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Bryony Smith makes most of her chance to lead England victory
Opening alongside Tammy Beaumont , Smith scored 58 runs off just 30 balls as England were bowled out for 176 off the last ball of their innings. Freya Sargent and Aimee Maguire each took identical figures of 3 for 30 from four overs for the hosts.
Charis Pavely the 19-year-old left-arm spinner then took 3 for 19 on debut to help England bowl Ireland out for just 109 in reply, Orla Prendergast the only home batter to pass 25 with her 34-ball 52.
Isssy Wong playing her first T20I in a year, was England’s next-best bowler with 2 for 14, including Ireland captain Gaby Lewis, who had said her side were targeting a 2-0 series win in the T20s after her side won the third ODI, a dead rubber.
“I’ve been out the team for a couple of years now in the T20s,” Smith said. “”I’ve always said I don’t really feel like I’ve had my go at the top of the order so it’s nice to get out there and get some runs today. It was a really good pitch, I think, but I just keep things really simple when I bat. When it comes off, it comes off, it might not always look pretty, but I felt really good, seeing the ball well, and it came off today.
“It’s always exciting when you get the call up. I didn’t get to go in the ODIs, which I was disappointed with but you’re never really going to say no to an England call-up. It’s obviously tough missing the last few games for Stars because I’ve got an important role there, but it felt like this was a chance for me to put my name into the hat.”
Smith played the last of her eight T20Is before this one two years ago, when England hosted India, scoring 13 not out from 14 balls and taking 1 for 19 as England won by seven wickets to seal a 2-1 series victory. She has played just one ODI, against West Indies in 2019.
In this year’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, she sits tenth on the leading run-scorers list with 402 runs at 36.54 and a strike rate of 87.20, while in the Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition she was 15th with 206 runs at 20.60 and 124.84.
On Saturday, Smith said she had been receiving updates as her South East Stars side defeated Southern Vipers by three wickets to reach next weekend’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final against Sunrisers. “Definitely looked a bit close… but excited for them,” she added.
Pavely was one of four debutants in the match against Ireland, along with Georgia Adams, Paige Scholfield and Seren Smale.
With England’s first-choice squad preparing for next month’s T20 World Cup, a number of players took their chance to show what they can do, led by Smith, who struck 12 fours in her innings. Mady Villiers making her first England appearance in the format, was England’s next-highest run-scorer with 35 off 15 balls. Villiers also took 1 for 9 from 2.3 overs and was instrumental in running out Predergast.
But it was Pavely who shone with the ball when she had Rebecca Stokell caught behind by Smale for a five-ball duck, bowled Arlene Kelly for 1 and took a return catch to remove Ava Canning, Ireland’s next-best batter with a run-a-ball 25.
The teams face a fast turn-around with the next match to be played on Sunday, also in Dublin.
Brief scores:
England 176 in 20 overs (Bryony Smith 58, Tammy Beaumont 27, Seren Smale 25, Mady Villiers 35; Freya Sargent 3-30, Aimee Maguire 3-30, Jane Maguire 2-25 ) beat Ireland 109 in 18.3 overs (Orla Prendergast 52, Ava Canning 25; Mahika Gaur 1-23, Kate Cross 1-27, Issy Wong 2-14, Charis Pavely 3-19, Maddy Villers 1-09) by 67 runs
(Cricinfo)
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Trump announces three-day ceasefire in Russia-Ukraine war
United States President Donald Trump says there will be a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Posting on Truth Social on Friday, the US leader said the truce would last from Saturday to Monday.
“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted.
Soon after, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on X that a three-day truce had been arranged as part of US efforts to negotiate an end to the more than four-year-old war.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov later said “an agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone contacts with the US administration. In turn, US representatives were in contact with Kyiv.” He said the agreement followed a recent telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, in which the two presidents “emphasised that our countries were allies during World War II and also discussed the possibility of a ceasefire during the Victory Day celebrations.”
