A formidable Karnataka continued their winning streak in the Super League stages of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy after they trounced Delhi by 8 wickets in Group B match, in Indore, on Sunday.
Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar has announced that his party will not oppose statehood for Vidarbha. "We will not come in the way of a decision on Vidarbha," Pawar had said.
Meanwhile, the farmers across the region have extended their wholehearted support to the fast undertaken by the former Union Minister Mohan Dharia in Pune.
Deepak Chahar's heroics (four wickets in an over) went in vain as Rajasthan went down by 1 run
The agitation for a separate Vidarbha state gained momentum on Monday with all political parties barring Shiv Sena deciding to intensify the movement and call a bandh in support of their demand.
Wasim Jaffer defied age and modern fitness norms to flay a young Rest of India Mumbaikar attack throughout the second day of Irani Cup as Vidarbha reached a mammoth 589 for three, riding on Mumbai maestro's unbeaten 285.
Amid a vociferous campaign for a separate Telangana, a Congress leader from Maharashtra has shot off a letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi demanding carving out of Vidarbha from the state.
Uttar Pradesh notched up a mammoth 524 for seven with Arish Alam and Piyush Chawla scoring half centuries in their Group B Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha in Nagpur on Sunday.
Among the fatalities recorded on Friday, the maximum 17 were from Uttar Pradesh, 14 from Bihar, five from Odisha and four from Jharkhand, where officials said more than 1,300 people are hospitalised with heatstroke conditions.
Saurashtra took firm control as India discard Jaydev Unadkat grabbed a five-wicket haul to skittle out Vidarbha for a paltry 151 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. After Unadkat's 5/70 saw Subramanium Badrinath's side being bowled out in just 50.4 overs, Saurashtra batted cautiously to end the day at 70 for one in 30 overs. Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara looked in good touch as he remained unbeaten on 45 from 71 balls with nine boundaries to his credit. With the wicket easing out, Pujara looks set for a long haul and Saurashtra will be aiming to out-bat the opposition. Giving Pujara company is the other opener Sagar Jogiyani, who consumed 87 balls to remain undefeated on 19.
'About Gautam bhai, I feel he has got immense knowledge about how the game is played. He has won two titles previously with KKR, and his strategies have been spot-on in terms of what execution we have to make against the opposition.'
Ten to 20 days of heatwave are expected against the normal of four to eight days in the entire April-June period.
At stumps on the second day, Jaffer was batting on 61 off 120 balls and Akshay Wakhare was yet to open his account, as Vidabha trailed by 89 runs.
Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer might have failed to snap their lean run, but Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur on Sunday placed trust in them to return to run-making ways and exhorted for backing the senior batters during their struggle period.
Saurashtra's middle-order batter Sheldon Jackson followed in senior teammate Cheteshwar Pujara's footsteps, completing his century on day two of their Ranji Trophy Group A tie against Rajasthan to guide the defending champions to a 300-plus total in Jaipur on Saturday.
Vidarbha, the land of farmers' suicides, may soon witness changes in cultivation methods.
The entire Vidarbha region in Maharashtra is facing a drought-like situation following huge water scarcity due to drying of lakes and wells in most of the villages due to intense heat wave conditions.
Heatwave conditions have been prevailing in Odisha since April 15 and the Gangetic West Bengal since April 17, according to the MeT department.
Vidarbha region has gained notoriety for a high number of farmers' suicides and the multi-crore irrigation scam. Sanjay Jog reports
Ravi Bishnoi stole the show on Sunday night.
Under intense scrutiny, Iyer looked rusty at the start of the IPL and got out for a two-ball duck in their opener against SRH. He had some significant contributions later on but his efforts were all overshadowed by Narine and Salt's explosive batting.
Lakhs of voters will have to bear the searing heat when they step out to exercise their franchise in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday.
Opener Mukul Dagar struck a patient century as Uttar Pradesh posted 248 for four on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Vidarbha in Nagpur on Saturday.
A belligerent century from India all-rounder Shivam Dube brought Mumbai back into the contest against Uttar Pradesh.
The mishap took place after 11 bogeys of an EMU train from Kasara going to Kalyan derailed possibly due to landslide, Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal said in New Delhi.
India pacer Umesh Yadav wreaked havoc with a sensational five-wicket haul as Vidarbha shot out Haryana for just 55 runs on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match, in Rohtak, on Friday.
Intense heat swept through east India and parts of the southern peninsular region on Thursday, testing power grids and prompting the Kerala government to order closure of educational institutions till May 6.
Chandrakant Pandit 'liked to do things a certain way and that didn't sit well with certain players. It caused a little bit of tension in the changing room.'
Displaying steely resolve, Dhruv Shorey stood out with an unbeaten century and steered Delhi to 271 for six, but Vidarbha did just enough to share honours on day one of the Ranji Trophy final in Indore.
'That's the beauty of Mumbai cricket. Nobody interferes with the running of the cricket, only the cricketers are allowed to run the cricket.'
As many as 17 farmers have allegedly committed suicide in the agrarian crisis-hit Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in the last five days, a non-government organisation working for their cause claimed on Monday.
Yash Dhull was on Monday removed as Delhi captain, hours after the team suffered a heavy defeat against Puducherry in their Ranji Trophy opening match.
The increase in the frequency of attacks by naxalites on the police and civilians in Vidarbha has law enforcement agencies worried.
The Shiv Sena has been holding protests against frequent load-shedding in most parts of Maharashtra, which is going through a severe power crisis.\n
Even as the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition government in Maharashtra is drawing flak over the rising cases of farmers' suicides, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday promised crop loans at three per cent interest rate to overcome the agrarian crisis.Addressing her first election rally in the Vidarbha region, which has been rattled by a series of suicides by debt-ridden farmers, the Congress president tried to woo the farmers.
Images from the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium, Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
Opener Viraj Awate's superb first-class debut continued as he scored an unbeaten half-century to help Maharashtra take an overall 111-run lead against Vidarbha in their Group B Ranji Trophy match, in Nagpur, on Monday.