Former Australia opener David Warner rolled back the years with a brutal unbeaten century, but his heroics were overshadowed as Hobart Hurricanes completed a record-breaking run chase against Sydney Thunder in a BBL|15 run-fest at the ENGIE Stadium.

Warner smashed 130 not out off 65 deliveries, hammering 11 fours and nine sixes in an innings that rewrote the record books. It was the highest individual score of BBL|15 and the highest ever by a Sydney Thunder batter. Despite the scale of the knock, Thunder were left empty-handed as the Hurricanes chased down the daunting target with 13 balls to spare.

David Warner joins elite T20 century club

Warner’s century was only his second in the BBL history and his first since 2011, underlining the rarity of the moment. The knock also took him to nine men’s T20 centuries overall, placing him alongside Virat Kohli and Rilee Rossouw on the all-time list.

130 not out. 65 balls.

Here’s the best of David Warner’s incredible #BBL15 hundred! pic.twitter.com/GperFoc4ye

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 3, 2026

Only Chris Gayle with 22 centuries and Babar Azam with 11 sit above Warner in men’s T20 cricket. Warner’s late assault was particularly savage, plundering 50 runs from his final 15 balls to drag Thunder to a formidable total.

Sydney Thunder post 205 but Hobart Hurricanes refuse to blink

Put in to bat first, Sydney Thunder finished on 4 for 205, with Warner dominating proceedings from start to finish. Nic Maddinson provided support with a brisk 30, but it was Warner’s power-hitting that ensured Thunder crossed the 200-run mark.

David Warner brought out the ‘6-7’ celebration after his trademark jump 😂 #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/e3TtlebNBf

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 3, 2026

At the halfway stage, the total appeared match-winning, especially given Thunder’s desperation for points after a difficult start to the season. However, Hobart Hurricanes had other ideas on a flat Sydney surface.

Tim Ward and Mitch Owen destroy the chase early

Hobart’s response was explosive. Openers Tim Ward and Mitch Owen launched a stunning counterattack, racing to 108 without loss in just 8.2 overs. Ward led the charge with a superb 90 off 49 balls, while Owen blazed 45 from only 18 deliveries.

The blistering stand effectively broke the back of the chase, forcing Thunder into defensive mode far earlier than expected and turning the contest into a shootout.

Sydney Thunder clawed back briefly through Daniel Sams, who claimed 3 for 36 to create a flicker of hope. However, that momentum was short-lived as Nikhil Chaudhary held his nerve.

Also READ: PS vs AS, BBL|15 Match Prediction – Who will win today’s match between Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers?

Chaudhary finished unbeaten on 29 off 14 balls, guiding Hobart to 206 for 4 and sealing the highest successful run chase ever recorded at ENGIE Stadium. The victory also marked a record BBL chase at the venue.

The defending champions have just completed a record run chase at ENGIE Stadium 💜 #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/gkKm4d6R1a

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 3, 2026

The win lifted the defending champions into the top half of the BBL|15 standings with a 5-2 record and extended their dominance over Thunder to six consecutive victories. For Sydney Thunder, the loss was crushing. They slumped to 1-5 for the season and 0-3 at ENGIE Stadium, leaving their finals hopes hanging by a thread.

Also READ: Shreyas Iyer IN, Ruturaj Gaikwad OUT as BCCI announce India squad for New Zealand ODIs

You don’t have permission to access “http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/rape-convict-ram-rahim-granted-40-day-parole-again-after-5-months-10277755” on this server.

Reference #18.f5493417.1767518701.210f503f

https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.f5493417.1767518701.210f503f

Joe Root was unbeaten on 72 and Harry Brook on 78 at the end of Day 1 (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Joe Root and Harry Brook blunted Australia’s all-pace attack with an unbroken 154-run stand on Sunday, rescuing England and putting them in a strong position on a rain-hit opening day of the fifth and final Ashes Test. Batting after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss at a sold-out Sydney Cricket Ground, the pair guided the visitors to 211 for 3 before bad light forced the players off the field just before tea.Subsequent rain and the threat of lightning meant no further play was possible, with stumps called an hour early.

