India

Last year, Reliance Industries Ltd signed a deal with Russian major Rosneft to import nearly 500,000 barrels per day.

India’s top importer of Russian oil, the conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, says it will abide by Western sanctions, ending several days of speculation about how the company will manage new measures targeting Russia’s two largest oil companies.

Reliance “will be adapting the refinery operations to meet the compliance requirements”, a company spokesperson said in a statement on Friday, while maintaining its relationships with suppliers.

“Whenever there is any guidance from the Indian Government in this respect, as always, we will be complying fully,” the statement added.

On Wednesday, the United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Russian majors Rosneft and Lukoil for the first time as President Donald Trump becomes increasingly frustrated with Russia’s unremitting war on Ukraine.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the move was the result of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “refusal to end this senseless war” and encouraged allies to adhere to the new sanctions.

The following day, the European Union adopted its 19th package of measures against Russia, which includes a full transaction ban on Rosneft. The EU has previously said that, starting January 21, it will not receive fuel imports from refineries that received or processed Russian oil 60 days prior to shipping.

Reliance, chaired by billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani, operates the world’s biggest refining complex in western Gujarat. The company has purchased roughly half of the 1.7-1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of discounted Russian crude shipped to India, the news agency Press Trust of India reported this week.

In 2024, Reliance signed a 10-year deal with Rosneft to buy nearly 500,000 bpd, Reuters reported at the time. It also buys Russian oil from intermediaries.

Reliance did not offer details on how, exactly, it planned to navigate the sanctions – nor the fate of the 2024 Rosneft agreement – but emphasised it would comply with European import requirements.

“Reliance is confident its time-tested, diversified crude sourcing strategy will continue to ensure stability and reliability in its refinery operations for meeting the domestic and export requirements, including to Europe,” the company spokesperson said.

The sanctions also arrive as India navigates the fallout from Trump’s tariffs on Indian exports, which rose to 50 percent starting in August as a penalty for importing Russian oil. China and India are the world’s largest importers of Russian crude.

Trump has claimed multiple times over the past month that India has agreed to stop buying Russian oil as part of a broader trade deal, an assertion the Indian government has not confirmed.

Neither India’s Ministry of External Affairs nor oil ministries have responded since the sanctions were announced on Wednesday.

Russia, the second largest oil exporter globally, is considering its response to U. S. sanctions targeting major oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, amid the possibility of reduced sales to India, its largest buyer. President Vladimir Putin has been in talks with U. S. President Donald Trump for months about finding a resolution to the ongoing war in Ukraine, but no progress has been made yet.

On October 22, the U. S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on Rosneft, Lukoil, and their subsidiaries, urging Russia to agree to a ceasefire. Together, these two companies represent about half of Russia’s oil production and over 5% of the global oil supply. Earlier in January, sanctions were enacted against other Russian energy firms, but these did not severely disrupt Russian oil exports. The U. S. has also targeted the vessels and companies involved in transporting Russian oil, with some lawmakers calling for stricter measures.

Indian refiners, such as Reliance Industries, are reportedly looking to reduce or stop importing Russian oil due to increasing U. S. pressure. India purchased 1.9 million barrels per day in the first nine months of 2025, making up 40% of Russia’s total oil exports. Stricter sanctions may force Russia to offer larger discounts to maintain export levels, as oil and gas revenues are crucial for its budget and military efforts in Ukraine.

While halting crude exports is an option for Russia, it could also harm its allies, including China. Other choices include cutting exports of enriched uranium or rare metals, although these would also negatively impact Russia’s economy. Strengthening ties with China for rare-earth cooperation could counter U. S. pressures, given Russia’s substantial reserves.

Russia is a key member of OPEC+, which manages about half of global oil production, and any disruption to its exports could affect the organization’s market strategies. China, another significant buyer of Russian crude, reaffirmed its opposition to unilateral sanctions following the recent U. S. restrictions against Rosneft and Lukoil.

with information from Reuters

Washington has announced new sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to pressure Moscow to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine. This marks the first time the current Trump administration has imposed direct sanctions on Russia.

Speaking alongside Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he hoped the sanctions would not need to be in place for long, but expressed growing frustration with stalled truce negotiations.

“Every time I speak to Vladimir [Putin], I have good conversations and then they don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go anywhere,” Trump said, shortly after a planned in-person meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Budapest was cancelled.

Trump’s move is designed to cut off vital oil revenues, which help fund Russia’s ongoing war efforts. Earlier on Wednesday, Russia unleashed a new bombardment on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing at least seven people, including children.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new sanctions were necessary because of “Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war”. He said that Rosneft and Lukoil fund the Kremlin’s “war machine”.

How have Rosneft and Lukoil been sanctioned?

The new measures will freeze assets owned by Rosneft and Lukoil in the US, and bar US entities from engaging in business with them. Thirty subsidiaries owned by Rosneft and Lukoil have also been sanctioned.

Rosneft, which is controlled by the Kremlin, is Russia’s second-largest company in terms of revenue, behind natural gas giant Gazprom. Lukoil is Russia’s third-largest company and its biggest non-state enterprise.

Between them, the two groups export 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, or 70 percent of Russia’s overseas crude oil sales. Rosneft alone is responsible for nearly half of Russia’s oil production, which in all makes up 6 percent of global output.

In recent years, both companies have been hit by rolling European sanctions and reduced oil prices. In September, Rosneft reported a 68 percent year-on-year drop in net income for the first half of 2025. Lukoil posted an almost 27 percent fall in profits for 2024.

Meanwhile, last week, the United Kingdom unveiled sanctions on the two oil majors. Elsewhere, the European Union looks set to announce its 19th package of penalties on Moscow later today, including a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas.

How much impact will these sanctions have?

In 2022, Russian oil groups (including Rosneft and Lukoil) were able to offset some of the effects of sanctions by pivoting exports from Europe to Asia, and also using a “shadow fleet” of hard-to-detect tankers with no ties to Western financial or insurance groups.

China and India quickly replaced the EU as Russia’s biggest oil consumers. Last year, China imported a record 109 million tonnes of Russian crude, representing almost 20 percent of its total energy imports. India imported 88 million tonnes of Russian oil in 2024.

