Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs, to face KKR in final
Chennai (PTI): Rajasthan Royals' talented young pretenders miserably failed in a 'Slow Track Test' as Sunrisers Hyderabad's unfancied spin twins Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed spun a web to set-up a 36-run win in the Qualifier 2 and an IPL summit date with Kolkata Knight Riders here on Friday.
The title clash will be played here on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 176, Royals were restricted to 139 for 7 ensuring a third IPL final for SRH after 2016 and 2018.
On a slow track that offered significant turn and grip as the evening progressed and no dew to help batters, Abhishek (2/24 in 4 overs) and Shahbaz (3/23 in 4 overs) forced the Yashasvi Jaiswals, Sanju Samsons and Riyan Parags to press the unwanted 'Harakiri button' in 15 minutes of pure brain fade that ended their hopes of a third final.
Their combined figures of 5 for 47 in 8 overs completely overshadowed the celebrated duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (0/43 in 4 overs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (0/34 in 4 overs), who gave away 77 runs in their quota of overs.
That difference also became the difference between the two sides eventually.
From a comfortable 65 for 1 in 7.4 overs, it suddenly became 79 for 5 by the end of the 12th over.
Abhishek, who had bowled only three overs in 15 games prior this night, suddenly got the ball to dip and turn while Shahbaz's deliveries gripped and one such saw the back of Samson, who waited for an eternity to pull over the cow corner.
Jaiswal and for that matter Parag also couldn't simply get the distance as the ball stopped on them.
The humidity was around 80 percent and hence the absence of dew only made matters worse.
Dhruv Jurel (56 not out off 35 balls) tried his bit but save Jaiswal (42 off 21 balls) all others flattered to deceive.
It must be mentioned that the highly-rated Samson, again failed to score on days when it mattered. Samson's failures on big days have been his biggest undoing and Royals expected a much better effort from their skipper.
It was imperative after Sandeep Sharma, the master operator on tacky surfaces, put his skill-sets to optimum use while restricting Hyderabad to a decent yet manageable 175 for 9.
The Royals bowling could be segregated into three distinct parts despite Heinrich Klaasen's half-century (50, 34b) that had four maximums.
Trent Boult (3/45) started the slide in the Powerplays, Sandeep choked the 'Orange Army' batters in the middle overs while Avesh Khan 2.0 was as
menacing at the death (3/27) as he has been throughout the tournament.
But it was the canny Sandeep (2/25 in 4 overs), who took pace off his deliveries as Sunrisers batters were literally 'Short Third-Manned' with four batters failing to clear the fielder stationed at the edge of the 30-yard circle.
Chahal manning the slot took three catches while Ashwin also got one at the same position.
The problem SRH batters, including the in-form Travis Head (34 off 28 balls), faced was the lack of pace in the surface that became a hindrance while using it for the traditional T20 ramp scoops.
Abhishek (12) at the start became indiscreet when he played one shot too many off Boult and was holed out.
The ploy to use Ashwin (0/43 in 4 overs) with the new ball because of his familiarity with Chepauk didn't work as Rahul Tripathi (37 off 15 balls) hit the senior off-spinner out of the attack.
Just when it seemed that he was taking control on a day when Head wasn't getting his timing right, his poor shot selection while trying to hit Boult over short third became his undoing.
Aiden Markram's re-entry in playing XI didn't pay dividends as he was out slashing at short third-man. However with Klaasen for company, SRH were clawing back at 99 for 3 when Head paid for his profligacy with Sandeep rolling his fingers over.
Klaasen understood that the ball wasn't coming onto the bat and only went for the jugular to the deliveries that were in his arc as he got one of his better half-centuries in difficult conditions before a slower delivery on the blockhole rattled the furniture.
With Klaasen's departure, the chances of getting past 200 also went through the window.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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