Amandeep Khare produced two contrasting essays on Tuesday and ensured Chhattisgarh lived to fight another day against Punjab in their Ranji Trophy second-round fixture at the New PCA Stadium here.

His second effort required him to drop anchor after a sudden top-order slump, and with an attritional 89-ball 37, Khare took the visiting side to 123 for three at stumps on day three after it was asked to follow-on.

Ayush Pandey (59 batting, 161b, 8×4, 1×6) showed gumption for a fight and put price on his wicket, joining Khare in a 74-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Openers Pandey and Sanidhya Hurkat had chopped off 48 out of the first-innings deficit of 250 when Emanjot Chahal picked two wickets off as many balls to throw a spanner in the works. Realising what the situation demanded, Pandey recalibrated and joined Khare in navigating the passage, even if it meant runs came at a trickle.

Harjas Tandon found a breakthrough, pinning Pandey on 42, but Punjab’s celebration was cut short after a third-umpire check revealed the off-spinner had overstepped.

In the morning session, Vikalp Tiwari brushed aside his team’s precarious situation and launched a counter-attack, beginning with a swept boundary against Harpreet Brar. Gurnoor Brar was taken by surprise when Tiwari ramped his surprise bouncer over the ’keeper.

Tiwari had the rub of the green too as his edges off Gurnoor crept through the cordon for boundaries. But not long after he pulled Tandon past mid-on, the off-spinner threw an arm-ball to catch Tiwari plumb in front.

In his first innings (91, 154b, 11×4, 1×6), Khare had picked the odd boundary but had crank it up a notch, realising he was running out of time and partners.

He slog-swept Emanjot for a four, Harpreet for a six before going inside-out over covers against the latter. He was interested in another aerial hit off Harpreet when he miscued his loft and holed out at mid-off.

The scores:

Punjab — 1st innings: Vihaan Malhotra lbw b Dharmendra 40, Harnoor Pannu lbw b Ajay 20, Uday Saharan c Rahul b Dharmendra 161, Shubman Gill b Ajay 1, Prabhsimran Singh lbw b Dharmendra 62, Salil Arora lbw b Dharmendra 107, Harpreet Brar lbw b Dharmendra 27, Emanjot Chahal lbw b Sandeep 7, Harjas Tandon lbw b Dharmendra 16, Gurnoor Brar c Ayush b Dharmendra 6, Umesh Yadav (not out) 2; Extras (lb-6, wd-1): 7; Total (in 152.5 overs): 456.

Fall of wickets: 1-55, 2-65, 3-68, 4-198, 5-389, 6-409, 7-422, 8-444, 9-449.

Chhattisgarh bowling: Sandeep 26-2-92-1, Dev Aditya 23-4-57-0, Dharmendra 55.5-7-173-7, Mandal 41-7-98-2, Vikalp 6-0-27-0, Ayush 1-0-3-0.

Chhattisgarh — 1st innings: Ayush Pandey c Prabhsimran b Harpreet 14, Sanidhya Hurkat c Shubman b Harpreet 4, Ashutosh Singh lbw b Harpreet 16, Sanjeet Desai lbw b Harpreet 5, Amandeep Khare c Uday b Harpreet 91, Dharmendra Jadeja c Vihaan b Harpreet 0, Vikalp Tiwari lbw b Harjas 47, Rahul Pradhan lbw b Harpreet 0, Ajay Mandal b Harjas 22, Dev Aditya Singh c Salil b Harjas 2, Sandeep Warrier (not out) 0; Extras (lb-1, nb-4): 5; Total (in 64.5 overs): 206.

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-21, 3-36, 4-45, 5-45, 6-128, 7-129, 8-170, 9-186.

Punjab bowling: Gurnoor 12-1-43-0, Umesh 2-1-3-0, Harpreet 23.5-5-56-7, Emanjot 13-1-35-0, Tandon 14-2-68-3.

Chhattisgarh — 2nd innings: Ayush Pandey (batting) 59, Sanidhya Hurkat c Vihaan b Emanjot 25, Ashutosh Singh lbw b Emanjot 0, Sanjeet Desai b Harpreet 0, Amandeep Khare (batting) 37; Extras (nb-2): 2; Total (for three wkts. in 54 overs): 123.

Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-48, 3-49.

Punjab bowling: Gurnoor 3-0-7-0, Harpreet 18-4-56-1, Tandon 12-5-31-0, Emanjot 14-8-13-2, Vihaan 2-0-2-0, Uday 2-2-0-0, Umesh 2-1-5-0, Gill 1-0-9-0.