In both cases, these are orders of magnitude higher than before 2022, when Western countries started to tighten their sanctions regime on Russia. At the end of 2021, China imported roughly 79.6 million tonnes of Russian crude. India imported just 0.42 million tonnes.

Trump has repeatedly urged Beijing and New Delhi to halt Russian energy purchases. In August, he levied an additional 25 percent trade tariff on India because of its continued purchase of discounted Russian oil. He has so far demurred from a similar move against China.

However, Trump’s new sanctions are likely to place pressure on foreign financial groups which do business with Rosneft and Lukoil, including the banking intermediaries which facilitate sales of Russian oil in China and India.

“Engaging in certain transactions involving the persons designated today may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions,” the US Treasury Department’s press release on Wednesday’s sanctions says.

As a result, the new restrictions may force buyers to shift to alternative suppliers or pay higher prices. Though India and China may not be the direct targets of these latest restrictions, their oil supply chains and trading costs are likely to come under increased pressure.

“The big thing here is the secondary sanctions,” Felipe Pohlmann Gonzaga, a Switzerland-based commodity trader, told Al Jazeera. “Any bank that facilitates Russian oil sales and with exposure to the US financial system could be subject.”

However, he added, “I don’t think this will be the driver in ending the war, as Russia will continue selling oil. There are always people out there willing to take the risk to beat sanctions.

“These latest restrictions will make Chinese and Indian players more reluctant to buy Russian oil – many won’t want to lose access to the American financial system. [But] it won’t stop it completely.”

According to Bloomberg, several senior refinery executives in India – who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue – said the restrictions would make it impossible for oil purchases to continue.

On Wednesday, Trump said that he would raise concerns about China’s continued purchases of Russian oil during his talk with President Xi Jinping at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea next week.

Have oil prices been affected?

Oil prices rallied after Trump announced US sanctions. Brent – the international crude oil benchmark – rose nearly 4 percent to $65 a barrel on Thursday. The US Benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, jumped more than 5 percent to nearly $60 per barrel.

Pohlmann Gonzaga, however, predicted that the “market will correct from this 5 percent over-jump. You have to recall that sentiment in energy markets is still negative due to the gloomy [global] economic backdrop.”

Lucknow, India – On the evening of September 4, an illuminated signboard lit up a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in Kanpur, an industrial town in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The signboard said: “I love Muhammad” – with a red heart standing in for the word, love.

It was the first time the mainly working-class residents in Kanpur’s Syed Nagar had put up such a sign as part of the decorations as they joined millions of Muslims around the world to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.

The day, marked as Eid Milad-un-Nabi across South Asia, involves the faithful organising religious gatherings, Quran recitations, and sermons about the prophet’s life and teachings. At some places, the celebrations include mass processions, with people carrying posters to express their love and reverence for the prophet.

In Syed Nagar, however, as soon as the words glowed, a group of Hindu men swooped in, objecting to the celebration. Police were called in, and following a ruckus that lasted hours, the signboard was removed late that night.

Charges related to promoting enmity between different religious groups, as well as deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of another community, were filed against nine Muslim men and 15 unidentified people from Syed Nagar. No arrests have been made so far.

Mohit Bajpayee, a Syed Nagar resident affiliated with a Hindu group named Sri Ramnavmi Samiti, said he had no objection to the text, ‘I love Muhammad’, but to the placement of the signboard at a place used by them for a Hindu festival.

“All religions have equal rights under the constitution,” he told Al Jazeera. “But the sign was put up at a location where our Ram Navami decorations are usually displayed. Everyone has a right to follow their religion, but new traditions should not be started in new locations.”

But the Muslim residents of Syed Nagar say the signboard was put up at a public place they converged at every year for the prophet’s birth anniversary.

“We had official permission for the decorations. Everyone has the right to practise their religion under the constitution,” said a 28-year-old resident who is one of those charged, unwilling to reveal his identity over fears of further action by the government.

MA Khan, the lawyer for the accused in Kanpur, told Al Jazeera that the Muslim men were also accused of tearing a banner of the Hindu community during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession on September 5.

“Many of those named were not even present in the procession,” he said.

‘Disturbing communal harmony’

Uttar Pradesh is home to 38 million Muslims – more than the entire population of Saudi Arabia – comprising nearly 20 percent of India’s most populous state. Since 2017, the politically crucial state has been governed by Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu monk known for his anti-Muslim speech and policies, and a prominent politician from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Days later, the spark from Kanpur ignited a fire some 270km (168 miles) away, in another Uttar Pradesh town called Bareilly – headquarters of the Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims, who number between 200 million to 300 million across the world.

On September 10, the state police registered a first information report (FIR) against nine Muslims in Bareilly, including a religious scholar, accusing them of “disturbing communal harmony” and starting a “new tradition” that threatened public order.

On September 21, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, chief of a Muslim group called Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) and descendant of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan, the founder of the Barelvi sect, announced a protest over the FIRs filed in Bareilly and Kanpur, and urged his supporters to gather at a ground after Friday prayers on September 26 to denounce the police action.

The district administration denied Khan permission for the rally.

On September 25, the IMC issued a statement asking people not to gather for the protest. But hours later, Khan’s supporters allegedly circulated a social media message, claiming the IMC statement was fake and aimed at defaming the Muslim body.

The next day, thousands of Muslims assembled near a famous Muslim shrine in Bareilly after the Friday prayers, holding “I love Muhammad” posters and raising slogans against the police for their action in Kanpur.

District authorities alleged that the march was unauthorised and accused some participants of pelting stones at the police and vandalising public property. The police responded with a baton charge, and arrested Khan and dozens of others, as authorities shut down the internet in the town.

In a video message recorded before his arrest, Khan said the crackdown was a targeted suppression of religious expression. “Attempts to suppress our religious sentiments will backfire,” he warned.

A day later, while speaking at an event in the state capital, Lucknow, Chief Minister Adityanath condemned the Bareilly unrest as a “well-orchestrated attempt” to disturb social harmony.

“Sometimes, people are not able to shun their bad habits easily. For that, some denting-painting is required … You saw that in Bareilly yesterday. A maulana [Muslim scholar] forgot who is in power,” he said in Hindi, without naming anyone.

