Top police officials shifted after clash in Patiala, mobile internet services shut

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Top police officials shifted after clash in Patiala, mobile internet services shut

A day after clamping a 24-hour curfew in Punjab’s Patiala town after police had to fire into the air following a massive clash between members of the Shiv Sena and pro-Khalistan sword-bearing sympathizers outside the Kali Mata temple, the state government on Saturday transferred top police officials.

Also to prevent the spread of rumors, the government ordered the shutdown of mobile internet services and SMS services in the Patiala district on Saturday.

On the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the government transferred the Inspector General of Police (Patiala range), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), and the Superintendent of Police (SP), an official statement said.

A spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s Office said Mukhwinder Singh Chinna has been appointed as the new Inspector General, while Deepak Park and Wazir Singh have been appointed as new the SSP and the SP, respectively.

Witnesses told the police that Nihangs, who gathered in front of the Dukh Niwaran Sahib gurdwara on Friday to oppose the Khalistan ‘Murdabad March’ of the Shiv Sena, marched towards the shrine, raising pro-Khalistan slogans.

A police officer was injured while trying to stop the Nihangs, the police said.

Harish Singla, the executive president of the Shiv Sena, led the anti-separatist march from Arya Samaj Chowk to Kali Devi Temple. They were raising slogans against Khalistan.

“The Shiv Sena will never allow Khalistan to be formed in Punjab or anywhere in India,” said Singla.

He also said that the chief of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), Gurpatwant Singh Pannu had given the call to mark the Khalistan foundation day on April 29.

Meanwhile, to mark protest over the incident Hindu outfits observed a shutdown in Patiala on Saturday.

WhatsApp likely working on multi-phone, tablet chatting

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WhatsApp likely working on multi-phone, tablet chatting

Meta-owned WhatsApp is likely working on a feature that would let users chat with the same account on multiple phones, or on a phone and a tablet.

A screen found in a beta version of the app by the site WABetaInfo gives instructions for registering the device you are using as a “companion” by scanning a code with your main phone, though currently there does not appear to be an actual code to scan, reports The Verge.

Meanwhile, a screen found in a previous beta showed that devices could be getting the ability to sync recent messages, even though they are end-to-end encrypted.

That screen, combined with the “Register Device as Companion” screen that instructs users on how to use WhatsApp on another device, adds up to compelling evidence that this feature is in the works, the report said.

Both screens have been found in the Android version of the app, which implies that the feature will support chatting on a secondary phone or tablet.

At the moment it is unclear if the feature will also be available on iOS if and when it launches, though there is precedent indicating it will.

WhatsApp technically supports using your account on multiple devices already, via the Linked Devices feature, which currently only supports using computers as secondary devices.

Moderna to build Covid-19 vaccine facility in Canada

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Moderna to build Covid-19 vaccine facility in Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Covid-19 vaccine developer Moderna will build a manufacturing facility in the country’s Quebec to deliver up to 100 million mRNA vaccine doses annually.

Construction is set to start this year and the facility is expected to be operational in 2024 at the earliest, subject to planning and regulatory approvals, Trudeau said on Friday in a press release.

In addition to Covid-19 vaccines, the facility is expected to be able to produce vaccines for other respiratory diseases such as influenza, pending the ongoing development by Moderna and approval by Health Canada, according to the news release.

“Covid-19 vaccines saved lives and got Canadians back to doing the things they love,” the Prime Minister added.

Canadian Health Minister, Jean-Yves Duclos said the government will build a domestic biomanufacturing capacity to ensure that Canada continues to have access to vaccines well into the future, Xinhua news agency reported.

Health Canada authorized Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine for adults in December 2020, teenagers in August 2021, and children aged between six to 11 years in March 2022. More than 29 million doses of the Spikevax vaccine have been distributed across Canada.

The company is applying for a vaccine to protect children between six months and five years old in Canada. Currently, there is no vaccine authorized for children younger than five years.

IPL 2022: Mohsin, Krunal, Chameera lead Lucknow’s 20-run win over Punjab

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IPL 2022: Mohsin, Krunal, Chameera lead Lucknow’s 20-run win over Punjab

Mohsin Khan (3/24), Dushmantha Chameera (2/17), and Krunal Pandya (2/11) led a fantastic bowling performance by Lucknow Super Giants to register a 20-run win over Punjab Kings at MCA Stadium in Pune on Friday. The result means that Lucknow is now placed third in the points table.

