Millions of football aficionados will be glued to their television screens when fifth-ranked Manchester United host leaders Chelsea in the English Premier League on Sunday.

Well, for starters it will see Jose Mourinho face the club he made a European giant and will be looking to get revenge for the 4-0 drubbing United suffered at the hands of Antonio Conte’s men back in September.

And with second-placed Tottenham Hotspur not too far away, Chelsea will be wary of slipping up at Old Trafford, but a win against a determined United looks difficult, with a draw the most likely outcome.

Manchester United

It’s been a difficult season for United, despite winning the Community Shield and Carling Cup. Let’s not forget, they have a strong chance of making the UEFA Europa League semifinals, so qualifying for the Champions League via that route is looking likelier by the second.

In the Premier League, however, United have been disappointing, there is no escaping that fact. Overly dependent on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to save them week in-week out, the Red Devils have often struggled to close out games. The Swede’s fellow summer signings Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan need to justify their considerable transfer fees by scripting an upset at Old Trafford on Sunday.

A task easier said than done, but if Tottenham and Crystal Palace have proven anything this season, it is that Chelsea are not invulnerable.

David de Gea looks set to start, a major boost for the Red Devils and despite having travelled to Belgium in midweek, there can be no excuses for failing to pick up at least a point at home. 

What they are saying: “You say it’s emotional but, for me, it’s a game,”. It’s one more game. No different for me. Not at all.” (Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho as per www.manutd.com)

Injury absentees: Juan Mata (groin), Chris Smalling (Knee), Phil Jones (Toe), Wayne Rooney (Ankle), Ashley Young (Knock)

Suspension Alert: None

Chelsea

Chelsea are almost in the home stretch, with trips to Manchester United and Everton the last ‘big’ games of the season left. 

Should they beat United on Sunday, the title race might just be over, but Mourinho will set out his team in an extremely compact formation which will make them extremely difficult to beat. 

Blues Winger Eden Hazard is at his mercurial best at the moment, but will need Diego Costa to get out of his mini-drought if the Blues are to walk away with three points. The snarling Spaniard put in a good shift against Bournemouth last week but a striker is paid to score and that is exactly what he will have to do to keep Chelsea’s title-charge on track.

The Blues have already gotten the better of the Red Devils twice this season (once in the league and once in the FA Cup) and with the benefit of no midweek matches, the away side are in the ascendancy.

What they are saying: “My expectation is there will be a tough game, but when I think about a tough game I involve the tactical aspect, the physical aspect and the mental aspect, not only one aspect. You must have a good impact physically, tactically and also with the right mentality.” (Chelsea manager Antonio Conte as per www.chelseafc.com)

Injury absentees: None

Suspension Alert: None

Super Stat: Chelsea are unbeaten against United in their last 12 meetings, a runs stretching back to the 2012-12 season!

At least six train accidents in little over three months of 2017 have, once again, raised serious questions about the safety of rail passengers in the country.

Eight coaches of a passenger train derailed near Rampur in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, injuring at least 14 passengers and affecting the movement of over 25 trains.

In the last week of March, around 52 people were injured after eight coaches of the Jabalpur-Nizamuddin Mahakaushal Express derailed near Kulpahar station in Uttar Pradesh.

In January, more than 40 passengers were killed and over 50 injured when the Hirakhand Express derailed near Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh.

There have been other accidents like a train ramming an ambulance at an unmanned level crossing in Karnataka last month, derailment of three coaches and engine of Kalindi Express in February, and a goods train train in Howrah-Kharagpur section in West Bengal in April.

These incidents again put the spotlight on a serious question: How safe is it to travel on Indian Railways, the fourth largest railway network in the world that transports more than 22 million passengers daily.

According to a December 2016 report of the Standing Committee on Railways, focusing on safety and security, about 70 per cent train accidents in 2015-16 in India occurred due to deficient working of railway staff.

As per the report, lapses of railway staff included "carelessness in working, poor maintenance, adoption of short cuts and non-observance of laid-down safety rules and procedures".

"The trend has been replicated throughout the years where failure of the railway staff is a major cause of consequential railway accidents," the report said.

Shiv Gopal Mishra, General Secretary of All India Railwaymen's Federation, said fund shortage for track maintenance is a major reason for such incidents.

