India Women crushed Sri Lanka Women by 30 runs in the 4th T20I at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, posting a record-breaking 221/2 before restricting the visitors to 191/6. Smriti Mandhana‘s 80 off 48 balls and Shafali Verma‘s 79 off 46 balls powered the hosts to their highest Women’s T20I total, sealing a commanding series victory.

Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma bolster through Sri Lanka bowling attack

Mandhana and Verma produced a breathtaking opening partnership to completely dismantle Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, laying the foundation for a massive Indian total. The duo came out with attacking intent from the very start, racing to 61 without loss inside the Powerplay and bringing up India’s fifty in just over five overs. Their 162-run stand came in just 15.1 overs, with both batters striking boundaries at will and keeping the pressure firmly on the bowlers. Mandhana played a classy yet destructive knock, reaching her half-century in 35 balls while peppering the field with 11 fours and three sixes. At the other end, Verma was even more explosive, smashing her fifty off just 30 deliveries and scoring at a furious pace as India crossed 100 in under 11 overs and surged past 150 shortly after.

Sri Lanka tried to break the momentum by rotating their bowlers, but the damage had already been done as boundaries continued to flow regularly. Verma was the first to depart after her scintillating innings, followed soon by Mandhana, but the onslaught did not stop there. Richa Ghosh walked in and finished the job in emphatic fashion, blasting an unbeaten 40 off just 16 balls, while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur provided solid support. Their late flourish powered India beyond the 200-run mark well before the final over, setting up a daunting total at a blistering run rate and leaving Sri Lanka with a mountain to climb.

Also READ: Harmanpreet Kaur surpasses Meg Lanning’s record with a historic captaincy feat following T20I series triumph over Sri Lanka

India’s tight bowling attack derails Sri Lanka chase in 4^th T20I

India’s bowlers produced a disciplined and well-planned effort to halt Sri Lanka’s chase of a stiff 222, sealing a convincing 30-run victory and keeping their hopes of a clean sweep alive. Despite early fireworks from the visitors, the Indian attack held its nerve, tightened the screws in the middle overs, and ensured the asking rate remained out of reach throughout the innings.

Sri Lanka came out all guns blazing in the Powerplay, racing to 60 for 1 as Hasini Perera and skipper Chamari Athapaththu took the attack to the bowlers. Perera’s brisk 33 off just 20 balls, studded with seven boundaries, set the tone, while Athapaththu followed it up with an aggressive half-century, reaching her fifty in only 37 deliveries. The visitors crossed fifty inside four overs and brought up the hundred in just 10.4 overs, momentarily putting India under pressure.

However, the momentum shifted once wickets began to fall at crucial intervals. Arundhati Reddy broke the opening stand by removing Perera, and Vaishnavi Sharma soon dismissed Athapaththu, pegging Sri Lanka back just as the chase threatened to gather serious momentum. Though Imesha Dulani and Harshitha Samarawickrama tried to revive hopes with a quick partnership, untimely dismissals derailed the effort.

India’s bowlers, led by Vaishnavi and Reddy, maintained control in the death overs, with Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani effectively restricting the lower order. A late flourish from Nilakshika Silva proved insufficient, as Sri Lanka finished well short of the target, allowing India to complete a comprehensive 30-run triumph and eyeing a whitewash.

Another game in the bag ✅#TeamIndia register a 3⃣0⃣-run win and lead the series 4⃣-0⃣ 🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/9lrjb3dMqU #INDvSL | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Pa4iFAYejx

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) December 28, 2025

Also READ: Renuka Thakur and Shafali Verma power India to unassailable 3-0 series lead with eight wicket win over Sri Lanka in third T20I

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

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Lean, feral dogs move with predatory intensity across a snow-dusted desert, Ladakh’s stark peaks looming behind.