After Kagiso Rabada’s 4/38 restricted Lucknow to 153/8 on a sticky pitch, Punjab lost their way after captain Mayank Agarwal fell in power-play and Liam Livingstone was dismissed in the middle overs, with the side eventually making 133/8 in their 20 overs. Lucknow never lifted the constant pressure over Punj’b’s batters and got timely breakthroughs when needed the most.

Agarwal had a fast start, slamming two sixes and two fours to score 25 off 18 balls. Both of his sixes came by backing away and creating room to carve the maximums over off-side. Agarwal attempted to do the same off Chameera but KL Rahul at mid-off timed his jump well to take a brilliant catch in the fifth over.

Jonny Bairstow slammed two fours off Avesh Khan in the final over of power-play as Punjab signed off with 46/1. Post-power-play, the chase began to fall away as Shikhar Dhawan was castled by Bishnoi in an attempt to slog-sweep while Bhanuka Rajapaksa tried to play for the turn but got a leading edge to point running from left off Pandya.

Livingstone danced down the pitch twice to hit Bishnoi for successive sixes in an over which yielded 18 runs. Just when it felt like Punjab would run away with the match, Mohsin took out Livingstone, who shuffled across to scoop and could only glove behind to de Kock. In the next over, Pandya trapped Jitesh Sharma lbw after Lucknow took the review.

Bairstow waged a lone battle with the bat, taking two fours off Bishnoi. But Chameera delivered the knockout blow, forcing Bairstow to play at a full, wide delivery and edge to the third man. Mohsin came back in his final over to take out Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar. Though Rishi Dhawan slammed boundaries off Avesh Khan in the final over, it wasn’t sufficient to deny Lucknow a well-deserved victory.

Earlier, at 98/1, things looked set for Lucknow to accelerate. But a middle-order wobble saw them lose five wickets for just 13 runs between overs 13-16, which eventually became six for 28 between overs 13-18. Rabada got the first breakthrough when his length delivery around the off-stump nipped away to take the outer edge of KL Rahul’s defense to Jitesh.

Quinton de Kock opened up in the fifth over, slamming back-to-back sixes off Rabada — hitting one down the ground followed by smacking over deep mid-wicket. In a bid to go big, de Kock played a cross-bat shot off Rishi in the last over of power-play. The thick edge flew over backward point and Rabada, running backward, spilled a tough chance, giving de Kock a reprieve at 19.

Deepak Hooda, promoted to three with no Manish Pandey in the eleven, struggled to time the ball despite lofting Rishi over long-off for a huge six. De Kock went quiet after power-play ended though he drove Livingstone through cover and cracked a sweep past short fine leg off Chahar.

The partnership of 85 off 59 balls for the second wicket ended when de Kock got a faint edge on a cut-off, Sandeep Sharma, in the 13th over, and though the on-field umpire gave not out as his decision, the left-handed opener walked off. De Kock’s fall began a slide for Lucknow’s middle order as some lazy running from Hooda saw him run out by a direct hit from Bairstow at deep square leg.

Pandya holed out to long-on off Rabada and four balls later, Ayush Badoni flicked, only for the top-edge to be pouched by Livingstone running in from long-on. Marcus Stoinis chipped a catch straight back to Chahar off his own bowling. Chahar had another scalp when Jason Holder lofted straight to deep cover.

Chameera carted Rabada for successive sixes in his last over to infuse some life into Lucknow’s innings. But Chameera’s stay at the crease ended when he lofted off the bottom of the bat and was caught by deep cover who ran in and timed his slide well. It took a drive-through extra cover by Mohsin on the last ball off Arshdeep to take Lucknow past 150.

Brief scores: Lucknow Super Giants 153/8 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 46, Deepak Hooda 34; Kagiso Rabada 4/38, Rahul Chahar 2/30) beat Punjab Kings 133/8 in 20 overs (Jonny Bairstow 32, Mayank Agarwal 25; Mohsin Khan 3/24, Krunal Pandya 2/11) by 20 runs

Kangana Ranaut: Instead of Hindi, Sanskrit should be the national language

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Kangana Ranaut: Instead of Hindi, Sanskrit should be the national language

Amid the controversy over Hindi involving actors Ajay Devgn and Kichha Sudeep, actress Kangana Ranaut says considering Sanskrit is older than Hindi, Sanskrit should be the national language.

