Vijay Devarakonda Dating With Rashmika Mandanna | OFF to Secret Vacation in Maldives | Telugu Bullet

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Vijay Devarakonda Dating With Rashmika Mandanna | OFF to Secret Vacation in Maldives | Telugu Bullet
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K’taka doc booked for misbehaving with student

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Bengaluru police have lodged an FIR against a doctor for misbehaving with a 19-year-old student who visited his clinic for treatment.

The police said on Saturday that the complaint against the accused, Dr. Udedulla who runs the clinic in Arundhatinagar, was filed by the Chandra Layout police.

From September 28, the girl had gone to the clinic for three days and during this duration, the accused doctor misbehaved with her.

The victim claimed that the doctor sexually harassed her and threatened her against informing anyone about the incident, the police said.

The matter came to light when the girl fell sick again and her family members were about to take her to the same clinic.

That’s when she confessed her ordeal, the police added.

The girl’s brother had gone to the clinic to confront the doctor who is currently absconding.

The police have launched a manhunt to nab the accused.

Meta warns 1 mn users about 400 malicious apps that targeted them

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Meta has warned at least 1 million Facebook users about more than 400 malicious Android and iOS apps targeting them to steal their login information and compromise their accounts.

According to the company, it reported its findings to Apple and Google and is helping potentially impacted people to learn more about how to stay safe and secure their accounts.

“These apps were listed on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store and disguised as photo editors, games, VPN services, business apps, and other utilities to trick people into downloading them,” said David Agranovich, Director, of Threat Disruption at Meta.

Meta said Apple and Google have taken down those 400 malicious apps from their respective online stores.

“We are also alerting people who may have unknowingly self-compromised their accounts by downloading these apps and sharing their credentials, and are helping them to secure their accounts,” the company said in a blog post late on Friday.

Malicious developers create malware apps disguised as apps with fun or useful functionality — like cartoon image editors or music players — and publish them on mobile app stores.

“To cover up negative reviews by people who have spotted the defunct or malicious nature of the apps, developers may publish fake reviews to trick others into downloading the malware,” said Meta.

If the login information is stolen, attackers could potentially gain full access to a person’s account and do things like message their friends or access private information.

Meta said that if you believe you’ve downloaded a malicious app and have logged in with your social media or other online credentials, “we recommend that you delete the app from your device immediately”.

Ramya Krishna Mass Dance In During Four Months Pregnancy | Telugu Celebrity Gossips | Telugu Bullet

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Ramya Krishna Mass Dance In During Four Months Pregnancy | Telugu Celebrity Gossips | Telugu Bullet
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Chiranjeevi-starrer ‘Godfather’ collects Rs 69 crore worldwide in two days

Director Mohan Raja’s ‘GodFather’, featuring superstar Chiranjeevi in the lead, has grossed an impressive Rs 69 crore worldwide in two days.

Sources in the industry say that the lavishly-made political action thriller, which took a grand opening for Dussehra, dominated the box office on day two as well.

The movie is expected to record massive numbers during the extended weekend.

The film, which has Salman Khan appearing in a brief but powerful role, seems to be performing reasonably well, with positive reports coming in from almost everywhere.

‘GodFather’, which collected a worldwide gross of Rs 38 crore on its opening day, has raked in Rs 31 crore on its second day. The total amount it has grossed worldwide after two days stands at Rs 69 crore.

The makers believe that as the Dussehra holidays are still on, the numbers will continue to be massive even during the weekend.

The film’s story is quite gripping as it revolves around the power struggle in a political party soon after the death of the state’s Chief Minister. While the Chief Minister’s daughter (Nayanthara) is not interested, his son-in-law (Satya Dev), and a few others in the party are at the heart of a power grab.

Brahma (Chiranjeevi), the trusted man of the fallen stalwart, is drawn into murky affairs and is keen to keep greedy sharks at bay.

The film has cinematography by Nirav Shah and music by Thaman.