SRINAGAR: It’s bloody murder on the roof of the world.A new predator has quietly grown to dangerous numbers. Feral dogs roam the cold desert of Ladakh, preying, often in packs, on endangered wildlife and attacking people. Conservationists warn that they outnumber native predators in the region.What began as a byproduct of increased tourism, military deployment, and unmanaged waste in the cold desert moonscape of Ladakh has grown into a full-blown crisis. And it’s manmade.Scientists and wildlife officials warn that these free-ranging canines — estimated by the WCBCL at nearly 45,000, far in excess of what the region’s ecology can sustain — are preying on some of Ladakh’s rarest high-altitude species. They threaten snow leopards, wolves and foxes, and prey on rare species like Pallas’s cat, the Eurasian lynx, Tibetan gazelle, blue sheep, ibex, and Himalayan marmots, said Lobzang Visuddha, chairman of the Wildlife Conservation and Birds Club of Ladakh (WCBCL), a community-based voluntary initiative by young people.The killing of a Pallas’s cat, one of the rarest and least-studied species, by feral dogs in Anley last year has alarmed conservationists like Visuddha. “In fact, there are records of killing two Pallas’s cats and Eurasian lynxes by feral dogs,” he saidThe dogs also threaten ground-nesting birds, with packs frequently chasing black-necked cranes, the UT’s state bird, and attacking ruddy shelduck chicks when they move from rocky nesting sites to nearby water bodies, Visuddha said.Advocate Tashi Gyalson, who headed the local government in Leh as chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council from Nov 2020 to Nov 2025, said the issue hasn’t been arisen all of a sudden. “We have to admit that this situation has actually been created by humans over a long period of time,” he said.Gyalson said these dogs have been part of the ecosystem and community but rapid urbanisation meant they lost their use as hunting dogs, shepherd dogs, watchdogs and companion animals. “This, multiplied by the abundant carrying capacity of the environment, caused their rapid multiplication, and eventually caused the current situation,” he said.Experts say the worst hit is eastern Ladakh, the region with the highest concentration of wildlife, where poor waste management are subsidising the dog population.“The main concern is the availability of excess kitchen waste in areas occupied by the Army and areas where there is tourism,” Gyalson said.The stretch from Kargyan Chibra to Tsokar, in eastern Ladakh, has become a hotspot for feral dog activity due to unsustainable waste “Feral dogs are by far the most serious threat as far as the wildlife of Ladakh is concerned. I have myself seen how stray dogs in Hanle and Tso Moriri actually raided the nests of the black-necked crane, and preyed upon the eggs and young ones,” said Intesar Suhail, who was wildlife warden of Ladakh in 2013-14.“I have even seen them chasing animals as big as the Tibetan wild ass. The active ground nests of waterbirds, particularly the black-necked crane and bar-headed goose, are more vulnerable as they are located in marshy areas, surrounded by shallow waters easily accessible to dogs,” he said.A strong sense of smell and pack behaviour give feral dogs a lethal advantage over wildlife that evolved without such human-introduced predators, Visuddha said.“Though these species face natural threats in the wild, feral dogs are not one of them, they are a problem introduced by humans,” said the WCBCL founder.Ladakh has also reported at least five fatal attacks on humans, mostly on women and children, by feral dogs, which was unheard of in the region until recently, he said.Phuntsog Wangail, president of the Chamba Animal Welfare Society, which runs Ladakh’s largest animal care facility, said Ladakh was facing growing fears of long-term ecological imbalance due to feral dogs.They survive largely on food waste from tourist camps, hotels, roadside dhabas and temporary settlements. When these facilities close or relocate, particularly during winter, the canines are left without reliable food sources and begin roaming over long distances.“This seasonal movement pushes dogs into wildlife habitats, increases territorial conflicts, and accelerates breeding, placing Ladakh’s fragile ecosystem under severe pressure,” Wangail said.Visuddha said the feral dog threat to wildlife of Ladakh was next only to human activity.The rapid infrastructure expansion, including road building, power lines and mobile towers, has already fragmented habitats, while the expansion of camps, resorts, guest houses and hotels has intensified pressure on wildlife, he said.In winter, when tourism grinds to a halt and food becomes scarce, the dogs roam extensively, leading to a rise in dog-bite cases, road accidents and formation of aggressive packs. “At the same time, winter offers the best window for sterilisation, as dogs tend to remain closer to human settlements.”Data from the Animal Husbandry Department in Leh shows that 32,887 dogs were sterilised between 2015 and 2024, yet officials and conservationists say the population remains dangerously high.Wangial said Ladakh should carry out mass sterilisation over the next two years, with a special focus on female dogs and puppies, while calling for strict enforcement of animal welfare laws, including heavy penalties for dog dislocation, abandonment and cruelty.He called for the replication of successful models from the Netherlands and Bhutan, where mass sterilisation, strict enforcement of animal welfare laws and strong community participation have led to significant reductions in stray populations.While Visuddha said govt appears unconcerned about the issue, Gyalson offered a contrasting view. He said that after Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, a mission-mode campaign was launched to control the dog population. “The impact of the programme is visible as there are far fewer street puppies, especially in Leh city,” he said.However, Gyalson said several challenges continue to hinder effective population control, including Ladakh’s vast and rugged terrain, extreme climate, dispersed dog population, difficulties in capturing animals, and the absence of an accurate census.

