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Bumrah, Jaiswal, Jadeja named in ICC Test Team of the Year

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Dubai, Jan 24: India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have been named in the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year 2024.

Other than the Indian trio, the team features four players from England, two from New Zealand and one each from Australia and Sri Lanka.

Australia’s Pat Cummins captains the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year for the second successive year, earning his place thanks to another memorable stint in which he guided his side to the ICC World Test Championship Final, overseeing victories against Pakistan, New Zealand and India, and picking up 37 wickets in his nine Tests at an average of 24.02.

India’s Jaiswal takes a spot atop the order after scoring 1,478 runs during the year at 54.74, which included double-centuries in back-to-back Tests against England in February and a sublime 161 against Australia in Perth. His opening partner is Ben Duckett, one of four Englishmen in the team, who scored over a thousand Test runs in the year (1,149).

Century-makers litter the middle order, comprised of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, English duo Joe Root and Harry Brook and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis.

Williamson notched 1,013 runs in 2024 at an average of almost 60, while Brook’s 1,100 calendar runs were headlined by a record knock of 317 in victory over Pakistan in October. Mendis enjoyed a breakthrough year, hitting five centuries and becoming the fastest to 1,000 Test runs in 75 years, while the evergreen Root scored more Test runs (1,556) and recorded more centuries (6) than anyone else.

Jamie Smith earns a spot as the designated wicketkeeper in the Test Team of the Year, six months after making his Test debut for England, thanks to 637 runs in nine Tests which included a maiden hundred against Sri Lanka in August.

Captain Cummins is joined in the bowling group by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja of India, who boasted 527 runs and 48 wickets in his Test year. Also with 48 wickets is New Zealand’s Matt Henry, the pacer making impressive contributions against Australia, India and England.

Completing the list is top-ranked Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who excelled once more with ball in hand, topping the wicket-taking charts with 71 wickets in 2024 at a sensational average of 14.92.

ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year: Yashasvi Jaiswal (Ind), Ben Duckett (Eng), Kane Williamson (NZ), Joe Root (Eng), Harry Brook (Eng), Kamindu Mendis (SL), Jamie Smith (Eng) (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (Ind), Pat Cummins (Aus) (c), Matt Henry (NZ), Jasprit Bumrah (Ind).

health

Tobacco is not just addiction but poison: Delhi Speaker Vijender Gupta leads walkathon on World No-Tobacco Day in Rohini

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New Delhi, May 31: On the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day, Delhi’s Rohini area witnessed a strong show of public awareness and health advocacy through a walkathon organised to spread the message against tobacco consumption.

The event, themed ‘Walk for Life’, brought together medical professionals, civic leaders, and local residents in a collective stand against the harmful effects of tobacco.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, who flagged off the walkathon, delivered a powerful message on the dangers of tobacco. “Tobacco is not just an addiction; it’s a poison,” he said, addressing the gathering. “It is a dangerous habit that ruins lives, and the only effective way to combat it is through sustained awareness and education,” he added.

Organised by the Indian Medical Association in collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, the event saw enthusiastic participation from doctors, healthcare workers, and members of the public.

The walkathon aimed to raise awareness, especially among the youth, about the health risks associated with tobacco, including its direct link to life-threatening diseases like cancer.

“The younger generation often views smoking and tobacco use as fashionable, but we must help them understand the long-term consequences,” Gupta added, urging collective efforts to curb the rising trend of tobacco use among the youth.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Sudhir Rawal, Medical Director at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, emphasised the medical impact: “Tobacco is one of the main avoidable causes of cancer. If you don’t use tobacco, you significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer, especially lung and mouth cancer.”

The event also featured health-themed activities, including group exercises and educational talks, to create a more engaging and impactful experience for participants.

As part of a broader initiative across the country, the Rohini walkathon served as a crucial reminder of the importance of quitting tobacco and promoting healthier, smoke-free lives.

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Sports

IPL 2025: This will be the year for RCB, AB de Villiers backs his former franchise to end title drought

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Mumbai, May 31: Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers backed his former IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to lift their maiden title this year after securing their berth for the summit clash with a commanding win over Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 on Thursday.

This year, RCB have been in stellar form and have not lost a single away game so far in the season. They finished the league stage with 19 points to seal the second spot in the points table.

Virat Kohli and Phil Salt have been leading the run-scoring for the franchise with 614 and 387 runs respectively. The duo has been supported by middle-order batters including captain Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma and Krunal Pandya.

On the bowling front, Josh Hazlewood is the leading wicket-taker for the side with 21 scalps in 11 games while Krunal Pandya (15 wickets), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (15 wickets) and Yash Dayal (12 wickets) are also contributing in tandem to make them a balanced unit.

“I’m very happy that RCB is in the final. We saw MI winning last night, so it’ll be a very good qualifier too, knockout match between Punjab and MI. Looking forward to that one, and whoever deserves it will play RCB in the final, so I’m very much looking forward to the final and hopefully, this will be the year for RCB,” De Villiers told Media in Mumbai.

The legendary batter backed Punjab Kings to play the final against RCB but remains sceptical after watching Mumbai Indians’ dominance against Gujarat Titans to knock them out of the tournament on Friday.

“I said quite a while ago, about a month ago, that Punjab and RCB will be in the final. MI looked very strong right now, so it looks like the odds are against my call, but it is still cricket. You never know. It is a knockout match. It takes one or two great performances to turn the pressure onto your opposition. So I think it’s still going to be Punjab, but I’ve got a little bit of doubt now in my mind after watching last night’s game,” he said.

Punjab Kings will now take on Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday to seal a place for the IPL 2025 final against RCB on June 3 at the same venue.

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SpaceX’s Starship fails 3rd time, Musk blames fuel leak as megarocket explodes

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New Delhi, May 28: Even as SpaceX’s Starship flight exploded during splashdown on its ninth test on Wednesday, the company’s founder Elon Musk blamed it on fuel leaks.

This is the third time in a row that Starship flight has faced issues during the test flight. The company’s last two test flights — the seventh (January) and eighth (March) test flight — also ended prematurely with the destruction of the aircraft.

The ninth test flight of Starship — which blasted off at about 7:36 p.m. EDT (5:06 am IST) from the company’s Starbase launch site in Texas — successfully reached orbit, flying farther than on its two previous attempts.

However, the spacecraft’s payload bay door failed to open, preventing the planned release of simulated Starlink satellites. Around 30 minutes into the mission, SpaceX confirmed a fuel tank leak aboard the vehicle.

The first-stage Super Heavy booster exploded shortly before its expected splashdown, and live video showed the upper-stage vehicle spinning uncontrollably before its planned re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, due to fuel leaks.

“Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase,” Musk shared in a post on his social media platform X.

“Contact with the booster was lost shortly after the start of the landing burn when it experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly approximately 6 minutes after launch, bringing an end to the first reflight of a Super Heavy booster,” SpaceX said in a statement.

However, Musk called the flight an achievement and noted that there had been no loss to the heat shield tiles.

“Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over the last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Lot of good data to review,” Musk said.

SpaceX noted that the company “will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test”.

Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship and heavy booster — the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket system. It will launch the moon lander for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission that aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2026.

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