‘Too early’ to scrap mandatory Covid isolation in Aus

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The Australian Medical Association (AMA) on Friday said it was “too early” to end the mandatory Covid-19 isolation periods, warning that it would trigger another wave of the pandemic.

Federal, state and territory leaders late in September agreed to end mandatory isolation requirements for Covid-19, which will come into effect on October 14, with each jurisdiction implementing the change via relevant public health legislation, reports Xinhua news agency.

Commenting on the decision, AMA President Steve Robson said he was “very concerned” about another wave.

“All the signs are that we’re looking at another wave of Covid,” he told local media.

“We’re coming out of one of the biggest waves of Covid yet and it has absolutely crushed the hospital workforce and left us with a massive logjam and backlog in hospitals at the moment that has to be dealt with.

“If we have another wave over the holiday season, then it spells bad news for the country because we can’t tackle that backlog,” Robson added.

The Department of Health on Friday provided updates on national Covid-19 weekly current trends.

“Over the last week, 36,242 cases of Covid-19 were reported across Australia, an average of 5,177 cases per day,” it said on its website.

The number of cases being treated in hospitals at a seven-day average is 1,548.

As of Friday, Australia’s overall Covid caseload and death toll stood at 10,269,925 and 15,319, respectively.

KTR plays down sister Kavitha’s absence at crucial TRS meeting

TRS working president K T. Rama Rao on Friday played down the absence of his sister K. Kavitha from a crucial meeting of the party which decided to convert itself into a national party BRS.

Dismissing reports of any rift in the family, he alleged that it is an attempt to make fringe issues the main issues.

“These are silly and trivial issues,” he said in an informal chat with the reporters.

The general body meeting of the TRS on Wednesday passed a resolution changing the party’s name to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

The meeting was presided over by the TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR.

However, the absence of KCR’s daughter at the meeting set off speculations of a rift in the family.

Kavitha, who is a member of the State Legislative Council, is said to be unhappy with her father for not consulting her before taking the decision to launch the national party.

A former MP from Nizamabad, she has not come out with any clarification about her absence.

She has also issued a statement welcoming the party’s decision to go national.

When asked about Kavitha’s absence, her brother Rama Rao tried to play it down.

“Do you think anybody opposing KCR’s decision and leadership will remain in the party,” he asked and found fault with the media for its reports.

“Ranjith Reddy also did not come. Does this mean he is differing with the party decision,” he asked, referring to the MP from Chevella.

KTR, as the TRS working president and cabinet minister, is popularly known, pointed out that the general body has a strength of 283.

“I think 279 attended the meeting. This is more than 99 percent. The meeting unanimously supported the resolution,” he said.

“We are part of the same family,” KTR remarked but did not elaborate further.

The general body meeting was attended by TRS MPs, MLAs, and MLCs, besides presidents of district units of the party, heads of affiliated organizations, and other elected representatives.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, president of VMK and Chidambaram MP Thirumavalavan, and some farmer leaders were also present at the meeting.

Kavitha’s absence, however, baffled the political circles as she had traveled to the national capital on multiple occasions in the past as part of the preparations to launch the national party.

She is reported to be unhappy over the way KCR ignored her in the entire process.

KCR had reportedly involved son KTR, nephew and finance and health minister T. Harish Rao and another nephew and MP J. Santosh Kumar in the consultation process before taking the decision to change the party’s name and amend its Constitution.

Reports of a rift in the KCR family were also doing rounds earlier when KCR had appointed KTR as the working president of the party in 2019, just before the Lok Sabha polls.

Harish Rao was reportedly unhappy with the KCR for promoting his son as his successor.

Kavitha, who lost the Lok Sabha elections in Nizamabad, was made a member of the upper house of the state legislature early this year.

Jungles teach you patience, says actress Sadaa

Actress Sadaa, who has turned into an avid wildlife photographer, says that jungles can teach you patience and when the time comes, they can test the same too.

The actress recently took to her Instagram to share a video of her clicking pictures of Jugni, a young tigress.

She wrote, “When Jugni is in “Peek-a-boo” mood… I later learned that Jugni is the granddaughter of my most beloved tigress Mataram!”