Kalyan: Bringing major relief to motorists in Kalyan and Dombivli as well as the neighbouring cities of Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Badlapur, the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has completed repair and maintenance work on the Waldhuni railway overbridge in record time of eight days. The bridge will be reopened for motorists on Monday morning.KDMC had sought permission from the traffic police to close the bridge for 20 days — from December 20, 2025 to January 10, 2026 — to carry out extensive repair work. Owing to round-the-clock efforts and the deployment of additional machinery, the civic body completed the work in just eight days.Constructed and opened to traffic in 1998, the Waldhuni railway overbridge is a vital traffic artery connecting Kalyan with Ulhasnagar, Ambernath and Badlapur. It handles extremely heavy traffic throughout the day, making it difficult to undertake regular maintenance. Over the years, repeated potholes had developed on the bridge surface, slowing traffic movement and frequently leading to jams.During the temporary closure, commuters faced severe congestion on alternate routes, particularly as the shutdown coincided with the election period. However, KDMC officials said the inconvenience was minimised by accelerating the pace of work.The repair contract was awarded to Shah Engineers, with Jai Bharat Construction engaged as the subcontractor. Officials said the agency worked day and night using extra machinery to meet the deadline. As part of the repairs, the old bitumen layer on the bridge was completely removed, significantly reducing the dead load on the structure. A new layer of Dense Bituminous Macadam, along with highly viscous bituminous mastic has now been laid, which is expected to substantially extend the life of the bridge surface.KDMC project in-charge Rohini Lokare said that as per the quality standards followed, potholes are unlikely to appear for at least five years. She added that under the contract terms, the contractor will be responsible for maintenance of the road for the next five yearsOfficials said the smooth road surface will help reduce traffic congestion, improve connectivity, and save valuable time for motorists, restoring normal traffic flow across the region.

Smriti Mandhana, right, and Shafali Verma greet each other between the wickets during the fourth T20 International cricket match between India Women and Sri Lanka Women, at Greenfield International Stadium, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Smriti Mandhana scored 80 and Shafali Verma made 79 as India posted their highest Women’s T20I total of 221 for two in the fourth match against Sri Lanka on Sunday.After batting second in each of the first three matches of the five-game series, India were asked to bat first this time. Mandhana and Shafali dominated the Sri Lanka bowlers at the Greenfield International Stadium and set the tone for a big total.

Towards the end of the innings, Richa Ghosh hit an unbeaten 40 off 16 balls, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored 16 not out from nine deliveries to take India past 220.Mandhana and Shafali added 162 runs for the opening wicket in 15.2 overs. It is now the highest partnership for any wicket for India in women’s T20Is.This was also the fourth time the pair crossed the 100-run mark together. They went past their previous best stand of 143 against West Indies at Gros Islet in 2019.Mandhana also reached a major milestone, becoming only the fourth batter to complete 10,000 international runs across formats, after Mithali Raj, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and England’s Charlotte Edwards.Shafali continued her strong run in the series, registering her third successive half-century. She missed out on her first T20I hundred and was dismissed in the 16th over, giving a return catch to Nimasha Meepage. Shafali scored 79 off 46 balls, hitting 12 fours and one six.Both openers relied on placement and timing rather than power, finding gaps regularly and scoring on both sides of the wicket.One of the notable moments came when Shafali stepped down the pitch to hit Kawya Kavindi over her head on the final ball of the fourth over. Earlier in the same over, Mandhana had struck two boundaries.Mandhana, who had a quiet series by her standards until this match, looked comfortable at the crease. Her innings included three sixes, all hit on the leg side, along with several drives.After the dismissals of Mandhana and Shafali, Richa Ghosh took charge. She hit four fours and three sixes and added 53 runs in an unbroken partnership for the third wicket with Harmanpreet Kaur as India crossed the 200-run mark.