The “denting-painting” soon followed, as has been the pattern with Adityanath’s crackdown on Muslims accused of disrupting public order. A banquet hall belonging to one of the accused was bulldozed by the authorities in Bareilly.

‘Government wants to instil fear’

Demolition of homes and commercial properties belonging to Muslims accused of a range of crimes has become a common practice in Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states, despite India’s top court recently banning what it called the “bulldozer justice”. Rights groups say such demolitions are a form of extralegal punishment that bypasses judicial processes and devastates families economically.

While the Uttar Pradesh government claimed the demolitions in Bareilly targeted illegally-constructed buildings, the timing and targets suggest a clear strategy of intimidation.

“Police are registering cases against Muslims across the nation to suppress their legitimate protests … The BJP government wants to instil fear so Muslims lose the courage to speak for their religious and fundamental rights,” Sumaiya Rana, daughter of the famous Urdu poet late Munawwar Rana, told Al Jazeera.

Rana herself organised a protest outside the state assembly building in Lucknow, where more than a dozen demonstrators holding “I love Muhammad” placards were briefly detained by the police.

The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), a rights group, says at least 22 FIRs have been filed across India in connection with the Muslim campaign, naming more than 2,500 individuals, with at least 89 arrested in Bareilly so far.

“Authorities have treated a slogan expressing love for the prophet as a criminal act and described it as provocative,” APCR secretary Nadeem Khan told Al Jazeera. “In many cases, the administration violated due process in registering cases and demolishing the properties of the accused, which has severe social and economic impacts on Muslim communities.”

SQR Ilyasi, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a prominent Muslim body, stressed that peaceful protest is not illegal for any community in India. “Expressing love for the prophet is our right,” he told Al Jazeera.

Activist Vandana Mishra of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, a rights group, said the authorities frequently allow the Hindu community to “raise religious slogans freely, while the minority faces arrest for expressing love for the prophet”.

“This contravenes the secular and democratic ethos of our constitution,” she told Al Jazeera.

Opposition parties have also criticised the Uttar Pradesh government’s actions.

The Samajwadi Party, one of the state’s biggest political forces, said it attempted to send a delegation to Bareilly to meet the victims of the police crackdown, but claimed its members were prevented. “The government talks of democracy but acts in complete disregard of it,” the leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey, told reporters in Lucknow.

Lawyer Zia Jillani, who recently visited Bareilly and is representing some of the accused, told Al Jazeera that most of those arrested or facing charges “belong to the marginalised sections of society and earn on a daily wage basis”.

“For them, due to their financial incapability, pursuing and fighting legal cases against the injustices inflicted upon them is an unbearable task,” he said.

“This kind of hate politics preys on the poor, taking advantage of their vulnerability while ignoring justice and accountability.”

England rallied to secure their semifinal spot at the World Cup while India’s defeat jeopardises their last-four chances.

England dug in for a four-run victory over India to clinch a semifinal spot at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup on Sunday, leaving the tournament co-hosts in a five-way contest for the remaining place in the final four.

Chasing a winning target of 289, India stumbled from a position of strength to fall just short as they were restricted to 284-5 in their 50 overs.

India were on course for victory for much of their innings – Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 88, while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hit a run-a-ball 70.

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt picked up 2-47 and left-arm spinner Linsey Smith bowled a tight spell of 1-40 in 10 overs, including the key wicket of Mandhana, to apply the brakes on the home team and help pull off a stunning win.

It was India’s third straight loss – following defeats to Australia and South Africa – and stunned the home crowd at Holkar Stadium.

This was after England opted to bat first and posted 288-8, with Heather Knight contributing 109 off 91 balls.

England joined defending champions Australia and South Africa in the semifinals with a fourth win in five games. The four-time champions next play Australia on Wednesday at the same venue.

India are still fourth with four points from five games and need a massive turnaround in form against New Zealand on Thursday and Bangladesh on Sunday in their remaining two group games.

“Smriti’s dismissal was the turning point,” Kaur said. “We had sufficient batting to finish the game, but I don’t know how things went the other way. Credit to England – they kept bowling well and kept getting wickets.”

Co-hosts Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Monday.

India come close

The chase did not get off to the best start. Pratika Rawal was caught behind for six, while Charlie Dean trapped Harleen Deol leg before wicket for 24.

Mandhana and Kaur then combined at 42-2, and the pair added 125 runs off 122 balls for the third wicket, with India seemingly cruising on a batting-friendly surface.

Kaur reached her half-century off 54 balls, while Mandhana was content with playing an anchoring role. She reached her second consecutive fifty off 60 balls.

Sciver-Brunt got the breakthrough to dismiss Kaur, but India were still favourites to win.

Deepti Sharma hit 50 off 57, and put on 67 off 66 with Mandhana.

India needed 62 off the last 60 deliveries, but momentum swung when Mandhana went for a big shot against Smith in the 42nd over and was caught on the boundary.

India slipped from 234-3 to 262-6 in 33 deliveries with Sharma out caught off Sophie Ecclestone (1-58) in the 47th over.

England piled on the pressure as Amanjot Kaur (18 not out) and Sneh Rana (10 not out) were unable to finish off the chase.

Knight shines

Knight scored her third ODI hundred to lead England’s innings.

England made a good start with openers Tammy Beaumont (22) and Amy Jones putting on 73 runs. Jones scored 56 off 68 balls.

Off-spinner Sharma accounted for both openers before Knight took over the innings, including a 113-run third-wicket stand with Sciver-Brunt (38 off 49).

“I got myself in and put down the accelerator. It felt like we needed 300 on that pitch, but it was frustrating to not get there in the end,” Knight said. “I was desperate to put in a statement performance for my 300th [international game] and I am pleased to do that.”

Knight reached her century off 86 balls, including 14 fours and a six. She was run out in the 45th over as England slipped towards the end, conceding five wickets for 31 runs across 5.1 overs.

Sharma returned figures of 4-51 in 10 overs and followed up with a half-century, but it was not enough on the day.

Mitchell Marsh powered Australia to ODI victory against India as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed in their return to international cricket.

Australia’s stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh continued his fine run of form on Sunday, scoring 46 not out and leading his side to a seven-wicket triumph over India in the weather-affected first one-day international (ODI) at Perth Stadium.

India limped to 136-9 from 26 overs, interrupted four times by rain, setting Australia a revised target of 131 which the hosts reached in 21.1 overs.

