Siraj, Buttler power Gujarat Titans to eight-wicket win over RCB
Bengaluru (PTI): Jos Buttler made a fifty marked by creativity and sustained aggression to support the impeccable spell of Mohammed Siraj as Gujarat Titans carved a smooth eight-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Wednesday.
Buttler (73 not out, 39b, 5x4, 6x6) and B Sai Sudharsan (49, 36b) added 75 runs off 45 balls for the second wicket, as the Titans ended up at 170 for two in 17.5 overs, while chasing RCB's 169 for eight.
However, the Gujarat side's chase did not start as they would have liked, losing skipper Shubman Gill for a laboured 14.
The Titans' skipper clobbered Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six but fell in the very next ball to the pacer, lobbing him to Liam Livingstone in the deep.
But it brought together Sudharsan and Buttler, who extracted runs off the RCB bowlers in contrasting style.
Sudharsan's innings was an antithesis to the modern T20 ethos, as it was all about elegantly timed shots such as a wristy flick for a boundary off Yash Dayal or a square cut for four off the same bowler.
There was a touch of impishness too to the innings when he moved across and scooped pacer Josh Hazlewood for a six over the stumper's head.
However, a second attempt to play a similar shot off the Australian ended his stay, giving a simple catch to Jitesh Sharma.
But Sudharsan's dismissal, which came in the immediate aftermath of RCB taking the second ball in the 13th over, was a minor jitter in Gujarat's chase, which was marshalled so effectively by Buttler.
The Englishman was slightly jittery to begin with but once he found the right gears, he was unstoppable, fetching those thunderous shots off the shelf regularly.
Buttler reached his fifty with a sumptuous six off spinner Livingstone over long-on off 31 balls and his imperious touch was evident in the three sixes he hammered off Hazlewood to finish the match.
Buttler and Impact Sub Sherfane Rutherford (30 not out, 18b) added 63 runs for the third wicket as Gujarat strolled home.
Earlier, Siraj led a group of fired-up GT bowlers as they limited the vaunted RCB batting unit to 169 for eight despite a providential 54 by Livingstone.
Once the Titans decided to bowl first, they would not have envisioned such a domination over a potent batting line-up even considering a rather unexpectedly slow and grippy pitch.
The slip-down started with the wicket of Virat Kohli (7), who began with a lovely cover driven four off Siraj (4-0-19-3).
But the ace batter fell to left-arm seamer Arshad Khan, who came in for Kagiso Rabada, attempting a pull that ended in the hands of Prasidh Krishna at fine leg.
Thereafter the RCB top-order was poleaxed by GT bowlers led by Siraj, who joined the side after a seven-season stint in the red and gold jersey ahead of IPL 2025.
Phil Salt, who was dropped on zero by Buttler off Siraj, skipper Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal paraded back to the hut as RCB slumped to 42 for four in 6.2 overs.
However, Salt, who slammed Siraj for a 105 metre six, and Devdutt might feel a tinge of regret because both of them tried to give space to themselves for big shots only to get castled by Siraj.
However, the Royal Challengers found some stability through Jitesh Sharma (33, 21b) and Livingstone (54, 40b, 1x4, 5x6) as they added 52 runs off 38 balls for the fifth wicket.
The impressive left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (2/22), who varied his line and pace exemplarily, broke the alliance, dismissing Jitesh, who skied him to Rahul Tewatia.
It was a redemption point for Tewatia as well because he had earlier dropped Livingstone on 9 off Sai Kishore.
It proved costly for GT as the English batter hammered an off-colour Rashid Khan for three sixes in an over, two in a row, to reach his fifty in 39 balls.
Livingstone milked 46 precious runs for the seventh wicket with Tim David to take RCB past the 150-run mark.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