However, she explained why in her opinion, denying Hindi as the national language is indirectly a disrespect to the central government and the Indian Constitution.

The actress was interacting with the media on Friday during the trailer launch of her upcoming film ‘Dhakkad’.

Asked her opinion on the Hindi language controversy, Kangana said, “Firstly we all have the right to feel proud of our language, roots, and culture. But our country is culturally and language-wise very diverse. So we need one common language to bring them together. When the Indian Constitution was made, Hindi was made a national language. Now see, technically speaking, Tamil is an older language than Hindi. But the oldest one is the Sanskrit language. So, in my opinion, Sanskrit should be the national language, not Hindi.”

She went on to add, “Having said that I do not have the answer why instead of Sanskrit, why Hindi is chosen as the national language. But now that the decision is made, if you do not obey it, you are denying the Constitution.”

Then she brings in the political angle and explained her thoughts.

“If Khalistanis ask for a separate state, Tamils and people of Bengal are asking for a separate state, they are not defying just Hindi, they are defying the central government of Delhi. Despite the dark colonial past, we still use English as a linking language to communicate inside the country. Should English be that link, or Hindi, Tamil, or Sanskrit should be the language? We have to decide that.” said the ‘Dhakkad’ actress.

Referring to the controversy between Ajay and Sudeep, Kangana believes that both the actors are right in their own way.

“Hindi is our national language, so whatever Ajay sir said is right. But I understand the sentiment of Sudeep and he is not wrong either,” she explained.

Srinagar-Sharjah direct flights to resume soon

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Srinagar-Sharjah direct flights to resume soon

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has approved the restoration of Srinagar-Sharjah direct flights to the extent of 5 flights per week, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinha said.

Sinha wrote on his Twitter page, “Ministry of Civil Aviation has approved Srinagar-Sharjah flights to the extent of 5 flights per week on a regular basis. My deepest gratitude to PM Narendra Modi.”

“UT administration, Ministry of Civil Aviation, GoI & Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia taking necessary steps on priority to strengthen air connectivity to cater to growing tourism & industry sectors,” he added.

The direct air link between the Kashmir Valley and the UAE was revived after 11 years on October 23, 2021, when Union Home Minister, Amit Shah inaugurated a direct flight from Srinagar International Airport to Sharjah.

‘Go First’ airlines had stopped operating Srinagar-Sharjah flights from March 27, 2022, saying that it did not have the requisite bilateral rights.

Airlines need bilateral rights, which are granted under air services agreements signed between two countries, to operate scheduled international passenger flights.

Direct flights between Kashmir and the UAE will help export J&K’s agricultural, horticultural produce and handicrafts to Gulf markets.

Badminton Asia C’ships: Sindhu reaches semifinals with win over He Bing Jiao

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Badminton Asia C’ships: Sindhu reaches semifinals with win over He Bing Jiao

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu assured herself of at least a bronze medal at the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships after reaching the semi-final with a win over China’s He Bing Jiao in the women’s singles quarter-finals, here on Friday.

Sindhu, a former world champion, defeated the two-time world bronze medallist Jiao 21-9, 13-21, 21-19 to reach the semi-finals at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex.

The Indian settled quickly into the match and raced to an 11-2 lead at the first break in the opening game. Jiao, on the other hand, made a series of unforced errors as Sindhu wrapped up the first game convincingly. The second game saw the world No 9 He Bing Jiao tighten her defense and come back strongly after the scores were tied at 10-all. The Chinese shuttler won 11 of the next 14 points to stretch the match into the decider.

The two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu used her experience well and took six straight points early in the third game. However, PV Sindhu conceded five points on the trot before confusion over scores halted the game.

Jiao continued to mount attacks after the short break and even struck three straight points despite trailing 20-16. Sindhu, however, kept her composure to take advantage of an early lead and book a spot in the semi-finals.

World No 7 Sindhu came into the match trailing 7-9 in head-to-head encounters but it was her third straight win over her Chinese rival. The last time the duo played each other was at the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal match which Sindhu won in straight games.

The 26-year-old Sindhu will now face the winner of the match between world No 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and world No. 10 Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand for a place in Sunday’s final.

