India enter final of Champions Trophy with four-wicket win over Australia
Dubai, Mar 4 (PTI): Star batter Virat Kohli top-scored with 84 as India entered the final of the Champions Trophy with a four-wicket win over Australia here on Tuesday.
Batting first, Australia were bowled out for 264 in 49.3 overs and India chased it down with 11 balls to spare.
Besides Kohli's 98-ball knock, Shreyas Iyer made 45 while KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya chipped in with 42 and 28 respectively in the first semifinal.
Earlier, captain Steve Smith and Alex Carey struck fifties to guide Australia past 260.
Smith top-scored with 73 off 96 balls as he stitched two crucial partnerships, first with Travis Head (39) for the second wicket, which yielded 50 runs, and then with Marnus Labuschagne (29) for the third for another 56 runs.
Carey made 61.
For India, Mohammed Shami (3/38) grabbed three wickets while Varun Chakravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets apiece.
Brief Scores:
Australia: 264 all out in 49.3 overs (Travis Head 39; Steve Smith 73, Alex Carey 61; Mohammed Shami 3/48, Ravindra Jadeja 2/40, Varun Chakravarthy 2/49).
India: 267/6 in 48.1 overs (Virat Kohli 84, Shreyas Iyer 45; Adam Zampa 2/60).
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.
Ikkis box office Day 1: Agastya Nanda’s war drama earns ₹7 crore, beats trade projections
Mumbai: Ikkis, the latest war drama directed by Sriram Raghavan, has delivered a stronger-than-expected opening at the box office, earning an estimated ₹7 crore net in India on its first day, Hindustan Times reported on Friday.
The film, starring Agastya Nanda, opened in theatres on January 1 across nearly 4,000 screens nationwide. Trade analysts had earlier projected a modest opening of ₹2–2.5 crore, especially given stiff competition from Dhurandhar, which continues to perform strongly at the box office.
Despite these expectations, Ikkis exceeded projections by nearly three times, helped largely by positive word of mouth. As per the report, the film had around 12% occupancy in the morning shows across the country, which jumped to 35% by afternoon, and 47% in the evening, indicating growing audience interest as the day progressed.
While Dhurandhar dominated the day with a reported ₹15 crore collection, trade observers note that Ikkis holding its ground amid such competition is a promising sign, particularly for its performance over the extended opening weekend.
Ikkis is based on the life of Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of India’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra. The film chronicles Khetarpal’s exploits and bravery during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. Agastya plays Khetarpal in the film.
While screen legend Dharmendra appears as his father in his final performance, Dharmendra died a little over a month before the film’s release. Ikkis is also among the final films of the late Asrani, who also died late last year. The film also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Deepak Dobriyal.
