India’s Sanju Samson greets spectators as he returns to the pavilion after his dismissal by England’s Will Jacks during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 second semifinal cricket match between India and England, at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. (PTI)

TimesofIndia.com in Mumbai: “Dukhi mat ho bhai… kabhi bhi mauka aa sakta hai (Don’t be disheartened, opportunity can come anytime),” were former India captain Rohit Sharma‘s comforting words when he met Sanju Samson before India’s T20 World Cup opener against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium around a month ago. Little did he know then that the player, who was nowhere close to making the playing XI, would keep India alive in the tournament not once but twice. The backstory, the ups and downs, and the battle for the slot are now in the past, as the wicketkeeper-batter has timed his form perfectly and emerged as a force to reckon with at just the right time.If the unbeaten 97 in Kolkata against the West Indies was calm and controlled, the 89-run knock in Mumbai was pure dominance. Two contrasting knocks resulted in the same outcome for India, a win. As he settled into the chair for a refreshing interaction with the media, the 31-year-old reflected on the two innings but kept his responses measured because there is “one more step to go.”

“It feels really great and also relieving that I have been trying for a few years to do something like this for my country. I have been waiting with a lot of patience, a lot of inner work, a lot of training and a lot of practice. So definitely I should be very grateful, but I also feel that we have one more step to go. If we do that, then I think all the work and everything was worth it.“So I feel that one more innings should be really good. And yes, I think the last innings definitely played a good role in this innings as well. I knew I was timing the ball really well and making good decisions. I thought that if you are in form, you should definitely contribute to your team in this game as well. So that’s how I prepared for today and things came together very nicely,” said Samson.

Sanju Samson of India bats during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 Semi-Final match between India and England at Wankhede Stadium on March 05, 2026 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images)

He was within striking distance of scoring back-to-back hundreds for the side, especially in a World Cup, but he chose to look at the brighter side, valuing the match-winning contribution more than the milestone. The Kolkata run chase forced him to bat a certain way due to the regular fall of wickets, but he realised early that domination would be the key while batting first in the semi-final on an absolute belter of a pitch.From 12 boundaries and four sixes in Kolkata to eight boundaries and seven sixes in Mumbai, the intensity remained the same in both outings. The strike rates were in similar territory, but the approach was dictated by the match situation and what would work best for the team at that moment.“Last match was all about taking the team along. As soon as we built momentum, wickets kept falling in the last game, so I had to finish it off till the last ball. But this game was completely different. When you are batting first in Wankhede, you know that no score is enough here, so I just wanted to capitalise on as many fours and sixes as possible for the team,” explained Samson.

Sanju Samson of India celebrates reaching his half century during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 Semi-Final match between India and England at Wankhede Stadium on March 05, 2026 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images)

The last time India and England faced each other in a bilateral T20I series, Samson was troubled by Jofra Archer with some short-pitched bowling. But the opener came well prepared to take on the speedster. A stable base and slight alterations to his initial movement have allowed him to get into better positions, and he used the depth of the crease well to avoid being rushed by the extra pace and bounce available early in the innings.In that T20I series, Archer dismissed Samson three times in 23 balls. But Thursday’s contest went the opener’s way as he made the most of an early reprieve off Archer’s bowling to punish the bowler. Thirty-nine runs off just 14 balls, including three boundaries and four sixes, ensured that the highly anticipated battle between the former IPL teammates had a clear winner.“It was definitely playing in my mind. Last time when we played them at home, we played five games against England and Jofra was definitely a very effective bowler at that time. So I had to do some preparation and be a bit clearer in my head about how I was going to face him. I tried to apply that today. He is definitely a world-class bowler.

