Tourists enjoy in the snow at south portal of Atal Tunnel in Himachal’s Rohtang. In the past 24 hours, minimum night temperatures were below 0°C at some places in the state and Jammu and Kashmir

NEW DELHI: Cold wave to severe cold wave conditions are very likely to continue in Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for two more days (Jan 12-13), IMD said Sunday. The forecast and prevailing conditions in north India are in sync with the Met department’s earlier prediction about this winter witnessing four-five additional cold wave days, reports Vishwa Mohan. On Sunday, Pilani (east Rajasthan) was the coldest spot in the northern plains at 1.2 degrees C. IMD said cold wave conditions may continue in “isolated pockets” of north and northwest India on Jan 14 (Wednesday) and ease thereafter. It predicted “cold day” in isolated parts of Bihar till Jan 16. Dense fog is very likely to continue during morning hours over northwest India and Bihar for the next five days, it added.North, N-W India to see more coldwave days than normalD ense fog continuing during morning hours over the next few days means cold wave and foggy morning conditions may coincide with both Lohri and Makar Sankranti celebrations in most parts of north and northwest India, and parts of east India. The states in north and northwest India normally get four to six coldwave days from Dec to Feb, but this time the region is expected to get a total of eight to 11 such days, with the maximum number being reported in Jan. A coldwave is declared when the minimum (night) temperature of a meteorological station is 4°C or less in the plains and 0°C or less in hilly regions. Coldwave conditions can also be declared if temperatures are less than 10°C and below normal by at least 4.5°C. Releasing a forecast of minimum (night) temperatures, IMD said “no significant change” is likely over northwest India in the next three days, with a gradual rise of 2–3°C in the subsequent four days. However, it said, there may be gradual rise in minimum temperature of 2–3°C in Maharashtra over the next two days. There may not be significant change over the subsequent five days. During the past 24 hours (till 8.30am on Sunday), minimum (night) temperatures were below 0°C at many places in J&K, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, a few places in Himachal Pradesh, and at isolated places in Uttarakhand. Minimum temperatures of 1–5°C were recorded at a few places in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and north Rajasthan, IMD said. On the other hand, minimum temperatures of 5–10°C were recorded at many places in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh; a few places in Odisha, Bihar, east Rajasthan and Gujarat; and at isolated places in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya and Maharashtra. Minimum temperatures were 3–6°C “below normal” over northwest India (south Punjab, south Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan), northwest Telangana and adjoining Maharashtra on Sunday. Over the rest of the country, they were “near normal” during past 24 hours.

VADODARA: Cricket seems set to bear the full impact of the escalating tensions between India and Bangladesh. TOI has learnt that India’s leading cricket equipment manufacturer SG, which currently sponsors some of Bangladesh’s top cricketers, including captain Litton Das and Mominul Haque, has put its contracts with the duo in a limbo.“Their sponsorship contracts were coming up for renewal. That process has been slowed down’ amidst the current heightened political and cricketing tensions between India and Bangladesh,” a source tracking developments told TOI on Sunday.

“In fact, another leading Indian sports equipment manufacturing company, Sareen Sports Industries (SS) had cancelled the sponsorship contracts of four-five top Bangladesh cricketers last year, when trouble began in Bangladesh. However, things may change if the relations improve between the two countries,” informed another source.The increasing tension between India and Bangladesh is thus set to result in Bangladesh’s cricket industry being hit badly financially.“It’s not just about player contracts not being renewed for now. The political instability and uncertain times in Bangladesh has meant that SG has stopped the distribution of its cricket equipment in Bangladesh since the last six months. In fact, there used to be a lot of sports apparel which used to be manufactured in Bangladesh’s factories and then supplied to SG and other sports equipment manufacturers in India. That supply line too has dried up for the past year or so,” informed the source.In a nutshell, the tensions between the two countries are set to badly hurt Bangladesh’s sports industry, as India’s leading sports manufacturers have stopped sponsoring the country’s players, and halted the distribution of their sports equipment to Bangladesh.The tensions between the neighboring countries flared up when the BCCI asked the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh’s star left-arm pace bowler, Mustafizur Rehman, from their squad, from his contract in IPL-2026 after they bought him in the auction on Nov for Rs 9.20 cr. Reacting strongly to the development, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) raised serious concerns over the security situation in India and requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move their four matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup from India to Sri Lanka.The BCB have twice formally requested the International Cricket Council to relocate Bangladesh’s fixtures to Sri Lanka for the World Cup. The ICC is yet to decide on their request. Currently, Bangladesh are placed in Group C of the tournament, with fixtures against the West Indies, Italy, and England in Kolkata on February 7, 9, and 14, respectively. Their final group-stage match will be against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.

