Sports
ENG v IND, 5th Test: The last few months have been fantastic, says Jonny Bairstow

Before the start of the rescheduled fifth Test against India at Edgbaston, England’s Jonny Bairstow had been earmarked as a batter who could be a threat to India’s plans.
It did come true as Bairstow followed up his 106 in the first innings with an unbeaten 114 in the second innings to play a huge role in England’s record chase of 378 and draw the series for the Pataudi Trophy 2-2 with a cracking seven-wicket win.
“It’s great fun at the moment. The last month has been a fantastic month of Test cricket for all the lads. You can see the smiles on all the boys’ faces, how excited we are for each other when everyone’s doing well, and that’s a massive part of it,” said Bairstow in post-match presentation ceremony after being adjudged Player of the Match.
In his last five Test innings, Bairstow has hit four centuries and overall, six tons against his name in 2022, becoming the leading run-scorer in Test cricket this year with 994 runs in eight innings. Bairstow revealed that keeping things simple has been key to his superlative form.
“Just taking all the simple things back and stripping it back to the basics. The last couple of years have been tough. I’m not a big fan of the bubbles, I’m not someone that likes to sit in a room and play computer games. It’s been tough on me but the last few months have been fantastic.”
At the toss of the Edgbaston Test, captain Ben Stokes had stated firmly that they were looking to chase, which Root and Bairstow proved it right by completing four 250+ chases on the trot.
“Fair play to everyone who went to that. To the crowd as well: Day five was over in 90 minutes. I just have an enjoyment factor now. I am not afraid of failing and just want to put the pressure on the opposition. We are going to lose games with the approach we have, but it is a positive fun brand of cricket to play.”
“The chase was all under control (laughs). They have some world class bowlers and you just have to soak the pressure. They try to intimidate; they have some fantastic players and it was about trying to shift the pressure to them. There are going to be phases when they are going to play really well. There was a period when it started reversing as well. And today morning was a different morning,” elaborated Bairstow.
Bairstow also had some words of appreciation for Root, who remained unbeaten on 142 in a matching winning stand of 269. “Root and me are just two lads from Yorkshire. We have grown up playing together and spent a lot of time together from the Yorkshire academy days to the Test team now. Special to play with him.”
Crime
Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

Mumbai, April 26: A woman was killed and six people, including a 10-day-old infant, were injured in a fire in an high-rise building in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala in Andheri (West), early on Saturday, said the Mumbai Fire Brigade.
Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, died on the way to Cooper Hospital. Her family member Kartik Sanjanvalia, 40, is undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, said an official.
Five fire tenders fought the blaze, which started at around 2.40 am in Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane, and restricted it to room number 104 on the first floor before extinguishing it at 5.30 a.m, said an official.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade suspect that the fire in the eight floor building was sparked by an electric short circuit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.
The blaze burnt down furniture, mattresses, clothes, split and window air-conditioners and electrical installations in the flat on the first floor, said an official.
The other injured residents taken to Kokilaben Hospital were identified as 10-day-old baby boy Pradumna Gupta, Rihan, 3, Daya Gupta, 21, Aparna Gupta, 41 and Polam Gupta, 40.
The incident revived painful memories of another fire incident in a 15-storey building in Lokhandwala last October which claimed the lives of three people, including a visually impaired citizen.
Soon after the fire in Riya Palace building, a 37-year-old building at Cross Road Number 4 of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri, there were demands for opening a fire station on a plot allotted for the purpose in the area three decades ago.
The October 2024 blaze that broke out on the 10th floor of the building started around 8 am and was doused around 9 p.m. The victims were identified as Kanta Soni, 74, Chandraprakash Soni, 74, and Pelubeta, 42.
In another fire incident on Saturday in Maharashtra, a plywood godown was gutted in Thane district. The fire started around 3.30 a.m, in a three-storey building in Rahnal village in Bhiwandi and four fire tenders continued to battle the flames for hours.
A firefighter of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) got a fracture in his leg during the operation to douse the blaze.
An official said due to a huge pile of plywood the blaze had posed a challenge to fire-fighters.
Crime
Tahawwur Rana denies role in Mumbai terror attack during interrogation (Ld)

Mumbai, April 26: Tahawwur Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian national accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has denied any role in the conspiracy during his interrogation by the Mumbai Crime Branch.
According to senior officials, Rana, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi, was questioned for over eight hours by a team of Mumbai Police officers.
During the interrogation, Rana distanced himself from the attacks that claimed over 166 lives and injured hundreds on November 26, 2008.
Rana reportedly told investigators that he had “no connection whatsoever” with the planning or execution of the attack.
He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused, David Coleman Headley, was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects.
Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala.
When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual’s name and address to the agency.
Following this, sources said a team from the Mumbai Crime Branch may soon travel to Kerala to verify his claims and question the said person.
Officials revealed that Rana was largely uncooperative during the interrogation and frequently gave evasive answers.
He also cited memory lapses, stating that he was unable to recall specific details related to the attack that occurred over 17 years ago.
The interrogation is part of an ongoing probe by the NIA into the extensive three-year groundwork carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) prior to the Mumbai terror attacks.
Rana is also being questioned about his alleged links to several individuals whose names surfaced in intercepted communications, including Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, Sajid Majid, Ilyas Kashmiri, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — all of whom are believed to have played crucial roles in the 26/11 conspiracy.
Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, was extradited to India from the United States recently to face justice in the Mumbai attack case.
Exclusive
Houses of three LeT terrorists demolished in J&K (Lead)

Srinagar, April 26: Houses of three active terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit were demolished in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama districts, officials said on Saturday.
Officials said that the house of the terrorist, Ehsan-ul-Haq Sheikh, was destroyed in Muran village of the Pulwama district late Friday evening.
In Kulgam district, in a similar action, the house of terrorist Zakir Ahmad Ganie was demolished in Matalhama village. He has been an active terrorist since 2003.
In the Shopian district, the house of terrorist Shahid Ahmad Kutay was also demolished in Chotipora village. He has been an active terrorist since 2002.
On Friday, the houses of two terrorists, Asif Ahmad Sheikh Tral and Adil Thoker Bijbhera, were demolished after their involvement in the Pahalgam attack surfaced.
In his first reaction to the Pahalgam terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the terrorists, their handlers and backers would be given such punishment which they could not even have imagined.
PM Modi said that India will hunt down terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack to the ends of the earth.
J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, while reviewing security with Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi, asked the security forces to use whatever force is required to hunt down the killers of innocent civilians in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam on April 22.
A massive search operation assisted with technology using drones, helicopters, etc has been going on for the last six days to trace and hunt down the terrorists responsible for the killings of innocent civilians.
As the country prepares to take required kinetic and diplomatic steps to ensure that attacks like this do not get repeated, security across Jammu and Kashmir has been tightened following intelligence reports that terrorists could target soft targets like minority Kashmiri Pandits and non-locals working in the Valley, the officials said.
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