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IPL 2021: Kohli happy to see Chahal getting form back

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Though it was an inconsequential match as far as the playoffs position goes, the clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad was still crucial for Royal Challengers Bangalore as victory would have maintained their chances of finishing at the second position in the IPL 2021 points table, giving them a chance to play the Qualifier 1 thus getting another shot at making it to the final.

Victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad would have put RCB level on 18 points with Chennai Super Kings and in a position to claim the second spot. But that was not to be as Susnrisers Hyderabad won by four runs here on Wednesday night. Kohli’s team remained on 16 points and in the third position behind Delhi Capitals (20) and CSK (18).

Though his franchise team lost, India skipper Kohli was happy to see Indian bowlers — Harshal Patel (3/33), Yuzvendra Chahal(1/27), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/25), and newcomer Umran Malik (1/21) doing well in IPL 2021.

Chahal has lost his place in the Indian white-ball squad and the selectors had ignored Chahal for the T20 World Cup starting later this month, Bhuvneshwar is part of the squad, and seeing him bowling well gladdened Kohli’s heart. The Indian skipper was also happy to see Jammu and Kashmir bowler Malik bowling at 150kph regularly and said it augurs well for Indian fast bowling stock.

“Chahal’s bowling pretty well now. Looks like he’s worked on his bowling with all the time off. Him bowling well is a good sign for the team,” Kohli said on Wednesday night after the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

About Malik, Kohli said, “Good to see a guy bowling at 150 clicks. It’s important to understand the progress of individuals from here, how to look after yourself. We’ve got to maximise the potential of our fast bowling stocks.”

While Chahal got his form back in the last few IPL 2021 matches, Kumar kept his nerves to deny AB de Villiers many chances in the final overs of the match and SRH defended a small total of 141/7 and won by four runs.

“It’s fine, I got hit thrice, but it’s okay. If I say there were no nerves, I would be lying. For AB – I was just trying to be full, and nothing else. That was the only plan – I went for six and then I went to wide yorkers. We were thinking 10-15 runs short but the way everyone bowled was tremendous,” said Kumar, who denied RCB the 13 runs they needed in the final over to win.

Kohli also said that his team could have won the match if they had done well in key moments and not taken things to the final over.

“The intent should always be to get it done as soon as possible. We don’t want to stretch things too deep. Dev (Devdutt Padikkal) and Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) set things up but Maxi’s run out was the key moment for us. With AB you’re never out of the game, but it’s also a case of keeping the guy in the flow on strike. Shahbaz (Ahmed) I think played a crucial knock at the stage and pulled us back into the game. It’s a game of small margins. Things could have gone anywhere and Sunrisers held their nerves to not allow us to get away,” said Kohli.

National

Market volatility over Greenland issue to continue due to ‘few sticking points’: Report

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New Delhi, Jan 24 : Investors are likely to remain on edge over the proposed US framework on Greenland, and near-term volatility related to this issue can continue, a report has said.

The report from Bank of Baroda said that market participants are awaiting more details that could determine whether negotiations succeed or unravel.

“Going ahead, investors are likely to await more details of the deal, as there are a few sticking points which can derail the negotiations. Hence, some volatility can be expected,” the report said.

Several analysts expect the arrangement to resemble an update of the existing security agreement between the US and Denmark, which was signed in 1951, the report noted.

Further negotiations will follow in due course which will cover areas such as US military presence in Greenland, as well as use of its mineral resources and sovereignty, said Aditi Gupta, Economist, Bank of Baroda.

US President Donald Trump has framed Washington’s interest in Greenland as driven by national security concerns, but the island’s largely unexplored mineral wealth including oil, gas and rare earth elements is of interest to US, the report said.

“The announcement of a framework deal between the US and NATO has helped to soothe investors’ nerves, however the details of the deal are still fuzzy,” it added.

Geo-political tensions escalated and markets went into turmoil after the US President intensified rhetoric to annex Greenland and threatened economic measures against European countries that oppose US plans. In response, several European nations, including France, Germany, Sweden amongst others increased military deployment in Greenland, further escalating tensions.

Trump had announced a 10 per cent additional tariff on goods from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands and Finland from February 1, 2026. The rate was expected to increase to 25 per cent by June 1, 2026.

Later, he backed off from his threat of imposing tariffs on European countries along the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

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Crime

Two Held With ₹68 Lakh Cash Near India-Myanmar Border In Mizoram; Heroin Worth ₹78 Lakh Seized

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Aizawl: Two persons were arrested with Rs 68 lakh in cash near the India-Myanmar border in east Mizoram’s Champhai district, officials said on Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, the Assam Rifles intercepted a vehicle at Zote village on August 11, they said.

Upon thorough checking, Rs 60 lakh in cash was recovered from two persons in the vehicle.

The duo, identified as Joseph Lalthansanga and Vanlalruati, could not state any proper reason why they were carrying such a huge amount of cash. They were subsequently handed over to the police for legal action, officials said.

In another operation, the Assam Rifles recovered 94.6 gram of heroin, worth Rs 78 lakh, from the village on Wednesday.

The drugs were handed over to the Excise and Narcotics Department, officials said.

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National

India’s AI Tech Spending Projected To Reach Rs. 92 Thousand Crore By 2028: Report

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India’s AI technology spending is projected to grow at an annualised rate of 38 per cent from 2023 to reach $10.4 billion (approximately Rs. 92 thousand crore) in 2028, a report said on Thursday.

Around 40 per cent of organisations in India have already implemented agentic AI, and close to 50 per cent are planning to use the technology within the next 12 months, IDC InfoBrief and UiPath said in a joint report.

In 2025, AI investments are focused on building the foundational infrastructure required to power transformative, high-value use cases.

According to the report, the adoption is surging, fueled by a tech-savvy workforce, expanding digital infrastructure, and government-backed initiatives.

Organisations’ spending on enterprise automation, multilingual AI models, and agentic deployments is driving this momentum further.

The benefits are already visible, as 80 per cent of Indian companies say agentic AI boosts productivity, while 73 per cent say it improves decision-making, the report said.

According to the report, agentic AI is gaining strong traction across the manufacturing, retail and wholesale, healthcare, and life sciences industries, which heavily rely on data and repetitive decision-making cycles.

“Agentic automation is rapidly redefining business operations across India. While enterprises in this region are embracing the full potential of AI agents to streamline workflows and autonomously execute complex business processes, trust and security remain barriers to widespread implementation,” said DebDeep Sengupta, Area Vice President, South Asia, UiPath.

Our agentic automation platform directly addresses these challenges, breaking down barriers to enterprise AI adoption by enhancing security and compliance, improving accuracy and reliability for agentic outcomes, Sengupta added.

About 69 per cent of Indian organisations are using agentic AI to enhance productivity, 59 per cent to drive personalised customer engagement, while 57 per cent apply it to risk and fraud detection, highlighting how agentic AI is being applied across front and back-office functions, the report highlighted.

“Becoming an AI-fueled business is no longer an option in today’s unpredictable climate. For many organisations, it’s fast becoming a strategic necessity,” said Deepika Giri, Associate Vice President, IDC Asia/Pacific.

Across the region, organisations are embracing agentic AI and agentic automation at scale, Giri added.

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