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IPL 2025: Buttler 73* leads Gujarat Titans past Royal Challengers Bengaluru after Siraj derails former team

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Jos Buttler plays it late [Cricinfo]

Mohammed Siraj’s fiery 3 for 19 against his former team, backed up by Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 73 off 39 balls, helped Gujarat Titans (GT) spoil Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)‘s homecoming and coast to an eight-wicket victory at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Playing against RCB for the first time after seven years with them, Siraj returned to Bengaluru with a point to prove. Bowling at speeds in excess of 140kph, he rattled the batters in the powerplay and also picked up a key wicket in the death overs. Despite Siraj’s efforts, RCB notched up 169 for 8, riding largely on Liam Livingstone’s fifty and cameos from Jitesh Sharma and Tim David.

With the ball, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were on the mark in the powerplay for RCB. But as the ball got older, the bowling also fizzled away. While Shubman Gill fell cheaply, Sai Sudarshan and Buttler added 75 off just 47 balls to give the chase impetus. Sherfane Rutherford then came in as Impact Sub and added an unbroken 63 off 32 balls with Buttler, as GT romped home with 13 balls to spare.

This was GT’s second win in three games, while RCB’s loss was their first of IPL 2025 after two stellar wins.

Siraj has done his siuuu celebration several times at the Chinnaswamy in the last seven years. Most times, it has been met with a roaring response. On Wednesday, he went on his celebratory run twice in the powerplay to pin-drop silence. Having not been retained by RCB ahead of the auction, Siraj, now playing for GT, had matters to settle. And he did it in style.

It was his spell in the powerplay that stood out. Operating at mid-140kph, Siraj was not just bowling heat but was also precise with his lengths. According to ESPNcricinfo’s data, of the 18 balls Siraj bowled in the powerplay, six of his deliveries landed on a length, off which he picked up two wickets. More importantly, eight of his deliveries finished in line with the stumps, which meant he barely gave the batters any room to work with. RCB managed a control percentage of just 50 against Siraj in the powerplay.

Siraj should have had Phil Salt in his opening over, but Buttler dropped a sitter behind the stumps. Soon after, Siraj had the zing bails flashing when Devdutt Padikkal waltzed down the track, missed, and saw his stumps in a mess. Salt thumped Siraj for a 105m six over midwicket in his next over, to which Siraj responded by flattening Salt’s off stump with a 145.9kph thunderbolt.

Siraj later returned and picked up the key wicket of Livingstone in the 19th over to finish with 3 for 19, sending down 14 dots in his four overs.

At 42 for 4 after 6.2 overs, RCB were in big trouble. Rajat Patidar had just fallen to Ishant Sharma, and the Chinnaswamy was silent. But Jitesh made his intentions clear quite early. He got going with a stylish pull off Ishant before going big. He first brought his wrists into play to loft Ishant over long-on, and dispatched him for two more fours as RCB collected 17 runs off the ninth over.

Livingstone, at the other end, was struggling to get away before finally walloping Rashid Khan over deep square leg. Livingstone was dropped twice, and also survived a missed stumping, and made the best of his luck. Jitesh and Krunal Pandya fell in quick succession to R Sai Kishore, who picked up 2 for 22 in his four overs, which included breaking a flourishing 52-run stand between Jitesh and Livingstone in the 13th over. He tossed one up at Jitesh, who ended up skying it to long-on.

Two overs later, Sai Kishore got Krunal when the ball seemed to hold on the pitch, and a leading edge went right back to the bowler. It was after that that Livingstone took over for RCB. He broke the shackles with a huge six over deep midwicket against Rashid, while David also hit a six and a four. Despite that, RCB were struggling on 129 for 6 after 17 overs. But Livingstone pumped Rashid for three sixes in the 18th to reach his fifty off 39 balls. In all, he smashed Rashid for 39 runs off 17 deliveries, with five sixes.

RCB tonked 64 runs in the last five overs, thanks largely to David’s hitting, as he thumped 32 off 18 balls. But 169 at the innings break looked under-par.

Buttler came into this IPL under pressure. He had just quit the England white-ball captaincy after a disastrous Champions Trophy, and he had not been among the runs either. He was going to a new IPL team after flourishing with Rajasthan Royals, and was going to bat at No. 3, having mostly opened previously.

But in just three innings, Buttler has proved that nothing has changed. He was coming into the game with scores of 70*, 8, 106*, 0, 0 and 100* against RCB since IPL 2022. On Wednesday, he shored up his record further.

Buttler came in to bat with GT struggling a touch. Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar were making the ball talk, and not giving much away. Gill struck Bhuvneshwar over long-on but fell the next ball, caught at deep third. At that stage, GT were 32 for 1 after 4.4 overs.

Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 170 for 2 in 17.5 overs (Joss Buttler 73*, Sai Sudharsan 49, Sherfane Rutherford 30*, Shubman Gill 14;  Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1-23, Josh Hazlwood 1-43) beat  Royal Challengers Bengaluru 169 for 8 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 14, Rajat Patidar 12, Liam Livingstone 54, Jitesh Sharma 33, Tim David 32; Mohammed Siraj 3-19, Arshad Khan 1-17, Prasidh Krishna 1-26, Ishant Sharma 1-27, Sai Kishore 2-22) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]

Buttler took his time to settle. At one point, he was on 5 off 8 balls, but he targeted Rasikh Salam, and just like that got into his stride. Buttler struck Rasikh for 27 off just 12 balls, and everything fell into place.
Sudharsan, at the other end, was at his fluent best as he scored 49 off 36 balls, and put on 75 with Buttler. Once Sudharsan fell, Buttler went up another gear and raced to his half-century off 31 balls. Rutherford, who came in at No. 4, also got going quickly as GT raced towards their target.
Their quick partnership helped GT improve their net run rate with a thumping win. RCB’s loss, meanwhile, pushed them to third place behind Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals.


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Dulani and Samarawickrama set up Sri Lanka’s victory in T20I series opener

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Chamari Athapaththu contributed with both bat and ball for Sri Lanka

Half-centuries from Harshitha Samarawickrama and Imesha Dulani propelled Sri Lanka to a 25-run win in the first T20I against Bangladesh. The home side’s batting woes continued as they failed to chase down 162 against an efficient bowling effort by the visitors in Sylhet.

Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya and captain Chamari Athapaththu picked up two wickets each as Sri Lanka restricted Bangladesh to 136 for 7 in the chase. Athapaththu was outstanding with her accuracy, conceding just 19 runs in her four overs for the two wickets. Bangladesh had been put in early trouble when they slipped to 44 for 4 in the sixth over, despite starting off rapidly with 39 for no loss in the first 3.3 overs.

Shorna Akter then struck 60 off 45 balls, with six boundaries including two sixes, but her knock was for a losing cause. There was no help from batters at the other end. Shorna stuck around even as Bangladesh kept losing wickets and was the last batter dismissed off the final ball of the innings.

Earlier, Sri Lanka were powered by Athapaththu, who cracked five boundaries and a six in her 32. After her dismissal in the tenth over, Dulani and Samarawickrama added 80 runs for the third wicket. Samarawickrama struck five fours and two sixes in her 61 off 35 balls, while Dulani slammed seven fours in her 55 off 40 balls.

Their approach derailed Bangladesh’s bowlers, with only offspinner Sultana Khatun putting in an impressive bowling display: she took 2 for 29. The remaining two T20Is in the series will also be held in Sylhet.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women 161 for 4 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 32, Imesha Dulani 55, Harshitha Samarawickrama 61; Marufa Akter 1-37,  Sultana Khatun  2-29, Nahida Akter 1-26) beat Bangladesh Women 136 for 7 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 23, Juairiya Ferdous 16, Shobhana Mostary 16, Shorna Akter  60; Malki Madara 2-31, Mithali Ayodhya 2-34,   Chamari Athapaththu 2-19) by 25 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Kegalle, Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts during the day time

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 28 April 2026, valid for 29 April 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Kegalle,
Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts during the day time.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.


Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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US press gala shooting suspect charged with attempting to kill Trump

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US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel and Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI Washington Field Office Darren Cox stand next to a picture of a shotgun carried by Cole Tomas Allen, April 27 [Aljazeera]

Federal authorities in the United States have charged the suspect who allegedly shot a US Secret Service agent as he tried to breach security at a press gala attended by Donald Trump with attempting to assassinate the US president.

Cole Thomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, also faces firearms charges in a three-count complaint, prosecutors announced on Monday.

In the case of a conviction, the attempted assassination of Trump carries out a sentence of up to life in prison.

Allen wore a blue prison jumpsuit at his first appearance in Washington, DC, federal court, two days after authorities said they foiled an attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, an annual black-tie gathering of journalists and politicians in the US capital.

“He attempted to assassinate the president of the United States, Donald J Trump”, prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine said in court.

Allen has not yet responded to the allegations. Seated at the defence table flanked by US Marshals, Allen said he would answer all questions truthfully and that he had a master’s degree in computer science.

US Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered Allen detained while the case moves forward. Sharbaugh scheduled another hearing over Allen’s continued detention for Thursday.

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, DC, said further charges could be filed against Allen as the investigation proceeds.

“Make no mistake, this was an attempted assassination of the president of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was – and that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could,” Pirro told reporters on Monday.

She cited an alleged manifesto written by the suspect, saying that his targets were administration officials “prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest”.

Pirro added that Allen allegedly had a semiautomatic pistol, a shotgun and three knives. She said authorities believe the guns were purchased in California.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen travelled via train from his home near Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington.

[Aljazeera]

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