Later in the day, India’s top men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy seeded third, will take on fifth-seeded Aaron Chia and Massoh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the quarter-finals.

Top Indian badminton players Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, and Lakshya Sen were knocked out in the earlier rounds.

Harshal Patel reveals the struggles he had to go through working 12-13 hours in the US

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Harshal Patel reveals the struggles he had to go through working 12-13 hours in the US

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pace bowler Harshal Patel has revealed the struggles he and his family had to go through when they decided to move to the United States just after the global financial crisis, saying that he even had “work at this Pakistani guy’s perfume shop in Elizabeth, New Jersey” to earn a livelihood.

Patel, who was the Purple Cap winner in IPL 2021 with 32 wickets from 15 matches, far ahead of Avesh Khan (24 wickets) and India mainstay Jasprit Bumrah (21 wickets), is currently joint 11th with four others on 10 wickets (8 matches) as he aims to match his last season’s performance.

Speaking about his family’s struggles when it moved to the US, the star bowler in IPL who is also touted as a death-over specialist in the shortest format of the game, said on ‘Breakfast with champions’ that he was only 17 when things started unfolding.

“I was 17 when my parents left for the US, just after the financial crisis happened. For people who are moving from India to the US, who don’t have a lot of formal education, don’t speak the language, or don’t have any skill, the only thing they look forward is to 10 years of blue-collar labor. That was apparent to all of us. You have to do this and then you get to a place where you make your own decisions,” said Patel.

“When you go to the US for the first time, you have to look for work. I used to work at this Pakistani guy’s perfume shop in Elizabeth, New Jersey. I couldn’t speak English at all. I have studied in Gujarati medium. So that was my first encounter with the language and also the language with so much slang. Because that entire area was predominantly Latino and African-American.

“Then I picked up their English. So there used to be a regular occurrence for them that every Friday they would be getting paid and then they would come and buy USD100 perfume bottles. They would get paid USD200 dollars which would include their house rent, eating food, and everything else. Then they would revisit the shop on Monday saying, ‘Hey man I just sprayed it a couple of times. I wanna return it, man. I have no food on the table’,” he added.

Patel said the realization then dawned on him as to what blue-collar jobs really were, adding that he had to work 12-13 hours every day.

“It was a great experience for me because I learned what blue-collar jobs really are. My aunt and uncles used to go to their offices and they would drop me off on the way. They would drop me off at 7 am and the store would open at 9 am. For these two hours, I would just sit at the Elizabeth Railway Station. I would go, do my work till 7:30 to 8 pm would make 12-13 hours of work every day. I used to get paid $35 per day. So, it was not a very rosy picture of that country.”

IPL 2022: Shikhar Dhawan deserves all the accolades he’s getting, says Ravi Shastri

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IPL 2022: Shikhar Dhawan deserves all the accolades he’s getting, says Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that Punjab Kings’ senior opener Shikhar Dhawan deserves all the accolades which have been coming for him.

Shastri added that while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have received a lot of attention with their batting, Dhawan has been a serious player sandwiched between the two talismanic batters.

Dhawan has been in rollicking form for Punjab in IPL 2022, amassing 302 runs in eight matches at an average of 43.14 and strike rate of 132.45. In Punjab’s 11-run win over Chennai Super Kings, Dhawan smashed an unbeaten 88 off 59 balls and carried his bat throughout the innings in a changed batting approach from his side to post a challenging 187/6.

“I call him a gun player because in this country most of the accolades have gone to Rohit and Virat, but this man has been a serious player right between them when he’s fit. He deserves all the accolades he’s getting. He’s scored 6000 runs in IPL. He reads the conditions (very well), sees what the pitch has to offer, understands what his role is and he chooses the right bowlers to hit,” said Shastri on Cricket Live show on Star Sports.

In agreement with Shastri, former India pacer Irfan Pathan lauded Punjab’s changed batting approach against Chennai, where the side full of power-hitters shed their ultra-attacking approach and looked to build innings around Dhawan.

“Punjab Kings are the most explosive team in the powerplay this season and the reason behind it is Shikhar Dhawan’s batting. Their approach has been very simple in TATA IPL 2022 i.e. to build their innings around Dhawan, who is looking to bat deep. While Dhawan continues to play his natural game, the rest of the batsmen are providing that supporting act and looking to score aggressively in the death overs.”