The sea of blue in the 42,423-strong crowd did not have to wait long to see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after India were put into bat.

Having retired from the game’s other formats with an eye on the 2027 World Cup, the former captains made their return to national duty for the first time since winning the Champions Trophy in March.

Neither looked convincing against Australia’s pace bowlers, with Rohit edging Josh Hazlewood to second slip on eight and Kohli cutting Mitchell Starc to a diving Cooper Connolly at backward point for a duck.

“All of their batters are world-class and legends of the game,” said spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who picked up 2-26. “In one-day cricket, especially, to get wickets up front makes a massive difference.”

India captain Gill out cheaply

New one-day skipper Shubman Gill was dismissed for 10 when he tickled seamer Nathan Ellis to wicketkeeper Josh Philippe, leaving India reeling at 37-3 when light drizzle halted play for two hours.

The crowd applauded sarcastically when the covers were removed, then in earnest when Shreyas Iyer (11) slashed Hazlewood to the fence. The bowler got his revenge in his next over, however, as Philippe took another leg-side catch.

Kuhnemann and medium-pacer Mitch Owen kept up the pressure and halted any momentum Axar Patel (31) and KL Rahul (38) generated, although Nitish Kumar Reddy brought some excitement with a rapid 19 off 11 balls.

Deputising for Pat Cummins, whose Ashes hopes remain uncertain due to a back injury, man-of-the-match Marsh kick-started Australia’s reply by bludgeoning three sixes, carrying over impressive form against South Africa and New Zealand.

Philippe, playing his first ODI since 2021 due to the absence of Josh Inglis and Alex Carey, supported his skipper with an aggressive 37 before holing out to Arshdeep Singh in the deep.

Matt Renshaw helped his team home with 21 not out, while Arshdeep, Axar and Washington Sundar claimed one wicket apiece.

“We knew we didn’t have that many runs, but we just wanted to express ourselves,” Arshdeep said.

The series moves to Adelaide on Thursday before concluding in Sydney on Saturday.

Australia completed a comfortable seven-wicket win in a rain-shortened first ODI against India in Perth, with Virat Kohli dismissed for a duck on his international return.

Damp conditions saw the match reduced to 26 overs-a-side, with India eventually posting 136-9 after their innings was halted for rain six times.

The visitors were plagued by regular wickets, with Rohit Sharma and Kohli, both playing their first international match since March, departing inside the powerplay, the latter for an eight-ball duck.

The dismissals of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer saw India slip to 45-4 in the 14th over before KL Rahul, top-scoring with 38, rebuilt his side’s innings alongside Axar Patel (31) and Washington Sundar.

However, the latter’s exit in the 24th over sparked another flurry of wickets, with India losing 4-21.

Josh Hazlewood led the way with the ball, taking 2-20 from seven overs, with Mitchell Owen and Matthew Kuhnemann also taking two wickets.

Australia also lost two powerplay wickets – Travis Head and Matthew Short both dismissed for eight – but made light work of chasing their revised target of 131.

Mitchell Marsh anchored his side’s innings with an unbeaten 46 (52), sharing a 55-run third-wicket partnership with Josh Philippe (37 off 29) before seeing Australia over the line alongside ODI debutant Matt Renshaw (21* off 24) with 29 balls to spare.

The second ODI will take place in Adelaide on Thursday, 23 October.

The Indian city’s Maratha Mandir has been holding daily screenings of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge since it released in 1995.

A theatre in Mumbai is celebrating 30 years of screening a much-loved Bollywood romance that has become India’s longest-running film.

On Monday, Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, will mark three decades of daily screenings of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (The Bravehearted Will Take the Bride), which shot actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol to superstardom.

The film, widely known to fans as DDLJ, redefined modern Hindi romance and continues to draw hundreds of cinemagoers to its morning screenings with its tale of young lovers bucking tradition since its release on October 20, 1995.

“I have seen it about 30 times … and I will continue watching it,” Mohammad Shakir, 60, told the AFP news agency as he bought a ticket for 40 rupees ($0.45).

Manoj Desai, the head of the cinema located near Bombay Central Station, told AFP that weekday crowds tend to be made up of university students and young couples.

“On Sundays, you will find around 500 people, even after 30 years,” said Desai.

Clash of values

The film, which far outstrips the five-year run of the 1975 action-thriller Sholay (Embers) at another Mumbai theatre, revolves around the contrast between the more liberal values of second-generation Indians overseas and the conservative values of their parents.

Desai said it was common for audiences to break into cheers and applause during the film’s climax, when the heroine runs alongside a moving train into her lover’s arms.

“This is the goosebump moment,” Desai said. “The father letting his daughter go, saying she won’t find a better partner to spend her life with.”

It is a message that continues to resonate with younger viewers, even those who were not born when it was released.

“In our generation today, we often see transactional relationships,” Omkar Saraf, 23, told AFP. “But in this film, the hero crosses all boundaries to win his love with no expectations.

“We have watched it on television, on our mobiles, but the big screen gives us goosebumps.”

‘Cultural monument’

Desai said one die-hard fan of the movie had been coming to screenings for 20 years, while for others, the film had played a part in their own love stories.

One couple watched it while dating, before inviting Desai to their wedding. “They went abroad for their honeymoon – and came back to watch the movie,” Desai said.

The film’s daily screenings were almost discontinued in 2015, but backlash from fans meant the decision was reversed, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.

Film critic Baradwaj Rangan said the film had enduring appeal in a country still navigating the tensions between traditional and modern values.

“It represents a certain point in Indian culture, and that is why it is still loved,” Rangan said, adding that it “perfectly captured” the friction between two generations.

“The film has become a kind of cultural monument,” he said. “I think it is going to be playing forever.”

Commercial flights between the countries to restart as diplomatic thaw eases tensions over border clashes.

State-backed China Eastern Airlines will resume Shanghai-Delhi flights from November 9, the airline’s website shows, as China and India resume direct air links amid a diplomatic thaw, largely triggered by aggressive United States trade policies, after a five-year freeze.

The flights will operate three times a week on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, the airline’s online ticket sales platform showed on Saturday.

China Eastern Airlines did not immediately respond to the Reuters news agency’s emailed request for comment.