"At least 40 per cent Indian Railways tracks are overdue for renewal. Till that happens, such incidents will continue and no one will be able to stop the same," Mishra told IANS.

"Responsibility should be fixed for this utter neglect. If the government doesn't pay, it should be held responsible. And if it gives the funds but people in the Railways don't use it, then they should be held accountable," he said.

The Indian Railways network is over one lakh km long, spread over a route length of around 67,000 km.

Interestingly, this year's Annual Budget (which subsumed the Railway Budget) focused strongly on safety and created the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (national rail safety fund) with a five-year corpus of Rs one lakh crore.

However, Mishra feels that funds would lead to results only if priorities are set right.

"It's being said that the Rs 1 lakh crore fund will be used to build new tracks instead of revamping/repairing the existing ones. What about the old tracks?"

Mishra said overburdening of some tracks may also be responsible for increased wear and tear, leading to accidents.

"Some tracks are used more than their bearing capacity. When there is more load, it is natural that there is more wear and tear. It's also something that needs to be looked into."

Former Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said for the Indian Railways safety is the topmost priority.

"We have been running trains since 1853 and safety is basic thing which is considered before any new train or technology is introduced," Kumar told IANS.

He said while some things may be more safer than others, "it doesn't mean that the Indian Railways is running trains unsafely or under unsafe situations".

He said one needs to analyse the reason(s) behind Saturday's train accident before jumping to conclusions.

"Accidents never follow a pattern. There are so many reasons/factors involved," Kumar said.

"We have to see why this particular accident happened — what was the reason? Was it because of neglect, technological flaw or reasons beyond the control of the Railways, or was it human failure?"

A youth was killed in Srinagar after security forces allegedly opened fire at protesters late on Saturday. Police said it was looking into the circumstances in which the death took place.

Police sources said a youth identified as Sajad Ahmad, a resident of Tangmarg area in north Kashmir Baramulla district, was killed in Batmaloo area of the city, but denied any force deployment in the area.

"We didn't have forces deployed in the area. We are investigating the matter," said a senior police official.

Reports said a vehicle of the paramilitary forces was attacked by stone pelters in the area after which the security forces fired at them, resulting in the death of the youth.

All accredited media persons will now be exempted from toll tax on all state highways in Punjab.

A decision to this effect was taken here on Saturday by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. "The necessary notification in this regard was being issued by the state Public Works Department (PWD)," an official spokesperson said.

As per the decision, all accredited mediapersons and those holding yellow I-card (issued at district level to journalists) would be exempted from paying toll tax while moving through state highways.

Exemption of toll tax was one of the promises made by the Congress for the welfare of journalists in the run-up to the Assembly elections. The spokesperson said other promises made to the media as per the Congress manifesto would also be implemented soon, he added.

In a bid to make grid connected solar power plants more competitive, the government has decided to exempt procurement of material and components required for setting up of ‘grid connected roof top’ solar PV power plants from Custom and Excise duty.

The exemption, however, would be applicable to a minimum capacity of 100 KW single solar project as well as for a ‘bundled solar project’ of 100 KW, the Ministry of New And Renewable Energy announced. “It has been decided to give Customs and Excise duty exemption certificates, with immediate effect to all roof-top solar power projects up to a minimum capacity of 100 MW,” a notification issued by the Ministry stated.

The exemption would not be applicable for off grid plants and only ‘on grid’ projects can avail the benefits. The consumer may opt for net metering or may enter into a ‘PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) with Utility/discom’, the Ministry said.

Solar power developers have been demanding customs and excise duty benefits to end users for installation of solar plants so as to bring down the cost of grid projects and cost of solar power generations.

“It was under consideration of the Ministry for some time. After examining various issues involved with the exemption with concerned ministry, it was finally decided on April 11 to grant exemption with immediate effect,” said a senior officer of the Ministry of New And Renewable Energy.

A local magisterial court issued an arrest warrant against Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt on Saturday for not appearing before it to answer a complaint of criminal intimidation filed by producer Shakeel Noorani.

"We had sought arrest warrant against Dutt for non- appearance. The court has allowed our application," said advocate Neeraj Gupta, Noorani's lawyer.

