Bengaluru, Apr 24 (PTI): Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal struck fifties to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru post 205 for 5 in their Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals here on Thursday.

Kohli (70 off 42 balls) and Padikkal's (50 off 27 balls) second wicket stand of 95 runs was the highlight of the RCB innings after being invited to bat.

Later, Tim David (23) and Jitesh Sharma (19 not out) took charge to take RCB past the 200-run mark.

For RR, Sandeep Sharma (2/45), Jofra Archer (1/32) and Wanindu Hasaranga (1/30) were the wicket takers.

Brief Scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 70, Devdutt Padikkal 50; Sandeep Sharma 2/45).

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Kyiv, May 11 (AP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia's offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start.

Zelenskyy, writing on X, called Russian President Vladimir Putin's counter-offer to start talks without a ceasefire a “positive sign”, and said “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time".

He added, however, that "the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire”.

Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared 3-day pause expired.

Russia launched 108 attack drones and simulator drones from six different directions, Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday. It said 60 drones were shot down and another 41 simulator drones failed to reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures.

The Ukrainian president appeared to insist on his proposal to start a 30-day unconditional ceasefire on Monday. “There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire — full, lasting, and reliable — starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet,” Zelenskyy said.

Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected that ceasefire offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead “without preconditions”. He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations.

Putin's counteroffer came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments aired by Russian state TV on Sunday, called Putin's proposal “very serious” and said it “confirms a real intention for find a peaceful solution”.

“The goals of the talks are clear: to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. And also to ensure the interests of the Russian Federation,” Peskov said.