After defeats in the ODI series and the one-off Test, South Africa began their run to the T20 World Cup with a morale-boosting victory over India in the first T20I in Chennai.
Starring in the win were Tazmin Brits whose 81 – an innings of contrasts – set South Africa up along with Marizane Kapp, The pair added 96 in just 9.2 overs; Kapp’s own contribution was a robust 33-ball 57 as the visitors posted 189 for 4.
India’s chase began well with Smriti Mandhana’s 30-ball 46, but her wicket slowed things down considerably, until they found their ammunition through Jemimah Rodrigues’ punchy 29-ball half-century.
Eventually, the target proved steep as South Africa’s spinners used the slow pitch and the absence of dew to their advantage. In the end, India fell 12 runs short after flirting with the possibility of a heist when Rodrigues brought the equation down from 47 off 18 to 21 off six.
Laura Wolvaardt came out all guns blazing and took Renuka Singh for 16 runs in the third over. But South Africa weren’t able to build on that with Brits, at this point, struggling to hit the ball off the square.
Brits took 10 deliveries to get off the mark and the piling up of dots made Wolvaardt take more risks than she would’ve liked. One such stroke – walking across to expose all three stumps in a bid to sweep left-arm spinner Radha Yadav into acres of open space – led to her downfall in the eighth over to leave South Africa 50 for 1.
Kapp began with two fours off her first three balls, the first one, an inside-out drive over extra cover, particularly attractive. But she was also massively lucky to be reprieved twice in the 10th over.
First, Richa Ghosh failed to hang on to a catch behind the stumps when Kapp was on 11 and then Mandhana put down a tough chance at the long-off fence with the South African allrounder on 11. This helped unleash Kapp, which reduced the pressure Brits after she had limped to a run-a-ball 25 at the 10-over mark.
Fighting a back injury, Kapp had shelved her sweeps for large periods during the Test match between these two teams a few days ago. But in perhaps a sign that she was feeling heaps better, Kapp displayed different variations of her sweeps as her innings progressed – the full-blooded ones, the paddles, the scoops and even the reverse – during a 30-ball half-century that injected momentum into South Africa’s innings.
Brits broke the shackles in the 11th over when she heaved legspinner S Asha over the long-on boundary, even as Kapp went berserk at the other end in their near-century stand.
Brits should’ve been out on 50 when she top-edged a slog, only for Ghosh to grass the opportunity. It would prove game-changing in a sense as Ghosh, who was hit on the chin by the ball rebounding off her gloves, while tumbling to the floor was ruled out of the rest of the game due to concussion.
It took Brits until the 17th over of the innings to hit top gear, when she launched Radha for back-to-back sixes to offset any pressure from Kapp’s wicket in the same over. South Africa ransacked 58 runs off the last five to head into the break with momentum firmly with them.
Brief scores:
South Africa Women 189 for 4 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 33, Tazmin Brits 81, Marizanne Kapp 57; Pooja Vastrakar 2-23, Radha Yadav 2-40) beat India Women 177 for 4 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 53*, Smriti Mandhana 46, Harmanpreet Kaur 35; Ayabonga Khaka 1-39, Chloe Tryon 1-32, Nadine de Klerk 1-30, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1-32) by 12 runs
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasooriya in her Environment Day message said that the environment is the foundation of our livelihood and called upon all Sri Lankans to come forward with the responsibility in mind to bequeath a secure a secure, prosperous and green planet to future generations.The PM’s Environment Day message:
“The environment is the foundation of our livelihood. It is the responsibility of the government to bequeath a secure, prosperous, and green planet to future generations.
In line with the global theme, “Urgent Climate Action,” and guided by the vision of “A Sustainable Biosphere – An Evergreen Life,” Sri Lanka commemorates World Environment Day this year at a critical moment. Drawing lessons from the climate-related challenges we have recently experienced, special attention has been directed toward protecting the water catchment areas of the central highlands and restoring ecosystems.
