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Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway set up Chennai Super Kings 13-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad

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CHENNAI: Ahead of the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings could get a maximum of 16 points by winning all their remaining matches and thereby, had a mathematical chance of making it to the playoffs depending on other outcomes.

So the tie against SRH was a must-win game and they were also looking to ensure a handsome win, keeping the net run rate in mind (something that could come into play).

With Ravindra Jadeja handing over the captaincy back to MS Dhoni, CSK were hopeful for a turnaround.

The crucial game against Hyderabad was billed by many as Kane Williamson’s pace battery comprising of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik versus CSK batting.

In the last edition of the IPL, both Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad had kept scoring in turns in crucial games and had helped CSK bag the title. With Faf in the RCB camp and Ruturaj yet to discover the form of the last season, CSK have found it difficult to get off to good starts and register big partnerships.

Robin Uthappa, Shivam Dube and Ambati Rayudu have also been inconsistent. Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja, the two spin-bowling all-rounders, are yet to play to potential.

Ahead of Sunday’s vital tie, CSK coach Stephen Fleming had said that he was hopeful that the CSK batting can click as a unit and also wanted one player to take the game deep till the end.

Keeping in mind the situation, CSK dropped Shivam Dube and Dwayne Bravo and brought in Devon Conway and Simarjeet Singh. Those changes worked as half-centuries by Ruturaj (99) and Conway (85 not out) enabled CSK to post 202 for 2 in 20 overs.

The duo added 182 runs for the first wicket in 17.5 overs and put their team in a solid position.

Put into bat, Ruturaj and Conway began the proceedings on a positive note and runs started to flow from the meat of the blade. To counter genuine fast bowling, one needs to bring the cut, pull and hook into their range of play. That is exactly what Conway and Ruturaj did. Conway pulled Bhuvneshwar to the square leg fence for a four and Ruturaj did the same against Jansen over long leg for a six to show their intent as CSK reached 40/0 at the end of powerplay.

A wide slash off Umran marked Ruturaj’s 50. Confidence was visible in Ruturaj’s play as he continued to find the gaps. Conway played the perfect foil at the other end to lend solid support as the CSK openers made merry and posted 151 runs in less than 15 overs. It was not all about hitting as the opening duo did show excellent understanding while running between the wickets too.

The only miss was perhaps Ruturaj missing a century after getting so close. Eager to reach the magical figure, he mistimed the ball and scooped it to Bhuvneshwar at backward point off the bowling of T Natarajan.

Chasing 203, Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson began the chase in an aggressive manner. Newcomer Simarjeet erred in line and length and was thus hit all over the park. His first spell of two overs cost 24 runs.

Thereafter, Mukesh Chaudhary, who had dropped Abhishek on 20, made up for his lapse to get rid of the Hyderabad opener and also sent Rahul Tripathi back in the very next ball.
SRH skipper Kane Williamson (47) and Nicholas Pooran (64 not out) played well but that was not enough. In the end, CSK were the victors by 13 runs.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 202/2 in 20 overs (Gaikwad 99, Conway 85 n.o) bt Sunrisers Hyderabad 189/6 in 20 overs (Williamson 47, Pooran 64; Choudhary 4/46)

India’s Covid positivity rate past 1 per cent again after two months

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NEW DELHI: India’s Covid case positivity rate went past one per cent again after over two months as the country witnessed a single-day rise of 3,157 infections and 26 fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

The rise reported on Monday pushed the country’s overall Covid tally to 4,30,82,345 cases and 5,23,869 deaths, the data said.

The number of active cases rose by 408 in a 24-hour span to reach 19,500, the data updated at 8 am showed.

At 1.07 per cent, the daily positivity went past one per cent again after a little over two months, the ministry said.

It was at 1.11 per cent on February 27. The weekly positivity rate was 0.70 per cent, according to the health ministry.

Positivity rate refers to percentage of all coronavirus tests performed that return positive result. A higher positive rate means higher transmission rate for the virus.

The death toll has now climbed to 5,23,869 with the latest 26 fatalities being reported, 21 of them from Kerala alone.

The active cases constitute 0.05 per cent of the total infections. The country’s COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.74 per cent, the health ministry said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 4,25,38,976, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 189.23 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

The 26 new fatalities include 21 from Kerala, two from Odisha and one each from Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

A total of 5,23,869 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,47,843 from Maharashtra, 69,068 from Kerala, 40,102 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,175 from Delhi, 23,508 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,202 from West Bengal.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with (those of) the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

Rana couple part of plot to topple Maha govt: Cops

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MUMBAI:  In the sedition case involving the Rana couple, the Mumbai police on Friday filed an affidavit before a special judge alleging that the couple was part of a larger conspiracy of the BJP to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. 