Root was unbeaten on 72 and Brook on 78 after the duo came together with England struggling at 57 for 3 following the dismissals of Ben Duckett (27), Zak Crawley (16) and Jacob Bethell (10) before lunch.The world’s top two-ranked batters counter-attacked on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers, bringing up hard-fought half-centuries and keeping the scoreboard moving briskly despite dark storm clouds gathering overhead.“We’re in very good position, obviously three down at the end of the end of play,” said Brook.“Hopefully we can make the most of that going into tomorrow.“It was good pitch,” he added.“When I first went in it felt like the bounce was fairly steep. But then it it started to get a little bit lower and slower and just generally feels like a good wicket.”England entered the match buoyed by a four-wicket win inside two days in the previous Test in Melbourne and were eager to carry forward the momentum. That victory ended a 15-year winless streak in Australia but came too late to save the series, with the hosts having already retained the urn through wins in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.Australia sprung a selection surprise by including all-rounder Beau Webster in place of fast bowler Jhye Richardson, while off-spinner Todd Murphy was overlooked.It marked the first time in almost 140 years that Australia have gone without a front-line spinner in a Sydney Test.“Hate doing it,” said Australia skipper Steve Smith.“But if we keep producing wickets that we don’t think are going to spin and seam is going to play a big part and cracks are going to play a big part, you kind of get pushed into a corner.”England made one change, bringing in seamer Matthew Potts for the injured Gus Atkinson, with frontline spinner Shoaib Bashir missing out for a fifth straight Test.The day began with a tribute to first responders following last month’s Bondi mass shooting that claimed 15 lives, drawing loud applause when hero Ahmed Al Ahmed — who tackled one of the gunmen — appeared.Duckett looked fluent early, hammering five boundaries off Mitchell Starc in a brisk 27 from 24 balls. However, Starc had the final say, inducing an outside edge from an angled delivery that was taken by wicketkeeper Alex Carey at full stretch — the fifth time the left-armer has dismissed Duckett in the series.Crawley was next to fall, trapped lbw by Michael Neser, leaving England 51 for 2 by the first drinks break.Bethell endured a tentative stay, taking 15 balls to score his first run before edging a moving delivery from Scott Boland to Carey as England slipped to 57 for 3.Root then joined Brook at the crease and the pair set about rebuilding. They rotated the strike effectively and punished loose deliveries, with Root bringing up his 67th Test half-century — and the 100-run partnership — with a single off Webster.Only India great Sachin Tendulkar, with 68, has scored more Test fifties.Brook enjoyed a slice of luck on 45 when he slogged Starc and the ball landed safely between three converging fielders. He kept his composure thereafter, reaching his 15th Test half-century four balls after Root by cracking Webster through the covers for a boundary.

‘Dhurandhar’ has proven to be the biggest hit of 2025 now and it has broken several box office records. The film has now completed a month at the box office and is still dominating over the new releases. It looks like ‘Dhurandhar’ starring Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan and Sara Arjun, will continue its box office run till ‘Border 2’ releases. After ‘Dhurandhar’, one saw the release of Ananya Panday and Kartik Aaryan‘s romcom ‘Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri’ on December 25 but the film turned out to be an average fare at the box office. Meanwhile, last week, one saw the release of Sriram Raghavan’s ‘Ikkis’ starring Agastya Nanda and despite competition from ‘Dhurandhar’, the film is seeing some steady growth and it could also do with the fact that it’s Dharmendra’s last onscreen appearance apart from the good word of mouth for the film. But ‘Dhurandhar’ is unstoppable. The film is on a record-breaking spree and now the only record left to be broken is that of ‘Pushpa 2’. Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’, is the only other film to achieve this feat, bringing in Rs 1234.1 crore net domestically, out of which Rs 812.14 crore came from the Hindi market. After collecting a whopping Rs 106.5 crore by the end of its fourth week, the film began fifth Friday on a grand note and collected Rs 8.75 crore. On fifth Saturday which is day 30, it made Rs 11.75 crore. And now on Sunday, day 31, the film has made Rs 3.02 crore till afternoon. The total collection of ‘Dhurandhar’ now stands at Rs 762.52 crore.On the other hand, ‘Tu Meri Main Tera..’ has begun its second Sunday (today) on a dull note and made Rs 14 lakhs around the same time. The film’s total collection is now Rs 31.44 crore. Agastya’s ‘Ikkis’ has made Rs 82 lakhs so far on Sunday on day 4. The total collection of the film so far by the end of three days is Rs 15.97 crore which is pretty decent for the film. Clearly, it has performed better ‘Tu Meri Main Tera..’.

