Sports
IND v SA, 1st T20I: Ishan Kishan leads the way for India’s future batting template

Very rarely, one gets to pick positives from a loss in cricket. Despite India being handed a seven-wicket defeat by South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, they had a big positive to pick — racking up 211/4 in their 20 overs, thanks to a super-aggressive approach with the bat, led by Ishan Kishan’s 76.
India’s approach with the bat was like an action sequence from a Hollywood flick — runs coming thick and fast, first coming through edges and then through scintillating stroke play.
None of the batters tried to play anchor; everyone yearned to be the aggressor and get the big hits, seen from the strike-rates of Kishan (158.33), Gaikwad (153.33), Pant (181.25) and Pandya (258.33), with Iyer’s strike-rate of 133 looking pale.
All five batters got their first boundary within the first 10 balls of the innings, clearly not in a mood to waste time at the crease.
It was in complete contrast to their outdated approach with the bat; one would anchor the innings and rest would play around him, a chief factor in their early exit from the Men’s T20 World Cup last year.
But, in New Delhi, Kishan, captain Rishabh Pant and vice-captain Hardik Pandya later on, showed how going from the word go, devoid of any fear or tension, can bring some phenomenal batting returns despite having a streaky start.
Kishan’s first boundary came when he was beaten in flight by Keshav Maharaj in the opening over, but the outer edge ran past short third man. Luck continued to be on India’s side as a neck-high bouncer from Anrich Nortje saw Ruturaj Gaikwad hook over fine-leg, with the top-edge coming into play.
Kishan and Gaikwad rode their incredibly good fortune through the rest of power-play, amassing 51 runs but never letting go of the aggressive approach despite being tested by some sharp seam movement from the pacers.
After Gaikwad fell to Wayne Parnell, Kishan struggled for fluency till the ninth over when Dwaine Pretorius arrived.
The first ball of the over, width on offer and Kishan played the late cut to get the boundary past fielder at point. When Pretorius tried to correct his length on the final ball, Kishan hammered it through cover to collect another boundary. It was just the over Kishan needed to break free and find his boundary-hitting groove, which reached its high point when Maharaj was re-introduced in the middle overs.
After reaching his fifty in 37 balls by slog-sweeping the left-arm spinner, Kishan unleashed carnage on Maharaj in the 13th over — two more sixes were dispatched to mid-wicket fence and were followed by two boundaries down the ground.
“Initially we knew that we cannot get going on this wicket. My plan was to target the loose balls. In T20Is, powerplay is very important. We need to respect good bowlers as Nortje and Rabada have done really well for their country. My plan was to keep playing my shots and make them change their line and length,” said Kishan about his knock of 76 in the press conference.
Though he holed out to long-on on the last ball of the over in trying to hit another six, Kishan had done his job of setting the base for Pant and Pandya to carry forward the big-hitting spree. He had support from the other end when Shreyas Iyer danced down the pitch thrice to dispatch Tabraiz Shamsi for three sixes towards the leg-side before slowing down and eventually being castled by Pretorius.
“When the left-arm spinner came onto bowl, I told Shreyas that I will take my chances and told him that he can attack when Shamsi was bowling, because you got to be smart at this level. We just planned and it went our way,” were Kishan’s words in the innings break on him and Iyer acing the match-up game against South Africa’s spinners.
Pant and Pandya, made captain and deputy respectively on the eve of the series opener, hit seven boundaries between themselves from overs 17 to 19 with some audacious shots to take India past 210-mark. The duo had spent their match eve effortlessly clearing the ‘V’ in a range-hitting practice and hence, it was no surprise to see them take Pretorius, Parnell and Rabada to the cleaners.
Only time will tell if what India did with the bat at New Delhi will kick-start a change in their approach to batting in the first innings, especially after the rested/injured stalwarts return. But, if one goes by the visuals of Thursday’s innings, they did make gains with the batting formula despite the result not being on their side.
health
Tobacco is not just addiction but poison: Delhi Speaker Vijender Gupta leads walkathon on World No-Tobacco Day in Rohini

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

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

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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