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IPL 2022: Delhi Capitals return to winning ways with 44-run victory over Kolkata

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A fantastic four-wicket haul from left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav combined with left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed taking three wickets helped Delhi Capitals snap their two-match losing streak with a 44-run win over table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.

After Delhi posted a gigantic 215/5 in their 20 overs, thanks to fifties from David Warner, Prithvi Shaw and some blazing knocks from captain Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur, Kolkata needed similar knocks from their batters. But barring a 54 from captain Shreyas Iyer, there weren’t many substantial contributions as Kolkata crashed to 171 all out in 19.4 overs.

Kolkata began their chase by losing openers Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane to Ahmed in power-play. While Iyer pulled straight to deep square leg, Rahane, who was lucky in surviving two lbw calls on first two balls of the innings, miscued a slog and was caught by Thakur running back from mid-on.

Iyer and Nitish Rana got off to a good start by taking boundaries off Axar and Kuldeep. The duo then took 17 runs off Rovman Powell’s part-time pace in the tenth over to bring up fifty of their partnership. Just as the 69-run partnership began to take a more threatening look, Lalit Yadav’s off-spin took out Rana as the left-hander smacked a low full toss straight to long-on just after hitting a six.

In the next over, Iyer danced down the pitch to hit Kuldeep over long-on for six and bring up his first IPL fifty in Kolkata jersey. But on the very next ball, Kuldeep had the last laugh, stumping Iyer with a googly. Sam Billings took a four and six off Axar but was caught by fine leg off a slog sweep, becoming Ahmed’s third victim of the match.

Pat Cummins’ hope of repeating the stunning 14-ball fifty heroics against Mumbai came to a premature end when he missed a wild slog off Kuldeep and was trapped plumb lbw in front of leg-stump. One brought two for Kuldeep on successive deliveries in the 16th over as Sunil Narine miscued a heave to long-off, followed by the spinner running to mid-on to complete a terrific caught and bowled dismissal of Umesh Yadav.

Andre Russell was uncomfortable in his 21-ball 24 and sliced uppishly to point off Thakur in the final over. A ball later, Thakur finished off the match by having Rasikh Salam holing out to long-on to give Delhi their second win of the tournament.

Earlier, Shaw’s 29-ball 51, Warner’s 61 off 45 balls, Pant’s blazing 27 and a late 49-run stand from Axar (22 not out) and Thakur (29 not out) set the base for Delhi’s comfortable win. Shaw began by punching Umesh through extra cover for a boundary on the first ball of the innings.

Three balls later, Yadav strayed in line and Shaw whipped through fine leg to collect his second boundary of the opening over. He danced down the pitch and slapped Rasikh Salam through covers for four. Warner joined the boundary-hitting party with a pulled four off Salam through mid-wicket. With pacers finding no support from the pitch, Yadav had Shaw in a tangle with a sharp bouncer but the batter hooked well for four.

Yadav bowled short again and hit Shaw’s helmet as ball flew over short third man for four leg-byes. After the concussion test, Shaw flicked Yadav through mid-wicket to complete an eventful over. Warner welcomed Cummins with back-to-back fours through cover before Shaw hammered a pull over deep mid-wicket to bring up Delhi’s fifty in just four overs.

The introduction of spinners Chakravarthy and Narine couldn’t stop Warner and Shaw as boundaries continued to flow. Shaw then slammed Venkatesh part-time pace for a four and six on both sides of the wicket followed by reaching his fifty in 27 balls. Chakravarthy broke the 93-run opening stand by castling Shaw through the gate with a googly.

Pant’s promotion to three worked well as he swept Narine through fine leg as Delhi reached century-mark at halfway stage. Chakravarthy came under attack from Pant, who was slog-swept for a six followed by reverse-sweep for four more. After two no-balls and byes, Warner crunched Chakravarthy for a boundary through cover to take 24 runs off the 11th over.

