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Salt, Starc star in Kolkata Knight Rider’s comprehensive win over Lucknow Super Giants
Mitchell Starc finally found some success as he spearheaded a clinical bowling display for Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Sunday (April 14), which was followed by an enterprising knock from Phil Salt as Kolkata KKR registered their first win against Lucknow Super Giants. Starc’s 3 for 28 restricted LSG to 161/7 before Salt struck an unbeaten 89 off 47 balls and was involved in an unbroken 120-run stand with Shreyas Iyer to take KKR over the line with 4.2 overs to spare.
It wasn’t the best of starts for IPL debutant Shamar Joseph as he ended up conceding 22 runs – the most expensive opening over of IPL 2024. The first five deliveries weren’t bad as he troubled both Phil Salt and Sunil Narine with his pace despite being hit for a four by the latter. But a drop that happened to be off a no-ball was followed by plenty of extras and a six off the last ball by Salt. Mohsin Khan became the first bowler to dismiss Narine in the powerplay this season and also bagged the wicket of Angkrish Raghuvanshi. But KKR continued to be atop the list of teams with best powerplay scoring rates this season thanks to regular boundaries from Salt.
Shreyas used the DRS to get a caught-behind decision off Joseph’s bowling reversed and the bowler was unfortunate not to dismiss Salt in the same over as Arshad Khan parried the ball over the fence. Shreyas struggled a bit against pace but he stuck around and assisted Salt as they raised a half-century stand off 36 balls. Arshad was unlucky as a couple of inside edges went to the boundary. Salt got to a 26-ball fifty to help KKR past 100 in the 10th over.
Having scored his first 25 runs off 28 balls, Shreyas’s strike rate went up thanks to his two fours off Joseph, who conceded 14 off his final over to finish with 0 for 47 in his maiden IPL game. Salt then finished it off quickly, hitting three fours off Thakur, a four and a six off Mohsin, and the winning boundary off Ravi Bishnoi as he ended up with 14 fours and three sixes in his whirlwind knock.
First innings…
A lovely straight drive by Quinton de Kock off Mitchell Starc for a four and KL Rahul’s majestic six over covers off Vaibhav Arora promised a rapid start for LSG. They did manage 49 in the powerplay but weren’t able to quite assert themselves with KKR striking at regular intervals. Vaibhav Arora ended de Kock’s stay, getting him caught at short thirdman, while LSG’s No.3 struggles continued as Deepak Hooda, who replaced Devdutt Padikkal, got out to Mitchell Starc with Ramandeep Singh taking a good catch at backward point. Rahul, who had struck at a good rate at the other end, moved into the 30s and put on a steady stand with Ayush Badoni as they took LSG to 72/2 after 10 overs.
Andre Russell’s introduction in the 11th over saw Rahul execute an upper cut for a six but off the very next ball, a flat-batted pull landed in the hands of deep midwicket. Marcus Stoinis and Badoni continued to find the fence, not relenting on the attacking approach. But Stoinis fell to Varun Chakaravarthy and Badoni was dismissed by Sunil Narine in his attempt to accelerate, leaving LSG at 113/5 in 15 overs.
Only five runs came off the 16th over, bowled by Varun, and the onus was on Nicholas Pooran to give LSG a positive finish. He got going with a six off Harshit Rana and followed it up with two maximums off Arora in the 18th over. A couple of fours off Harshit took LSG past 150 in the penultimate over but the bowler mixed it up well to limit the damage. Starc got Pooran to edge a wide delivery off the first ball of the final over and ended the innings with the wicket of Arshad as he completed a good bowling job from KKR.
Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 161/7 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 45, KL Rahul 39; Mitchell Starc 3-28) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 162/2 in 15.4 overs (Philip Salt 89*, Shreyas Iyer 38*; Mohsin Khan 2-29) by 8 wickets.
(Cricbuzz)
Why did David Miller refuse a single off the penultimate delivery with Delhi Capitals needing 2 off 2? It’ll be spoken of for a while, but not inside the Gujarat Titans change room. Because Prasidh Krishna bowled a nerveless slower bouncer off the final delivery that Miller missed, and Jos Buttler then nailed a direct hit with an underarm throw from behind the stumps to run out Kuldeep Yadav, clinching a dramatic first win for GT in IPL 2026.
Despite being adjudged run out on the field, Miller wasn’t in the mood to concede defeat, and reviewed the final ball for a possible wide. But when replays confirmed what he had perhaps known, he was crestfallen. Equally distraught in the dugout was K L Rahul, whose 52-ball 92 set the game up for DC but for one run.
It was GT’s first win of the tournament and the first loss for DC after starting the campaign with two wins in a row.
Thirty-six needed off 12. A bruised finger that didn’t make it easy for him to grip the bat had forced Miller to retire hurt with DC needing 81 off 42. But when Tristan Stubbs was run-out in the 17th over, Miller returned hoping to play second fiddle to Rahul. Instead, he was now expected to deliver a box-office hit with Rahul nicking behind off a full Mohammed Siraj delivery two balls later.
