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Rohit, seamers maintain India’s unbeaten run
A stirring spell of fast bowling from Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah up front blew England away in Lucknow to make it six wins in six games at the ODI World Cup 2023 for India. After the pair struck early, the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja stepped up too to ensure England’s chase was derailed well in advance even as the holders were tasked with surmounting a relatively small total (229/9). India were incredibly fiery and on the mark with the ball, evidenced by the six bowled dismissals to their name.
The super soppers were out in full swing in the innings break, giving England hopes of a successful chase. But a terrific spell of fast bowling from Bumrah and Shami left England tottering at 39 for 4 in the 10th over. Bumrah started the damage by taking out Dawid Malan in the fifth over. Under lights, the ball was skidding on but still kept low occasionally that made batting tough even as dew made its presence felt. Malan was tentative on this occasion when Bumrah shifted to round the stumps after troubling him from over the stumps, and played one on to the stumps. Joe Root got a ripper first up from over the stumps – a ball that tailed in, kept low and hit him plumb in front of the stumps. Root reviewed but took it back with him.
Mohammed Siraj struggled with his rhythm so Rohit quickly shifted to Mohammed Shami who was devastating straightaway. He kept Ben Stokes glued to his crease and cramped for any run-scoring for nine dot balls, before the England batter tried to swing his way out of trouble and missed the angled-in delivery by a mile to get bowled. In his next over, a scratchy Jonny Bairstow inside-edged a ball onto his stumps to leave England in deep trouble.
Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali tried to slowly resurrect England’s chase but Kuldeep Yadav came up with an absolute magic ball to end that. In his first over, Kuldeep got 2.6 degrees of turn on the ball, but Buttler was bamboozled with a ball in the former’s next over that spun a whopping 7.2 degrees. Buttler went on the backfoot to play a drive through cover but was inches away from the trajectory of the ball that crashed onto the stumps.
For the next overs, Moeen and Liam Livingstone attempted to move the chase along, but were once again stopped in their tracks by ruthless decision-making from Rohit. The Indian captain sensed the comfort that the two batters found in playing against Ravindra Jadeja and brought back Shami in the 24th over. Shami struck immediately as Moeen hung his bat outside the off-stump and nicked a ball behind. In the space of six overs, England went from 81 for 6 to 98 for 8 as Jadeja got in on the wickets too. Fittingly, Shami and Bumrah returned to pull the plug on another one of England’s woeful nights with the bat as they were bundled out for 129 in the 35th over.
Before his bowlers made the target of 230 look bigger than it actually was, Rohit laid the foundation stones for that score on a tricky, unpredictable Lucknow surface where odd balls nipped in and the bounce was inconsistent. India were put in to bat – for the first time in this tournament – and were in trouble very early with Chris Woakes and David Willey taking out Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli – for an eight-ball duck, and Shreyas Iyer with only 40 runs on the board. KL Rahul joined Rohit in the middle – for the first time in an ODI since 2020, and ground out a revival for the form team of the tournament through the middle. Even in tough conditions, Rohit played at a fairly brisk pace, getting to his half-century off 66 balls.
Liam Livingstone got sharp, quick turn but the Indian pair saw him out for an over and then used him as a release avenue as both of them got multiple boundaries off him. KL Rahul fell to Willey against the run of play for 39, and Jos Buttler – as proactive as his opposite number – brought back Adil Rashid to end Rohit’s stay.
But he played 101 balls for a knock of 87, leaving India in a better position. Suryakumar Yadav then earned his ODI stripes with a solid 47-ball 49 that helped the team go past the 200-run mark. Before rattling England with the ball, Bumrah threw his bat around for a bit and frustrated England by adding 20 runs for the ninth wicket with Kuldeep that led India to 229/9 in 50 overs – 100 more than how much they needed to bundle England out.
