Sanju Samson thanks the heavens after helping India win on Sunday | Debadatta Mallick KOttayam l monday l march 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION surya & CO seal semifinal berth, face England in Mumbai on mar 5 The defending champions defeat West Indies in Kolkata in a virtual quarterfinal of the T20 World Cup on Sunday. A look... clinical India cruise past west indies samson seizes the moment at big stage It was an evening where a lot of things fell in place for India. First, they won the toss and opted to field. Then, Jasprit Bumrah put brakes on WI with a two-wicket over as they finished with 195/4 thanks to Jason Holder (34 n.o) & Rovman Powell (37 n.o). When India lost Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma early, Sanju Samson stood tall to see through the chase. ■ ■ Brought in to support Abhishek’s poor run in Chennai, Samson saved his best for the must-win clash against West Indies Samson set the tone up front, and continued to pile on while wickets fell around him. The Kerala batter smashed an unbeaten 97 from just 50 balls to make a statement when India needed him the most | P11 97 n.o Sanju Samson sealed the sF spot with a 97 n.o from 50 balls CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI War escalates after US-Israeli airstrikes kill Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei; Tehran goes on the offensive, hits US allies in Gulf; leaders urge restraint As crisis deepens, India braces for economic impact D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi Videograb combo shows the sequence of large-scale strikes on “the headquarters of the Iranian terror regime” in Tehran on March 1 (right) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei | PTI Dangerous escalation a g e nci e s @ Tehran/Tel Aviv IRANIAN Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated by Israel and the United States in a major attack on Iran, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of protracted regional instability . News agency IRNA announced the 86-year-old’s death on Sunday after a joint US- Israeli aerial bombardment targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. US President Donald Trump threatened that the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week. The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Major General Mohammad Pakpour, was also declared dead in airstrikes. Also killed was Ali Shamkhani, long a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said. Among the other top officials who died in the strikes were Iran police intelligence chief Gholamreza Rezaian and the chief of armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi. The Israeli army announced Smoke billows in Dubai after an Iranian strike. Hundreds of drones and missiles targeted UAE and other Gulf allies of the US after Khamenei’s death | AFP “large-scale” strikes targeting the “heart of Tehran” for the second day running. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei’s killing was a “turning point”.Iran formed an interim leadership council to take over. Sources said Ayatollah Alireza Arafi was part of it, alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Mohseni-Eje’i. The body will rule until a new leader is selected. In retaliation, Iran fired missiles across the Middle East and Israel, while Israel conducted fresh strikes on Tehran. In Israel, at least nine people were killed as Iranian missiles hit a syna go gue in Beit Shemesh. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the killing of Khamenei was a “declaration of war against Muslims”, vowing vengeance. Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani vowed to hit the US and Israel with “a force never seen before.” In the UAE, the defence ministry said three people had died and 58 wounded since Iran’s strikes began on Saturday . Blast at explosives plant in Maha kills at least 17 S u d h i r S u r ya w ans h i @ Mumbai At least 17 people were killed and 18 others critically injured in a major explosion at an ammunition manufacturing company near Nagpur on Sunday morning. A powerful blast occurred at 7.00 am, triggering massive flames in the Nonal crimping plant area, which spread to adjoining sections of the facility located in Raulgaon village, approximately 25 km from Nagpur city. Sources said 35 workers and two supervisors were present at the time of the incident. A new shift had begun at 6 am. The bodies were charred beyond recognition. Samples of the family members were being taken for DNA testing, the police said. The factory belonged to a major manufacturer of industrial explosives, including materials used for mining and infrastructure projects, such as detonators and explosive cartridges. The incident comes a day after a blast at a cracker unit in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district claimed 21 lives. AS the war between Iran and US-Israel escalates, India is bracing for a range of macroeconomic adversity. Crude oil prices, which had already been firming up amid rising tension, shot up from around $65 per barrel to $72-73 per barrel over the past few days. Going forward, the volatility in oil, currency and equity markets , is expected to remain high. At the heart of the economic concern is the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of global petroleum liquids and a fifth of global LNG shipments transit. India, which consumes 5.5 million barrels of crude oil per day and imports more For every $1/barrel than 80% of its requirement, is parrise in Brent price, ticularly exposed. Around 1.5-2 milthere would be an lion barrels per day of India’s crude impact of L0.52/litre on diesel and L0.55/ imports pass through this narrow litre on petrol prices corridor. In FY25, nearly 50% of India’s crude oil imports and 54% of Madhavi Arora, LNG imports were routed via HorEconomist, Emkay Global muz. Any disruption — or even the perception of risk — can inject a geopolitical premium into oil prices. India sources a substantial portion of its crude from West Asia. While refiners can diversify supplies to the US, Africa or South America, global oil benchmarks determine pricing. Elevated crude prices would still translate into a higher import bill. Experts warn that the macroeconomic transmission to India is imminent; higher crude prices raise fuel and transportation costs, feeding into inflation. Manoranjan Sharma, chief economist at Informerics Ratings, said the immediate consequence would be rising inflationary pressure triggered by higher energy prices. 350 flights of Indian carriers cancelled New Delhi: Airlines from India announced cancellation of all flights to the region. The Civil Aviation Ministry said 350 flights operated by Indian carriers stood cancelled on Sunday. Airlines have announced full refund or rescheduling of all tickets booked until March 5 or 7, a source with DGCA said | P7 15 Indians evacuated from oil tanker New Delhi: An oil tanker carrying 20 crew members, including 15 Indians and five Iranians, and an Omani port near the strategic Strait of Hormuz were targeted in strikes on Sunday, marking the first reported attacks on Oman since Tehran launched retaliatory operations Israel calls up reservists Tel Aviv: The Israeli military said it was calling up almost 100,000 reservists as part of its ongoing campaign of strikes against arch-foe Iran named Roaring Lion, the IDF said Nine killed in Pak Islamabad/Srinagar: Following Khamenei’s killing, protests erupted across the world. In Pakistan, nine people were killed as hundreds of protesters tried to storm the US consulate in Karachi. Several thousand Shia Muslims joined demonstrations in Kashmir | P7