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Rain forces draw in centennial West Indies-India Test
Rain had the final say on Day 5 of the second Test in Port of Spain without a single ball being bowled, as the game ended in a draw with India sealing a 1-0 win in the two-match Test series against the West Indies. The hosts, who were 76/2 at Stumps on Day 4, needed 289 to level the series. But persistent rain, which started overnight and continued into Monday (July 24), brought a damp end to the centennial Test between West Indies and India.
Rain did relent for a while, and there were even glimpses of blue sky, as play was slated to begin at 1:15 pm local time, but it didn’t due to another spell of showers. Another revised start of 1:40 pm also did not materialise as it started raining again, and eventually it was curtains on the day’s play and the Test.
India are currently ranked No.2 in the 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship, with four points from this drawn game taking their tally of points to 16, which has brought down their percentage of points to 66.66. West Indies register their first points on the board courtesy the drawn Test.
Recapping the Test, the visitors were asked to bat first on Day 1 and Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India a good platform as they raised their second successive century partnership. Rohit struck 80 while Jaiswal, having scored a century on debut, followed it up with a knock of 57, striking at over 75. West Indies hit back with quick wickets, leaving India in a spot at 182/4. Then followed Kohli’s 29th Test ton in his 500th international appearance as his 159-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (61) revived India. R Ashwin also delivered with the bat, scoring 56 to help the team post 438.
Kraigg Brathwaite’s 75 off 235 led West Indies’ cautious reply as the visitors batted for 108 overs across Day 2 and Day 3 to be 229/5. But Mohammed Siraj’s maiden Test fifer opened up an avenue for India on Day 4 despite plenty of rain as the hosts were bowled out for 255. India then raced to 181/2 decl. in 24 overs, with Rohit registering his fastest fifty, and third in a row, while Ishan Kishan, promoted to No.4, brought up his maiden Test half-century. India made inroads in the fourth innings as West Indies went into Stumps on Day 4 at 76/2, which was also the final score as relentless rain forced a draw.
India won the opening Test in Dominica by an innings and 141 runs to get their WTC campaign going, with Jaiswal’s 171 and Ashwin’s 12-wicket haul being the headline acts. The series now moves into the ODI mode with the first two ODIs in Barbados on July 27 and 29, while the third ODI will be played in Trinidad on August 1. This will be followed by a five-match T20I series from August 3 to 13.
| Date | Match |
|---|---|
| May 3 | 1st ODI |
| May 6 | 2nd ODI |
| May 9 | 3rd ODI |
| May 12 | 1st T20I |
| May 14 | 2nd T20I |
| May 15 | 3rd T20I |
[Cricbuzz]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his government to begin direct talks with Lebanon, he said in a statement on Thursday.
Netanyahu said the talks would focus on the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese political and militant group, and establishing peaceful relations.
A US State Department official confirmed it would host a meeting next week “to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon”.
Lebanese officials called for a ceasefire before the talks begin, but Netanyahu in a subsequent address to residents of northern Israel said: “There is no ceasefire in Lebanon.”
The Israeli military continued to strike Lebanon on Thursday – targeting what it described as Hezbollah rocket launch sites in the south. It also issued a new evacuation warning for residents in the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on X that this included the Jnah area, which includes two major hospitals.
“At this time, no alternative medical facilities are available to receive approximately 450 patients from the two hospitals (including 40 patients in the ICU), rendering their evacuation operationally unfeasible,” he said.
Among those being treated at the hospitals, Tedros added, were some of the 1,150 people that Lebanon’s health ministry said were wounded in Wednesday’s massive wave of Israeli strikes. At least 303 people were killed.
Tedros also said that the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Health, which “hosts five shelters accommodating more than 5,000 people”, is in the evacuation area.
That ceasefire began with confusion over whether Lebanon, Israel’s second front, was to be included. Iranian officials and mediators from Pakistan said it was, US and Israeli officials said clearly that it was not.
Amid the confusion, the wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon – the heaviest since the conflict began six weeks ago – prompted Iran to declare that Israel was break8ng the terms of the ceasefire, once again halt passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and to threaten retaliatory strikes.
Israel’s military continues to occupy a large part of the south of Lebanon, where it has destroyed villages in recent days. Without a commitment to a temporary ceasefire at least, it is not clear how productive talks could proceed between the two sides.
(BBC)
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