BENGALURU: Virat Kohli’s 77 and a finishing act by Dinesh Karthik helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings by four wickets for their opening IPL win of the season on Monday.
Master batsman Kohli smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 49-ball blitz as hosts Bengaluru chased down their victory target of 177 with four balls to spare to bounce back from their loss in the opener of the lucrative T20 tournament.
Kohli fell to fast bowler Harshal Patel in the 16th over and soon Bengaluru lost another wicket before Karthik (28) and impact substitute Mahipal Lomror (17) steered the team home in an unbeaten stand of 48 off 18 balls.
Karthik hit two sixes and three fours including the winning boundary in his 10-ball knock.
Bowlers set up victory with pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj and spinner Glenn Maxwell taking two wickets each to keep Punjab down to 176-6 despite skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s 45.
Kohli, who missed India’s 4-1 Test series victory over England because of the birth of his second child, then took charge after he was dropped on the second ball of the chase by Jonny Bairstow at first slip off Sam Curran.
He capitalized on the spill on nought and hit the left-handed Curran for four boundaries including three successive hits to set up the chase in the first over.
His flowing cover drives, flicks on the on side and behind-the-wicket hits raised the noise at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium as chants of “Kohli, Kohli” filled the air.
He raised his 51st IPL fifty in 31 balls and became the third batsman after Chris Gayle and David Warner to score his 100th 50-plus knock in T20 cricket.
Punjab fast bowler Kagiso Rabada struck early with the key wickets of skipper Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green — both the batsmen out on three.
Kohli stood firm but Punjab bowlers got down a few disciplined overs to put the pressure back on Bengaluru, but the star batsman, and later Karthik, ensured victory.
Bengaluru invited Punjab to bat first and struck regular blows after Siraj send Bairstow trudging back to the pavilion for eight.
Batsmen failed to convert starts with Prabhsimran Singh and Curran out for 25 and 23 respectively.
Virat Kohli’s 77 helps Bengaluru beat Punjab in IPL
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Virat Kohli’s 77 helps Bengaluru beat Punjab in IPL
- Master batsman Kohli smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 49-ball blitz
Man United’s Jim Ratcliffe reminded of his responsibilities but no FA charge for ‘colonized’ claim
- Football Association will not be charging Ratcliffe over his comments
- Ratcliffe’s comments touched a nerve in Britain, where immigration is a divisive issue
MANCHESTER: Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has been reminded of his “responsibilities as a participant in English football” after he triggered a storm of criticism for claiming Britain had been “colonized” by immigrants.
But England’s Football Association will not be charging Ratcliffe over his comments, which were widely condemned by political figures, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the club’s supporters.
The governing body issued Ratcliffe with a reminder of his responsibilities when taking part in media interviews, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
British billionaire Ratcliffe, who owns petrochemicals giant INEOS, made the comments during an interview with Sky News, which aired last week.
“You can’t have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said. “I mean, the UK’s been colonized.”
Ratcliffe’s comments touched a nerve in Britain, where immigration is a divisive issue. He later said he was sorry his choice of language had “offended some people.”
Starmer had earlier called for him to apologize, saying “Britain is a proud, tolerant and diverse country.”
United fans, who are proud of the diversity within the team and their supporter base, also condemned his words.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust said the “senior leadership should make inclusion easier, not harder.”
Critics accused Ratcliffe of “hypocrisy,” saying he has chosen to make his home in Monaco to reduce his UK tax bill.
Carrick proud of Man United’s culture
United’s head coach, Michael Carrick, said earlier Friday that the Premier League club was proud of their culture of equality and diversity.
Carrick, who was recently hired as coach until the end of the season, faced the media for the first time since Ratcliffe’s remarks and he was asked for his response.
“Sir Jim has made a statement, and then the club’s made a statement on the back of it so for me to add to that is not my place,” he said. “What I can say is, as I’ve been around this club many, many years, we always make a huge impact globally.
“We’re really proud of the environment and the culture that we’ve got at the club, and equality and diversity and respect for each other is something that we look to carry through every day.”