Ex-England skipper Kevin Pietersen helped praise Dhawan, who became just the second cricketer after Kohli to amass 6000 runs in the history of IPL, saying he makes the best balls look ordinary.

“Best players, no matter where you’re bowling (to them), make some of the best deliveries look ordinary. That’s something that some of the best batters have, and he’s one of those guys. He has that (extra) time, that skill, and that orthodox nature whereby it doesn’t even look that he’s hitting the ball hard.”

‘GST Council’s GoM to recommend best practices to tax online gaming, horse racing’

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‘GST Council’s GoM to recommend best practices to tax online gaming, horse racing’

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s group of ministers (GoM) on online gambling, racecourses, and casinos will look to recommend best global practices while assessing taxability on services like online gaming, and horse racing, and fantasy games, Goa’s Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho said.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the GoM in the national capital on May 2, Godinho, the state’s representative to the Council, also said that after the recommendations made by the GoM, the GST council would take a final call on the taxation policy for the three services.

“It is a GOM meeting called to discuss casinos, about horse racing about online gaming, about fantasy games… as to how much of taxation should be there. What all practices are to be adopted. When I say practices, their (industry) demand is that they should be taxed on gross gaming revenue and not on the transactions taking place or the number of times they (consumers) play different games.

“We are going to adopt best practices which are there in the rest of the world, where (the) casino industry is there, where horse racing, etc things are there. Basically, as a GOM, we have to do our homework and see that the best practices as far as this particular industry is concerned is adopted, and then it will go to a fuller council of the GST where they will take a decision in totality,” he added.

The Council had formed a GoM last year in order to examine the need for alterations to the legal provisions in order to “adopt better means of valuation of these services”.

TN passes resolution to send essential items to Sri Lanka

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TN passes resolution to send essential items to Sri Lanka

Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday passed a unanimous resolution urging the central government to permit the state to send essential items, and medicines to Sri Lanka on a humanitarian basis.

The resolution was moved by Chief Minister M.K.Stalin signaling the government’s changed stance.

Earlier, the DMK government in the state had asked the central government’s permission to send the essential items to only Sri Lankan Tamils.

On Friday, moving the resolution, Stalin said the island nation is facing a severe economic crisis and the prices of essential items had gone up and are not affordable to the people.

Stalin said the Lankan problem cannot be seen as a problem of another country and “we have to lend help”.

Referring to his earlier decision to supply essential items to Lankan Tamils, Stalin said Tamils in that island nation welcoming the move had said that the entire nation is suffering and the assistance should be provided to the nation as a whole and not only to the Tamils.

Stalin said the state government has decided to ship 40,000 tons of rice (value Rs 80 crore), life-saving drugs (Rs 28 crore), and 500-ton milk powder (Rs 15 crore) to Sri Lanka.

As the state cannot send the items directly to Sri Lanka and has to be routed through the central government and Indian High Commission in the island nation and hence this resolution, Stalin said.

Earlier, Stalin had requested the central government to allow the state to ship the essential supplies including food grain, vegetables, medicines, etc., from Thoothukudi port to the Sri Lankan Tamils living in Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka and Colombo, as well as those working in the plantations who are reeling under severe food crisis.

Tamil Nadu also sees several Lankan Tamils landing in the state owing to the economic crisis in their country.

Worldwide app downloads reaches 37 bn in Q1: Report

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Worldwide app downloads reaches 37 bn in Q1: Report

The worldwide app installs have reached nearly 37 billion on the App Store and Google Play in total in the first quarter of the year 2022, says a new report.

According to Sensor Tower, TikTok exceeded 3.5 billion all-time downloads, becoming the fifth app to cross this threshold.

“In the first quarter of 2022, apps in the Games and Finance categories showed signs of recovery on the App Store and Google Play,” Sensor Tower said in a report.

Instagram’s installs were down by 7 percent quarter-over-quarter; however, it was still the app’s second-best total since at least 2014.

And the photo-sharing platform was followed by Facebook and WhatsApp.

Telegram attained the fifth position in overall downloads with the traction of more than 100 million downloads worldwide.

The top three publishers worldwide last quarter were Meta, Google, and ByteDance, all of which saw the majority of their downloads come from the non-game apps in their respective portfolios.

The rest of the top 10 were primarily game publishers. Meta, the quarter’s top publisher, reached more than 600 million downloads, narrowly edging out Google at number 2.

