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New Zealand make it three wins in three, but Williamson goes off hurt
Kane Williamson resumed international cricket by doing Kane Williamson things, scoring a precise 78 against Bangladesh. He shepherded New Zealand close to their eight-wicket win in Chennai, but couldn’t quite see the chase through, as he left the field retired hurt in the 39th over. Daryl Mitchell got New Zealand home with 43 balls to spare, putting the seal on the team’s dominating start to this World Cup.
Williamson had missed seven months of competitive cricket due to a right knee injury he sustained during last season’s IPL, and his World Cup return was thought to be improbable at the time. Even when he was named in the New Zealand side as their captain, he was expected to miss the initial stages of the competition. But not only did he return sooner than expected, Williamson showed little drop in quality, as he went through the gears against Bangladesh.
Williamson struck ten fours and a six in his 108-ball 78, eventually going off with cramps. More than his innings, Williamson’s biggest contribution was to add to two sizable partnerships. First, he made 82 for the second wicket with Devon Conway after New Zealand lost an early wicket. Then alongside Mitchell, he added 108 runs for the third wicket. It made the chase an easy one for New Zealand as they won with plenty to spare.
At the start of New Zealand’s 246-run chase, Bangladesh gave their fans some hope when Mustafizur Rahman removed the high-flying Rachin Ravindra, opening for the first time in ODIs, in the third over. Mustafizur produced a second chance shortly afterwards when Conway, batting on 4, drove away from his body, only for Mehidy Hasan Miraz to drop the chance at point. It was a difficult diving chance, but that one sticking could have charged up Bangladesh.
Soon after the reprieve, Conway struck Shoriful Islam for two fours to break free. Williamson then took his turn on Shoriful, cracking him over point and through point and cover in the 10th over. Then, it was Taskin who went for two fours in the 13th over, before he dropped Williamson at short midwicket when the New Zealand captain was on 27.
Shakib, who suffered that drop, broke the second-wicket stand when he trapped Conway lbw for 45 off 59 balls. Conway’s attempted reverse sweep went awry as he missed the shot, hitting his back-leg. The Conway wicket however did little to help the Bangladesh cause as the next batter, Mitchell, immediately picked up the pace.
He opened his account with a six off Shakib, before Williamson lifted his opposite number over long-on for his first six. Williamson continued to find the odd boundary for the next ten overs, hitting Shakib and Mehidy for four more boundaries before Mitchell got back into action with a stinging pull off Taskin, followed by two straight sixes off Shakib and Taskin.
Even after Williamson called off his innings in the 39th over, Mitchell went after the Bangladesh bowling till the chase was completed in the 43rd over. Mitchell smashed six fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 67-ball 89.
Earlier, when Williamson put Bangladesh to bat first, it took them little time to fall into their familiar top-order slide. Litton Das clipped the first ball of the innings, from Trent Boult, right into Matt Henry’s lap at fine-leg. It was a well-timed shot that he met after coming down the track but he tried it on a difficult angle with the bat. Litton became only the second Bangladeshi opener to fall in the first ball of a World Cup match, the previous being Hannan Sarkar against Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas in 2003.
Tanzid Hasan produced four boundaries in a quick recovery partnership with Mehidy, but the rookie left-hander once again fell on 16. It was a tame dismissal when Tanzid clipped a ball to short square-leg in the eighth over.
A third soft dismissal followed in the 12th over when Mehidy pulled Lockie Ferguson into fine-leg’s lap for 30. He struck three superb cover drives in his 46-ball stay but once again, Bangladesh sent him to a batting position which usually takes a bit of time to getting used to.
New Zealand reduced Bangladesh to 56 for 4 in the next over when part-timer Glenn Philips had the in-form Najmul Hossain Shanto hit to midwicket. Conway took a tumbling catch but Bangladesh regrouped through their most experienced pair.
Shakib and Mushfiqur added 96 runs in almost even time by pressing back at the New Zealand side. Mushfiqur wasted little time by hammering Philips with his favoured slog sweep for a six. Two more Mushfiqur fours later, Shakib pulled Henry before smashing Mitchell Santner for a straight four. Mushfiqur hit Ferguson for his second six, over third man, as Bangladesh looked to be on the road to recovery.
Shortly after Mushfiqur reached his fifty though, Shakib cramped up. After taking a bit of medical attention, the Bangladesh captain took off his helmet as he smashed Ravindra for a straight four and a six over midwicket. He added another six off Ferguson but he was out next ball, again trying to slog the fast bowler.
Mushfiqur followed him back shortly afterwards, though the Henry delivery that bowled him kept really low. It was still a valiant knock given that he had walked in with the task of reviving Bangladesh’s innings.
