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INS VIKRANT deploys helicopters for disaster relief operations
In a demonstration of enduring maritime partnership, the Indian Navy’s INS VIKRANT, which arrived in Sri Lanka for International Fleet Review – 2025, deployed two (02) Chetak helicopters for search and rescue missions today (29 Nov 25), providing critical air support to assist populations impacted by the ongoing severe weather.
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Let us all build a society valued with peace and harmony, guided by unity and solidarity beyond all differences – PM
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya issuing a message on the occasion of the Hajj festival called upon all Sri Lankans to build a society valued with peace and harmony, guided by unity and solidarity beyond all differences
The Prime Minister’s message:
“On the occasion of “Eid-ul-Adha” or the Hajji Festival, celebrated with great reverence by Muslims across the world upholding the values of selflessness, unity, and compassion, I extend my felicitations to the Muslim community in Sri Lanka and around the world.
On this special Day, the festival of Hajji commemorates the boundless devotion to God and the noble spirit of generosity demonstrated by Prophet Ibrahim. This festival reflects the willingness of humanity to dedicate even its most precious possessions for the greater good of humankind and the devotion towards the God.
On this day, the most important lesson we must all understand is the value of rising above our differences and standing together in unity and solidarity. The message of Eid-ul-Adha, founded upon sharing and compassion, serves as a great example in our journey towards building a strong, peaceful, and prosperous Sri Lanka.
Therefore, setting aside narrow divisions, we must all resolve to act with respect and kindness towards one another and work together to create a society valued with peace and solidarity.
May this Hajji Festival bring happiness, peace, prosperity, and blessings to you all”.
Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi is enjoying one of the most extraordinary seasons not just of the IPL, not just of T20, and not just of cricket but of all sport and all time. He produced his most extraordinary effort of this extraordinary season in the Eliminator, narrowly missing out on one of the IPL’s most coveted records but putting Rajasthan Royals (RR) on course for what turned out to be a thumping win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Sooryavanshi, 15, swept past numerous records over the course of his innings – among them the most sixes by any batter in a T20 tournament – and he came within one shot of breaking Chris Gayle’s record for the fastest IPL century (30 balls) only to top-edge an attempted uppercut to deep third to fall for 97 off 29 balls.
RR’s innings fell away after that innings and a 21-ball 50 from Dhruv Jurel, and they ended up seven short of the 250 that had at one stage seemed a formality. But it still proved more than sufficient thanks to yet another impactful new-ball burst from Jofra Archer. His spell against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday had been key to RR making the playoffs, and he followed up with three wickets in three powerplay overs to hold back a SRH top order that began the chase with an ominous flurry of boundaries.
A second-wicket stand of 51 off just 15 balls from Ishan Kishan and Travis Head was threatening to turn this game into a repeat of the last meeting between these sides – Sooryavanshi had scored 103 off just 37 balls that day, but SRH had fired from both ends where RR had fired from just one – but Archer made sure that didn’t happen, dismissing both of them. He had already bounced out Abhishek Sharma before that; this was a truly special display against one of the most dangerous top threes in all T20 cricket.
RR eventually won by 47 runs, setting up a meeting with Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on Friday.
How do you keep Sooryavanshi quiet? Every team in the IPL has tried to come up with a method, and none of them have worked. SRH went with something like death bowling in the powerplay, with Pat Cummins and Eshan Malinga attempting to go full and straight and deny Sooryavanshi elevation, with both their outfielders stationed in front of square on the leg side, with the occasional short ball thrown in as a surprise.
It was a plan with slim margins for error, and Sooryavanshi was ruthless on anything that even slightly missed its mark. If he got half a chance to get under a full ball, he did, timing the ball with crystalline purity. Anything short disappeared over the boundary behind square on the leg side.
Soon SRH began trying Plans B, C, R, W and so forth, and Sooryavanshi had an answer to everything, revelling particularly in holding his shape and driving slower balls over mid-off and extra-cover. If there was one thing SRH didn’t really try, it was to hold a traditional good length and see what came of it. Perhaps the flatness of this New Chandigarh track made them dismiss that as an option.
Sooryavanshi hit 12 sixes in 28 balls before falling to his occasional nemesis Praful Hinge in the eighth over of the match; at that point, this contest turned into something like a normal T20 game.
Imagine being Yashasvi Jaiswal. He remains one of India’s most accomplished T20 openers, but who can match Sooryavanshi’s rate of six-hitting or run-scoring? On this day life must have been even more surreal for Jaiswal; he faced exactly as many balls as his opening partner did, and scored 29 runs to Sooryavanshi’s 97.
When RR lost Jaiswal, they seemed in danger of squandering all the early momentum, but Jurel ensured that didn’t happen with his most enterprising innings of the season. It was his sixth fifty, but if the previous ones could be accused of being out of step with the times, this one was full of urgency and innovation, including a scooped four over short fine off Cummins and an uppercut six off Hinge to bring up his half-century in 20 balls.
RR slumped after Jurel’s dismissal, though, and dramatically at that. They scored just 36 in the last five overs, losing five wickets in that period including the run-out dismissals of Donovan Ferreira and Nandre Burger. The latter summed up the dysfunctional finish: Ravindra Jadeja, the last recognised batter, had taken a single off the first ball of the final over and given up the strike, and Burger was run out attempting a non-existent second run off the next ball.
RR’s poor finish meant this was anyone’s game. Archer made them forget that finish briefly with a snorter to remove an awkwardly hooking Abhishek off the second ball of SRH’s innings, but Kishan and Head counterpunched immediately, taking 15 off that first over and 18 off Burger in the second.
The fifty came up inside the third over, as Kishan tore into Archer, but normalcy returned to proceedings when he mis-hit a slap to the fielder at cover. Burger put RR further in front with a good, hard-length ball to force a miscue from R Smaran in the fourth over, and the contest seemed all but over when Archer slipped a fast, full ball past Head and into the top of off as he tried to make room and flay it away.
SRH kept throwing punches, and they had no other choice with this being an Eliminator. There were two periods when they briefly threatened to come back into the contest. Heinrich Klaasen hit two fours and a breathtaking six over the covers in nine balls, but he was lbw missing a reverse-sweep off the legspinner Yash Raj Punja in the seventh over.
Then Nitish Kumar Reddy and Salil Arora put on a half-century stand in only 19 balls, taking SRH to 132 for 5 at the halfway point of the chase. But it was unlikely they could keep going at that rate without offering chances, and RR knew they could breathe easy once Reddy holed out off Jadeja in the 11th over.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 243 for 8 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 29, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 97, Dhruv Jurel 50, Riyan Parag 26, Donovan Ferreira 12, Ravindra Jadeja 12*; Eshan Malinga 1-40, Praful Hinge 3-54, Shivang Kumar 1-19, Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-12) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 196 in 19.2 overs (Travis Head 17, Ishan Kishan 33, Heinrich Klassen 18, Nitish Kumar Reddy 38, Salil Arora 35, Shivang Kumar 27; Jofra Archer 3-58, Nandre Burger 2-26, Yash Raj Punja 1-39, Sushant Mishra 2-21, Ravindra Jadeja 2-21) by 47 runs
A new draft peace proposal says Iran would fully restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within 30 days while the US would withdraw military forces from Iran’s vicinity and lift its naval blockade.
The Revolutionary Guard says a renewed war with the United States is unlikely because of the “enemy’s weakness” but vows to make Iran’s southern territory a “graveyard for aggressors”.
[Aljazeera]
Let us all build a society valued with peace and harmony, guided by unity and solidarity beyond all differences – PM
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