Dhawan's 99 lifts Punjab Kings to 143/9 against SRH
Hyderabad, Apr 9: Skipper Shikhar Dhawan stood tall among the ruins with a 66-ball unbeaten 99 that lifted Punjab Kings to 143 for nine against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
This was after spinner Mayank Markande did the star turn with figures of 4 for 15 to leave Punjab Kings reeling at 88 for nine in the 15th over. Dhawan hit 12 fours and five sixes.
Even as Punjab Kings lost wickets at regular intervals, Dhawan showed his teammates how to do it with his incredible knock.
Asked to bat first, Punjab Kings endured a disastrous start as they lost Prabhsimran Singh in the very first ball of the match, trapped in front of the wicket by veteran India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The ball hit him above the knee roll but Prabhsimran decided to walk back without asking for a review, leaving Punjab at none for one.
Skipper Shikhar Dhawan played Bhuvneshwar towards the third man region for the innings first boundary.
However, Dhawan again watched from the non-striker's end as Matthew Short (1) was dismissed lbw by South African left-arm pacer Marco Jansen on the second delivery of the match's second over at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
The ball landed on a good length and swung in before hitting Short's pads. Unlike Prabhsimran, Short consulted his skipper before deciding to come back into the dugout, leaving Punjab Kings in a spot of bother at 10 for two in the second over.
Next ball, and another swinging delivery struck wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma (4) on the pads, and a Jansen's loud shout for an lbw was upheld by the umpire. DRS was promptly taken and the ball-tracking technology showed it was going well down the leg-side, leading to the decision being overturned and giving some relief to PBKS.
Dhawan found two fours off his Indian team colleague Bhuvneshwar, before Jansen returned to send back Jitesh Sharma, who failed to clear SRH skipper Aiden Markram at mid-off.
Sam Curran struck a six and a four off successive Jansen deliveries but, after having made 22 off 15 balls, the English all-rounder was done in by leg-spinner Markande, who finished with fine figures after the SRH's seamers brilliant display at the start.
But Dhawan had other ideas as he smashed the SRH bowlers to take his team to a respectable total. Helping Dhawan along the way was Bhuvneshwar, who spilled three chances by the batter, including two off his own bowling.
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Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