Taking a philosophical route, she then mentioned in her caption, “Jungles teach you patience and test it too. In jungles, it’s the law and the will of wild animals that we respect and gladly (do) so!”

She further noted, “They either show up in their full glory or keep you waiting for hours to give just a glimpse. One such instance when Jugni decided to hide behind a rock giving us mortals only glimpses of her!”

“This (is) the ONLY RIGHT WAY to see and experience wild animals, in their natural habitats! Not where tiger cubs are ripped from their mothers and abused to entertain humans, where they are heavily sedated so humans can touch them and make reels”, she added.

She then went on to present a sad reality about animals in captivity in Thailand, “I’m referring to all celebs/influencers who are flocking the Thailand Tiger Parks, trying to look brave posing with sedated and exploited tigers (sic)”.

She also noted, “The video was shot handheld, kindly excuse the shakes. Had no scope to use a bean bag here!”

IND v SA: Miller-Klaasen partnership was the difference between South Africa and India, says Maharaj

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South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj believes that the unbeaten partnership of 139 between David Miller and Heinrich Klassen for the fifth wicket was the difference between the visitors and India in the ODI series opener at Lucknow.

Pushed into batting first, South Africa was in trouble at 110/4 in 22.2 overs and were staring at a low total when Miller (75 not out off 63 balls) and Klassen (74 not out off 65 balls) shared a rollicking stand of 139 runs off 106 balls to take South Africa on a competitive 249/4 on a pitch which had something for both pacers and spinners.

Though Sanju Samson made an unbeaten 86, Shreyas Iyer hit a quick counter-attacking fifty and Shardul Thakur played a late cameo of 33, India fell short of the target by nine runs.

“I thought Heinrich (Klaasen) came in and absorbed (the pressure) really well and David (Miller) was hitting the ball stupendously and just exploded in the back end and I think that was the difference between us and the Indian side, getting that partnership towards the end.”

“We are just making sure that we are doing the right things and hopefully put in more performances going forward building towards the World Cup,” said Maharaj after the match ended.

Maharaj played a huge part in keeping India to 240/8 in a truncated 40-overs-a-side match, picking figures of 1/23 in his eight overs as he made use of the prodigious turn offered by the pitch at Lucknow.

“I was trying to stick to my line and lengths to make it difficult for the batters in terms of not being able to get away. But I still think Shammo (Tabraiz Shamsi) bowled exceptionally well to hold his nerve in the end and take us over the line. It spun excessively. After good batting wickets in the T20s, it was nice to play on a spinning track.”

Though Shamsi had a day to forget by leaking 89 runs in his eight overs, Maharaj said it was important on his part to give the left-arm wrist-spinner positive vibes. “We (About chatting to Shamsi from mid-wicket) got our own plans and things, obviously trying to give good energy towards Shammo and just a few thoughts and processes that sometimes do contradict, and sometimes do work in our favor.”

Maharaj signed off by praising captain Temba Bavuma for his leadership in the narrow victory. “He (Bavuma) has done a splendid job (as a skipper) and I was just trying to pass on some information, just need some reassurance sometimes and get the backing from everyone towards certain things.”

5G-ready car sales cross 500K first time ever globally

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The connected car penetration surpassed that of non-connected cars for the first time ever globally, capturing almost 50.5 percent share in the second quarter (Q2) this year.

5G-ready car sales surpassed half a million, though 4G accounted for 90 percent of connected car sales.

According to Counterpoint Research, the US overtook China to lead the globally connected car market and the top five automakers were Volkswagen, Toyota, GM, Stellantis, and Hyundai.

The US, China, and Europe accounted for nearly 80 percent of connected car sales in the quarter.

“The US market trailed China in terms of connected car sales in the first quarter of this year. However, with the resurgence of Covid-19 and plant shutdowns in China from March onwards, the US overtook China,” said senior analyst Soumen Mandal.

According to the report, automakers are focusing on using powerful onboard computers for next-generation connected mobility.

