Sports
Rohit’s captaincy demonstrates how the skipper leads the team: Kaneria on India’s CT triumph

New Delhi, March 10: After India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final in Dubai, beating New Zealand in the summit clash, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria lauded Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in the tournament, highlighting how he utilised the four spinners and Men In Blue maintained confidence with their deep batting lineup despite losing wickets in the final.
India’s spinners called the shots majorly to pick five wickets collectively on a sluggish pitch, while captain Rohit top-scored with 76 and KL Rahul stayed calm to hit an unbeaten 34 to give the Men in Blue their third Champions Trophy triumph with a four-wicket win over New Zealand. It’s also India’s second ICC trophy win in 12 months after the T20 World Cup triumph in June last year.
“I had already mentioned that India and New Zealand would play the final. Rohit’s captaincy and his innings throughout the tournament have been remarkable, and his performance in the final was exceptional. This demonstrates the way the Indian captain leads the team. Not only with his batting but also by rotating four spinners and having different plans for each batter, which is truly unbelievable,” Kaneria told media.
After spinners restricted New Zealand to 251/7 in their 50 overs. A chase of 252 looked an easy task for India on a pitch that didn’t offer much turn. Rohit, who hit seven fours and three sixes in his 83-ball 76, and Shubman Gill had a 105-run opening stand. But fighting New Zealand bowlers striking regular blows meant there was a sudden nervous energy in India’s chase.
With depth in its batting, despite New Zealand’s spinners fighting hard, India got over the line with an over to spare. While Iyer made 48 off 62 balls, Rahul kept his calm to stay till the end and be 34 not out off 33 balls to ensure India earned their third Champions Trophy title after 2002 and 2013.
“Rohit and Shubman’s partnership was crucial, and even though a wicket fell, India maintained confidence with their deep batting lineup,” Kaneria added.
The Black Caps have shown fine form during the tournament, with great displays with bat and ball. But they suffered a massive blow in the final as they were without the injured Matt Henry, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker and were missing Kane Williamson in the field, who sustained a quad injury while batting.
Reflecting on New Zealand’s performance in the tournament, Kaneria lavished praise on skipper Micthell Santer, who was playing his first ICC tournament as the captain. “New Zealand played excellent cricket, but unfortunately, their leading wicket-taker, Matt Henry, was unavailable for the final due to a shoulder injury. Santner made good use of the resources available to him.
“Santner displayed excellent captaincy throughout the tournament, and his individual performance was also quite impressive. In the final, Glenn Phillips should have been used more. Kyle Jamieson did not have the same experience as Matt Henry,” he said.
With 69 runs needed off 68 balls, Axar nailed a slog-sweep off Santner for six, but was dismissed when he Axar holed out to long-off for 29 in Bracewell’s final over.
The former cricketer noted Axar’s dismissal and opined that his shot was not necessary at that moment. Had he not played that shot, the chase would not have gone as deep.
“India’s chase wouldn’t have gone as deep if Axar Patel hadn’t played that shot; it was an unnecessary shot. Even in the commentary, Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that it was not the right way to play,” said Kaneria.
Despite their loss against India in the group stage, New Zealand have also been impressive in all departments and arrived in the final on the back of a comprehensive win over South Africa in the semifinal.
“However, New Zealand played excellent cricket. They were in Pakistan for several weeks, played a tri-series, participated in Champions Trophy matches, and then moved to Dubai for the final. Despite everything, they ensured they were competitive, and the final itself was indeed competitive,” he concluded.
health
Tobacco is not just addiction but poison: Delhi Speaker Vijender Gupta leads walkathon on World No-Tobacco Day in Rohini

