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IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders survive last-ball thriller to stay alive in top four race
One run was all that separated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a rollercoaster of a game that could have gone either way until the last ball.Riyan Parag hit six sixes in six balls, five of which came in a 32-run over against Mooen Ali, and Shubham Dubey tonked Vaibhav Arora for two fours and a six with 22 needed in the final over.
With three needed off the final ball, Dubey drilled the yorker from Arora to long-off and took off to try and force a Super Over. Jofra Archer, the non-striker at the other end, got a head start but was found well short thanks to a sharp throw from Rinku Singh.
The win keeps KKR’s playoffs hope alive in IPL 2025, It was built on Andre Rusell’s 25-ball 57 that helped them score 85 in their last five overs after a slowdown against spin. Mooen and Varun Chakravarthy had RR on the ropes in the chase but Parag almost turned things around with a take down of his own.
Disappointment was written all over Parag’s face, however, when Varun flattened Wanindu Hasaranga’s off stump. RR were nearly out needing 136 off 73 balls at the time and the required rate touched 13 with only three fours coming in the next four overs. But the last two of those helped Parag get into a rhythm.
Then came the 32-run over against Moeen. Four of those sixes came over square leg or midwicket. When Moeen went wide, the ball sailed over long-off. Parag’s next ball was from Varun and reverse-swept for six more.
Shimron Hetmyer played within himself and was going at just over a run a ball for the majority of his innings but his presence was reassuring as proved by the two boundary-less overs after his dismissal.
Harshit Rana returned with figures of 0 for 28 off two overs and conceded a boundary off the first ball. He then bowled three full balls and peppered in two short ones to dry up the runs. The second bouncer went off Hetmyer’s bat into the hands of the keeper.
KKR brought Narine back with RR 43 needing off 24. He went for just five and nearly had Parag caught at deep midwicket.
Rana built on the pressure despite bowling a no-ball with yorkers and slower ones. Parag was nearly run out on the third legal ball. He holed out to long-on slapping a wide cutter very next ball and RR slipped to 173 for 7.
Russell was introduced in the penultimate over and, like he did in the last game, tried to land six yorkers. He didn’t nail all but went for just 11.
Arora’s wide-yorker plan started the final over with three runs. Shubham went 6-4-6 when Arora went short and wide before faltering with back-to-back yorkers. Arora, nonetheless, stuck with it last ball and it paid off.
The day started with Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz stepping down the leg side quite often. Narine fell cheaply and Gurbaz mistimed a few but picked up four boundaries and a six, with the majority on the leg side. Yudhvir Singh, who conceded boundaries against all top-order batters, was the costliest bowler in the 56-run powerplay.
Rahane started well, as he drove and flicked Madhwal for four and six. But he slowed down considerably – from 18 off 8 to 30 off 24 – mainly due to RR’s spin choke.
Theekshana dismissed Gurbaz slog sweeping but it was Hasaranga who first denied batters pace and forced them to apply power. Parag then brought himself on and bowled three overs straight. He got Rahane with a 76kph side-arm ball.
Meanwhile, Angkrish Raghuvanshi kept KKR going with conventional shots. He slashed, pulled and drove to pick up boundaries. He got a reprieve off Theekshana before Russell took him down, but fell next over to Archer for a 31-ball 44.
KKR had needed a late push in their own innings and got it from Russell, who said he felt like a 27-year-old, and was hitting like one after coming in at 111 for 3 in the 13th over. He started slow – 2 off 9 balls – but blasted off once spin made way for pace. He hit all of his six fours and four sixes in the last five overs, in which KKR scored 70.
Madhwal was the first bowler to be taken down, first on the leg side, with a six and a four and then a slap through cover point in a 15-run over. Archer then missed two yorkers, overpitching and bowling in the slot next, and was hit downtown for a six and a four.
Theekshana’s spin was brought back in the 18th. He created a chance that Parag dropped at long-off and then had a mistimed slice land safely at mid-off. The strike then rotated from Raghuvanshi to Russell and it led to a hat-trick of sixes. Theekshana went wide all three balls, short on the first two and full on the third, but was hit in the arc between cow corner and long-off.
