Trending

Rishabh Pant failed again on Sunday against Mumbai Indians.

Rishabh Pant’s miserable form continued as he fell for a 2-ball four against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Pant played a reverse sweep straight to short third man. It was a poor shot from the Lucknow Super Giants captain.
It was a full ball from Will Jacks on the stumps. Pant went low, looking to scoop it for a reverse sweep, a shot that wasn’t required, and ended up mistiming it, chipping it straight to Karn Sharma.
Pant is having a difficult season so far, with only 110 runs in ten games, including a knock of 63. These numbers are quite low for a player of his stature. If he fails to find his rhythm, this will be the first time since 2016 that he scores less than 200 runs in an IPL season.
Who’s that IPL player?
In his comeback season last year, he amassed 446 runs for Delhi Capitals in 13 games and also scored three half-centuries.
Pant was acquired by LSG for ₹27 crore in last year’s auction, becoming the most expensive player in the league’s history.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians rode on half-centuries by Ryan Rickelton (58) and Suryakumar Yadav (54) to reach a challenging 215/7 in 20 overs against Lucknow Super Giants in Match 45 of the IPL.

Rickelton gave the innings an early push with a half-century off 25 balls after MI were asked to bat first by LSG skipper Rishabh Pant. Suryakumar Yadav then provided further momentum with a typically innovative 54 off 28 balls, becoming the highest scorer of the season with 417 runs in 10 innings.
In scorching hot conditions made worse by high humidity, Rickelton caught fire from the second over, storming to his fifty in just 25 balls and scoring the season’s fastest half-century for the Mumbai Indians, who are on a four-match unbeaten run in IPL 2025.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday became the second fastest to reach 4000 runs by balls faced in the IPL.
For LSG, Mayank Yadav and Avesh Khan claimed two wickets each, with figures of 2-40 and 2-42 respectively, while Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, and Ravi Bishnoi each bagged a wicket.

Pahalgam, hit by terror that cost 26 lives, appears to have bounced back with tourists who wanted to enjoy summer in Kashmir Valley, sticking to their travel plans. The refrain was — “We thought it over and decided to come”.

The scenic area that had drawn the “Little Switzerland” tag, was opened to tourists a couple of days after Tuesday’s attack. Ground Zero of the attack, Baisaran meadow, is still shut though. 

For a few days after the group of terrorists emerged from the pine forests around the meadow and opened fire on a group of unsuspecting tourists, the bustling tourist hub had almost emptied out. 

In place of 5,000 to 7,000 sightseers a day, hardly 100 could be seen after the massacre, raising spectres of unemployment for locals who mostly depend on tourism.

But on Sunday, a heartening scene unfolded on the streets of Pahalgam as foreign and domestic tourists strolled through the town, bringing back a sense of normalcy.

Displaying remarkable resilience and optimism, tourists from across India said such incidents can happen anywhere. 

A group visiting from Maharashtra said they were not afraid because they have the support of travel agents and their tour group. “We should not be afraid. What will happen, will happen,” one of them said. 

Croatian and Serbian tourists were seen exploring the streets of Pahalgam, completely at ease. 

Vlatko, a tourist from Croatia, said: “It is my 10th time in Kashmir and every time it is fantastic. For me, it is number one in the world, natural, soft people. My group is very happy; it’s their first time here, Croatian and Serbian people.”

Asked about safety, he said, “I feel totally safe, no problem here. Everywhere, people say hello – zero, zero scared.”

Ljiljana from Croatia told news agency ANI that they were feeling “very safe”. “We don’t have any problem staying here. Kashmir is beautiful, very beautiful. We are very, very satisfied with your nature, and people are very kind,” she said. 

Admir Jahic, another tourist from Croatia, echoed similar sentiments. Asked about the attack, he said, “I didn’t feel any fear. I know it is not something that regularly happens here. If you are afraid, you can stay at home, but even there it can happen. It happens in Europe, it happens everywhere. There’s no safe place in the world anymore”.
 

The heated exchange between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi over the Enforcement Directorate’s raids against illegal coal mining in the Northeastern state has taken a turn for the personal.

While Mr Sarma has alleged that Mr Gogoi’s wife Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi receives salary from a Pakistan-based NGO and that she and their children are not Indian citizens, the Congress MP has hit back, questioning if the Chief Minister was ready for questions about his wife and children.

Earlier, Mr Gogoi said the Enforcement Directorate had “exposed Assam’s illegal coal empire”. “Rs 1.58 Crore cash seized. Fake invoices. 1200 tonnes of illegal coal extracted DAILY in Margherita, Jogighopa, Guwahati. All under the nose of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, who kept denying illegal mining,” he said in a post on X.