Published – October 20, 2026 06:30 pm IST

Leading from the front: Punjab skipper Uday Saharan rose to the occasion with a well-paced century.
| Photo Credit: File photo: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Punjab went all in for an outright win but had to settle for three points on the final day of its Ranji Trophy round-one match against Assam at the New PCA Stadium here on Wednesday.

Overnight batters Emanjot Singh Chahal (114 n.o., 137b, 10×4, 4×6) and Salil Arora (110, 152b, 10×4, 3×6) needed less than a session to restore parity and take a first-innings lead.

The charge was in full throttle from the fourth over of the day, when Salil hopped out to Mohit Thakur and drilled him through covers. Salil reserved his best for pacer Dipjyoti Saikia, creaming two drives through covers and mid-off.

Mohit was targeted again by the pair. Salil lofted him inside-out for a boundary and with a late-cut Emanjot got Punjab level with Assam at 373 runs.

Their onslaught on the cusp of lunch ensured Punjab’s haul from the first session had ballooned to 191 runs. With a lead worth 105 runs, Punjab inserted Assam for a second innings and got a late whiff of a win.

Umesh Yadav added two wickets to his match figures, snaring Nebir Deka at gully and producing a peach to Rajveer Singh that pitched and changed angle to break the castle. Harpreet Brar got a length ball to skid straight and accounted for Rishav Das.

Combining at 36 for three, Denish Das and Sibsankar Roy appeared to have weathered the storm courtesy of their 57-run alliance. But both were caught behind on either side of tea, off Harjas Tandon and Harpreet respectively, giving Punjab a reason to let the match run its due course.

Gurnoor Brar then set an on-sided trap, with three catchers at midwicket, to find a way past Sumit Ghadigaonkar’s deadblocking, trapping him leg-before from around the wicket. Mukhtar could not duck under a Gurnoor bouncer in time and had to retire hurt.

Assam could save its solitary point courtesy of Amlanjyoti Das, who stood in support of Sarupam Purkayashta (18 n.o., 68b, 3×4) for the final 30 minutes and dashed Punjab’s hopes.

The scores: Assam — 1st innings: 373.

Punjab — 1st innings: Vihaan Malhotra lbw b Mukhtar 103, Harnoor Pannu c Ghadigaonkar b Purkayastha 54, Uday Saharan lbw b Purkayastha 30, Jashanpreet Sidhu lbw b Amlanjyoti 22, Ramandeep Singh run out 17, Salil Arora c Deka b Mukhtar 110, Emanjot Chahal (not out) 114, Harjas Tandon (not out) 12; Extras (b-1, lb-7, w-1, nb-7): 16; Total (decl. for six wkts. in 127 overs): 478.

Fall of wickets: 1-137, 2-195, 3-195, 4-226, 5-237, 6-437.

Assam bowling: Mukhtar 34-7-128-2, Dipjyoti 15-2-93-0, Amlanjyoti 29-2-77-1, Purkayastha 20-3-64-2, Mohit 29-2-108-0.

Assam — 2nd innings: Nibir Deka c Harnoor b Umesh 5, Rishav Das b Harpreet 22, Rajveer Singh b Umesh 0, Denish Das c Salil b Harjas 45, Sibsankar Roy c Salil b Harpreet 32, Sumit Ghadigaonkar lbw b Gurnoor 13, Sarupam Purkayastha (not out) 18, Mukhtar Hussain (retd hurt) 4, Amlanjyoti Das (not out) 15; Extras (lb-2, nb-1): 3; Total (for six wkts in 61 overs): 157

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-16, 3-36, 4-93, 5-106, 6-132.

Punjab bowling: Gurnoor 11-0-38-1, Umesh 9-3-11-2, Harpreet 17-7-44-2, Emanjot 12-3-25-0, Harjas 10-0-34-1, Uday 1-0-1-0, Vihaan 1-0-2-0.

Published – October 14, 2026 06:36 pm IST

North Zone’s Gurnoor Brar bowls during the Duleep Trophy 2026 semiFinal against South Zone, at the BCCI Centre of Excellence grounds, in Bengaluru on August 31, 2026.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

The story of Bengali food is often told through rivers, fish and fertile soil. Less often it is told through railway platforms, refugee colonies and the ingenuity of people who arrived with almost nothing, except memory.

