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Sai Sudharsan delivered a stunning performance on Sunday, scoring an unbeaten 108 off just 61 balls as the Gujarat Titans cruised to a dominant 10-wicket win over the Delhi Capitals, securing their place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs. Opening the innings, Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill put together an unbroken 205-run partnership — the third-highest opening stand in IPL history — as Gujarat comfortably chased down the target in 19 overs. Gill contributed a commanding 93 not out from 53 balls. Their effort overshadowed Lokesh Rahul’s impressive 112* from 65 balls — his fifth IPL century — which helped Delhi post 199-3 in their 20 overs. The loss marked Delhi’s fifth defeat in seven matches. With this win, Gujarat Titans moved to the top of the IPL standings with 18 points from 12 games. The result also ensured playoff berths for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (second with 17 points) and Punjab Kings (third with 17 points), as Gujarat's victory over fifth-placed Delhi widened the gap. Delhi has 13 points and is a point behind fourth-placed Mumbai Indians, who occupy the fourth and final playoff spot, with two regular season matches remaining. Lucknow Super Giants is currently seventh with 10 points from only 11 games. Punjab beat Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs earlier Sunday to secure its playoff spot. Rahul’s century in vain Rahul scored his fifth IPL century overall as Delhi rode on a blistering knock to present a challenging score. Mustafiz to leave for IPL after playing first T20I vs UAE He hit 14 fours and four sixes, and put on a vital 90 off 52 balls with Abhishek Porel (30). Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs also had cameos – but there wasn’t a second major contribution alongside Rahul, who reached 100 off 60 balls. In reply, Gujarat relied on its in-form openers to confirm a spot in the knockouts. The duo dominated Delhi’s bowling, hitting 11 sixes and 15 fours altogether. Gill scored 50 off 33 balls, including four sixes, and then added another three. Sudharsan hit 12 fours and four sixes. Three of those sixes came after he scored 50 off 30 balls and helped him gallop to a second IPL century.   Punjab wins Nehal Wadhera scored 70 off 37 balls to lead Punjab Kings to a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals. Wadhera smashed five sixes and five fours in his second half-century of the season in Punjab’s 219-5 in 20 overs. Shashank Singh’s 59 not out off 30 balls also helped the Kings cross the 200-mark. Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar then took 3-22 in four overs as Rajasthan’s chase lost momentum despite half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaisal and Dhruv Jurel. The Royals were restricted to 209-7 for a 10th loss this season. Wadhera took charge of the innings after Punjab was down to 34-3 in 3.1 overs, rebuilding it with a 67-run partnership off 44 balls with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who scored 30 off 25 balls. Wadhera reached 50 off 25 balls, and then added 58 off 33 with Shashank Singh which set up the base for a 200-plus score. Singh hit five fours and three sixes, while also finding an able partner in Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 21 not out off nine balls. The duo added 60 runs off the last four overs. In reply, Rajasthan made a quick-fire start. Jaiswal took 22 runs off the first over, and added 76 off 29 balls with his teenage opening partner Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The latter scored 40 off 15 balls, with four sixes, before he was caught off Brar in the fifth over. Jaiswal carried on despite the breakthrough, scoring 50 off 25 balls, before he holed out too – again off Brar in the ninth over. Rajasthan started losing steam afterward with Sanju Samson (20) and Riyan Parag (13) unable to keep up the momentum.    

Prabhsimran Singh powered Punjab Kings to a 37-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday, scoring a commanding 91 off just 48 deliveries and helping his team climb to second place in the Indian Premier League standings. Singh notched his fourth half-century of the season, smashing seven sixes and six fours in a blistering innings that propelled Punjab to a total of 236 for 5 in their 20 overs. Captain Shreyas Iyer added valuable support with a quickfire 45 off 25 balls, which included two sixes. Lucknow’s chase finished at 199-7 despite Ayush Badoni’s 74 off 40 balls, and the Super Giants took a blow in its bid for a top-four place. Lucknow is now seventh after 11 games – with five wins and six losses. Punjab has 15 points from 11 games and sits between leader Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians. Gujarat Titans completes the top four. Kane finally wins his first career title as Bayern Munich becomes Bundesliga champion Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals by one run to keep its top-four bid alive. Stand-in skipper Riyan Parag smashed five sixes in one over but still finished on the losing team as Rajasthan’s chase fell agonizingly short. Parag hit eight sixes overall in his 45-ball 95. Rajasthan finished on 205-8 in its 20 overs with Varun Chakravarthy (2-32), Harshit Rana (2-41) and Moeen Ali (2-43) taking six wickets between them. This was after Andre Russell’s 57 not out off 25 balls propelled Kolkata to a total of 206-4. Kolkata is now sixth in the points’ table, with five wins in 11 games, and can still make the top four. Rajasthan is eighth with its ninth loss in 12 games, and was already eliminated along with Chennai Super Kings.    

