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2nd Test: Joe Root, Dan Lawrence put dominant England on top in Barbados

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Skipper Joe Root scored the 25th century of his Test career and Dan Lawrence contributed 91 as England controlled the opening day of the second Test against West Indies here.

With the series all-square after a draw in Antigua, England moved into a strong first-innings position at the Kensington Oval thanks to a Root hundred and a fine half-century from Lawrence.

A wicket in the final over of the day saw Lawrence (91) miss out on the chance to bring up his first Test century, but Root will resume unbeaten on 119 with England on 244/3 at the close.

Ben Stokes will join Root at the crease for the start of Day Two, with England on 244 and with seven wickets remaining.

Earlier, the opening day of the Barbados Test started on a disappointing note for the tourists, with captain Root being forced to name a late change to the starting XI, with an unwell Craig Overton replaced by Matthew Fisher for a Test debut.

Fishe’s introduction meant that England are fielding two debutants in their seam attack, with Saqib Mahmood having already been confirmed as the replacement for an injured Mark Wood. But a green England seam attack were given time to put their feet up in the dressing room when Root won the toss and opted to bat first on what appears to be a benign surface in Bridgetown, said a report on the ICC website.

England’s troubles continued in the first session as Jayden Seales struck early to give the hosts a strong start in front of a packed and largely England-supporting crowd, removing Zak Crawley for a seven-ball duck.

But a patient partnership between Alex Lees and Root saw England through to 47/1 at lunch, with the scoring rate at well under two-an-over after the morning session. Root cruised through the gears after the inte’val, but Lees’ obstinate knock came to an end the ball after his captain had reached 50, with the Durham opener trapped in-front by spinner Veerasammy Permaul for a 138-ball 30.

New batter Lawrence had shown attacking flair and a selfless attitude in his second-innings cameo in Antigua, and showed similar positive intent right from the off in Barbados, stroking two fours to quickly reach double figures.

A fluent partnership developed between Root and the prodigious 24-year-old to take England to 136/2 by tea.

The rate of scoring increased markedly immediately after the tea break, with the pair racing towards their respective milestones and reaching them in consecutive deliveries. Lawrence brought up his fourth 50 in Test cricket with a pull around the corner for a single off the first ball of a Seales over, with the half-century coming off just 62 balls. And Root latched onto a bumper next up to flick away a single of his own to bring up his second century of the series and the 25th of his career.

The partnership blossomed from there as England built on the platform that Lees and Root had set in the morning session, and the English made hay.

Lawrence was given a reprieve when a takeable chance was put down by Alzarri Joseph off a frustrated Seales, with the drop not improving the mood of a tiring West Indian bowling attack. And a five-over burst with the new ball didn’t look like being enough to unsettle the England duo, as an increasingly well-oiled and boisterous traveling fanbase serenaded the pair in the middle.

But Lawrence, who had crunched back-to-back fours during the final over from Jason Holder, fell to the penultimate ball of the day for a career-best Test score of 91, finishing agonisingly short of his first Test century.

England are looking forward to continuing their domination on Day Two and put up a big total so that they don’t have to bat again in this Test.

Bollywood

Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty starrer ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ to be out on June 26

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Mumbai, Jan 27: The makers of the highly-discussed laughter ride “Welcome To The Jungle” have locked in on a release date for the drama.

The latest instalment in the popular ‘Welcome’ franchise will be arriving in the cinema halls on June 26th.

Made under the direction of Ahmed Khan, “Welcome to the Jungle” boasts a massive ensemble cast of over 30 actors including Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Johnny lever, Aftab Shivdasani, Lara Dutta, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Daler Mehndi, Farida Jalal, Krishna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Kiran Kumar, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Vindu Dara Singh, Nawab Shah, Urvashi Rautela, Puneet Issar, Arjun Firoz Khan, Late Pankaj Dheer, Sudesh Berry, Hemant Pandey, Zakir Hussain, and Sayaji Shinde, along with others.

AA Nadiadwala and Star Studio18 present in association with Cape of Good Films and Seeta Films, “Welcome To the Jungle” is a Base Industries Group and Seeta Films Production.