Brief Scores:
India229/9 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 89, Suryakumar Yadav 49, KL Rahul 39; David Willey 3-45, Adil Rashid 2-35 Chris Woakes 2-33) beat England 129 in 34.5 overs (Liam Livingstone 27; Mohammed Shami 4-22, Jasprit Bumrah 3-32, Kuldeep Yadav 2-24) by 100 runs
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur as part of a regional push to shore up Beijing’s trade relationships.
The diplomatic stop on Wednesday marks the second leg of Xi’s three-nation tour, which also includes Vietnam and Cambodia, and comes amid sharp tariffs imposed by the United States that are reshaping the global economic landscape.
Sultan Ibrahim welcomed Xi in a colourful ceremony at the golden-domed Istana Negara palace before his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the administrative capital of Putrajaya.
Xi touted a “new golden era” of Chinese-Malaysian relations, following the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties last year. The king announced new cooperation between the countries in various fields, including artificial intelligence.
“This is a hugely significant visit,” said Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Putrajaya. “It takes place during this unprecedented trade war that is developing with the United States, with both Malaysia and China finding themselves in the middle.”
Khoo Ying Hooi, an associate professor in the department of international and strategic studies at Malaya University, said the visit offered a chance to “test the waters for regional solidarity” amid the US trade disruptions.
“It’s not just about friendship, it’s about realigning the regional centre of gravity towards Beijing,” she said.
Malaysia is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, whose members are among the hardest hit by new US tariffs.
ASEAN member Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, was slapped with 46 percent tariffs, and Cambodia, a significant producer of low-cost clothing for big Western brands, was hit with a 49 percent duty.
Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, was hit with a lower tariff of 24 percent. Though the measures have been paused for 90 days, President Donald Trump has warned that no country is “off the hook”.
[Aljazeera]
Police urge motorists who intend to use the Ella – Wellawaya Road to use alternative roads as there is a severe vehicle congestion due to inclement weather condition.
The UK Supreme Court has unanimously backed the biological definition of “woman” under the 2010 Equality Act.
It marks the culmination of a long-running legal battle which could have major implications for how sex-based rights apply across Scotland, England and Wales.
Judges sided with campaign group For Women Scotland, which brought a case against the Scottish government arguing that sex-based protections should only apply to people that are born female.
Judge Lord Hodge said the ruling should not be seen as a triumph of one side over the other, and stressed that the law still gives protection against discrimination to transgender people.
The Scottish government argued in court that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) are entitled to the same sex-based protections as biological women.
The Supreme Court was asked to decide on the proper interpretation of the 2010 Equality Act, which applies across Britain.
Lord Hodge said the central question was how the words “woman” and “sex” are defined in the legislation.
He told the court: “The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
“But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another, it is not.”
He added that the legislation gives transgender people “protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender”.
Campaigners who brought the case against the Scottish government hugged each other and punched the air as they left the courtroom, with several of them in tears.
The Equality Act provides protection against discrimination on the basis of various characteristics, including “sex” and “gender reassignment”.
Judges at the Supreme Court in London were asked to rule on what that law means by “sex” – whether it means biological sex, or legal, “certificated” sex as defined by the 2004 Gender Recognition Act.
The Scottish government argued the 2004 legislation was clear that obtaining a GRC amounts to a change of sex “for all purposes”.
For Women Scotland argued for a “common sense” interpretation of the words man and woman, telling the court that sex is an “immutable biological state”.
Outside the Supreme Court, For Women Scotland co-founder Susan Smith said: “Today the judges have said what we always believed to be the case, that women are protected by their biological sex.
“Sex is real and women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women and we are enormously grateful to the Supreme Court for this ruling.”
A UK government spokesman said: “This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs.
“Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the ruling as a “victory for all of the women who faced personal abuse or lost their jobs for stating the obvious”.
But Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman, a prominent campaigner for trans-rights, said: “This is a deeply concerning ruling for human rights and a huge blow to some of the most marginalised people in our society.
“It could remove important protections and will leave many trans people and their loved ones deeply anxious and worried about how their lives will be affected and about what will come next.”
The Scottish government has not yet commented on the ruling.
[BBC]
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