Washington, Jun 13: Google's Indian-American CEO Sundar Pichai has predicted that India and England would clash in the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and said he was "rooting" for the men in blue to emerge victorious.

Describing himself as a passionate cricket fan, the 46-year-old head of California-based internet giant said that when he came to the US, he found baseball a bit challenging.

"It (ICC Cricket World Cup final match) should be (between) England and India. But, you know, Australia and New Zealand, these are all very, very good teams," Pichai told a Washington audience that included US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top corporate executives from India and the US during the India Ideas Summit of USIBC wherein he received the Global Leadership Award on Wednesday.

He was replying to USIBC president Nisha Desai Biswal who asked "who do you think is going to play the final match".

Pichai shared some of his cricket and baseball experiences in the United States.

"When I first came here, I tried to kind of adapt to baseball. I have to say it was a bit challenging. In my first game, I was proud because I hit the ball on the back. It's a really good shot in cricket. I was like, well look, what I did. But people didn't appreciate it.

"In cricket when you run, you always take your bat with you. So I also ran between base with my bat as well. So eventually, I realised baseball was a bit difficult. I can adjust on many things, but I'm going to stick to cricket," he said.

"There is a cricket World Cup going on. It's a wonderful tournament... rooting for India to do well. But there's a lot at stake here," Pichai said.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Nagpur (PTI): The death toll in the Nagpur explosives company blast has gone up to 19 after one more person succumbed, police said on Monday.

Twenty-three other injured workers were undergoing treatment in hospitals here, a police official said.

The toll in the blast at the SBL Energy Limited factory on Sunday has risen to 19 with the death of one more worker, he said.

A high-level meeting chaired by Nagpur Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule was underway at the divisional commissionerate here to deliberate and take stock of the incident that took place on Sunday.

Senior officials from various departments, local legislators and other leaders were present in the meeting.

The police have arrested nine directors of SBL Energy Limited, where the blast took place on Sunday morning, officials said.

The Kalmeshwar police here have registered a case against 21 directors and shareholders of the company under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.

The explosion occurred at the detonator packing unit of SBL Energy Limited, a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer, at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil of Nagpur district.

The bodies were charred beyond recognition, and samples of the family members were being taken for DNA testing to ascertain the identities of the deceased, police said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion.