Latest News
Krunal, Kohli, Salt thrash KKR on opening night of IPL 2025
The first IPL after the mega auction brings with it much anticipation of new alliances and loyalties. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be thrilled that their latest acquisitions played an impactful role in their emphatic start to IPL 2025 against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Josh Hazelwood used the spongy bounce to scuttle KKR’s powerplay and death overs with analysis of 4-0-22-1, Krunal Pandya ended Ajinkya Rahane’s high-intent fifty in a spell of 4-0-29-3, Suvash Sharma salvaged an ordinary night with the massive wicket of Andre Russell, and Phil Salt killed the chase with 56 off 31, identical score to Rahane’s. A regular fixture at RCB, Virat Kohli then sealed the game with 59 off 36 with 22 balls to spare in the chase of 175.
Known for pushing convention, KKR played safe with their captaincy choice post the auction. Rahane the batter will have to allay doubts practically every day, but he got off to a good start as he and Sunil Narine smashed 98 runs in overs four to ten. However, KKR were outplayed pretty much throughout the night outside those seven overs.
It was just two overs at the top but that comprises 10% of the innings in T20s. Hazlewood, unavailable last IPL, was re-acquired by RCB at the auction. Coming off a long injury layoff, he started as if he had never been away: hard length, good pace, extra bounce. He had Quinton de Kock dropped before getting him two balls later in the first over. Then he had Narine swinging and missing through the third over.
RCB did help Rahane out, but he allayed some of the doubts around his batting with a high-intent innings even as Narine struggled to come to terms with the uneven bounce on the pitch. RCB kept feeding him straight balls, and Rahane kept picking them up over the leg side: all his first 30 runs came there. Once Narine joined the mayhem, that slow start was exorcised.
One of the key moments was Narine going after his former team-mate Suyash, who tends to get the better of batters when they play him as a legspinner. Narine kept going over the off side as 22 came off the ninth over.
KKR were 107 for 1 in 9.5 overs when Narine tried to crash Rasikh Salam over the off side but was done in by the extra bounce. Struggling for options until that point, RCB could then go back to Krunal as Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer can both be shut down by spin. In each of his last three overs, Krunal, who used clever changes in pace, picked up a wicket with quicker balls. Rahane holed out to deep midwicket while Venkatesh and Rinku Singh were castled.
The wicket of Rinku brought in Russell, cue for RCB to bowl legspin. Russell’s ordinary record against the wrong’un continued as he failed to pick one from Suyash and lost his middle stump. Since 2018 he averages 13.41 and strikes at 123.24 against the wrong’un. That wicket was worth about 40 runs.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi couldn’t get going as the ball gripped the surface. Hazlewood and Yash Dayal used the middle of the pitch masterfully to concede just 23 in the last four overs.
Salt, who played a huge role in KKR’s title run with an average of 58.33 and a strike rate of 185.18 in Kolkata last year, soon reminded KKR they should not have let him go. The first ball of the chase was crashed wide of mid-off for four. The intent never stopped especially with Kohli turbo-charged during the powerplay. KKR were forced to bring in Varun Chakravarthy in the fourth over, and Salt took 20 off him. Also, the ball had stopped gripping by then possibly because of the dew.
By the time Varun got the better of Salt, RCB had reached 95 in 8.3 overs. The asking rate had dropped under seven, and Kohli was never going to let such a chase slip. However, what will thrill RCB is that Kohli kept the intent up and sought to get them a big net-run-rate boost. He slog-swept Varun for a six in his last over when it would have been easy to just play him out. New captain Rajat Patidar played the perfect little hand at the other end with 34 off 16 as RCB romped home.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 177 for 3 in 16.2 overs (Virat Kohli 59*, Phil Salt 56, Devdut Padikkal 10, Rajat Patidar 34,Liam Livingstone 15*; Vaibhav Arora 1-42, Varun Chakravarthy 1-43,Sunil Narine 1-27) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 174 for 8 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 56, Sunil Narine 44, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 30, Rinku Singh 12; Krunal Pandya 3-29, Josh Hazlewood 2-22, Yash Dayal 1-25, Rasikh Salam 1-35, Suyash Sharma 1-47) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
Sunday was a day of surprises at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25.