Sanju Samson of India bats during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 Semi-Final match between India and England at Wankhede Stadium on March 05, 2026 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images)

“You need to respect what he does and at the same time you need to be confident as well. I was a bit more confident because I had just played a really good innings a couple of days ago. I needed to take that confidence forward and that helped me tackle the bowlers today,” said Samson.Having played over 300 T20 games, Samson has often started conversations about his batting but failed to sustain them due to inconsistency. The decade-long wait for his maiden T20 World Cup appearance ended in unusual circumstances as Abhishek Sharma was unavailable due to illness. However, he is now the rightful owner of the top-of-the-order spot. While some burden is off his shoulders after two back-to-back Man of the Match performances, he remains focused on Sunday’s title clash.“One more match, then I’ll feel very light,” came his response when asked whether he felt relieved after the match-winning innings.

Rohit, who tried to keep his former T20I teammate in good spirits on February 7, would have been a proud man watching the action unfold from the stands on Thursday.“It’s a long tournament,” the former India captain had said on February 7 while hugging Samson, who assured him that he was fine. The smile was a distraction, but the eyes told a story.That story, however, was rewritten within a few weeks and the next video clip of the two talking is now keenly awaited.

Jefferies has a buy on L&T with a reduced target price of Rs 4,500 from Rs 4,715 earlier. Analysts said global engineering & construction companies with West Asia exposure, including L&T, are down between 10-24% since the Iran-US-Israel conflict began. 37% of L&T’s order book is from the region, with Saudi Arabia at a lion’s share of 75%+. A month of no work would likely impact FY26 earnings per share by 6-8%. Assuming normalcy returns over time in West Asia, L&T should recover most of its share price losses between order flow growth, margin stability and five-year strategy plan that is due to be unveiled in May 2026.BoFA Securities has a buy on AB Capital with the target price at Rs 380. Analysts said the company is witnessing strong growth tailwinds in lending, with the MSME expansion being supported by government measures while in the housing finance sector, retail penetration is improving. The company has a focus on market share. In the AMC, moderation is seen in equity market share losses, and in insurance, there’s strong premium growth. The company targets 2.5%/2-2.2% return on assets (RoA) for NBFC/HFC business in the coming few quarters, and the delivery towards which could support valuation re-rating.Goldman Sachs has a sell rating on Sun Pharmaceuticals with the target price at Rs 1,550. Analysts attended the company’s corporate day. They said that for the company innovative medicines remain a key growth driver. Emerging markets and the rest of the world (ROW) showed sustained outperformance. In India, the company aspires to grow in line with or slightly ahead of the market, though current market share gains (30bps in Q3) may normalize. The company has minimal exposure to the West Asian markets while its Israel operations have continued uninterrupted despite ongoing conflicts. On its M&A strategy, the focus remains on profitable growth, with innovative medicines as top priority, followed by emerging market assets. No explicit size cap, but financial discipline will be maintained. On the GLP-1 launches, the company’s management expects significant competition and pricing uncertainty, and market dynamics will determine eventual pricing. No guidance on margin impact.Kotak Institutional Equities has an add rating on Bajaj Finance with the target price at Rs 1,100. Analysts said that the investors’ myopic focus on near-term trends and credit metrics risk missing a structural transformation that is underway at Bajaj Finance, where Fin-AI is already moving from experimentation to measurable business outcomes. This mirrors broader ‘quarterly trap’, where investors extrapolate near-term trends while underweighting more durable shifts in business models. Analysts remain assertive on Bajaj Finance’s ability to sustain high growth and return on equity despite a large balance sheet.Motilal Oswal Securities maintained its neutral rating on Havells India with the target price at Rs 1,490. Analysts said short-term softness and medium-term recovery are expected. There is strong demand in the cables & wires segment with near-term margin pressure. In the Lloyd division, inventory normalisation is underway but demand recovery is awaited. In its electrical consumer durables, switchgear and lighting divisions, pricing actions are supporting margins amid mixed demand trends.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)

After the first delivery of the 18th over of the first innings of the India vs England Semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026, the camera panned towards the VIP lounge, where two former India skippers were present.

At the jam-packed Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rohit Sharma was also there in attendance to watch the match live. In the VIP sitting area, when these two former captains met with each other, it instantly turned into a heart-melting moment for the Indian cricket fans. As soon as Sharma spotted Dhoni, he went to greet him and his wife Sakshi.