A recent report said that the global app adoption and consumer spending on in-app purchases, premium apps, and subscriptions across the App Store and Google Play were both relatively flat year-over-year in the first quarter of this year.

Twin blasts in Afghanistan kill 9 civilians

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Twin blasts in Afghanistan kill 9 civilians

At least nine civilians were killed and 13 others injured in twin blasts in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Afghanistan’s Balkh province, a police spokesman confirmed.

“The blasts occurred in a span of short time roughly at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Police District (PD) 3 and PD 10 of the city,” the spokesman told Xinhua news agency.

The first explosion hit a bus, while the second one came 10 minutes later in a separate location, he said.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately known, the spokesman said, adding investigation into the incidents was still on.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far.

The past week claimed to be the deadliest since the Taliban came to power last August after 128 people were killed and 161 others were injured in violent incidents.

Does MSD’s reputation as finisher demoralise the bowlers? Hogg convinced it does

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Does MSD’s reputation as finisher demoralise the bowlers? Hogg convinced it does

More than a week after Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s magic floored Mumbai Indians in a nerve-wracking thriller, former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg hailed former India and Chennai Super Kings skippers finishing skills, saying no target is big for the legendary wicketkeeper-batter because he believes in himself.

Dhoni’s blistering 13-ball unbeaten 28 on April 21 had helped CSK clinch a last-ball thriller against the five-time champions, scoring 16 runs off the last four deliveries to help Chennai win their second game in IPL 2022.

It was Dwaine Pretorius (22 off 14) and Dhoni (28 not out off 13) who hit important runs and kept CSK in the chase till the last over. CSK needed 17 runs in the last over and Pretorius was trapped leg-before by Jaydev Unadkat off the first ball. Dwayne Bravo came to bat next and took a single in the second ball of the over, with 16 still to get.

Unadkat erred in length while trying to go full and wide and ended up offering a ball in the slot that Dhoni hit for a straight six in the third ball. The left-arm pacer took the pace off on the next and went short but Dhoni saw that coming, camped back, and pulled it to the square-leg fence, taking the chase down to 6 off 2 balls.

The veteran batter took two runs in the fifth ball, bringing the equation to 4 of 1, which Dhoni polished off with a whip of the wrists on a low full toss that beat the short fine leg fielder to the fence and sealed a memorable three-wicket victory for CSK.

“MS Dhoni wants that particular moment. He wants it because he believes in himself. No target is too big. Whether it’s 15 runs an over or 30 runs an over, he still believes that he can get his team over the line. Also the reputation, he already knows that the bowler is thinking that he is good at this role at the back end and he can win from any situation,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.

Dhoni is the only player in IPL history to have chased down 15-plus runs in the final over thrice, doing so against Punjab Kings (twice) in 2010 and 2016. The latest was against Mumbai Indians in Match 33 of the IPL 2022.

Explaining further about Dhoni’s approach in the final over, Hogg said, “Dhoni’s scoring rate is not that high in the 18th and the 19th over. He is just working the ball around, making sure that he’s got control of the run rate. It’s between him and the bowler in the final over and he tries to attack the bowler in the first couple of balls. Once he does that, his reputation overrides the bowler’s mind.”

Maxwell again misses out on Australia Test berth for Sri Lanka series

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Maxwell again misses out on Australia Test berth for Sri Lanka series

Despite rumors and calls for his selection for Test-match cricket, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will remain an exclusively white-ball player, as Cricket Australia (CA) announced its sides for the multi-format, five-week tour of Sri Lanka.

Andrew McDonald’s first tour as permanent head coach has come with notable changes across all three formats. Pacer Pat Cummins will captain a 16-member squad to play in the two-Test series in Galle, while Aaron Finch will continue to lead an extended white-ball group.

After losing his place at the top of the order to Usman Khawaja during the Australian summer, Marcus Harris has missed out on a place in the Test squad altogether.

Cummins will miss the T20 leg in preparation for the Tests and ODIs, while Adam Zampa will miss the tour for the birth of his first child.

McDonald oversaw the team on an interim basis in Pakistan after Justin Langer’s resignation, winning the Test series 1-0 as part of the World Test Championship and claiming the sole T20I in what was a successful tour.

Despite rumors and calls for his selection for the Test leg of the trip, Glenn Maxwell remains an exclusively white ball player, named in both ODI and T20I squads.

