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Tewatia finishes another chase after Gill’s match-defining 67
Shubman Gill felt at home in Mohali as he headlined the third win of the season for the defending champions with a fine 67 off 49 balls. At a venue where he’s grown up playing his cricket and has his highest IPL score, Gill stood tall amidst tough batting conditions to take his team close to the finish line. Despite Sam Curran’s best efforts in the final over, PBKS fell short in their defence of a sub-par total of 153 for 8.
Despite conditions being a little tough for run-making, Gujarat Titans were in complete control of the chase all the way until the penultimate over where Arshdeep Singh returned and conceded just six runs. It left Sam Curran to defend seven in the final over with Gill and David Miller in the middle. Curran however, cleaned up the half-centurion in the second ball to give PBKS hopes of a late, late heist. Miller, who struggled to middle the ball in his 18-ball stay, turned the strike over to Rahul Tewatia when the equation was down to 4 runs needed off 2 balls. Curran had a mini-conference with Arshdeep and Shikhar Dhawan but it didn’t yield the desired result as Tewatia shuffled across and lapped a shot over short fine leg to cap off the chase.
Punjab Kings’ plan of throwing their bats around from the start was on but their flying start was clipped by a wicket in the first over – of Prabhsimran Singh – and that of the orange cap holder Shikhar Dhawan. The PBKS captain tried to hit over mid-on and miscued his chip off Joshua Little to get caught by Alzarri Joseph for a run-a-ball 8 – his first single-digit score this season. Despite Dhawan’s early exit, PBKS were buoyed by Matthew Short’s crisp strokeplay as he cut and drove his way to 35 off 22 in the first six overs
Short looked in control against the GT quicks but failed to read the first googly coming his way from Rashid and was comprehensively bowled to trudge back for 36 off 24 balls. Jitesh Sharma was able to read Rashid’s variations better as he pulled and paddled against the spinner to get three fours. But the struggle for him – and Bhanuka Rajapaksa – came against the pacers as Mohit Sharma and Alzarri Joseph through the middle overs. Between overs 7 and 15, PBKS scored just at just 5.22 runs an over. Despite hitting five fours, Jitesh managed just 25 off 23 balls while Rajapaksa suffered throughout his scratchy stay before Alzarri Joseph dismissed him for 20 off 26 balls. In his first IPL outing since 2019, Mohit made an impactful return, finishing with a spell of 2 for 13 in 4 overs that included the wickets of Jitesh and Sam Curran – who fell for a run-a-ball 22.
Rajapaksa’s exit inadvertently sparked life into PBKS’ essay as Shahrukh Khan walked out and walloped a 147kmph delivery from Joseph for a six over deep square leg and dragged the team past the 150-run mark with a cameo of 22 runs from just 9 balls.
Shubman Gill made a pristine start to chase when he drove the third ball from Arshdeep in the first over through covers for the first of his 7 boundaries in the chase. Wriddhiman Saha too made a courageous start as he meted out the same treatment to Kagiso Rabada in the second over. The wicketkeeper-batter then hit four fours in Arshdeep’s second over but Rabada ended his early flourish with a short ball. Saha went for the pull but ended up having to clear the longer square boundary and failed – hitting straight to Short at deep square leg. With that wicket, Rabada became the fastest to 100 IPL scalps, getting there in 64 innings.
Like PBKS, GT too saw their scoring slow down amidst testing conditions and big square boundaries. From 80/1 in 10 overs, GT limped to 111/3 in 15 as Curran and Arshdeep once again put the pressure to keep PBKS in the game.
The see-sawing fixture then had Gill putting GT back on top in a three-over period where he lofted Rahul Chahar over cover to get his half-century, hit Curran down the ground and then played an exquisite pull shot off Rabada for a six in a 12-run 18th over. This over tilted the fixture strongly in Gill and GT’s favour until Arshdeep and Curran took it to the very end.
Punjab Kings have just a day’s break before taking on LSG in Lucknow in the evening fixture on Saturday. Gujarat Titans head back home to face Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 153/8 (Matthew Short 36; Mohit Sharma 2-18, Rashid Khan 1-26) lost to Gujarat Titans 154/4 (Shubman Gill 67, Wriddhiman Saha 30; Sam Curran 1-25) by 6 wickets
Delhi Capitals’ (DC) signing of Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizure Rahman for the remainder of IPL 2025 has hit a snag, with the BCB stating that it hasn’t been approached for a no-objection certificate (NOC).
Usually, the IPL only announces signings after a player has received an NOC from his home board. According to its CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, however, the BCB had yet to receive a request for one.
“Mustafizur is supposed to go with the team to the UAE according to the schedule,” Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday. “We have not received any communication from IPL officials. I have also not received any such official communication from Mustafizur either.”
Mustafizur is part of the Bangladesh T20I squad that is due to play back-to-back away T20I series against UAE and Pakistan, both of which clash with the IPL. On Wednesday, hours after the IPL announced his signing as a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mustafizur flew out to Dubai with the rest of Bangladesh’s squad.
Bangladesh are due to play two T20Is in the UAE on May 17 and 19, followed by five in Pakistan on May 25, 27 and 30, and June 1 and 3. Those two series are in conflict with the IPL; DC are set to play their last three league matches on May 18, 21 and 24, followed by the playoffs should they get there.
