SRH dent RCB's chance to get top-two finish with upset four-run win
Abu Dhabi, Oct 6: Royal Challengers Bangalore made a mess of their run chase as bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad dented their hopes of a top-two finish with a narrow four-run win in a last-over IPL thriller, here on Wednesday.
After putting on board a modest 141 for 7, SRH returned to limit RCB to 137 for six for only their third win in the league.
Chasing the total, Devdutt Padikkal (41) and Glenn Maxwell (40) scored bulk of the runs but RCB kept losing wickets and faltered in the end.
Defending 18 off last two overs, Jason Holder bowled a superb over, giving away just five runs for one wicket.
AB de Villiers smashed a six in the fourth ball of the final over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar but couldn't take the team home as the South African could not pull off a six the team needed in the last ball.
Earlier, opener Jason Roy (44) shared a 58-ball 70 run stand with skipper Kane Williamson (31) to set the platform but SRH lost three quick wickets for two runs in seven balls to eventually end up with a below-par total.
RCB were dealt an early blow in their chase when Bhuvneshwar trapped Virat Kohli in the first over.
The decision to promote Daniel Christian at number 3 also didn't work as he was deceived by a slower delivery by Siddarth Kaul.
At 18 for 2, Srikar Bharat joined hands with Devdutt Padikkal and produced two handsome shots for a six and a four to take RCB to 37 for 2 in six overs.
New pace sensation Umran Malik then struck in his fifth delivery, removing Bharat as RCB slipped to 38 for 2.
New-man in Maxwell made his intent clear, clobbering Rashid Khan for a maximum. He repeated the treatment again, sending the Afghan spinner over long-on and then sweeping him for another four.
But with Malik clocking 150km plus consistently, RCB decided to target the other bowlers.
However, a poor call by Padikkal ended with Maxwell being runout, while the former too was caught at the boundary line as RCB further slumped to 109 for 4 in 16.5 overs.
Needing 29 off 18 balls, Shahbaz Ahmed smashed two fours to bring the equation down before being dismissed by Holder in the 19th over.
For RCB, Harshal Patel (3/33) and Daniel Christian (2/14) did the maximum demage after skipper Virat Kohli opted to bowl.
Spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal (1/27) and Shahbaz Ahmed (0/21) kept things in check, while George Garton conceded 29 runs in two overs for his one wicket.
Abhishek Sharma, asked to open the innings, smashed a four and a six off Garton in the second over before holing out to Maxwell.
Williamson started off with a good-looking cover drive and then pulled one from Siraj for another boundary through square leg.
The New Zealand skipper was all elegance as he played two sweetly-timed shots for two more hits to the fence off Garton
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz attacked the stumps but when he erred Roy was quick to pull him through square leg.
After the end of Powerplay, SRH were 50 for 1.
Spin duo of Shahbaz and Chahal bowled in tandem, not allowing the batsmen to free their arms.
While Roy lived dangerously, Williamson's stumps were knocked off by Patel with a cutter when he tried to create room for himself as SRH slipped to 84 for 2 in 12th over.
Priyam Garg smashed a six off Chahal before being caught by AB de Villiers off Christian in the next over.
Five balls later, Christian pulled off a sensational catch off his own bowling to remove the well-set Roy. Chahal trapped Abdul Samad infront of wicket in the first ball of the next over as SRH slumped to 107 for 5 in 15.1 overs.
Wriddhiman Saha was next done in by a slower delivery by Patel.
Rashid (7 not out) and Holder (16) tried to accelerate before the latter fell in the last ball.
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BJP accuses Karnataka govt of 'failing' to prevent noise pollution caused by 'azaan'
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Members of the Opposition BJP on Tuesday slammed the Karnataka government for not taking measures to prevent the alleged noise pollution caused by 'azaan', the Islamic call to prayer.
BJP MLC D S Arun raised the issue in the Legislative Council during the question hour, accusing the ruling Congress of "appeasement" by failing to take action against mosques that are violating the Supreme Court's directives.
Karnataka Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre, responding to the question, said, as per the directives of the Supreme Court in sensitive zones, the noise level should not exceed 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night, and in residential areas, 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.
In commercial areas, the noise should not exceed 65 decibels during the day, 55 at night, and in industrial areas, 75 during the day and at night 70 decibels, he said.
Pointing out that the Karnataka government had issued an order in 2022, assigning responsibility to a committee headed by a DySPs or ACPs for the effective implementation of the rules, the minister said when a complaint is received about noise pollution, the Pollution Control Board will inspect it and provide information about the decibel level to the police to take further action, including filing of criminal cases.
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"Not only during azaan, but also during bhajans held in temples and marriage events, among others, the violations happen. There is a need to spread awareness. The Supreme Court has ordered against bursting firecrackers, but it is being violated. Efforts will be made to implement the rules effectively," he said.
Several BJP MLAs, including Arun, Bharathi Shetty, among others, were not satisfied with the minister's reply. They took strong exception to it.
Arun noted that in the last three years, only 52 cases have been taken, and said there are clear violations by almost all mosques, but no action has been taken. "The decibels have in fact increased under this government. The government is giving protection to them."
Reacting to this, Khandre, calling it a "sensitive matter", said, "It is not right to politicise the issue. The law of this land is equal for everyone."
Hitting back, Arun asked, "Why is the matter sensitive? What is preventing you (the government) from implementing the Supreme Court directives?"
