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IPL 2022: Rayudu’s 78 in vain as Punjab Kings overcome Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs

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A superb, fighting half-century by seasoned Ambati Rayudu went in vain as a clinical bowling performance saw Punjab Kings beat Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs in Match 38 of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.

Chasing a target of 188 set by Punjab Kings largely boosted by a brilliant 88 not out by Shikhar Dhawan, Chennai were in trouble soon.

Rayudu came in to bat with Chennai struggling at 40/3 and took them to safety with a blazing 78 off 39 balls, hitting seven fours and 6 sixes to raise hopes for a CSK victory. He raised 64 runs off 32 deliveries for the fifth wicket partnership.

But in the end, Jadeja (21 off 16 balls) could not guide his team to victory as from needing 47 off 24 balls, they reached a stage where they needed 27 off the last six deliveries with Jadeja and M.S Dhoni at the crease.

Dhoni struck Rishi Dhawan for a six off the first ball but was out off the third legal delivery and Jadeja could manage only a six and a single off the final two deliveries as CSK slumped to their sixth defeat in eight matches — ending with 176/6 in 20 overs.

Chennai got off to a poor start and lost opener Robin Uthappa with 10 runs on the board, top-edging a length ball by Sandeep Sharma to Shikhar Dhawan. It soon became 40/3 as Mitchell Santner (9) and Shivam Dube (8) got out cheaply.

But just when it looked like they will suffer a collapse, Rayudu got together with the other opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad to pull them out of the woods. Both Rayudu and Gaikwad started cautiously but struck some fine boundaries on the right occasions to keep Chennai’s hope alive.

They added 49 runs for the fourth wicket and just when it was looking like they will raise the tempo, Gaikwad, who despatched Rabada to the boundaries off successive deliveries in the first over, was out, caught by Mayank Agarwal while trying to hit Rabada for a second successive four in the 13th over.

Rayudu however, kept up the good work. He struck Sandeep Sharma for fours off successive deliveries as the bowler strayed on legs and blasted Rahul Charar for a four and a six in the 15th over before hammering Sandeep Sharma for 23 runs in the 16th over, blasting three sixes and a four.

He and skipper Ravindra Jadeja raised 64 runs for the fifth wicket in 32 balls, Rayudu doing the bulk of the scoring. He got out just when it looked he was good for a century, cleaned up by Rabada with a superb yorker backing away from the leg side but missing the ball completely to see his leg stump re-arranged. Rayudu’s brilliant 78 off 39 balls left CSK needing 47 off 24 balls.

With Arshdeep Singh and Rabada bowling two good overs, the equation came down to 27 off the last 6 deliveries and eventually to 19 off two balls and though Jadeja struck Rishi Dhawan for a six, CSK eventually fell short by 11 runs.

Shikhar Dhawan carried his bat through as he scored an unbeaten 88 off 59 deliveries, hitting 9 fours and 2 sixes as he helped Punjab Kings to 187/4 after they were asked to bat first by Chennai Super Kings skipper Ravindra Jadeja.

Brief scores: Punjab Kings 187/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 88 not out, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 42, Liam Livingstone 19; Dwayne Bravo 2/42) beat Chennai Super Kings 176/6 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 30, Ambati Rayudu 78, Ravindra Jadeja 21 not out; Kagiso Rabada 2/23, Rishi Dhawan 2/39) by 11 runs.

International

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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International

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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Houthis say 123 civilians in Yemen killed in one month of US airstrikes

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Sanaa, April 15: A total of 123 civilians have been killed and 247 others injured, mostly women and children, since the US military resumed airstrikes across Yemen in mid-March, Houthi-run health authorities said in an statement.

The statement was issued following US airstrikes against a ceramic factory on the western outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa late on Sunday night, which killed seven people and injured 29 others.

The health authorities’ previous statement on April 9 put the death toll from the renewed US air raids at 107 and the number of injuries at 223.

The Houthi group rarely discloses casualties among its fighters. However, the US military has repeatedly said the strikes have killed dozens of Houthi leaders, which the group has denied, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi group announced that it had shot down another US MQ-9 drone, the 19th it has downed since November 2023.

“A US MQ-9 drone was shot down while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province” in northwestern Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

Sarea added that the drone was downed by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile, stressing “the ongoing US aggression” has not crippled the group’s military capabilities.

The statement affirmed the group’s support for the Palestinian people, saying its operations will continue “until the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and the siege on it is lifted.”

The US resumed its air campaign against Houthi forces on March 15, stating that its strikes were aimed at deterring the group from launching attacks against Israeli and US naval assets in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, who control vast areas of northern Yemen, have been attacking Israeli targets since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip.

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