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Kohli, Jadeja lead India’s revival with century stand

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Virat Kohli's unbeaten 87 led India's revival (Cricbuzz)

Virat Kohli, playing his 500th international game, led India’s revival along with Ravindra Jadeja following an inspired bowling performance from West Indies in the second session of the second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Half-centuries from Rohit Sharma (80) and Yashavi Jaiswal (57) helped India to a solid start after being asked to bat, as they added 139 in quick time. However, West Indies hit back with regular strikes in the second session as India slipped to 182/4. But thanks to Kohli’s unbeaten 87 and his unbroken 106-run stand with Jadeja, India managed to end the first day’s play at 288/4 on Thursday (July 20).

Kohli and Jadeja went about it watchfully at the start of the third session with West Indies maintaining disciplined lines. Apart from the singles and occasional twos, the two concentrated on mostly defending and leaving deliveries at the start of their association. As the partnership began to develop, Kohli capitalised on a full delivery from Kemar Roach to cream it through covers for a four and he even drove a Roach delivery on the up for a boundary. There was also a thick outside edge for a four off Kohli’s bat while Jadeja got his first four by executing a cover drive off Roach.

Jadeja’s second four also came off a cover drive, this time off Alzarri Joseph, before drove one uppishly off Jomel Warrican to bring up his half-century and extend the partnership past fifty. Jadeja then guided a Joseph delivery between point and gully for his third four and the bowler hit back by attempting short-ball tactics at the left-hander, troubling him a couple of times. But Jadeja did manage to put away one for a boundary, so did Kohli as India crossed the 250 mark. Kohli put away a full ball from Warrican through covers for a four to enter the 80s and stretch the partnership to 100. With their over-rate on the slower side, West Indies operated with spinners and didn’t opt for the second new ball. Both batters went back unbeaten at Stumps, with West Indies bowling only 84 overs in the day’s play despite the 30-minute extension.

Earlier, India rode on a powerful platform provided by Rohit and Jaiswal, who both got past fifty in the first session. They collected 14 fours and three sixes between them before Lunch as India scored at a rate of 4.65. There wasn’t much help for the pacers as well as the spin of Warrican, which made the decision at the toss by West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite questionable. The bowling too was wayward at times, allowing Rohit to pull a couple across the fence, with the second six helping him get to fifty off 74 ball.

Jaiswal, at the other end, was a lot quicker to get to his half-century as he struck two successive fours off Roach to reach the mark off 49 deliveries, shortly after the openers raised their second successive century partnership. Holder created a genuine chance when he got Jaiswal to edge one that seamed away but Alick Athanaze failed to take a low chance diving forward at first slip as the Indian openers walked back unbeaten at Lunch, having scored 121 at a rate of 4.65 in the first session.

West Indies, however, hit back strongly after the break to dominate a session for the first time in this series. Only 61 runs came off 24.4 overs in the second session, with India losing four wickets. Jaiswal fell to Holder as he got an outside edge attempting a big drive, handing a catch to debutant Kirk McKenzie placed at a deep, wide gully position. Shubman Gill cut away a couple behind square for boundaries but his innings was cut short by Roach who had the No.3 out caught behind. To add to India’s problems, Rohit was bowled by a flighted delivery from Warrican which turned away a touch after being angled in.

West Indies were even more frugal in the hour before Tea. Kohli took 21 deliveries to get off the mark, playing a straight drive off Joseph for a boundary, while Ajinkya Rahane also remained watchful as the fourth wicket pair got into damage control mode. Kohli also struck a cover drive for a four off Joseph but was quiet otherwise. India suffered another setback just before the break as Shannon Gabriel, who was included in place of Rahkeem Cornwall, had Rahane bowled off an inside edge.

The second game of the series marked the 100th Test between West Indies and India, with both captains being presented with commemorative plaques before the start of the match. There were two debutants in the game, with India getting in pacer Mukesh Kumar in place of Shardul Thakur while left-handed batter McKenzie replaced Raymon Reifer for West Indies.

Brief scores:

India 288/4 (Virat Kohli 87*, Rohit Sharma 80, Yashavi Jaiswal 57; Jason Holder 1-30, Jomel Warrican 1-55) vs West Indies.



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Heavy showers about (100-150) mm are likely at some places in the Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Southern provinces

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WEATHER FORECAST FOR 13 October 2026
Issued at 2.00 p.m. on 12 October 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

A low-pressure area may form over the southeastern Bay of Bengal by 13 October.

Under the influence of this system, an increase in rainfall is expected over the island and the deep and shallow sea areas around the island during the next few days from tomorrow (13).

The general public, as well as the naval and fishing communities, are requested to be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regard.

Heavy showers about (100-150) mm are likely at some places in the Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Southern provinces.
Fairly heavy showers  above 75 mm are likely at some places in the other areas of the island. Showers or thundershowers will occur in most parts of the island.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Misty conditions can be expected at some places in the Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces during the early hours of the morning.

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Farhan and Sadaqat help Pakistan seal series in style

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Maaz Sadaqat clobbered 96 off just 51 balls [Cricinfo]

Maaz Sadaqat crashed 96 off 51,Sahibzada Farhan clobbered 73 off 44, and Pakistan scorched their way through the last 12 overs of their innings to mount a fearsome total of 215 for 3. Pakistan reaped 156 runs just in the last 12 overs of their innings, as a 73-run stand between Sadaqat and Farhan was followed by a manic 72-run partnership between Sadaqat and Hasan Nawaz.

