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Mooney, Dottin, Kanwar hand Gujarat Giants massive win to jump to second
It was not quite a happy homecoming for UP Warriorz, who got a thrashing from Gujarat Giants at the Ekana Stadium and slipped from third to last place on the points table. In the first WPL match in Lucknow, Beth Mooney put on a batting exhibition to help Giants to 186 for 5, the third-highest total this season. She provided a reminder of why she is the No. 1-ranked T20I batter in the ICC rankings, and helped Giants vault from fifth place to second.
In reply, Warriorz went down with a whimper, losing by a massive 81 runs. They lost two wickets in the first over, four inside the powerplay and were 48 for 6 – only one batter in the top six scored in double-digits – before Chinelle Henry’s 14-ball 28 helped them cross 100. They were eventually bowled out for 105 as Giants became only the second team to successfully defend a score – the first, incidentally, being Warriorz – this season.
Mooney scored a 59-ball 96 not out and was involved in a 101-run second-wicket partnership with Harleen Deol. She hit 17 fours in her innings, the second most in an innings in the WPL.
Thanks to the mammoth win, Giants’ net run rate shot up to 0.357 from -0.450 and they are now placed only behind Delhi Capitals, their six points taking them level with Mumbai Indians, whose NRR is 0.166.
It looked like this was not Mooney’s season. Heading into the contest, she had tallied only 84 in five innings, averaging a mere 16.80. Since Giants don’t have a spare wicketkeeper in the squad, she continued to be backed. She started slow, being 23 off 21 when the powerplay ended, helped by a couple of fours in a Deepti Sharma over.
But it was after the field restrictions ended that Mooney truly came into her own. She used her feet against both Sophie Ecclestone and Deepti, and used the pace of Henry and Kranti Goud. Whenever Warriorz had mid-off and mid-on up and bowled length, she used her feet to access the area down the ground and peppered the straight boundary for 49 runs in the arc between long-on and long-off. At one point it looked like she would hit the first century of the WPL but she got to face only five balls at the death (overs 17-20) and finished unbeaten on 96.
Thanks to her middle-overs assault, Giants scored 104 runs in the 10 overs from seven to 16, only the fourth time they scored over 100 in that phase in the WPL.
Going with the trend in WPL 2025, Warriorz opted to bowl on a mixed-soil surface that had a decent covering of grass and tasted success in the opening over. Henry’s outswing had the out-of-form Dayalan Hemalatha caught behind for 2. It was her fourth single-digit score in five outings this season.
Deol, at No. 3, got going with an aerial sweep off Grace Harris over square leg. But the highlight of her innings was her footwork against the quicks. She creamed Henry through wide mid-off to end the third over and then repeated the treatment against Goud after the powerplay ended. She enjoyed the ball coming onto the bat – Phoebe Litchfield later called the Ekana the “best batting conditions” – and stroked her way to a 32-ball 45. She missed one when she made room to hit Ecclestone over the off side and was bowled, thus ending the century stand.
After a 44-run stand between Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner set Giants up for a strong finish, Deandra Dottin got going with a four off Goud in the 17th over and then hit Ecclestone for a six and a four in the next over. She attempted an ungainly reverse sweep and was trapped lbw by Ecclestone for an eight-ball 17. Warriorz closed out the innings well thereon, giving away just 16 in the last two overs, but that was not enough.
Having not played Chamari Athapaththu in all five games she was available for before leaving for national duty, Warriorz swiftly handed a debut to Georgia Voll, the replacement. Voll had found massive success while opening in the WBBL but Warriorz persisted with Kiran Navgire and Harris as their openers with Voll at No. 3.
Navgire poked at an outswinger from Dottin without moving her feet and was caught by a diving Litchfield at slip for a golden duck on the second ball of the chase. Three balls later, Voll went for a wild drive away from the body, only for the ball to swerve in and hit the top of middle. And just like that, Dottin had put Giants on course for a win.
From the other end, Kashvee Gautam found massive swing and success, after Vrinda Dinesh shaped to scoop but was beaten by the inward curve. Deepti, who later said they felt the target was chaseable, also fell cheaply, nicking Meghna Singh behind. Harris kept running out of partners before missing the scoop off Tanuja Kanwar and Warriorz were 48 for 6 at the halfway mark.
Henry struck a few lusty blows down the order and was one of only four Warriorz batters to enter double digits. But it was largely a flutter before the fire extinguished.
Gujarat Giants Women 186 for 5 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 96*, Harlene Deol 45, Ashleigh Gardner 11, Deandra Dottin 17; Sophie Ecclestone 2-34, Chinell Henry 1-31, Deepti Sharma 1-37, Kranti Goud 1-46) beat UP Warriorz Women 105 in 17.1 overs (Chinell Henry 28, Grace Harris 25, Uma Chetry 17, Sophie Ecclestone 14; Kashvee Gautam 3-11, Tanuja Kanwar 3-17, Deandra Dottin 2-14, Meghna Singh 1-28, Ashleigh Gardner 1-09 ) by 81 runs
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 04 MARCH 2025
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 04 March 2025 by the Department of Meteorology
Prevailing showery condition over the island is expected to be reduced from today (04).
A few showers may occur in Eastern coastal areas during the morning while showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts in the evening or night.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
President Donald Trump is moving forward with 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico into the US, saying that time had run out to reach a deal.
