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Conway’s Chennai connect began several years before he became a part of CSK

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Charismatic New Zealand batter Devon Conway is making waves in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings and, while the world may know him as a cricketer who migrated from South Africa to New Zealand, little is known about his other Chennai connect that happened nearly five years back.

The prolific run-getter’s association with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side might have started after he was picked in the IPL mega auction this year, but many years back it was a former first-division cricketer with India Cements, Sriram Krishnamurthy — now a coach in New Zealand — who spotted him.

Sriram was then the batting coach of Wellington Firebirds when Conway moved from South Africa to Wellington in 2017 in search of a better growth in the sport.

“In a lot of sense, I know what it feels like to move to a certain place, especially New Zealand,” Sriram told CSK website. “The nervousness that you have when you move from one country to another, it takes time to settle in,” added the former cricketer, who himself moved from Chennai to the UK and then to Australia before eventually settling down in New Zealand in 2015, coaching several sides there.

“Moving from South Africa to New Zealand for good with the unknown of whether he (Conway) would realise his dream of becoming an International cricketer — it was a big decision. I had to give him as much information as possible,” said Sriram.

“Devon was different. He outlined his desire to do well for his club team first. There was a real desire from Devon’s side to say that ‘look I will do my hard work and along the way if I’m rewarded, that’s great’. That stood out for me straightaway. He was willing to put in that work without doubting himself or thinking too far ahead of what it could lead him to. This tells me that he’s a very strong personality.”

Interestingly, Sriram and Conway didn’t get to work with each other apart from a few indoor sessions in the initial few months as the former was away on New Zealand A tours. By the time they worked closely, in 2019 with Wellington Firebirds, Conway was already establishing himself in the New Zealand cricket circuit.

Conway made a dream Test debut, scoring a double ton at Lord’s against England early last year. He now averages more than 50 in each of the three formats in his brief international career.

Sriram says he was surprised when he came to know that Conway had been picked by CSK at the mega auction.

“I was surprised he got picked by Chennai Super Kings. I knew he was going to be picked, that was definitely a no brainer for the sort of player he turned out to be in International cricket over the last 12 months. I’ve had scouts from other franchises ask me about Devon. So I knew he would get picked… I was pleasantly surprised that he was picked by CSK!

“I’m happy that Devon is a part of CSK. I also know he’ll thrive in a team like CSK because his game is such that when there is calm around him, he possibly transcends the normal. He plays cricket at another level.”

Sriram said he was looking forward to watching Conway in the IPL next year, especially at Chepauk, the hub of Chennai cricket.

“Who knows with Covid and everything relenting, maybe next year, when IPL games are happening all over the country, how good would it be for me to be in Chennai and support him at Chepauk. And also to have the opportunity to take him to my house and show him around Chennai as well if possible. It would be a cool story.”

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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National

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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