“4G cars still dominate the globally connected car market, capturing 90 percent of shipments in Q2 2022, whereas 5G cars accounted for around 7 percent. Although 5G’s share will continue to increase, 4G will see increased sales on a yearly basis until 2027,” said Research Vice-President Peter Richardson.

Non-connected cars have been steadily declining as automakers prefer to upgrade their portfolio with factory-fitted embedded connectivity even in base model variants.

Luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes, and Audi were the first to introduce connected cars with inbuilt Wi-Fi, even before the initial push towards connected vehicles came from government mandates like eCall.

According to the report, there are several factors hindering the proliferation of 5G for cars, such as high prices of 5G NAD/TCU, and patchy network coverage even where 5G has been launched which, in turn, means limited availability of 5G capable cars.

Furthermore, there is only nascent adoption of ADAS/AD levels. Currently, there are a few Level 3 capable models, and all use 4G.

“We expect that mass adoption of 5G connectivity will only occur after 2025 when most of these issues will have been resolved, said Richardson.

Karthi, Vikram thank Kamal Haasan for his heartfelt praise for ‘PS:1’

Actors Vikram and Karthi, who played the roles of Aditha Karikalan and Vallavarayan Vanthiyathevan in director Mani Ratnam’s recently released blockbuster ‘Ponniyin Selvan 1’, have thanked Ulaga nayagan, Kamal Haasan for his heartfelt praise for the film and for standing by the film, which is based on the classic by eminent writer Kalki.

Taking to Twitter, Vikram wrote, “His magnificent voice introduced ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. When the same voice speaks with such love for the film, it’s a total fanboy moment for me. It takes a special kind of person to come forward with all heart and stand by a film as his own. Nandri (thank you) Kamal Haasan Sir. Karthi, What a night!”

Karthi too tweeted about Kamal’s observations after watching the film.

He said, “Kamal sir, you have always inspired us to seek bigger goals and set higher standards in cinema but more importantly you have taught us to love and respect one another and how to express that in these moments. Lots of love and respect, Karthi.”

Recently, Kamal watched a special screening of the film along with Vikram and Karthi and then addressed the media.

He said, “I believe the feeling of astonishment that I got while watching this film would have been experienced by all Tamil fans who have watched this film. There is a dialogue about a golden era that appears at the beginning of this film and it comes in my voice. I would like to recall it here. I get the feeling that the golden era of Tamil cinema has begun. As an artist and a producer of Tamil cinema, it makes me proud.”

K’taka BJP retaliates to Cong’s charges, says it upholds individual freedom, equality

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the BJP upholds individual freedom and equality in its governance in the state.

The statement follows the charges by the Congress leaders that BJP divides people and does not respect individual freedom.

Addressing the party leaders at the State Executive Committee meeting in Bengaluru, Chief Minister Bommai stated that individual freedom and equality are enshrined in the constitution. BJP not only preaches it but ensures these aspects in the governance, he added.

“Our day-to-day organization work reflects that the party is marching ahead ensuring individual liberty and equality. This is indeed the hallmark of the party,” Chief Minister Bommai stated.

He further stated, “we have a big responsibility. People have not imposed their faith and trust on other political parties. They have seen the stunts of other political factions. They have seen how other parties have ruled the country for 70 years. People have lost faith in other political parties and regional parties of our state as well as other states.”

The fact that the BJP is ruling in 18 states of the country stands as a testimony to the fact. For a democracy to succeed, there should be a strong federal structure. The Indian federation has to be strengthened and it is one of the ideals of the Indian Constitution. Democracy and federalism both are very important, he maintained.

Chief Minister Bommai stated that people have not forgotten the misrule of the earlier Congress government. There was no social harmony, there was a collapse of law and order, BJP workers were killed, and scandals rolled out one after the other. During Congress, government corruption thrived in all departments.

In police recruitment, the Congress government did not give consent to inquire about DIG rank officers. “I gave the consent for inquiry against the officer,” CM Bommai said.

Karnataka has been attracting the highest FDI in the country. The state is getting 38 percent of FDI, while Maharashtra is attracting 22 percent and Noida is in the third position with 18 percent, CM Bommai explained.