“Is this loot possible without the government’s protection? Who is Assam’s real Syndicate Raja? When ED raids & HC summons expose the truth, how long will the CM hide behind denials?” he added.

Mr Sarma said the Congress MP’s remarks had exposed the Opposition party’s stand on the Enforcement Directorate. “On one hand, @RahulGandhi and his camp are relentlessly maligning the ED, calling it a political tool. On the other hand, their own Deputy Leader is busy glorifying the very same agency. This doublespeak reflects the utter confusion and hypocrisy within Congress,” he said.

⸻

Questions for the Hon’ble Member of Parliament from the Congress Party:
1.Did you visit Pakistan for a continuous period of 15 days? If so, could you kindly clarify the purpose of your visit?https://t.co/a83u47Zq6L it true that your wife continues to receive a salary from a…

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 27, 2025

The Chief Minister’s attack then turned personal. Without naming Mr Gogoi, he posted questions for him. “Did you visit Pakistan for a continuous period of 15 days? If so, could you kindly clarify the purpose of your visit? Is it true that your wife continues to receive a salary from a Pakistan-based NGO while residing and working in India? If so, may we ask why a Pakistan-based organization is paying a salary for activities conducted in India? What is the citizenship status of your wife and your two children? Are they Indian citizens, or do they hold the citizenship of any other country? Many more questions will follow,” he said.

Questions for the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam

1) Will you resign if you fail to prove your allegations of me and my wife being agents of an enemy country ?

2) Will you take questions on your own children and wife ?

3) Will the state police arrest those linked to coal mafia… https://t.co/KEhs4h9M1R

— Gaurav Gogoi (@GauravGogoiAsm) April 27, 2025

The Congress MP from Jorhat responded with a list of questions. “Will you resign if you fail to prove your allegations of me and my wife being agents of an enemy country? Will you take questions on your own children and wife? Will the state police arrest those linked to coal mafia who make are ravaging the hills of Assam and making crores of undeclared money? Waiting for the SIT report to be submitted,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Sarma, once a close aide of Mr Gogoi’s father and former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, had said the state would witness a political storm due to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s alleged Pakistan links. “SIT has found many inputs regarding links of a number of Indian individuals with Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. The SIT has also found multiple links of Ali Sheikh in India, and more revelations will come up in the next few days,” he said, adding that the SIT has been asked to complete the probe by September.

I would like to clarify that neither I nor my son and daughter have ever visited Pakistan. Furthermore, my wife and our entire family would never even think of accepting any salary or financial support from Pakistan.
All members of my family, including my wife, son, and daughter,… https://t.co/7seOlw2WaZ

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 27, 2025

In his response to the Congress MP, Mr Sarma said, “I would like to clarify that neither I nor my son and daughter have ever visited Pakistan. Furthermore, my wife and our entire family would never even think of accepting any salary or financial support from Pakistan.”

“All members of my family, including my wife, son, and daughter, are Indian citizens. None of my children has ever surrendered or renounced Indian citizenship. Now, it is your turn to answer. In the coming days, sufficient material will be placed in the public domain exposing the connections between the concerned Congress Member of Parliament and Pakistan. Wait for 10th September 2025,” he said.

The Assam Chief Minister also invoked the late Tarun Gogoi and said, “What can be more heartbreaking than late Tarun Gogoi’s grandchildren not being Indian citizens? As our investigation digs deeper, more details are being unravelled.”

Mr Gogoi said none of his questions were answered and added, “Wait for 2026”. Assembly polls in Assam are due next year.

Mr Sarma’s personal attack on Mr Gogoi and his wife, citing his alleged Pakistan links, comes amid nationwide outrage over the Pahalgam terror attack that left 25 tourists and a Kashmiri dead. Assam police has launched a crackdown against those making controversial remarks on the terror strike, with Mr Sarma stressing that “Assam will not tolerate any individual who, directly or indirectly, supports or defends Pakistan in connection with the heinous attack in Pahalgam”. 

