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Gill, Rohit headline dominant second day for India in Dharamsala
Centuries from Shubman Gill (110) and Rohit Sharma (103) headlined a dominating second day for India in the Dharmasala Test, with the duo’s 171-run stand as stroke-filled as they come. The hosts finished the day on 473/8, with a lead of 255 runs.
Gill and Sharma set the tone with a rollicking morning session that saw India racking up 129 runs without losing a wicket. Both batters brought out their signature strokes with aplomb; Rohit’s pulls and cuts came to the fore frequently, as did Shubman Gill’s unorthodox short-arm jabs against pace and lofts against spin.
England needed something special to break the partnership and that was provided by their skipper Ben Stokes who struck off his first ball of the series with a peach. The near-unplayable nut castled a well-set Rohit and James Anderson then removed Gill in the next over with an inswinger as both bowlers got the ball to reverse. England’s hopes of restricting India’s lead soared with these strikes but that’s when the second significant partnership of the day came for the home side. Devdutt Padikkal (65) on debut produced a counter-punching fifty along with Sarfaraz Khan (56) who also notched up a brisk fifty.
The pair added 97 off just 131 runs with Sarfaraz in particular shifting gears considerably once set. He was severe on the spinners but also played some adventurous shots against the pacers. Padikkal started with a flurry of boundaries and while some were streaky, the other shots had that trademark left-hander’s elegance stamped all over. The duo took India to tea and both batters looked set for their respective hundreds but once again, England struck in clusters after the break. Shoaib Bashir induced a soft shot from Sarfaraz and then cleaned up Padikkal with a ripper.
Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja hung around for a bit before another double-strike from Bashir in successive overs dented India. Tom Hartley then spoiled Ravichandran Ashwin’s 100th Test from a batting perspective by getting him for a duck. Once again, the visitors would have wanted to wrap up things and have a crack at reducing the deficit. However, Kuldeep Yadav (27*) and Jasprit Bumrah (19*) joined hands to dig in, for a partnership that’s already faced 108 deliveries. The surface did have something in it for the spinners but continued to be a largely good track for batting.
The collective batting effort from India could have possibly swelled their lead to a point of no return for England. Trailing by over 250 runs, the opposition still having two wickets left, and three full days to go, Ben Stokes’ men will have to do something extraordinary to leave Dharamsala without a defeat.
Brief scores:
England 218 (Zak Crawley 79; Kuldeep Yadav 5-72, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-51) trail India 473/8 (Shubman Gill 110, Rohit Sharma 103, Devdutt Padikkal 65; Shoaib Bashir 4-170) by 255 runs
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IPL 2025: Kohli, Patidar and Krunal star as Royal Challengers Bengaluru end ten-year Wankhede jinx
In what is turning out to be a year of breaking jinxes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium for the first time in ten years after they did the same in the corresponding fixture against Chennai Super Kings for the first time in 17 years at the Chepauk stadium.
Even though RCB scored 221, the win didn’t come without a massive scare from Hardik Pandya and Tilak Verma, who added 89 in 34 balls from 99 for 4 in 12 overs. With 123 off eight overs reduced to 41 off the last three, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazelwood and Krunal Pandya put on a defensive masterclass to deny MI.
Rajat Patidar and Virat Kohli scored quick fifties before a finishing kick from Jitesh Sharma took them to 221 despite Jasprit Bumrah’s return and three excellent overs from Hardik. It was Kohli’s fastest T20 fifty since 2019, and his first in under 30 balls in the IPL since 2018. His intent allowed Patidar to get off to a watchful start before he took apart Hardik, who had stifled the other batters.
By no means was the target beyond MI’s reach, but Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma bowled their first five overs for just 21 runs to leave MI with just a 2.25% chance of winning on the ESPNcricinfo forecaster at the end of the 12th over. Hardik’s sensational 42 off 15 and Tilak’s 29-ball 56 turned it into an even contest, but Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood nailed enough yorkers in the 18th and 19th overs to give Krunal 18 to defend in the last over. He consigned his brother’s team to a second straight defeat by 12 runs.
For the 31st time in the IPL, Trent Boult struck in the first over of an innings, but Devdutt Padikkal hit his first ball for a four. The intent never stopped as RCB reached 73 after the powerplay. Kohli took 36 off 19, Padikkal 32 off 15. Kohli usually drops anchor but he took on the spinners with slog sweeps in the seventh and the ninth over to get to fifty in 29 balls.
