Bollywood
2nd Test: Joe Root, Dan Lawrence put dominant England on top in Barbados
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
Wamiqa Gabbi on meeting Amitabh Bachchan on ‘KBC’: ‘Middle-class families will understand how special this moment was’

Mumbai, Sep 25: Actress Wamiqa Gabbi recently opened up about her memorable experience on Kaun Banega Crorepati 18. She recalled how appearing on the popular quiz show took her back to her childhood days of watching it with her family.
The ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’ actress shared that sitting on the KBC hot seat in front of megastar Amitabh Bachchan felt surreal, especially as she could see her family sitting in the audience. The moment reminded her of the years when they would sit together in front of the television and watch the show. Sharing her video from the episode on Instagram, Wamiqa wrote, “KBC takes me straight back home… to being a little girl, sitting with my family, with absolutely no idea where life was going to take me. And then one day, I was sitting on that chair. It didn’t fully hit me until @amitabhbachchan sir sat down in front of me… and I looked over at my family in the audience. And suddenly, I saw it. Us then… sitting together in front of the TV Us now… somehow inside it That little distance between the sofa at home and the KBC hot seat suddenly felt like an entire lifetime.”
She added, “Yeh baat mere fellow middle-class families shayad sabse zyada samajh paayenge… kuch moments sirf aapke nahi hote…… poore parivaar ke hote hain. That day, there was one person on the hot seat… but it felt like my whole family was sitting there with me Life… you are so unpredictable. And so beautiful.”
The video features the actress sitting on the hot seat alongside Rajkummar Rao and Ujjwal Nikam. Amitabh offered a glass of water to Wamiqa. The actress then said, “Sir, I’ve been working for so many years. I was trying to do a good job. But my dad always used to say this. You know, when I worked with Jaya ma’am, he told me then, he said, ‘Now you’re working.’”
“So I said, ‘Now I’m a little closer to Amitabh sir’s house. I’m a little closer to Amitabh sir’s house.’ So this is my route to becoming an actor.”
Amitabh, addressing her parents, replied, “Sir, you don’t worry. She’s a very good artist. We’ve got all her reports.” The upcoming episode of “Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 18” will feature actors Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi, along with Ujjawal Nikam, as they join Amitabh Bachchan on the show to promote their film “Prahaar.”
Bollywood
Alia Bhatt embraces cabaret avatar in SLB’s Love & War poster after Ranbir Kapoor rugged first look

Mumbai, Sep 25: After unveiling Ranbir Kapoor’s intense first look, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has now introduced Alia Bhatt’s character from Love & War, by dropping an official poster of the actress revealing her look from the movie for the first time.
The actress appears to be stepping into a glamorous cabaret avatar for the much-awaited period drama.
Bhansali Productions shared the new poster featuring Alia in a dramatic, stage-ready look. Dressed in a wine red sequinned outfit donning a cropped blouse and flowing skirt along with a bunch of feathers, giving it a quintessential cabaret dancer look, Alia can be seen seated against an elaborate backdrop of red curtains and sparkling lights.
With Alia’s styling and theatrical presentation, it evokes memories of the iconic cabaret numbers associated with legendary performer Helen from the 70s era of Bollywood.
Alongside the poster, the production house wrote: “Aag bhi, dilon ki jaan bhi! Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War on 21st January 2027 See you at the movies!”
The reveal comes a day after the makers unveiled Ranbir Kapoor’s first look from the film. Ranbir was seen in a retro avatar, seated behind the wheel of a vintage car, sporting slicked-back hair, sunglasses and a moustache. His composed appearance was contrasted by a bloodied arm and a bullet mark on his shirt, hinting at the film’s war backdrop.
Ranbir’s poster carried the caption, “Woh rutba, woh raub, woh junoon!” and confirmed that Love & War will arrive in theatres on January 21, 2027. Alia had also shared Ranbir’s first look on her social media account with the caption, “Hey Handsome.. Love & War in cinemas, January 21,2027.”
Love & War brings together Ranbir, Alia and Vicky Kaushal in the lead, with Sanjay Leela Bhansali directing and producing the project.
Bollywood
Kapil Sharma returns with The Great Indian Kapil Show S5, Ajay Devgn to grace opening episode with Drishyam cast

Mumbai, Sep 25: Bollywood star comedian Kapil Sharma is set to return to Netflix with The Great Indian Kapil Show as the show opens its fifth season.
The show will be seen opening with the cast of the much-awaited thriller Drishyam: The Conclusion.
The season premiere, airing on September 26 at 8 pm, will see Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav and Jaideep Ahlawat, along with director Abhishek Pathak, join Kapil Sharma for an evening of laughter and candid conversations.
The episode marks the return of Ajay to the Kapil Sharma-hosted comedy show as he gears up for the theatrical release of the third and final instalment of the Hindi Drishyam franchise.
The episode will see Jaideep Ahlawat shaking a leg with Sona and Mona 2.0, the revived Krushna Abhishek-Kiku Sharda duo, while Sunil Grover will be seen adding to the fun with his Ajay Devgn mimicry.
The Great Indian Kapil Show Season 5 returns after a six-month break, with Kapil Sharma leading the comedy ensemble featuring Sunil Grover, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Archana Puran Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu. New episodes will stream every Saturday at 8 pm on Netflix.
Meanwhile, Ajay Devgn is returning as Vijay Salgaonkar in Drishyam: The Conclusion. The film, directed by Abhishek Pathak, also stars Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav, Rajat Kapoor, Prakash Raj and Jaideep Ahlawat. The film is set for a theatrical release on October 2, 2026.
The film has also generated curiosity because it takes a different route from the Malayalam Drishyam 3 starring Mohanlal.
At the trailer launch held in Goa on September 9, Abhishek Pathak clarified that the Hindi film is based on a completely different script, developed over around two-and-a-half years, and does not follow the story of the Malayalam third instalment.
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