Lucknow: Lucknow Super Giants’ Shardul Thakur warms up before an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings, at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, in Lucknow. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav) *** Local Caption ***

Mayank Yadav has replaced Shardul Thakur in the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) playing XI against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
After an extended rehabilitation at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE), pace sensation Mayank Yadav joined LSG on April 16 but had to wait before making his return.
Captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to field first against Mumbai Indians.
“We are bowling first. We feel the wicket is still on the batting side. It is a day game. We want to make use of the slightly drier conditions under the sun. It will get better for batting during the second innings,” he said at the toss.
“We are in a good space, and personally, it is easier to put the team ahead, which makes it easier. Definitely, it feels good. Personally, I don’t think about it too much. We are taking every day as a new day.
“Just one change. Instead of Shardul, Mayank comes in.”
Mayank’s last competitive game was back in October 2024 when he featured in the T20I against Bangladesh in Hyderabad. He has been out of action since then because of a back injury.
Who’s that IPL player?
His comeback was further delayed by a toe injury during his time at the CoE.
With a history of injury issues — as many as five stress fractures in the last two years — the LSG camp has operated with caution as far as Mayank is concerned.

Even in the 2024 edition of IPL, he played only four games and was ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a side strain.
On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have made two changes, bringing in Karn Sharma for Mitchell Santner and debutant Corbin Bosch for Vignesh Puthur.
Playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma
Lucknow Super Giants: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(wk/capt), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav

Pakistan’s former cricketer Shahid Afridi displays the trophy before start of the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between England and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Saturday, March 1, 2025. AP/PTI

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has blamed the incompetence of the Indian Army for the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed, calling them “useless.”
“Patakha phat jaata hai wahaan par, Pakistan ne kiya (Even if a firecracker bursts there, they will blame it on Pakistan),” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
“Tum logon ki 8 lakh ki fauz hai Kashmir mein aur yeh ho gaya. Iska matlab nalayak ho, nikamme ho na tum log ki security de nahi sake logon ko (You have an 800,000-strong army in Kashmir and this still happened. It means you are inefficient and useless if you couldn’t provide security to the people),” he added.
Afridi also slammed the Indian media for their “senseless” coverage of the terror attack.
“Hairat hoti hai ki hamle ke ek ghante ke baad hi unka media Bollywood ban gaya. Khuda ke liye har kuch ko Bollywood mat banao (It’s surprising that within an hour of the attack, their media turned into Bollywood. For God’s sake, don’t make everything Bollywood).”
“Main hairaan ho gaya, balki main enjoy kar raha tha jis tarah ki woh baatein kar rahe they (I was astonished, in fact, I was enjoying the way they were talking).”
“Main keh raha tha dekho inki soch, yeh apne aap ko padhe likhe log kehte hain (I was saying, look at their thinking, and they call themselves educated people).”
Who’s that IPL player?
Without taking the names of any former Indian cricketers, Afridi also slammed them for blaming Pakistan without any proof.
“Do cricketers jo India se itni cricket khele hue hain. Ambassadors reh chuke hain, top cricketers reh chuke hain unki taraf se direct Pakistan (There are two cricketers who have played so much cricket for India. They have been ambassadors and top cricketers, yet they directly blame Pakistan).”
“Bhai kyun Pakistan? Koi saboot hi dikha do yaar (Brother, why Pakistan? Just show some proof).”
Afridi also cited the examples of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is still in a Pakistan jail, and Abhinandan Varthaman, who was returned by the Pakistan army after being captured.
“We have given you the proofs. Ek abhi bhi humare paas hai, ek ko humne chai pila ke wapis bhi kar diya (One is still with us, and the other we sent back after offering him a cup of tea).”
“Show us the proof, don’t blame us unnecessarily.”

The former all-rounder also blamed India for the unrest in Balochistan.
“What is happening in our country? What is happening in Balochistan? We all know who is behind it. We never made any allegations. We gave the proof to India and the world,” he said.

Every Indian’s blood is boiling and each one of them is feeling the pain of those who lost their own in the terror attack at Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today, appealing to the country to remain united during this time of crisis.

Addressing the country in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme, the Prime Minister said the Pahalgam attack shows the frustration and cowardice of the “masters of terror”. “Peace in Kashmir was returning. There was vibrancy in schools and colleges, unprecedented speed in development work, democracy was becoming strong, a record increase in the number of tourists, incomes were increasing and new opportunities were emerging for the youth. The enemies of the country, of Jammu and Kashmir, did not like this,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the April 22 attack had pained every Indian, irrespective of the state he/she is from or the language they speak. “I feel every India’s blood is boiling on seeing pictures of the terror attack,” he said.

The whole world, the Prime Minister said, was with India. “I assure the bereaved families that they will get justice. Those behind this attack will get the harshest punishment. Terrorists and their masters plotted this conspiracy because they want to destroy Kashmir,” he said.

“The unity of 140 crore Indians is the biggest strength in this war against terror. This unity is the basis of our decisive war against terror. We have to strengthen our ideals to face this challenge. We have to show our willpower as a nation. The whole world is watching how the country is speaking in one voice,” he said.

