Spinners Pandya, Suyash shine as RCB restrict Punjab to 157/6
Mullanpur, Apr 20 (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru spinners Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma bowled stifling spells to restrict Punjab Kings to an under-par 157 for six in the IPL match here on Sunday.
The left-arm spinner Krunal (2/25) and leg-spinner Suyash (2/27) were at their crafty best after Royal Challengers opted to field first on a pitch that had a hint of slowness.
In fact, the Punjab side made a good start to their innings with Priyansh Arya (22) and Prabhsimran Singh (33) adding 42 runs in 4.2 overs.
There was no sign of an impending storm when Arya made his runs through those short-arm pulls and hit-through-line shots.
The left-hander was harsh on pacer Yash Dayal whom he carted for a six and two fours, and sensing the comfort of PBKS openers against quick bowlers RCB skipper Rajat Patidar turned to Pandya in the fifth over.
It proved a captaincy master-stroke as Krunal immediately fetched the desired result getting rid of Arya, who could not time the shot well of a slower delivery. Tim David took a simple catch at the edge of the circle.
It opened the floodgates as the hosts lost three wickets in the space of 14 runs, slipping to 76 for four, and Nehal Wadhera’s horrific run out added to their misery.
It reminded one of their collapse to 111 against Kolkata Knight Riders a few days back at the same venue..
However, the most disappointing dismissals were that of skipper Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis.
Shreyas went for an on-the-up shot off RCB debutant Romario Shepherd, but could only toe-end a catch to a diving Krunal.
Inglis, who looked set with a couple of scooped fours off Shepherd and a six over long-on off Pandya, perished to Suyash.
The Aussie gave himself too much room while trying to carve Suyash over the covers, but the side-spin on the ball ensured that it reached out of his bat’s arc.
Shashank Singh (31 not out), who was dropped on 27 at short third by Dayal off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Marco Jansen (25 not out) added 43 runs for the seventh wicket as PBKS sneaked past the 150-run mark.
Jansen finished the innings with a six off Josh Hazlewood as PBKS could only make 38 runs off the last five overs.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
