore through the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora in North Goa.
Gaurav, 44 and Saurabh, 40, will be produced before a Delhi court where the Goa police will seek their transit remand.
A TV reporter tracking the brothers from Bangkok attempted to shoot inside the aircraft, prompting the airlines and accompanying security officials to summon additional force to whisk away the two men.
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The Luthra brothers are facing a case of culpable homicide and negligence following the December 6 tragedy, which investigators allege was compounded by the nightclub operating in violation of mandatory fire safety norms. The incident raised serious questions over alleged fire safety violations and lapses by the management.
Gaurav and Saurabh fled to Phuket in the early hours of December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
The duo was detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
On December 11, a Delhi court rejected the transit anticipatory bail pleas. Additional Sessions Judge Vandana termed the allegations against the brothers "prima facie grave and serious" and severely criticised their "conduct."
The court took note of the police investigation that the brothers had booked tickets to Phuket one hour after the fire, a fact their counsel had initially "concealed" while seeking protection from immediate arrest.
The judge said that leaving immediately after the tragedy was a clear attempt to "evade the legal process".
Observing that "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against the nightclub into a public interest litigation (PIL).
