Stoinis smashes 89 off 47 balls to fire LSG to 177/3 against MI in IPL
Lucknow, May 16: Marcus Stoinis flaunted his raw power on way to a career-best 89 not out in the IPL as Lucknow Super Giants recovered from a poor start to post 177 for three against Mumbai Indians on a challenging pitch here on Tuesday.
Stoinis smashed seven sixes in his belligerent 47-ball effort and shared an 82 run stand with stand in skipper Krunal Pandya (49 retired hurt) after LSG found themselves reeling at 35 for three in the seventh over.
As it has been the case through the season, batters had a tough time on a two paced surface.
LSG made a questionable call to leave out their leading run getter of the season, Kyle Myers, and the move did not work. Replacing him at the top, Deepak Hooda (5) was undone by a slower ball from Jason Behrendorff
The next ball from the left-arm pacer was angled away and Prerak Mankad got a faint touch on way to the wicketkeeper while trying to run towards the third man.
The situation got worse for LSG when Quinton de Kock (16 off 15) fell in the seventh over to leave the home team reeling in the seventh over.
De Kock went for the drive off a googly from the wily Piyush Chawla but ended up getting caught behind.
The onus was on the big-hitting Stoinis and Krunal to resurrect the innings and they did that with a gritty stand before the latter got retired hurt after being seen in a bit of discomfort in the 16th over.
After that it was all Stoinis, who began his innings with massive sixes off spinners Hrithik Shokeen and Chawla in successive overs.
Stroke making was tough in the prevailing conditions but Stoinis used his brute force to get the much needed boundaries and sixes.
The 18th over bowled by Jordan yielded 24 runs with the England pacer spraying it all over the place. He failed to nail his yorker and Stoinis was quick to dispatch his two balls for massive sixes down the ground besides collecting three fours off the short balls.
He finished the innings with a one-handed six off Akash Madhwal.
Mumbai leaked 54 runs in the last three overs.
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Kerala minor girl rape: 44 arrested, two accused abroad, says police
Pathanamthitta (PTI): The special investigation team (SIT) of Kerala police probing the sensational case of alleged sexual abuse of a Dalit girl in the district has arrested 44 people so far in connection with the matter, a senior police officer of the district said on Tuesday.
DIG S Ajeetha Begum, who is overseeing the investigation, said that 30 FIRs have been registered in connection with the alleged sexual assault of the girl and out of the 59 accused mentioned in the cases, 44 have been arrested.
"Two of the accused are absconding. They are abroad at present. We are considering issuing Look out Circulars for them. We are also planning to issue a Red Corner notice for them through Interpol," the officer told TV channels.
Besides them, 13 more have to be arrested, she said.
"We are searching for their locations. They will be arrested soon. A foolproof and scientific investigation will be carried out by the SIT. We will not spare any of the accused. There will be no compromise. We will bring all of them before the law," the officer said.
The investigation so far has revealed that several of the accused met the girl at a private bus stand in Pathanamthitta. She was then taken to various locations in vehicles and subjected to abuse, police said.
The probe also found that the girl, while she was studying class XII last year, was taken by a youth who was acquainted with her through Instagram to a rubber plantation in Ranni, where he raped her along with three others.
Police said the investigation revealed she was gang-raped on at least five occasions, including incidents inside a car and at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital in January 2024.
The girl, who is now 18 years old, has alleged in her complaint that she was sexually abused by 62 individuals since the age of 13.
The matter came to light during counselling conducted by the Child Welfare Committee, after the victim's teachers at an educational institution informed the panel about noticeable changes in her behaviour.
The Committee, subsequently, notified the police and an investigation is on.
The SIT had been formed to conduct a comprehensive probe into the incident, with Pathanamthitta Deputy SP P S Nandakumar leading the team under the supervision of District Police Chief V G Vinod Kumar.
The team comprises over 30 police officers, including women, from various ranks and stations.
DIG Ajitha Beegam said that once the Sabarimala pilgrimage season gets over, more officers will be included in the SIT.