The next hearing will be on August 29.

Noorani has filed a private complaint with the court demanding registration of a case against Dutt for criminal intimidation.

Dutt had abandoned midway in 2002 a film, 'Jan ki Bazzi,' which he was producing, said Noorani in his complaint, adding the actor did not even return the money already paid to him.

Noorani approached Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association which directed Dutt to pay back the money. Noorani later moved the Bombay High Court, seeking execution of the IMPPA's order.

In the meantime, he started receiving threatening calls from some underworld figures who asked him to withdraw the case, the producer alleged.

Earlier too a warrant had been issued against Dutt for non-appearance in this case, but he was granted bail.

Dutt, who was convicted under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was released from the jail last year.

Riding on Robin Uthappa's gritty half-century and spinners' contribution, Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday secured a 17-run win over defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match and climbed to the top of the table here.

Defending a tricky 173 on a lively Eden track, KKR spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav (1/23), Sunil Narine (1/18) and Yusuf Pathan (1/2) gave vital breakthroughs to dent the chase of the Sunrisers and hand the team its second successive win at home.

For the Sunrisers, who began their campaign with back- to-back victories at home, this was their second defeat on the trot.

David Warner (26 off 30; 4×4) and Shikhar Dhawan (23 off 22; 4×4) gave Sunrisers a flying start with 45 from six overs but part-time spinner Pathan turned it around by removing the Indian left-hander en route to his impressive figures of 1-0- 2-1.

Brought in place of Piyush Chawla, chinaman Kuldeep then made his presence felt. He along with Narine accounted for 22 dot balls in the middle overs to put brakes in their chase.

India's 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh provided some to Sunrisers' chase, hammering two sixes and two fours en route to his 16-ball 26.

But Chris Woakes (2/49) dismissed him as substitute Rishi Dhawan took a brilliant running catch at long-on.

Sunrisers needed 30 runs in the last over and Trent Boult (1/33) conceded just 12 to ensure a comfortable win for KKR.

The Kolkata outfit also maintained their clean record at home, winning five out of five in an overall 7-3 win-defeat record against the title-holders.

The surprise breakthrough not only put brakes on scoring but was enough to create pressure in the ranks as KKR went on to strike two wickets — Dhawan and Warner — in four overs for 14 runs.

Earlier, put in to bat by Sunrisers, Robin Uthappa struck a gritty 68 from 39 balls to help KKR recover from a jittery start and post 172 for 6.

The two-time champions had the worst start of the season with just 40 for 2 in the Powerplay after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/20) and Rashid Khan (1/29) dismissed Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir respectively in six overs.

However, Sunrisers failed to make further in-roads in the middle overs with the Karnataka duo of Uthappa and Manish Pandey putting on a solid 77-run partnership from 52 balls.

Uthappa struck four sixes and five boundaries while Pandey cleverly rotated the strikes as Kolkata reached 100 in 12.4 overs.

After Uthappa's departed, Pandey (46 from 35 balls; 3×4, 2×6) looked to break free but Bhuvneshwar denied him a second successive fifty.

In an exceptional display during the death bowling, Bhuvneshwar also cleaned up Colin de Grandhomme for a duck with an inswining yorker.

Orange Cap holder for being the current leading run- getter of season 10, Gambhir, was cleaned up by Afghan legspinner Khan in his first over for 15 runs.

Promoting Narine as-an-opener strategy did not work this time around as Bhuvneshwar brilliantly set him up before castling him with a yorker.

The left-hander, who took the IPL by storm with his 18- ball 37 as an opener to set up an eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab two days ago at the same venue, looked out of sorts with Bhuvneshwar bowling him round the wicket.

Bhuvneshwar had an excellent first spell of 2-0-7-1 as KKR faced 14 dot balls inside four overs to be at 20 for one.

Sunrisers captain Warner brought in his trump card — spinner Khan — in the last over before Powerplay and the legspinner struck again in his first over with the big wicket of Gambhir.

Khan started off with seven runs from his first three balls with Uthappa hammering him for a six over long-on.

Gambhir also looked to break free but the ball went straight to unsettle his middle-stump.

