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Deepti Sharma’s 5/7 headlines spin-dominant day
On a day when 19 wickets fell in total, India managed to get into the driver’s seat on the back of Deepti Sharma’s incredible spell that yielded 5/7, and earned them a 292-run first innings lead.
With spin dominating the day’s play completely, the tone was set early in the day when Sophie Ecclestone accounted for two of the last three wickets India had. Overnight on 60, Sharma herself became Lauren Bell’s third victim being caught at slip.
Having dismissed India for 428, England harboured hopes of continuing the fight with the bat as well but to little avail. India judged early in he innings that spin was going to play a big part and introduced it early.
But before that, they had the brilliance of Renuka Singh beating Sophia Dunkley’s defence to give them an early breakthrough while Pooja Vastrakar chipped in with the ball and on the field to account for Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont. England’s fight came through Nat Sciver-Brunt who launched a bit of a counterattack, being free-flowing in her strokeplay.
Briefly, she had Danielle Wyatt employing a similar ploy for company and the duo threatened to launch a fightback in the middle. However, India kept making bowling changes in a bid to keep the batters guessing. The move worked with the introduction of Deepti Sharma, just as it had with Vastrakar, with the spinner striking in her first over.
Wyatt was caught at short-leg – a position that remained busy right through the day – as the offspinners found enough purchase and triggered a dramatic collapse. Amy Jones was then caught off a deflection from short leg while the sharp turn, and sometimes lack of bounce, accounted for others who could not counter the lines and lengths. Alongside Sneh Rana, Sharma ripped through the lower order picking up eye-popping figures of 5/7 as England lost their last seven wickets for just 28 runs.
India decided not to enforce the follow-on despite the big lead and instead came out with an attacking intent with the bat. Smriti Mandhana lofted Ecclestone for a six off the bowler’s first ball in the second innings signaling the dominant frame of mind the hosts were in. Along with Shafali, who opened up after a watchful start, Mandhana put on a 61-run opening stand before England’s spinners found their feet.
Mandhana was out fending to short leg off Ecclestone as some extra bounce came into play, Shafali holed out to long on attempting a big hit, Yastika Bhatia was forced to fend to short leg as was Jemimah Rodrigues. Offspinner Charlie Dean accounted for Deepti Sharma who missed a sweep and Sneh Rana bowled first ball to end the day with a four-wicket haul.
In the absence of Shubha Satheesh, who was nursing a hairline fracture on her finger, India’s batting was held up by Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 44 and a 53-run stand with Vastrakar that stretched India’s overall lead to a massive 478 by Stumps on day two.
Brief scores:
India 428 (Shubha Satheesh 69, Jemima Rodrigues 68, Yastika Bhatia 66, Deepti Sharma 67; Lauren Bell 3-67, Sophie Eccleston 3-91) & 186/6 (Harmanpreet Kaur 44*; Charlie Dean 4-68) lead England 136 all out (Nat Sciver-Brunt 59, Deepti Sharma 5-7) by 478 runs
At least 14 members of the press were detained in Venezuela on Monday as they were covering the aftermath of the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by US forces.
The union representing media workers in Venezuela said all but one of those detained were employed by foreign news organisations and were released later on Monday, with one reporter deported.
Foreign news media have long faced restrictions in Venezuela, with very few being granted visas to work in the country.
Their detention came as Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as the interim president and shortly after she said that she was willing to co-operate with the Trump administration, which has said it would “run” Venezuela.
The union said the media workers were detained by Venezuelan security forces at the National Assembly and its environs, and in the neighbourhood of Altamira – all in the capital, Caracas.
At least two of them were seized by agents working for Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency, while others were detained by Venezuela’s intelligence service.
They said they had their equipment searched, their phones checked and their social media posts and messages read, the union statement added.
A Colombian and a Spanish reporter were also detained at Venezuela’s border with Colombia near Cúcuta.
The two reporters were held for hours incommunicado before being released back into Colombia, the statement said.
The union called the incidents “alarming” and called for the release of 23 media workers who remain in detention in the country.
(BBC)
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has called for a “new phase” in ties with China as he met its leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
Regional security and lifting Beijing’s unofficial ban on Korean pop culture is high on Lee’s agenda, as he continues his four-day trip in China. He is set to meet China’s Premier Li Qiang and the chairman of parliament, Zhao Leji on Tuesday.
It marks the first visit by a South Korean leader since 2019. Bilateral ties had soured under Lee’s predecessor, impeached ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was very critical of China.
Xi, meanwhile, has appeared keen to shore up ties with South Korea amid a diplomatic row between China and Japan.
