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Dhull, Rahane, Sarfaraz centuries highlight the return of Ranji Trophy on day one

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Centuries from India’s U19 World Cup winning captain Yash Dhull, senior Test batter Ajinkya Rahane and youngster Sarfaraz Khan were the highlights on day one of the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy on Thursday.

On the day India’s premier domestic cricket competition returned, hundreds coming out of the bat of Dhull, Rahane and Sarfaraz apart from Karnataka duo Manish Pandey and KV Siddharth stood out the most.

In Delhi’s Elite Group H contest against Tamil Nadu at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Dhull scored 113 off 150 balls, including 18 boundaries, to continue his cricketing fairy tale.

Dhull opened the batting for Delhi after Tamil Nadu skipper Vijay Shankar elected to bowl first. Dhull watched his opening partner Dhruv Shorey get out for one followed by one-drop Himmat Singh dismissed for a duck as pacer Sandeep Warrier bagged both wickets.

Dhull was firm in his first innings at the senior level, leading Delhi’s recovery from 7/2 with a 60-run partnership with Nitish Rana (25) for the third wicket followed by a 119-run association with Jonty Sidhu for the fourth wicket. When Dhull was on 97, he was dismissed by pacer M Mohammed but the ball turned out to be a no-ball, giving the youngster a reprieve.

A cut through point off off-spinner Baba Aparajith took him to his maiden century in first-class cricket with his Delhi team-mates and support staff giving a huge round of applause. Dhull continued to fetch runs till he was trapped lbw by Mohammed for 113. In his knock, Dhull amassed 48 runs from off-side while scoring 65 runs through the on-side.

The month of February has been a great one for Dhull, who captained India to winning the U19 World Cup final against England at Antigua. In the tournament, he made 229 runs in four innings at an average of 76.33.

It includes 82 against South Africa in the tournament opener and 110 against Australia in the semi-final. In between, he missed matches against Ireland and Uganda due to Covid-19 infection. After the World Cup triumph, Dhull was included in Delhi’s squad for Ranji Trophy and also bagged an IPL contract with Delhi Capitals worth INR 50L.

For Rahane, under pressure due to the lean patch in Test cricket, the timing of his hundred against Saurashtra in Mumbai’s Elite Group D match at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground ‘A’ couldn’t have been better. Rahane reached his century in 212 balls, hitting 14 fours and 2 sixes along the way. He scored 60 runs through the off-side and 48 runs through the on-side.

Giving him company in the mammoth 219-run stand for the fourth wicket was Sarfaraz, unconquered at 121 off 219 balls, including 15 fours and two sixes. The duo were essential in resurrecting Mumbai’s innings from 44/3 to reaching 263/3 in 87 overs at stumps.

Meanwhile, in the Elite Group C match at the Gurunanak College Ground in Chennai, Karnataka finished the day at 392/5 in 90 overs. Pandey, Karnataka’s skipper, slammed an 83-ball century and then changed gears to make 156 runs off 121 balls before being dismissed by Shivam Chaudhary. His partner for the 267-stand, Siddharth, is still unbeaten at the crease with 140 not out off 221 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes.

Brief Scores – Ranji Trophy Day One

Elite Group A

Madhya Pradesh 235/7 in 88 overs (Shubham Sharma 92, Rajat Patidar 54, Arzan Nagwaswalla 3/50) against Gujarat.
Kerala 205/1 in 36 overs (Rohan S Kunnummal 107, Rahul P 91 not out, CG Khurana 1/44) lead Meghalaya 148 all out in 40.5 overs (Punit Bisht 93, Edhen Apple Tom 4/41, Manu Krishnan 3/34) by 57 runs.

Elite Group B

Bengal 24/1 in 13 overs trail Baroda 181 all out in 54.2 overs (Mitesh Patel 66, Ishan Porel 4/40, Mukesh Kumar 3/33) by 157 runs.
Hyderabad 270/7 in 88 overs (Hanuma Vihari 59, Prateek Reddy 36, Jagjit Singh Sandhu 3/50, Rajangad Bawa 2/43) against Chandigarh.

Elite Group C
Karnataka 392/5 in 90 overs (Manish Pandey 156, KV Siddharth 140 not out, Shivam Chaudhary 2/22) against Railways.
Pondicherry 309/6 in 90 overs (Paras Dogra 108, S Karthik 63, Umran Malik 3/79) against Jammu and Kashmir

Elite Group D
Mumbai 263/3 in 87 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 121 not out, Ajinkya Rahane 108 not out, Jaydev Unadkat 1/23) against Saurashtra.
Odisha 23/3 in 13.2 overs (Lakshay A Garg 2/9) trail Goa 181 all out in 64 overs (Kd Eknath 76, Basant Mohanty 3/27) by 158 runs.