With important World Test Championship points on the line, the tourists can ill-afford a similar Test series to that of their last Sri Lanka visit in 2016, falling in a heavy 3-0 clean sweep. Galle was not a happy hunting ground for the Aussies in the second Test of the series, bowled out for 106 and 183, and eventually lost by 229 runs. On the white-ball side, things were merrier for the tourists, winning both the T20I and ODI series convincingly.

The tour is one of three foreign trips for the Australian team in 2022, who are also set to travel to India for the Border-Gavaskar series in October. An Australia A squad will also travel to Sri Lanka, playing two one-day and four-day matches.

Australian Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (VC), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

Australian ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

Australian T20I Squad: Aaron Finch (c) Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner, Matthew Wade

Tour Itinerary: June 7 — First T20I, Colombo; June 8 — Second T20I, Colombo; June 11 — Third T20I, Kandy; June 14 — First ODI, Kandy; June 16 — Second ODI, Kandy; June 19 — Third ODI, Colombo; June 21 — Fourth ODI, Colombo; June 24 — Fifth ODI, Colombo; June 29-July 3 — First Test, Galle; July 8-12 — Second Test, Galle.

Naga Chaitanya’s web series ‘Dhootha’ officially announced

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Naga Chaitanya’s web series ‘Dhootha’ officially announced

Naga Chaitanya and Vikram K Kumar are to collaborate for a Prime Video original series that is currently in production. The makers of the series, titled ‘Dhootha’ made an official announcement on Thursday.

“Superstar @chay_akkineni like never before #PrimeVideoPresentsIndia #SeeWhereItTakesYou”, Prime Video’s official tweet reads.

The makers of the web series also revealed the crux of the Naga Chaitanya-starrer, as they wrote, “In this supernatural horror, possessed inanimate objects to wreak havoc on the lives of people who commit deadly sins”.

‘Dhootha’ stars Naga Chaitanya, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Prachi Desai, Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam, and others in the lead roles, as announced by the makers.

Bankrolled under renowned production company, Northstar Entertainment, the movie is directed by ‘Manam’ fame Vikram Kumar.

Naga Chaitanya’s much-anticipated movie ‘Thankyou’ is also directed by Vikram Kumar, and will hit the screens this year.

According to the most recent reports, this highly anticipated web series ‘Dhootha’ will be available for streaming on Prime Video in August or September.

Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ trailer out on May 2

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Mahesh Babu’s ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ trailer out on May 2

Mahesh Babu’s much-anticipated ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ is set for a massive theatrical release.

To raise the stakes even higher, the team is working on an action-packed theatrical trailer. The trailer’s release date has also been set. It will be released on May 2.

The makers of ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ took to their social media handles to make an official announcement regarding the same.

“The wait ends! Rocking #SVPTrailer drops on MAY 2nd. Superstar @urstrulyMahesh is all set to mesmerize you with his MASS Energy”, the creators wrote, as they shared an interesting poster on Thursday.

Mahesh Babu’s expression in the poster suggests a high-octane action sequence, as he is surrounded by his adversaries. He’s about to take on the gang with a massive set of keys.

Parasuram Petla, the director, is said to be presenting Mahesh Babu in a never-before-seen mass role. In fact, Mahesh Babu received a stylish makeover for the film, despite the fact that his role has multiple shades.

Music sensation S Thaman is presently busy scoring BGM for the trailer.

Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar, Ram Achanta, and Gopichand Achanta are jointly producing the film under Mythri Movie Makers, GMB Entertainment, and 14 Reels Plus banners.

The film has cinematography by R Madhi, while Marthand K Venkatesh takes care of editing and AS Prakash is the art director.

‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ is scheduled for its huge release on May 12.

Virat Kohli hits a six with his ‘Oo Antava’ dance

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Virat Kohli hits a six with his ‘Oo Antava’ dance

The latest public figure to be bitten by the ‘Pushpa’ bug is Indian cricketer Virat Kohli who was seen in a viral video grooving to the chartbuster track ‘Oo Antava’ from the Allu Arjun-starrer blockbuster.

Devi Sri Prasad, the music director of the film, also reacted to Virat’s performance in his composition. Speaking about the viral video, DSP said, “It’s a brilliant feeling for any musician to watch the greats of the country enjoy their music. It made me happy to watch Virat grooving to ‘Oo Antava'”.