But all the good work by Bhuvneshwar and Khan was undone by the likes of Ashish Nehra (1/35), who bowled three wides and Moises Henriques whose selection in place of Bangladeshi off-cutter specialist Mustafizur Rahman raised a few eyebrows.

Henriques was the most expensive Sunrisers bowler, conceding 26 from his two overs.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of cheating the people to win power in the state.

Addressing a press conference, the 44-year-old leader also alleged that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were manipulated and tampered to favour the BJP in the state assembly elections.

"I met lots of party workers and supporters, who told me that they were bewildered over the victory of BJP, as many of them had pressed the button against SP symbol," he said, adding that people had lost faith in EVMs.

He also demanded that all future polls in the state be held through the traditional ballot papers method.

The SP also started a membership drive from Saturday. Akhilesh Yadav said the party had decided to involve all sections of the society in party work.

He also accused the state's Yogi Adityanath government of taking credit for the work done by his government in the past.

"We worked a lot to change the power scenario in state, got many sub-stations made and installed new transformers," he said while pointing out that the present BJP government was now taking credit for all this.

He also alleged that there was law and order failure in the state under the watch of the Chief Minister and said that only recently the BJP workers had bashed up police officials in Kannauj.

"People are being set afire alive, rapes have increased and the state government is doing nothing," Yadav said pointing out how during the SP government even a small crime was blown out of proportions to defame it.

Akhilesh Yadav also rebutted the charges levelled by Union Power Minister Piyush Goel on Friday that Uttar Pradesh was deprived of the benefits of many central government-aided schemes, including "Power for All", as he wanted his picture to be displayed over everything relating to the schemes.

"I had only said that if Prime Minister's picture will be there, then the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's should also be there," he said.

An Iraqi military officer says Islamic State militants have launched a gas attack in a newly- liberated area in western Mosul.

The officer with the anti-terrorism forces said today that the attack occurred the night before in the al-Abar neighbourhood, when IS fired a rocked loaded with chlorine.

He said seven soldiers suffered breathing problems and were treated in a nearby field clinic.

The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to release information.

US-backed Iraqi forces are currently battling IS militants in the more densely-populated western half of Mosul.

Iraqi officials say more than half of western Mosul has been retaken.

The extremists were driven out of the eastern half of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in January.

In a bizarre incident that left the Delhi Metro red-faced and its commuters shocked, a hardcore pornographic clip played out on a giant screen at its busiest Rajiv Chowk metro station in the heart of the national capital.

With a video of the giant screen playing the explicit clip going viral on Saturday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) claimed being "unaware" about the clip and put the onus on a private contractor entrusted with installing the screen meant for displaying advertisements. 

The 25 second video widely shared on social networks, shows the clip being played on the screen with commuters passing by the screen in usual hurry but some of then stopped to record it on their mobile phones.

"The DMRC is not aware about this clip. However, this LED screen was under commissioning and testing by a private contractor and the same is still under commissioning. The work is still not completed," Delhi Metro spokesperson Anuj Dayal said in a statement.

"We will check all the details of the testing and commissioning process of the contractor to establish whether any such clip was played and take adequate safeguards and action," he said. 

While there have been contrasting reports of the day of the incident, some claiming it happened on April 9, the DMRC official refused to clarify about that. 

The incident has attracted hilarious reactions on Twitter with some targeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

"Shri Kejriwal said 'As a IIT Engineer I can tell you 10 ways hack EVM'. He Proved it by hacking Rajiv Chowk station & Played his fav video," posted a user. 

"Porn clip played on screens at Rajiv Chowk. Now if THIS doesn't get Delhiites to use public transport, nothing will," said another. 

"The video at rajiv chowk is nothing but personification of what Modi is doing to India," twitted a user. 

A similar incident took place at a bus stand in Kerela's Wayanad district in June 2015.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday greeted people on the eve of Easter saying everyone should unite to eradicate violence and hatred from the society.

"May this Easter be a time of renewal and rejuvenation.

The teachings of Lord Jesus Christ inspire us to lead a life filled with truth, forgiveness, love and selfless service.

"Let us unite together to eradicate violence and hatred from society. Let us dedicate ourselves to the service of the weak and downtrodden," Mukherjee said.

On the joyous occasion of Easter, he said, I extend best wishes and felicitations to all my countrymen in India and abroad, especially to my Christian brothers and sisters.

