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.

The Food Policy and Security Committee has recommended the importation of rice in the near future to ensure an uninterrupted supply for consumers.

A notable increase in rice prices has been observed in the market, along with reports of shortages of certain rice varieties, despite the current harvest season.

Given this situation, discussions were held regarding the need for the Cabinet to prioritize the maintenance of sufficient stock,  through rice imports.

The Committee, chaired by Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha and Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Vasantha Samarasinghe, convened for the fifth time at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday (01). The meeting aimed to formulate policy decisions to ensure food security.

During the discussions, it was revealed that due to excessive rainfall this year, crop damage occurred on two occasions, leading to a significant reduction in the expected harvest.

Furthermore, during the meeting it was stated that the improper use of rice for animal feed is another major reason contributing to the rice shortage. As a result, the Committee also focused on the importation of broken rice for animal feed and the use of alternative feeds to mitigate the impact on livestock production.

Accordingly, the Food Policy and Security Committee approved the formation of a Committee, led by the Director General of Agriculture, to oversee the importation of the required quantity of broken rice through proper mechanisms.

Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Kapila Janaka Bandara, and other members of the Food Policy and Security Committee, including Ministry Secretaries, participated in the discussions.

Attention of the Cabinet of Ministers have been drawn on the decisions taken by the United Kingdom to impose sanctions on four Sri Lankan individuals recently, and have decided to appoint a committee comprised of three ministers  to submit a report with recommendations on the further measures to be taken after studying the facts in the regard and to empower the committee to obtain the service of any officer/intellect deemed to have subject expertise in the relevant field and considered essential.

The committee will comprise of :

– Vijitha Herath Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism

– Attorney – at – Law  Harshana Nanayakkara Minister of Justice and National Integrity

– Aruna Jayasekara Deputy Minister of Defence