Anushka's Reaction As Kohli Misses 50 In Do-Or-Die RCB vs CSK Game Viral

RCB batters came out with great intent in a do-or-die clash against CSK in the IPL 2024 on Saturday. It's a do-or-die match for both teams to grab a playoff spot.  More so for RCB who have to beat CSK by 18 runs in order to qualify for the top-four. Starting with the opening dup of Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis, along with Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green, everyone contributed as RCB posted a huge target for CSK. While RCB skipper De Plessis scored a half-century, Kohli missed the mark by just three runs. 

He was caught on the boundary ropes by Daryl Mitchell off Mitchell Santner. Mitchell had a tricky situation as he lost balance but was aware of the ropes to take a clean catch. Even Virat Kohli's wife and actor Anushka Sharma thought that Mitchell had gone past the rope. But then soon realised that Kohli was out. Her reaction went viral. 

Anushka Sharma also thinks Virat Kohli was not out @JayShah, please bring King Kohli back. He should be batting out there #IPL2024 #RCBvsCSK #tapmad #HojaoADFree pic.twitter.com/5fnBv6hAJO

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) May 18, 2024

Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma & Whole RCB was not happy with decision given by Third Umpire, RCB vs CSK, IPL 2024 pic.twitter.com/M1ZlSP322y

— Republic of Games (@kohlilfc) May 18, 2024

We are with you AnushkaSharma we are are sad you are not only #Rcbvscsk #ipl pic.twitter.com/gP40NdEDPu

— Mohsin Raza (@MohsinRaza48135) May 18, 2024

Ahead of the all-important clash with Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League 2024, star India batter and Royal Challengers Bengaluru's opener Virat Kohli revealed the reason behind his high strike rate in the ongoing season of the cash-rich league.

The Impact Player Rule allows a franchise to introduce a 12th player to the team from a five-player list which is given at the time of a toss. A team can bring in an impact player for the playing XI by replacing any player from the five-player list.

"I am telling you, with one extra batter there is a reason I am playing with 200 plus strike rate in the powerplays. I know there is a batsman waiting at No. 8 as well. I think it has disrupted the balance and a lot of people are feeling this way not just me," Kohli said while speaking on Jio Cinema.

Earlier, Rohit also shared his views and said that due to the Impact Player Rule, players like Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar are not getting a chance to bowl, which is not a good thing for Team India.

"I genuinely feel it is going to hold back the development of all-rounders because eventually cricket is played by 11 players, not 12. So I am not a big fan of the Impact Player Rule because you are taking so much from the game just to make it a little more entertaining for the people around you. But just in the cricketing aspect of it, I feel guys like Washington Sundar, and Shivam Dube are not getting to bowl, which is not a good thing for us (India). I am not sure what you can do about it, but I am not a fan of it," said Rohit in the Club Prairie Fire podcast.

With Ani inputs

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1 Killed, Jaipur Couple Injured In Kashmir Twin Attacks Ahead Of Polling

A former sarpanch was killed and a couple from Rajasthan was injured in firing by terrorists in two separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, two days before polling.

The country is in the middle of a marathon six-week general election. Four rounds are over, three more remain. The votes will be counted on June 4. 

Former sarpanch Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh was shot at at Hurpura village in Shopian district. He later died in hospital. A couple from Rajasthan was also injured in a separate incident in Anantnag.

"He (sarpanch) was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Terrorists also fired at a tourist couple from Jaipur identified as Tabriz and his wife Farha in the Yannar area of Anantnag district. The injured couple has been shifted to the hospital for treatment. The area has been cordoned off for searches," said an official.

Voting for the Udhampur and Jammu seats concluded on April 19 and 26, respectively, while in Srinagar, voting was done on May 13. The Baramulla seat will vote on May 20, while the Anantnag-Rajouri seat will vote on May 25.

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Cannes 2024: New Day, New Pics Of Aishwarya From French Riviera

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a ray of sunshine (quite literally). After making her second red carpet appearance on Friday, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was recently spotted on the streets of French Riviera. She kept her look cool and stylish. Aishwarya opted for a plain black T-shirt teamed with matching pants and a printed overcoat. She left her tresses open and completed her look with a cool pair of shades and black shoes. In one of the pictures, she was seen chatting with Afef Jnifen, a Tunisian-born Italian fashion model. Take a look at the photos below.

The OG style queen, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, stole the spotlight during her second red carpet appearance at the Cannes Film Festival. The actress opted for an ensemble that was both dramatic and stunning. She picked a silver outfit with turquoise green accents from the shelves of Falguni Shane Peacock. She left her tresses open in soft curls. Take a look at her photos below.