The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Committee, headed by former revenue and expenditure secretary N K Singh, tasked with redrawing the fiscal consolidation roadmap has suggested that the Centre infuse much higher capital than the Rs.70,000 crore committed under the Indradhanush plan over a four-year period ending March 2019. The panel said the commitment by the Centre for infusing Rs.70,000 crore in four years is inadequate.

It suggested higher capital infusion at a faster pace for the state-owned banks that are grappling with huge non-performing assets on their books and further eroding their capital base.

The finance ministry has estimated banks' capital needs at Rs.1.80 lakh crore by March 2019, of which it expects banks to raise Rs.1.10 lakh crore from market and internal accruals. It noted that banks capital needs are much higher as the “NPAs of banks have increased, partly due to recognition of bad assets, affecting banks profitability and their ability to augment their capital base through internal accruals”.

One of the main reasons for the stressed assets in bank balance sheets is the losses of state power distribution companies where the committee suggested key changes in the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY). The report said states should take over 100 per cent of the debt of their respective discoms, instead of the earlier provision of 75 per cent. This will further reduce the interest costs for the discoms and raise their average revenue realised (ARR).

“There should not be further bank financing of operating losses of discoms and instead, state governments should make a firm commitment to underwrite the shortfall in the revenue of discoms as equity or interest free loan on an annual basis,” the committee said in its report.

Noting that the banks' stressed assets have risen to 9.1 per cent by September 2016 from 5.1 per cent in September 2015, the Committee said, “the newly designed UDAY scheme aims to improve the financial health of power utilities, but it solves only the debt ‘stock’ problem whereas the flow problem continues to exist.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his two-day Gujarat visit by holding a roadshow in Surat after arriving there on Sunday evening, an official said.

"The PM is scheduled to land at the Surat airport at 6:45 PM. From there, he will embark on a roadshow over an 11-kilometre stretch between Airport and Circuit House," Surat Collector M S Patel told PTI.

At Circuit House, the PM will meet BJP leaders and stay there for the night.

On Monday, the PM will inaugurate Rs 400-crore Kiran Multi Super Specialty Hospital and Research Centre, built by a trust, Patel said.

Modi will then go to Hira Bourse SEZ at Icchapur village in the district to inaugurate a diamond polishing unit of Hari Krishna Export Private Limited.

From there, the Prime Minister will go to Bijapur village of Tapi district to inaugurate a cattle feed plant and ice- cream plant of Surat District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, popularly known as Sumul Dairy, and remotely lay foundation stones for dairy products plant at Nava Pardi.

He will also address a gathering there, Sumul Dairy officials said.

Modi will then visit Silvassa in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli where also he will address a gathering apart from inaugurating new projects and distributing assistance to beneficiaries.

Around 21,000 beneficiaries of different schemes of the Centre will be distributed help kits there.

Modi will then head to Botad in Saurashtra to inaugurate phase-1 of Sauni project for Botad and surrounding districts.

He will also lay foundation stone for phase-2 of the project.

In August last year, Modi had inaugurated the first phase of ambitious Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation (Sauni) Project from Jamnagar.

Under this project, which is divided in four phases, the Gujarat government plans to fill 115 dams of Saurashtra region with excess overflowing water of Sardar Sarovar Dam across river Narmada through a web of pipeline network.

This is Modi's second visit to his home state this year.

He had earlier visited Gandhinagar on March 8 to address women sarpanchs from across the country on International Women's Day.

China has handed over to Pakistan a 600-tonne patrol ship, the third of its kind, to safeguard the country's maritime interests at a time when both nations are pushing forward with the CPEC project.

The ship which was handed over to Pakistan's maritime safety authority in Guangzhou, Guangdong province is the third of its kind, was built by China Shipbuilding Trading Company Ltd (CSTC) and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Xijiang Shipbuilding Co Ltd.

Previous two ships have already demonstrated their reliability and excellent performance during visits and exchanges, joint drills, maritime rescue and other missions in Pakistan, state-run People s Daily reported.

Pakistan's maritime safety authority expressed great appreciation for the quality of the ships and for sound cooperation with Chinese ship manufactures, who have promised to provide after-sale services, it said.

