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Kohli’s record-equalling ton gives India strong total
Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds as India posted a competitive 326 on a tricky Eden Gardens surface against South Africa. Kohli’s steady 101* was the anchor around useful knocks from Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja as India went through different gears over the 50 overs to post what Kohli described as an ‘above par’ total.
It seemed like a very different pitch when Rohit Sharma took guard after winning the toss on a sultry afternoon in Kolkata. The Indian captain set the tempo with a blistering 24-ball 40 in which he took on South Africa’s new-ball pairing of Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen. Rohit chanced his arm, hitting six fours and two sixes in an opening stand of 62 in just 5.5 overs. Shubmam Gill was a willing partner to this early show of bravado and boundaries flowed from both ends before Kagiso Rabada applied the breaks by having Rohit caught at mid-off to a rasping drive.
Despite the loss of that wicket, India had 91 in the PowerPlay and left South Africa’s expert in this phase – Jansen – wicketless. But the introduction of spin in the 11th over changed the complexion of the game. With his third ball, Keshav Maharaj produced a magic ball that dipped on Gill to pitch on leg stump and spin past his attempted forward defence to hit top of off.
With the pitch offering substantial turn, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer dealt in a diet of singles with the phase between 11-20 bringing just a solitary boundary in a stark contrast to the 10 overs before that. While Maharaj bowled his 10 overs on the trot without conceding a single boundary, South Africa’s second spinner on the afternoon – Tabraiz Shamsi – struggled with his control and his errors in length were quickly cashed in on by Iyer, who quickly upped the scoring rate after the aforementioned period of stasis.
Both batters got to their fifties and pushed the run-rate back above six runs per over. The dominant partner now, Iyer welcomed the returning Jansen with three fours in an over but against the run of play, his enterprising knock ended on 77 when he miscued an attempted lofted shot off Ngidi. KL Rahul and Kohli struggled to find the same fluency against the older ball, the former perishing to Jansen. Overs 35-40 brought India only 20 runs and boundaries got harder to come by.
Kohli continued to keep plugging away at one end, hitting the gaps and running hard for his runs. He was helped in the quest to push India past 300 by a pair of cameos from Suryakumar Yadav (22 off 14) and Ravindra Jadeja (29* off 15). Kohli got to the much-awaited milestone off the 119th ball he faced – making it his joint-slowest century in the format – but the flourish at the other end meant India left South Africa having to chase a daunting score against the tournament’s most vaunted bowling attack.
Brief scores:
India 326/5 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 40, Shuban Gill 23, Virat Kohli 101*, Shreyas Iyer 77, Suryakumar Yadav 22, Ravindra Jadeja 29*; Keshav Maharaj 1-30) vs South Africa
United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that talks with Iran are continuing to try to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf, even as the US military announced shooting down an Iranian drone that approached its aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that Washington was negotiating with Iran “right now”, but declined to say where the talks were taking place.
“[The talks] are all over. But they are negotiating. They’d like to do something, and we’ll see if something is going to be done,” he said.
“They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn’t work out. And we did ‘Midnight Hammer’, I don’t think they want that happening again,” he added, referring to the operation last June in which the US Air Force and Navy struck three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump, who has been pushing Teheran to agree to talks over its nuclear programme, has repeatedly threatened to attack the country again over a recent crackdown on antigovernment protests. The US president sent the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Gulf last week, leading to fears of a possible military confrontation.
The carrier strike group, which brought roughly 5,700 additional US troops, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region.
Tensions have been easing in recent days amid a push by regional powers for a resolution.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on Tuesday that he had instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency”, provided that a “suitable environment exists”.
“These negotiations shall be conducted within the framework of our national interests,” Pezeshkian added
[Aljazeera]
Seven million people’s cancer could be prevented each year, according to the first global analysis.
A report by World Health Organization (WHO) scientists estimates 37% of cancers are caused by infections, lifestyle choices and environmental pollutants that could be avoided.
This includes cervical cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infections which vaccination can help prevent, as well as a host of tumours caused by tobacco smoke from cigarettes.
The researchers said their report showed there is a “powerful opportunity” to transform the lives of millions of people.
Some cancers are inevitable – either because of damage we unavoidably build up in our DNA as we age or because we inherit genes that put us at greater risk of the disease.
But researcher Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram said “people are surprised to hear” that nearly four in 10 cancers can be prevented as it is “a substantial number”.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the WHO, analysed 30 preventable factors known to increase the risk of cancer.
These include smoking and ultraviolet (UV) radiation which can directly damage our DNA; obesity and too little physical activity which alter inflammation and hormones in the body to raise cancer risk; and air pollution which can wake up dormant cancer cells.
The agency’s report also looked at nine cancer-causing infections including HPV, hepatitis viruses which lead to liver cancer and the stomach bug H. pylori.
The team used data on cancer cases from 2022 and from the 30 risk factors a decade earlier – across 185 countries – to perform their statistical analysis.
The big three contributors to more than 18 million cancer cases around the world were found to be:
- smoking tobacco which caused 3.3 million cancers
- infections causing 2.3 million cancers
- alcohol use leading to 700,000 cancers
However, the overall figures mask a nuanced picture of cancer risk around the world.
There is a stark sex-divide with 45% of men’s cancers being preventable compared with 30% in women, partly down to higher levels of smoking among men.
In women living in Europe, the top three preventable causes of cancer are smoking, closely followed by infection and then obesity.
While in sub-Saharan Africa, infections dominate and account for nearly 80% of preventable cancers in women.
This means any measures to tackle these cancers would need to be tailored to each region or country.
“This landmark study is a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer worldwide, incorporating for the first time infectious causes of cancer alongside behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks,” said Soerjomataram, the deputy head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit.
“Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden.”
The report, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed lung cancer (linked to smoking and air pollution) stomach cancer (linked to H. pylori infection) and cervical cancer (linked to HPV infection) made up nearly half of all preventable cases of cancer.
Dr Andre Ilbawi, team lead for cancer control at WHO, said the study was “good news” as it showed something could be done and he pointed to the success of countries that have introduced policies to tackle smoking or vaccinate against HPV.
“The percentage of preventable cancers can change over time and our goal is to get it as close to zero as possible,” he said.
[BBC]
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