Independent MLA Ravi Rana and his wife Navneet Rana, a Lok Sabha MP, recently announced recitation of Hanuman Chalisa outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence. They were arrested on sedition and other charges.ADVERTISEMENT

Opposing bail for the couple, public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat on Friday submitted a 19-page affidavit of the Mumbai police against the Rana couple. The affidavit said the couple faced serious charges of forgery and attempt to murder. The court will hear the bail application on April 30. 

The affidavit claimed that the alleged conspiracy was meant to create a law and order situation. “Some BJP leaders who have been deprived of power are strongly opposing the administrative policies of the present government and criticizing Shiv Sena for their stand on Hindutva. Therefore, political parties including independent MLA and Lok Sabha MP are raising a non-issue alleging that the Chief Minister is against Hindutva,” said the affidavit. 

Karnataka: BSY calls Congress a sinking ship

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DAVANGERE: Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday said that BJP’s victories in the four States have boost the confidence of the Karnataka BJP workers and he exuded confidence of winning 150 seats in 2023 Assembly elections.

Addressing the public during the foundation stone-laying ceremony for various development projects in Jagaluru town, he described Congress as an “orphan” and a “sinking ship”, which will lose its existence in Karnataka too.

“The development works initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led the party to victory in four out of five States, which clearly indicates his popularity, and we want to replicate the same in Karnataka,” he said.

Taking note of the results from the Uttar Pradesh, the former CM said that the Congress is totally wiped out there Their last bastion, Karnataka, will be lost soon after the Assembly poll results, he claimed.Yediyurappa also said that he along with the BJP team will visit all the constituencies and try to achieve the target of 150 seats determined by the party high command.

“The 2.4 tmc feet of water allocated to Jagaluru will help improve the water table of the drought-prone taluk,” he said.

24 forest fires a day in Himachal this month

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CHANDIGARH:  With an unprecedented heat wave this April, forest fires in Himachal Pradesh have also seen a spurt. On an average, the state has seen 24 forest fires daily this month with a total of 645 blazes reported till Wednesday. 

A total of 4,977 hectares of area have been affected by the fires, which have caused maximum damage to pine trees that constitute about 15 per cent of the total forest cover in Himachal.  The forest fire season in Himachal usually lasts from April 1 to June 30. This year, the fires started two weeks early due to a sudden rise in temperature and prolonged dry spell, a senior official of the department said.

“Some 9,000 forest fire volunteers have been roped in to help the forest department staff to report and contain the fires. Home guard volunteers and ITBP and police personnel also are extending help. We have identified 150 most vulnerable forest ranges and are taking extra precautions there. The Forest Fire Alert Messaging System is being updated quarterly,” the official said.

Forest officials claim that most fire incidents are caused by human negligence and start in and around habitations. Specific instructions have been issued to all the field officers to ensure publicity material is distributed to people to make them aware about consequences of forest fires.

Environmentalists have suggested that a policy should be framed and the inflammable pine should be replaced with broad-leafed trees in the lower hills. “While most reports put the blame of fires on rising mercury and rural miscreants, much of the blame also lies with the afforestation policies, which till the 1980s pushed pine monocultures,” said environmentalist Manshi Asher. 

COVID: India reports 3,688 new infections, 50 fatalities

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NEW DELHI: India saw a single day rise of 3,688 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,30,75,864, while the active cases increased to 18,684, the government said on Saturday.

The active cases constituted 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national recovery rate was recorded at 98.74 per cent, the health ministry said.

An increase of 883 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of last 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.74 per cent and weekly positivity rate at 0.66 per cent, the data said.

The number of people who have recovered from the disease has increased to 4,25,33,377, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent.

The number of doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 188.89 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally crossed the two crore-mark on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year.

Out of 50 fatalities, 45 were reported from Kerala, two each from Delhi and Maharashtra, and one from Uttar Pradesh.

Of total deaths so far, 1,47,842 have been reported from Maharashtra, 69,011 from Kerala, 40,099 from Karnataka, 38,025 from Tamil Nadu, 26,174 from Delhi, 23,507 from Uttar Pradesh, and 21,201 from West Bengal, among other states.

The health ministry has stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification.

South Africa likely in new COVID wave, says health minister

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JOHANNESBURG: South Africa has likely entered a new wave of Covid-19 earlier than expected as new infections and hospitalizations have risen rapidly over the past two weeks, the country’s health minister said on Friday.

“Whichever way you look at it, it does suggest that we may actually be entering the fifth wave much earlier,” Health Minister Joe Phaahla said Friday at a televised press briefing.

He said officials will be watching carefully over the next few days to determine if the increase is sustained which would confirm a new wave.

The country’s new infections are now several thousand per day, up from a few hundred a few weeks ago.

