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Kohli keeps Royal Challengers Bengaluru alive in playoffs race; Punjab Kings knocked out
Virat Kohli’s breakneck 92 off 47, plus his spectacular direct hit to run Shabank Singh out, were the basis of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB’s) fourth consecutive win, this time against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dharamsala. The result kept RCB’s hopes of making the IPL 2024 playoffs alive if only just, but knocked PBKS out of contention.
RCB batted first and blasted their way to 241 for 7, with Rajat Patidar smashing 55 off 23, and Cameron Green hitting 46 off 27. Both had productive partnerships with Kohli, worth 76 off 32 and 92 off 46 respectively.
In response, PBKS started strong, but RCB’s spinners – Karn Sharma and Swapnil Singh – were effective through the early middle overs, dismissing Rilee Rossouw in the ninth, Jitesh Sharma in the 11th, and Liam Livingstone in the 12th.
With the required rate now high above the run rate, it was curtains for PBKS. They ended 181 all out after 17 overs.
Kohli anyway started the match as the IPL’s highest run-scorer. But having been reprieved on zero, he went on to play one of his best innings of a stellar season, finding boundaries through the covers, through midwicket, and down the ground – his footwork often immaculate.
Though he opened the batting, he didn’t have a lot of the strike, facing only 14 balls in the powerplay. But before long he was striking at well over 150, as he found capable partners in Patidar (who was the more aggressive partner in their stand), and then Green.
It was a vintage Kohli innings, full of powerful wristy flicks and hard running, though towards the end he also got his six-hitting game going, finishing with six maximums overall.
He seemed poised to make his second triple-figure score of the season, but sliced a wide Arshdeep Singh delivery and was caught at deep cover in the 18th over.
Kohli’s wild gesticulations, it turns out, are not the only expenditure of his energy on the field.
Fourth ball of the 14th over into the PBKS innings, they needed 92 runs off 39 balls, and as long as Shashank was at the crease, they had an outside chance. But that’s when Sam Curran dropped one towards midwicket and called for two, and that was when Kohli took off from deep midwicket, speeding towards the ball, swooping on it, and skidding it mid-dive towards the one wicket he had to aim at, and found his target.
Shashank was not as committed to the run as Kohli was to this piece of fielding, and Shashank was centimetres short of his ground, not having put in a dive. He was out for 39 off 19 balls, leaving PBKS 151 for 6. They would end up losing their last five wickets for 30 runs.
Before that Kohli run out, however, legspinner Karn and left-arm spinner Swapnil had made vital strikes as well. Swapnil removed Prabhsimran Singh in the first over of the innings, before coming back in the middle overs to get Liam Livingstone tamely offer a leading edge into the covers.
Karn took two big wickets too. He first had the opposition’s best batter Rossouw caught at long-on in the ninth over, and then bowled a big, juicy legbreak that clattered into Jitesh’s stumps in the 11th over.
Although they would fall well short, PBKS did look capable of chasing down 242 at the start. They made 75 in the powerplay, thanks largely to Rossouw, who had clobbered seven fours and a six while the fielding restrictions were in place.
Rossouw continued to blast RCB’s seam bowlers in particular, motoring his way to a 21-ball half-century, before Karn eventually got him. Jonny Bairstow’s 27 off 16, and Shashank’s knock were the other serious contributors.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 241/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 92, Rajat Patidar 55, Cameron Green 46; Harshal Patel 3-38, Vidwath Kaverappa 2-36, Arshdeep Singh 1-41, Sam Curran 1-50, ) beat Punjab Kings 181 in 17 overs (Rilee Rossouw 61, Shashank Singh 37, Jonny Bairstow 27, Sam Curran 22; Mohammed Siraj 3-37, Swapnil Singh 2-28, Lockie Ferguson 2-29, Karn Sharma 2-36) by 60 runs
Ireland Women 118/9 in 20 overs (Alana Dalzelle 14, Orla Prendergast 26, Leah Paul 10, Alice Tector 10, Louise Little 26*; Lauren Bell 1-39, Linsey Smith 1-20, Sophie Ecclestone 3-22, Charlie Dean 2-11, Dani Gibson 2-10) lost to England Women 119/6 in 17.3 overs (Dani Wyatt Hodge 16, Nat Sciver-Brunt 48, Heather Knight 26; Aimee Maguire 2-23, Orla Prendergast 2-17) by 4 wickets
Lionel Messi marked his record sixth World Cup appearance with his first hat-trick at a FIFA tournament as Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 to open the defence of their global crown, he also became the joint highest scorer at World Cups with the feat.