Agastya Nanda made his big-screen debut with Sriram Raghavan‘s ‘Ikkis’. The movie has opened to mixed responses from the audience. Also, the film received backlash for being diplomatic and showing a peaceful tone towards Pakistan as compared to Aditya Dhar’s recent release, ‘Dhurandhar’. The makers have added a mid-credits disclaimer about the neighboring country’s cruelty towards India.

Disclaimer about Jaideep Ahlawat’s Pakistani brigadier character

The disclaimer is about the character Brigadier KM Nisaar, played by Jaideep Ahlawat in the movie. The war drama showcases the brigadier welcoming the martyred second lieutenant Arun Khetarpal’s father at his home in Pakistan and talking about the soldier who laid down his life.

The disclaimer in Hindi read, “पाकिस्तानी ब्रिगेडियर के. म. निसार का मानवीय व्यवहार एक अपवाद स्वरूप घटना ही है। अन्यथा हमारा पड़ोसी मुल्क बिल्कुल भी विश्वसनीय नहीं है। पाकिस्तान की सेनाओं ने युद्धकाल और शांति दोनों ही समय में हमारे सैनिकों और नागरिकों के साथ बहुत ही क्रूर और अमानवीय व्यवहार किया है। उनको यातना देने में कई बार जिनेवा कन्वेंशन का खुलकर उल्लंघन किया है। पाकिस्तान द्वारा प्रायोजित आतंकवादी गतिविधियों को देखते हुए, एक जागरूक नागरिक के रूप में हमें हमेशा सतर्क और तैयार रहने की जरूरत है।जय हिन्द.”The English translation of the disclaimer is as follows: The humane behavior of Pakistani Brigadier K. M. Sisar is only an exceptional incident. Otherwise, our neighboring country is not trustworthy at all. Pakistan’s armies, both during war and in times of peace, have behaved very cruelly and inhumanely with our soldiers and citizens. In torturing them, they have repeatedly and openly violated the Geneva Convention. Considering the terrorist activities sponsored by Pakistan, as responsible citizens we must always remain alert and prepared.Jai Hind.”

Internet reacts to the new disclaimer

The photo of the new disclaimer was shared on Reddit, and soon, the comment section of the post was full of reactions. A person commented, “I am sure this was added at last moment. Dhurandhar effect.” Another one added, “Never sail in two boats….choose a side, stick to it, it feels more authentic that way.” An individual wrote, “lmao this is Dhurandhar effect. The film makers might have feared people not watching the film due its potrayal of bHaIcHaRa w Pakistan and added this disclaimer as a precaution.“A Reddit user posted, “Well the whole movie was based on the premise of the goodness of Pakistanis so even though this makes sense considering historical wars like 1999 i don’t see why the makers put this at the end after galloring an anti war narrative the whole movie ?? As a comment said stick to a boat.”

More about ‘Ikkis’

Apart from being Agastya Nanda’s big screen debut, it is also the last screen appearance of Dharmendra.The movie is based on the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who was martyred during the I&&& of 1971. He was posthumously honored with the Paramvir Chakra award.Directed by Sriram Raghavan, the film also stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Simar Bhatia, and Vivaan Shah. It was released in theaters on January 1, 2026.