Twenty-five tourists and a Kashmiri man were shot dead in cold blood at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on April 22. This was one of the most ghastly terror attacks the Kashmir Valley has seen.

Prime Minister Modi has said India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers and our spirit will never be broken.

“The whole country is with the bereaved families. The government is trying its best to ensure the well-being of those injured. Someone has lost a son, someone has lost a brother, someone has lost life partner. Someone spoke Bengali, someone spoke Kannada, someone was Marathi, someone was Odia, someone was Gujarati and someone was Bihar’s son. From Kargil to Kanyakumari, there is grief and rage. This attack was not just on innocent tourists; the country’s enemies have shown the audacity to attack India’s soul,” the Prime Minister said at a rally in Bihar last week.

The Prime Minister said the terrorists who carried out the attack and those who plotted it would “get a punishment they cannot imagine”. “The time has come to raze whatever is left of the terror haven. The will of 140 crores will break the back of the masters of terror,” he said, his words directed at Pakistan, which is known to have backed acts of terror on Indian soil,” he said.

India has taken multiple diplomatic steps against Pakistan in the wake of the attack. The Indus Water Treaty has been put on hold and India has suspended visa services to Pakistani nationals.

Several deaths are being reported from the Canadian city of Vancouver after a driver ran over a crowd at a street festival. The local police said the incident occurred around 8 pm (local time). The incident happened as members of the Filipino community gathered in large numbers to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day in the city’s Sunset on Fraser neighbourhood. The driver has been taken into custody, police said.

“A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival at E. 41st Avenue and Fraser shortly after 8 p.m. tonight. The driver is in custody. We will provide more information as the investigation unfolds,” said Vancouver Police.

Eyewitnesses told local media outlets that a black SUV ploughed through the festival at speed, hitting multiple people as it drove through the crowds.

Several videos of the horrific incident have surfaced on social media, showing bodies lying on the street after the car attack, as emergency crews raced to attend to those still alive.

Initial reports of several killed and over a dozen injured, after an SUV plowed into a closed-off street filled with people celebrating the Lapu Lapu Festival in Vancouver, Canada. pic.twitter.com/cLQQPfOMCq

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 27, 2025

Vancouver’s Mayor Ken Sim said, “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”

“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” he added.

New Democratic MP Don Davies also tweeted about the ‘horrendous attack’, saying he was ‘praying for all the victims and their families’.

“Just heard the tragic news of the horrendous attack at the Lapu Lapu festival. I am praying for all the victims and their families,” he said.

About Lapu Lapu Festival

The festival commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader, Datu Lapu-Lapu, from the 16th century. Lapu-Lapu was the Philippines’ first national hero, who led the victory against Spanish colonisers in the 1521 Battle of Mactan.

Pakistani minister Hanif Abbasi (Screengrab from Pakistani news channel’s X video)

In an ongoing tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack, Islamabad minister Hanif Abbasi openly threatened New Delhi with nuclear retaliation and said that 130 missiles, including Shaheen, and Ghaznavi, were kept for India.
“Those Shaheen (missiles), Ghaznavi (missiles), which we have kept arranged in our bases, we have kept them for Hindustan (India). The 130 weapons we possess are not just kept as models — and you have no idea in which parts of Pakistan we have positioned them,” Abbasi said in a presser.
His remarks came after India implemented diplomatic actions on Wednesday, including expelling Pakistani military attaches, halting the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, and closing the Attari land-transit post, citing cross-border connections to the Pahalgam attack.
He also claimed that India knew where the missiles Pakistan had deployed and this is the reason that they have taken steps back and not attack their country.
“That’s why I am repeating it again: these ballistic missiles, these cruise missiles, this Shaheen, this Ghauri — I repeat — they are not in our showcase, they are directed towards you, not towards anyone else,” he said.
He also said that if India dares to halt Pakistan’s water supply by suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, it should “prepare for a full-scale war”.
The Pakistan minister asked that whenever there is any incident, instead of holding agencies accountable, India put sanctions on another country.
“First, give answers for your own actions; first, hold yourself accountable before pointing fingers at us. So, I want to tell the entire nation and the whole world that they threatened us — and we responded: We stopped the water, stopped the trading, and we began our preparations — that’s what I am saying,” he said.
On April 22, gunmen stormed a group of tourists at the Baisaran meadow, claiming the lives of 26 people and injuring several more in what has become one of the deadliest assaults in the region since the 2019 Pulwama strike. The Resistance Front, a proxy of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, swiftly claimed responsibility, before distancing itself from the attack.