IPL: KKR defeat PBKS in last-ball thriller
Kolkata, May 8: Skipper Nitish Rana scored a half-century (51 off 38 balls), while West Indian middle-order batter Andre Russell (42) and Rinku Singh (21 not out) played some fine strokes at the back end as Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Punjab Kings by five wickets in a last-ball IPL thriller here on Monday.
Chasing 180 for victory, KKR scored 182/5, with Russell playing a pivotal role in the game, hitting three sixes in Sam Curran's 19th overs to bring his team closer to the target.
Rinku then scored a four off the last ball of the innings to signal KKR's victory.
Earlier, KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy grabbed three wickets for 26 runs but Punjab Kings still managed a fighting 179/7 with skipper Shikhar Dhawan scoring a half century.
Dhawan (57 off 47 balls) was also involved in a 53-run partnership with wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma (21) and laid the foundation for later-order batters to set a competitive total.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings: 179 for 7 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 57; Varun Chakravarthy 3/26, Harshit Rana 2/33).
Kolkata Knight Riders: 182 for 5 in 20 overs (Jason Roy 38, Nitish Rana 51, Andre Russell 42, Rinku Singh 21 not out; Rahul Chahar 2/23, Nathan Ellis 1/29).
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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
