Rajat Patidar's 112 not out guides RCB to 14-run win over LSG
Kolkata, May 25: Rajat Patidar owned the big stage with a magnificent hundred as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat debutants Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs in the IPL Eliminator here on Wednesday.
RCB will now take on Rajasthan Royals, losers of first qualifiers, in qualifier 2, while Lucknow's journey ended following the defeat here.
Invited to bat, Patidar, the 28-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, produced an innings for the ages as he towered over his more illustrious colleagues with an unbeaten 54-ball 112-run knock that had as many as 12 fours and 7 maximums to power RCB to a huge 207 for 4.
In reply, skipper KL Rahul slammed a 58-ball 79 to keep Lucknow in the hunt but Josh Hazlewood (3/43) dealt a twin blow in the penultimate over as LSG finished at 193 for 6.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 207 for 4 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 111 not out; Mohsin Khan 1/25).
Lucknow Super Giants: 193 for 6 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 79; Josh Hazlewood 3/43)
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Ukrainian president welcomes Russian overtures, but says ceasefire must come before peace talks
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.
It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025
There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single…