The ships are key to consolidating close relations between China-Pakistan, protecting Pakistan s sea transportation and pushing forward the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Belt and Road Initiative, it said.

The CPEC project will link the Pakistani city of Gwadar to China's Xinjiang via a vast network of highways and railways. The project was launched in 2015 with USD 46 billion but later the investment increased to USD 55 billion.

Government-owned Air India on Saturday announced a discounted Star award mileage redemption offer for passengers planning to travel within the USA.

The six-day offer that commenced from Thursday, will remain valid till April 18.

The travel period under the offer can be taken any time during the next 330 days, Air India said in a release.

Besides, the offer allows passengers to revive and redeem their flying return points that were not availed and have expired now, it said.

The cut off year for revival and redemption of expired mileage is 2007, Air India said adding the revival of expired points scheme will have an extension validity of up to March 31 next year.

Passengers travelling within the USA can redeem their flying return points at a discount of 60 per cent for travel in a distance band which goes up to 2,500 miles, Air India said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday refused to comment on the allegations levelled by BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi about dubious land deals by family members of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad.

Kumar did not respond to repeated queries of reporters on the issue while leaving the Gandhi Sangrahalay after attending a function.

"Jyada bolne par gala kharab ho jata hai (speaking more leads to a sore throat)," was all that Kumar said.

Deputy chief minister Tejaswi Yadav also did not comment on the issue.

Tejaswi, the younger son of Lalu Prasad, has been targeted by Sushil Modi with a series of allegations of dubious land deals.

While Kumar and Tejaswi refused to comment, state Congress president and minister Ashok Choudhary came down heavily on Sushil Modi.

"He is making allegations as part of some political agenda… he should approach the competent authority with his allegations, instead of making political statements everyday," Choudhary told reporters.

"Why should we work on an agenda set by Sushil Modi? we have our own agenda to work for the people of Bihar," Choudhary, the state Education minister, said.

He dismissed any cracks in the grand alliance in the state, which he said is standing rock solid.

Sushil Modi has been making allegations of dubious land deals by Lalu Prasad's family members and has demanded that Kumar sack Lalu's two sons from the ministry.

Today he threatened to file a defamation suit against RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha for making false allegations of properties owned by him in Patna and outside the state.

"If RJD spokesman Manoj Jha produces any paper with regard to allegations about me owning property in Rajendra Nagar in Patna, Sohna in Haryana, moving around in BMW cars in Bengaluru and Mumbai and fake degree of my wife, then I will register the entire property in the name of Lalu Prasad or file a defamation suit against Jha," Sushil Modi said in a statement.

Men's singles shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth on Saturday registered easy wins in the semi-finals of the $350,000 Singapore Open, marking the first instance of an all-India final in a Superseries event to be fought here on Sunday.

World No.29 Srikanth registered a thumping 21-13, 21-14 win over No.26 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in 42 minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In the other semi-final, world No.30 Praneeth smashed past South Korean 35th-ranked Lee Dong Keun 21-6, 21-8 in 38 minutes to sail into the final.

Though Srikanth is a bigger name than Praneeth, having won the 2014 China Superseries Premier and 2015 India Superseries and a quarter-final appearance at the Rio Olympics, the latter has a 4-1 head-to-head record. Srikanth will not be happy facing an opponent who knows his game and someone who has got the better of him so many times.

But Srikanth has the big-game experience that will give him an added advantage.

During the semi-final, Srikanth showed his experience against Ginting. He was trailing 4-9 in the first game and then he registered an emphatic 10 points on the trot in a display of aggressive badminton. Ginting couldn't recover from this as he conceded the first game.

In the second game, Srikanth continued his high jump smashes as he raced to a 9-1 lead. Ginting tried his best to came near Srikanth but it proved to be difficult. The closest Ginting came was at 14-16. But the Indian snatched five points on the trot to seal the game.

Sai Praneeth was on a roll in the second semi-final. Keun looked a bit tired and couldn't move well, while Praneeth rocked winners consistently.

A 10-1 lead in the first game paved the way to a 21-6 win, while in the second game it was almost a similar show as the Indian cantered home to a 21-8 triumph.

Meanwhile, the women's singles title will be a contest between Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.