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Sooryavanshi blitz, Jurel 81* help Rajasthan Royals take down Royal Challengers Bengaluru with ease

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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck at 300.00 [Cricinfo]

Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi equalled his own record for the fastest half-century, off 15 balls, in a six-fest on a flat Guwahati deck as Rajasthan Royals walloped Royal Challengers Bengaluru for their fourth straight win.

RCB hit seven sixes through their 20 overs in an innings where they went all out, seemingly mindful of the challenge Sooryavanshi would pose. And pose he did, hitting seven sixes off his own blade, in a scarcely believable exhibition of brutal hitting.

Reputation counted for little. If it was Jasprit Bumrah the other night, it was Josh Hazlewood’s turn to come under Sooryavanshi’s wheel on Friday. By the time he was dismissed for a 26-ball 78, toe-ending a flat-batted hit to long-on off Krunal Pandya, RR’s asking rate in a 202 chase was just over six with 11.5 overs remaining.

Sooryavanshi’s uninhibited hitting was matched by Dhruv Jurel’s scintillating stroke play, the pair effectively snuffed out RCB’s hopes in the powerplay itself as they plundered 97 – the highest of the season. Although RR lost a couple of wickets in a rush thereafter, the result was never really in doubt.

RCB’s defence was given an early lift when the returning Hazlewood struck in the second over to remove Yashasvi Jaiswal. After conceding a couple of sixes off the short ball, Hazlewood responded smartly by going cross-seam and into the pitch to induce the edge. But the delight at having struck early dissipated quickly as Sooryavanshi seized control by rattling off three boundaries and a six in succession in his next over.

Each of the four boundaries pierced a different arc. The short ball was carved behind point, the hard length into the pitch was muscled over mid-on, the fuller one driven crisply between cover and mid-off, and when tested with the bumper, Sooryavanshi fetched it from outside off and nailed the pull over deep square for six.

And remarkably, it wasn’t just Hazlewood under the pump. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – who had nearly dismissed him first ball with a late-curving inswinging yorker, only for the teenager to dig it out and shovel it straight back for four – was also taken apart. In the fifth over, Sooryavanshi swatted him for back-to-back sixes to bring up his half-century.

Keeping pace with Sooryavanshi stroke for stroke can’t be easy, but Jurel managed it seamlessly, without ever looking like he was trying to. He capped off the powerplay by hitting rookie Abhinandan Singh for a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 0, 6, 4 to end an extraordinary passage.

Jurel’s fast hands were the defining feature of that over – whether it was picking length early to pull or using his wrists to whip the ball into the top tier over deep square. He would later take charge of the innings, tightening his approach after a flurry of wickets, and finishing unbeaten on 76 off 36 balls.

Jurel’s 68-run fifth-wicket stand with Ravindra Jadeja then guided RR home comfortably, steadying things after Krunal briefly stirred RCB’s hopes with back-to-back strikes of Sooryavanshi and Shimron Hetmyer in the ninth over.

RR went through a quiet passage of four overs without a boundary, but the early onslaught from Sooryavanshi and Jurel meant they could afford to play out a few quiet overs fully knowing RCB were a spinner short, as they activated Venkatesh Iyer as an impact player for batting firepower in place of Suyash Sharma.

The match had a blockbuster opening act, with Jofra Archer’s vicious, rip-roaring bouncer sending back Phil Salt for a golden duck. But Virat Kohli fought fire with fire, hitting him for three boundaries in his next over, before Archer struck back to remove the in-form Devdutt Padikkal.

This didn’t affect Kohli, though, as he shredded a much-talked-about matchup with Sandeep Sharma (who had dismissed him seven times in 18 innings) by thumping him over the infield for two fours. But trouble soon came RCB’s way as Ravi Bishnoi struck two quick blows to leave them 73 for 4.

In his first two outings, Rajat Patidar went crash-bang-wallop from the get-go. But a top-order wobble forced him to dig deep. He played himself in, getting to 20 off 22 balls at one stage. And then, three overs later, he brought up a half-century off 35 balls. One of the reasons for this surge was his surety in stroke-making.

The two sixes he hit off Nandre Burger in the 15th had that stamp of authority. A gentle extension of his arms to loft one cleanly over long-off laid down the marker, but the hop back to whip a short ball aimed at his ribs over deep square leg was the blockbuster.

With none of Romario Shepherd or Tim David coming off with the bat, RCB brought in Venkatesh Iyer as their Impact Player, leaving Suyash on the bench. And Venkatesh gave an excellent account of himself on RCB debut, finishing the innings off with a cameo 29 that pushed them past 200.

As it turned out, it was nowhere near enough.

Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 202 for 4 (Yashasvi Jiswal 13, Dhruv Jurel 81*, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Ravindra Jadeja 24*; Josh Hazelwood 2-44,  Krunal Pandya 2-30) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli32, Devudutt Padikkal 14, Rajat Patidar 63, Tim David 13, Romario Shepherd 22, Venkatesh Iyer  29*; Jofra  Archer 2-33, Sandeep Sharma 1-47, Ravi Bishnoi 2-32, Ravindra Jadeja 1-14, Brijesh Sharma 2-37) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]



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Trump announces three-day ceasefire in Russia-Ukraine war

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left), US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin [Aljazeera]

United States ⁠President Donald Trump ⁠says ‌there will be a three-day ceasefire in ⁠the war between ⁠Russia and ⁠Ukraine.

Posting on Truth Social on Friday, the US leader said the truce would last from ⁠Saturday to Monday.

“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted.

Soon after, Ukrainian ⁠President ⁠Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on X that ⁠a three-day truce ⁠had been arranged as part of ‌US efforts to negotiate an end to the more than ⁠four-year-old war.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov later said “an agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone contacts with the US administration. In turn, US representatives were in contact with Kyiv.” He said the agreement followed a recent telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, in which the two presidents “emphasised that our countries were allies during World War II and also discussed the possibility of a ceasefire during the Victory Day celebrations.”

Russia had previously announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its May 9 World War II Victory Day on Saturday. Ukraine previously stated that it too had offered a truce but that this had been ignored by Moscow.

“This request was made directly by me,” Trump said on Friday, thanking his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts for agreeing to it.

“The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II. This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country,” Trump said. Zelenskyy also confirmed the prisoner swap would take place.

[Aljazeera]

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Heat Index is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the North-central and Eastern provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts during the daytime

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 08 May 2026, valid for 09 May 2026

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the North-central and Eastern provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts during the daytime

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on the human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED

Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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Finn Allen’s 47-ball ton powers Kolkata Knight Riders to huge win over Delhi Capitals

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Pathum Nissanka carried Delhi Capitals in the first half of the innings [Cricinfo]

Kolkata Knight Riders picked up their fourth win on the trot, their spin bowlers (12-0-76-3) capturing Delhi Capitals in a vice-like grip and never letting go Finn Allen made sure that wouldn’t repeat in the second innings. He pulverised DC’s spinners (9-0-102-1) to score his first IPL century even though he only had 143 to chase.

Pathum Nissanka scored a good half-century. He made 50 of DC’s first 85 runs at a strike rate of 172. The other end could only contribute 33 at a strike rate of 103. It was symbolic of how hard it was for a new batter to settle in and how much pressure comes on the set batter on a pitch like this. Even though he was going at a good clip, and had hit the previous ball for four, he still left his crease looking for more and was stumped off Anukul Roy.  The left-arm spinner took another wicket, four balls later.

DC were 74 for 2 after eight overs. But only four of those overs were from spin bowlers and three of them were inside the powerplay. Given the comfort of five fielders on the boundary, and a pitch that was slow and turning, Roy, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy started to dictate proceedings. At one point, DC scored just 11 runs in 30 balls. This was between overs 12 to 16. No IPL team in nearly two decades has ever been this sluggish in this period of play.

Roy set this choke up, stumping Nissanka out with a slower and wider delivery and bowling Tristan Stubbs out with the exact opposite of that. That was solid range for a bowler with no mystery about him.

With DC at 89 for 5, Axar Patel in wretched form (his 44 runs, with only three boundaries, are the fewest by any batter this season having faced at least 50 balls) and the conditions not helping run-scoring, all Narine and Varun had to do was what they do so well. Amp up the mystery. Aim at the stumps. Narine finished with 4-0-17-1. Varun, badly limping when he bowled his final over which cost 16 runs, finished with 4-0-28-0.

Ashutosh Sharma broke a boundary drought that last 38 balls in the 17th over. He reverse swept Vaibhav Arora, coming around the wicket, for six in the 19th over. His cameo – 39 off 28 balls – carried KKR to 142 for 8.

For the first time in his IPL career, Allen played through the powerplay. This was his eighth innings. He might have felt bad for running out his captain Ajinkya Rahane when his straight drive flicked Mitchell Starc’s outstretched finger and deflected onto the stumps but he quickly got over it. DC played a part in that a well with Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam bowling balls right in the slot. Allen is superb down the ground and needed no second invitation. From 20 off 17, he launched 10 sixes, the last of them when KKR needed two to win and he needed six to bring up 100.

Allen had a strike rate of 235 against spin (73 off 31). The next best, from both teams, was Rahane with 167, benefiting from playing just three balls and scoring five runs.

In a match where his former team’s spinners held so much sway (economy rate 6.33), Kuldeep suffered, going at 13.66 an over even though he was spared the trouble of bowling in the powerplay. Axar bowled three with the field up and still finished with figures of 4-0-27-1.

Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 147 for 2 in 14.2 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 13, Finn Allen 100*, Cameron Green 33*; Axar Patel 1-27  ) beat Delhi Capitals 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 50, KL Rahul 23, Axar Patel 11, Ashutosh Sharma 39; Kartik Tyagi 2-25, Anukul Roy 2-31, Vaibhav Arora 1–29, Sunil Narine 1-17, Cameron Green 1-12) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]

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