Sport
IPL: Gujarat Titans beat Punjab Kings by 6 wickets
The Gujarat Titans (GT) were back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with a 6-wicket victory over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
An impressive Mohit Sharma debut, an elegant Shubman Gill half-century and a Trademark Tewatia finish powered GT to a final-over win.
Chasing a target of 154 on an excellent batting track, Gujarat Titans were off to a rollicking start.
The pure elegance of Shubman Gill and fearless intent of Wriddhiman Saha put GT ahead in the chase that started with a flurry of fours.
Just when the GT openers were nearing the fifty-run partnership, Kagiso Rabada came to PBKS’ rescue by claiming his 100th IPL wicket and dismissing the dangerous Saha.
Young Sai Sudharsan joined forces with Shubman Gill as the duo maintained the momentum of the chase with nonchalant strokes. GT reached 80/1 at the halfway mark.
PBKS bounced back with two quick wickets after Arshdeep Singh and Harpreet Brar dismissed Sai Sudharsan and GT skipper Hardik Pandya respectively.
Gill continued his splendid batting display and reached his half-century with a four as he was joined by David Miller at the crease. With 7 needed off the final over, Sam Curran cleaned up set batter Shubman Gill to snatch back momentum.
However, ice-cool Rahul Tewatia scooped Curran to hit the winning runs and seal the deal for GT.
Earlier, Gujarat Titans’ captain Hardik Pandya, who was back to lead the side, won the toss and opted to field first. Shami jumped into the action straightaway and found early success after Prabhsimran Singh was caught inside the circle on the second ball.
Matthew Short joined skipper Shikhar Dhawan in the middle as the duo counter-attacked with solid drives to negate GT’s early-wicket advantage.
However, the PBKS skipper was caught off left-arm Irish pacer Josh Little’s bowling. Short continued maximizing the powerplay with his big hits and PBKS moved to 52/2 after 6 overs.
Rashid Khan bamboozled Matthew Short with a brilliant googly to put an end to the PBKS batter’s 36-run knock. PBKS were 75/3 at the halfway mark as Jitesh Sharma kept the scoreboard ticking along with Bhanuka Rajapaksa.
The duo’s 37-run partnership was put to an end courtesy of a last-second DRS call by Hardik Pandya. GT debutant Mohit Sharma dismissed Jitesh Sharma for 25 after the batter was caught behind.
With five overs to go, PBKS were placed at 99/4 as GT kept blocking the run-scoring opportunities. The pressure got the better of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who holded out to the deep off Alzarri Joseph’s bowling.
Shahrukh Khan got going in style and clubbed a six off the very first ball he faced. However, Mohit Sharma scalped his second wicket of the innings to dismiss Sam Curran in the penultimate over.
11 runs were scored in the final over but PBKS were restricted to 153-8 in the first innings courtesy of two fine run-outs of Wriddhiman Saha.Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans (Shubman Gill 67, Wriddhiman Saha 30; Sam Curran 1-25) beat Punjab Kings 153/8 (Matthew Short 36, Jitesh Sharma 25; Mohit Sharma 2-18) by 6 wickets.
FIFA has approved the creation of an Afghanistan women’s refugee team that will compete in matches overseen by the world governing body.
According to FIFA, the team — composed of female players of Afghan nationality who obtained refugee status abroad — would first operate under a one-year pilot phase, which will help the organization determine the long-term viability of the program, Reuters reported.
The FIFA Council must approve the team’s establishment. Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, called the approval a “landmark” moment, adding that “FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.”
FIFA regulations require teams to receive recognition by a national federation in order to compete. The Afghan Football Federation, however, has not acknowledged its women’s teams, in fact banning all women’s sports across the country.
Afghanistan has not had a women’s side compete in an official match since 2018.
India’s cricket board has suspended the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Reuters reported on Friday.
Thursday’s IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting began in India’s border regions, but the cricket board attributed the disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala.
The world’s richest cricket tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues across the country.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, claiming they were “terrorist infrastructure” in response to a deadly attack in Kashmir last month.
New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe.
India’s army said Pakistan’s armed forces carried out “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, a claim Pakistan denied.
Thursday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings was called off mid-way through due to security reasons.
This was after the floodlights at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala were switched off and spectators asked to evacuate the stadium.
According to IANS, Arun Dhumal, IPL Chairman, said that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure, based on the red alert issued in Jammu.
Indian media reported the match was called off following air raid alerts in nearby areas, which forced a blackout in the hill town.
The Punjab side was 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights went out which at first was attributed to floodlight failure. But later the teams and the spectators were evacuated from the stadium for their security.
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