New Delhi, May 31: On the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day, Delhi’s Rohini area witnessed a strong show of public awareness and health advocacy through a walkathon organised to spread the message against tobacco consumption.
The event, themed ‘Walk for Life’, brought together medical professionals, civic leaders, and local residents in a collective stand against the harmful effects of tobacco.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, who flagged off the walkathon, delivered a powerful message on the dangers of tobacco. “Tobacco is not just an addiction; it’s a poison,” he said, addressing the gathering. “It is a dangerous habit that ruins lives, and the only effective way to combat it is through sustained awareness and education,” he added.
Organised by the Indian Medical Association in collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, the event saw enthusiastic participation from doctors, healthcare workers, and members of the public.
The walkathon aimed to raise awareness, especially among the youth, about the health risks associated with tobacco, including its direct link to life-threatening diseases like cancer.
“The younger generation often views smoking and tobacco use as fashionable, but we must help them understand the long-term consequences,” Gupta added, urging collective efforts to curb the rising trend of tobacco use among the youth.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Sudhir Rawal, Medical Director at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, emphasised the medical impact: “Tobacco is one of the main avoidable causes of cancer. If you don’t use tobacco, you significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer, especially lung and mouth cancer.”
The event also featured health-themed activities, including group exercises and educational talks, to create a more engaging and impactful experience for participants.
As part of a broader initiative across the country, the Rohini walkathon served as a crucial reminder of the importance of quitting tobacco and promoting healthier, smoke-free lives.
Sports
IPL 2025: This will be the year for RCB, AB de Villiers backs his former franchise to end title drought

Mumbai, May 31: Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers backed his former IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to lift their maiden title this year after securing their berth for the summit clash with a commanding win over Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 on Thursday.
This year, RCB have been in stellar form and have not lost a single away game so far in the season. They finished the league stage with 19 points to seal the second spot in the points table.
Virat Kohli and Phil Salt have been leading the run-scoring for the franchise with 614 and 387 runs respectively. The duo has been supported by middle-order batters including captain Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma and Krunal Pandya.
On the bowling front, Josh Hazlewood is the leading wicket-taker for the side with 21 scalps in 11 games while Krunal Pandya (15 wickets), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (15 wickets) and Yash Dayal (12 wickets) are also contributing in tandem to make them a balanced unit.
“I’m very happy that RCB is in the final. We saw MI winning last night, so it’ll be a very good qualifier too, knockout match between Punjab and MI. Looking forward to that one, and whoever deserves it will play RCB in the final, so I’m very much looking forward to the final and hopefully, this will be the year for RCB,” De Villiers told Media in Mumbai.
The legendary batter backed Punjab Kings to play the final against RCB but remains sceptical after watching Mumbai Indians’ dominance against Gujarat Titans to knock them out of the tournament on Friday.
“I said quite a while ago, about a month ago, that Punjab and RCB will be in the final. MI looked very strong right now, so it looks like the odds are against my call, but it is still cricket. You never know. It is a knockout match. It takes one or two great performances to turn the pressure onto your opposition. So I think it’s still going to be Punjab, but I’ve got a little bit of doubt now in my mind after watching last night’s game,” he said.
Punjab Kings will now take on Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday to seal a place for the IPL 2025 final against RCB on June 3 at the same venue.
National
SpaceX’s Starship fails 3rd time, Musk blames fuel leak as megarocket explodes

New Delhi, May 28: Even as SpaceX’s Starship flight exploded during splashdown on its ninth test on Wednesday, the company’s founder Elon Musk blamed it on fuel leaks.
This is the third time in a row that Starship flight has faced issues during the test flight. The company’s last two test flights — the seventh (January) and eighth (March) test flight — also ended prematurely with the destruction of the aircraft.
The ninth test flight of Starship — which blasted off at about 7:36 p.m. EDT (5:06 am IST) from the company’s Starbase launch site in Texas — successfully reached orbit, flying farther than on its two previous attempts.
However, the spacecraft’s payload bay door failed to open, preventing the planned release of simulated Starlink satellites. Around 30 minutes into the mission, SpaceX confirmed a fuel tank leak aboard the vehicle.
The first-stage Super Heavy booster exploded shortly before its expected splashdown, and live video showed the upper-stage vehicle spinning uncontrollably before its planned re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, due to fuel leaks.
“Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase,” Musk shared in a post on his social media platform X.
“Contact with the booster was lost shortly after the start of the landing burn when it experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly approximately 6 minutes after launch, bringing an end to the first reflight of a Super Heavy booster,” SpaceX said in a statement.
However, Musk called the flight an achievement and noted that there had been no loss to the heat shield tiles.
“Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over the last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Lot of good data to review,” Musk said.
SpaceX noted that the company “will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test”.
Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship and heavy booster — the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket system. It will launch the moon lander for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission that aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2026.
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