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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The first thing my grandmother did when she entered the kitchen each morning was say a quick prayer and soak a ball of tamarind. Be it sambar, rasam, kuzhambu, kootu or thogayal, tamarind extract was a must, and starting the soak early meant the tamarind extract was ready by the time cooking began. True to that lineage, tamarind features in almost every south Indian inspired recipe I have shared in this column over the years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Jim Courier, former World No.1, called it the revenge tour. Last year, Jannik Sinner missed out on some of the biggest events on the tennis tour—Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid—since he was serving a three-month doping ban.

Elon Musk has predicted that in 10 to 20 years, work will become optional. He has done this umpteen times—in response to a New York Times article about Amazon, at a US-Saudi investment forum, in a conversation with Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, at Viva Technology 2024 in Paris and the 2023 AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park.

After reaching a framework for a trade deal with India that raised the hope of bilateral ties settling down, Washington has thrown a fresh curve ball. On Tuesday, the US commerce department announced varying import duties on solar panels from three Asian countries, including a whopping 126% on those from India. The other two, Indonesia and Laos, also face similarly high tariffs.

Delhi Capitals won against Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk for the first time since 2010. The visitors registered a comfortable 25-run win after posting 183/6 in 20 overs. Opting to bat first, DC were led by KL Rahul's 77 runs off 51 balls, which included six fours and three sixes. He was supported by Abhishek Porel, who scored 33 runs off 20 balls, while Tristan Stubbs gave the finishing touches with an unbeaten 24 off 12 balls. For CSK, Khaleel Ahmed picked up two wickets and was excellent with the new ball. Matheesh Pathirana bowled a superb spell in the death to restrict DC under 200. The home team never looked to be in the chase as they were reduced to 41/3 inside the powerplay. Vijay Shankar scored an unbeaten 69 runs but his runs came off 54 balls, which proved to be too slow in the end. MS Dhoni scored 30 not out off 26 balls as CSK did not show any intent to win the match after losing a few wickets upfront. DC now have three wins in as many matches and top the table, while CSK find themselves in a spot of bother with just one win in four matches, placing them eighth among the 10 teams.

Ben Sears was the star for New Zealand, scalping five Pakistani batters and ending with 5-34, the same as his five-wicket haul in the previous ODI match. The match, reduced to 42 overs per side due to a wet outfield, saw Pakistan all out for 221 chasing New Zealand's 264-8. New Zealand’s Rhys Mariu scored a maiden half-century (58 off 61 balls) after the team was put in to bat by Pakistani skipper Mohammad Rizwan. The Kiwi team lost opener Nick Kelly early, but Mariu reached his half-century with ease. Mitchell fell shortly before reaching fifty, and Muhammad Abbas made a small contribution before Home team captain Michael Bracewell's late hitting. Bracewell added a quickfire 59 off 40 balls, including six sixes. For Pakistan, Akif Javed took 4-62 and Naseem Shah claimed 2-54.

Ben Sears's second five-wicket haul on the trot inspired New Zealand to whitewash Pakistan with a 3-0 ODI series triumph, following their 43-run success in the third and final clash of the series at Bay Oval on Saturday. In a 42-over-reduced game due to a wet outfield, Pakistan's pursuit of a 265-run target began with Imam-ul-Haq retiring hurt after taking a bouncer from William O'Rourke on his helmet. He instantly removed his helmet, holding his jaw. After a brief halt, he was eventually taken off the field, and Pakistan's premier batter, Babar Azam, arrived at the crease to carry the fight for his side. A 69-run partnership brewed between Babar and Abdullah Shafique as the duo flaunted their textbook strokeplay. Babar danced around the track to dispatch Michael Bracewell's flighted delivery past the boundary rope for a maximum. Sears, who effectively used the short ball ploy, broke the threatening partnership. Shafique (33) swivelled his hook without any timing straight down to Jacob Duffy. The floodgates opened, and Pakistan started losing scalps at regular intervals. Babar's 50 kept Pakistan's hopes high, but Daryl Mitchell set him up perfectly to scythe his scalp. Skipper Mohammad Rizwan (37) and Tayyab Tahir (33) resisted but gave away their wickets to Duffy. Sears cleaned up the middle and tail-end to force Pakistan to pack on 221, surrendering to a 43-run defeat.

