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IPL 2021: Bowlers and Gill hand Kolkata a crucial win over Hyderabad

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Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers maintained a tight leash before Shubman Gill steered the chase to help his team register a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dubai International Stadium here on Sunday. With the win, Kolkata now have 12 points from 13 matches and remain in contention for the last spot in the playoffs stage.

It wasn’t a straightforward chase of 116 for Kolkata, who were watchful in their first four overs. Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi fell cheaply in the first ten overs. But Shubman Gill displayed a subtle shift in gears to make up for the slowness in the scoring rate. Sedate till the last ball of eleventh over, Gill hit Kolkata’s first boundary after power-play by coming down the pitch and hitting through mid-wicket off Khan.

He then pulled Holder twice through mid-wicket in the next over. Debutant Umran Malik, who impressed with his searing pace, was hit for back-to-back boundaries through square leg and mid-wicket. Gill hit five boundaries in seven balls to ease tension in Kolkata camp. Nitish Rana, who found it hard to come to terms with Malik’s pace, struck his first boundary by reverse-sweeping Khan.

Gill reached his maiden half-century in IPL 2021 with a pull through mid-wicket off Malik. The 55-run partnership between Gill and Rana was broken by Siddarth Kaul in the 17th over, with Gill mistiming a flick to long-on. Dinesh Karthik nailed an off-drive on his first ball from Kaul.

Rana pulled Holder through mid-wicket in the next over before a top-edge on the pull was pouched by keeper Wriddhiman Saha. Karthik slapped through point off Kumar in the 19th over before finishing off the chase with a fierce pull through deep mid-wicket off Kaul.

Earlier, opting to bat first, Hyderabad had a bad start with Wriddhiman Saha trapped in front of the wicket by Tim Southee on second ball of the innings. Jason Roy never looked to be settled at the crease and mishit to mid-on off Shivam Mavi in the fourth over.

Kane Williamson crunched Mavi for four fours in the last over of power-play. But his promising stay at the crease was cut short in a huge misjudgement for a tight single towards short mid-wicket. Shakib Al Hasan ran to collect the ball and fired a direct hit to catch Williamson short of the crease at the non-striker’s end.

Abhishek Sharma, in a bid to break the dry run, charged down the pitch to hit over leg-side. But he couldn’t connect with the ball from Shakib and was easily stumped. Priyam Garg had a six but a top-edge on slog-sweep landed in deep mid-wicket’s hands off Varun Chakravarthy. The leg-spinner had his second wicket in his next over as Jason Holder miscued to long-off.

Abdul Samad made a quickfire 25 laced with three sixes before holing out to long-on off Southee. Rashid Khan hit a boundary through covers off Mavi to take Hyderabad past 100. On the next ball, Mavi had his man as Khan mistimed to long-on. Siddarth Kaul got a boundary on the last ball, which wasn’t enough for Hyderabad to avoid their 10th loss of the tournament.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 115/8 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 26, Abdul Samad 25, Varun Chakravarthy 2/25, Tim Southee 2/26) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 119/4 in 19.4 overs (Shubman Gill 57, Nitish Rana 25, Jason Holder 2/32, Siddarth Kaul 1/17) by six wickets.

National

Ahmedabad plane crash: Gujarat govt intensifies relief, insurance, identification efforts

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Ahmedabad, June 16: In the wake of the tragic Air India AI-171 crash, which claimed 270 lives near Ahmedabad, the Gujarat government has swiftly ramped up rescue, relief, and administrative support measures to assist grieving families and ensure a streamlined response to the crisis.

District Collectors have personally reached out to the families of victims, while nodal officers have been appointed across districts to oversee the disbursement of insurance and compensation to legal heirs. These officers, drawn from district-level accounting departments and relevant government bodies, are tasked with ensuring that claims are processed efficiently and empathetically.

To facilitate insurance processes, a joint coordination cell has been set up at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, in line with IRDAI guidelines. New India Assurance has taken the lead for general insurance claims on behalf of the General Insurance Council, and HDFC Life has been designated to handle life insurance claims. Alongside LIC, both companies have established help desks at the hospital to assist families with documentation, claims guidance, and other support.

Meanwhile, district authorities are actively aiding insurance teams by providing key documents, including the passenger manifest, to accelerate claim verifications. Twelve dedicated teams are working in rotational shifts to conduct DNA sample collection and matching. As of now, 250 blood samples have been collected from relatives and local residents.

So far, 62 DNA matches have been confirmed, and 35 mortal remains have been handed over to the respective families — 27 after DNA verification and eight through other forms of identification. Only three passenger identifications remain pending, with relatives currently en route from the United Kingdom to submit samples.