Watch the epic moment here

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This meetup 🔥🔥

India’s best captain with MS Dhoni#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/oJSLThkK4I

— Arti🇮🇳 (@ImArti45) March 5, 2026

MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are all set to feature in the IPL 2026 season

As soon as the camera captured the moment between the World Cup-winning two former Indian captains, the crowd at the gallery was on their feet to cheer the icons. MS Dhoni, 44, retired long ago from international cricket, is all set to feature in the upcoming Indian Premier League season for the Chennai Super Kings. There are speculations that the upcoming IPL season (IPL 2026) can be Dhoni’s last ever league as a cricketer.

Rohit Sharma is currently active only in the One-Day International format. He retired from the T20 International right after winning the T20 World Cup 2024, and retired from the Test last year. There are high chances to see Rohit in the upcoming ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in 2027.

Rohit Sharma is also set to feature in the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians. He will play under the leadership of Hardik Pandya. As per previous reports, the opener asked the Mumbai Indians team management to utilise him as a regular player, not as an impact cricketer. Last season, in IPL 2025, Rohit Sharma played for the team as an impact cricketer.

Multiple stars and eminent personalities were there at the Wankhede Stadium to grace the show

Apart from the cricket personalities, Bollywood stars are also in the stadium to see the knockout fixture. Veteran actor Anil Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Tripti Dimri, Ranbir Kapoor, and his wife and actress Alia Bhatt, along with their child Raha, were among those spotted in the stands.

Team India batter KL Rahul also spotted there along with his brother-in-law, actor Ahaan Shetty. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians’ owner Nita Ambani was also there to grace the show. Nita Ambani was spotted with her Akash Ambani, Shloka Mehta, and Radhika Merchant.

The Indian batters did not disappoint the audience, especially Sanju Samson. The opener scored a well-crafted 89-run knock to help Team India registered 253 runs in the first innings of the match.

Read More: Fans lose patience as Abhishek Sharma falls cheaply to off-spin yet again

India’s Jasprit Bumrah (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)

India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah reached a historic milestone during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 semi final against England at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. The right arm pacer completed 500 international wickets with the very first ball of his spell, striking in the fifth over of England’s chase.Bumrah, who made his international debut against Australia in Sydney on January 23, 2016, has now entered an elite list of Indian bowlers to reach the landmark. He became the eighth Indian to achieve the feat, joining legendary names such as Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Kapil Dev, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath.

The 32 year old from Ahmedabad has built a remarkable record across formats. Bumrah has taken 234 wickets in 52 Tests, 149 wickets in 89 ODIs and 117 wickets in 94 T20Is, underlining his consistency and impact in all three formats of the game.His form in the ongoing T20 World Cup has also been impressive. Coming into the semi final with nine wickets from six matches for the Suryakumar Yadav led side, Bumrah took his tally to ten after dismissing England captain Harry Brook in the knockout clash.Earlier in the tournament, Bumrah played a key role in India’s Super 8 victories against South Africa and the West Indies, finishing as the team’s leading wicket taker in both games. He had also made an early impact in the group stage match against Pakistan in Colombo, where he dismissed Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha in his very first over at the R Premadasa Stadium.Reaching the 500 wicket milestone places Bumrah among the finest bowlers in India’s cricketing history and further strengthens his reputation as one of the most formidable fast bowlers of the modern era.Bumrah is also India’s leading wicket taker in T20 World Cup history. In the semi final against England, he delivered a disciplined spell of 4 overs for 33 runs and 1 wicket. His control in the death overs played a crucial role in helping India seal the win and book a place in the final.

Yuka Okuda, a Rabindrasangeet performer, delivers a talk on Ray’s ‘Charulata’.