For the unversed, this is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's 22nd year at the Cannes Film Festival. The actress has been delivering jaw-dropping red-carpet looks over the years. Who could forget last year's spectacle? A shimmering silver gown paired with a dramatic black bow and an extravagant silver hood and train stole the show.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Cannes journey began in 2002 when she made a red carpet debut wearing a Neeta Lulla saree and heavy gold jewellery for the premiere of her film Devdas. She was accompanied by her Devdas co-star Shah Rukh Khan and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The next year, she was on the Cannes jury.

Joining her at Cannes this year will be actors Aditi Rao Hydari, Shobita Dhulipala, Jacqueline Fernandes and Kiara Advani. Urvashi Rautela shared pictures from the French Riviera, while Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actress Deepti Sadhwani made her red carpet debut on Wednesday.

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IPL 2024 Playoffs: What Happens If RCB vs CSK Clash Is Washed Out?

As the ongoing IPL 2024 inches closer to its culmination, the excitement remains at the pinnacle as five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fight for the final playoff berth in their last league stage encounter. Table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have already booked their place for the knockout stages but the last team to join them in the playoffs is yet to be ascertained. RCB are on a five-match winning streak after outclassing Delhi Capitals by 47 runs in their previous game. Despite the forgettable start, the Bengaluru-based franchise gained momentum in the middle of the season to stay alive in the title race. With 12 points in 13 matches, RCB are placed sixth in the standings.

RCB need to win the match against CSK to bolster their hopes of a title finish. It is not just a win but by a certain margin to better their net run-rate than the defending champions.

On the other hand, Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai hold 14 points in 13 games and currently occupying fourth spot in the points table. A win against RCB will make them the final team to progress to playoffs.

However, they can still qualify even after losing the match on the basis of net run rate (NRR). CSK need to minimise the losing margin to keep their NRR intact.

There is also a possibility of a washout as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rainfall in Chennai on Friday and Saturday (match day).

In case of a washout or a truncated match, the scenarios will favour the hosts more than RCB. Both teams will get a point each in case of no result while if the overs are reduced, RCB will find it difficult to support their NRR even after a win.

Chennai will host Bengaluru at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

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"Congress' Maoist Manifesto Eyeing Gold From Temples, Mangalsutra": PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday tore into the Congress's election manifesto, dubbing it a "Maoist" document, which he cautioned will put a break on the country's economic growth and lead it to bankruptcy if implemented.

He said if the Congress was dissolved post-independence as per Mahatma Gandhi's wishes, India would have been five decades ahead in terms of social and economic development than what it was today.

Addressing an election rally in Mumbai three days ahead of the fifth and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra covering 13 seats, the BJP stalwart lashed out at the Congress over its election manifesto.

"The Congress is fighting a battle for its survival and can go to any extent (to save itself). Its Maoist manifesto is eyeing gold from temples and 'mangalsutra' (gold chains) of women. The Maoist manifesto will put a break on economic growth and lead the country to bankruptcy," he told the gathering at the sprawling Shivaji Park Ground.

The PM had earlier said the Congress poll document had Muslim League imprint.

The BJP's star campaigner alleged the grand old party wants to bring back inheritance tax (a levy on assets inherited from a deceased person) which was abolished in the 1980s.

"It also plans a 50 per cent inheritance tax... the party is planning an X-ray of your property and handing it over to their vote-bank which speaks of vote jihad," he maintained.

The BJP stalwart said construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and removal of Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, were once considered impossible tasks in the country, but they have now become a reality.

"But they were made possible because of the power of your single vote," he told the large gathering.

PM Modi asked the people of Mumbai to remember terror strikes and serial bomb blasts that rocked the metropolis in the past and the change in the situation after 2014 when they go out to vote on May 20.

He emphasised bomb blasts and terror strikes are a now thing of the past in the financial capital.

"In the last ten years, they (Mumbaikars) have been feeling safe and secure," the PM said at the rally organised to seek votes for Shiv Sena-BJP candidates in the metropolis.

Targeting the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, PM Modi maintained the "fake" Shiv Sena had betrayed the mandate of the people and worked against the interest of Mumbai and Maharashtra.

"The nakli Shiv Sena has betrayed Balasaheb Thackeray by standing with those who abuse Ram mandir and also (Hindutva icon Veer) Savarkar," he said.

"I will give Mumbai its due right. Days are not far off when Mumbai will get India's first bullet train," he declared.

The PM noted the financial capital has emerged as a hub of start-ups. "Today, there are 8,000 start-ups in Mumbai. India is the second largest mobile manufacturing hub," he pointed out.