CSK has suffered back-to-back losses — including their heaviest-ever defeat at Chepauk against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and a narrow miss against Rajasthan Royals (RR). With the team returning home this Saturday, they'll be hoping to turn things around at their fortress. However, concerns linger over captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s fitness after he sustained an injury in the previous game. Should he be unavailable, veteran MS Dhoni is expected to take over the captaincy reins once again. Frustration has also been building within the CSK camp regarding pitch conditions. Following the RCB loss, head coach Stephen Fleming was seen inspecting the surface with the curator. He later voiced concerns about the Chepauk pitches, which have failed to offer the spin support CSK had banked on while assembling their squad. ALSO READ: MS Dhoni to return as CSK captain against Delhi Capitals? Shane Watson drops a big hint

Chennai find themselves in unfamiliar territory, sitting eighth on the points table after three matches. They’ve managed just one win and suffered back-to-back defeats against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals. In contrast, Delhi Capitals are soaring. They’ve won both their matches this season and currently sit in second place, behind Punjab Kings.

IPL 2025 campaign in style, sharing the top spot with Punjab Kings (PBKS), while Chennai Super Kings (CSK) find themselves under pressure after a rocky start. CSK has suffered back-to-back losses — including their heaviest-ever defeat at Chepauk against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and a narrow miss against Rajasthan Royals (RR). With the team returning home this Saturday, they'll be hoping to turn things around at their fortress. However, concerns linger over captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s fitness after he sustained an injury in the previous game. Should he be unavailable, veteran MS Dhoni is expected to take over the captaincy reins once again. Frustration has also been building within the CSK camp regarding pitch conditions. Following the RCB loss, head coach Stephen Fleming was seen inspecting the surface with the curator. He later voiced concerns about the Chepauk pitches, which have failed to offer the spin support CSK had banked on while assembling their squad. ALSO READ: MS Dhoni to return as CSK captain against Delhi Capitals? Shane Watson drops a big hint

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant and bowler Digvesh Singh have both been penalised following LSG’s IPL 2025 match against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Pant has been fined INR 12 lakh for his team’s slow over-rate during the match, marking his first offence under the IPL’s Code of Conduct. According to Article 2.22 of the Code, which deals with minimum over-rate offences, captains are held responsible when their teams fail to bowl their allotted overs within the prescribed time limit. Additionally, Digvesh Singh has been fined 50% of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. This fine follows his second Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 this season. Singh had previously accumulated one demerit point in LSG’s match against Punjab Kings on April 1, 2025, bringing his total to two demerit points after this latest breach. For both players, the decisions made by the Match Referee are final and binding as per IPL regulations.

India captain Rohit's form with the bat has put the MI team management in a tight spot. The same is for LSG skipper Pant whose extended dry run is not helping matters for the home side. With both the teams almost identically placed with a solitary win each in three games, the contest could boil down to who exploits the conditions better on the day. Given that the curators haven't been providing tailor-made pitches to the home sides — something that has caused frustration of the coaches and players in some franchises — the team that gets a head-start with the bat or ball in the power play overs could call the shots. The prolonged absence of MI pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah due to injury and the management maintaining a stoic silence on his return is only adding to the frustration of the Hardik Pandya-led side.

Kolkata Knight Riders splashed a whopping Rs 23.75 crore to secure Venkatesh Iyer at the IPL mega auction, the cricketing world went into a frenzy. The price tag made him KKR's most expensive player ever and the third costliest buy in the league's history. But after scoring just 9 runs in his first two outings this season, murmurs turned into full-blown debates—was he really worth the money? However, his innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad was enough to show the class player that he is. Iyer has finally opened up on the costly buy and the pressure it builds on players like him. «I won't lie, there is a little pressure. You guys talk so much,» Iyer quipped at the post-match press conference. «But being the highest-paid player (in KKR) does not mean I have to make runs in every match.» «It's about how I am winning for the team and what impact I am able to make. The pressure is not about how much money I am getting or how many runs I have to make. That's never been the pressure on me,» he said firmly.

Both teams are struggling to find consistency this season, with just one win in three matches. While SRH holds the 8th spot in the points table, KKR finds itself at the bottom (10th place) due to an inferior net run rate. With the pitch conditions and weather playing a crucial role, both teams will look to make the most of the Eden Gardens surface to secure a much-needed victory.