Virat Kohli sent shockwaves across the Internet as he shook his leg to the track at Glenn Maxwell and his long-time girlfriend Vini Ramani’s wedding bash that was held in a bio-bubble.

Virat attended the wedding with his actress wife Anushka Sharma. Anushka even shared the picture of themselves from the wedding celebrations. Taking a quirky route, she wrote in the caption, “Wedding function in a bubble! Now I think I’ve seen and celebrated possibly every function and festival in a bubble! #BubbleLife.”

Digitisation of health services for quick medical treatment underway, says PM

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Digitisation of health services for quick medical treatment underway, says PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that digitization of the health services is underway in India to provide the best, quick, and trouble-free medical treatment and various health services to the people.

Addressing a big rally in Assam’s Dibrugarh, Modi said that 16 new AIIMS and one medical college in each district of the country will be set up to provide the best medical treatment to the people.

“Policy has been changed so that students can be taught in the medical colleges in their local languages and mother tongue,” Modi said after inaugurating the Dibrugarh Cancer Centre at the Assam Medical College and Hospital.

From Dibrugarh, the Prime Minister virtually inaugurated seven cancer hospitals and laid the foundation stone for seven more across Assam.

The seven cancer hospitals that were inaugurated by the Prime Minister are Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Tezpur, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Kokrajhar, and Darrang while the foundation stones were laid at Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat, Sivasagar, Nalbari, Nagaon and Tinsukia districts.

Cancer is a major problem in the northeastern region, Modi said adding that with the setting up of seven more cancer hospitals and laying of the foundation stones of seven more such hospitals, the patients would get the best treatment in their district itself.

Modi said that with the government’s efforts, over 900 medicines are now available at a very cheap rate. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that with the opening and laying of foundation stones of these cancer hospitals with world call facilities and services, not only the people of Assam and other northeastern states would be benefited, but the people of the South-East Asian countries would also be benefited.

Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan Tata, central minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and Health Minister Keshab Mahanta among others also spoke to the gathering. Assam Governor Jagadish Mukhi, central Minister Rameshwar Teli, and former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi among others were also present at the event. Tata Trust has contributed a lot to setting up these cancer hospitals in Assam.

Earlier in the day, addressing the first public rally at Loringthepi in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, the Prime Minister said that with the restoration of peace, resolving the insurgency problems and ethnic issues, development has accelerated in the northeastern region of India.

“With the decline of violent activities by 75 percent over the years, the AFSPA (Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958) has recently been withdrawn from large parts of Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur,” Modi said.

‘KGF 2’ shatters record, becomes 3rd highest-grossing Hindi film after ‘Baahubali 2’, ‘Dangal’

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‘KGF 2’ shatters record, becomes 3rd highest-grossing Hindi film after ‘Baahubali 2’, ‘Dangal’

Since its release, ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ has taken over the box office. The Yash-starrer has now become the third highest-grossing Hindi film after ‘Baahubali 2’ and ‘Dangal’ starring Aamir Khan.

According to boxofficecollection., ‘Baahubali 2’ starring Prabhas minted Rs 510.99 crore in Hindi while ‘Dangal’ collected Rs 387.38 crore in its lifetime at the box office.

‘KGF: Chapter 2’ claimed the highest opening day, opening weekend, and opening week for any film in the Hindi belt and became the fastest film to reach the Rs 250 crore benchmark.

According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the Yash-starrer action entertainer has crossed the earnings of Salman Khan’s ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’, Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’ and ‘Sanju’ featuring Ranbir Kapoor.

Adarsh tweeted: “#KGF2 crosses #TigerZindaHai, #PK and #Sanju *lifetime biz*… NOW, 3RD HIGHEST GROSSING *HINDI* FILM… (Week 2) Fri 11.56 cr, Sat 18.25 cr, Sun 22.68 cr, Mon 8.28 cr, Tue 7.48 cr, Wed 6.25 cr. Total:? 343.13 cr. #India biz. #Hindi.”

The lifetime earnings of ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ are Rs 339.16 crore, ‘PK’ has made Rs 340.80 crore and ‘Sanju’ raked in Rs 342.53 crore.

‘KGF: Chapter 2’ was released on April 14 in Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. It also stars Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon, Srinidhi Shetty, Prakash Raj, and Rao Ramesh among many others.

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