Team departs Ahmedabad, to land in B'luru at 1:30 pm
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Virat Kohli washed away 18 years of hurt and disappointment on a dream Tuesday night, conquering Punjab Kings by six runs to lift their maiden Indian Premier League title on Tuesday. 'Ee Sala Cup Namde (This time the Cup will be ours) became 'Ee Sala Cup Namudu (The Cup is ours this time).' A massive victory parade in Bengaluru has been announced by the team. Track all the live details here on DH!
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Mint
43 minutes ago
- Mint
Steve Smith speaks on not touching the bat after CT2025, how Adelaide Test failure against India 'clicked something in him'
London [UK], June 8 (ANI): Australia star batter Steve Smith opened up on how he made a "conscious effort" to keep the bat away from his hand following ODI retirement and give himself a break, as he prepares for his team's title defence in the ICC World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's. Smith, 36, who retired from ODIs after his side's semifinal run in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, will be aiming to continue his superb form in whites and hit another century for ages during the title clash for the Test mace on June 11. Having hit a century during 2023 WTC final against India in UK, Smith struggled for runs for a while before regaining his magic touch during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. In his last five Tests across India and Sri Lanka Tests, he has scored four centuries. But while some of his teammates played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) all this while and some represented the English counties to acquint themselves with playing conditions prevailing during the WTC final, Smith spent some time in New York before finally picking up his willow for the nets session few days back, telling the Aussie coach Andrew McDonald, "Can we play tomorrow, I am ready to go." While the Australian set-up since a long while has trusted player to plan their preparations the way they want and one could be trusted to do the right thing after 10,000 runs under their belt, it was still not normal for Smith to pick up his bat for a few months, a known cricket nut known to shadow bat and practice really hard. Turning 36 just last week, he was in America working with a new personal trainer on a fitness regime. He said that he feels as strong as 2014, with improved mobility in hips that could assist him in taking better catches at slips. "I would normally have a bat laying around the house somewhere and just pick it up and do a bit of shadow batting and stuff. But I made a conscious decision to try and just let it go for a while. It was good," said Smith as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. "I had not hit a ball since I missed a full toss off Mohammed Shami in the Champions Trophy (during March). Fortunately, everything sort of clicked into place immediately. I feel like I am moving really well, I feel strong and just ready to get into it now." "Normally how it works is my first hit is good, my second hit is awful, and then I would get better from there. But both hits were just really good and I was like, hopefully it does not turn around now and I do not have to spend hours in the nets the next couple of days," he continued. It is really helpful that Smith has a Test average of 56.01 in England with 12 tons and scored 121 against India in WTC 2023 finals. At Lord's, his average increases to 58.33 and the last time he played at the ground during the 2023 Ashes, he scored a magnificent century. Smith said that there was some extra bounce from the centre wicket at Beckenham where Australia had their initial training block, which felt like "almost felt like we were playing at Perth stadium.". He expects conditions to be different when preparations shift to Lord's on Sunday. "I play a lot of back foot shots here, I do not tend to get too far forward to the ball. I try and score really square of the wicket. It kind of just suits me in a way. Hopefully can kick off where I left off the last couple of Tests that we played [in Sri Lanka]," he said. After a breathtaking century at Lords's during 2023 Ashes, Smith had to wait 23 innings for his next and struggled with his game to the point that some called for him to be dropped. This was the longest wait for a century in his Test career. A part of it was due to his move to opening spot following retirement of David Warner, where he had mixed outings largely except for a resillient 91 in losing effort against West Indies at Brisbane. As soon as he moved down the order, Smith felt liberated, with four Tests in eight innings across series against India and Sri Lanka. He admitted that during the Adelaide Test against India last year, when he scored just two runs off 11 after being removed by Jasprit Bumrah, was a rare moment when he felt some scrutiny. "I feel like I have been in the team for a while and I have not felt under a great deal of pressure. Maybe a little bit after Adelaide last year was the most I have felt. And maybe [that's] why I came out the next game and was really, really hungry to get a good score in Brisbane. But that was external talk and things cross my desk all the time. People send me things that people are saying. So I do not know, maybe something clicked in me and I wanted to get back to the position of being a bit more comfortable again," he said. By then, Smith had adopted a less-is-more approach to training, which was further crystalised by a conversation with Michael Hussey early during the series against India. "We are a bit older, we have hit a lot of balls. It is about having that mental side as switched on as it can be for the big moments. And you do not want to use up all your energy in the nets. There is a fine balance, of course. I am someone that needs to feel