National
T20 WC: We have to be motivated to counter Trent Boult, says Virat
India skipper Virat Kohli has insisted that his batting order will have to be motivated to counter New Zealand pacer Trent Boult’s left-arm swing ahead of a crucial Group 2 match in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
Seen as a virtual do-or-die match, both India and New Zealand are looking to open their accounts in the tournament after losing their opening matches to Pakistan and keep themselves in the hunt for a spot in the semifinals.
“We obviously will come up against some quality bowlers all around the world in this competition. Hence, the intensity at which this tournament operates at is very different. We have played against these individuals for a long time. It is not something out of the ordinary that’s gonna come our way. It all depends on how we take the field mentally and how we counter that. If Trent says he wants to replicate what Shaheen did against us, then he is motivated to do so.
“We have to be motivated to counter that and put pressure on him and the other bowlers as well. So, that’s how the game goes,” Kohli said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“We have played against all these bowlers for a long period of time. We understand exactly what we need to do. All that matters now is when we step on to the field, the mental frame we are in and absolutely confident of hitting that ball clearly and not thinking about any other scenarios. That’s the key to batting in high-pressure scenarios and it is something we are looking forward to execute as a team,” added Kohli.
Kohli acknowledged that dew will become a major factor in the tournament as it progresses but stressed upon the attitude of the team to counter that uncontrollable element in the game.
“It will continue to be a big factor and that is the nature of this tournament. You can look at this situation in two ways: you can bank too much on the toss or you can challenge yourself as a team to say ‘okay, even if we lose the toss, we are good to bat or bowl in any conditions’. That should be the attitude because you don’t have time in the shortest format of the game to think too much about what happened at the toss.
“Game goes away pretty quickly from you in two or three overs and can change the whole course of the game, as we saw in last game as well. For us, our only focus is how those eleven individuals are placed mentally how we are looking to approach this game. It’s been a long break for us. It’s been a lot of time waiting and just doing nothing, really for us a team. Now we are just itching to go back on the park and just be competing again to look to correct the things that didn’t happen well in the first game.”
The 32-year-old mentioned that Shardul Thakur is strongly in the mix for a place in the playing eleven.
“He’s definitely a guy who’s in our plans constantly, making a case for himself. He’s definitely someone who can bring a lot of value to the team. Now what role he plays or where he fits in, that’s something that I cannot talk about right now. Shardul is someone who’s got great potential and will add great value to the team.”
Kohli gave an update on fitness status of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who didn’t field after receiving a blow on the shoulder while batting against Pakistan. “Hardik’s fine. If you are talking about the blow on the shoulder, he’s absolutely fine.”
National
Market volatility over Greenland issue to continue due to ‘few sticking points’: Report

New Delhi, Jan 24 : Investors are likely to remain on edge over the proposed US framework on Greenland, and near-term volatility related to this issue can continue, a report has said.
The report from Bank of Baroda said that market participants are awaiting more details that could determine whether negotiations succeed or unravel.
“Going ahead, investors are likely to await more details of the deal, as there are a few sticking points which can derail the negotiations. Hence, some volatility can be expected,” the report said.
Several analysts expect the arrangement to resemble an update of the existing security agreement between the US and Denmark, which was signed in 1951, the report noted.
Further negotiations will follow in due course which will cover areas such as US military presence in Greenland, as well as use of its mineral resources and sovereignty, said Aditi Gupta, Economist, Bank of Baroda.
US President Donald Trump has framed Washington’s interest in Greenland as driven by national security concerns, but the island’s largely unexplored mineral wealth including oil, gas and rare earth elements is of interest to US, the report said.
“The announcement of a framework deal between the US and NATO has helped to soothe investors’ nerves, however the details of the deal are still fuzzy,” it added.
Geo-political tensions escalated and markets went into turmoil after the US President intensified rhetoric to annex Greenland and threatened economic measures against European countries that oppose US plans. In response, several European nations, including France, Germany, Sweden amongst others increased military deployment in Greenland, further escalating tensions.
Trump had announced a 10 per cent additional tariff on goods from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands and Finland from February 1, 2026. The rate was expected to increase to 25 per cent by June 1, 2026.
Later, he backed off from his threat of imposing tariffs on European countries along the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.
Crime
Two Held With ₹68 Lakh Cash Near India-Myanmar Border In Mizoram; Heroin Worth ₹78 Lakh Seized

Aizawl: Two persons were arrested with Rs 68 lakh in cash near the India-Myanmar border in east Mizoram’s Champhai district, officials said on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, the Assam Rifles intercepted a vehicle at Zote village on August 11, they said.
Upon thorough checking, Rs 60 lakh in cash was recovered from two persons in the vehicle.
The duo, identified as Joseph Lalthansanga and Vanlalruati, could not state any proper reason why they were carrying such a huge amount of cash. They were subsequently handed over to the police for legal action, officials said.
In another operation, the Assam Rifles recovered 94.6 gram of heroin, worth Rs 78 lakh, from the village on Wednesday.
The drugs were handed over to the Excise and Narcotics Department, officials said.
National
India’s AI Tech Spending Projected To Reach Rs. 92 Thousand Crore By 2028: Report

India’s AI technology spending is projected to grow at an annualised rate of 38 per cent from 2023 to reach $10.4 billion (approximately Rs. 92 thousand crore) in 2028, a report said on Thursday.
Around 40 per cent of organisations in India have already implemented agentic AI, and close to 50 per cent are planning to use the technology within the next 12 months, IDC InfoBrief and UiPath said in a joint report.
In 2025, AI investments are focused on building the foundational infrastructure required to power transformative, high-value use cases.
According to the report, the adoption is surging, fueled by a tech-savvy workforce, expanding digital infrastructure, and government-backed initiatives.
Organisations’ spending on enterprise automation, multilingual AI models, and agentic deployments is driving this momentum further.
The benefits are already visible, as 80 per cent of Indian companies say agentic AI boosts productivity, while 73 per cent say it improves decision-making, the report said.
According to the report, agentic AI is gaining strong traction across the manufacturing, retail and wholesale, healthcare, and life sciences industries, which heavily rely on data and repetitive decision-making cycles.
“Agentic automation is rapidly redefining business operations across India. While enterprises in this region are embracing the full potential of AI agents to streamline workflows and autonomously execute complex business processes, trust and security remain barriers to widespread implementation,” said DebDeep Sengupta, Area Vice President, South Asia, UiPath.
Our agentic automation platform directly addresses these challenges, breaking down barriers to enterprise AI adoption by enhancing security and compliance, improving accuracy and reliability for agentic outcomes, Sengupta added.
About 69 per cent of Indian organisations are using agentic AI to enhance productivity, 59 per cent to drive personalised customer engagement, while 57 per cent apply it to risk and fraud detection, highlighting how agentic AI is being applied across front and back-office functions, the report highlighted.
“Becoming an AI-fueled business is no longer an option in today’s unpredictable climate. For many organisations, it’s fast becoming a strategic necessity,” said Deepika Giri, Associate Vice President, IDC Asia/Pacific.
Across the region, organisations are embracing agentic AI and agentic automation at scale, Giri added.
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