Tohwid Hridoy, now batting out of position at No 7, couldn’t kick on so it was left to Mahmudullah, batting at No 8 for the first time in 13 years, to ensure a decent finish. He ensured Bangladesh batted out the 50 overs, himself remaining unbeaten on 41, but it was still a sub-par team score.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 248 for 2 in 42.5 overs (Devon Conway 45, Daryl Mitchell 89*, Kane Williamson 78, Mustafizur Rahman 1-36) beat Bangladesh 245 for 9 in 50 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 66, Shakib Al Hasan 41*, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 30, Mahamudullah 41*; Lockie Ferguson 3-49, Trent Boult 2-45, Matt Henry 2-58) by eight wickets
(Cricinfo)
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34th IMBL meeting concludes on successful note
The 34th International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) meeting took place between the Indian and Sri Lanka Navies aboard SLNS Vijayabahu at the Indo-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line, situated north of Kankesanthurai on Wednesday 06th November 2024.
The purpose of the annual IMBL meeting is to enhance connections and share perspectives on strategies that the Navies and Coast Guards of the two neighbouring countries can implement to address shared maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.
The Sri Lanka delegation at the IMBL meeting was led by Commander North Central Naval Area, Rear Admiral Jagath Kumara, and the Indian delegation was headed by Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area, Rear Admiral Ravi Kumar Dhingra.
During this year’s meeting representatives from both navies engaged in conversations about issues concerning the security of their respective maritime borders and shared perspectives on the advancements made in previous meetings.
Deputy Area Commander Northern Naval Area, Commodore Jayantha Bandara, Director Naval Operations, Commodore Aruna Weerasinghe, a group of senior officers from the Navy and Sri Lanka Coast Guard and Defence Adviser to the High Commission of India in Colombo, Captain
Anand Mukundan were also present.
Latest News
Bangladesh lose 8 for 23 as Ghazanfar spins Afghanistan to victory
Substitute wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil had dropped Najmul Hossain Shanto on 21, Mohammad Nabi had put Mehidy Hasan Miraz down on 1, Gulbadin Naib had seen the ball slip through his hands with Mehidy on 4, and Afghanistan had burned both their reviews. At the halfway mark of their chase, Bangladesh were 118 away from their target of 236 and had eight wickets in hand.
What followed was chaos, as AM Ghanzafar sent back one Bangladesh batter after another. From 120 for 2 in the 26th over, Bangladesh lost 8 for 23 to get bowled out inside the 35th over and lost by 92 runs. Ghazanfar finished with a career-best 6 for 26, while Rashid Khan bagged two wickets, as Afghanistan’s spinners ran through Bangladesh.
It was Mohammad Nabi though, who started the slide. In a field change that turned out to be a moment of brilliance, he kept square leg vacant and added a second slip for Shanto. Bangladesh’s captain was tempted immediately, and went sweeping at a length ball slightly wide of off stump. He reached out to paddle sweep, and the top edge popped up for Hashmatullah Shahidi to catch on the fourth attempt at short fine leg.
That broke a 55-run stand between Shanto, who made 47, and Mehidy. The wicket slowed Bangladesh down, and five overs later, in the 31st, Mehidy fell to a terrific catch from Azmatullah Omarzai, again at short fine leg, running across to his left before diving to complete the take. That was Ghazanfar’s second wicket – he had earlier bowled Tanzid Hasan in the fourth over – and that almost flicked a switch in him.
Come the 33rd over, he had Mushfiqur Rahim stumped, Rishad Hossain lbw, and Taskin Ahmed bowled – all off carrom balls. In the over before that, Rashid’s googly had cleaned Mahmudullah up. By this stage, the only matter of interest was if Ghazanfar would complete his hat-trick after having got Rishad and Tasking off successive deliveries to end the over. Bangladesh had two wickets standing, and Rashid cleaned Towhid Hridoy up with another googly.
Ghazanfar couldn’t get the hat-trick at the start of the 35th over, but two balls later had Shoriful Islam bowled to wrap up a dramatic win.
Afghanistan’s victory was set up by two contrasting knocks after they were 71 for 5 in 20 overs. While Shahidi played second fiddle in an innings of 52 from 92 balls, Nabi cracked 84 off 79 deliveries. Their partnership of 104 gave Afghanistan a platform to build on, after Mustafizur Rahman had struck three times and Taskin twice.
While Shahidi was happy to be patient and accumulate singles, Nabi started with a lot more purpose. He dispatched his sixth ball, off Rishad, for a massive six over deep midwicket – a shot he repeated off the same bowler with the same result in the 27th over. In between, Bangladesh lost a review when Rishad and Mushfiqur thought Shahidi had edged behind, only for replays to show a big gap between bat and ball.
The fifty stand between Shahidi and Nabi came up in the 30th over. Then Nabi enjoyed a spate of of luck. First, when on 37 in the 34th over, he went sweeping at Rishad but was struck on his front pad, with neither the umpire giving it out nor Bangladesh opting to review, when DRS would have sent Nabi back. In the 37th, shortly after bringing up his fifty, Nabi slogged Rishad but mistimed, the ball landing just short of the man at long-off who was running forward. In the next over, Nabi went jabbing at a ball from Mahmudullah and got an outside edge that streaked away through the vacant slip region.