To ensure the dignified and smooth transfer of mortal remains, more than 250 nodal and assistant nodal officers have been deployed. These officers remain in touch with families throughout the process — from initial contact and DNA collection to the final rites — ensuring transportation of remains under police escort, handing over personal belongings, and staying present until funerals are complete.

More than 850 medical personnel, including 100 staff members at the trauma centre, have been deployed as part of the emergency medical response. This includes both permanent hospital staff and additional manpower mobilised specifically for this crisis. Counselling services are also being offered to families coping with trauma.

For families arriving from other states, the Gujarat government is coordinating with State Emergency Operation Centres across the country. Regular contact has been established with nodal officers in other regions to provide logistical and emotional support to affected relatives. A team from Air India remains stationed at the Civil Hospital round-the-clock to assist families. Free air travel arrangements are being provided to relatives based on individual needs.

The Roads and Buildings Department has arranged for accommodation and ground transportation to ensure that visiting families face minimal inconvenience. To manage inquiries and streamline support, state-run helplines and control rooms have been receiving and acting on calls from across the country. Over 1,700 calls have been registered as of Sunday evening, with authorities maintaining active coordination across all departments involved.

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New Tatkal Ticket Booking Rules 2025: Indian Railways Announces Compulsory Aadhaar Authentication From July 1; What It Means For Passengers

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New tatkal ticket booking rules from July 1: In a big move, Indian Railways has announced that from July 1, 2025 onwards, only Aadhaar authenticated users will be able to book tatkal train tickets. The Railway Ministry has issued a directive on June 10, 2025, to all railway zones, stating that this requirement aims “to ensure that the benefits of the Tatkal Scheme are received by the common end users.”

The official communication specified that “With effect from 01-07-2025, tickets under Tatkal scheme can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)/ its app only by Aadhaar authenticated users.”

Furthermore, the ministry has stipulated that from July 15, 2025, passengers will need to complete an additional Aadhaar-based OTP authentication step for Tatkal bookings.

New Tatkal Ticket Rules 2025 Explained:

  • From July 1, 2025, train tickets under the Indian Railways’ Tatkal scheme will be exclusively available for booking through the IRCTC website or its mobile application only for passengers or users who have completed their Aadhaar authentication process.
  • Additionally, starting July 15, 2025, the ministry has mandated that travellers must undergo a supplementary Aadhaar-linked OTP verification process whilst making Tatkal reservations.
  • The directive additionally outlined restrictions for Indian Railways’ authorised ticketing agents regarding Tatkal bookings.
  • These agents will face a prohibition on securing first-day Tatkal tickets during the initial 30-minute period of the booking window. The restriction applies from 10.00 am to 10.30 am for air-conditioned classes and from 11.00 am to 11.30 am for non-air-conditioned classes.

The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) and IRCTC have received instructions from the ministry to implement required system alterations and relay these updates to every zonal railway division.

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National

PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat train service to Kashmir

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Jammu, June 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the Vande Bharat train service from Katra town to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir as hundreds of enthusiastic people greeted him.

The PM flagged off the Vande Bharat train and interacted with the children on board the train at the Katra railway station.

PM Modi keenly heard the views of the children about the Vande Bharat train service before waving a green flag to inaugurate the service.

As the train chugged from Katra railway station, the air was filled with slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.

Vande Bharat train has state-of-the-art facilities to suit the extremes of weather in the union territory.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi inaugurated the Chenab Railway Bridge, after which he visited the photo exhibition highlighting technical hardships faced during the construction of the Bridge.

PM Modi interacted with the engineers and the skilled workers who braved all odds of weather and topography to complete the World’s tallest Bridge at 359 metres, 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower of Paris.

The PM congratulated the engineers and workers for braving all odds to complete the construction of the Bridge in a record time, which is a marvel of engineering excellence.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MoS (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accompanied the Prime Minister when he visited the photo exhibition.

PM Modi showed keen interest in understanding the technical problems faced during the construction of the Bridge.

The CEO Railway Board, Satish Kumar, briefed the PM during the photo exhibition. Satish Kumar accompanied the PM when he inaugurated the Chenab Bridge while he went round the inaugural track.

PM Modi was informed that the maintenance of the Katra-Srinagar railway track is totally mechanised, making it the first such railway track in the country. This makes the track the safest in the country.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Anji Khad cable-stayed Railway Bridge, which is the first of its kind railway bridge in the country.

The PM walked across the bridge holding the national flag, and also went across the bridge in a railway coach. L-G Manoj Sinha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and CM Omar Abdullah were with PM Modi.

While the PM physically flagged off the Katra-Srinagar train, he will flag off the Srinagar-Katra train through virtual mode.

The PM will also lay the foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth Rs 46,000 crore.

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