The former 38-year-old forward thought he had opened the scoring in the eighth minute in Kansas City on Tuesday when he slotted home from close range, but the offside flag was raised.
The dream start to his record-setting appearance, which will be matched by Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal against DR Congo on Wednesday, was not to be denied for long though.
A trademark, mazy run was capped by a drive on the edge of the box from that famed left foot. The power too much for Algeria keeper Luca Zidane, son of World Cup winner with France, Zinidine.
Messi doubled his tally on the hour mark with a simple tap in from a rebound off the keeper following a drive from Alexis Mac Allister.
The moment that even a player as decorated as Messi came in the 76th minute when he drilled low past the keeper from just outside the box.
The strike took Messi level with former Germany striker Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals.
His substitution came just three minutes later to a standard ovation, even old maestro seemed disappointed to be removed – and most likely rested for Argentina’s tilt at becoming only the third side to defend a World Cup title.
Algeria – the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winners – offered little, but were themselves denied an early goal when Fares Chaibi’s ninth minute strike was ruled out for offside.
Messi saw to it that there was no opening game upset to be had tat this edition, having lost their opening game at Qatar 2022 to Saudi Arabia.
Messi, who spent the majority of his club career in Spain with Barcelona before moving to French giants Paris-Saint Germain, plys his trade in US football’s Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.
Jordan and Austria open their account in the group later on Tuesday in San Francisco.
[Aljazeera]
United States sprinter Noah Lyles has set the world’s best-ever time over the rarely-run 150 metres race, clocking 14.67 seconds at the Golden Spike meet in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava.
The 28-year-old Lyles on Tuesday beat the previous best of 14.72 set by Kishane Thompson of Jamaica in Florida in April.
At Ostrava, Lyles beat Sinesipho Dambile of South Africa with 14.78, while Australian teenager Gout Gout finished third in 14.96.
“Was there ever any doubt? Was there ever any doubt? We came for a show,” an elated Lyles told Czech TV.
Earlier this month, Lyles took a comfortable win at the Wanda Diamond League meet in Rome with a 9.88 in the 100m, his fastest since clinching gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The high-energy, anime-loving showman has had strong indoor and outdoor performances throughout the year so far, and was named on this year’s Time100 list of the most influential people.
Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol had to bow to in-form Swiss Audrey Werro in her outdoor debut in the 800m.
The 26-year-old Broeders-Bol has switched from 400m hurdles, in which she had won two world gold medals, and clocked an impressive 1 minute 57.13 seconds for second place.
“It was so cool, I love racing in Ostrava. It was tough, but I enjoyed it,” she said.
Broeders-Bol has also claimed multiple medals as the anchor leg in 4x400m relay teams, notably a gold in the mixed event in the Paris Olympics.
She ran her first 800m since 2017 in February, clocking a national record of 1 minute 59.07 seconds before withdrawing from the rest of the indoor season to nurse a foot injury.
The 22-year-old Werro won in 1 minute 54.45 seconds, half a second behind her personal best from March, after shedding Broeders-Bol with 200 metres to run.
“It was a really crazy run, but the time is very good, so I’m really happy,” Werro said.
Having set the eighth best time ever, she stayed over a second behind the oldest world record in athletics of 1:53.28 set in 1983 by Jarmila Kratochvilova of then-Czechoslovakia, who watched the race from the stands.
South Africa’s 20-year-old Bayanda Walaza won the men’s 100m as he equalled his personal best of 9.94 seconds, beating Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon with 9.99 seconds.
US favourites Ronnie Baker and Jordan Anthony were demoted to the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, with times well over 10 seconds.
[Aljazeera]
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