National
IPL 2021 Qualifier 2: KKR survive late scare to beat DC by 3 wickets, to face CSK in final

Riding on a brilliant fifty by Venkatesh Iyer (55 off 41), Kolkata Knight Riders overcome a dramatic collapse to beat Delhi Capitals by 3 wickets in a low-scoring Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, here on Wednesday.
KKR will now face the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash, which is scheduled to be played at Dubai International Stadium on Friday. This is KKR’s first final since 2014.
Chasing a total of 136 runs for victory, openers Iyer and Shubman Gill gave Kolkata a solid start. The duo mixed caution with aggression and took KKR to 51/0 after 6 overs. Even after the powerplay, both the openers continued in the same vein, taking KKR to 76/0 in 10 overs.
Kagiso Rabada, finally gave Capitals a breakthrough as he dismissed Iyer. The youngster played a quickfire knock of 55 runs in 41 balls and stitched a 96-run opening stand with Gill. After Iyer’s wicket, Nitish Rana joined Shubman Gill in the middle. But Rana couldn’t do much and got out to Anrich Nortje after scoring 13 runs. In the next over, Gill also got out and things took a dramatic turn as KKR collapsed from 125 for 2 to 130 for 7.
But Rahul Tripathi held his nerve to hit a sixer and finish the game for KKR when six runs were required off 2 balls in the final over.
Earlier in the day, openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan gave Delhi Capitals a solid start, scoring 32/0 after 4 overs. However, Kolkata bounced back with the wicket of Shaw (18), who was dismissed by Varun.
After Prithvi’s wicket, Dhawan and Marcus Stoinis joined forces and looked to maintain the run-flow. But KKR bowlers didn’t allow them to score freely by bowling hard length deliveries. As a result, Delhi were 65/1 at the halfway mark, lurching towards the average total.
The pressure was building on Stoinis, who was promoted in the batting order despite coming from an injury. In order to score freely, the all-rounder gave himself room to hit one through the off side but missed a quick and cross-seamed delivery, which crashed into the stumps. Stoinis (18) and Dhawan added 39-runs for the 2nd wicket partnership.
From there on, Kolkata continued to strangle the batters further and Delhi kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Dhawan, who scored 36 off 39, was the first to go. He charged down the track, trying to slam Chakaravarthy’s delivery straight down the ground but the ball took the outside edge and Shakib did well to cover ground quickly and take a diving catch.
DC skipper Pant came to bat next and started his innings with a boundary. But he couldn’t carry his knock longer and got out to Lockie Ferguson, leaving DC in trouble at 90/4 after 15.2 overs.
After losing the wickets of Dhawan and Pant in quick succession, Delhi were in deep trouble and Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer had the responsibility to bring their team back in the game. Hetmyer survived a close call on the individual score of 3 as he was caught brilliantly by Shubman Gill at long on off a Varun Chakravarthy delivery but it was called a no ball by the TV umpire.
After getting the life-line, the Windies cricketer hit a couple of sixes in the 18th over bowled by Ferguson. However, in the next over, Hetmyer (17) got run out. Iyer wanted to squeeze out a run but Venkatesh Iyer did well to throw the ball back on time to Dinesh Karthik and Hetmyer was well short of the crease.
In the end, Shreyas Iyer hit a six and four in the last over of the innings and took Delhi Capitals to a total of 135/5 in 20 overs, which was not enough.
Brief scores;
Delhi Capitals: 135-5 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 36, Shreyas Iyer 30*; Varun Chakaravarthy (2/26) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders: 136-7 in 19.5 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 55, Shubman Gill 46 ; Kagiso Rabada 2/23).
National
Kill terrorists and show us their bodies, say families of Pahalgam attack victims