ESPNcricinfo has sought a response from DC on this development.
[Cricinfo]
The BCB has said that they will rely on the Bangladesh government’s directive before finalising their tour to Pakistan later this month. Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play five T20Is there from May 25 to June 3, but the PSLs schedule was revised following cross-border tensions between Pakistan and India.
According to the revised fixtures, the PSL final will now be held on May 25, when Pakistan and Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play the first T20I.
ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB has sent a new schedule for the T20Is between Pakistan and Bangladesh, with the first match now slotted for May 27, and the last on June 5.
BCB’s media committee chairman Iftekhar Rahman said they will rely on information from government security agencies and the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad to take the final decision.
“Once we receive official communication about the dates and venues [of the tour], we will forward it to the government,” Rahman said. “The BCB is not the decision-maker in this matter. If the government agencies and our embassy declare Pakistan safe for travel, only then will we proceed.
“In our previous meeting, we agreed that any such situation would be referred to the foreign and home ministries. Once we get clearance from all relevant bodies, we will finalise the tour. Security concerns were more significant in the past, but Pakistan has proven it can ensure safety. Still, given the current circumstances, we need to assess whether the situation across the country is stable before sending the team.”
Before playing Pakistan, Bangladesh are scheduled to play two T20Is against UAE in Sharjah on May 17 and 19. They were then supposed to fly to Lahore on May 21.
[Cricinfo]
President Donald Trump has said the US has “no stronger partner” than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip – a whirlwind visit of Gulf countries mainly focused on shoring up investment.
Speaking in Riyadh, the US president also pledged to lift all sanctions against Syria, saying it was now time for the country to move forward with “a chance at greatness”.
Day one of the tour saw the US and Saudi Arabia announce a $142bn (£107bn) arms deal, as well as other investments that the country’s crown prince said could eventually be worth $1tn.
Trump also made Saudi Arabia the first foreign stop during his first term, in 2017. The rest of his trip will include stops in Qatar and the UAE.
Trump’s arrival in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday was met with a grand reception, including a lavish lavender-coloured carpet rolled out to greet him. He had even chosen a purple tie to match it.
Riyadh swapped red carpets for lavender in 2021, saying that it was a symbol of the kingdom’s desert wildflowers and generosity.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Trump on the tarmac and provided an honour guard of Arabian horses to accompany his presidential limo.
In his remarks at an investment forum, Trump lauded the US-Saudi relationship as “more powerful than ever before”.
“From the moment we started we’ve seen wealth that has poured – and is pouring – into America,” he said.
Trump is trying to woo foreign investors to the US to boost the American economy, a key focus of his administration in the nearly four months of his second term.
“I like him too much,” Trump said of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de-facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. “That’s why we give so much.”
The pomp and ceremony was a step up from the muted welcome for former US President Joe Biden, who travelled to the oil-rich kingdom in 2022 to seek their help in lowering petrol prices, fist-bumping the crown prince.
That visit came two years after he declared Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state following the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump flew to the Gulf to strike financial deals and argued in his speech that it is through this kind of commerce and economic development that the Middle East would transcend violence and division.
Underscoring his commitment to deal-making, Trump was joined by a number of business leaders including billionaire ally Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The high-profile executives are meeting a Saudi Arabia eager to diversify its oil-rich economy by increasing its artificial intelligence capabilities.
Mr Huang announced during the visit that Nvidia will sell more than 18,000 of its latest AI chips to Saudi company Humain.
During his address, Trump said it was his “dream” to have Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords, a deal brokered in his first administration that saw relations between Israel and some Gulf countries normalised for the first time.
But his good friend, Mohammed bin Salman, has made it clear that will not happen until there is a permanent end to the war in Gaza and a clear path to Palestinian statehood.
There is a limit to what this friendship can deliver.
Trump only briefly addressed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
He told those in attendance that people in Gaza deserved a “better future”, which had been held back by Hamas choosing “to kidnap, torture and target” for “political ends” – a reference to the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
Trump also announced he was lifting sanctions on Syria to improve the country’s new government, a move he suggested was requested by Mohammed bin Salman.
“Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” the US leader said.
American sanctions on Syria had been in place for over a decade, meant to apply pressure and economic pain against the dictatorship of former President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December.
Syria has since elected a new transitional president, creating an opening for renewed US diplomacy efforts.
The surprise announcement to lift the sanctions represents a sea change for Syria, described by its foreign minister Asaad Shibani as a “new start” in the country’s reconstruction path.
Robert Ford, who served as US ambassador to Syria under President Barack Obama, applauded the Trump administration’s move to lift sanctions.
“I visited Syria three months ago and the country is simply devastated after the 13-year civil war. It needs to rebuild, it needs reconstruction, it needs foreign financing to do that,” he told the BBC.
“So removing the sanctions, that will enable international capital flows to go into Syria from Gulf states, from other Arab states and from different aid agencies is absolutely vital.”
Trump was expected to meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.
From Riyadh, Trump will head to both Qatar and the UAE, which has already committed to investing $1.4tn in the US over the next decade.
[BBC]
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