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Rohit Sharma’s 87 headlines India’s essay on unpredictable Lucknow surface
Rohit Sharma batted on a different pedestal to his peers on a wildly unpredictable Lucknow surface against England as his 101-ball 87 helped India wade past their wobbly start. Suryakumar Yadav then chipped in with a vital 49 that took India to 229 for 8 in 50 overs
For the first time in this World Cup, India have had to bat first and suffered multiple early blows courtesy the unevenness of the pitch and how differently it behaved even on successive deliveries.
On the hot Sunday afternoon, Rohit began to chance his arms early, like he’s done all through this World Cup. David Willey was the earliest recipient of that carnage as Rohit hit him for two sixes in the 18-run third over. Shubman Gill, who was looking to ease into the innings in his captain’s company was undone by a Chris Woakes delivery that unexpectedly nipped back in to go through his bat-pad gap and rattle the stumps.
There were early signs that the ball was stopping on the pitch, as Willey tied Virat Kohli down right at the start of his innings. Kohli played out eight dot balls before deciding to try and break the rut, but his attempt to hit over the infield was futile as his shot went straight to Ben Stokes at mid-off. India were further rattled by Shreyas Iyer’s decision to pull a ball that wasn’t short enough and end up top-edging it to Mark Wood at mid-on.
From 40 for 3 in the 12th over, India’s essay was rebuilt by Rohit and KL Rahul, who were batting together in an ODI for the first time since January 2020. Even as the innings progressed, the bounce on this surface was hard to trust but Rohit still scored at a brisk pace, getting to his 54th ODI fifty off 66 balls. The closest England came to dismissing Rohit in the middle overs was when the umpire raised his finger for an LBW appeal, only for the Indian captain to get it overturned on review.
In the midst of slow progress, Liam Livingstone started out with a maiden over as he got sharp and quick turn. Rahul however, got the better of the spinner in his second over, sweeping to the vacant backward square leg region and getting a streaky four off the outside edge too. Rohit reverse-lapped him past the short third man in another over where Livingstone conceded a couple of fours. Against the run of play, however, Willey got Rahul to play a risky shot that cost the keeper-batter his wicket. As a partnership between Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav began to grow, Jos Buttler brought back Adil Rashid for a second spell after he went for just 22 runs off six overs in his first.
The leggie struck right away to end Rohit’s exceptional innings, that also saw him get to 18,000 international runs, as the latter looked to slog a googly but didn’t get enough behind it to clear the deep midwicket. Livingstone ran in from the deep and completed a sharp catch. Rashid put India at the risk of folding for a sub-200 total when he trapped Ravindra Jadeja leg-before but Suryakumar earned his ODI stripes with a solid 49 off 47 balls. Buttler brought back Mark Wood to take an aim at India’s long tail and the bowler found success immediately with the wicket of Mohammed Shami, that left India in a vulnerable position of 183 for 7 in 42 overs.
Suryakumar found himself in familiar territory – batting in the death overs – and unleashed a shot only he could – a monstrous flick off Wood over fine leg for a six. But he fell in the 47th over trying to clear the off-side field with a big shot, giving Willey his third wicket of the game. Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav frustrated England right at the end, with the former even hitting a 149kmph delivery from Wood for a four past mid-on. He and Kuldeep added 21 valuable runs for the ninth wicket.
Brief Scores:
India 229/9 in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 89, Suryakumar Yadav 49, KL Rahul 39; David Willey 3-45, Adil Rashid 2-35 Chris Woakes 2-33) vs England
The Ceylon Electricity Board has appealed to all rooftop solar owners across the country to voluntarily switch off their solar systems during day time hours (until 3pm each day) from April 13th to 21st to prevent partial power outages or nationwide blackouts which may occur.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and trains suspended as gales hit Beijing and northern China today [Saturday].
By 11:30 local time (03:30 GMT) today, 838 flights had been cancelled at the capital’s two major airports, according to the news agency Reuters.
Wind gusts of up to 93mph (150kph) – the strongest in the Chinese capital for more than half a century – are set to continue through the weekend, forcing the closure of attractions and historic sites.
Millions were urged to stay indoors on Friday, with some state media outlets warning that people weighing less than 50kg may be “easily blown away”.
Train services, including the airport’s express subway line and some high-speed rail lines, have been suspended.
Parks were also shut, with some old trees reinforced or trimmed in preparation – but almost 300 trees have already fallen over in the capital.
A number of vehicles were damaged, but no injuries were reported. In Beijing, most residents followed authorities’ advice to stay indoors after the city warned 22 million residents to avoid non-essential travel.
“Everyone in Beijing was really nervous about it. Today there are hardly any people out on the streets. However, it wasn’t as severe as I had imagined,” a local resident told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a businessman from the Zhejiang province, near Shanghai, had his flight home cancelled.
“Because of the severe winds, all flights scheduled for last night and today were cancelled. So I will probably rebook my flight in a couple of days. I’m now basically stranded in Beijing,” he said.
The strong winds are from a cold vortex system over Mongolia and are expected to last through the weekend.
Winds bringing sand and dust from Mongolia are routine in spring, but climate change can make storms stronger and more severe.
Beijing issued its first orange alert for strong winds in a decade, with the strongest winds expected to arrive on Saturday.
China measures wind speed on a scale that goes from one to 17. A level 11 wind, according to the China Meteorological Administration, can cause “serious damage”, while a level 12 wind brings “extreme destruction”.
The winds this weekend are expected to range from level 11 to 13, with conditions expected to ease by Sunday.
[BBC]
Iran and the United States have begun talks in Oman over Teheran’s nuclear programme – the highest level meeting between the two nations since 2018.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state television his country wanted a “fair agreement”, with his spokesperson saying he did not expect talks to last long.
President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in 2018, and has long said he would make a “better” deal.
It is unclear if the two delegations will sit in the same room, but the talks are seen as an important first step to establishing whether a deal can be done, as well as a framework for negotiations.
Araghchi has repeatedly emphasised that indirect talks were best at this stage.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the US delegation, has only spoken of meeting face-to-face.
But the most important issue is what kind of deal each side would accept.
Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader via the United Arab Emirates last month, saying he wanted a deal to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to avert possible military strikes by the US and Israel.
Iran hopes a deal to limit, but not dismantle, its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
“Our intention is to reach a fair and honourable agreement from an equal position, and if the other side also comes from the same position, then hopefully there will be a chance for an initial understanding that will lead to a path of negotiations,” Araghchi said.
He added that the team that came with him was made up of experts “knowledgeable in this particular field and who have a history of negotiating on this issue”.
An unnamed source in Oman told the news agency Reuters that the talks would also seek to de-escalate regional tensions and secure prisoner exchanges.
Trump disclosed the upcoming talks during a visit by Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday. The Israeli prime minister said on Tuesday that both leaders had agreed “Iran will not have nuclear weapons”.
Trump has warned that the US would use military force if a deal was not reached, and Iran has repeatedly said it will not negotiate under pressure.[BBC]
The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that this weekend’s meeting in Oman would be “very big”, while also warning that it would “be a very bad day for Iran” if the talks were unsuccessful.
Iran insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and that it will never seek to develop or acquire nuclear weapons.
However, since Trump pulled out of the 2015 agreement – which expires later this year – Iran has increasingly breached restrictions imposed by the existing nuclear deal in retaliation for crippling US sanctions reinstated seven years ago, and has stockpiled enough highly-enriched uranium to make several bombs.
Witkoff has also been involved in peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war, meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Friday.
[BBC]
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