JAMMU: Security forces picked up movement of suspected drones in several forward areas along the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts of J&K on Sunday evening, officials said. All flying objects came from the Pakistan side, and returned after hovering over Indian territory for a few minutes, they said. According to officials, security forces have launched a search operation on the ground after noticing the suspected drone activity in the forward areas. In a related development, security forces launched a massive search operation after intel agencies detected satellite communication by suspected terrorists near the IB in Rajpura area of Jammu’s Kanachak sector Sunday. Massive search operation on near IB in Kanachak sector of JammuArmy troops guarding the Nowshera sector along the LoC in Rajouri, fired from medium and light machine guns on observing drone movement over GaniaKalsian village around 6.35 pm, officials said. Another drone was noticed at Khabbar village in Teryath in Rajouri district at 6.35 pm. The flying object, with blinking light, came from the direction of Dharmsal village in Kalakote and moved further towards Bharakh, officials said. A drone-like object with blinking light was also seen hovering for several minutes over Chak Babral village in Ramgarh sector of Samba around 7.15 pm, they said. Another drone-like object was seen moving from the direction of Tain towards Topa in Mankote sector, located along the LoC, in Poonch district at 6.25 pm. Earlier on Friday night, security forces recovered an arms consignment, allegedly dropped by a drone that originated in Pakistan, in Paloora village of Ghagwal near the IB in Samba district. The recovery included two pistols, three magazines, 16 rounds and a grenade, they added. In another development, security forces launched a massive search operation after intelligence agencies detected satellite communication by suspected terrorists near the IB in Jammu’s Kanachak sector on Sunday. The communication was traced to a Thuraya satellite device around 3pm, and its GPS location was tracked, said officials. “Soon after, a joint team of the Army, J&K Police’s SOG, BSF, and CRPF, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation,” an official said. While nothing suspicious had been discovered so far, further combing was under way, officials said. The SSP Poonch chaired a meeting with Village Defence Group members from the border village of Jhullas on Sunday, and directed the volunteers to remain alert and committed to protecting their villages while strictly sticking toSOPs.

PM Modi at Somnath temple in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district on Sunday

AHMEDABAD/RAJKOT: India must remain vigilant against “merchants of appeasement” who are still active and hatching conspiracies to divide the country, PM Modi said Sunday while projecting Gujarat’s ancient Somnath temple as a model of resistance to what he termed “religious terrorism”. PM Modi carried the broader theme of resilience to the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference in Rajkot, where he assured investors that the country offers “extraordinary certainty” amid global turbulence. At a rally in Somnath, where the shrine was rebuilt over centuries of pillage by invaders, the PM accused unnamed historians and politicians of obfuscating what had happened. “Those with a mindset of religious extremism tried to disguise religious terrorism as merely motivated by wealth. They even wrote books to conceal the cruel history of hatred, atrocities and terrorism,” he said.PM Modi: In face of great global uncertainty, India stands outPM Modi said the temple’s history was inseparable from the valour of protectors like Raval Kanhardev, Veer Hamirji and Vegda Bhil, who never received due recognition for thwarting a succession of attempts to destroy the shrine. “There are no parallels anywhere in the world to Somnath’s retaliation against religious terrorism.” Harking back to how Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel faced hurdles after pledging to renovate Somnath and objections by some quarters to former President Rajendra Prasad’s 1951 temple visit, the PM said the “same forces” continue to pursue that agenda. “Only their methods have changed. In place of swords, they are now using vile means against India,” he said. In Rajkot, 200km from Somnath, PM Modi cited recent assessments by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and rating agencies S&P and Fitch as evidence of rising global confidence in India’s economy. S&P upgraded India’s rating outlook after 18 years, he said, while IMF has described the country as the engine of global growth. “In the face of great global uncertainty, India today stands out,” PM Modi said. “There’s political stability, continuity in policy, and the rapid expansion of the neo-middle class with rising purchasing power.” The PM pointed to sectoral shifts, saying that from importing nine of every 10 mobile phones in 2014, India now ranks second globally in manufacturing handsets. The country has also become the largest consumer of mobile data and hosts the world’s largest real-time digital payments platform through UPI, he said. It has the third-largest startup ecosystem, ranks among the top three in solar power generation and has emerged as the third-largest aviation market, PM Modi said. “This Reform Express won’t halt,” PM Modi said before reprising his Red Fort punchline, “Yehi samay hai, sahi samay hai (This time is the right time).”

