India News | PM's Mother Watches Ayodhya Event on TV with Folded Hands

Ahmedabad, Aug 5 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nonagenarian mother watched the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhaya live on television at her residence near Gandhinagar on Wednesday.

The state information department released the photos of Hiraba watching the event on TV.

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The photos showed her sitting on a chair with folded hands and watching the programme when PM Modi performed the bhoomi poojan.

Hiraba lives with her younger son Pankaj Modi in Raysan area on the outskirts of Gandhinagar.

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The PM laid the foundation of the temple, bringing to fruition the BJP's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and aided its ascendance to the heights of power.

Celebrations were held in various parts of Gujarat on the occasion and special prayers were offered in many temples across the state.

People also expressed their joy by distributing sweets and bursting crackers. Hoardings in celebration of the event were also put up in various cities of Gujarat. PTI PD NP NP 08052014 NNNNend of the night Sunday, 12 teams had played 10 games, but six had played seven or fewer. The Miami Marlins (2-1) made it through just three before a virus outbreak sidelined them.

The Philadelphia Phillies (1-2) played those three games against the Marlins and were shut down as well. The St. Louis Cardinals (2-3) have had positive tests, and their series with Milwaukee (3-3) and Detroit were called off.

The shortened doubleheaders are one way to make up games, but Commissioner Rob Manfred said long days at the ballpark are a concern because of the virus. Making doubleheader games seven innings long can help, at least in theory.

But the Tigers and Reds were supposed to start at 12:10 p.m. on Sunday, and that was pushed back because of the bad weather. Then the first game nearly went into "extra" innings. It was tied in the top of the seventh before Cincinnati scored and won 4-3.

The Reds won the second game 4-0.

"It's definitely different," Gardenhire said.

"You can use your bullpen a lot different, earlier in the game and try to get through that part. We had, you know, opener in both games, so we had to use a lot of pen guys."

A shorter game can take less of a toll on a team's bullpen, and it also presents a chance for a dominant starter to shine.

"Sounds obvious, but everything happens faster. It's almost like one good way to look at it is the first inning becomes the third inning," Reds manager David Bell said before Sunday's games.

"I remember in the minor leagues seeing a lot of pitching gems in the seven-inning games, so I think it's an opportunity for starting pitchers — to really from pitch one, you can see the end a little bit quicker."

Sure enough, Cincinnati's Trevor Bauer threw a two-hit shutout in the second game against Detroit. But that effort took 2 hours, 36 minutes, and the opener was played in 2:25.

That would feel short if it were a nine-inning game, but it wasn't like the Reds and Tigers just breezed through the day.

The Tigers had another doubleheader scheduled for Wednesday against St. Louis, but that was postponed Monday, along with the entire four-game series in Detroit, when MLB announced that seven Cardinals players and six staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

There was a time when doubleheaders were a constant presence in the majors. The Boston Braves played a record 46 of them in 1945, according to SportRadar. But last year, there were 33 doubleheaders total, and the New York Yankees led the way with seven.

Now these seven-inning doubleheaders are a possibility every team should be prepared to face.

"We'll do our best when that's in front of us, try and win those games. Obviously, it's a little bit different," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

"You know, it's hard to know how you attack those days until you're there and what the day before looked like, what the days coming up look like — who's on the mound those days? Those are all things you kind of factor in as you get closer. I don't know how much necessarily changed, other than it's a little bit different circumstances that we have to navigate." (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)