The government is organizing the Global Investors’ Meet and Tech Summits in the coming days, he added.

CM Bommai stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming down to Karnataka on November 10 for the inauguration of the second terminal at the Bengaluru KempeGowda International airport. He will also inaugurate a huge statue of Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda on the premises of the airport, he added.

Sai Pallavi Acts In Pawankalyan Hari Hara Veera Mallu Movie | Telugu Cinema News | Telugu Bullet

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Sai Pallavi Acts In Pawankalyan Hari Hara Veera Mallu Movie | Telugu Cinema News | Telugu Bullet
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US readying for severe flu season, new Covid wave

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The US is readying for a severe flu season as well as a new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the upcoming fall season, with health experts urging the public to get flu shots and Covid boosters.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is calling on everyone above six months to get their flu shots, reports Xinhua news agency.

“I don’t want to be alarmist, but I am concerned. We know that it’s going to be a strain of flu that tends to be more severe,” said Michael Phillips, an infectious disease expert at New York University Langone Health.

“For those ages greater than 65, there’s a specific formulation of vaccines that you should get and it dramatically reduces the likelihood of hospitalization and death,” Phillips said.

Less than half of US adults plan to get a flu shot this year and just a third feel safe getting a flu shot and Covid-19 vaccine at the same time, according to a survey of the US National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

Flu season typically starts in October, peaks in December through February, and can last into the spring.

The CDC says the flu shot may not prevent people from getting infected, but it can significantly lower the risk of hospitalization and death.

Meanwhile, health officials are expecting another Covid resurgence as immunity from vaccination wanes off and people head indoors as the weather turns colder.

More transmissible Omicron subvariants are also emerging, and experts are urging the public to get Covid-19 vaccines and boosters to protect themselves as well as vulnerable groups.

So far, about 67.9 percent of the US population is fully vaccinated with their initial series, according to the latest CDC data.

But less than half of the fully vaccinated population has received a booster dose.

A new study published earlier this week by the Commonwealth Fund shows that about 90,000 Covid-19 deaths could be prevented this fall and winter if more people in the US get their booster by the end of the year.

As of Friday morning, the country’s overall Covid-19 caseload and death toll stood at 98,474,755 and 1,087,350, respectively.

The two tallies account for the highest in the world, making the US the worst-hit country.

Putin urges economic measures to cushion sanctions

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded economic measures in response to Western sanctions, which are expected to intensify.

“It is important to understand that the sanctions pressure on Russia will only increase,” Putin said at a government meeting on Thursday via video link.

“In this regard, it is necessary to plan flexible, effective actions for both short and medium terms and consistently implement them,” Xinhua news agency quoted the President as saying.

Putin asked the government and the central bank to ensure a sustainable recovery of macroeconomic indicators.

Export-oriented sectors remain under pressure, primarily those targeting European countries, and it takes time for Russian exporters to switch to other markets, he noted.

Meanwhile, Putin pointed out some positive trends, as industrial production had returned to the level of the previous year.

Worst-hit industries, such as the automotive industry and metallurgy, are gradually recovering and agriculture also shows good dynamics, he said.

Dhanush and Aishwarya Cancelled their Divorce | Kollywood Updates | Telugu Gossips | Telugu Bullet

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Dhanush and Aishwarya Cancelled their Divorce | Kollywood Updates | Telugu Gossips | Telugu Bullet
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Meta’s metaverse app has several quality issues, admits head

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The flagship metaverse product of Meta (formerly Facebook) is reportedly inundated with several quality issues and even those building the virtual reality (VR) social network at the company are barely using it.

According to a report in The Verge citing internal memos, Meta’s VR social network called ‘Horizon Worlds’ holds little promise in its current avatar.

Vishal Shah, Meta’s VP of Metaverse, apparently told the employees that the metaverse team would remain in a “quality lockdown” for the rest of the year to “ensure that we fix our quality gaps and performance issues before we open up Horizon to more users”.