Sri Lanka’s batting was woeful in response. They slumped to 64 for 5 by the 11th over, with none of their top seven managing to get to 30. They limped to 133 for 7, having had their hopes of leveling the series wrecked by quicks Mohammad Imran and Salman Mirza, who took five wickets between them.

Sadaqat propels Pakistan into the stratosphere

The openers had laid a decent platform with Pakistan having got to 55 for 1 by the end of the seventh over. But it was Sadaqat who injected the energy that truly set Pakistan on course to their mammoth total. Having gone at less than a run a ball in his first eight balls, Sadaqat unleashed a spectacular lofted square drive off Eshan Malinga to collect his first six, before pumping the same bowler down the ground later in the 10th over.

Sadaqat would go on to clobber six further sixes and five further fours. The big hits tended to come down the ground, while his fours were more square of the wicket. Of the 125 runs Pakistan plundered in the second half of their innings, 79 off 40 came from Sadaqat, who pummeled both pace and spin with equal relish. Off the sixteenth over, bowled by Maheesh Theekshana, Sadaqat thumped three sixes in the arc between long on and midwicket.

Sadaqat, whose previous top score in three T20Is had been 50, could have gone to triple figures off the last ball of the innings, but holed out to deep cover instead, unable to quite find the power to lift a Malinga slower ball over the ropes. He had utterly dominated the middle and late overs, however.

Farhan sets the tone

On another flat Rawalpindi deck, Farhan made the first big charge, although he waited until spin came on to really get into high gear. Theekshana was one of his main victims as well. Farhan’s first six came from a slog sweep off Theekshana in the seventh over, before he launched the same bowler over wide long on and cow corner off successive balls in the ninth over. Getting to his 12th T20I fifty off the 31st ball he faced, Farhan began to aim big blows off the seamers as well. He was caught at deep third off the bowling of Dasun Shanaka, in the 15th over.

Sri Lanka stumble in the powerplay

An excellent Salman Mirza bouncer took the glove of Lahiru Udara in the first over, ending the innings of one of Sri Lanka’s few form batters for a mere five runs. And although Sineth Jayawardena – playing his first international in a full-strength Sri Lanka side – hit three consecutive boundaries in the third over, Sri Lanka were unable to build up any momentum in the powerplay. By the end of the sixth over, they had laboured to 35 for 2.

Imran’s spell lights up the middle overs

A full house in Rawalpindi was treated to some excellent fast bowling by Imran, who finished with the game’s best figures of 3 for 11 from his four overs. Having got Jayawardena to top-edge a desperate pull shot at the end of his second over, Imran had Kusal Mendis caught behind off a slower delivery, before two balls later (a wide in between), he took Sahan Arachchige’s edge with a quick delivery angled across the left-hander. Wicketkeeper Khawaja Nafay made two diving grabs to convert these chances in the eighth over.

All through his unbroken spell, Sri Lanka’s batter struggled to so much as hit Imran off the square, despite the good batting conditions on offer. Imran mixed up his pace, frequently going to slower balls, but his line and length control were also excellent through the spell. When he finished his unbroken spell at the end of the 10th over, Sri Lanka’s required rate had climbed past 15.

Chamindu Wickramasinghe and Theekshana struck some late boundaries, but by the time they came to the crease, Sri Lanka did not have a realistic shot at levelling this series. They lost by 82 runs in the end.

Scores:
Pakistan 215 for 3 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 73, Fakhar Zaman 22, Maaz Sadaqat 96, Hasan Nawaz 19*; Maheesh Theekshana 1-55, Eshan Malinga 1-41,Dasun Shanaka 1-30)  beat Sri Lanka 133 for 7 (Sineth Jayawardena 22, Kamnbdu Mendis 23, Chamindu Wickremasinghe 29, Maheesh  Theekshana 32*; Salman Mirza 2=28, Mohammad  Imran 3-11, Saim Ayub 1-19, Shadab Khan 1-19) by 82 runs

[Cricinfo]

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At least 139 dead, 84 missing as migrant boat capsizes off Djibouti

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A member of the International Organization for Migration inspects the abandoned wreckage of a boat that capsized off the coast of Djibouti on April 12, 2026 [Aljazeera]

At least 139 people, including 15 children, have died and 84 are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, according to the United Nations migration agency.

In a statement on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) quoted survivors as saying that the incident happened near Guhere off Djibouti’s eastern coast in the Gulf of Aden near the Bab al-Mandeb strait from Thursday night to before dawn on Friday.

The boat was heading from Djibouti to Yemen with more than 300 people on board. More than 80 people – all Ethiopians – survived the shipwreck while Djiboutian search and rescue operations continued.

“Our teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency assistance,” IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti Alexandre Coissac said, lamenting the “devastating loss of life”.

That number only includes those buried by authorities in Djibouti. Others have been buried by the migrants themselves but they won’t be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies, Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti, told the Associated Press.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities,” Coissac added.

[Aljazeera]

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