Shahidi, meanwhile, took 87 deliveries to get to fifty, remaining content to push for singles and twos. He survived a tight run-out chance at the start of the 40th over, when he pushed the ball to point and the two batters took off for a run. But Shahidi, who was halfway down, was sent back by Nabi, and barely made it before Mushfiqur whipped the bails off.
However, he chopped on off Mustafizur in the 41st, and Rashid swatted one to midwicket off Shoriful, soon after. But Nabi was unmoved. He took Afghanistan to 200 with four overs remaining, and heaved Mustafizur for six over midwicket in the 47th over. Nangeyalia Kharote, who arrived after Rashid’s dismissal, contributed an unbeaten 27, with two fours and a six in the death overs, even as Taskin struck off back-to-back balls in the 48th.
Foreign News
How Trump pulled off an incredible comeback
This is surely the most dramatic comeback in US political history.
Four years after leaving the White House, Donald Trump is set to move back in, after millions of Americans voted to give him a second chance.
The election campaign was one for the history books: he survived two assassination attempts and his original opponent President Joe Biden dropped out just months before election day.
Although final votes are still being counted, the majority of Americans in key battleground states chose to vote for him, with many citing the economy and immigration as a chief concern.
His triumph comes after a spectacular fall. He refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, and his role in trying to overturn the election results to stay in office is still being scrutinised today.
He faces charges for allegedly inciting the violent attack on the US Capitol on the 6 January 2021. And he will also make history as the first sitting president to have been convicted of a felony, after being found guilty of falsifying business records.
It’s not hard to see why he is a deeply polarising figure.
Throughout the campaign, Trump used incendiary rhetoric – making crass jokes and threatening vengeance against his political enemies.
His message on the economy touched a chord
Few people have a middle ground when it comes to Trump. Most of the voters I spoke to during the course of this campaign said they wished he would “shut his potty mouth” – but they were able to look past it.
Instead, they focused on the question he asked at every rally. “Are you better off now than you were two years ago?”
So many people who voted for Donald Trump told me again and again that they felt the economy was much better when he was in office and they were sick of trying to make ends meet. Although much of the cause of inflation was due to outside forces such as the Covid-19 pandemic, they blamed the outgoing administration.
Voters were also deeply concerned about illegal immigration which had reached record levels under Biden. They usually didn’t express racist views or believe that migrants were eating people’s pets, as Trump and his supporters had claimed. They just wanted much stronger border enforcement.
‘America first’ for a second Trump term
“America first” was another one of Trump’s slogans that really seemed to strike a chord with voters. All over the country I heard people – on the left and right – complaining about billions of dollars being spent on supporting Ukraine when they thought that money would be much better spent at home.
In the end, they just couldn’t vote for Harris, who served as Biden’s vice-president for four years. They believed it would be more of the same, and they wanted change.
It is perhaps one of the ironies of this election that the candidate who most represented change was himself in power just four years ago. But there are several differences between then and now.
When he first came into power in 2016, he was a political outsider, and, at least for a while, he surrounded himself with veteran political advisers and staff who showed him the ropes and constrained his actions. Now he doesn’t seem that interested in playing by the rules of the game.
Many of these same advisers and staff have spoken out – calling him a “liar”, a “fascist” and “unfit”. They have cautioned that if he surrounds himself with loyalists, which he is expected to do, that there will be no one to restrain him from his more extreme ideas.
When he left office, he faced a litany of criminal charges related to his role in the Capitol riots, how he handled documents pertaining to national security, and hush money payments to a porn star.
But since the Supreme Court ruled that the president has total immunity from prosecution for official acts in office, it will be an uphill battle for any prosecutor to charge him during the next administration.
And as president, he could instruct his justice department to drop the federal charges against him relating to the 6 January riots so he doesn’t have to worry about a jail sentence. At the same time, he could pardon hundreds of people sentenced to prison for their part in the Capitol Riots.
In the end, voters were presented with two versions of America.
Donald Trump told them that their country was a failing nation that only he could Make Great Again.
Meanwhile, Harris cautioned that if Trump was elected, American democracy itself would face an existential threat. That remains to be seen. But what Trump said himself during the campaign has not exactly assuaged people’s fears.
He has heaped praise on authoritarian leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, whom he said were “at the top of their game, whether you like it or not”.
He has talked about trying to silence critics in the press. Just days before the election, he also made comments that implied he wouldn’t mind if members of the media were killed.
And he has continued to amplify conspiracy theories and unfounded claims of election fraud – even though the election ultimately led to his victory.
Now, voters will find how much of what he said during the campaign was just loose talk – “Trump being Trump”. And remember: it’s not just Americans who have to confront the reality of a second Trump term.
The rest of the world will now discover what “America First” really means. From the global economic consequences of 20% tariffs that he has proposed on US imports to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that he has vowed to end – regardless of which side wins.
Donald Trump did not manage to implement all of his plans in his first term. Now with a second mandate and significantly less encumbered, America, and the world, will see what he can really do.
[BBC]
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