The civil aviation ministry has operationalised a round-the-clock Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR) to address air travellers’ grievances more promptly, amid recent flight disruptions caused by operational issues and weather-related delays, PTI reported. The control room, which became functional on December 10, brings together officials from the ministry, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airlines and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to monitor flight operations, attend to passenger complaints and coordinate real-time assistance. The PACR was set up in the aftermath of large-scale operational disruptions faced by IndiGo earlier this month and continuing challenges such as fog-related delays at several airports. Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the initiative has led to a marked improvement in grievance redressal and has received a positive response from passengers and other stakeholders. “Over 13,000 passenger grievances, received through AirSewa, social media and call channels, have been resolved, with cases expedited and prioritised through close monitoring at the Passenger Assistance Control Room (PACR),” Sinha said in a statement. According to the ministry, grievances raised across multiple platforms are now being channelled through the PACR in New Delhi, enabling quicker resolution through close coordination with airline representatives. Explaining the rationale for the initiative, Sinha said persistent issues such as frequent flight delays, inadequate or delayed refunds, long queues, poor passenger facilities at airports and incidents of lost baggage had continued to affect passenger experience across the aviation ecosystem. “These concerns highlighted the need for a structured, systematic and coordinated response rather than ad-hoc interventions,” he said. During a visit to the control room, officials and airline representatives said complaints handled at the centre range from flight cancellations and delays to lost baggage and onboard service issues. IndiGo’s Director of Customer Experience Pratik Arjun Sen said the airline receives a mixed set of passenger queries at the PACR and efforts are made to resolve grievances at the earliest. Since the disruptions earlier this month, Sen said IndiGo’s customer experience team has been working to address issues such as ticket refunds, with noticeable improvement. Ajeet Tiwari, Assistant Manager of Operations at SpiceJet, said flight delays are among the most common grievances flagged by passengers, adding that workflow at the control room has been smooth. Lisa Agarwal from Air India Express’s Customer Happiness Team said complaints often relate to lost or damaged baggage and meals not being served onboard, with most issues targeted for resolution within 72 hours. Akasa Air’s Senior Customer Service Agent Shahbaj Alam said the airline receives around 15–16 passenger queries daily at the centre, largely related to service issues, flight cancellations and refunds. Ministry official Ravneet Kaur said enquiries primarily concern ticket refunds and baggage-related issues, and are being addressed promptly through the PACR, which operates on a 24×7 basis.

A YouTube thumbnail featuring a before-and-after image of Janhvi Kapoor has snowballed into a major social media controversy. The image was used by Dhruv Rathee in his video discussing “fake beauty” and cosmetic procedures, prompting sharp reactions online. Matters escalated when several users alleged that the video was a reaction to Janhvi’s recent post supporting Bangladeshi Hindus, with timing and visuals fuelling speculation.

Viral claim sparks outrage

The narrative gained momentum after a social media post went viral with the caption, “Wake Up Hindus. Janhvi Kapoor posted for Bangladeshi Hindu & Dhruv Rathee made a video questioning her beauty.”

Soon after, timelines were flooded with criticism, with many users assuming intent without watching the video or verifying the sequence of events.

“Tumhe Bhagwan ne dimag diya hai,” says Rathee

Addressing the allegations head-on, Rathee released a clarification video and questioned why people were believing viral posts without basic logic. Reacting sharply, he said, “Tumhe Bhagwan ne dimag diya hai, kyun nahi istemal karte iska? Matlab BJP ke IT cell wale jo post dalte rahenge, tum usse andhadhun yakeen karte rahoge.” (God has given you a brain — why don’t you use it? You’ll keep blindly believing whatever posts the BJP’s IT cell puts out.)He further pointed out the timeline mismatch, adding, “Pehli chiz toh jis din Janhvi Kapoor ne post daali, usi din maine aadhe ghante ka video dal diya. Kya yeh realistically possible hai?” (First of all, I uploaded a half-hour-long video on the very same day Janhvi Kapoor shared her post. Is that even realistically possible?)

On Bangladeshi Hindus and ‘indirect criticism’

Rathee dismissed claims that he was targeting Janhvi for her stand on Bangladeshi Hindus, calling the allegation illogical.“Dusra maine khud Bangladeshi Hindus ke upar reel banayi, toh main uss chiz ko lekar kyun criticise karunga?” (Secondly, I myself made a reel about Bangladeshi Hindus, so why would I criticise someone over that?)Taking a swipe at those accusing him of indirect attacks, he added, “Main tum logo ki tarah nahi ho ke kisiko indirectly criticise karta. Main jo bolna hota hai muh pe bolta hoon. Naa main tumhare papa se darta aur naa hi main kisi Bollywood celebrity se darta.” (I’m not like you people who criticise someone indirectly. I say whatever I have to say directly to their face. I’m not afraid of your father and I’m not afraid of any Bollywood celebrity either.)

“The video is about plastic surgery, not Janhvi”

Clarifying the core subject of his content, Rathee stressed that the video focused purely on cosmetic procedures and their societal impact.“Yeh pura video plastic surgery ke upar hai, ke uska kya impact padhta hai society pe. Iss poore video mein maine Janhvi Kapoor se koi sawaal nahi kiya.” (This entire video is about plastic surgery and the impact it has on society. Throughout the video, I did not question Janhvi Kapoor at all.)He explained that Janhvi was featured in the thumbnail because she is among the few Bollywood actors who have openly spoken about undergoing cosmetic enhancements.

Janhvi Kapoor yet to respond

As the debate continues online, Janhvi Kapoor has not reacted to the controversy or Dhruv Rathee’s clarification video so far.