India’s foreign ministry said earlier this month that commercial flights between the two neighbouring countries would restart after a five-year freeze.

The announcement followed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in more than seven years, for a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation regional security bloc. The two sides discussed ways to improve trade ties, while Modi raised concerns about India’s burgeoning bilateral trade deficit.

India and China’s foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Shanghai-Delhi flights.

India’s largest carrier, IndiGo, previously announced it would start daily nonstop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou.

State-backed Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport said at the time of the IndiGo announcement that it would encourage airlines to open more direct routes, such as between Guangzhou and Delhi.

Direct flights between the two countries were suspended during the COVID pandemic in 2020 and did not resume after deadly clashes along their Himalayan border led to a prolonged military stand-off later that year.

Four Chinese soldiers and 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the worst violence between the neighbours in decades.

India and China’s diplomatic thaw comes amid US President Donald Trump’s increasingly belligerent trade polices.

The US president raised the tariff rate on Indian imports to a stiff 50 percent in September, citing the nation’s continuing purchases of Russian oil.

He also urged the European Union to impose 100 percent tariffs on China and India, ostensibly as part of his efforts to pressure Moscow to end its war in Ukraine.

For more than two years, India’s northeastern state of Manipur has been beset by violence between two ethnic groups, the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo.

With nearly 260 people killed and about 60,000 displaced, the Indian government has taken control of the state in a bid to restore order.

In what has been described as a civil war, both sides accuse the other of committing atrocities.

New Delhi has pledged to disarm the warring factions and restore peace to the region.

101 East examines how the ethnic conflict in Manipur is affecting the lives of common citizens on both sides of the divide.

Muslims are protesting across India against arrests, raids and home demolitions over the phrase ‘I love Muhammad’. Al Jazeera’s Yashraj Sharma explains what happened and why religious expression is increasingly under threat under Prime Minister Modi’s government.

After starting with four pars, Lowry – who is without an individual victory since September 2022 – carded back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth holes.

The former Open champion vaulted into a share of the lead with a run of five straight birdies from the par-four 11th before picking up a shot at the last to edge ahead of Nakajima.

“It’s not that hard when you hit it in play out there, but you start missing fairways it becomes quite tricky, so I’m happy with that,” said Lowry.

He added: “You need to shape it around the course, hit it in position off the tee and it’s all about your iron play. That’s one of my strengths and I took advantage of that today and managed to roll a few putts in on the back nine, which was nice.”

Lowry added there was a “little bit” of Ryder Cup chat with playing partners Fleetwood and Donald.

“We could hear the horns from the road, it was not as off-putting as the Bethpage [Black] crowd,” he said with a smile, referring to the hostile New York fans at last month’s Ryder Cup.

Fleetwood mixed four birdies, an eagle and two bogeys to sit four shots back.

Donald, who is playing his first tournament since his second Ryder Cup success as captain, carded five birdies and a bogey to match fellow Englishman Fleetwood and 2023 Open champion Brian Harman.

Playing with McIlroy, US Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin opened with a 68 while McIlroy’s European team-mate Viktor Hovland signed for a 71.

Trump has recently targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US.

United States President Donald Trump says that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to stop buying oil from Russia, and Trump said he would next try to get China to do the same as Washington intensifies efforts to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues.

India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports, taking advantage of the discounted prices Russia has been forced to accept after European buyers shunned purchases and the US and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump has recently targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US to discourage the country’s crude buying as he seeks to choke off Russia’s oil revenues and pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine.

“So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters during a White House event.

“That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing.”

The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether Modi had made such a commitment to Trump.

Russia is India’s top oil supplier. Moscow exported 1.62 million barrels per day to India in September, roughly one-third of the country’s oil imports. For months, Modi resisted US pressure, with Indian officials defending the purchases as vital to national energy security.

A move by India to stop imports would signal a major shift by one of Moscow’s top energy customers and could reshape the calculus for other nations still importing Russian crude. Trump wants to leverage bilateral relationships to enforce economic isolation on Russia, rather than relying solely on multilateral sanctions.

During his comments to reporters, Trump added that India could not “immediately” halt shipments, calling it “a little bit of a process, but that process will be over soon”.

Despite his push on India, Trump has largely avoided placing similar pressure on China. The US trade war with Beijing has complicated diplomatic efforts, with Trump reluctant to risk further escalation by demanding a halt to Chinese energy imports from Russia.

Dozens of dilapidated stone buildings are all that remain of the once-thriving border village of Martoli, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Nestled in the Johar Valley and surrounded by Himalayan peaks, the most notable being Nanda Devi, once considered the tallest mountain in the world, this village had traded sugar, lentils, spices, and cloth for salt and wool with Tibetans across the border.

The nomadic inhabitants of several villages spent the winter months in the plains gathering goods to be traded with Tibetans in the summer. However, the border was sealed following an armed conflict between India and China in 1962, disrupting life in the high villages and leaving people with little incentive to return.

Kishan Singh, 77, was 14 when he left with his family to settle in the lower village of Thal. He still returns to Martoli every summer to till the land and cultivate buckwheat, strawberries, and black cumin.

His ancestral home has no roof, so he sleeps in a neighbour’s abandoned house during the six months he spends in this village.

“I enjoy being in the mountains and the land here is very fertile,” he says.

In late autumn, he hires mules to transport his harvest to his home in the plains, where he sells it at a modest profit.

The largest of the Johar Valley villages had about 1,500 people at its peak in the early 1960s. Martoli had about 500 residents then, while some of the dozen or so other villages had 10 to 15 homes each.

Now, only three or four people return to Martoli each summer.

A few villagers are returning in summer to the nearby villages of Laspa, Ghanghar, and Rilkot, as they can now travel by vehicle to within a few kilometres (miles) of their villages on a recently built unpaved road.

Among the scattered remnants of earlier stone houses in Martoli, a new guesthouse has appeared to cater for a few trekkers who pass through the village en route to the Nanda Devi Base Camp.

Oct. 14 (UPI) — Google announced it will invest $15 billion to build an AI hub in India, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian announced Tuesday.

The hub will be in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in southeastern India, and will reportedly be a 1-gigawatt facility.