Archer created two more chances next over. Raghuvanshi was was caught at deep square leg but Russell got a reprieve from Parag at long-off again. That was just before Russell capitalised on a missed yorker from Archer to bring up a 22-ball fifty and belt a slower bouncer down the ground.
The final over started with three wides and an edge that landed safely at deep extra cover. The wide yorker was then abandoned for bouncers, till Rinku pulled one in front of midwicket. Two missed yorkers then went for sixes, as both the 18th and 20th overs went for 20-plus runs.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 206 for 4 in 20 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 35, Sunil Narine 11, Ajinkya Rahane 30, Andre Russell 57*, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 44, Rinku Singh 19*; Jofra Archer 1-30, Yudgvir Singh 1-26, Maheesh Theekshana 1-41, Riyan Parag 1-21) beat Rajasthan Royals 205 for 8 in 20 overs (Riyan Parag 95, Yashasvi Jaiswal 34, Shimron Hetmyer 29, Shubhman Dubey 25*, Jofra Archer 12*; Vaibhav Arora 1-50, Vaun Chakravarthy 2-32, Harshit Rana 2-41, Moeen Ali 2-43) by one run
[Cricinfo]
Rumesh Tharanga will head to the Doha Diamond League as the athlete to beat following a commanding victory at the Ostrava Golden Spike on Tuesday.
Fresh from his recent record-breaking exploits, Tharanga once again stamped his authority on the world stage, dominating the competition with three throws beyond the 85-metre mark. Remarkably, any one of those efforts would have been enough to secure victory.
The 23-year-old produced his best throw of 86.57 metres in the third round to claim top honours ahead of two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who finished second with a best effort of 84.27 metres.
Tharanga’s consistency throughout the competition underlined his status as one of the world’s leading javelin throwers. His latest triumph further strengthens his credentials ahead of the Doha Diamond League, where he is expected to be among the favourites alongside World champion Keshorn Walcott, two-time world champion Anderson Peters and world bronze medallist Curtis Thompson.
Tuesday’s victory continues a remarkable season for the former Peterite, who has emerged as a genuine contender on the international circuit with a string of world-class performances. [RF]
In the recent past, factors such as population growth, expansion of development activities, and deforestation in Sri Lanka have resulted in the loss of traditional migratory routes and the destruction of habitats of wild elephants.
Consequently, a continuous and rapid escalation of the human-elephant conflict has been observed over a long period, spanning 19 out of the 25 districts and 134 out of the 341 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the country.
According to the wild elephant census conducted in 2024, the wild elephant population in the country is estimated to be approximately 7,450. It is reported that the human-elephant
conflict accounts for a significant number of human fatalities and wild elephant deaths annually.
Furthermore, over a thousand incidents of property damage caused by wild elephants are recorded each year.
Although a ‘National Action Plan to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka’ was formulated in 2020, the dynamics of the current human-elephant conflict have evolved substantially since then, necessitating the formulation of a new national action plan.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Environment to take the necessary steps to draft a new National Action Plan for Human-Elephant Conflict Management.
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Cabinet green light to host 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum – Asia and Pacific Regions from 23 – 26 June in Sri Lanka
Hosting the 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum – Asia and Pacific Regions in Sri Lanka
An invitation has been extended to Sri Lanka to host two major regional aviation security summits: the 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific (CASP-AP) and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum (RASCF).
The Steering Committee of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific serves as the primary decision-making body for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) cooperative aviation security program in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sri Lanka is scheduled to assume the chairmanship of the said Steering Committee for the 2026-2027 term during this summit.
The Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum for the Asia and Pacific regions serves as a regional platform to deliberate on emerging threats, the implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), capacity-building activities, and coordination among member states and international
organizations.
Approximately 80 delegates, including representatives from 41 member states, international organizations, and observers, are expected to participate in these two summits.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation to host the 21st Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Aviation Security Programme – Asia Pacific on the 23rd and 24th of June 2026, and the 14th Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum – Asia and Pacific Regions on the 25th and 26th of June 2026 in Sri Lanka.
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
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