Captains Bavuma and Cummins: A study in confidence and contrasts

In a country where Siya Kolisi leads a rugby team that has twice won the World Cup, Temba Bavuma cannot be the reference point for excellence even though he has two firsts to his name: no black player has led the South Africa men’s cricket team and before him, no one had broken into the playing 11 as a specialist batter. In a side that has Steve Smith and David Warner, Pat Cummins would not be the obvious choice as captain – never in 52 years of playing ODIs have Australia appointed a fast bowler as full-time leader. Yet, here they are likely to head out with teams for the first time in an ODI World Cup semi-final.

Radio, world over, still has its charm

At the World Cup final, Sanjay Banerjee and Prakash Wakankar will find themselves in the Akashwani commentary box doing non-stop radio commentary for 100 overs. Theirs will be the combined English-Hindi feed going out to those who can't watch the CWC final on a screen, their numbers also in millions, outside the attention of the TV suits.

Workers still stuck in Uttarkashi tunnel after delays, errors mar rescue operation

By 5pm Wednesday, the 40 workers trapped 260 metres inside a 4.5km road tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, had been trapped for 84 hours, and two rescue attempts to cut through 50 metres of rock blocking the tunnel had failed – to the despair of the families and colleagues of the workers.

Police bust fake hospital operating in GK-1, 4 held

When Jai Narayan was diagnosed with gall bladder stones at Agarwal Medical Centre last month, no one conducted his chest X-Ray, ultrasound, ECG, and a slew of bloods tests before wheeling him in for a surgery. (The family had come with ultrasound and X-Ray to show it to the doctor)

Delhi's air back in 'severe' zone as smoke, slow winds trap pollutants

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) dropped into the deep red “severe” zone yet again on Wednesday, primarily due to the heavy influx of smoke from stubble fires, which was worsened by slow winds, dipping temperatures and remnants of firecracker emissions, ensuring that the city’s pollution crisis persists and residents remain trapped in a hazy mist.

39 killed in bus accident in J&K's Doda, 17 injured

At least 39 people died and 17 others were injured after a passenger bus veered off a mountain road and rolled 300 feet down a hill onto another road in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

Modi unveils ₹24k-cr tribal welfare plan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a ₹24,000 crore mission aimed at benefiting 2.8 million people from particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) across 220 districts, marking a mega push by the government to reach out to India’s tribal communities just months ahead of general elections.

It wasn't Kohli at his peak, yet it was peak Kohli

It began as a sequence as Kohli-esque as possible. He watched the ball on to his bat, turned it behind square, calibrated for a two, ran very hard, made the perfect turn, sprinted back for the second.

INDIA 10/10: ONE TO GO

Rohit's men carry unbeaten run into Sunday's final for a shot at history after beating New Zealand in high-scoring clash

19-Year-Old Quizzed By Delhi Police In Deepfake Video Case

A 19-year-old suspect was questioned by Delhi Police's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit on Tuesday in connection with a widely circulated morphed video of film actor Rashmika Mandanna, four days after it filed a first information report (FIR) invoking charges of forgery and digital offences.

US-China Ties: Xi To Hold Highly Anticipated Talks With Biden

The last time Xi Jinping travelled to the United States was six years ago to meet an effusive Donald Trump, who had promised "a very, very great relationship".

PM Attacks Cong, Hails BJP's Welfare Schemes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a veiled swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as he accused the Opposition of abusing him for uprooting corruption and hailed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s outreach and welfare programme in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

Burmans call FIRs 'false', 'bid to block Religare deal'

The Dabur group on Tuesday refuted the allegations of being involved in the Mahadev online betting app scam after members of the promoter family were named in two first information reports (FIR) filed within a week in Mumbai. A group spokesperson said the FIRs were \"false and baseless\", and part of an attempt to block the acquisition of Religare Enterprises Ltd.