The investment is Google’s largest Indian investment to date and will create Google’s largest AI hub in the world outside of the United States, Kurian said.

On Monday, Lokesh Nara, Andhra Pradesh’s minister of Human Resources, posted on X about the investment.

“After a year of intense discussions and relentless effort, tomorrow we make history. Google will sign an MOU with the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh for a 1GW project with an investment of $10 billion USD. It is a massive leap for our state’s digital future, innovation, and global standing. This is just the beginning,” he wrote.

The Indian Economic Times reported on Saturday that the investment would come from Google’s Indian subsidiary Raiden Infotech, which will also develop three campuses in Visakhapatnam.

According to an analysis commissioned by Google by Access Partnership, the AI hub is expected to generate at least $15 billion over five years in American gross domestic product because of new economic activity from increased cloud and AI adoption, as well as the American talent and resources involved in developing and operating the AI hub, the Google press release said.

“The Google AI hub in Visakhapatnam represents a landmark investment in India’s digital future,” Kurian said in a statement. “By delivering industry-leading AI infrastructure at scale, we are enabling businesses to innovate faster and creating meaningful opportunities for inclusive growth. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to the Indian and U.S. governments to harness AI responsibly and drive transformative impact for society.”

Part of the investment will be the construction of a new international subsea gateway, including multiple international subsea cables to land in Visakhapatnam, which is on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. This will help India meet its increasing digital demands, giving route diversity to complement subsea cable landings in Mumbai and Chennai and securing India’s digital backbone.

“This significant investment in Andhra Pradesh marks a new chapter in India’s digital transformation journey,” said N. Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, in a statement. “We are proud to host India’s first truly gigawatt-scale data center and Google’s first AI hub in India, which is a testament to our shared commitment to innovation, AI adoption, and long-term support for businesses and startups in the state.”

India wasted little time in completing a clean sweep over West Indies to give Shubman Gill his first Test series win as captain.

Opener KL Rahul hit an unbeaten half-century as India sealed a seven-wicket win on the fifth morning in Delhi.

It keeps the hosts third in the early stages of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings,, external behind Australia and Sri Lanka.

The win was set up by centuries in the first innings by Yashasvi Jaiswal (175) and Gill (129*).

West Indies were bundled out for 248 in reply but did manage to fight back and make India bat again with a better second-innings showing.

John Campbell and Shai Hope hit dogged centuries, taking the tourists to 271-3 before Hope was bowled by Mohammed Siraj and the middle order collapsed.

Six wickets fell for 40 runs, before some late hitting by number 11 Jayden Seales added enough runs to give India a chase of sorts.

However, the hosts were always going to win once Rahul and Sai Sudharsan, who added 39 to his first-innings 87, put on 79 for the second wicket.

India’s next assignment is a white-ball tour of Australia, which will be broadcast ball by ball on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, before they welcome South Africa for a two-Test series.

West Indies begin a tour of New Zealand on 5 November. They are sixth in the WTC standings, with New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa only below them because they are yet to complete a Test in this latest cycle.

New Delhi, India – For the last month, Indian police have raided multiple markets and homes, arresting Muslim men in states governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party. Some of their homes have been bulldozed.

The genesis of their alleged crime is common: writing, “I Love Muhammad”, a reference to Prophet Muhammad, on posters, t-shirts, or in social media posts. The authorities say the expression is threatening “public order”.

So far, at least 22 cases have been registered against more than 2,500 Muslims. At least 40 people have been arrested across multiple states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to the nonprofit Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR).

So, what is happening? How and where did this start? And is it illegal to say ‘I Love Muhammad’ in India?

What’s happening?

On September 4, Muslims living in Kanpur city of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh were observing Eid al-Milad al-Nabi, the celebration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad, when a neighbourhood put up an illuminated board saying, “I love Muhammad”.

But the board, mimicking the popular “I Love New York” signage that has been copied all over the world, drew criticism from some local Hindus. Initially, their complaint alleged that the illuminated board was a new introduction to traditional festivities on the occasion, when Uttar Pradesh’s laws bar new additions to public religious celebrations. About 20 percent of Kanpur’s population is Muslim.

However, based on complaints, the police filed a case against two dozen people on much more serious charges: promoting enmity on the grounds of religion. The charge carries a punishment of up to five years in jail if the accused individual is convicted.

The Kanpur episode drew widespread criticism from Muslim political leaders, and protests against the police action spread to other states, including Telangana in southern India, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west, and in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir in the north. The  “I love Muhammad” hoardings and writings came up across the country – from people’s social media handles to t-shirts.

Nearly 270km (168 miles) away from Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, a group of people participating in a demonstration called by a local imam against the Kanpur arrests, violently clashed with the police on September 26.

The police hit back with a crackdown, arresting 75 people, including the imam, Tauqeer Raza, his relatives and his aides. At least four buildings belonging to the accused individuals have been bulldozed by the local authorities.

In recent years, hundreds of Indian Muslims have lost their homes to such demolitions, which are often carried out without any notice issued by authorities, or any court order. India’s Supreme Court has observed that demolitions cannot be used as a form of extra-legal punishment, warning that state authorities must give prior notice before razing any property. Yet, on the ground, that order is often not followed, say activists.

Meanwhile, dozens of other Muslims have been arrested in different states – including some in Modi’s home state of Gujarat – for social media posts and videos carrying the “I love Muhammad” slogan.

Is it illegal?

India’s constitution guarantees the freedom of religion and the right to express it. Article 25 protects every individual’s freedom to practise their religion. Citizens are also protected under Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression, unless it directly incites violence or hatred.

In the cases of people arrested as part of the “I Love Muhammad” crackdown, the police have mostly charged them under legal provisions that bar large gatherings aimed at committing “mischief”, or for acts that allegedly provoke religious tensions. However, these provisions have been applied against those arrested for social media posts, or wearing t-shirts with “I Love Muhammad” emblazoned on them.

Nadeem Khan, the national coordinator of APCR, the nonprofit that has been tracking these cases, has fought previous lawsuits against government officials for similarly targeting Muslims for social media expressions, or when their homes have been bulldozed.

Khan told Al Jazeera that authorities were carefully using legal provisions that focus not on the “I Love Muhammad” expression itself, but on alleged offences carried out by those who used the expression or protested against related police crackdowns.