When millions were displaced during the Partition of 1947, those crossing from East Bengal into West Bengal did not carry heirloom utensils or sacks of treasured ingredients. Most travelled light because they had no choice. What endured was something far harder to confiscate: a culinary memory bank accumulated over generations. The food they cooked in their new homes became a record of loss, adaptation and survival.

“People came with very little. What they carried was memory and a legacy of food,” says food researcher Amrita Bhattacharya who, along with her husband, academic Amit Sen, runs Handpicked by Amrita a farm-to-table supper club from their home in Shantiniketan’s Bolpur. These food legacies have changed Bengali kitchens. 

Across refugee settlements that sprang up around Kolkata and elsewhere in the State, cooking became an exercise in survival. Families had to feed children despite limited resources and uncertain incomes. Out of those constraints emerged a culinary philosophy that modern food culture would later celebrate as sustainable and zero-waste.

Vegetable peels found their way into elaborate preparations. The stems of spinach became one dish while the leaves became another. Pumpkin yielded multiple recipes from a single vegetable. Even the water left behind after preparing chhana (curdled milk) was consumed. Rice starch, known as fyan, was tempered with spices and served as a nourishing broth to children.

“What we now call zero-waste cooking was often the ingenuity of people trying to feed a family with very little. They were not thinking in terms of sustainability. They were operating with very little and used creativity to survive,” says Amrita. 

Many of these preparations have since become so integrated into Bengali food culture that their origins are easily overlooked. Yet they emerged from a moment when thousands of families were rebuilding their lives from scratch.

Popular narratives often reduce East Bengali culinary heritage to a handful of ingredients, particularly dried fish or shutki. Amrita believes that such assumptions oversimplify a much broader history.

The deeper influence lies in a style of cooking defined by restraint.

Amrita traces this sensibility through her own family history. Her grandparents, who came from the Pabna-Rajshahi region in Bangladesh, cooked fresh fish with remarkable minimalism. Fish was rarely fried. Instead, it was simmered gently with turmeric, salt, green chillies and a light tempering. Prawns were often boiled and eaten with rice. Delicate river fish appeared in thin broths that allowed the flavour of the fish itself to dominate.

The approach stands in contrast to many contemporary Bengali kitchens, where richer gravies and heavier seasoning have become commonplace.

Bengal and the Andamans

Following Partition, thousands of Bangladeshi refugees were resettled in the Andaman Islands. Among them were many Namasudra families whose agricultural and fishing skills made them suitable candidates for life in an unfamiliar frontier landscape. There they encountered a radically different environment.

Communities accustomed to freshwater fish suddenly had to adapt to seafood. They learned to fish in creeks and backwaters, identify edible leaves and understand an ecosystem entirely unlike the one they had left behind.

“It was a different kind of struggle. People had to learn which plants could be eaten, which could be dangerous and how to survive in a completely new landscape,” notes Amrita.

“The food of Bengali settlers in the Andamans, in many villages, the cooking remains closer to the East Bengal of decades ago than what we find in present-day West Bengal. In isolated settlements, fish curries and prawn are boiled in coconut milk often containing only a touch of ‘phoron’ (five spices of cumin, fenugreek, fennel, black mustard and nigella) and a simple tempering. Meat dishes frequently avoid the yoghurt and dairy enrichments that have become common elsewhere,” explains the food anthropologist.

As East Bengali refugees settled across West Bengal, their food mingled with local ingredients and culinary habits. Distinct traditions gradually merged, producing flavours that belonged fully to neither side of the border.

Partition of Punjab 

Partition transformed food cultures across northern India, particularly in Punjab. Communities migrating from Pakistan’s Rawalpindi and Peshawar carried with them culinary traditions that would eventually influence everything from chicken tikka to the culture of roadside dhabas.

Amrita points to the evolution of the ‘sanjha chulha’ or the community oven once found in villages across undivided Punjab.

“It was largely managed by women. Families would prepare dough at home and gather around a shared oven. After Partition, that community structure changed and eventually evolved into the tandoor culture associated with dhabas,’’ she says.

In Bengal, Punjabi settlers adapted to local ingredients over time. Community kitchens incorporated regional vegetables and cooking styles. Dishes that once relied on one set of greens began appearing with Bengal’s lal shaak (red spinach) and kalmi shaak ( water spinach). Culinary exchange flowed in both directions.

Bengal’s Burmese connection

In the decades surrounding the Second World War, many Bengalis returned from Burma under circumstances that closely resembled refugee journeys. Settling in areas such as Kolkata’s Barasat and Subhashgram, they brought back culinary traditions acquired across the Bay of Bengal.