US stock markets sank in response to the measures, which have been threatened since earlier this year and are due to go into effect on Tuesday.
An additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports is also expected to come into force, leaving all three of America’s top three trade partners facing significantly higher trade barriers than just a few weeks ago.
“No room left for Mexico or for Canada,” Trump said at the White House on Monday. “The tariffs, you know, they’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow.”
Trump threatened to impose the tariffs – which is a tax that is added to a product when it enters a country – on Canada, Mexico and China in response to what he says is the unacceptable flow of illegal drugs and undocumented migrants into the US.
He had already imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese exports to the US last month, meaning goods from the country now face a levy of at least 20%.
All three countries have said they will retaliate against the US in response to the tariffs, raising the prospect of a widening trade war.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the tariffs are “an existential threat to us” with “thousands of jobs in Canada at stake”.
She said Canadian officials have had “constructive conversations” with the Trump administration to try to avert the 25% levies but warned “we are ready with counter tariffs”.
Trump has long maintained that tariffs are a useful tool to correct trade imbalances and protect US manufacturing.
He has largely dismissed concerns that the measures risk economic damage in the US, despite the close ties, especially in North America, where businesses have enjoyed decades of free trade.
“What they’ll have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things, in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs,” he added.
The three major indexes in the US sank after Trump’s comments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 1.4%, the S&P 500 sank 1.75% and the Nasdaq fell 2.6%.
Officials from Canada and Mexico had been in Washington in recent days, trying to avoid the tariffs.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, appeared to send a message to Trump earlier on Monday when she said at a public event in the city of Colima that “Mexico has to be respected”. “Co-operation and co-ordination, yes, subordination, never.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday, from a summit on Ukraine in London, that Canada was “not an issue” as a source of illegal fentanyl in the US.
Only 1% of fentanyl seized in the US is thought to come from Canada, according to US data.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says it has been “surging” its efforts to tackle fentanyl crossing into the US.
Canada has repeatedly said tariffs will harm both economies but added that it will defend itself if they happen.
Last month, it prepared a list of $30bn (£23.6bn) worth of American goods it said it would levy in response to US tariffs. Items on that list included everyday goods like pasta, clothing and perfume.
Canadian Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand met officials in Washington in recent days and said over the weekend there will be a response.
“We are steady at the wheel. We are prepared for any eventuality, but we will at every turn defend our country’s economy,” she told CBC News.
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper said that Beijing had prepared countermeasures, which would probably target US agricultural and food products.
President Trump has also announced a 25% charge on all steel and aluminium imports, which is meant to come into effect on 12 March.
In addition, he has threatened to impose custom “reciprocal” tariffs on individual countries, as well as 25% tariffs on the European Union.
[BBC]
Pope Francis is alert after suffering two episodes of “acute respiratory failure” on Monday afternoon, the Vatican has said.
Doctors were forced to intervene to clear mucus from the Pope’s lungs, an update from the Holy See said, though it said he was alert throughout.
The 88-year-old pontiff has resumed the use of an oxygen mask and ventilator to assist his breathing, but remains “alert, focused and cooperative”, the Vatican said.
This is now the third serious downturn since the 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to hospital 18 days ago with pneumonia.
On Friday, Pope Francis suffered an “isolated” breathing crisis involving vomiting, the Vatican said.
Updates from the Holy See reported that he responded well to oxygen therapy, with Vatican officials saying on Sunday the Pope no longer required “non-invasive mechanical ventilation, only high-flow oxygen therapy”.
Following Monday’s episodes, Pope Francis has resumed that mechanical ventilation.
His illness has meant that Pope Francis has been unable to deliver his traditional Angelus prayer in person for three weeks in a row, with the Vatican publishing his written comments instead.
Officials said the text, sent from his hospital room in Rome, had been written “in the past few days”. In it, the Pope thanked people for their prayers and thanked his medical team for their care.
He will also miss the procession and mass this Wednesday that mark the first day of Lent, the six-week period leading to Easter.
Hundreds of Catholics gathered outside in St Peter’s Square on Monday for an eighth evening to pray for the Pope’s health, many carrying rosary beads as they headed across the cobbles towards the Basilica.
The crowd, a mixture of priests and nuns based in Rome and Catholic pilgrims here for a Jubilee year, were led by an American cardinal.
“I come every night to pray, but this night I am pretty worried,” Javier, a Romanian priest, voiced the feelings of many on the square. “We still have hope, but it doesn’t look good.”
“It looks bad, and that’s a shame because we really like Francis,” Patricia, a Spanish catholic from Toledo, told the BBC.
She was following the prayers with her husband and young daughter.
“He’s really opened the doors of the church to many, like LGBT people. I think they will look for a more conservative pope next, to stop the change.”
Catholics have also been visiting the Gemelli hospital in Rome to pray for him – hoping he might come to the window, as has happened in the past.
But although the Vatican recently described the Pope’s condition as stable, he remains too sick even to greet the crowd below.
The Pope was admitted to hospital on 14 February after experiencing breathing difficulties for several days.
He was first treated for bronchitis before being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.
The pontiff is particularly susceptible to pneumonia, an infection of the lungs that can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, after he contracted pleurisy – an inflammation of the lungs – as a young man and had a partial lung removal.
Vatican sources stress, as they have all along, that the Pope’s condition remains complex – his doctors remain cautious – and he is not out of danger.
[BBC]
Prevailing showery condition over the island is expected to be reduced from today (04).
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