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Bangladesh upset India in low-scoring encounter
Bangladesh Women registered their maiden victory of the ICC Women’s ODI Championship 2022-25 – and handed India their first defeat – in a low-scoring rain-affected contest in Dhaka, successfully defending a paltry 152.
They had the 18-year-old Marufa Akter to thank for the upset win, by 40 runs, as the pacer opened her account in ODI cricket with a 4 for 29 that overshadowed a 4-31 from India’s debutant Amanjot Kaur earlier in the day, and leg-spinner Rabeya Khan who carried on from where she left in the T20Is and picked 3-30.
Having opted to bowl first in overcast conditions, India were on the right track when Amanjot first ran out Sharmin Akhter for an 18-ball duck in the eighth over and then returned with the ball in the next to send her opening partner, Murshida Khatun, packing for 13 for her maiden ODI scalp. After a string of 34 dot balls, Fargana Hoque broke the shackles with a cover drive as she forged a vital 49-run partnership for the third wicket with her captain, Nigar Sultana.
Rain interrupted just as Bangladesh began their recovery, and after a nearly two-hour delay, the game was curtailed to 44 overs per side. As India grew desperate for a breakthrough – even though the partnership moved at a sedate pace – Harmanpreet Kaur threw the ball back to Amanjot, who had Fargana edging behind. She picked her third when she trapped Nigar plumb in front, on 39 just after the hosts had crossed the 100-run mark.
From there on, Bangladesh could only crawl to 152/9 by the penultimate over with Shorna Akter retired out due to severe abdominal pain. However, India’s batting implosion meant the revised target of 154 was more than enough for the hosts to shock them.
Smriti Mandhana was quick to punish the two short balls from Marufa early on, but the rookie had the last laugh when she got the Indian vice-captain poking at an outswinger outside off. On her India comeback, Priya Punia failed to impress and became Marufa’s second victim, after contributing 10 off 27. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was in and out in a jiffy, and Rabeya joined the party soon after when she had Yastika Bhatia bowled for 15. She struck again to end Jemimah Rodrigues’s fight on 10. India had slipped to 61/5 at the end of the 16th over.
Deepti Sharma (20), who eventually top-scored in India’s underwhelming batting show, and Amanjot managed to keep Bangladesh at bay for a bit, taking India to 91 in the process. But Marufa returned in the 29th over and struck twice in successive balls to land the decisive blows. Rabeya completed the team hat-trick when she put an end to Deepti’s fight, effectively bringing curtains on India’s chase.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 152 all out in 43 overs (Nigar Sultana 39, Fargana Hoque 27; Amanjot Kaur 4-31) beat India 113 all out in 35.5 overs (Deepti Sharma 20; Marufa Akter 4-29, Rabeya Khan 3-30) by 40 runs (Match reduced to 44 overs per side)
Three Sri Lankan leopard cubs that were born at the Singapore Zoo on Jan 1 have now made their public debut at the facility.
The two males and one female, born to mother Yala and father Asanka, are the first of their species yo be born at the Singapore Zoo. The last successful birth in Singapore was recorded at the Night Safari three decades ago.
The triplets, which are the pair’s first litter, are among around 80 Sri Lankan leopards in zoos worldwide.
The species is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with fewer than 800 individuals estimated to remain in the wild.
Visitors can now see the triplets at the Wild Africa exhibit, said the Mandai Wildlife Group in a statement on April 16.
The cubs can be found in the exhibit with their mother daily until mid-May and, subsequently, every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Yala with her cubs in their nest box, a month after their birth on Jan 1. (Straits Times)
A leopard cub investigating a piece of meat suspended from a tree – one of the several enrichment items in the Wild Africa exhibit designed to keep the cats mentally and physically stimulated. (Straits Times)
Mandai Wildlife Group curator Anand Kumar said it took nearly three years and close collaboration across continents to bring together a compatible pair of Sri Lankan leopards.
(Straits Times)
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-zoos-first-sri-lankan-leopard-cubs-make-their-public-debut?ref=top-stories
The Sri Lanka Navy has seized a local multi- day fishing trawler, it’s four man crew together with a consignment suspected to be narcotics off the Southern Coast of the island.
The vessel is presently being escorted to the Dikowita fisheries harbour for further investigations and legal proceedings.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not step aside at the end of his term in May.
The two have been embroiled in a bitter spat over Powell’s reluctance to cut the central bank’s interest rate, despite Trump’s repeated calls.
Powell’s term expires on 15 May, but he is planning to remain in post until his successor, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate.
“Then I’ll have to fire him,” Trump told Fox Business, when asked about Powell’s plans to stay on in the job.
“I’ve held back firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him, but I hate to be controversial,” Trump said.
Thom Tillis, an influential Republican senator on the committee which oversees nominations for the Federal Reserve chair, has threatened to block Warsh’s confirmation. If Warsh is not confirmed before Powell’s term expires, he plans to stay on temporarily in the post.
“That’s what the law calls for. That’s what we’ve done on several occasions,” Powell has said.
Tillis has warned Trump he will not let Warsh’s appointment go ahead unless a criminal investigation into Powell, linked to the renovation of the Federal Reserve building, is dropped.
[BBC]
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