Connect with us
Saturday,26-April-2025
Breaking News

International

IPL 2022: Shami, Tewatia shine as Gujarat Titans start campaign with 5-wicket win over Lucknow

Published

on

Gujarat Titans rode on brilliant pace bowling by Mohammad Shami as they started their campaign in IPL 2022 on a winning note, beating Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets in a clash between two debutants whose fate was decided in the first five overs.

Bowling brilliantly and in the channel, Shami sent back Lucknow skipper and his India teammate KL Rahul for a golden duck and then claimed two more wickets in quick succession for figures of 3-0-10-3 in his first spell.

He broke the backbone of Lucknow Super Giants’ batting as they were reduced to 29/4 in the fifth over with fellow pacer Varun Aaron chipping in with the wicket of West Indies batter Evin Lewis (10).

Though they recovered from a precarious 29/4 riding on half-centuries from experienced batter Depak Hooda (55) and debutant Ayush Badoni (54), the 158/6 they managed in their allotted 20 overs was below-par for this surface and the Gujarat Titans batting. Shami eventually finished with 25/3 from his four overs.

Chasing 159 for victory, Gujarat Titans overcame a few hiccups and reached 161/5 in 19.4 overs with skipper Hardik Pandya, who chose to field first on winning the toss, struck a 28-ball 33, David Miller scored 30 and Rahul Tewatia blasted a 24-ball 40 to help them start their IPL 2022 campaign with a five-wicket win.

Gujarat Titans, too, got off to a poor start as they were reduced to 15/2 in the third over as Shubman Gill (0) and Vijay Shankar (4) fell to Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera. Skipper Hardik Pandya and Australian wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade raised 57 runs for the third wicket partnership but Hardik soon returned to the pavilion, when he holed out to Manish Pandey while trying to loft his brother over his head.

Hardik blasted a 28-ball 33 studded with five fours and a six. Gujarat further slumped into the bog when they lost opener Matthew Wade (30) with the score 78/4, castled by Hooda when he went for a slog sweep. With the asking rate rising steadily, David Miller and Rahul Tewatia rescued the Titans with a fine partnership, building up a partnership for the fifth wicket.

Miller scored 30 of 21 deliveries and Tewatia remained unbeaten on 40 as they reached 161/5 to register a five-wicket victory. Earlier, sent in to bat first, Lucknow Super Giants got off to a disastrous start as they lost skipper KL Rahul to a golden duck, edging behind an unplayable delivery bowled by Mohammad Shami first-up. Shami, bowling beautifully and always in the channel, sent back Lucknow’s other opener, Quinton de Kock (10), splitting the gap between the bat and pad with a peach of a delivery that was full and did a wee bit to fox the South African batter.

Varun Aaron then made it 20/3 when he extracted some bounce from the surface and West Indies’ Evin Lewis went for a pull but only managed to top edge towards square leg where Shubman Gill completed a fantastic catch. Lucknow’s troubles deepened when Shami removed Manish Pandey with one that moved just a bit to avoid the Karnataka batter’s tentative poke and hit the off stump. Lucknow had lost their fourth wicket for 29 runs and looked in deep trouble.

They crawled to 32/4 in the Powerplay as Deepak Hooda and Ayush Badoni, a 22-year-old from Delhi, repaired the innings. Then then took Delhi towards a respectable total with an 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Hooda, who blasted some superb boundaries, completed his fifty off 36 deliveries. Badoni blasted Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya for a six and two boundaries in his fourth and last over.

He got down to one knee and blasted Pandya over midwicket for a six and followed it up by lapping the second delivery over fine leg for a one-bounce four and then deliberately ran down to third man another fuller one with soft hands. Hooda then blasted the final delivery for a four as Pandya conceded 19 runs in his fourth over. Lucknow reached 100 off 14.2 overs with Hooda and Badoni looking dangerous.

Rashid Khan got Gujarat Titans the much-needed breakthrough, ending the 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket when he trapped Hooda plumb as the batter tried to sweep him away. Though Badoni kept the scoreboard ticking for a couple big overs, in the end Lucknow Super Giants could manage only a sub-par total in their first innings.

Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 158/6 in 20 overs (Deepak Hooda 55, Ayush Badoni 54, Krunal Pandya 21*; Mohd Shami 3/25, Varun Aaron 2/45) lost to Gujarat Titans 161/5 in 19.4 overs (Matthew Wade 30, Hardik Pandya 33, David Miller 30, Rahul Tewatia 40 not out; Dushmantha Chameera 2/22).

International

Wagah-Attari border closure leaves several families in limbo

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

International

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

International

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Trending