Vignesh Puthur’s left-arm wristspin got the wicket of Padikkal for 37 off 22, but it was Hardik’s wide lines that suffocated RCB in the middle. Kohli still kept attempting big hits, allowing Patidar to be watchful for a start of 8 off 10.
Patidar then managed to move across and take Hardik for runs and rearranged Mitchell Santner’s figures with 20 off his last over. It was here that Hardik’s wide lines brought him the wickets of Kohli and Liam Livingstone in the same over to make it 144 for 5 with 33 balls to go.
Two of the remaining five overs were going to be bowled by Bumrah, making his comeback from a back injury that has kept him out since the first week of January. So RCB needed to score heavily at the other end. Patidar did so off Hardik, taking 33 off 12 to ruin his figures to 4-0-45-2. Jitesh took 24 off eight off Boult to consign him to his costliest T20 analysis of 4-0-57-2. Bumrah went for only 14 in the 18th and 20th overs, but RCB believed they had done enough damage.
That belief was only reinforced when Hazlewood’s impeccable lengths and Suyash’s unusual action troubled the MI top order. Hazlewood took Ryan Rickleton out thanks to an inspired DRS review from Jitesh before conceding just two in the final over of the powerplay. Suryakumar Yadav was the one caught in the spotlight. He was 8 off 13 after this over and one from Suyash. To make matters for MI, Suryakumar was dropped twice as he and Will Jacks added just 41 in six overs. When they finally caught Suryakumar at the end of the 12th over, MI needed what would have been the second-highest successful target achieved in the last eight overs of an IPL match.
Tilak, who was retired out in MI’s last game, kept Hardik off strike for seven balls, but in these seven balls he took 17 off Suyash’s last over, much like Patidar took the last overs of Santner and Hardik for a plenty. When Hardik finally got strike, he hit the coldest and sweetest of boundaries to turn the game around in just seven balls. These seven balls featured two sixes and two fours off Hazlewood, and two sixes off brother Krunal.
With Hardik 32 off 7, the ask was now 71 off 33. A bit of gamesmanship followed to try to break Hardik’s rhythm, but MI kept going strong. Bhuvneshwar started the next over well, but Tilak hit a six and a four to take 13 off it. Still, only a little over two a ball was required. Yash Dayal managed to escape with some slower balls, but again a late six kept MI in it.
Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood now dealt almost exclusively in yorkers. When they missed even slightly, runs came: a Hardik four, a Naman Dhir six first ball and a Santner six off a low full toss from Hazlewood.
Still, MI needed 19 off the last over, and Krunal denied Santner and Deepak Chahar just enough power for them to be caught on the boundary. Krunal’s 4-0-45-4 were his best IPL figures.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 221/5 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 67, Devdutt Padikkal 37, Rajat Patidar 64, Jitesh Sharma 40*; Trent Boult 2-57, Hardik Pandya 2-45, Vignesh Puthur 1-10, Jasprit Bumrah 0-29) beat Mumbai Indians 209/9 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 17, Ryan Rickelton 17, Will Jacks 22, Suryakumar Yadav 28, Tilak Varma 56, Hardik Pandya 42, Naman Dhir 11; Bhuveneshwar Kumar 1-48, Yash Dayal 2-46, Josh Hazelwood 2-37, Krunal Pandya 4-45) by 12 runs
[Cricinfo]
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Sun directly overhead Nainamadama, Sandalankawa, Kundasale, Mahiyanganaya and Kalmunanai at about 12:12 noon today [08]
On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 14th of April in this year.
The nearest areas where the sun will be overhead at about 12:12 noon today (08th) are, Nainamadama, Sandalankawa, Kundasale, Mahiyanganaya and Kalmunanai.
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sahyadri which arrived at the Port of Colombo on a formal visit on 04 Apr 25, departed the island today (07 Apr). The Sri Lanka Navy bade customary farewell to the departing ship at the Port of Colombo, following naval traditions.
During the ship’s stay in Colombo, crew members of INS Sahyadri took part in several programmes organized by the Sri Lanka Navy, aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation. In addition, they also explored some tourist attractions in the country. Further, personnel of Sri Lanka Navy had the opportunity to visit INS Sahyadri, gaining insights into her operational capabilities.
IPL 2025: Kohli, Patidar and Krunal star as Royal Challengers Bengaluru end ten-year Wankhede jinx
Sun directly overhead Nainamadama, Sandalankawa, Kundasale, Mahiyanganaya and Kalmunanai at about 12:12 noon today [08]
Showers or thundershowers will occur in Western and North-western provinces and Galle and Matara district in the morning and at most places of the island during the afternoon or night
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