Their influence survives in dishes such as mohinga, Myanmar’s beloved fish and noodle soup. Even today, versions of the fish-based broth can be found in neighbourhoods associated with former Burmese settlements. Families continue to prepare khow suey at home, while ceramic bowls made of Chinese clay, once used for these meals remain treasured heirlooms.

Amrita believes another overlooked refugee contribution lies in ethnobotanical knowledge: an intimate understanding of edible plants, leaves and greens.

The ecology of East Bengal fostered familiarity with a vast range of leafy vegetables and aquatic plants. That knowledge travelled across borders, influencing how ingredients were used and valued.

Fish scales became crisp snacks rich in collagen and calcium. Ageing coconuts were turned into fritters rather than discarded. Multiple varieties of dal evolved into delicacies.

Every fish broth, peel fritter and humble bowl of rice starch carries the imprint of a journey. The trains have long stopped arriving, but the migrations that reshaped Bengal still linger at the dining table.

Published – June 20, 2026 08:00 am IST

Ashwani Kumar. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

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Polavaram irrigation project receives huge inflow of flood water in West Godavari district
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

New Delhi:

People from Punjab comprise the biggest chunk of the Indians being deported by the US, government sources said today – days after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s objection to the flights landing in his state. The government has clarified the situation about the handcuffs, with foreign minister S Jaishankar saying there are provisions for it in rules for deportation.

Donald Trump’s campaign promises included a crackdown on illegal immigrants, and since his inauguration, three military aircraft have arrived in India carrying deportees.

After the first flight landed on February 5, Bhagwant Mann accused the Centre of trying to defame Punjab and said a holy city like Amritsar should not be made a “deport centre”. This flight had 30 deportees from Punjab and 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat.

Sources said since May 2020, 21 flights have been landed in Amritsar. 
Three flights arrived on February 5, February 15 and February 16 in which 333 Indians were sent. Of them, 262 were men, 42 women, 18 boys and 11 girls. 

Among them, the maximum people – 126 or 37.8 per cent – were from Punjab. The next was Haryana, whose 110 residents comprised 33 per cent of the passengers. Seventy-four passengers, 22 per cent, were from Gujarat. The rest were from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Goa and 1 each from Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

The rules for deporting illegal immigrants have been mentioned in the handbook issued by USICE in 2015, sources said.

It is clearly written there that under the policy of November 2012, people being sent by ICE planes will be sent in handcuffs. The US has followed the same policy while sending Indians.

Following opposition parties’ protest about the handcuffing of the deportees, foreign minister S Jaishankar told parliament on February 6 that the government was engaging with the US to ensure that deported Indians are not mistreated.

Chandigarh:

Five passengers including a woman were killed and over two dozen were injured after a private bus fell into a drain in Punjab’s Faridkot district on Tuesday, officials said.

The accident occurred on the Faridkot-Kotkapura road at around 8 am when the bus carrying 36 passengers was going from Muktsar to Amritsar, they said.

The bus plunged into the drain from a 10-feet high bridge after it collided with a truck, officials said.

Five people have died in the incident, Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police Pragya Jain told PTI over the phone.

Of those killed, four were residents of Muktsar district, said officials.

They said 26 passengers were admitted to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot.

Of the injured, two have been referred to another hospital in Amritsar. One of them lost an arm in the accident.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan visited the hospital and inquired about the health of the injured.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi :

Former and current Indian cricketers Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Irfan Pathan, and Cheteshwar Pujara shared a heartfelt message for former wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha as he announced his retirement from all formats of cricket. Saha played his last match against Punjab with Bengal in the Ranji Trophy Elite 2024-25 Group C encounter. The wicketkeeper-batter failed to shine in the final game of his illustrious career. He was dismissed for a seven-ball duck by Gurnoor Brar of Punjab. However, Saha’s performance did not affect Bengal much as they clinched a victory by an innings and 13 runs over Punjab.

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan took to his official social media handle and gave him best wishes for his new phase of life.

“From sharing dressing rooms to seeing you pull off those insane stumpings, what a journey you’ve had bro! Wishing you all the success and happiness in this new phase of life. You’ll always be a champion,” Dhawan wrote in a post on X.

From sharing dressing rooms to seeing you pull off those insane stumpings, what a journey you’ve had bro! Wishing you all the success and happiness in this new phase of life. You’ll always be a champion @Wriddhipops ???? pic.twitter.com/lFjEKljAsB

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) February 1, 2025

The former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan congratulated Wriddhiman Saha for his cricketing career and called him “udtaaaaaa Saha”.