“They know that there is no law that criminalises just the mere expression of ‘I Love Muhammad’,” Khan said.

Khan noted that across India, images of Hindu gods wielding their traditional weapons have long been commonplace. “These images are at every corner of the country; should it also offend or threaten all Muslims then?” he asked. “Everyone should understand that the government cannot criminalise a religion like this,” he added, referring to Islam.

Since 2014, when Modi took over the power in New Delhi, India has consistently slid in a range of international democratic indices.

Criminalising people’s right to freedom of expression and religious belief sets a deeply troubling precedent, said Aakar Patel, the chair of Amnesty International India’s board.

“Targeting people for slogans such as ‘I Love Muhammad’, which is peaceful and devoid of any incitement or threat, does not meet the threshold for criminal restriction under either Indian constitutional law or international human rights law,” Patel told Al Jazeera.

“Public order concerns must be addressed proportionately and cannot justify the blanket suppression of religious identity or expression,” he added.

“The role of the state is to safeguard rights equally, not to police expressions of belief,” said Amnesty’s Patel. “Upholding constitutional and international commitments is not optional; it is a legal obligation.”

Is there a pattern?

Critics say that the crackdown is only the latest instance of Indian Muslims facing marginalisation, violence or the targeted brunt of the law since Modi came to power in 2014.

In the past 11 years, the incidents of hate speech targeting religious minorities have skyrocketed. Documented instances of hate speech jumped from 668 in 2023 to 1,165 last year, a rise of about 74 percent. A significant majority of these incidents happened in BJP-governed states, or places where elections were upcoming.

Increasingly, local Hindu-Muslim disputes now rapidly transform into national issues, said Asim Ali, a political analyst based in Delhi.

“There is an entire ecosystem in place, from pliant media to social media organisation, to spread this hate rapidly,” said Ali. “And the law is read in such a way that any expression of religious identity, especially of Muslims, can be seen as inciting religious hatred,” he added.

After the “I Love Muhammad” episode in Kanpur, BJP leaders in Modi’s own constituency, Varanasi, put up posters saying, “I Love Bulldozer” at major intersections of the city, in a reference to the bulldozing of houses of the accused.

How does it affect young Muslims?

Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst, said that the row over “I Love Muhammad” is “overtly very political, and not religious”.

And in India, there is growing frustration among Muslims, especially youth, where they see that one set of rules is not applied for all, when it comes to matters of cultural identity and eating habits, said Kidwai.

Several of the accused, or arrested, as part of the “I Love Muhammad” crackdown, include young adult Muslims, according to data from APCR, including those who were arrested for social media posts.

The crackdown on “I Love Muhammad” expression risks alienating young Muslim adults even more, said Ali. “In theory, everyone is already guilty and can face action for just being,” he told Al Jazeera.

“It is getting difficult to imagine what the future may hold now,” he said. “The tempo of hate is increasing day by day.”

That it took until Sunday’s three-wicket win over India for them to complete their first ODI chase over 300, taking back their record for the highest in the women’s 50-over format, is, in truth, a compliment to the bowlers that have worn canary yellow (OK, Australia gold) over the past 50 years.

It is hard for their batters to hold a record if never given the chance.

Ultimately, the result of Australia conceding 330 was captain Alyssa Healy being given an opportunity to produce her latest masterpiece.

Then best known as the 19-year-old niece of renowned former Aussie wicketkeeper Ian, she debuted in 2010 after her nation failed to win either of the 20 or 50-over World Cups held the previous year and has seen it all through 15 trophy-laden years since.

A T20 World Cup win came three months after her bow and seven world titles have followed from 10 attempts across formats.

The gritty keeper was also there in Derby in 2017 when a semi-final defeat by India briefly halted the run of success.

That loss “drove us to rethink our standards,” Healy said this week.

At the next 50-over World Cup in New Zealand, Healy made 170 against England in the final and was named player of the tournament. She ensured her country would not fall short again.

Whether this latest epic knock topped that previous effort can be debated.

Some will argue the case for the pressure of a final. Others can counter with the challenge that comes when facing a record target and a raucous India-supporting crowd of 20,000.

What is certain is this century was far harder to see coming.

The Christchurch carnage in 2022 came as she topped the run-scoring charts, but this knock followed six innings in India since the start of last month in which she had failed to pass 30.

“If you’ve been watching me in the nets, it’s been a frustrating experience because I feel like I’ve had no rhythm whatsoever,” said Healy.

“But once you step out on the field, your competitive instincts kick in and you just lock into the contest.”

It was a run chase set up by an Alyssa Healy century and sealed with an Ellyse Perry six as Australia beat India by three wickets to remain undefeated in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.

Facing a record run-chase target of 331, Australia’s captain took on the Indian bowlers from the start to build the perfect foundation for her team, and an injured Perry returned to bat to complete the task against the hosts at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

Healy, who opened the innings alongside Phoebe Litchfield, took on the role of the aggressor as she hit three sixes and 21 fours in her 107-ball epic innings of 142.

Litchfield and her captain shared a partnership of 85 before the left-handed batter was dismissed for 40 off 39 balls in the 12th over by slow left-arm bowler Shree Charani.

Healy kept going, though, and built another partnership with experienced all-rounder Ellyse Perry. The pair took Australia to 154 in the 25th over, when Perry retired hurt after suffering an undisclosed injury.

India pounced on the opportunity and were quick to dismiss in-form Beth Mooney for four, followed by Annabel Sutherland for zero in successive overs of spin bowling by Deepti Sharma and Charani.

The fall of wickets did little to slow down Healy, who ensured Australia kept up with the required run rate as she found gaps with little problem and caused several issues for India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

She completed her century off 84 balls in the 31st over and went on to add 56 runs before falling to a soft dismissal off Charani’s bowling. She sliced a ball to point, where a diving Sneh Rana took a catch that had to be double-checked with the television umpire.

However, even as Healy walked off, Australia seemed in control of the run chase. Then three quick wickets in the next six overs brought India back into the match.

When Australia went seven wickets down, Perry walked back onto the field, although with hindered mobility.

The veteran all-rounder combined with Kim Garth to keep the target within reach and finally sealed the win with a trademark six over the bowler’s head to ensure the seven-time champions remain unbeaten in the tournament.