The Women’s Premier League 2026 produced another moment of sheer brilliance as Shree Charani pulled off a stunning caught-and-bowled effort to dismiss Beth Mooney during the fourth match of the tournament. The high-voltage clash between Delhi Capitals Women and Gujarat Giants Women at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai had fans on their feet, with the spectacular dismissal quickly going viral on social media.

Delhi Capitals Women won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision that initially looked challenging as the Gujarat Giants openers came out firing and dominated the powerplay with authority.

Gujarat Giants’ strong opening partnership

Gujarat Giants Women got off to a solid start courtesy of a fluent opening stand between Mooney and Sophie Devine. The duo added 94 runs for the first wicket, laying a strong foundation for a big total. Mooney, in particular, looked in sublime touch, finding gaps with ease and punishing anything loose from the Delhi bowlers.

Devine complemented her opening partner perfectly, rotating the strike well before switching gears with powerful strokes down the ground and through the covers. With both batters well set, Delhi Capitals were in desperate need of a breakthrough to halt the momentum.

Shree Charani produces moment of magic to dismiss Beth Mooney

The breakthrough finally arrived in the ninth over, and it came in spectacular fashion. On the very first ball of the over, Charani delivered a length ball that Mooney smashed back fiercely. The ball flew straight back at the bowler, who reacted instinctively. It initially popped out of her hands, but Charani showed remarkable presence of mind to grab it on the second attempt in her follow-through.

The athletic effort stunned Mooney, who had to walk back despite playing the shot with authority. The dismissal not only broke a threatening partnership but also shifted the momentum back in Delhi’s favour. The official broadcaster later shared the clip on social media, with fans hailing it as one of the best catches of the season so far.

Here’s the video:

Second chance. No mistake. 😯

Shree Charani gets the big wicket of Beth Mooney 👏#TATAWPL DCvGG 👉 LIVE NOW ➡️ https://t.co/mxHvaxIQzr pic.twitter.com/AzzVAf57gg

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 11, 2026

Also READ: WPL 2026 – Georgia Wareham outshines Phoebe Litchfield in Gujarat Giants’ narrow win over UP Warriorz; fans react

Sophie Devine sizzles with her batting masterclass

While Mooney’s dismissal gave Delhi a much-needed boost, Devine ensured that Gujarat Giants did not lose steam. The experienced New Zealand all-rounder put on a batting masterclass, dismantling the Delhi bowling attack with a blend of timing, power, and intelligent shot selection.

Devine attacked both pace and spin with ease, clearing the ropes and peppering the boundaries at will. She looked set for a well-deserved century and was cruising in the 90s before Nandani Sharma finally brought an end to her magnificent knock. Devine was dismissed for a brilliant 95, falling just five runs short of a hundred.

Also READ: WPL 2026: Nat Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur power Mumbai Indians to dominant win over Delhi Capitals

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

Arshdeep Singh (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: India took on New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-game series on Sunday at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. While the match itself was important, team selection became the biggest talking point even before the first ball was bowled. Fans quickly noticed that star pacer Arshdeep Singh was missing from India’s playing XI, and this led to a flood of funny memes on social media asking, “Where is Arshdeep Singh?”

Arshdeep Singh’s absence came as a surprise to many fans. The left-arm pacer had played in the final ODI against South Africa last month and was expected to feature again. Instead, Mohammed Siraj made his return to the ODI side after being out since November.As soon as the team was announced, social media platforms were filled with jokes and memes questioning Arshdeep’s omission.At the same time, there was good news for India as Shreyas Iyer made his return to international cricket after nearly two months.Iyer was named in the playing XI after recovering from an injury he suffered during the ODI series against Australia. The injury kept him out of action for a long time.He recently returned to competitive cricket during the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he looked in good touch. His comeback added strength to India’s middle order.India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bowl first. Speaking at the toss, he explained the team’s approach and combination. Gill said, “We want to try different combinations and see how that works. Surface looks good, hope it will be easier to bat with the dew coming in in the second innings. Playing a bit of Vijay Hazare gives players some experience.” He also confirmed the bowling attack, adding, “Six bowlers – Washy, Kuldeep, Jadeja as spinners.”New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell shared his thoughts as well. He said his team would have preferred to bowl first too. “We would have bowled first. We have been here for a while, gotten used to the conditions. Great facilities here. Big series for here. Proud to play for NZ every time. Playing in these conditions before the WC is a huge advantage,” Bracewell said. He also added, “Great to play in front of big crowds. Looks like a decent wicket, maybe a bit lower than wickets in NZ. We have got Kristian Clarke, Adi Ashok.”