Sai Kishore bowled just three balls to Krunal Pandya but that small passage spread across 13th and 15th over of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's innings revealed the big strides the Gujarat Titans spinner has taken as a T20 bowler. In the second ball of the 15th over, Sai Kishore bowled a back-of-the-length delivery that elicited a tame return catch from a clueless Krunal. It required a second viewing to realise that Sai Kishore had delivered a carrom ball — an unusual entity in a left-arm spinner's world. But not really for Sai Kishore as he always chases something novel to stay ahead of the curve. His bowling is an extension of his life where he is a seeker — of his spiritual inner self, new places and people and fresh experiences. True to that trait, the 28-year-old has been practicing the carrom ball over the last few seasons but it was the first time he unleashed it in a real match.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), it got even worst for Digvesh Singh Rathi, an emerging player of the IPL 2025 season, all because of his «Kersik Williams-like» celebration. The bowler, playing only his third IPL game, gave his team an early breakthrough in clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS), who were chasing a total of 172 runs. Rathi dismissed Priyansh Arya in his very first over, giving the perfect start to the hosts. However, his celebration is something that caught the eyes of the crowd and of course, the umpires. He gave a send-off to Arya with a notebook-pen celebration, therefore violating IPL code of conduct. Rathi was fined 25 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for the same. «Digvesh Singh, Bowler, Lucknow Super Giants has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated One Demerit Point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Punjab Kings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday,» IPL said in a statement late Tuesday night. As per IPL, Digvesh admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction.

Ashwani Kumar made a dream start to his IPL career for Mumbai Indians, delivering a standout performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in MI’s first home game of the season at Wankhede Stadium. The left-arm seamer returned with figures of 4/24, the best by an Indian debutant in IPL history. He also became the first Indian bowler in a decade to take a wicket with his very first ball in the tournament. The pacer, known for his expertise in death overs, was snapped up by Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh in the 2025 mega auction.

Ryan Rickelton was left gobsmacked after witnessing Suryakumar Yadav execute his trademark shot, something he is not willing to pull off anytime soon. During the Mumbai Indians encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede on Monday, Suryakumar made his presence felt with a pulsating cameo towards the end. In a low-scoring encounter, Mumbai were asked to chase down 117 by the Knight Riders. Rickelton had done most of the job by the time Suryakumar arrived at the crease. On his second delivery of the night, Suryakumar effortlessly unleashed his trademark shot. Without wasting much time, he got across the line and scooped it over the fine-leg boundary straight into the stand. «I just said to Quinny that SKY is a joke, stuff that I can't do, stuff that I can't dream of. He has played that shot many a time, I'm not going to try it but I'm glad that he is in our team,» Rickelton said after the match.

Ashwani Kumar picked up four wickets on IPL debut as MI restricted KKR to 116 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. The left-arm pacer got the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane on the first ball he bowled and went on to become the first Indian to take a four wicket haul on IPL debut. After the heroic performance, the 23-year-old said he was feeling the pressure early on and had eaten only a banana before the match as he was not hungry. “I am feeling very good. I was feeling pressure early on but the team environment did not make me feel that way. I just had a banana because there was pressure, so was not feeling very hungry. I had planned a little but they told me to enjoy myself on debut and bowl what I have been bowling,” Kumar said. “Hardik bhai told me to bowl short and to bowl at the body and that led to a wicket. In my village, everyone would be watching. They were just waiting for my debut, and by god's grace, I got an opportunity tonight and did well,” he added.

Kolkata Knight Riders were bowled out for runs in overs against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. Debutant Ashwani Kumar impressed with a stunning wicket haul. The KKR innings never got going as they lost Sunil Narine in the first over when Trent Boult knocked him over. Deepak Chahar then dismissed Quinton de Kock in the next over. By the end of the seventh over, KKR had lost half their side. Kumar, who became the first Indian to take more than four wickets on IPL debut, took a wicket on his first ball when Ajinkya Rahane was caught at third man. While the left-arm pacer was the pick of the bowlers, Chahar got two wickets. For Angkrish Raghuvanshi was the top scorer with 26 runs off 16 balls. Impact player Manish Pandey scored 19 runs and Rinku Singh managed to score 17 runs.

MI, struggling with a 0-2 start to the season, will be hoping to secure their first win in front of their home crowd. On the other hand, KKR, the defending champions, are brimming with confidence after a commanding victory over Rajasthan Royals. With both teams dealing with their share of injuries and form concerns, here’s a look at the likely playing XIs for the match and key predictions for your Dream11 Fantasy teams.