really prepared. And I do not want to leave any stone unturned in my preparation so that when I go to the middle, I am ready to play," he said. "But I have also got to realise that the older you get, the mental side I think probably wears a little bit thinner on you. And you have got to try and be in the best space you can be in the middle to bat for long periods of time. Sometimes I might get the balance wrong. But when you are hitting the ball well, you can sort of do what you want in terms of your preparation in a way. You can just let it be and trust that when you get to the middle, it is all going to be okay," he concluded. Pat Cummins-led Australia will be looking to retain the mace that they claimed after defeating India in the previous edition of the World Test Championship Final at the Oval in June 2023. On the other side, a determined South Africa aim for their first ICC trophy in over two decades, with Temba Bavuma leading the charge. Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann. Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett. (ANI)
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
'I want to stay here too': Father breaks down in tears, refuses to leave son's grave who died in Bengaluru stampede
A heartbreaking video of a father of son who died in the Bengaluru stampede during RCB's IPL 2025 victory celebrations has gone viral. The stampede near M. Chinnaswamy Stadium left 11 dead and over 70 injured. read more A heart-wrenching video of a father who lost his son in the Bengaluru stampede earlier this week is going viral on social media. During Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2025 victory celebrations in the city, a stampede occurred, which claimed 11 lives and left over 70 people injured. Father cries over son's grave In the video, the father, named BT Lakshman, could be seen lying on the ground next to his son's grave, holding on tightly and refusing to leave. The scene from his native village in Hassan district was heartbreaking to watch. 'What happened to my son should not happen to anyone. The land I had bought for him is now where his memorial has been built,' the father, who lost his 21-year-old son Bhumik Lakshman, said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I don't want to go anywhere else now. I want to stay here too. No father should have to face what I am facing,' he added. Two men came and tried to lift him up, but the father couldn't stop crying. The greatest pain a father can endure is to cremate his own child, a grief that defies time, reason, and healing. Lakshman refuses to leave the grave of his 20 yr old son, Bhumik, who died in the Bengaluru stampede. Buried on a small plot of land in their native village in… — THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) June 7, 2025 Bengaluru stampede that claimed 11 lives The stampede happened outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where a huge crowd had gathered for a free event announced by the RCB, a post which they deleted after the incident. Fans were hoping to get a glimpse of their heroes, but the arrangements were poor. The police, stationed outside the stadium gate, failed to control the large number of people and the stampede occurred. This happened just minutes before the RCB team arrived at the stadium following a felicitation ceremony at the Vidhana Soudha. Despite the tragedy, the RCB team continued the celebrations at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar gave speeches and the squad performed a lap of honour with the trophy. This was RCB's maiden IPL title win. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
UPSC Ethics Simplified: What does IPL offer beyond entertainment, glamour and money?
(Royal Challengers Bengaluru handed Punjab Kings a 6-run defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to win their first IPL trophy, as the league got a new champion in RCB. The Rajat Patidar-led RCB was one notch above another trophy-less side, PBKS, which failed to chase 191 on a tricky surface. This was the news last week from India's favorite sports tournament — cricket's IPL — synonymous with entertainment, money power, and lots of glamour. Wonder why this is relevant for UPSC aspirants? UPSC Ethics Simplified draws attention to topics related to applied ethics, especially those making headlines. Recently, UPSC has been focusing on contemporary issues and posing ethical questions to candidates. In the past, we have examined pollution, war, sports, finance, international relations, bureaucracy, and the judiciary through the lens of ethics. Today, Nanditesh Nilay, who writes fortnightly for UPSC Essentials, addresses a pressing question: How does the IPL reflect ethics and morality?) World cricket has witnessed many colours since Australian entrepreneur Kerry Packer took cricket out of its white attire and made it colourful by organising the World Cricket Series. In India, the Indian Premier League (IPL), since its inception in 2007, has influenced cricket not only in terms of colours, glamour, corporate mindset, and money, but also in many other ways that have been more meaningful and have generated energy for all stakeholders. It has not been just a story of money, glitz, or colourful cricket uniforms; many aspects of this format have helped maintain the reputation of cricket and sportsmanship. If we pay attention, we will find that the IPL has taught us all a lot. Along with that, it has influenced the human will to live through leadership skills, social and cultural unity, and the ability to achieve anything — qualities the audience was largely unaware of. First of all, many teams proved through their performance — and consistently so — that two hundred runs can be scored in twenty overs, and that it can be chased as well. If fifty runs have to be scored in the last two overs, that too can be achieved. This format of cricket