Umran Malik's final-over heroics seal fourth win on trot for SRH
Navi Mumbai, Apr 17: Young pace sensation Umran Malik's scorching final over proved to be the difference as Sunrisers Hyderabad slayed Punjab Kings by seven wickets for their fourth successive win in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.
In top gear with Liam Livingstone's counter-attacking 60 off 30 balls (5x4, 4x6), PBKS lost five wickets in seven balls with Malik (4/28) producing a perfect final over -- a rare four-wicket maiden -- to skittle out the opposition for a below-par 151.
After Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/22) provided the key breakthrough of Livingstone, the 22-year-old uncapped pacer picked three wickets while the fourth came via run out to derail PBKS.
In reply, Sunrisers Hyderabad did not have a perfect start and lost skipper Kane Williamson (3) early in the fourth over with Kagiso Rabada drawing the first blood.
Opener Abhishek Sharma (31 off 25 balls; 3x4, 1x6) and in-form Rahul Tripathi (34 from 22b; 4x4, 1x6) failed to convert their starts but the modest total meant that SRH did not have to worry much in the end.
Windies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran (41 not out from 27b; 4X4, 1x6) and Aiden Markram (35 not out from 30b; 1x4, 1x6) then completed the formalities with an unbroken 75-run partnership from 50 balls.
Playing without their regular skipper Mayank Agarwal, who suffered a toe-injury during training, PBKS were also let down with their sloppy fielding as they missed a runout and conceded easy runs defending a small total.
Markram finished off the chase in the penultimate over hitting Vaibhav Arora for consecutive boundaries and six to seal the issue with seven balls to spare.
The win took SRH to eight points, moving up from the middle-table rush to climb to fourth spot, while PBKS remained on seventh with six points from as many matches.
Earlier Livingstone, who was the most expensive overseas player in this season's IPL auction with a price tag of Rs 11.50-crore, resurrected the PBKS innings with a counter-attacking 60 off 30 balls (5x4, 4x6) -- his third fifty in four matches.
Reduced to 61/4 inside eight overs after being put in, Livingstone found a perfect ally in No 6 batter Shahrukh Khan (26 off 28 balls; 1x4, 2x6) as the duo stitched together 71 from 49 balls to revive them in the middle overs.
On a slow pitch where scoring was difficult early on, Livingstone did not have any trouble as he had shots all over the pitch.
But the momentum shifted heavily in favour of SRH after Bhuvneshwar (3/22) provided the key breakthrough of Livingstone as PBKS lost five wickets in seven balls with Malik (4/28) producing a perfect final over.
Malik first had Odean Smith with a slower one before castling Rahul Chahar and Vaibhav Arora in successive deliveries.
Punjab without their skipper and opener Mayank Agarwal had an anxious start and lost two wickets inside five overs including that of stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan (8).
Punjab kept losing wickets and were soon reduced to 33/2 inside five overs when Livingstone came in to take charge of the proceedings.
There were more to follow as Jonny Bairstow (12) and Jitesh Sharma (11) departed in successive overs but Livingstone and Shahrukh held on to turn it around in the middle overs.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 151 all out in 20 overs (Livingstone 60; Bhuvneshhwar 3/22, Malik 4/28).
SRH 152/3 in 18.5 overs (Pooran 35 not out, Markram 41 not out).
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