“Congratulations @Wriddhipops on your career. Your wicket-keeping skills were the best we had in test cricket. Will miss calling it “udtaaaaaa Saha”. I’m sure you will keep flying high in your second innings buddy. Good luck,” Irfan Pathan wrote on X.

Congratulations @Wriddhipops on your career. Your wicket keeping skills were the best we had in test cricket. Will miss calling it “udtaaaaaa Saha”. I’m sure you will keep flying high in your second innings buddy. Good luck. pic.twitter.com/OT42TBZ3pr

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 1, 2025

Saurashtra and India right-hand batter Cheteshwar Pujara said that Wriddhiman Saha’s contribution for Indian cricket is invaluable.

“Congratulations on an incredible career @Wriddhipops! …Your contribution to Indian cricket has been invaluable. It has been a pleasure spending time with you on and off the field! Best wishes for the journey ahead,” Pujara wrote in a post on X.

Congratulations on an incredible career @Wriddhipops! ????…Your contribution to Indian cricket has been invaluable. It has been a pleasure spending time with you on and off the field!

Best wishes for the journey ahead ???? pic.twitter.com/znRCk7ZdJG

— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) February 1, 2025

Rishabh Pant shared a photo along with Wriddhiman Saha on his social media handle and said that he has always admired his skills and craft.

“As a fellow keeper, I have always admired your skills and your craft. Wishing you all the success and happiness in your next chapter @Wriddhipops bhaiya,” Pant wrote on X.

As a fellow keeper, I have always admired your skills and your craft. Wishing you all the success and happiness in your next chapter @Wriddhipops bhaiya. #RP17 pic.twitter.com/xNf2yrjZLn

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) February 1, 2025

Earlier on Friday, Saha also received a guard of honour from his teammates as he went down on the crease to bat for the last time.

Taking to X, Saha recalled the first time he stepped onto a cricket field in 1997. He added that it was an honour for him to represent his country, state, district, clubs, university, college, and school.

“It has been 28 years since I first stepped onto a cricket field in 1997, and what a journey it has been! Representing my country, state, district, clubs, university, college, and school has been the greatest honor of my life. Everything I am today, every achievement, every lesson learned- l owe it all to this wonderful game… Now it is time to begin a new chapter, dedicating myself to my family and friends, cherishing the moments I may have missed, and embracing life beyond the field. I am eternally grateful to my parents, my beloved elder brother Anirban, and my extended family. Their sacrifices and unwavering belief in my dreams made this journey possible…,” Saha wrote on X.

The 40-year-old extended his heartfelt gratitude to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their support throughout his career.

“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the BCCI, its presidents, secretaries, and all office bearers for their support throughout my career. A sincere thank you to all my coaches, mentors, physios, trainers, analysts, teammates, logistics teams, masseurs, and every support staff member of the Indian Cricket Team, Bengal Cricket Team, Tripura Cricket Team, and all the clubs, districts, universities, and school teams I had the privilege of representing. Your faith in me and your constant encouragement have meant the world. I am deeply thankful to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) for their trust and support throughout my career…,” he added.

He also gave special mention to his childhood coach, Jayanta Bhowmick for his guidance both on and off the field.

“A special mention to my childhood coach, Jayanta Bhowmick, who saw something in me long before I saw it in myself. Your guidance, both on and off the field, has been a blessing in my life. To my friends, ground staff, net bowlers, dressing room attendants, fans, scorers, well-wishers, critics, and journalists each of you played a role in my journey. Your support, encouragement, and even your criticism pushed me to be better, to work harder, and to never stop learning… This game has given me more than I could have ever imagined. It has been my passion, my teacher, my identity. As I walk away from the field, I do so with immense gratitude, carrying memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you, cricket. Thank you all,” he concluded.

Thank You, Cricket. Thank You everyone. ???? pic.twitter.com/eSKyGQht4R

— Wriddhiman Saha (@Wriddhipops) February 1, 2025

Saha made his first-class debut in 2007, following that he has played 142 matches and 210 innings, scoring 7169 runs at a strike rate of 48.65 and an average of 41.43. He slammed 14 centuries and 44 fifties in the first-class cricket.

Earlier in November 2024, Wriddhiman Saha announced his retirement from international cricket. Saha last played for India in 2021 and has scored 1,353 runs in 40 Tests for India, with three centuries and six fifties in 56 innings. He has also played five ODIs for India.