“Simply put, for an experience to become delightful and retentive, it must first be usable and well crafted,” he wrote.

In August, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg were forced to post new screenshots on Facebook and Instagram, showing off a more life-like version of himself, after he faced memes on his poorly-designed metaverse avatar.

In the same month, Vivek Sharma, the Indian-origin VP of Meta’s Horizon social media virtual reality (VR) platform, departed, at a time when Zuckerberg doubles down on his $10 billion metaverse dream.

Sharma’s team now reports to Shah.

Shah wrote in an internal memo that “currently feedback from our creators, users, playtesters, and many of us on the team is that the aggregate weight of papercuts, stability issues, and bugs is making it too hard for our community to experience the magic of Horizon”.

Horizon Worlds is a social VR experience where you can discover new places with friends, build unique worlds of your own, and form teams to compete in action-packed games.

The Horizon Worlds social metaverse platform is currently available only on the company’s Quest VR headsets.

Share further wrote that for “many of us, we don’t spend that much time in Horizon and our dogfooding dashboards show this pretty clearly”

“Why is that? Why don’t we love the product we’ve built so much that we use it all the time? The simple truth is, if we don’t love it, how can we expect our users to love it?” he added.

Meta was making a plan to “hold managers accountable” for having their teams use Horizon at least once a week.

“Everyone in this organization should make it their mission to fall in love with Horizon Worlds,” read another memo.

A Meta spokesperson said the company is “confident that the metaverse is the future of computing and that it should be built around people”.

Zuckerberg said recently that major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics are coming soon.

Bigboss Fame Shanmukh Jaswanth Buy A Luxury BMW Car | Telugu Celebrity News | Telugu Bullet

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Bigboss Fame Shanmukh Jaswanth Buy A Luxury BMW Car | Telugu Celebrity News | Telugu Bullet
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South Africa continue to languish at 11th spot in Super League despite 9-run win vs India

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South Africa, despite defeating India in the opening One-day International here on Thursday, is languishing at 11th position in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League Standings — a position which will not earn them automatic qualification in next year’s 50-over World Cup in India.

In fact, even if they make a clean sweep of the three-match series here and also win the ODIs against England at home and the two games remaining from their suspended home series against the Netherlands, it is unlikely they will be able to automatically qualify for the showpiece event.

India is currently sixth in the Super League standings. Only Zimbabwe (12th) and the Netherlands (13th) are below South Africa in the standings.

The Proteas, before the start of the ongoing series against India, were languishing at 11th place with just four wins in 13 matches. A total of 13 teams are ranked in the Cricket World Cup Super League Standings — 12 Full Member nations, along with the Netherlands — and the bottom-five teams, after the two-year Super League qualification period, will play a qualifying tournament, which will also feature the best teams from the lower rungs of competition.

When the Proteas forfeited the ODI series against Australia in January next year, reportedly due to their much-hyped franchise-based inaugural SA20 tournament at home, they had to give away all 30 ODI World Cup Super League points that were on offer, according to ICC.

Since then, they have leveled the series against England in England (1-1), but it hasn’t made their position in the standings any better.

Put in to bat first in Lucknow in a 40-overs game, South Africa were reduced to 71/3 with India striking two quick blows. The wicket of Quinton de Kock further dented the visitors, but the tables turned when Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller came together at the crease.

The two put on an unbeaten 139-run stand in 17.4 overs to take South Africa to 249 in 40 overs. Klaasen remained unbeaten on 74 off 65 balls while Miller, carrying forward his fine recent form, finished on a 63-ball 75 not out.

South Africa pushed their advantage further with the new ball as Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell sent back the India openers inside the first six overs. Keshav Maharaj then spun a web over India’s batters with the pitch taking a turn and India were reduced to 51/4.

Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson resurrected the innings with a half-century stand, but Iyer was dismissed in the 27th over to give South Africa the upper hand. Despite late fireworks from the Samson-Thakur pair, India finished short and South Africa earned some much-needed Super League points.