"Mumbai is the economic powerhouse of the country and the stock market headquartered in the metropolis is now the fourth largest in the world, but the INDI alliance is hatching conspiracies to break the trust," he charged.

The PM said Mumbai was a dream city and was going to play a huge role in achieving the goal of a developed India by 2047.

"I have come to you with a dream of Viksit Bharat (developed India). Mumbai knows the importance of speed. Countries which gained independence along with us have overtaken us in terms of development. Where did we lag? It was the previous governments which did not trust its people. If you see the Red Fort address of earlier PMs, they called Indians lazy. Such attitude cannot take the country forward," he noted.

When the Congress lost power at the Centre in 2014, India's economy was at the 11th position, but it has now jumped to the 5th spot, PM Modi opined.

"If the Congress was dissolved as per Gandhiji's wishes, India would have been five decades ahead of what it is today. We lost five decades because of the Congress. When we got independence, India was the 6th largest economy and when the Congress left power in 2014, it was 11th," he said.

"Indians fought for 500 years to build a magnificent temple for Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. Frustrated people and those in despair also said removal of Article 370 was impossible, but it was scrapped. No power in the world can bring back Article 370," he asserted.

Talking about women's welfare, the PM pointed out that the practice of instant triple talaq has been banned and women have got 33 per cent reservation in assemblies and Parliament.

PM Modi said earlier 'garibi hatao' (eradicate poverty) was merely a slogan, but for his government action on the ground matters.

"Modi brought 25 crore people out of poverty (in 10 years). What seemed impossible was done with the power of your vote," maintained the PM.

Without naming NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, PM Modi said, "I challenge the NCP leader to ask (Congress MP) Rahul Gandhi to say he will not abuse Savarkar again. The INDI alliance has betrayed the country by giving a clean chit to terrorist Ajmal Kasab and questioning surgical strikes. It wants to snatch SC/ST/OBC quota and give it those who speak of vote Jihad." Thirteen Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, including 6 in Mumbai, will vote on May 20.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Opinion: Lok Sabha Elections: Why A 2004-Like Scenario Is Unlikely

Four of the seven phases of India's general elections have been concluded, covering 380 seats and hundreds of candidates. Voters have sealed the mandates for roughly 70% of the total Lok Sabha seats. Both social and traditional media are abuzz with poll studies and analyses, though a common observation between them all is that the electoral contest, which initially appeared to be a done deal, has proved to be tighter than anticipated, with local factors taking precedence over national issues. 

A few analysts claim the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may not come back to power. Some others predict that the party may not be able to touch 272 seats on its own, though with allies it might manage to cross the halfway mark. The slightly lower voter turnout has added to the anxiety, and supporters of both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the INDIA bloc are perplexed. 

Pollsters Enjoy The Spotlight

Those conducting exit polls are having a field day as they are quizzed on social media and in TV interviews. However, given that it is unethical to speak about such details with elections still underway, most such pollsters have refrained from giving numbers. In fact, among them, many are those who give different answers in different interviews, adding to the confusion. A season of speculation and a battle of narratives, and amidst this, both the BJP and the Congress are trying to turn the public sentiment in their favour. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already claimed that the BJP has won 270 seats till Phase 4. 

Elections are a lot about “mahaul”, that is, the public mood. India has many late deciders (25-30%, according to various surveys), and it's these voters who are swayed the most by the poll discourse. 

Why Ground Reports May Be Unreliable

People who believe that the BJP could lose this election often cite the example of 2004, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a public favourite, lost the mandate. Almost all exit polls had failed to gauge the public mood back then. If exit polls conducted through scientific techniques can go wrong, ground reports, based on unscientific sampling methods and gathered through ground feedback, can also be misleading. This is because such local reports usually tend to portray elections as ‘pitched battles', with supporters of each camp claiming that victory is theirs. This was seen even in the Madhya Pradesh state elections in 2023, which largely became a one-sided battle in the end. 

Read | Why Are Young Voters Staying Away From Elections? What Are Their Concerns?

Let's look at some data. In the 1999 general elections, the BJP won 182 seats with a 24% vote share, while the Congress won 114 with 28% votes. Though the gap between the vote shares of the two was just 4 percentage points (pp), the BJP still managed to form a government with the support of NDA allies. 

In the next general elections in 2004, the BJP won 138 seats (-44) with a 22% vote share (-2 pp), while the Congress won 145 (+31) with a 27% vote share (-1 pp). The Congress formed a government with its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies, and the BJP was handed a shock defeat despite its ‘India Shining' campaign. 