All seats look taken in a mediumsized Tokyo theatre on an Aug evening in the Japanese summer. The audience listens rapt to a woman sitting on stage, framed by the movie screen behind her. Clearly, it’s not just another screening, but then, neither can the topic be called usual for this part of the world. For the woman on stage is discussing Rabindrasangeet, and the context is ‘Charulata’, maestro and auteur Satyajit Ray’s 1964 masterpiece, one of the seven films that were shown last year in Japan as part of a retrospective of his works.The lineup — featuring ‘Jalsaghar’ (1958), ‘Mahanagar’ (1963), ‘Charulata’ (1964), ‘Kapurush’, ‘Mahapurush’ (both 1965), ‘Nayak’ (1966), and ‘Jai Baba Felunath (1979) — earning their first theatrical release in Japan, spans a two-decade arc of some of Ray’s most memorable films. The films were also made available on VOD and home video with Japanese subtitles. The demand has grown to the point that these films are set for a Blu-ray release in March.To Sandip Ray, filmmaker and Ray’s son, however, none of this is surprising. After all, it was the Japanese film great Akira Kurosawa who’d said, “Not to have seen the cinema of Satyajit Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” Sitting in his Lake Temple Road residence in Kolkata, he recalled the role of a Japanese distributor, Toho-Towa Co. Ltd, founded in 1928 by film pioneer Nagamasa Kawakita, and said Kawakita’s wife, Kashiko Kawakita, was a Ray admirer.

“She was very close to our family and a die-hard Satyajit follower right from the start,” he said. When Ray first visited Japan, it was Kashiko who arranged a meeting between Ray and Kurosawa in 1966. “I think till the 80s, they distributed all of Baba’s films in Japan. The films must have done good business. Otherwise, why would she ask about new films every year?” said Sandip Ray.The seven restored titles began their theatrical run on July 25 at Le Cinema Bunkamura in Tokyo. The retrospective was to run for three weeks, but a further week was added due to the demand. “The films were not only screened in Tokyo, but in cities like Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, etc, covering 15-20 cinemas nationwide,” said Varsha Bansal, who helmed the restorations of the Ray classics produced by her grandfather, RD Bansal.The screenings were paired with discussions and talks. If film researcher and producer Eri Morinaga spoke after ‘Mahanagar’, Asian cinema researcher Tamaki Matsuoka delivered a talk following a screening of ‘Jalsaghar’. Yuka Okuda, a Rabindrasangeet performer and Bengali language instructor, led a session after a ‘Charulata’ screening. “I offered some reflections on the impact of the Rabindrasangeet in the film... Some in the audience said they wanted to watch the film again. It made us realise all the more that Ray’s cinema is a deeply layered and magnificent creation,” Okuda told TOI .