CLOSE-IN: India have the fire-power to win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022

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The Indian cricket team has embarked on its journey for the T20 World Cup 2022 to be played in Australia. This is wonderful news as the team will get enough time to get acclimatized to the conditions Down Under.

India plays their first match on October 23 at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground against arch-rivals Pakistan. This is the most crucial match for the Indian side as a defeat in it could put them in deep waters to qualify. The main rivals, thereafter, are South Africa, Bangladesh, and possibly the West Indies, if they qualify from their group games.

India should have gotten over their disappointing performance in the Asia Cup 2022, having beaten Australia and South Africa in a three-match T20I series at home. The only blemish for India was that they lost their last match against South Africa solely due to experimenting with their bench strength players — the reason being that India had already wrapped up the series and felt that they could do with a change.

One felt that India needed to keep their winning momentum intact, as a loss may not seem important but it has a lingering impact on a team’s confidence inadvertently.

The Indian team may rue the fact that their lethal frontline bowler in Jasprit Bumrah, unfortunately, due to injury, will not be a part of their side. However, India does have a battery of pacers to choose from in their fold.

The most difficult adaptation required for any side to play in Australia is to get used to their wickets and conditions. The additional bounce off the wicket is one area that has been difficult to handle for most batsmen. Fortunately, the Indian team will have a fortnight to get acclimatized through a few practice matches and net sessions.

The T20 game is one in which batters have to start playing their shots from the very first delivery. This is where the challenge lies for the Indian batters as the shots that one is used to playing in India on a particular delivery are hugely different from what one needs to play in Australia. Similarly for the bowlers, the length to bowl varies substantially from what one is used to back home.

India, on their last trip to Australia in 2020/21, did fairly well in both the T20I and Test series, and one hopes that they are able to recollect and adjust their game accordingly. They now have the time to do so.

India’s batting strength is far ahead of any of its rivals. A team that boasts Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav as the top-four batters and the likes of Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and the canny Dinesh Karthik to follow. This is a dream line-up for any side.

India also boast of having some very good spin options. They have a leg-spinner in Yuzvendra Chahal, the accurate left-arm spin of Axar Patel, and the world’s top off-spinner in Ravichandran Ashwin. The larger Australian grounds will suit them far better, and both Melbourne and Sydney wickets have shown that one can derive a turn on them as well. Spin will play a very important part in the tournament and India fortunately is well-equipped in that department.

The only area of worry is India’s pace bowling options. Although Bhuvneshwar Kumar is an experienced bowler, the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel have still to earn their spurs. Mohammed Shami as a replacement for Bumrah, if fit, would be an ideal option.

The Indian players, having had the advantage of playing the IPL, are now very familiar with the T20 concept and the situations that one confronts while playing it.

India started well in the Asia Cup by beating Pakistan but, thereafter, they faltered against them as well as Sri Lanka. The losses were not because of their cricketing skills but more of the way they approached the matches mentally.

The problem with the Indian team is the pressure that they put themselves under because of the hype that follows them. The millions of well-wishers and fans may look like a wonderful following but they can become a heavy burden to carry on one’s shoulders as well.

Team India needs to approach the T20 World Cup without the worry of winning the Cup. They need to play in a carefree manner without thinking about the outcome. India’s victory in the inaugural tournament in the T20 World Cup in 2007 was achieved by a young side that one least expected to win because they played without a care.

India is the current No. 1-ranked T20 side in the world. This they have achieved through their consistent performances this year. The unfortunate fallout from being at the top is that everyone expects India to win. This has been the tale of woe since 2014 in all the multi-national ICC tournaments.

One feels that the Indian team looks far more comfortable and determined approaching this World Cup. The expectations of their followers are also much less, having been disappointed in the past. The time is just right for India to shine. A Diwali victory on the eve of the festival against Pakistan would be just the right way for India to start their campaign.

India has the firepower to win, it is only the mental belief to do so that they seem to falter when put under pressure.

The Indian Women’s cricket team seems to be on the verge of winning the Asia Cup 2022. Their victory could be just the catalyst and booster for the men to emulate.