Dominant Sri Lanka restrict India to 81/8 in series final
Colombo, Jul 29: India's young batsmen's inability to tackle spin stood exposed in the face of some spirited bowling and fielding by Sri Lanka, who stopped their Asian neighbours to a paltry 81 for eight in the series-deciding third Twenty20 International here on Thursday.
Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga (4/9) made the Indians dance to his tunes on his 24th birthday while Akila Danajaya too troubled the young batsmen, who are used to playing on placid IPL tracks where the ball comes on to the bat nicely.
The foot work of the Indians against the spinners did not inspire any confidence, looking into future, as they remained doubtful whether to play on front-foot or the back-foot.
Hasaranga returned exceptional figures as he took four wickets and conceded only nine runs in his four overs. Off-spinner Danajaya did not take any wicket but gave away just 11 runs in his four overs.
Only three Indian batsmen could manage the double-digit score with number seven Kuldeep Yadav being the best with his 23-run unbeaten knock.
Such was the dominance of the home bowlers that India hit only four boundaries in entire 20-over innings.
The Sri Lankans threw themselves on the field, plucking some sensational catches and stopping runs as well with agile efforts.
The pitch was much better than the one used for the second match and it helped the bowlers as well as stroke-play, making it an even contest.
There was bounce available and pacer Dushmantha Chameera hit the deck hard to get one to fly, which Shikhar Dhawan (0) could not connect properly, just managing an edge that was taken in slips.
Devdutt Padikkal, who looked in sublime touch, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, played some fluent shots before the hosts suddenly turned the heat on the Indians.
First Padikkal (9) was run out and and then wrist spinner Hasaranga caused a flutter by dismissing Sanju Samson (0) and Gaikwad (14) in a space of three balls.
Samson went on back foot to miss the line when he should have been defending on the front foot while Gaikwad offered the front foot but was hoodwinked by a googly and was adjudged leg-before.
It left India reeling at 25 for four inside the Power-play.
If that was not enough, the home skipper piled on India's misery by pulling off a stunning return catch to spell the ouster of Nitish Rana (6). At the half-way stage, India were reeling at 39 for five.
From there on, it was a matter of when and how the Indian innings would fold.
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Electoral trusts fill BJP coffers after scrapping of electoral bonds, shows ECI website
New Delhi: Contrary to expectations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would be adversely affected by the Supreme Court’s scrapping of the electoral bonds scheme in February 2024, the party’s finances have seen a significant boost in 2024–25 through electoral trusts. It has emerged that electoral trusts alone donated ₹2,577 crore to the BJP during this period.
Following the abolition of electoral bonds, corporate donors seeking partial anonymity appear to have shifted to the electoral trust route, with the BJP continuing to be the largest beneficiary.
According to data available on the Election Commission of India’s website, a total of ₹4,276 crore was donated through electoral trusts, of which the ruling BJP received 83.6 per cent. Compared to 2023–24, corporate donations flowing to the BJP have increased nearly fourfold. The Congress received 7.3 per cent of the total donations, while the Trinamool Congress accounted for 3.6 per cent.
Donations received through electoral trusts constitute only a portion of the total funds collected by political parties. Parties also receive contributions directly from individuals, corporates, institutions and charitable organisations. Over the past several years, donations from sources other than electoral trusts have also shown a steady increase.