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently moved a special PMLA court under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEO) seeking to permanently confiscate 15 assets worth around Rs 700 crore belonging to late drug smuggler Iqbal Memon and his family in Mumbai and Dubai. The plea includes Worli properties, comprising Rabia Mansion, Marium Lodge, and Sea View properties, and around 15 properties in Dubai, including Hotel Midwest Apartment in Bur Dubai and over a dozen commercial and residential units in the Business Bay and DEC Towers.The ED alleged that the family acted as the beneficial owners of these properties, utilising trust entities in India and corporate holdings in Dubai to project tainted assets as legitimate wealth. “The fugitive has refused to come to India and he has already been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender. The…case has international ramifications and as observed by the SC [Supreme Court] economic offences are grave… and need to be viewed seriously… it is prayed that the accused be dealt with strictly…and order for confiscation of the assets,” the ED said in its plea.In 2021, the court declared Mirchi’s wife Hajra and sons Asif and Junaid fugitive economic offenders under the FEO Act after they did not return to India despite summons issued in the money laundering case. Under the Act, the court is authorised to order the confiscation of properties.On Wednesday, the court heard arguments from ED’s special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves on the plea. The arguments will continue on April 7.Tracing the history back to 1986, the ED found that Mirchi originally acquired the Worli plots from the Sir Mohammad Yusuf Trust for Rs. 6.5 lakh through a partnership firm. To evade government attachment, a ‘Caretaker Agreement’ was allegedly fabricated in 1991, allowing the trust to appear as the owner, while Mirchi maintained actual control. Currently, these plots, measuring nearly 5,000 sq m, are valued at Rs 497 crore. The ED also pointed to the family’s real estate portfolio with the money siphoned off to Dubai. This most expensive is Hotel Midwest Apartment in Bur Dubai, valued at AED 9.3 crore (approximately Rs 233 crore). The ownership is split among the family members. Junaid and Asif each hold a 40% stake, while Hajra holds the remaining 20%. The ED also alleged a suspicious nexus involving DHFL promoter Dheeraj Wadhawan and the Memon family. “….payments to the tune of Rs 154 crore were made overseas to Iqbal Mirchi by Wadhawans for acquisition of properties Sea View…Dheeraj Wadhawan also transferred 14 commercial and residential units to Asif Memon on price of AED 4.5 million (approximately Rs 11.28 crore) against prevalent market value of AED 13 million (approximately Rs 32 crore) from Dheeraj & East Coast LIC, a company owned and controlled by the Wadhawans to settle the various issues in finalisation of deal,” the ED submitted. The portfolio also includes four residential units in DEC Towers, situated in the Marsa area of Dubai. These units were allegedly transferred to Asif in 2015 by Dheeraj & East Coast LLC. The ED alleged that these transfers were made without any “consideration”, even as they have a combined valuation of Rs 6.08 crore.The ED further said that though certain properties stand in the name of Sir Mohammad Yusuf Trust and the Dubai-based assets in the names of Asif, Junaid and Hajra Memon, the investigation conclusively established “that all such entities and individuals were merely fronts, proxies and vehicles used for the acquisition, layering, holding and enjoyment of the proceeds of crime generated from the illicit activities of late Iqbal Mirchi alias Iqbal Memon”.

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s public health seems to be taking a beating. Cases of malaria, dengue, tuberculosis and HIV keep increasing with every passing year, but the number of beds per lakh population is dipping.According to data published in the state economic survey on Thursday, the state had 108 beds per lakh population in 2014, but the number dropped to 65 beds in 2025.The economic survey also showed a rising graph of infectious diseases across the state, especially malaria, in the last 3 years.In 2023, public hospitals registered 16,760 malaria cases and 23 deaths, and the numbers increased to 20,640 and 26 respectively in 2024. From June to December 2025, the malaria caseload increased to 20,735 with 27 deaths.Over half a lakh cases of dengue were reported between January 2023 and December 2025, with 106 deaths, according to the economic survey. The number of suspected TB patients per lakh population increased from 2,027 in 2023 to 3,475 in 2025.The HIV positivity rate in Maharashtra increased from 0.24 (10,690 cases) in 2023 to 0.25 (10,830 cases) in 2025.Despite the growing burden of diseases, the state health infrastructure seems to be inadequate. For example, the hospital bed to population ratio was 102 in 2020, but dropped to 59 in 2021. It increased to 73 in 2024 before dropping to 65 in 2025.A health official, however, said that the discrepancy could be explained by a change in the computing of beds. “Till 2020, our calculation of total beds included those in the state’s govt, municipal, and charity trust-run hospitals. We only excluded private or corporate hospitals,” he said.However, from 2020, the state public health department stopped including charity trust-run hospital beds in the calculation, leading to a drop in the bed-to-population ratio.When contacted, health economist and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan member Dr Ravi Duggal said that 65 beds per lakh population seems to be an underestimation or a calculation error. “We talk about Digital India, but we seem to be getting basic data wrong,” said Dr Duggal.A state govt official said the public health department runs 20 district hospitals, 71 sub-district hospitals with 100 beds, and another 374 sub-district hospitals with 50 beds each. “In all, we operate 609 hospitals of various types and sizes across the state, which works out to 29,364 beds,” he said.The state department of medical education also runs 35 medical colleges with over 500 beds each. “There are adequate beds in the public hospitals,” added the official.