Mumbai, April 24: The mortal remains of Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote, who were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, were brought to Pune early Thursday morning.
Chants of ‘Pakistan jala do (burn down Pakistan)’ were raised during Jagdale’s funeral procession. NCP(SP) president Sharad Pawar met the families of Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote and expressed grief.
The Jagdale family, shattered by the brutal killing of Santosh Jagdale, burst into tears. “Today my life has been completely ruined, I cannot see my husband anymore,” said Jagdale’s wife, Pragati Jagdale, while venting out her emotions. She also demanded in front of Sharad Pawar that those terrorists should be shot the same way they killed her husband and others.
Pragati Jagdale further narrated the entire incident. “They (terrorists) had come wearing masks. There was no one there, there should have been an officer or security guard. Further, there was a delay in treatment. They didn’t tell us anything,” she said.
She added that the terrorists did not even spare the horse puller as he resisted and told them that they should not shower bullets on the tourists. “Don’t put people’s lives in danger, people’s lives are being ruined, tell me where I am going to look. My husband is not with me, what should these children do?” she asked in despair.
“I have not been able to see my husband’s face since yesterday. While in Kashmir, we could not see his face; here, too, his face is not being revealed. Terrorists shot my husband in the head. Do something for us. Find and kill those terrorists. Terrorists shot our people in the head and took out the flesh, took out the blood, do the same with them and show us the bodies of the terrorists. Terrorists shot their father in front of the children. The children were crying then. While coming down from there, we fell into the mud. Because of this, I cannot even stand on my feet,” said Pragati Jagdale.
“The local people there also cried for us, they felt bad because everything the terrorists did was against tourists, and they attacked tourists. The officers there also cried for us, they felt bad about what had happened. The lives of family members of 26 people killed in the terror attack have been completely destroyed,” she claimed.
Meanwhile, Kaustubh Lele, who lost his cousins Sanjay Lele, Hemant Joshi and Atul Mone from Dombivli in the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday, slammed the government, asking it to first ensure safety to its citizens instead of making tall claims about becoming a trillion-dollar economy.
“Focus on bringing ‘acche din’ of safety and security in the lives of Indian citizens, then show them the dream of becoming a dollar economy. Stop show-offs, branding and making loud claims. Take adequate steps for the safety of the people,” he said, expressing his anguish. “It is a big loss for three families as they have lost the head of the families. It has created a big vacuum which cannot be filled. Terror attacks are taking place unabated. Now take some concrete and firm steps against terrorism,” he said.
International
Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

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.
Maharashtra
ICC, BCCI, ECB and CA to bankroll plan to support Afghan women cricketers: Report

Mumbai, April 16: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) plans to support the exiled female cricketers from Afghanistan will be bankrolled via contributions by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Cricket Australia (CA), a report claimed on Wednesday.
The initiative to assist Afghanistan’s displaced women cricketers, which will include coaching and mentorship, “will be constituted through a dedicated fund,” and it will be fully funded by the ICC and the three boards.
An ICC spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the fund will not include any contribution from the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The ACB will continue to receive its full amount from the ICC.
The ICC has recently announced that it will put in place a plan to support women cricketers exiled from Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country and banned the participation of females in sports and disbanded the teams.
“Last year, the prospect of ring-fencing an amount for women’s cricket from the ACB’s portion of the ICC’s revenue distributions was discussed but that plan did not come to fruition. The ACB is the only Full Member board that does not field a women’s team, and is not able to because of the severe restrictions on women’s rights after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021,” the report claimed.
The report also said, the ICC’s latest plan to engage with Afghanistan’s female cricketers neither amounts to official recognition nor does it clear the path for Afghanistan to field a women’s team, as such a team can only be ratified by the ACB. Instead, the ICC hopes to work with Afghanistan’s female cricketers to provide them with both access to the game and funding for further education.
“The ICC does not select a team for Afghanistan. Rather, we are committed to addressing the complexities of the issue and finding a solution that fits within the ICC’s legal and constitutional framework,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.
The report also confirmed that the ICC’s initiative will not be limited to the 19 Afghan cricketers resident in Australia but, “the plan is to include all displaced Afghan women cricketers regardless of their location.”
The ICC has so far not clarified on what will the Afghanistan women cricketers in exile do after getting coaching and mentorship from this fund.
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