On Victory Margins

In 1999, the BJP's average lead on the seats it won was around 65,000 in terms of votes and 9 pp in terms of vote share. A victory margin of 10 pp is usually considered a close contest as a swing of only 5 pp is enough to reverse the mandate. The BJP victory in 1999 was thus not huge, which is partly why it lost to the Congress in the next general election. 

In 2019, the BJP's average winning margin for its victory seats was around 2.32 lakh votes and 20 pp in terms of vote share. A victory margin of 20 pp is considered a one-sided contest as a swing of more than 10 pp is needed to tilt the contest. Can this huge margin be reversed in 2024? 

Read | Opinion: Elections 2024: Why Brand Modi Is Unlikely To Fizzle Out Anytime Soon

In the 1984 elections, even though the Congress won 414 seats with an average vote share lead of 22 pp, it lost the subsequent elections in 1989. Notably, what also helped the party in 1984 was the deep sympathy generated after Indira Gandhi's assassination. That waned by the next election, and the Bofors scandal and corruption allegations against the Gandhi family cost it dear. 

So, there comes the question: is the political climate in India today similar to 1984 or 2004, or 2019? Well, the answer depends on which side of the fence you are on.

(Amitabh Tiwari is a political strategist and commentator. In his earlier avatar, he was a corporate and investment banker.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.

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Lecturing India On Human Rights Won't Work: Indian American Lawmakers

Reiterating that they would continue to raise the issue of human rights in India with its leadership, Indian American lawmakers on Thursday, however, said that lecturing New Delhi on this issue is unlikely to work and they favoured entering into a conversation with the Indian leadership on their concerns with them.

"India was colonized for over 100 years. So, when we're having a conversation about human rights, and you're having a conversation with (External Affairs Minister S) Jai Shankar or someone else, you have to understand that just coming in from a perspective of lecturing India. When they say that we've had colonial powers lecture us for hundreds of years is not going to be productive," Congressman Ro Khanna told members of the Indian American community during the "Desi Decides" Summit of Indian American Impact.

Khanna, who is also co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, was joined by three other Indian American lawmakers -- Shri Thanedar, Pramila Jayapal and Dr Ami Bera -- during the panel discussion, which was moderated by Zohreen Shah, ABC national correspondent, who asked them about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relations with the Muslim community.

"Having a conversation (with India) saying, here are the imperfections in our democracy, what are the imperfections in your democracy, and how do we collectively advance democracy and human rights, I think is a more constructive approach," Khanna said.

Bera said he agrees with Khanna. "I've said the same to the (Indian) foreign minister. If India loses its secular nation, it changes who she is as a country and how the rest of the world views it," he said.

He also said that a Trump presidency is not necessarily the same as Prime Minister Modi being in power. "Because we still have a vibrant democracy here. We have a vibrant opposition party in the Democratic Party. We still believe in the freedom of the press and those are all things that I worry about India's future," he said.

"You see what's happening to the freedom of the press. You're not really seeing a viable opposition party or it's being dismantled. The vibrant democracy has to have all of those things, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the ability to push back. I hope you don't ever see a second Trump presidency. But if that were to happen, you will see our democracy survive the first time, push back, and our democracy will survive. I certainly hope India's democracy survives," Bera said.

Jayapal said she agrees with both Bera and Khanna. "The only thing I would add is that I think we have to be able to critique our own country's imperfections and any other country's imperfections. That's actually our job in Congress. We shouldn't lecture, I agree with Roe (Khanna). But we do have to think about all of the United States' interests. That is economic, for sure. India is an important partner for us. It's an important partner because of other regional dynamics as well and global dynamics," she said.

"It is also important for us to think about our values. Just like we criticize the Chinese government for the treatment of Uyghurs or any other country in the world, we have to be able to also look at what's happening in India and call attention to it," she said.

"I know that I have been called a bad Indian and all kinds of other things for raising these. But I would just say I'm not backing away from that because those are the values of the United States. Those are my values. I don't think it means that you don't appreciate or like or want a partnership between India and the United States to raise legitimate concerns about freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and all of the other things that we are seeing in India any more than if we raise it here it means somehow that we're bad Americans. No, that is our job to be moving towards a more perfect union in the United States and with all of our global partnerships," Jayapal asserted.

Thanedar said he favours a strong India-US relationship. "We need a strong US-India relationship. India historically has been playing both sides, Russia and US. But it's time for India to commit to a strong friendship with the United States, and that's something that I want to work on. The United States has to recognize India's power, its economic power, and India remains the best solution to counteract China's aggression. So, I'm just working on a strong India-US relationship," he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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