Dubai: Skipper KL Rahul smashed the first century of the 2020 Indian Premier League to propel Kings XI Punjab to a daunting 206 for 3 against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Thursday.
Rahul, who was dropped in the 17th and then again in the 18th over by RCB skipper Virat Kohli, played the role of sheet anchor, scoring 132 off 69 balls that was laced with 14 boundaries and seven sixes.
With his spectacular knock, he surpassed Rishabh Pant to post the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL history.
Playing his 60th innings, Rahul also became the fastest Indian to reach the 2000 IPL runs.
The stylish batsman clipped away a full length delivery to fine leg for four to break Sachin Tendulkar's record, who reached the milestone in 63 matches.
Opening the batting with Rahul, Mayank Agarwal (26) looked dangerous and shared a 57-run stand with his captain. However, with the introduction of spin into the attack in the seventh over, Yuzvendra Chahal (1/25) struck with the last ball, cleaning up Agarwal (26) with a delightful googly.
Nicholas Pooran (17) and Glenn Maxwell (5) once again failed to make an impact as Shivam Dube (2/33) accounted for the duo. Karun Nair pitched in with an eight-ball 15.
The pace troika of Umesh Yadav (0/35), Dale Steyn (0/57) and Navdeep Saini (0/37) had a torrid time as the KXIP skipper was on fire in his second game as captain.
All players wore black armbands to honour Australian cricketer turned commentator Dean Jones, who died in Mumbai due to a cardiac arrest on Thursday.
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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.