Under the theme “Dalulanna Idadenna” ( Let it Bloom), the Ministry of Environment has organized a series of programmes across the island to mark World Environment Day. These initiatives include environmental conservation inspired by religious values, awareness programmes on climate change, the protection of the Diyawanna Oya, the development of infrastructure in the wildlife sector, the conservation of water resources, and the promotion of medicinal plant cultivation, and through these efforts, it is evident that environmental conservation has evolved beyond a mere concept and become a practical and active commitment.
At this significant moment in our nation’s history, as more than 63,000 hectares of forest land have been gazetted as protected reserves through the “Wanaspathi” National Programme, which was launched last year, every citizen must resolve to live in harmony with the environment.
Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) were ordered to shelter in an attached spacecraft after the structure suddenly started leaking more air.
Five of the seven crew were directed to go into the docked SpaceX shuttle Dragon “Freedom” on Friday afternoon and were braced for a potential evacuation.
Meanwhile, two remaining personnel – a pair of Russian cosmonauts – attempted to repair a part of the Russian segment of the ISS, where the leaks had started increasing on Monday.
The repairs were paused and the crew ordered back onto the ISS by Nasa on Friday afternoon.
Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev, who arrived on the ISS in February, had been sheltering on the docked ship, along with another astronaut Chris Williams.
They had been told to put on their spacesuits so they were ready to undock and return to Earth at short notice.
The Dragon effectively functions as a lifeboat – attached to the station but ready to detach the moment the order is given.
The trigger for the order was a worsening air leak in the transfer tunnel, known as PrK, leading to a section of the Russian segment of the station called the Zvezda service module.
Russian cosmonauts, station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev, attempted to fix the problem. Their escape route was the separately docked Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft.
It is not the first time the station has had to deal with this problem – the cracks responsible have persisted on and off for around six years.
However, following the arrival of a Russian cargo ship last month, the Russian space agency Roscosmos noticed a fresh slow pressure drop in the tunnel, prompting the decision to move beyond patchwork fixes and attempt a more extensive repair operation on Friday.
(Left to right) Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, Nasa astronauts Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot [BBC]
But it was the method they were planning to use that prompted the order to take shelter, according to news agency Reuters.
Kud-Sverchkov and Mikayev were said to be using a saw to try and get into an area to access the crack that was leaking air.
Nasa disagreed with the method they were using and mission control in Houston ordered five crew to take “safe-haven” procedures on the Dragon ship.
When Roscosmos told their crew to pause repairs, Nasa instructed the astronauts to return to the station.
Nasa spokeswoman Bethany Stevens said on X: “Given this development, Nasa has instructed the crew members inside the Dragon spacecraft to end the safe haven procedures and return to planned operations aboard the International Space Station.”
Russian news agency Tass, citing Roscosmos, reported that nothing had been threatening the safety of the crew or the ISS’s onboard systems.
The ISS, which spans the length of a football field, is the largest human-made object in space.
It has been continuously operated by a US-Russian-led consortium that includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries since 1998.
Maja Chwalinska lost in the Wimbledon second round (2022) and Australian Open first round (2025) in her only two previous Grand Slam appearances (BBC)
Qualifier Maja Chwalinska is one win away from a fairytale French Open triumph after setting up a final showdown with Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.
The Polish world number 114, who had only ever won one match at a Grand Slam before this tournament, continued her astonishing run at Roland Garros by beating 25th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Three weeks and nine matches after her French Open campaign began, Chwalinska dropped to the ground after firing in the 32nd and final winner of another scintillating display.
With that, she became the first qualifier in history to reach the women’s singles final at Roland Garros, and the crowd chanted her name as she spoke in her post-match interview.
On Saturday, she will attempt to become only the second qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam after Britain’s Emma Raducannu at the 2021 US Open.
It would be a fitting conclusion to a French Open filled with spectacular shocks from the outset.
But, on the evidence of her dominant victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, the in-form Andreeva will provide the sternest test of her credentials to date.
A beaten semi-finalist in 2024, the 19-year-old was hugely impressive in a 6-1 6-3 victory that made her the third-youngest woman to reach the Roland Garros showpiece this century, after Coco Gauff and Kim Clijsters.
Should she prevail in her first major final, eighth seed Andreeva would become the third-youngest first-time Grand Slam champion this century, after Maria Sharapova and Raducanu.