challenged the infinite potential of man to such an extent that all the teams, which until a few years ago considered a target of one hundred seventy to eighty runs safe, no longer found a target of two hundred to two hundred thirty runs to be too much. Even in the final match, the batsman scored more than twenty runs, and the difference between winning and losing was just six runs. And yes, neither the players changed, nor the rules. The grounds were also not made smaller. Power, balance, and the passion to do anything were seen in this IPL. And the audience, too, had the confidence until the very end that any target could be achieved. I think this certainly has to do with those team owners who carry a corporate mindset, where in less time, at minimum cost, maximum production must be achieved — and in that process, stakeholders must be kept happy. In 1955, a model of self-awareness called the Johari Window was developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham. In this model, they discuss the various selves of a human being (open, blind, hidden), and one of these selves is the unknown self. While talking about the unknown self, they asserted that many capabilities exist within every human being, but neither the person themselves nor others are aware of them. That capability remains hidden, and the person is not even aware of it. This format of cricket helped cricketers realise those hidden potentials — and even the two hundred runs scored in just twenty overs sometimes proved to be not enough. The second notable aspect that was evident was that the batsmen started showing the skill of those kinds of shots which are not taught at all in cricketing manuals or coaching. Everyone learned to hit shots with a straight bat, but scoring runs by batting at exactly three hundred and sixty degrees was an unprecedented sight. Be it De Villiers or our Surya Kumar Yadav, the skill of hitting shots behind the wicketkeeper was amazing. That kind of daring and skillful shot-hitting taught us that whatever and how much we know, or are seen doing, is not enough. And if a person decides to experiment daily, then what is impossible? Everything depends on his mindset, and this mindset also motivates him to learn and do something new. A theory proposed by psychologist Carol Dweck regarding growth mindset and fixed mindset explains how people's beliefs about their abilities and intelligence affect their motivation, learning, and achievement. A fixed mindset is the belief that abilities are innate and unchangeable, while a growth mindset is the belief that a person can acquire abilities through effort and learning. The continuous cricketing shots seen in the 360-degree circle in the IPL are the result of that growth mindset. And those targets of more than two hundred were not only set but also achieved. The third important aspect that was noticed in this IPL was that many young cricketers became captains of their teams. It was also observed that seniors from other countries, as well as from their own country, were playing in those teams. This use of leadership skills was amazing. Shreyas Iyer was the captain of three different teams and took them to the playoffs. Players like Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Rajat Patidar were in their youth, and they led a format of cricket where players from many countries were playing together in one team. Communicating with all those players, keeping the team united, bearing the pressure of the franchise amidst all kinds of challenges — and on top of that, having an immense desire to win despite not having much experience in captaincy — was remarkable. There have been some such experiences in clubs in England, but it has not been seen in any format of cricket in any country as popular as the IPL. Sachin Tendulkar, who inspired at least three generations to sit together and watch cricket — can we measure him only by his centuries? No. He brought us together, and we learned to share in his victories and defeats. Do you remember the gentleman Sudhir from Bihar? For him, sports meant watching cricket, hoisting the Indian flag, and proudly displaying Tendulkar's name painted on his chest. On 2 April 2011, Tendulkar, watching from the stadium, gestured to Sudhir (who was sitting among the cheering Indian fans) to come into the Indian dressing room and join the team's celebrations. Tendulkar shook Sudhir's hand, hugged him, and even let him hold the World Cup. This story is about more than just cricket. It is a life lesson in humility, respect, and the ethical values that sports can cultivate in our society — especially in times of moral crisis. It is a story of gratitude, and a reminder that true greatness lies in acknowledging those who stand by you through every high and low. This is sportsmanship. This is the magic of sports. The same dedication, love, and camaraderie for cricket were seen in the IPL as well. The tears of winning and losing made no distinction between the IPL, Test matches, or One Day Internationals. It was unrehearsed and deeply relatable. Cricket won. Is sports more than a game — A reflection of ethics and the human spirit? Discuss. (The writer is the author of 'Being Good and Aaiye, Insaan Banaen', 'Ethikos: Stories Searching Happiness' and 'Kyon'. He teaches courses on and offers training in ethics, values and behaviour. He has been the expert/consultant to UPSC, SAARC countries, Civil services Academy, National Centre for Good Governance, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), etc. He has PhD in two disciplines and has been a Doctoral Fellow in Gandhian Studies from ICSSR. His second PhD is from IIT Delhi on Ethical Decision Making among Indian Bureaucrats. He writes for the UPSC Ethics Simplified (concepts and caselets) fortnightly.) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. 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