The first instalment of the series, “Welcome” was released back in 2007. In 2015, the makers came up with the sequel “Welcome Back”.

Previously, choreographer and filmmaker Ahmed Khan reflected on his 33-year friendship with Akshay Kumar.

Revealing what it is like to work with Akshay, he shared a statement saying, “Akshay’s enthusiasm, his energy, and the best thing, which I learned from him, is that he’s got everything he wants, what he deserves, and what he achieved, but one thing is that he’s never been aggressive. He’s such a humble person; he never shows his anger. If things go wrong with anybody around him, he just takes it with a pinch of salt and moves ahead. He always looks at the positive side, and he’s been a very good support as a friend to me, and I have enjoyed all my work with him till date. So that young Akshay from Suhaag till Welcome to the Jungle, the superstar, I have had a great journey with Akshay.”

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Mumbai BMC Elections Style: What Shraddha Kapoor, Tamannaah Bhatia, Hema Malini Wore To Cast Their Vote; Minimal Fashion Reigns On Polling Day

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Mumbaikars are heading out today to cast their votes as BMC elections are underway in the State of Maharashtra alongside several other municipal elections in surrounding regions. Celebrities from Akshay Kumar, Shraddha Kapoor, Aamir Khan, to Hema Malini, Tamannaah Bhatia, were spotted at their respective polling stations to cast their votes. Here’s a look at who wears what:

Always marking his presence in the early hours of the voting day, ‘khiladi’ Akshay Kumar opted for a simple yet classy look with a formal shirt, baggy jeans, and sneakers.

Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor cast her vote near the polling station in Bandra. She opted for a simple look, wearing a white kurta for the voting day.

Soon after husband Akshay Kumar cast his vote, Twinkle Khanna was also spotted casting her vote at her polling station. She was spotted wearing a Zimmermann Maxine paisley print, high waist, wide fit, cropped palazzo.

Veteran actor & member of the Lok Sabha, Hema Malini, was also spotted casting her vote. She was seen wearing a yellow suit.

Bollywood’s dance queen, Tamannaah Bhatia, was spotted casting her vote with her family in Bandra. The actress was spotted in a pink suit while keeping her look simple.

Actor Aamir Khan was spotted posing for paparazzi, showing his inked finger after casting his vote in the BMC elections. He was spotted in a chic look with a black t-shirt, cargo pants, and boots.

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Drishyam 3 Release Date: Will It Be Ajay Devgn Starrer Vs Shah Rukh Khan’s King At The Box Office?

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Ajay Devgn is starring in back-to-back franchise movies. This year, we saw him in Raid 2, Son of Sardaar 2, and De De Pyaar De 2. Next year, he already has Dhamaal 4 lined up, and on Monday, the release date of Drishyam 3 was officially announced. The movie will hit the big screens on October 2, 2026.

Ajay took to Instagram to inform his fans about it. He posted an announcement video and right, “Aakhri hissa baaki hai. In cinemas on 2nd October, 2026 (sic)” Check out the announcement video below…

While the release of Shah Rukh Khan starrer King has not been officially announced, there have been reports that the movie will be releasing during the Gandhi Jayanti weekend. So, will be Ajay Devgn vs Shah Rukh Khan at the box office?

If the clash happens, this won’t be for the first time when Ajay’s film will be clashing SRK’s movie. In 2012, Ajay starrer Son Of Sardaar and SRK’s Jab Tak Hain Jaan had hit the big screens together during Diwali.

Both movies had done well at the box office, but Jab Tak Hai Jaan had collected a bit more than Son of Sardaar. The former minted Rs. 120.87 crore at the box office, the latter collected Rs. 105.10 crore.

We are sure now everyone is keen for the official announcement of King’s release date. For now, all the Holidays have been booked by other films. So, let’s see if King will clash with any movie, or will opt to release on a non-Holiday weekend.

Apart from Ajay, Drishyam 3 also stars Tabu and Shriya Saran. The part 2 also featured Akshaye Khanna, but in the announcement video his name is not mentioned.

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