According to Phaahla, there was currently no information indicating the emergence of a new strain, which scientists had earlier suggested may drive the country’s fifth wave, expected during the country’s upcoming winter season from May into June.

“We have always been informed that when a new wave comes, it will be driven by a new variant, but at this stage we have not been alerted to a definite new variant except changes in the omicron,” said Phaahla.

Three South African provinces — Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape — currently are accounting for 85% of new infections, with the positivity rate in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal above 20%, he said.

Hospitalizations from the new cases are increasing but are still relatively low, Dr. Waasila Jassat from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said.

“We are starting to see a small rise in hospital admissions in the private and public sector,” said Jassat. “Since around the 17 of April, we are seeing a sharp increase in hospital admissions.”

South Africa has experienced the highest number of infections in Africa since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, accounting for more than a quarter of the continent’s 11.4 million cases.

More than 252,000 people in South Africa have died from the virus, but the numbers are considered to be much higher when considering the number of excess deaths recorded since the pandemic compared to the same periods before the pandemic.

Just over 44% of South Africa’s adult population has been vaccinated.

Mobile internet services suspended in Punjab’s Patiala

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CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Saturday suspended mobile internet and SMS services, except voice calls, in Patiala district a day after clashes between two groups over an anti-Khalistan march left four people injured.

The order to suspend the services was issued by the home affairs and justice department and heavy police security was deployed at the site of the clashes outside the Kali Mata temple in Patiala.ADVERTISEMENT

“In exercise of power conferred upon me by virtue of temporary suspension of telecom services (public emergency or public safety) rules, 2017, I Anurag Verma, principal secretary, home affairs and justice, do hereby order suspension of the mobile internet services (2G/3G/45/CDMA), all SMS services and all dongle services etc provided on mobile networks except voice calls in the territorial jurisdiction of the district of Patiala from 9:30 am to 6 pm on April 30,” the order read.

Four people were injured as the two groups clashed and hurled stones at each other on Friday and police fired in the air to bring the situation under control.

ED seizes Rs 5,551 crore from Chinese telecom firm Xiaomi in Bengaluru

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BENGALURU: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), in one of its biggest operations, seized Rs 5,551.27 crore from a Bengaluru-based Chinese telecom firm Xiaomi Technology India.The seizure was made after months-long investigations by ED. Xiaomi, which is one of the top mobile phone brands in the country, has an annual turnover of Rs 34,000 crore. The money has been seized from four bank accounts of Xiaomi under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

ED sources said the company had already sent a major portion of the money to its group companies in China. “The balance amount was lying in its four bank accounts at HSBC, Citi Bank, IDBI and Deutsche Bank,” the official source said.The royalty amount has been remitted based on the instruction of its Chinese parent group. A certain amount has also been remitted to two more unrelated US-based entities, the source added.

The company has been operating in India since 2014 and as per the agreement, it procures the completely manufactured handsets from manufacturers in India. These contract manufacturers have a direct arrangement with the group entities of Xiaomi based in China for supplying raw material and manufacturing of mobile sets as per the specifications provided by Xiaomi China, ED stated.

“Xiaomi India has not provided any technological input or software-related assistance to these contract manufacturers. Interestingly, Xiaomi India has transferred money to the three foreign-based entities from which they have not availed any kind of service,” ED authorities said.The Company, without having any authorisation, remitted the money — a violation of Section 4 of FEMA. The company allegedly also provided misleading information to the banks while remitting the money abroad.

Left parties stage protest, say anti-encroachment drives in Delhi creating environment of hate

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New Delhi: The Left parties staged a protest here on Thursday against the Delhi civic bodies’ anti-encroachment drives, alleging that the ruling BJP and the RSS are pursuing “destructive bulldozer politics” and creating an environment of hate in the name of removing illegal constructions.

Nearly 100 people belonging to the Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) gathered at Jantar Mantar, demanding the Centre to put a stop to such activities.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, party leader Brinda Karat and CPI-ML politburo member Kavita Krishnan were present in the demonstration.

“The BJP and the RSS are creating an environment of hate in the name of removing encroachments in Delhi. We have seen this happening in Jahangirpuri and now they are planning to conduct similar activities at other locations in the national capital too. We are demanding the government to end such practices, CPI-ML Delhi secretary Ravi Rai said.

The BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Tuesday cracked down on encroachers in all its four zones and removed temporary structures and illegal hoardings, and impounded vehicles, freeing a nearly five km road stretch, officials said.

The move came after Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta wrote to mayors of South Delhi and East Delhi corporations on April 20, seeking removal of encroachments by Rohingya, Bangladeshis and anti-social elements” in their areas.

Last week, an anti-encroachment drive conducted by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) in Jahangirpuri area, which witnessed violence between two communities on April 16, had drawn widespread criticism. The Supreme Court had to intervene to stop the demolition drive there.

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