Unsurprisingly, Healy was named player of the match and credited the team for chasing the record total.

“To chase down 330 in a 50-over game is new territory for us,” she said in her post-match comments. “Hopefully, we don’t have to do it again.”

Kaur blames poor end-of-innings batting

India suffered their second consecutive defeat in three days, leaving plenty to ponder for captain Kaur, who blamed the loss on India’s poor batting in the last few overs.

“We knew it was a good batting wicket, but not batting well in the last six overs cost us,” she said after the match.

“The openers have been outstanding, but in the last three games, we were not able to bat in the middle overs.”

The result helped the defending champions return to the top of the points table with seven from their four matches, while India remain unmoved in third despite losing their second match of the tournament.

England are second with six points, and South Africa fourth with four.

The top four teams in the eight-nation tournament will qualify for the semifinals.

Mandhana breaks more records

Earlier, India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana brushed off her low-scoring start to the tournament by hitting a 66-ball 80 in a 155-run opening partnership with Pratika Rawal, who contributed with 75 runs off 96 balls.

Mandhana, who had not gone past 23 in her previous three innings in the World Cup, broke the shackles as she hit three sixes and nine fours in her dominant innings. In the process, she became the fastest player to 5,000 runs in women’s ODIs, having achieved the feat in 112 innings.

It was an attempted slog that became her undoing in the 25th over, when she was caught in deep off the bowling of left-arm spin bowler Sophie Molineux.

Despite the vice-captain’s loss, India continued in their swift-scoring ways as Harleen Deol joined Rawal and resumed the big shots where Mandhana had left off.

However, Rawal was dismissed in the 31st over by Sutherland, and once again, it was an attempted big shot that led to the dismissal at fine leg. India’s captain Kaur, who has also been in search of runs in the tournament, attacked the bowling straight away but was soon dismissed for 22 by Megan Schutt.

The rest of India’s middle and lower-middle order kept the scoring rate up as Jemimah Rodrigues (33), Richa Ghosh (32) and Amanjot Kaur (16) helped India cross the 300-run mark.

Sutherland caused some late damage to help bowl out the hosts for 330 in 48.5 overs and finished with a five-wicket haul.

Molineux finished with 3-75 in her comeback game.

Australia face Bangladesh at the same venue on Thursday, while India resume their campaign after a week-long break when they host England in Indore on Sunday.

Who: India vs Australia
What: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 group stage
When: Sunday, October 12 at 3pm (09:30 GMT)
Where: Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, India
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 07:00 GMT before our text commentary stream for the action.

India will hope for a quick return to winning ways when they meet defending champions Australia in a blockbuster clash at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 on Sunday.

Both teams began the tournament as favourites, but Australia hold a definite edge in the match as record seven-time world champions and the only undefeated team after the first three group-stage matches.

Meanwhile, India were handed their first loss of the World Cup when South Africa pulled off a stunning turnaround in a three-wicket win on Thursday.

All 15,087 tickets for the eagerly awaited clash were sold out earlier in the week, indicating huge interest in what is now seen as one of the top rivalries in women’s cricket.

India vs Australia rivalry ‘continues to grow’

Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy admitted the interest in the Australia-India rivalry “continues to grow”, and that Australia will be taking on the “sleeping giant” of women’s cricket.

“They’ve [India] been a sleeping giant in the women’s game for a long period of time,” Healy said on Saturday.

The wicketkeeper-batter highlighted the role of the Women’s Premier League T20 franchise tournament in helping India unearth talent and figure out a style of play that suits them.

While Australia haven’t lost a match in the tournament, they have recovered from wobbly situations to post two wins in their two completed matches.

“You’re going to be put under the pump in unfamiliar conditions, against unfamiliar sides at times,” Healy explained.

“We’re allowed to lose games of cricket and be put under pressure in World Cups, and I really back the depth in our side,” she said when asked to comment on Australia’s batting slump against Pakistan on Wednesday.

“We’re fortunate that it’s been a different person every time that stuck their hand up and said, yep, I’ve got this, I can get us to a total or I can take the wickets to restrict the team.”

Despite their unmatched record in women’s cricket, Healy said India will be “a real threat” playing in their home conditions.

India not dwelling on loss

India’s all-rounder Sneh Rana believes her team can bounce back quickly after the loss to South Africa, as they don’t dwell on losses and focus on the next challenge instead.

“We regroup, we study the match, plan how to improve, take the positives, and look forward to the next game,” Rana said on the eve of the Australia match.

She termed the Australians “one of the strongest competitors” but was quick to highlight the fact that India have beaten the world champions in the (2017) World Cup as well as their recent bilateral series.

For the hosts, one of the major areas of concern will be the lack of big scores from their top-rated batter Smriti Mandhana.

The left-handed opener has scored a world record 972 runs in women’s one-day internationals (ODIs) in 2025, but her top score in the tournament stands at 23.

In fact, none of India’s top batters feature among the tournament’s top five run-scorers thus far, with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh in fourth spot with 131 runs.

Rana, however, said the team is not worried about the lack of runs from the top.

“We have some of the best batters in the world, and it’s just a matter of one good knock [before they score big].”

India vs Australia: Head-to-head in ODIs

Despite the relatively low frequency of women’s international matches in past decades, India and Australia have faced each other in 59 ODIs.

Australia dominate the head-to-head count with 48 wins compared with India’s 11.

Form guide: India

The hosts won their first two matches of the World Cup comprehensively before crashing to a loss against South Africa. Their pre-tournament form has been mixed, with a series loss to Australia at home and an away series win against England.

Last five matches (latest result first): L W W L W

Form guide: Australia

Australia have won two of their three matches in the World Cup, with their fixture against Sri Lanka abandoned due to poor weather.

Apart from the one loss against India in September, Australia have not lost an ODI since September 2024.

Last five matches (latest result first): W W W L W

Team news: India

India may want to swap a spinner for a pace bowler, in which case Shree Charani could make way for Renuka Singh Thakur.

Predicted XI: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani/Renuka Singh Thakur.

Team news: Australia

Australia have hinted at a return for Sophie Molineux, who could replace Georgia Wareham.

Predicted XI : Alyssa Healy (captain, wicketkeeper), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Wareham/Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth, Alana King, Megan Schutt.