Elite Group E
Andhra 75/2 in 30 overs (U M S Girinath 36 not out, Aniket Choudhary 2/10) trail Rajasthan 275 all out in 59.2 overs (RK Bishnoi 54, Stephen 5/51) by 200 runs
Uttarakhand 25/1 in six overs trail Services 176 all out in 78.4 overs (Devender Lohchab 76, Deepak Dhapola 4/24) by 151 runs

Elite Group F
Himachal Pradesh 324/6 in 90 overs (Ankit Kalsi 88, Akash Vashisht 78 not out, Mayank Markande 2/68) against Punjab.
Haryana 327/4 in 90 overs (Yashu Sharma 101 not out, Shivam Chauhan 71, AS Sarkar 1/36) against Tripura.

Elite Group G
Uttar Pradesh 268/7 in 90 overs (Aksh Deep Nath 91, Rinku Singh 65, Umesh Yadav 2/37) against Vidarbha.
Maharashtra 278/5 in 90 overs (Pawan Shah 165 not out, Mukhtar Hussain 3/61) against Assam.

Elite Group H
Delhi 291/7 in 90 overs (Yash Dhull 113, Jonty Sidhu 71, M Mohammed 2/40) against Tamil Nadu.
Chhattisgarh 135/4 in 36 overs (Shashank Singh 37 not out, Sushant Mishra 2/20) trail Jharkhand 169 all out in 51.3 overs (Kumar Deobrat 34, Ajay Mandal 4/47) by 34 runs.

Plate Group
Bihar 325/3 in 90 overs (Sakibul Gani 136 not out, Babul Kumar 123 not out, Taruwar Kohli 1/33) against Mizoram.
Sikkim 291/9 in 90 overs (Anwesh 87, Liyan Khan 53, Nagaho 5/40) against Nagaland
Manipur 95/1 in 33 overs (Al Bashid 41 not out) trail Arunachal Pradesh 119 all out in 57 overs (Obi 61, Kishan 4/11) by 24 runs.

International

UNSC asks all countries to cooperate in bringing Pahalgam terrorists, backers to justice

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United Nations, April 26: The Security Council has “condemned in the strongest terms” the Pahalgam terrorist attack and urged all countries to cooperate in bringing all those involved in the massacre, to justice.

The members of the Security Council “stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard”, Council President Jerome Bonnafont said in a Press statement on Friday.

A front organisation of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Laskhar-e-Tayiba has owned responsibility for the attack.

The statement issued by France’s Permanent Representative Bonnafont who is the Council president for this month, took a broad view of those involved in the massacre by including the financiers and sponsors.

“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”, the statement said.

Pakistan, which is on the Council as an elected member, went along with the other members in endorsing the statement, committing itself – at least on paper – to bringing those involved to justice.

A Press statement expresses the consensus of the Council and carries moral authority, while not being legally binding like a resolution.

The statement also shot down the attempts by some in Pakistan to give terrorist attacks a veneer of justification.

“The members of the Security Council reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed”, it said.

The Council members “reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts”, the statement added.

Earlier, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hinted that a diplomatic effort by him may be afoot.

Asked by a reporter, if Guterres would speak to leaders of India and Pakistan, Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that he hoped to have something to share on that later.

Reiterating the condemnation of the terrorist attacks, Dujarric said, “We again urge both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further.”

When a reporter asserted that the possibility that “two nuclear countries” might “go to war” was getting insufficient attention, Dujarric said, “I don’t agree with your comment. We are paying very close attention to the situation between India and Pakistan.”

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International

Wagah-Attari border closure leaves several families in limbo

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Islamabad, April 25: Pakistan and India’s decision to shut down the Wagah-Attari border crossing after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack has forced several citizens from both countries to cut short their visit and rush back home.

On Thursday, after both countries announced closure of border crossing and gave a deadline for citizens to leave for their respective countries, at least 28 Pakistanis nationals returned from India while 105 Indian citizens in Pakistan crossed over into India.

A Hindu family from Balochistan’s Sibi was reportedly denied entry into India after the closure of border crossing.

“We were on our way to Indore in Madhya Pradesh to attend a wedding. Seven members of our family were excited to join our relatives in India and take part in the celebrations. But upon reaching Wagah, we learned that the border had been sealed. We will spend the night at Dera Sahib in Lahore and head back home tomorrow,” said Akshay Kumar.

Meanwhile, a Sikh family from India, in Pakistan to attend a wedding, decided to leave for India immediately.

“We had come to Pakistan for a wedding. While the ceremony took place, several important rituals remained. Once we heard the border was closed, we decided to return immediately,” said Raminder Singh, an Indian national.

A Hindu family from Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh province, now residing in New Delhi, was visiting Pakistan for the last two months to meet their relatives. However, they are now unsure about getting permission to return to India.

“There are five of us, including my young son and daughter, uncle and aunt. We all hold Pakistani passports and were granted No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate by India. But uncertainty looms now, said a family member named Indira.

“Families with cross-border ties often bear the brunt of rising tensions between the two neighbours. With tensions between Pakistan and India once again on the rise, human connections across borders are becoming the first casualty,” said Asif Memood, a Lahore-based journalist.

“The closure of the Wagah-Attari border has left many families in limbo, uncertain when they will next reunite with their loved ones,” he added.

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International

Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

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New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.

“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.

He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”

India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.

Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.

Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.

“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.

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