Warner reached his fifty by smacking Russell over long-on but Pant fell as he sliced uppishly to deep backward point. Narine brought Kolkata back in the match as he took out Lalit and Powell in quick succession. It was followed by Umesh removing Warner as the left-hander mistimed pull to deep mid-wicket.

Axar and Shardul smashed six boundaries off Yadav and Cummins to take 39 runs off the last two overs, providing Delhi with the perfect finish to go past 210-mark, which was enough to achieve a comfortable win.

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 215/5 in 20 overs (David Warner 61, Prithvi Shaw 51; Sunil Narine 2/21, Andre Russell 1/16) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 171 all out in 19.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 54, Nitish Rana 30; Kuldeep Yadav 4/35, Khaleel Ahmed 3/25) by 44 runs

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Wagah-Attari border closure leaves several families in limbo

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Islamabad, April 25: Pakistan and India’s decision to shut down the Wagah-Attari border crossing after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack has forced several citizens from both countries to cut short their visit and rush back home.

On Thursday, after both countries announced closure of border crossing and gave a deadline for citizens to leave for their respective countries, at least 28 Pakistanis nationals returned from India while 105 Indian citizens in Pakistan crossed over into India.

A Hindu family from Balochistan’s Sibi was reportedly denied entry into India after the closure of border crossing.

“We were on our way to Indore in Madhya Pradesh to attend a wedding. Seven members of our family were excited to join our relatives in India and take part in the celebrations. But upon reaching Wagah, we learned that the border had been sealed. We will spend the night at Dera Sahib in Lahore and head back home tomorrow,” said Akshay Kumar.

Meanwhile, a Sikh family from India, in Pakistan to attend a wedding, decided to leave for India immediately.

“We had come to Pakistan for a wedding. While the ceremony took place, several important rituals remained. Once we heard the border was closed, we decided to return immediately,” said Raminder Singh, an Indian national.

A Hindu family from Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh province, now residing in New Delhi, was visiting Pakistan for the last two months to meet their relatives. However, they are now unsure about getting permission to return to India.

“There are five of us, including my young son and daughter, uncle and aunt. We all hold Pakistani passports and were granted No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate by India. But uncertainty looms now, said a family member named Indira.

“Families with cross-border ties often bear the brunt of rising tensions between the two neighbours. With tensions between Pakistan and India once again on the rise, human connections across borders are becoming the first casualty,” said Asif Memood, a Lahore-based journalist.

“The closure of the Wagah-Attari border has left many families in limbo, uncertain when they will next reunite with their loved ones,” he added.

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Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

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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.

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Death toll from US airstrikes on Yemeni fuel port rises to 38: Houthis

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Sanaa, April 18: The death toll from US overnight airstrikes on the Yemeni fuel port of Ras Isa has increased to 38, with 102 others wounded, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Friday, citing Houthi-controlled local health authorities.

According to al-Masirah, the casualties include five paramedics who were killed upon arriving at the scene, when the US military launched another wave of airstrikes on the port just minutes after the first on Thursday night.

More than 14 airstrikes on the fuel port were reported during the two waves, igniting massive fires in tanks storing imported fuel. The fires were extinguished within hours, said the report.

The US Central Command said earlier in a statement that it struck and destroyed the Ras Isa port on Thursday to “eliminate this source of fuel for” and “degrade the economic source of power of” the Houthis, Xinhua news agency reported.

In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis after the group announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, citing Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the reason.

Earlier on April 17, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had said his group had launched 26 attacks against Israel and 33 strikes on the US aircraft carrier and warships in the Red Sea since March 15.

In a televised speech aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV on Thursday, the Houthi leader said the attacks on Israel were carried out using “30 ballistic missiles and drones,” while those targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its escorts involved “122 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”.

However, the Israeli military has reportedly intercepted many of the Houthi projectiles before they reached targets, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as “outlandish” in a post on the social media platform X.

Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group’s positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.

Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within the Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.

The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma’in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.

Even since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in March across the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been launching frequent attacks against Israeli and US targets.

Earlier last week, the Houthi military spokesperson claimed fresh attacks against the US aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, and other US warships in the northern Red Sea.

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