Miller nearly delivered what was expected, as he went 6, 4, 6 off Siraj, repeatedly peppering the short leg-side boundary. At the other end, Vipraj Nigam also ramped four off a short delivery to bring the equation down to a manageable 13 off the final over.
Prasidh was tasked to bowl the final over. His three overs prior to that had been walloped for 41; Rahul, his state mate, had climbed into him earlier in the night. But all that would’ve been forgiven if Prasidh delivered a gun final over. That GT could only have four fielders out due to a slow over rate added to his challenge. And he nearly succumbed.
Nigam made room and swung cleanly to hit the first ball to the long-off fence, but a rush of blood had him swipe the second delivery to Shubman Gill at mid-off. With DC now needing nine off four, Kuldeep gently deflected his first ball to deep third to leave the chase in Miller’s hands.
With the equation down to 8 off 3, Prasidh bowled a slot-ball that Miller walloped over long-off. But with two needed, Miller inexplicably refused a single to take it all upon himself to finish the deal. He couldn’t connect on the final ball, and Prasidh belted a roar. GT had pulled one from under DC’s rug in dramatic circumstances.
After scores of 1 and 0 in his first two games, Rahul announced himself with a 29-ball half-century that was as pleasing as they come for large parts. It was also one that didn’t have the baggage of him playing run-accumulator, like he has tended to in the past while opening the batting. This Rahul was fun, free and fearless and he helped DC overcome a few roadblocks along the way, like when they lost two wickets in two deliveries to Rashid Khan at the halfway mark.
Rahul was particularly menacing against the fast bowlers, and it began with a wristy flick that he sent way back over deep square off Kagiso Rabada. The early jitters out of the way – if he even had some inkling of them – he batted like a man possessed, fearlessly climbing into length balls from Prasidh over cover, and slapping disdainfully over point.
He is good, but where is the Rashid of old, they asked. Turns out he hadn’t gone anywhere. After he conceded just nine in his first two with DC rampant, he returned to dismiss Nitish Rana in his dramatic third over, the 10th of the innings. Having been given out lbw earlier, only for Rana to overturn the decision through DRS, he was out a few balls later when he miscued a googly to Sai Sudharsan at long-off. This was Rana’s third sub-20 score of the season.
This brought the in-form Sameer Rizvi to the middle, and he lasted all of one delivery as Rashid snuck through his inside-edge with a ripping googly to briefly elicit jitters in the DC camp. This is when Miller entered, before briefly exiting with seven overs left. But in the same over, when Rashid had Axar Patel slice one to Glenn Phillips running back from cover, GT started to have an opening.
On any other night, Rashid’s spell would have cracked open the game. The fact that DC were still in it despite these wickets was down to Rahul. It needed the skilful Siraj to dismiss him with DC needing 45 off three overs. By then, the pressure was telling.
That GT were eventually able to get over the line was down to their run cushion, made possible thanks to half-centuries from Jos Buttler, Gill and Washington Sundar. Buttler looked unshackled, hitting four sixes off his first 15 deliveries en route a bruising half-century, while Gill played himself in and then allayed fears of neck spasms during his takedown of Kuldeep with the slog sweep. Then Washington, promoted to No. 4, struck his maiden IPL fifty to shore up the innings.
Even so, GT managed just 49 off the last five. On another day, this may have proved to be costly. It didn’t on Wednesday, and for that, they have Rashid to thank.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 210 for 4 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 12, Shubman Gill 70, Jos Buttler 52, Washington Sundar 55, Glenn Phillips 14*; Mukesh Kumar 2-55, Lungi Ngidi 1-24, Kuldeep Yadav 1-42 ) beat Delhi Capitals 209 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 41, KL Rahul 92, David Miller 41*, Vipraj Nigam 12; Mohammed Siraj 1-42, Rashid Khan 3-17, Prasidh Krishna 2-52) by one run
[Cricinfo]
Greece has announced plans to ban access to social media for under-15s, becoming the latest European country to restrict children’s exposure to online platforms.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the move was aimed at tackling rising anxiety and sleep problems among young people, as well as what he described as the “addictive design” of social media.
The restriction will come into force from January of next year.
In December Australia became the first country in the world to require TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other top sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, or face heavy fines. France, Austria and Spain are among a growing number of nations pursuing similar curbs.
The UK government has launched a consultation on whether to implement a ban for under-16s, while Ireland and Denmark are considering similar measures.
Social media companies argue that blanket bans will be ineffective, difficult to enforce and could isolate vulnerable teenagers. Reddit is challenging Australia’s law in court.
In a video message posted on TikTok on Wednesday, Mitsotakis said: “Many young people tell me they feel exhausted from comparisons, from comments, from the pressure to always be online.”
(BBC)
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Prasidh trumps Miller in last-ball finish as Gujarat Titans clinch thriller
Greece to ban social media for under-15s from next year
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