Hacked, but ethically! Campus of Open Learning has new certification course

With the world increasingly adapting to a digital way of life, incidences of hacking and online fraud have also increased manifold.

Up and away! Go for a hot air balloon safari in Haryana now

Getting a bird's eye view of the wildlife in Haryana just got easier. Looking at the growing potential for tourism in the PinjoreKalka region, Haryana's chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated a hot air balloon safari project in Pinjore in Panchkula district on Wednesday.

Billie is 'physically attracted' to women, has never felt 'desirable'

Singer Billie Eilish, who has always been vocal about body image issues and not liking herself, once again opened up about the \"weird and upsetting\" scrutiny she faced in her formative years, to Variety.

Malaika ticks skydiving off bucket list: I had zero fear

It was an adventurous birthday for Malaika Arora, who turned 48 recently. The actor jumped into the new year -quite literally with a skydiving expedition in Dubai. \"I wanted to celebrate my birthday in a thrilling way and skydiving had long been on my bucket list. I thought, why not tick this off? So, I marked this milestone by taking a leap into the sky,\" she tells us.

Eden: Not quite a walk in the garden

Two-paced pitch and lower average scores in first innings make Kolkata a tougher venue for batters

A battle of IPL subs versus its cash-rich All Stars

The India-New Zealand semi-final will be so many things. India have to get the monkey off their back and start winning eliminators at ICC events. But if you are in the New Zealand corner, what better opportunity than to beat India in the country's shiniest city for a place in the World Cup final.

Rampaging India have a point to prove against thorny old foes

Rohit Sharma and Co will aim to make amends for the 2019 World Cup semis exit when flawless India face New Zealand in the first semi-final

Wholesale prices contract for 7th consecutive month

A fall in the price of non-food commodities and a moderation in food inflation has led to the wholesale price index (WPI) contracting for the seventh consecutive month in October, according to data released by the ministry of commerce and Industry on November 14. While the contraction was expected, its magnitude has exceeded expectations marginally. The contraction of 0.52% in October is slightly higher than 0.38% contraction predicted by a Bloomberg forecast of economists.

Dodgy deals facing greater RP scrutiny

Bankruptcy tribunals reverse transactions totalling ₹23,700 cr in Sept quarter alone

US president says hospitals in Gaza 'must be protected'

Hamas has said that more than 11,500 people have been killed in Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict on October 7

The future of sport is Asian

Sport is driving national transformation in some countries while enabling others to rehabilitate their reputations

Decoding Myanmar conflict and its impact

A rapid spike in fighting between Myanmar's military and anti-junta forces over the past week could have ramifications for security in India's strategic northeast region, especially Manipur and Mizoram states. Here is a closer look at \"Operation 1027\" launched by resistance groups, developments in different parts of Myanmar and the implications for India.

'Yearly deaths due to heat may rise fivefold'

If temperatures rise by 2°C (over pre-industrial levels) by the end of the century, then yearly heat-related deaths are projected to increase 370% by midcentury, according to an analysis published in The Lancet on Tuesday. The new global projections are part of the 8th annual report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.

Efforts insufficient to attain goals: UN

Even if nations meet all of their current climate commitments, submitted as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold will be breached, a new UN report said on Tuesday.

How Gulf migrants may sway Tgana outcome

A year ago, 40-year-old Kurakula Chandraiah returned to his native village Muthyampet in Telangana’s Kamareddy district from Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where he had worked as a driver for ₹30,000 a month.

3 days on, ops to rescue workers from U'khand tunnel intensify

Rescue workers on Tuesday started the process of inserting wide steel pipes through 40 metres of rubble of the collapsed under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district to evacuate 40 labourers trapped inside since Sunday morning, officials said.

Man who raped, killed while on bail given death sentence

A court in Kerala on Tuesday sentenced to death a 29-year-old man for the brutal rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Aluva, bringing the curtain down on a grisly murder that shook the southern state and sparked sweeping outrage.