Russia had previously announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its May 9 World War II Victory Day on Saturday. Ukraine previously stated that it too had offered a truce but that this had been ignored by Moscow.
“This request was made directly by me,” Trump said on Friday, thanking his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts for agreeing to it.
“The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II. This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country,” Trump said. Zelenskyy also confirmed the prisoner swap would take place.
[Aljazeera]
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Heat Index is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the North-central and Eastern provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts during the daytime
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 08 May 2026, valid for 09 May 2026
The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the North-central and Eastern provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts during the daytime
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on the human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.
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Finn Allen’s 47-ball ton powers Kolkata Knight Riders to huge win over Delhi Capitals
Kolkata Knight Riders picked up their fourth win on the trot, their spin bowlers (12-0-76-3) capturing Delhi Capitals in a vice-like grip and never letting go Finn Allen made sure that wouldn’t repeat in the second innings. He pulverised DC’s spinners (9-0-102-1) to score his first IPL century even though he only had 143 to chase.
Pathum Nissanka scored a good half-century. He made 50 of DC’s first 85 runs at a strike rate of 172. The other end could only contribute 33 at a strike rate of 103. It was symbolic of how hard it was for a new batter to settle in and how much pressure comes on the set batter on a pitch like this. Even though he was going at a good clip, and had hit the previous ball for four, he still left his crease looking for more and was stumped off Anukul Roy. The left-arm spinner took another wicket, four balls later.
DC were 74 for 2 after eight overs. But only four of those overs were from spin bowlers and three of them were inside the powerplay. Given the comfort of five fielders on the boundary, and a pitch that was slow and turning, Roy, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy started to dictate proceedings. At one point, DC scored just 11 runs in 30 balls. This was between overs 12 to 16. No IPL team in nearly two decades has ever been this sluggish in this period of play.
Roy set this choke up, stumping Nissanka out with a slower and wider delivery and bowling Tristan Stubbs out with the exact opposite of that. That was solid range for a bowler with no mystery about him.
With DC at 89 for 5, Axar Patel in wretched form (his 44 runs, with only three boundaries, are the fewest by any batter this season having faced at least 50 balls) and the conditions not helping run-scoring, all Narine and Varun had to do was what they do so well. Amp up the mystery. Aim at the stumps. Narine finished with 4-0-17-1. Varun, badly limping when he bowled his final over which cost 16 runs, finished with 4-0-28-0.
Ashutosh Sharma broke a boundary drought that last 38 balls in the 17th over. He reverse swept Vaibhav Arora, coming around the wicket, for six in the 19th over. His cameo – 39 off 28 balls – carried KKR to 142 for 8.
For the first time in his IPL career, Allen played through the powerplay. This was his eighth innings. He might have felt bad for running out his captain Ajinkya Rahane when his straight drive flicked Mitchell Starc’s outstretched finger and deflected onto the stumps but he quickly got over it. DC played a part in that a well with Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam bowling balls right in the slot. Allen is superb down the ground and needed no second invitation. From 20 off 17, he launched 10 sixes, the last of them when KKR needed two to win and he needed six to bring up 100.
Allen had a strike rate of 235 against spin (73 off 31). The next best, from both teams, was Rahane with 167, benefiting from playing just three balls and scoring five runs.
In a match where his former team’s spinners held so much sway (economy rate 6.33), Kuldeep suffered, going at 13.66 an over even though he was spared the trouble of bowling in the powerplay. Axar bowled three with the field up and still finished with figures of 4-0-27-1.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 147 for 2 in 14.2 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 13, Finn Allen 100*, Cameron Green 33*; Axar Patel 1-27 ) beat Delhi Capitals 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 50, KL Rahul 23, Axar Patel 11, Ashutosh Sharma 39; Kartik Tyagi 2-25, Anukul Roy 2-31, Vaibhav Arora 1–29, Sunil Narine 1-17, Cameron Green 1-12) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
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