Reports of a gold discovery worth an estimated Rs800 billion in Attock, Punjab, have sparked widespread excitement on social media. However, Pakistan’s federal government and the Foreign Office have yet to confirm the news. The claims stem from a tweet by Ibrahim Hassan Murad, a former Punjab provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals, who announced the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) had confirmed the discovery of 2.8 million tolas of gold spanning a 32-kilometer area. "This revelation underscores the immense potential of Punjab’s mineral wealth, which could play a pivotal role in the region’s economic growth," Murad stated. He termed the discovery as a milestone that could open new opportunities for future generations. Bodies of 11 workers who died in a Pakistan coal mine blast recovered The current provincial Minister for Mines and Minerals, Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani, corroborated the claim, affirming the presence of the gold reserves. Speaking to Urdu daily Jang, Gorchani said the provincial government had been collaborating with the GSP to study the deposits since last year. To determine the reserves' full value, Gorchani disclosed plans to involve firms like Nespak for additional evaluations. Based on global gold prices, he estimated the reserves’ market value at Rs600-800 billion. Securing the Area and Next Steps To protect the valuable resource, the provincial government has increased security around the mining sites. Gorchani also revealed that an international auction for the gold deposits is scheduled for the coming month. The discovery, if verified, could significantly boost Pakistan's mining sector, offering transformative economic benefits, job creation, and the development of new industries. With input from Gulf News

The flood situation in the northern Indian state of Punjab has remained grim as the flood water on Monday entered more villages inundating houses, crop lands and roads. At least 36 villages in Tarn Taran, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts were inundated due to fresh breaches in the Sutlej river. Also read : Onion prices soar in Khulna market after India slaps duty on export Officials said the situation in the Sutlej remained dangerous in Ferozepur district and authorities are watching closely the situation at vulnerable locations along the embankments. According to officials, so far over 70,000 people have been affected by the floods in the seven affected districts. Also read : India is a mature govt, they can say something for regional interest: Momen Floods in Punjab were triggered by the release of water from the Bhakra and Pong dams in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. Last week landslides, cloudbursts, flash floods and house collapses triggered by heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh killed over 70 people. The incessant rains also pushed the water level up in several dams of the state. Reports said at least 20,000 residents of nearly a dozen villages in Punjab's Fazilka district were facing fresh flooding in the wake of the heavy discharge from the Hussainiwala Headworks. With roads waterlogged these villages are at present connected to the mainland only through boats. Also read : India imposes 40% duty on onion exports effective today Meanwhile, the situation in villages in Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, Rupnagar and Hoshiarpur districts has started improving. The overflow of the Sutlej river has also led to the drowning of posts of border guards belonging to the Border Security Force. Many outposts and fencing on the Ferozepur border of Punjab have been submerged. In addition, 14 villages have been cut off from other districts. The local administration is trying to establish contact with these villages. Authorities in these flood-hit districts have deployed teams of the National Disaster Response Force, army and border guards to carry out rescue operations. Meanwhile, a local media report said police in Ludhiana district booked four persons who were allegedly found fishing and bathing in the raging waters of swollen Sutlej. The local administration has already issued warnings to the public to avoid going near the banks. Last month floods also hit 19 districts of the state, claiming 41 lives.

The match was no great shakes with very little competition let alone a cricket duel. Punjab Kings put to bat first lost wickets regularly but seemed allergic to making runs. They stopped at 111 in a bizarre run out as Mustafiz bowled an excellent final giving only 4/5. In the last ball , Arshadeep moved to get a run but the batter wasn’t interested and so he was marooned and was run out casually by the keeper. Everyone seemed perplexed by it all including the Delhi Capitals who were playing under the shadow of a Covid scare. It summed up Punjab kings well on the day, lost and ran out. The Fizz was back and many Bangladeshis watched the match with some degree of anxiety, hoping that nobody would do a 28 in a single over to Fizz like the last game.  Thank heavens no one did and Fizz had a decent figure of 1 for 28 runs with 7 rpo. PK was hardly in a murderous mood and all the bowlers were spared the agony of being bashed to the boundaries. Confidence in the Fizz is still there and he looked fine in the field . Khaleel,Llatif, Axar and Kuldeep all got 2 wickets and basically the bowlers did their job so well that the match was basically over once Punjab folded their innings. In the chase, Delhi barely crossed the 10th over taking only 63 runs to reach their target. Warner was fantastic in his 60 and had a strike rate of 200%. He was partnered by Prithvi Shaw who was out on 41 with a strike rate of 205 %. It was a great match for watching boundaries and both hit at will. Shaw was the only wicket Delhi lost and Sarfaraz coming in next didn’t have to do much before victory was won. READ: IPL Nights: RCB complete comfortable win over tame Lucknow It was awfully one sided.  As the Punjab captain Mayank Agarwal said,  “We didn't bat and bowl well, we just need to move on from today.”  That spirit was on display sadly for their fans. So how does one rate a match that was predictable as soon as just one innings was over? Not much fun. IPL T20 is an adrenalin fix and that means the dose has to be increased regularly to keep the viewer hooked.  After 2 sort of not very exciting matches in a row, even the Fizz being taken to the dhobi seems worth watching again. Oh, the dangerous pleasures of T20 cricket cocaine. 

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran inaugurated a Bangabandhu Corner at the Chandigarh University in Punjab Wednesday. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of the Bangabandhu Corner and collaboration in academic exchanges was signed between the university and the high commission. Referring to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a legendary world leader, Chandigarh University Pro-Chancellor Dr RS Bawa hoped that the corner would pave the way to establishing a Bangabandhu Centre in the future, allowing the students to pursue comparative studies between India-Bangladesh.