India, NZ share points after another washout
Nottingham, Jun 13: The frustrating English weather finally caught up with the Indian team as their third World Cup game against New Zealand was called off without a ball being bowled here Thursday.
New Zealand have seven points from four games while India now have five from three with the next game against Pakistan in Manchester on Sunday.
Incidentally, the weather Gods are threatening to play spoilsport over there too.
The toss was delayed due to inclement weather and in the end it never took place. An inspection was to happen at 3 pm IST, the scheduled start time, but was put off after it started raining again.
The outfield was pretty wet after heavy showers in the past two days.
The umpires had one last inspection at 7:30pm IST before taking the decision to abandon the match.
This was the fourth such game in the ongoing tournament that has not yielded any result, something that will certainly increase ICC's worry.
While both the teams share a point each, the practical difficulties of not having a reserve day as stated by the ICC CEO David Richardson is certainly leaving the fans, especially the Indians high and dry.
Indian captain Virak Kohli said it was a sensible decision to call off the match.
"Sensible decision to not play, given the outfield wasn't fully fit (sic). One point not a bad thing for sides that have won all their games so far. So we'll take it," he said.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said it was not an ideal situation but in a way a good chance for the players to get some rest.
"(It has) been about four days and we haven't seen the sun, so this doesn't surprise us. It's not ideal, but little bit of time off is also important. We have some break now midway through, so it's a good chance for the guys to freshen up and look forward to the next challenge," he said.
The ICC refunds tickets if a single ball is not bowled but the hundreds of fans who have bought overpriced tickets from a third party are certain to lose money.
"I have paid 800 GBP (more than 70k INR) for a ticket. I am losing a lot of money. The black market rate for a Pakistan game is 2000 GBP. I can't afford that," said a software engineer who has come all the way from Singapore.
The broadcasters, however, can heave a sigh of relief as all the matches are insured and they can make up for losses.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