While the likes of Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Gudaf Tsegay lived up to expectation in the 1500m finals, and Sander Skotheim did likewise in the heptathlon, there were several shock wins throughout the final day of action in Nanjing’s Cube.
Claire Bryant set the tone with the first final of the day, taking a surprise victory in the long jump. Another shock soon followed as world and Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh was beaten by Australian duo Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.
New Zealand shot putter Tom Walsh and sprint hurdler Devynne Charlton both produced their best form of the year so far to take surprise golds. Prudence Sekgodiso, meanwhile, was similarly surprised to win the women’s 800m. The men’s 800m, by contrast, went to the form book as Josh Hoey held on for victory.
Normal order was restored by the end of the day with USA taking dominant wins in both 4x400m finals. It meant they ended the championships top of the medals table with 16 medals, six of them gold.
[World Athletics]
Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney has moved to dissolve Parliament and trigger a snap election on April 28.
The widely anticipated decision on Sunday kicks off an election race less than two weeks after Carney took up his post, succeeding Justin Trudeau at a time of soaring tensions with the United States.
“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetimes because of President Donald Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty,” the Liberal Party leader told reporters in Ottawa after he met with the governor general to request parliament’s dissolution.
“I’m asking Canadians for a strong, positive mandate to deal with President Trump and to build a new Canadian economy that works for everyone because I know we need change – big change, positive change.”
The election had to be held by October 20, but experts say Carney is hoping that an early vote will benefit his Liberal Party, which is riding a wave of momentum.
The party, which has been in government since 2015, has seen a surge in support since Trudeau’s January announcement that he planned to step down and amid repeated threats from Trump.
[Aljazeera]
Three people were killed and 15 others injured in a mass shooting between two rival groups at an unsanctioned car show on Friday in the US state of New Mexico, according to local authorities.
The shooting took place at Young Park in the city of Las Cruces, about 22:00 local time.
Four people have been charged with in relation to the three murders, Las Cruces Police Department said on Sunday, including a 15-year-old boy.
Two 19-year-old men and one 16-year-old boy died in the shooting, police said.
In a statement on X, Las Cruces police said those arrested and charged were two 17-year-old boys, a 15-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man.
Police chief Jeremy Story said there had been “an altercation between two groups of people and that altercation escalated to gunfire between both groups”. “Several other people were also injured in the crossfire.”
Mr Story said there had been “ill will” between the two groups prior to the car show.
About 50 to 60 bullet shell casings from handguns were found at the scene, police said, adding that the crime scene was huge and about 200 people had been at the park.
Police have asked any witnesses to come forward with information or video.
Those injured in the shooting ranged from ages 16 to 36. Authorities have not yet named any of the victims.
Seven patients were sent to nearby El Paso, Texas, which is just over the New Mexico border, for further medical treatment, said fire chief Michael Daniels.
Four other victims had been treated and released, Mr Daniels said.
[BBC]
Ingebrigtsen and Tsegay deliver while others surprise on final day
Canada’s PM Carney triggers snap election, vote set for April 28
Three killed and 15 injured in New Mexico mass shooting
-
Business3 days agoCargoserv Shipping partners Prima Ceylon & onboards Nestlé Lanka for landmark rail logistics initiative
-
Sports6 days agoSri Lanka to compete against USA, Jamaica in relay finals
-
Features1 day agoThe US, Israel, Palestine, and Mahmoud Khalil
-
News1 day agoScholarships for children of estate workers now open
-
Business3 days agoSri Lankans Vote Dialog as the Telecommunication Brand and Service Brand of the Year
-
News2 days agoDefence Ministry of Japan Delegation visits Pathfinder Foundation
-
Features3 days agoThe Vaping Veil: Unmasking the dangers of E-Cigarettes
-
News1 day agoSeniors welcome three percent increase in deposit rates