Private sector lender Bandhan Bank on Sunday reported a 10 per cent year-on-year growth in its loans and advances, totalling Rs 1,45,227 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2025.The bank had reported loans and advances worth Rs 1,32,019 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.According to the provisional business update submitted to the stock exchanges, the bank’s total deposits rose by 11.1 per cent to Rs 156,723 crore during the quarter under review, compared to Rs 141,002 crore as of December 31, 2024.On a sequential basis, however, total deposits saw a marginal decline of 0.9 per cent from Rs 1,58,075 crore in September 2025 quarter.The bank’s retail franchise continued to show strength, with retail deposits (including CASA) increasing by 17.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,13,420 crore. Retail term deposits witnessed a sharp surge of 35.8 per cent, reaching Rs 70,690 crore as against Rs 52,063 crore in the year-ago period.Consequently, the share of retail deposits in the total deposit bucket improved to 72.37 per cent from 68.65 per cent a year ago.However, the lender’s low-cost CASA (Current Account Savings Account) deposits declined by 4.5 per cent to Rs 42,730 crore, down from Rs 44,735 crore in the December 2024 quarter. This led to a contraction in the CASA ratio to 27.26 per cent, compared to 31.73 per cent in the same period last year and 27.97 per cent in the preceding September quarter.Bulk deposits also saw a decrease of 2.0 per cent year-on-year, standing at Rs 43,303 crore. The ratio of bulk to total term deposits stood at 37.99 per cent as of December 31, 2025, showing a significant reduction from 45.92 per cent in the corresponding period last year.On the operational front, Bandhan Bank reported an improvement in its pan-bank collection efficiency. The overall collection efficiency (excluding NPAs) stood at 98.1 per cent for the month of December 2025, up from 97.8 per cent in September 2025.The Emerging Entrepreneurs Business (EEB) segment saw its collection efficiency rise to 98.0 per cent in December from 97.5 per cent in September. Non-EEB segments maintained a steady efficiency of 98.3 per cent.The bank’s liquidity position remained comfortable with the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) standing at approximately 149.14 per cent as of December 31.

Deepa Mehta is one of the most celebrated screenwriter-directors in the industry. From giving cinema the trilogy of elements, ‘Fire,’ ‘Earth,’ and ‘Water,’ she entertained the audience with ‘Bollywood Hollywood.’ The movie recently completed 11 years, and to celebrate the milestone, Deep Mehta, in an exclusive conversation, shares some interesting insights. She told us, “I wrote it in two months only.” She added, “I wanted to write and film something that would make me laugh. This seemed like just the medicine I needed.”

Deepa Mehta on the cast of ‘Bollywood Hollywood’

The film had an ensemble cast, and talking about them, Deepa said, “Rahul Khanna and Lisa Ray were perfect for the roles of NRIs. I also cast Moushumi Chatterjee, who had a prominent role in ‘Water’ as Rahul Khanna’s mother.” She continued, “One of my favourite actors, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, who was in both ‘Fire’ and 1947 ‘Earth,’ played Lisa Ray’s father.”

Deepa Mehta unveils it was never a story on Bollywood per se

Further speaking about the plot, she mentioned, “The film is about the ironies that rule the lives of NRIs, as we’re known. Though Indians abroad are physically distanced from their homeland, they remain emotionally attached to their country, hence the title ‘Bollywood/Hollywood.’ The greatest irony, of course, is that Indian cinema has become increasingly Westernised in tone and appearance.”She further emphasised that the movie was not about Bollywood per se and added, “It’s about the dreams and emotions of ordinary NRIs, with lots of beautiful songs composed by Sandeep Chowta.” “This one stands away from my other films. It is light and fun. I am normally known as a serious filmmaker,” she concluded.