South Korea is a US security ally – like Japan – but also relies on China for trade. Experts say Lee is expected to keep walking a diplomatic tightrope between Beijing and Tokyo.
The visit marks the second time the two leaders have met since November when Xi visited South Korea for a regional economic summit.
On Monday Lee stated that the visit was “a crucial opportunity” for the “full-scale restoration of South Korea-China relations”, reported South Korean newspaper Chosun. “We want to usher in a new phase in the development of South Korea-China relations.”
Government officials and companies from both countries signed a series of cooperation agreements on technology, trade and environment.
Lee also took selfies with Xi, using a Xiaomi phone that the Chinese president had gifted him last year.
“The image quality is certainly good, right?” Lee posted on X along with the photos.
Xi noted that the “international situation is becoming more turbulent and complex”.
The meeting followed the US’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
Xi urged Lee to “firmly stand on the right side of history and make correct strategic choices”, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
He also brought up the two countries’ shared history of resisting Japan militarism, saying that China and South Korea should now “work hand in hand to safeguard the outcomes of the victory of World War Two and uphold peace and stability in Northeast Asia”.
Xi’s eagerness to meet Lee signals the pressure he faces in finding a regional ally, Park Seung-chan, professor of China studies at Yongin University told the BBC.
“China may beat around the bush but its demand is clear: side with China and denounce Japan.”
During his four-day trip to China, Lee is expected to hold a memorial service in Shanghai for activists who fought for Korea’s independence from Japan.
But while South Korea is “still showing all its deference towards China”, it wants to “strengthen its relationships with both Japan and China”, Mr Park said.
Lee is reportedly planning to visit Japan later this month to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Security on the Korean Peninsula has also been part of the discussions. Lee has sought to engage North Korea diplomatically, but there has been little progress so far. He needs Chinese cooperation in pressuring the North’s Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons. Beijing is one of Pyongyang’s biggest supporters, economically and diplomatically.
Lee vowed on Monday to work with China on “viable alternatives for peace on the Korean Peninsula”.
On Sunday Seoul’s military said Pyongyang fired ballistic missiles off its east coast. And on Monday the North’s state news agency said the country test-fired hypersonic missiles to assess deterrence capabilities following recent developments, in an apparent reference to the US’s seizure of Maduro.
It remains unclear how much Lee will be able to push China on North Korea. In September, Xi had pledged to strengthen Beijing’s “traditional friendship” with Pyongyang.
And Seoul and Beijing are not natural allies.
US troops have been stationed in South Korea for decades in case of an attack from the North, and last year the two sides agreed to cooperate on building nuclear-powered submarines. The announcement drew warnings from China.
Lee has also sought to put a stop to China’s build-up of maritime structures in waters between the two countries. Beijing says the structures are fish-farming equipment, but they have sparked security concerns in Seoul.
The two leaders agreed on Monday to continue “constructive” dialogue on the matter, South Korea’s presidential spokesperson said.
Another item high on Lee’s agenda is China’s unofficial restrictions on South Korean music and dramas that have been in place for a decade. K-pop and K-dramas are either unavailable or difficult to access on Chinese media platforms.
While China has never acknowledged a ban on Korean artists, it’s believed to be a protest against South Korea’s decision to deploy a US anti-missile system in 2016, which China sees as a threat to its military operations in the region.
China is a massive market for Korean entertainment, which is already a huge global success.
At a Korea-China business forum on Sunday, Lee encouraged deeper bilateral collaboration in beauty products, food and cultural content including movies and music.
A South Korean presidential spokesperson said on Monday that the two leaders agreed to discuss the gradual expansion of cultural exchanges – without specifying concrete commitments on K-dramas or K-pop.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson similarly told reporters on Tuesday that both sides have agreed to “carry out orderly, healthy, and beneficial cultural exchanges”.
Speaking before Korean residents in Beijing on Sunday, Lee said his visit would “serve as a new starting point to fill in the gaps in Korea-China relations, restore them to normal and upgrade them to a new level”.
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal forwarded by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to appoint Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala, the officer
in the special grade of Sri Lanka Surveyors’ Service currently serving as the Additional Surveyor General (Central) to the post of Surveyor General with effect from 02.02.2026.
Venezuelan security forces detain journalists as armed police patrol streets
Selfies and smiles: South Korea seeks ‘new phase’ in ties with China
M/s South Asian Technologies awarded contract to supply vehicle number plates
A new act for National Lotteries Board to be introduced
Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala appointed to the post of Surveyor General
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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